While Doctor Mo was away, Han Li knew that the bottle would temporarily be safe within God Hand Valley because he was the only one there. Normally, no outsider would rashly enter the valley. This guaranteed a small time period where it was unlikely for anything unexpected to occur.
Han Li had already estimated when Doctor Mo would return. If Doctor Mo could not find any good medicinal ingredients in the nearby regions, he would probably want to go look in more remote locations. It was very likely that he would have to go to one of the ancient forests deep in the mountains where men rarely ventured. Only in those kinds of desolate regions would there be any chances of obtaining a few rare medicinal ingredients. However, Doctor Mo would need at least a year in order to travel into the mountains, gather medicinal ingredients, and return to the valley.
Doctor Mo had already been absent for almost half a year. Han Li estimated that he had another six to seven months before Doctor Mo returned to the Seven Mysteries Sect. With the time he had left, Han Li would do his utmost to hasten the growth of as many useful medicinal herbs as possible. He knew that he could not blindly squander the green liquid, so he planned to acquire only the medicinal ingredients that he would use in a few precious formulas.
Han Li quickly proceeded to make the medicines that would augment his strength and help him break through bottlenecks. They were exactly the medicinal formulas that Doctor Mo had left the valley to concoct. However, Doctor Mo was forced to venture outside of the valley due to a lack of necessary medicinal ingredients. Any one of these ingredients would be virtually impossible for an ordinary household to obtain on the market because of their sheer rarity. The cultivators of Jiang Hu would even fight over these rare treasures with all their might.
(TL: Jiang Hu, martial world)
With Doctor Mo’s extremely brilliant medical expertise, he could concoct medicines that only he knew how to concoct, including never before seen formulas. Even so, although Doctor Mo knew the method of producing these medicines, he was unable to do anything if he lacked the ingredients. Doctor Mo could only sigh.
When Han Li had previously studied the art of healing under Doctor Mo’s tutelage, he had been greatly interested in these rare recipes. Although he never previously expected that he would be able to concoct these precious elixirs, he remembered many of these recipes. Doctor Mo had met Han Li’s enthusiasm to learn these formulas with an indifferent attitude. Whenever Han Li asked, Doctor Mo would teach Han Li with great detail; nothing was concealed from his disciple. Doctor Mo probably believed that his formulas and knowledge would be lost forever if he didn’t pass them down.
Concocting these formulas had now become Han Li’s pastime. He eagerly went to the fields every day to accelerate the growth of the medicinal herbs in accordance with the formulas’ requirements. When doing so, he didn’t dare to relax in the slightest since he knew that his time was limited. He had to hurry and finish mixing these medicines before Doctor Mo returned. Once the doctor arrived, Han Li would conceal and put the bottle away, no longer able to easily use the bottle once more.
Han Li did not have even the slightest degree of confidence that he would be able to use the small bottle in Doctor Mo’s presence without revealing its power. He knew in his heart that Doctor Mo was an extremely shrewd and careful person. So Han Li did not intend to tell Doctor Mo about the bottle’s secret.
Han Li thought the relation he had with Doctor Mo was quite peculiar. It was definitely not as simple as an ordinary master-disciple relationship.
Doctor Mo often looked at him with a peculiar look. This always made Han Li think that Doctor Mo was concealing a deadly secret from him. Especially in the past two years, Han Li felt that this feeling had grown even stronger. This made Doctor Mo and Han Li incapable of having the intimate relationship between a common master and disciple. If there were nothing to say, there would be silence.
Doctor Mo had actually treated him exceptionally well in his daily life, never physically or verbally abusing Han Li. In addition, Doctor Mo spared no pain or effort to help create the best conditions for Han Li to cultivate the chant. However, there seemed to be a barrier of separation that existed between the master and disciple, an awkward atmosphere that drifted between them.
Doctor Mo clearly realized that this gap existed. However, he did not feel the slightest need to remedy the mutual indifference between master and disciple, leaving it to be. The only time when he directly involved himself in Han Li’s life was whenever he urged Han Li to increase the pace of Han Li’s cultivation. Every time Doctor Mo visited Han Li, the grotesque aspect of his gaze gradually lessened, so much so that after a long period of time, it was no longer displayed.
However, Han Li’s keen sixth sense faintly informed him that Doctor Mo hadn’t truly abandoned his plans, but rather ingeniously concealed his intentions. Thus, Han Li’s vigilance against Doctor Mo had deepened further. Under these circumstances, how could he possibly dare let Doctor Mo know of the bottle’s secret?!
Han Li had learned an unshakable lesson from reading numerous history books: “refrain from hurting others but guard against those trying to hurt you.”
Regardless of whether Doctor Mo truly wanted to harm him, strengthening Han Li’s vigilance wouldn’t be a bad decision, even if his feelings were mistaken. If Doctor Mo had truly intended to harm him, Han Li’s strengthened vigilance could possibly prevent him from suffering a severe injury. If his sixth sense was mistaken, then a strengthened vigilance wouldn’t harm him. Either way, Han Li wouldn’t take the initiative to harm his master. Han Li was still Doctor Mo’s apprentice and would do his utmost to be a filial apprentice.
Han Li wasn’t too comfortable with his feelings regarding Doctor Mo. After all, this kind of strange master-disciple relationship was completely unheard of in the Seven Mysteries Sect. Thinking of this, Han Li could not help but sigh.
The mysterious green bottle absolutely couldn’t be used once Doctor Mo returned. However, Han Li knew that even if he managed to somehow hide it from Doctor Mo, another person from the Seven Mysteries Sect might uncover the secret by accident. His best choice was to hide the bottle away forever and act as if it had never existed.
Unwilling to forever separate himself from the bottle, Han Li made up his mind to use the bottle cautiously and secretly once Doctor Mo returned. Once he came upon this decision, Han Li relaxed his mind and fell asleep on his bed.
In the following months, Han Li secretly used the bottle’s green liquid to accelerate the growth of large quantities of precious medicinal ingredients. He then used these medicinal ingredients in accordance with the formula, concocting many rare medicines. But in the process of concocting the elixirs, many failures had occurred. Each failure had left Han Li a lasting soreness since the ingredients used to make the medicines were rare and of the highest quality. Each failure represented a waste of an innumerable amount of silver. However, he could not be blamed. These were the first time he compounded these formulas, so failing several times was inevitable. Even if Doctor Mo had personally compounded these medicines, he would have made one or two mistakes. Only in this way could Han Li console himself.
“ Yellow Dragon Pellet,” “Pure Spirit Powder,” “Gold Essence Pill,” and “Vitality Raising Pellet.” These rare medicines, rarely seen on the market, were placed in tens of small bottles. One by one, they were neatly arranged in front of Han Li. As Han Li looked at these small bottles, his face lit up with delight. With these miraculous medicines, he could reach the fifth and sixth layer without expending too much effort, not to mention the fourth layer.
Among these medicines, “Yellow Dragon Pellet” and “Gold Essence Pill” would assist him in increasing his strength, thereby raising his power, and had the wonderful effect of rebuilding his body and bones. “Pure Spirit Powder” was a world-famous detoxifying panacea, capable of dissolving thousands of deadly poisons. Lastly, “Vitality Raising Pellet” was a legendary medicine that had a surprising effect on internal injuries. Regardless of how many grave internal and external injuries one suffered from, so long as the person eating the pill remained alive, any injury would be immediately healed, allowing one’s life to be preserved.