NOVEL NEXT Chapter 42: Recovering Something That was Lost
In the pill refinement chamber of the cave abode, Han Li removed the stopper of the Heaven Controlling Vial once again, then set it down onto the ground next to the pill furnace. After that, he took a few steps backward, then raised a hand to release an incantation seal to activate the array beneath the furnace, embroiling the furnace in scorching flames.
Moments later, he took a deep breath, then extended a finger before beckoning toward the pill furnace.
A ball of crimson fire flew out from beneath the furnace, circling around in the air before forming a thin line of fire that resembled a small snake, which flew into the Heaven Controlling Vial at Han Li's behest.
Red light flashed within the vial, and immediately thereafter, it became illuminated with dazzling radiance. The leaf patterns on its surface began to glow with a dark red hue, and they were flashing as if they had sprung to life.
Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly as he stood still on the spot in a contemplative silence.
A short while later, the red light within the vial suddenly faded, and the vial returned to normal as if nothing had happened.
However, Han Li's gaze remained fixed on the vial, as if he were waiting for something.
Time slowly passed by, and around 15 minutes later, he raised a hand once again, drawing a slightly larger ball of fire out of the pill furnace before sending it flying into the small vial.
Once again, red light flashed momentarily within the vial before fading away.
However, this time, the red light seemed to have lingered for a slightly longer duration than last time.A thoughtful look appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this.
He continued to guide fire into the vial, and the intervals between each injection of fire were getting shorter and shorter.
Just as expected, the duration of the red light lingering in the vial was also growing longer and longer.
After an indeterminate period of time, Han Li injected another burst of fire into the vial, and this time, the red light within the vial flashed for a full 15 minutes without displaying any signs of fading.
Han Li's eyes lit up slightly upon seeing this.
Right at this moment, a clear cry rang out from within the vial, and traces of silver light appeared, devouring the red light at a rapid rate that was discernible even to the naked eye.
In the next instant, a burst of piercing silver light erupted out of the opening of the vial, flying all the way up to the top of the pill refinement chamber, where it crashed into the ceiling with a dull thump.
The burst of silver light tumbled down slightly as a result of the impact, and the silver radiance that it was releasing illuminated the entire pill refinement chamber.
Blue light flashed through Han Li's eyes as he looked up at the burst of silver light, and an elated look appeared on his face, but his brows then immediately furrowed slightly.
The burst of white light circled through the air a few times, then transformed into a small silver bird with a body that was entirely comprised of flames, which spread its wings and flew down directly toward Han Li.
Han Li raised a hand, and the silver fire raven drew to an elegant halt around half a foot above his palm, then began to fly around his index finger while chirping joyfully, seemingly elated to be reunited with its master.
This fiery bird was none other than the Essence Fire Raven, which had been born after Han Li's Flame of Essence had developed a hint of spiritual nature. [1]
Back when he was in the Human Realm, he had attained the Purple Apex Flame using the Celestial Blue Flame with the glacial qi released by the Six-winged Frost Centipede, then fused the Purple Apex Flame into the Greatyin True Flame. After arriving in the Spirit Realm, he had then used the Greatyin True Flame to devour a large number of other flames, finally giving rise to this Flame of Essence. [2]
Not only was this flame naturally capable of devouring all types of spirit flames, it was extremely effective when it came to taming fire-attribute spirit beasts, and it was one of the most important assets that had allowed him to reign supreme in the Spirit Realm.
Han Li heaved a faint sigh as he cast aside that train of thought, then raised his hand slightly, and the fire raven instantly folded its wings, landing obediently on his palm.
For some reason, he was unable to sense this flame since his awakening, and he had thought that the reason for this was that it had been lost to him, but as it turned out, the flame had been in a state of slumber in his Heaven Controlling Vial this entire time.
Back in the secret chamber, his spiritual sense had suddenly developed a faint connection with this flame, and that was why he had immediately rushed to the pill refinement chamber to try and use the flame of the furnace to awaken the fire raven. To his surprise, he was able to succeed on the first try.
However, there was a rather grim look in his eyes as he inspected the silver fire raven dancing over his palm.
In its current form, the fire raven wasn't even three inches tall, and its aura was significantly diminished compared with when it was at its peak.
This only served to further exacerbate the frustration that Han Li had been feeling.
It was clear that the current state of the fire raven had something to do with the circumstances that had led to his memory loss and the debilitation of his powers.
Han Li vowed to himself there and then that no matter who it was that had reduced him to this state, he was going to repay the favor with interest.
Moments later, he cast aside that train of thought, then released a burst of azure light out of his sleeve to draw the silver fire raven into his body.
The fire raven was most likely going to have to be nurtured in his body for quite some time before it could recover to any semblance of its former glory.
Around 15 minutes later, Han Li departed from his cave abode again, arriving at the northwestern corner of his spirit farm.
He swept his spiritual sense through the area to ensure that nothing was amiss, then raised his hand and released a series of small triangular flags with a flick of his wrist, marking out a circular area.
He then began to chant an incantation while making a hand seal, and the small flags instantly flashed with purple light, forming an indistinct light barrier that encompassed the entire area.
After that, he stepped into the area, and the purple radiance glowing from the light barrier vanished as it completely faded into the darkness of the night.
If anyone were to pass by near Han Li's cave abode at this time, they wouldn't be able to sense anything unless they were at least at the Deity Transformation Stage, but a cultivator of that caliber would immediately be detected by Han Li and dealt with accordingly.
Inside the light barrier, Han Li swept a hand through the air, and around two dozen beautiful wooden boxes appeared, hovering in front of him.
He raised his hand, and the lids of all of the wooden boxes flew up at his behest, allowing a medicinal aroma to waft through the air.
The wooden boxes contained several dozen white spirit medicines with complete root systems, and they flew out of their boxes before descending onto the ground and taking root in the soil.
These spirit medicines were a little similar in appearance to regular ginseng, but in reality, they were all Cloud Crane Herbs that were roughly around 100 years old.
During the daytime in these past few days, Han Li had made several visits to the Trade Valley, purchasing all of the Cloud Crane Herbs that he could find.
In order to avoid attracting attention, he made sure to conceal his cultivation base and don a different disguise for each visit.
After taking a glance at the Cloud Crane Herbs that had been planted into the ground, Han Li pulled out the Heaven Controlling Vial again.
He took a deep breath before removing the stopper of the vial, then tipped the vial over, aiming its opening at the Cloud Crane Herb directly below him.
The green liquid slowly flowed out of the mouth of the vial before dripping down onto the Cloud Crane Herb.
The liquid then slowly seeped into the roots of the Cloud Crane Herb, and a faint smile appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this, following which he departed from under the light barrier.
1. For more information on the Essence Fire Raven and the Flame of Essence, please refer to RMJI Chapter 2434: Heavenly Devil Contract. ☜
2. For more information on the Celestial Blue Flame, the Six-winged Frost Centipede, the Purple Apex Flame, and the Greatyin True Flame, please refer to RMJI Chapter 1113: Dark Water and Profound Jade, RMJI Chapter 667: Six-Winged Frost Centipede, RMJI Chapter 731: Purple Apex Flames, and RMJI Chapter 1109: Capturing the Nascent Soul, respectively. ☜