The little old man paused here, a look of regret surfacing on his face, before continuing: "But the unfortunate thing is, this sword technique has an unbearable flaw once you cultivate it to deeper levels. Starting from the fourth layer, when you use the Green Profound Sword Technique as your cultivation method to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, a strange phenomenon of power dissipation occurs every few days. A portion of the magical power refined through this technique in the preceding days will inexplicably dissipate on its own. It's completely baffling!"
"At the fourth layer, the rate of loss isn't too frightening—only one-tenth of the newly refined magical power dissipates. With a bit of extra effort, most cultivators can make up for it. But if you advance to the fifth or sixth layer, the spiritual energy loss becomes terrifying. It increases by an additional tenth with each layer, causing the hard-won magical power to hemorrhage at an ever-wider rate. That means the fifth layer loses two-tenths of newly refined power, and the sixth layer loses three-tenths. At that point, who would dare cultivate the Green Profound Sword Technique?"
"Moreover, among the disciples of our sect, the highest anyone has ever cultivated the Green Profound Sword Technique is the sixth layer. Anything beyond the sixth requires a Foundation Establishment cultivator. But look at how much spiritual energy is already being lost at the sixth layer—nearly a third! Would those esteemed cultivators dare take such a tremendous risk? What if the seventh layer and beyond continued to increase the rate of loss? It would be an utter waste for them!"
"Remember, once you reach the Foundation Establishment stage, advancing even a single layer in any technique is extraordinarily difficult. And the Green Profound Sword Technique is particularly arduous to cultivate. Asking them to spend ten or even several decades taking this risk would be foolishness no one would agree to. Besides, the Green Profound Sword Technique is both incomplete and not some divine immortal method—there simply isn't enough incentive for them to take such a gamble."
"But the sword radiance ability granted by this technique is genuinely useful, and it would be a pity to abandon it entirely. So some cultivators chose to train only the first three layers of the Green Profound Sword Technique, treating it purely as an auxiliary method. That way, they don't have to worry about power dissipation while still being able to use the sword radiance ability. Of course, even just unlocking the sword radiance ability requires these disciples to dedicate four or five years of solitary training to this technique."
After listening to the little old man's lengthy lecture, Han Li was completely dumbfounded. When he finally came back to his senses, he felt a knot of unease settle deep in his stomach.
No way—he had already cultivated the sword technique to the fourth layer! If what the old man said was true, then any magical power he continued to cultivate through the Green Profound Sword Technique would be lost without reason, at a rate of one-tenth. And as he advanced to higher layers, the losses would only increase!
How was he supposed to keep cultivating like that?
But since the old man had spelled it all out so clearly, Han Li certainly wasn't foolish enough to continue pushing forward with this technique. His cultivation of the Green Profound Sword Technique would end here.
Han Li had barely settled this resolution when the little old man's next words stirred something inside him, catching him off guard.
"As flawed as the Green Profound Sword Technique is, it does have its own unique merits. Otherwise, it wouldn't have become a sect-guarding technique back in the day." The little old man smacked his lips and suddenly spoke with a sense of wistful admiration.
"I've heard that although this sword technique is excruciatingly slow to cultivate, every layer completed produces the remarkable effect of expanding and widening the meridians and deepening the dantian. It allows a cultivator who has trained in this technique to possess deeper magical power than other cultivators at the same level."
"However, how much deeper depends on the layer of the sword technique one has achieved."
"According to the only senior disciple who ever cultivated the Green Profound Sword Technique to the sixth layer, when he had completed the sixth layer as a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, his magical power was nearly one-third greater than that of his peers. This surplus magical power matches exactly the proportion lost through cultivation of the technique at that stage. What a coincidence—one has to admit this sword technique really does contain a certain measure of profound mystery!"
The little old man seemed to have researched the Green Profound Sword Technique quite thoroughly, growing more animated as he spoke. By the end, he was practically gesticulating with wild enthusiasm, spittle flying. Han Li hastily steered the conversation to another topic, forcefully putting the matter of the Green Profound Sword Technique to rest, which finally restored the old man to something approaching his normal demeanor.
For Han Li, no matter what other miraculous properties this technique possessed, he had no intention of continuing to cultivate it.
After all, his aptitude was already lacking. To deliberately train in this excruciatingly slow, incomplete technique would be madness—unless he had absolutely no desire to reach the Core Formation stage, he would have to be out of his mind!
With normal cultivation methods, Han Li figured that if he could find a few more spiritual pill recipes, there might perhaps be the tiniest sliver of hope of reaching Core Formation in his lifetime!
After chatting with the little old man for a while longer, Han Li took his leave and departed.
Now that his Foundation Establishment was complete, he naturally could no longer tend the other's medicine garden. He returned to the thatched hut where he had been living, tidied up a few things, and then drifted away.
The sky was fully bright now, making it the perfect time to go handle matters at the Council Hall.
Having just completed his Foundation Establishment, Han Li's excitement had yet to fully subside. His only thought was to finish his business and immediately carve out his own cave dwelling!
This was something he had been longing for for a long time! Once he had his own territory, he would no longer need to sneak around in the dark—he could do whatever he wished in his own space, openly and aboveboard.
The more Han Li thought about it, the more excited he became. Before he knew it, he had flown on his flying sword all the way to the Council Hall.
The two young disciples guarding the entrance clearly did not recognize Han Li, but his Foundation Establishment cultivation was immediately apparent to them. Naturally, they wouldn't dare show any negligence toward him simply because of his youthful appearance!
Both of them stepped forward at once and bowed respectfully.
"Senior Uncle, is there anything this junior can help you with?"
"Senior Uncle?"