Han Li was ecstatic as he made a beckoning motion, and the seven pills flew out of the cauldron in a line before being drawn into a palm-sized jade vial.
After stowing the vial away, Han Li exhaled as he made his way out of the room.
From there, he took a glance at his surroundings, then conjured up a door of silver light, and Weeping Soul emerged from within.
"Where are we right now, Master?" Weeping Soul asked.
"We are currently in an unknown secret area that appears to be quite safe for now. I plan to go into seclusion here for some time. If I can make some strides in my cultivation base here, then we'll be better equipped to deal with the Immortal Palace cultivators on our tails," Han Li replied.
"After what we did at the Golden Origin Immortal Palace, I'm sure the Heavenly Court will be sending some very powerful cultivators after us, so it would indeed be a good idea to stay here for now. I'll keep a look out for you, go ahead and go into seclusion, Master," Weeping Soul said with a nod.
"The entrance of this secret area is over there," Han Li said as he pointed up at a barely visible rift in the sky. "The rest of the secret area is sealed in all directions, so that's the only place that you need to keep an eye on."
"Alright, in that case, I'll cultivate while keeping a lookout on the plaza over there," Weeping Soul replied.
All of a sudden, Han Li noticed a change in Weeping Soul's aura, and his expression changed slightly as he remarked, "It seems like your aura has become quite a bit more powerful as well."
"Indeed, Master. Ever since my awakening, I've felt a burst of law powers that's been constantly recovering and growing stronger within my body. At the same time, I've been feeling an insatiable hunger," Weeping Soul replied with a smile.
"What is this hunger that you speak of?" Han Li asked.
"I don't know how to describe it, it just always feels like my stomach is empty. I felt a little better after devouring all those ghostly creatures last time, so perhaps that's the key. I'll test out that theory the next time we encounter a powerful ghostly cultivator," Weeping Soul replied.
"Alright, I'll be leaving everything here to you then. I'm going to go into seclusion in that hall up ahead," Han Li said with a smile, and with that, the two of them parted ways, with Weeping Soul making her way onto the plaza, while Han Li entered the hall from before.
He sat down with his legs crossed onto the jade futon in the center, then flipped a hand over to produce that jade vial, tipping out a golden pill that he promptly devoured.
As soon as the pill entered his belly, a burst of formidable time law powers instantly spread through his dantian before flowing into the rest of his body.
Han Li hurriedly closed his eyes as he channeled hsi Great Five Elemental Illusion Mantra, guiding the burst of time law powers toward the designated acupoints in his body.
Moments later, his brows furrowed slightly as his eyes sprang open, and a hint of surprise had appeared on his face.
As it turned out, waves of rippling golden light had appeared over the jade cushion beneath him, immediately following which the same golden light emerged over the other two unoccupied cushions as well.
All of a sudden, it was as if a layer of golden liquid had been spilled over the entire interior of the hall.
Han Li could feel a burst of peculiar time law power fluctuations all around him, placing him in a profound and indescribable state.
This was not the first time that she had witnessed this phenomenon, but with each passing instance, the gray mist receded by a more significant degree, revealing larger and larger areas in the process.
Close to twenty seconds later, the tremors completely subsided, and the surrounding gray mist also gradually settled down.
Weeping Soul cast her gaze toward the golden hall with a concerned look in her eyes.
Han Li had already reached the late-High Zenith Stage eighty years ago, triggering a series of breathtaking phenomena in the secret area, but for some reason, he had chosen to remain in seclusion all the way up to this point.
......
That night.
There was a semi-transparent golden flower bud situated at the center of the golden hall.
Han Li was seated with his legs crossed inside the flower bud, and his skin and flesh had become as translucent as jade, making his bones and meridians clearly visible.
At this moment, there were as many as 359 immortal acupoints glowing over his body, indicating that he had already reached the pinnacle of the High Zenith Stage.
The rippling golden light glowing over the three jade cushions beneath had already become quite dim, clearly indicating that the time law powers within were close to running out.
Right at this moment, Han Li's eyes suddenly sprang open, and two beams of incredibly bright golden light erupted out of her pupils.
At the same time, he opened his mouth, and a wisp of white mist seeped out from within.
Moments later, the golden light and white mist slowly dissipated, and Han Li blinked a few times as he took a moment to compose himself.
At a glance, nothing seemed to have really changed about him, but upon closer inspection, one would discover that his body was shrouded in a layer of barely visible divine light, which was a sign of a High Zenith cultivator that had attained a flawless Jade Immortal Physique.
Looks like this is as far as I can go for now. As expected, jumping straight to the Great Encompassment Stage was an unrealistic goal...
In the span of less than three hundred years, he had progressed from the mid-High Zenith Stage to the pinnacle of the High Zenith Stage, taking him to only a single step short of the Great Encompassment Stage.
While it was true that his cultivation had been enhanced by the special environment here, the seven time-attribute dao pills, and all of the profound acupoints that he had opened, this was still an astounding rate of progression that would have the jaws of the vast majority of cultivators dropping straight to the floor.
Hence, even though he had failed to reach the Great Encompassment Stage, he was still ecstatic nonetheless, and after sitting for a while longer, he rose to his feet before performing some stretches.
Right as he was about to make his way out of the hall, a faint crack suddenly rang out beside his ears.