Chapter 265: Testing the Limits
Han Li cast a calm gaze toward the light green spirit liquid in the jade bowl, then took a deep breath, and all of the tension in his body instantly seeped away.n.-O.(V-(ε.)l--B-)1/)n
He then took a glance at the fiery silver figure, which was looking up at him with a hint of concern on its face, and he finally made up his mind, lifting up the bowl of spirit liquid before downing half of its contents in one go.
Upon entering his mouth, the spirit liquid was quite cool and a little bitter. After being swallowed, it transformed into a burst of heat that entered his dantian, and that burst of heat quickly swelled in temperature as if it had been set alight, surging through his meridians like scorching fire.
In this instant, Han Li could feel all of the meridians in his entire body expanding as bursts of indescribable power surged through his body. Even with his incredibly powerful physical body, he was in excruciating pain, and he felt as if he were about to explode.
However, a cool and refreshing sensation then welled up in his mind, restoring a sense of clarity and tranquility.
Han Li hurriedly composed himself, then conjured up a protective layer of azure light over his own body. At the same time, bursts of invisible power surged out of all parts of his body, and a string of cracks and pops rang out as he abruptly became noticeably taller. Furthermore, his limbs and torsos had also become thicker than before.
Shortly thereafter, his brows began to furrow slightly.
Some of the smaller meridians in his body had already been torn open, only for a rapid healing process to commence thanks to a vast injection of vitality.
This process of tearing and healing was unfolding in countless tiny parts all over his body, taking place thousands of times with each passing moment.
Even with Han Li's unfathomably powerful physical body and outstanding mental fortitude, the indescribable agony was beginning to take its toll.
To compound his woes even further, his mind was more conscious than ever, so the agony was even further exacerbated.
However, at the same time, he was also beginning to clearly sense the mysterious power imbued within the bursts of heat that were flowing throughout his entire body.
This mysterious power was causing his physical body to undergo some type of indescribable change, and the innate resistance of his body was currently fiercely clashing against this mysterious power.
This process wore on for two hours without displaying any signs of abating, but Han Li was feeling rather relieved as he had already grown accustomed to this feeling.
The spirit liquid was causing severe damage to his body, but it seemed that he wasn't in any life-threatening danger. In fact, he felt like he could even drink more.
With that in mind, Han Li immediately picked up the jade bowl, then gulped down the remaining half a bowl of spirit liquid.
An even more enormous burst of scorching heat surged into his body before spreading through his meridians, and he couldn't help but give a muffled groan as he shuddered involuntarily, and the azure light around him also flickered slightly.
Only after close to two more hours had passed by did the pain on Han Li's face fade slightly, and the azure light around him also returned to a stable state.
Just as he anticipated, he was able to withstand this additional influx of spirit liquid thanks to his powerful physical body and willpower. The agony he was experiencing was several times more severe than before, but this was exactly what he was looking for.
Only by pushing his own body to the limits could he better observe the laws of time.
With that in mind, he paid no further heed to his own internal condition as he began to focus solely on that burst of mysterious power flowing throughout his body.
At this moment, he could clearly hear the beating of his own heart, and every single one of his heartbeast was resonating in some way with the burst of mysterious power flowing through his meridians.
This was a sensation that was both alien and familiar to him.
It was the fluctuation of the power of time, the pulsing of the origin of life...
He felt as if there were something within his grasp, but he couldn't grab ahold of it no matter how hard he tried.
He felt as if he were gradually getting closer to grasping the laws of time, but it was an intangible entity. One moment, he would feel as if he had it tightly locked in his grasp, but in the next instant, it would be gone without a trace.
All of a sudden, a thought occurred to him, and he summoned an Immortal Origin Stone that he held in his hand. At the same time, his Mantra Treasured Axis appeared behind him amid a flash of golden light, and the Time Dao Runes on the axis released bursts of powerful fluctuations that enveloped his entire body. After that, he activated his Spirit Refinement Technique and tried to focus and immerse himself into this process as much as possible.
Thanks to the effects of the Mantra Treasured Axis, the burst of mysterious power flowing through his meridians seemed to have slowed down slightly, but it still remained as intangible and elusive as ever.
Time slowly passed by, and the heat formed by the spirit liquid was constantly being expended. After a few more hours, the heat finally completely disappeared along with the excruciating pain that came with it.
Han Li opened his eyes, and there was a combination of excitement and befuddlement on his face as he withdrew his Mantra Treasured Axis back into his body.
Even though he hadn't managed to grasp the laws of time, he had clearly sensed the fluctuations of the power of time.
All of a sudden, his entire body shuddered, and blood began to trick down from the corner of his lips.
Even though he had forcibly withstood the effects of ingesting the spirit liquid, his entire body was currently riddled with injuries, and his meridians and bones were littered with countless tiny wounds.
Even the average True Immortal would've already had their body completely explode had they been in Han Li's place.
Thankfully, the regenerative ability of Han Li's Profound Immortal body coupled with his True Extreme Membrane had allowed him to survive this process.
Judging from this outcome, it seemed that he could ingest a bit more of the spirit liquid.
He felt as if he had been on the cusp of gleaning the secrets of the power of time just now. Perhaps he would only have a chance of succeeding in this endeavor by constantly pushing his own limits.
After taking a deep breath, he consumed a restorative pill, then closed his eyes and began to meditate.
Several days later.
Han Li slowly opened his eyes as he exhaled, and at this point, he had already recovered from all of his injuries.
He turned his gaze to the jade container beside him, then swept a sleeve toward it without any hesitation, and another stream of spirit liquid rose up out of the container before flying straight into his mouth.
Han Li gave a muffled groan as his complexion transitioned back and forth between green and white.
This time, he had ingested even more spirit liquid than last time, but with the experience of that previous experiment under his belt, he was no longer feeling as uneasy as before.
He slowly closed his eyes, paying no heed to his body's internal condition as he focused his attention on observing the power of laws contained within the spirit liquid.
Cracks and pops rang out incessantly from within his body, and this time, even the skin on some parts of his arms and shoulders had split open, but no blood flowed out of the gashes.
Han Li continued to remain completely still, and over an hour passed by in the blink of an eye.
All of a sudden, his eyes sprang open, and he threw up a mouthful of blood. His face was looking rather pale, but his eye were glowing with excitement.
Once again, he felt as if he had gotten a little closer to grasping the laws of time, but he was still not quite there yet.
He quickly consumed another pill, and a layer of green light appeared over his body.
Several days later, he was fully recovered from his injuries, and this time, he ingested all of the remaining spirit liquid in the jade container all at once.
He then summoned a pair of Immortal Origin Stones, holding one in each hand, before also summoning his Mantra Treasured Axis and closing his eyes.
Upon reopening his eyes, the excitement on his face had been replaced by a hint of befuddlement.
Why is it that each time, I feel as if I've gotten a little closer to grasping the power of time, but I always fall just a little short? In any case, this is the route that seems to have the highest likelihood of leading to success, so perhaps I just need to stick at it a little longer.
With that in mind, he flipped his hand over to produce another pill, which he swallowed before closing his eyes.
Close to a month later, another drop of green liquid had been manifested in the Heaven Controlling Vial.
Han Li picked up the vial, and after a brief moment of contemplation, he decided to directly ingest the drop of spirit liquid inside without diluting it at all.
A few seconds later, a string of cracks and pops began to ring out within Han Li's body, and a series of tiny gashes rapidly appeared over his skin. This time, even his True Extreme Membrane was unable to prevent blood from flowing out of the gashes, and it only took a moment for his entire body to be completely covered in blood.
Han Li's entire body was trembling, and it seemed that even the slightest lapse in concentration would lead to his body completely exploding.
This time, it took close to four hours before his condition gradually returned to normal, and the agonized look on his face also faded. He continued to pay no heed to his own internal condition, and the Mantra Treasured Axis behind him was revolving rapidly at his behest, while the Time Dao Runes on the axis were also glowing brightly.
Half a day later, Han Li opened his eyes as he threw up a mouthful of blood, and his face had turned extremely pale.
Having ingested two drops of spirit liquid in succession, he had developed a better grasp on the power of time, but once again, it remained just out of reach.
Perhaps one more drop will do the trick.
However, before that, he had to recover from his injuries, and with that in mind, he took another pill before closing his eyes to meditate.
A layer of azure light appeared over his body, and his complexion gradually began to improve, while the gashes on his body quickly healed.
A month later, Han Li picked up the Heaven Controlling Vial to find another drop of spirit liquid rolling around inside.
He took a deep breath as a solemn look appeared on his face, and just like last time, he drank the undiluted drop of spirit liquid in one go.
More cracks and pops rang out from within his body, and he adopted the same setup as last time, summoning his Mantra Treasured Axis while holding a pair of Immortal Origin Stones to replenish his immortal spiritual power.
As time passed by, bursts of time law powers began to surge out of the axis, and it was also beginning to revolve faster and faster while the golden light radiating from it grew steadily brighter.
Han Li's eyes were tightly shut, and he was making a constant string of hand seals.
The golden light radiating from his body was surging incessantly, and if one were to look closely, they would discover that the golden light was formed by countless tiny golden runes that resembled scorching flames.
The 24 Time Dao Runes were trembling while the golden flames were growing brighter and brighter, looking as if they were about to come together, but right at this moment, the golden light radiating from the Mantra Treasured Axis suddenly began to flash, and it slowed down in its rotation.
At the same time, cracks were beginning to appear on its surface, and the Time Dao Runes also settled down again.