16: Break the seal! The talisman is yours!

Early the next morning, outside the Hundred Herbs Garden.

The Restriction's light screen rippled like water as a gap quietly opened.

Han Li's figure emerged from within, cupping his hands toward Lu Qiu, who was waiting outside.

"Senior Brother Lu, please come in."

"I've troubled Junior Brother Han." Lu Qiu smiled back and stepped calmly into the garden.

The medicinal fragrance was as rich as ever; everything was no different from his last visit.

He walked straight toward the familiar thatched hut. Before he could even get close, Martial Uncle Ma's slightly impatient grumbling drifted out.

"The items are on the table. Take them and get out; don't delay this old man's research into the Dao of Alchemy."

Lu Qiu didn't mind. He pushed the door open and immediately saw a small porcelain bottle sitting on the table.

He stepped forward, picked up the bottle, and uncorked it. A strange medicinal fragrance wafted into his nose.

Sweeping with his Divine Sense, seven Dragon eye-sized, crimson Medicinal Pills lay quietly at the bottom of the bottle.

It was done.

The spirit ascension pill was in his hands!

He solemnly placed the porcelain bottle into his Storage Pouch and bowed once more toward the depths of the hut.

"Thank you, Martial Uncle Ma. This Junior will take his leave."

Having said that, he turned and left without the slightest hesitation.

However, just as he was about to leave the boundaries of the Hundred Herbs Garden, a slightly hesitant call came from behind.

"Senior Brother Lu, please wait."

It was Han Li.

Lu Qiu stopped, turned around, and looked calmly at Han Li as he hurried to catch up.

"Does Junior Brother Han have something else?"

Han Li walked up to him, seemingly weighing his words. After a moment, he spoke with some gravity: "I wonder if Senior Brother Lu has any other Pill Formulas on him? This Junior Brother is willing to pay a high price or trade with you."

Here it comes.

He finally came looking for it.

Lu Qiu understood clearly.

This Old Devil Han possessed a Heaven-Defying object like the little green bottle; what he lacked least were high-year Spirit Medicines. The only thing limiting his development was the accompanying Pill Formulas.

The spirit ascension pill he had commissioned last time used a third-rank monster core as its main ingredient, and the auxiliary Materials were even more complex and rare. It was clearly no ordinary pill.

This had inevitably caught Han Li's attention and sparked his suspicion.

"Pill Formulas?" Lu Qiu feigned contemplation. "I do have a few in my possession, but... I wonder what Junior Brother intends to trade for them?"

Han Li seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, "How about Spirit Medicines? This Junior Brother is willing to exchange Spirit Medicines for Senior Brother's Pill Formulas!"

If any other Cultivator heard this, they would only treat it as a joke.

But Lu Qiu knew that every word Han Li said was true.

"Spirit Medicines hold no attraction for me." Lu Qiu slowly shook his head, directly cutting off that thought. "I am not an Alchemist; what use would I have for so many Spirit Medicines?"

Han Li immediately fell into silence.

The most valuable things he had were Spirit Medicines.

The atmosphere became somewhat stagnant for a moment.

Seeing Han Li's embarrassed yet eager expression, Lu Qiu chuckled inwardly, knowing the timing was about right.

He threw out his condition.

"How about this, Junior Brother." Lu Qiu broke the silence. "I can give you the Pill Formulas. I happen to have two ancient Pill Formulas that are useless to me; there's no harm in giving them to you."

Han Li suddenly looked up, filled with disbelief.

For free?

How could there be such a good deal in the world?

Sure enough, Lu Qiu's tone changed.

"However, I have one condition. In the future, if I seek someone to perform Alchemy and need your help, you must not refuse. Of course, I will provide all the Alchemy Materials myself; you only need to provide the labor."

This was his true goal.

Investment!

Using two "ancient Pill Formulas" that were of little value to him to invest in a future Grandmaster of Alchemy in exchange for countless future refining opportunities.

Lu Qiu wouldn't lose out on this deal.

Hearing this, Han Li's brow twitched as he fell into deep thought.

The other party's request didn't sound unreasonable.

Just helping with Alchemy, with Materials provided by the other party—he would lose almost nothing and would gain two ancient Pill Formulas for free.

But he always felt things weren't that simple.

Still, the temptation of the Pill Formulas was just too great.

This was his only way to escape his current predicament and maximize the effects of the little green bottle.

After a long time, Han Li finally made up his mind.

"Fine! I agree!"

"Straightforward," Lu Qiu praised.

Without hesitation, he took out two blank Jade Slips from his Storage Pouch. His Divine Sense surged as he perfectly imprinted the Pill Formulas for the "Soul Nurturing Pill" and the "Jade Blood Pill" into them and handed them to Han Li.

Han Li took the Jade Slips and swept his Divine Sense inside. With just one look, his breathing instantly became hurried.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Lu!" Han Li solemnly put away the Jade Slips and gave Lu Qiu a deep bow.

"A pleasure doing business with you."

Lu Qiu nodded and didn't stay any longer. He turned into a streak of light and headed straight back to his Immortal Cave on Xuan Kun Mountain.

The stone door closed heavily, and layers of Formation light screens lit up.

Lu Qiu sat cross-legged and, without a moment's delay, took out the bottle of spirit ascension pills.

He poured one out, tilted his head back, and swallowed it.

The pill melted instantly, turning into a violent, scorching torrent that crashed into his limbs, bones, Dantian, and Qi Sea!

Now!

With a thought, Lu Qiu's hands formed incantations as he began to circulate that profound and complex Ascension Spirit Secret Art.

"Boom!"

A terrifying magic power, far exceeding the Perfection of the Qi Refining Stage, exploded within his body!

At this moment, his cultivation aura climbed steadily, breaking through the invisible barrier between Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment like a hot knife through butter.

His Meridians were forcibly widened, the magic power vortex in his Dantian spun and compressed frantically, and his Divine Sense surged several times over, easily penetrating the stone walls of the Immortal Cave and covering an area of several hundred yards.

The sound of the wind in the mountains, the veins of the leaves, the conversations of Disciples in the distance... everything became incredibly clear.

"Is this... the power of the Foundation Establishment Stage..."

Lu Qiu slowly opened his eyes, feeling the magic power surging like a river within him. A sense of power unlike anything before filled every inch of his body.

Though it was only temporary, this experience was enough to be intoxicating.

He didn't waste time and immediately took out the ancient wooden box he had obtained from the Loose Cultivator Zhao Yu, which had been sealed for a long time, from his Storage Pouch.

talisman treasure!

He placed the wooden box flat on his knees and extended a finger. A strand of pure, condensed Foundation Establishment Stage magic power swirled around his fingertip as he lightly tapped the latch of the wooden box.

That was exactly where the core of the Foundation Establishment Restriction lay.

"Buzz—"

The wooden box trembled slightly, and a layer of complex spiritual light Restriction lit up on its surface, attempting to resist the intrusion of Lu Qiu's magic power.

Half an hour ago, this layer of Restriction would have been enough to easily repel him.

But now, things were different.

Lu Qiu mobilized the pseudo-Foundation Establishment magic power in his body, pouring it continuously into the Restriction like flowing mercury.

Following the Restriction-breaking method recorded in the Golden Core Talisman Master's Legacy, he began to analyze and dismantle the Restriction layer by layer, like peeling silk from a cocoon.

"Crack."

A faint, crisp sound rang out.

The originally indestructible spiritual light of the Restriction shattered inch by inch under his fingertips, dissipating into the air as specks of spiritual light.

It was done!

Lu Qiu was delighted and reached out to lift the lid of the box.

There was no burst of treasure light as imagined. Inside the box, on the red silk, lay a strange, pitch-black, cone-shaped object about three inches long.

It looked like a Talisman but was folded into a three-dimensional cone. Its surface was inscribed with countless fine and profound silver runes, emitting a terrifying fluctuation that made one's heart skip a beat.

This was the talisman treasure.

The Black Light Awl!

Lu Qiu reached out and carefully picked it up. A cold and heavy feeling transmitted from his fingertips.

He could clearly feel that within this small cone-shaped talisman treasure was hidden a destructive power enough to easily pierce through top-tier defensive Magical Artifacts.

Another powerful trump card was in his hands.

Lu Qiu gripped the Black Light Awl tightly in his hand, feeling the still-surging pseudo-Foundation Establishment magic power in his body and this newly acquired terrifying killing weapon.

He now had a few more degrees of certainty for his trip to the Blood-Colored Forbidden Land.