After Han Li learned the "Wind Riding Technique," his interest in the other two spells, "Soul-Stabilizing Talisman" and "Object Control Technique," grew even stronger. He spent a great deal of time and effort on them, hoping that one day he could suddenly grasp them thoroughly, just as he had with the Wind Riding Technique, achieving a breakthrough.
However, after repeated attempts at study, Han Li made an unexpected discovery: his inability to cast these two spells might not be his own fault, but rather because the necessary external conditions for casting were lacking.
As the book stated, the "Soul-Stabilizing Talisman" was a type of talisman that required a pre-prepared magic charm to be used. Therefore, Han Li had previously always used yellow paper bought from a nearby town and then, following the symbolic patterns in the book, used a brush to draw what were supposedly the magic talismans.
Although the book didn't specify what kind of ink should be used to draw the talisman patterns, he recalled Doctor Mo's silver-symbol talisman and naturally chose to use silver powder, this expensive luxury. Whether this paint was effective, Han Li didn't know, but at least on the surface, these homemade talismans looked identical to the examples in the book.
Unfortunately, looking the same wasn't enough.
When Han Li used incantations to activate these talismans, the symbols on them did not emit a dazzling silver light like when Doctor Mo used them, nor did any other extraordinary phenomena occur. It could be said that his spellcasting was a complete failure, plunging him into a dilemma. He didn't know if the failure was due to incorrect incantations or hand seals, or because the talismans were improperly made.
But this time, the research yielded different results.
Through in-depth searches of various related materials and books on magical legends, Han Li finally discovered that the talismans used by cultivators could definitely not be casually drawn on ordinary paper and paint known to mortals like themselves. Instead, they had to be made from special materials unique to cultivators, and perhaps even required some special method during creation. Therefore, even if his incantations and gestures were flawless, casting the spells would still be impossible.
The same principle applied to the "Object Control Technique."
Han Li had previously thought that any random object could serve as a target for the Object Control Technique, so the objects he tried to control with hand seals and incantations were common things like furniture or swords, which naturally had no effect whatsoever.
But now, reminded by the matter of the talisman paper, he finally understood. The Object Control Technique definitely did not control ordinary objects, but rather specific items used by cultivators.
So Han Li took the bizarre items he had obtained from Doctor Mo, including the "Soul-Calling Bell" and the seven silver blades used to cast the "Seven Ghosts Soul Devouring" technique, as targets for the Object Control Technique and experimented with them. Unfortunately, not a single item could be successfully activated by the spell. This greatly disappointed Han Li. It seemed the Object Control Technique didn't control these magical artifacts either, but something else entirely.
Now that he understood the general root of the problem—realizing that without the corresponding items, it was impossible to cast "Soul-Stabilizing Talisman" and "Object Control Technique"—Han Li shifted his attention away from them. Instead, he conceived the idea of combining martial arts secrets with several magical techniques, planning to use this method to rapidly increase his own strength and elevate himself to a new level in a short time.
With this whimsical idea in mind, Han Li began a grueling journey of self-cultivation once more, and soon achieved small success.
After a series of attempts, he finally fused the "Gauze Mist Footwork" and the "Wind Riding Technique."
Calling it a fusion was perhaps an exaggeration; he first cast the Wind Riding Technique on himself, then employed the Gauze Mist Footwork afterwards. However, the coordination and blending between the two had to be controlled precisely, otherwise errors would easily occur, which cost Han Li a great deal of mental effort and trouble.
But in this way, the Wind Riding Technique's original shortcoming of poor agility in dodging and maneuvering, and the Gauze Mist Footwork's drawback of being too physically draining during movement, were gradually compensated for. His movements and repositioning now appeared and vanished like lightning and thunder—only their afterimages could be seen, not the person himself—making his body techniques even more elusive and mysterious.
Shortly after, Han Li also came up with his own innovative approach to using the "Fire Bullet Technique."
Originally, after the small fireball of the Fire Bullet Technique appeared, the caster should use their own magical power to propel the fireball towards the target to kill the enemy. This was the technique's intended use. But Han Li disagreed.
Han Li felt that the small fireball propelled by magical power flew too slowly; any expert in lightness skills could easily dodge it. This made it quite limiting in martial world combat, appearing somewhat flashy but impractical. So when using the Fire Bullet Technique, he simply only cast it halfway. After the fireball appeared, he didn't launch it. Instead, he utilized its property of destroying anything it touched, controlling it in his hand as a short, divine weapon for use.
In this way, relying on his already improved extreme body techniques and the high-temperature fireball in his hand, Han Li was now confident that he could easily kill any expert.
With these advantages, Han Li could finally breathe a sigh of relief. He no longer had to worry about his insufficient personal strength. Now he could head to Lan Prefecture with full confidence to detoxify himself.
At this time, Han Li's "Eternal Spring Technique" had also quietly advanced to the eighth layer, thanks to him eating spiritual herbs like snacks every day, causing his magical power to increase significantly once again.
In terms of the depth or shallowness of magical power alone, the current Han Li had already surpassed the original Yu Zitong when his physical body still existed. But in terms of the variety of spells mastered and actual combat skills, he couldn't even come close to the former Yu Zitong. After all, when Yu Zitong cultivated spells in his clan, he had elders above him providing guidance and fellow disciples to spar with, which was far superior to Han Li's half-baked efforts.
Han Li didn't know all this, and even if he did, he wouldn't care. He had never been so arrogant as to think that learning one or two crude spells would allow him to contend with true cultivators. His current enemies were still primarily martial artists from the secular world.
Therefore, Han Li was in quite a good mood. Just as he was brimming with ambition, preparing to find an excuse to leave the Seven Mysteries Sect and descend the mountain, the Wild Wolf Gang suddenly proposed peace talks with the Seven Mysteries Sect.
This news, once it arrived, caused an uproar on the Seven Mysteries Sect's side. It should be known that recently, the Wild Wolf Gang had gained the upper hand in the conflict, constantly suppressing the Seven Mysteries Sect. In such a favorable situation, why would they suddenly want peace talks? Could there be some trick involved? This aroused suspicion in many people.
For a time, voices within the Seven Mysteries Sect both supporting and opposing the peace talks rang out. Various high-ranking members also had their own differing opinions, with Li Feiyu being one of the staunch opponents.
Since the forces supporting and opposing were roughly equal, no high ground could be won through debate. In the end, it was Sect Master Wang who made the decision: talk with them first. If the conditions weren't too excessive, they would shake hands and make peace; if they were too harsh, they would continue fighting.
This muddled compromise, while unsatisfactory to both factions, was the only way to strike a balance, and could only be accepted as such.
(End of Chapter)