Even with a vast quantity of pills at one's disposal, it was still not a simple matter to reach the Nascent Soul Stage. There really wasn't a good chance for Mu Peiling to reach the Nascent Soul Stage.
Upon hearing Han Li's words, Mu Peiling faltered slightly before she opened her mouth to say something again.
However, Han Li raised her hand to cut her off as he said, "That's enough. I'm not asking you to make a decision immediately; you can mull this over for a few years. I also have to go into seclusion now and during this time, I'll give you some pills for you to attempt a breakthrough to the late-Core Formation Stage. Also, I'll have to trouble you to guide Qin'er in her cultivation in my stead."
"Yes, my Lord!" Mu Peiling was unwilling to settle for this result, but she could only accept this arrangement in a resigned manner at the sight of Han Li's stern expression.
Han Li nodded and gave her a few pills, then spoke with Tian Qin'er for a while before also sending the two of them on their way.
Thus, Han Li was the only one left within the cave abode, and he slowly closed his eyes as he heaved a long sigh. It seemed that there was more turmoil in his heart than he had let on.
He sat in silence for a full 15 minutes, and when he opened his eyes again, an expression of tranquility had reappeared on his face. It appeared that he had been able to settle his internal conflict.
He suddenly patted the storage pouch hanging from his waist, and a flash of silver light immediately appeared before him. The humanoid puppet emerged, and stood in front of him in a completely stationary manner.
Han Li examined the humanoid puppet for a while, and a layer of silver light suddenly surfaced over the humanoid puppet's face at his behest. Its middle-aged features blurred and when they regained clarity again, those facial features had become completely identical to Han Li's, making it appear as if the puppet were none other than Han Li himself.
Almost at the exact same moment, the humanoid puppet's body tremored, and it suddenly grew a few inches, making it identical to Han Li in height as well.
Han Li examined the puppet again before nodding with a content expression, and waving a hand toward it.
The humanoid puppet's expressionless figure swayed, and it immediately disappeared amid a flash of silver light.
Han Li lowered his head in contemplation for a while before exiting the hall of the cave abode, heading directly for the secret chamber.
Along the way, he suddenly said without any premonition, "My second Nascent Soul hasn't been causing any trouble for you in the cauldron, has it, Fellow Daoist?"
The voice of a small child replied from within the Heavenvoid Cauldron in Han Li's sleeve, "Hehe, it's just a mid-Nascent Soul without a body; how will it pose any trouble to me? It's just that with this guy in here, the cauldron is feeling a little cramped."
"Please bear with it for a while longer, Fellow Daoist Endless Sky. I'll assimilate this second Nascent Soul right away, then withdraw it from the cauldron so you won't be troubled by its presence any longer. After that, I'll assist you during your metamorphosis stage lightning tribulation so you can manifest a human form. Do you have any objections to this arrangement, Fellow Daoist?"
"Of course not. I'm glad that you still remember this, Fellow Daoist Han." The Endless Sky Beast was elated upon hearing Han Li's words.
Han Li smiled and didn't converse with the Endless Sky Beast any further as he made his way into the secret chamber in a flash.
The stone door behind him closed soundlessly.
Han Li slowly made his way over to the center of the secret chamber before waving his sleeve through the air.
A bust of azure light shot forth before spinning in the air, then transforming into a small azure cauldron that hovered before him.
Azure light flashed over the surface of the cauldron as the indistinct figure of a small child appeared. The small child was sitting on the lid of the cauldron with his legs crossed, wearing an expectant smile on his face, as if he were preparing to watch an enthralling show.
Han Li's expression remained unchanged, and he completely disregarded the small child as he patted his storage pouch to summon a stack of formation flags.
He raised a hand and a dozen or so formation flags flew toward all directions within the secret chamber in a flash. A faint yellow light barrier then appeared, enshrouding the entire secret chamber within.
Han Li made a hand seal expressionlessly before pointing a finger gently at the Heavenvoid Cauldron.
The cauldron lid immediately flew into the air at his behest.
However, the small child had reacted in advance, flying off to the side while continuing to appraise the small cauldron with a smile on his face.
A burst of rumbling erupted from within the cauldron, but nothing else happened aside from that.
Han Li's expression darkened as he chanted something and cast an incantation seal onto the cauldron.
The Heavenvoid Cauldron immediately tremored slightly as something emerged from within. It was an azure cocoon around half a foot in length, constructed from countless azure threads.
"Break!" Han Li let loose a low cry.
A peculiar scene unfolded.
All of the azure threads that the cocoon was comprised of snapped before dissipating into the specks of light in the blink of an eye.
The second Nascent Soul was immediately revealed.
It current had its eyes tightly shut and was hovering in the air in a completely still manner, seemingly yet to regain consciousness.
Han Li's eyes narrowed upon seeing this, and he immediately feigned a grabbing motion without any hesitation.
Several shiny silver needles abruptly appeared between his fingertips, and he aimed a cold glance at the Nascent Soul in the air before sweeping his hand through the air.
Black light suddenly flashed around the seemingly unconscious Nascent Soul, upon which it disappeared into thin air.
The silver needles naturally struck empty space as a result.
Han Li was not startled by this turn of events. Instead, a cold smile appeared on his face as he pointed toward the Heavenvoid Cauldron, upon which a clump of azure threads suddenly shot forth from a corner of the secret chamber.
Brilliant azure light erupted, enshrouding a certain patch of space.
A muffled groan rang out as the second Nascent Soul appeared once again within the flashing azure threads. At this point, its neck and limbs had already been tightly bound by the azure threads, rendering it completely immobile.
At this moment, the dozen or so silver needles that had missed their target earlier flashed through the air again.
The silver needles shot forth at a rapid speed, embedding themselves into various parts of the Nascent Soul's body in the blink of an eye. The Nascent Soul's body tremored, and it immediately lost its ability to summon any magic power.
A look of despair appeared on its little face.
"You won't be getting away. All of your thought processes are replicas of mine, so how are you going to fool me with your tricks? I don't plan to destroy you; I merely intend to assimilate you again, so why do you continue to resist?" Han Li asked in a gentle voice, as if he were conversing with a close friend.
The second Nascent Soul knew that there was no way for it to escape, so it relinquished any efforts to resist as it roared in a resentful manner, "You won't destroy me? After losing my sentient will, will I still be me? What's the difference?"
"That's true! However, you're supposed to be my second Nascent Soul, so you shouldn't have sentient will of your own to begin with. You have nothing to complain about as I'm merely taking away a privilege from you, not a right. You can only blame yourself for manifesting something that shouldn't exist." Han Li gave a cold reply, and he didn't want to waste any more time with words. As such, he made a hand seal, and brilliant azure light erupted from the threads that were binding the second Nascent Soul. The second Nascent Soul felt its vision go dark before it fell truly unconscious.
Only then did Han Li's expression ease slightly. However, a thought then suddenly occurred to him as he turned his gaze toward the small child beside him.
In response to Han Li's cold glare, the small child obediently dissipated into nothingness without a word.
Han Li nodded to himself upon seeing this before pointing a finger at the cauldron hovering in the air.
Azure light flashed over the surface of the cauldron before the lid was replaced.
Almost at the exact same moment, Han Li opened his mouth to blast forth a burst of azure light, which swept the small cauldron up within. The cauldron then rapidly shrank within the azure light, flashing a few times before being swallowed by Han Li.
Han Li heaved a faint sigh before sitting down with his legs crossed. At the same time, he feigned a grabbing motion toward the second Nascent Soul in what seemed to a casual manner.
The Nascent Soul was immediately drawn to him by an immense suction force, and it was forced to hover around 10 feet in front of Han Li.
Han Li used his spiritual sense to carefully examine the Nascent Soul's condition, and after verifying that its spiritual sense was indeed far inferior to his, he closed his eyes in a content manner before patting the top of his own head.
Azure light immediately flashed over the top of his head as an azure Nascent Soul that was only a few inches in size silently emerged. The Nascent Soul was standing on a small azure cauldron and carrying a green wooden ruler in both hands. There was a white bead circling above its head, and a ball of indistinct black Qi on its glabella, as well as several tens of miniature golden swords flying around its body.
This was none other than the main Nascent Soul that Han Li had been arduously cultivating for over a century.
The Nascent Soul wore a completely neutral expression as it glanced toward the second Nascent Soul in a calm manner. Azure light flashed from the small cauldron beneath its feet, carrying it directly over to the second Nascent Soul.
When it was only about a foot away from the second Nascent Soul, Han Li's Nascent Soul suddenly halted in its flight. It glanced at the azure threads around its counterpart's body, and suddenly stamped its little foot gently onto the small cauldron.
The small cauldron emitted a ringing sound, and the azure threads around the second Nascent Soul's body disappeared in a flash, leaving only the Nascent Soul itself hovering in mid-air.
The Heavenvoid Cauldron beneath Han Li's Nascent Soul suddenly began to slowly expand. The Nascent Soul sat atop the cauldron with its little legs crossed in a calm and collected manner. It then tossed its green ruler into the air, then made a hand seal and chanted something in an unintelligibly quiet voice.
Brilliant azure light erupted from the body of Han Li's Nascent Soul, and it slowly closed its eyes. However, the ball of black Qi on its glabella suddenly materialized to form a third inky-black eye. The eye was shimmering with an unsettling light, and it stared intently at the second Nascent Soul with an unblinking gaze.
Right at this moment, Han Li's Nascent Soul suddenly stopped its chanting as a burst of black light suddenly shot forth from its third eye, directly striking the second Nascent Soul's body.
The second Nascent Soul shuddered as it opened its eyes, but its pupils were completely blank, as if it were delirious.
Right at this moment, Han Li's Nascent Soul also opened its eyes. Two pillars of azure light erupted from its pupils, shooting directly into the eyes of the second Nascent Soul, as if it were forcibly injecting something into the second Nascent Soul's body.
The second Nascent Soul's limbs hung limply by his sides, yet its body was trembling uncontrollably. At the same time, an expression of excruciating pain suddenly appeared on its blank face, as if it wanted to cry out, but was unable to do so.
Han Li's Nascent Soul remained completely expressionless throughout this entire process. It merely continued to blast the azure pillars of light out of its eyes, and completely ignored the second Nascent Soul's suffering.
