Han Li was lost in thought in his bedroom when his expression suddenly shifted. He turned and walked out.
When he reached the cave dwelling’s gate, which had been sealed and unopened for many years, the first thing he saw was a cluster of seven or eight message talismans of various colors, darting about blindly within the protective formation in front of the entrance.
Seeing this, Han Li raised his eyebrows. He took out the formation command token and spoke the word «Collect.» Instantly, the talismans, as if granted a pardon, shot into his hand.
Han Li didn’t leave his spot. Instead, he calmly examined them one by one.
A little over half of these message talismans were congratulatory notes from nearby Core Formation cultivators. The rest were recruitment offers from several organizations, big and small. Some promised a guest elder position, others offered rare treasures as a recruitment fee, and one even offered a pair of exquisite maids as a gift.
Hearing the contents, Han Li couldn’t help but mentally roll his eyes.
He politely replied to the Core Formation cultivators’ talismans but directly refused the offers from those organizations.
He didn’t believe that reaching the Core Formation stage meant he could rest easy. It was better to take some time to consolidate his realm and keep a low profile.
In the following days, Han Li began frequently visiting the cave dwellings of several nearby Core Formation cultivators. He humbly asked for advice on matters to pay attention to after entering Core Formation.
Since his questions weren’t about anything secret, these cultivators were quite happy to offer a pointer or two during their casual chats.
This was very beneficial for Han Li!
However, these cultivators were also greatly envious that Han Li could maintain such a youthful appearance after reaching Core Formation.
After all, unless one had exceptionally innate talent, or, like Han Li, used numerous spirit medicines to aid their cultivation, most cultivators were no longer young when they reached Core Formation.
Even though their lifespan greatly increased after Core Formation, their appearance wouldn’t revert to their youth. At best, the aging process would slow down significantly.
Of course, some people practiced techniques that naturally preserved their appearance, allowing them to remain young like adolescents even after Core Formation.
This time, Han Li didn’t hoard his treasures. He immediately used a few Youth-Preserving Pills from his inventory to exchange for some rare items from them, and everyone was delighted.
After several such exchanges, although Han Li and these people couldn’t yet be called close friends, they were at least familiar faces.
They addressed each other as «Fellow Daoist» and «Brother,» and got along quite well.
During this period, Han Li was simultaneously refining the «Green Radiance Sword» and searching everywhere for materials to craft magical treasures and third-tier puppets.
There were many materials for crafting magical treasures, and the methods were incredibly varied and numerous.
With the same investment of time and effort, a treasure forged from superior materials would have vastly different power and greater potential for improvement compared to one made from ordinary materials.
Furthermore, even using the same materials, different secret forging methods would result in treasures with very different powers and effects.
Therefore, apart from some common, well-known forging methods, any slightly special secret technique would not be easily leaked by sects and powers.
But this did not mean that having the best materials and the best forging method guaranteed the finished treasure would be infinitely powerful.
The true power of a magical treasure primarily relied on its owner constantly nurturing and refining it within their Primordial Spirit.
If the treasure’s master was lazy and unwilling to spend time on it, it was entirely normal for a rare treasure to be less powerful than an ordinary one.
The «Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords» Han Li intended to forge, as the name implied, required spirit bamboo several thousand years old as their primary material.
Originally, this material, with the ripening function of his small bottle and a bit of time, would have been easy to obtain. However, he dismissed the idea of using ordinary bamboo. Instead, he wanted to find some legendary, unique divine bamboo to serve as the main material for his treasure.
As a result, Han Li had been camping out at the Celestial Star City market for a long time but had yet to find a variety that satisfied him.
Though he was growing a bit anxious, Han Li adhered to the principle of «better nothing than something inferior,» so he temporarily set aside the matter of forging the treasure.
Fortunately, he still had the «Green Radiance Sword» and a few treasure talismans for protection, so he was secure for the time being.
Since he couldn’t start forging the magical treasure, Han Li naturally turned his attention to crafting new puppets.
According to the «Puppet Scripture,» a third-tier puppet’s full-force strike was equivalent to that of a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. The materials required were increasingly expensive, and several different forms of puppet appeared.
After careful consideration, Han Li chose an ape-type puppet, primarily made from wood-based materials.