Chapter 891: Rapid Progress

A few minutes later, Daoist Xie withdrew his spiritual sense, then said, "I still have some time left, so you can ask me any questions that you want."

"What is going on? Han Li asked, raising a question that encompassed all of his questions."

"After arriving in Green Goat City, I began to remember many things, some of which are very important. All you need to know right now is that I'll be staying with Chen Yang for now to prepare for something important. After that, I'll travel to Profound City, and you'll be coming with me," Daoist Xie replied.

"I was also planning to leave Green Goat City to travel to Profound City while continuing my search for Violet Spirit. According to Chen Yang, Shi Chuankong is in Profound City, so I have to go and find him as well. However, prior to that, you have to tell me exactly what you're planning," Han Li demanded with tightly furrowed brows.

"Now's not the time to be revealing my plans to you. Just focus on cultivating the Heavenly Baleful Purgatory Arts and becoming stronger. Only then will you be able to assist me in my plans," Daoist Xie replied with a shake of his head.

"When will you be traveling to Profound City?" Han Li asked.

"You'll know when the time comes, but I should be staying in Green Goat City for at least the next three to four years, so make sure to make full use of this time," Daoist Xie replied.

Han Li's brows were tightly furrowed, and he was just about to raise another question when Daoist Xie declared, "Time's up."

After that, he departed without another word, leaving Han Li with even more questions that he had begun with.

He sat down with his legs crossed on his bed, then began studying the Heavenly Baleful Purgatory Arts with his newly learned profound text.

At first glance, the cultivation art was extremely difficult to grasp, far more so than the Great Universe Origin Arts, the Wingform Ascension Arts, and the Titan Vajra Arts, and the method of using the power of true spirit bloodlines to open profound acupoints included in the cultivation art was also extremely profound.

Even though he was now able to read the cultivation art, that was only the first step, and he still had much more studying to do.

Only after three days and three nights was Han Li just barely able to understand the first level of the Heavenly Baleful Purgatory Arts, and he immediately commenced his cultivation.

He pulled out a beast core and devoured it, then channeled the Heavenly Baleful Purgatory Arts, and the thirty-six baleful acupoints on his chest and abdomen slowly lit up.

The first level of the Heavenly Baleful Purgatory Arts contained a hundred and fifty profound acupoints, all of which were also concentrated in the chest and abdomen.

The first level of the cultivation art placed heavy emphasis on building a solid foundation. Hence, all of its profound acupoints were gathered in the chest and abdomen to enhance the one's fundamental physical constitution. As a result, the practical improvement to be gained from it wasn't as immediately apparent as that of the Wingform Ascension Arts or the Titan Vajra Arts.

Such improvements would have to wait until he reached the second level.

However, Han Li didn't find this to be surprising at all.

Given all of his extensive experience in bodily refinement, he knew that the foundation establishment stage was the most important stage of a bodily refinement cultivation art, and the more profound acupoints opened during this stage, the more solid the foundation would be, therefore allowing for greater potential.

The reason why he was able to contend against other people who had opened more profound acupoints than him even back when he had only opened thirty-six profound acupoints was precisely because the thirty-six profound acupoints of the Great Universe Origin Arts were all foundational profound acupoints, thereby granting him a far more solid physical foundation than others.

Thankfully, the statue that he had obtained from Du Qingyang's vault just so happened to contain the first three levels of the cultivation art. With that in mind, he couldn't help but wonder which three levels the statue from Daoist Master Bone Shine's storage tool contained.

Right as Han Li was refining the beast core that he had just devoured, the Heaven Controlling Vial in his stomach suddenly shuddered slightly, following which a burst of starpower surged forth from within.

The burst of starpower was immense and extremely pure, far more potent than the starpower he was deriving from refining the beast core.

He initially faltered slightly upon sensing this, following which an ecstatic look appeared on his face.

Back when the influx of energy from the Sinha Blood Array was becoming too much for him to handle, the Heaven Controlling Vial had sprung into action, absorbing the starpower from Du Qingyang and the captains.

He had thought that the starpower had already been devoured by the Heaven Controlling Vial, but it was now being released to assist him in his cultivation.

He immediately took advantage of this, channeling the immense starpower toward the profound acupoints of the Heavenly Baleful Purgatory Arts while also drawing upon his true spirit bloodlines.

A series of true spirit projections instantly appeared around him, and his eyelids fluttered slightly as a surprised look appeared on his face.

Back in the arena, he had tried to draw upon his true spirit bloodlines on multiple occasions, but to no avail. It had felt as if his true spirit bloodlines had been somehow suppressed, but now, he was able to draw upon them without any effort, and he couldn't help but wonder if this was due to the effects of the Sinha Blood Array, or perhaps some other reason.

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

However, he then shook his head to rid himself of that train of thought. In any case, this was definitely good news, and he would be able to further refine his true spirit bloodlines from here.

In the past, Han Li had only been able to summon nine true spirit projections, but on this occasion, that number had increased to ten, with the new addition being a giant white snake with a body that was as pristine white as jade.

It had a pair of bright red eyes that resembled two vibrant rubies, but not only did they not give it a look of bloodlust, they only made the creature more majestic to behold.

This true spirit was called the Tengshe, and it was a true spirit bloodline that had flowed into Han Li's body from Du Qingyang through the Sinha Blood Array.

Coincidentally, the Tengshe was also one of the true spirits of the Twelve Awakening Transformations.

All of the true spirit projections aside from the Tengshe projection vanished at Han Li's behest, and it coiled itself around his body.

Wisps of the Tengshe's bloodline power were flowing through his body, converging toward a closed profound acupoint on his chest.

This profound acupoint would've been extremely difficult to open using starpower alone, but the true spirit power of the Tengshe was able to infiltrate it with ease.

The profound acupoint immediately began to open, and starpower gushed in through the opening to make further inroads.

A hint of elation appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this.

Sure enough, the assistance from his true spirit bloodline was making it far easier for him to open profound acupoints.

However, his elation quickly turned to concern as he discovered that the outflow of starpower from the Heaven Controlling Vial was becoming faster and faster, to the point that it was almost overwhelming him.

At the same time, the Heaven Controlling Vial ensured that the starpower began accumulating in his meridians instead of seeping out of his body.

Han Li's entire body was gradually filled by starpower, and he began to glow more and more radiantly while his body began to take on a crystalline quality.

Excruciating pain began to surge through his body from the excessive buildup of starpower, and it was even more agonizing than the influx of starpower and bloodline power that he had experienced in the Sinha Blood Array.

A hint of panic began to rise up in his heart.

He was unable to use any immortal spiritual power in the Scalptia Spatial Domain, so if his entire body were to crystallize, then that would be the end of him.

He had thought that this outpouring of starpower from the Heaven Controlling Vial was a massive blessing, but it was quickly turning into a catastrophic nightmare.

Han Li gritted his teeth tightly, and he knew that he had to do something drastic in order to save himself. Hence, he completely went against the cultivation method laid out in the Heavenly Baleful Purgatory Arts, directing the starpower in his body toward five profound acupoints at once.

Opening profound acupoints required extreme concentration, and even the slightest lapse in concentration could result in catastrophic consequences, but given the dire nature of his situation, Han Li had no choice but to resort to such desperate measures.

Opening several profound acupoints at once instantly significantly increased starpower expenditure, and as a result, the rate of crystallization of Han Li's body began to slow, but it didn't fade.

Han Li heaved an internal sigh of relief as he channeled his Heavenly Baleful Purgatory Arts with all his might, both to cultivate and to save his own life.

Over a month flew by in a flash.

Perhaps this was arranged by Chen Yang, but during this time, no one came to instruct Han Li to take part in any battles in the arena.

His body was still in a half-crystallized state, while five specks of starlight were flickering on his chest.

A faint thud rang out as one of the profound acupoints was abruptly opened, while the other four weren't far away.

However, this didn't bring Han Li any elation as the starpower surging out of the Heaven Controlling Vial was only growing more and more abundant.

Just how much starpower is in this damn thing?!

he cursed internally, then immediately refocused his efforts on funneling the starpower from the Heaven Controlling Vial toward a new profound acupoint.

On top of that, he began opening six profound acupoints at once instead of five.

Opening five at a time was already quite a strain on him, and he didn't know if increasing that number to six would cause any problems, but at this point, he had no choice.

If the rate of outflow of starpower from the Heaven Controlling Vial continued to increase, then perhaps this number would also have to rise further.

He took a deep breath as all of the profound acupoints on his body began to glow brightly, basking his entire body in a bright cloud of starlight.

Five years flew by in the blink of an eye.

Han Li's entire body was encompassed within a cloud of incandescent starlight, making it impossible to see what was happening inside.

Right at this moment, all of the starlight around him suddenly began flashing erratically before abruptly dissipating, and a string of loud booms rang out within the stone chamber, while the entire room trembled and quivered.

Han Li slowly stood up amid the dissipating starlight, and at this point, his body had already returned to normal.

However, at this moment, there were as many as two hundred and thirty-seven profound acupoints shimmering all over his body.

It had taken him five years to finally use up all of the starpower in the Heaven Controlling Vial, and he had opened a hundred and sixty-five new profound acupoints, mastering the fist level of the Heavenly Baleful Purgatory Arts.

An elated look appeared on his face as he examined all of the profound acupoints on his own body. Even though the process had been extremely perilous, the reward was tremendous, and it was worth the years of arduous cultivation up to this point.

He heaved a long sigh as the starlight radiating from his body faded away, and a wave of exhaustion instantly washed over him.

Over the past five years, he had cultivated the Heavenly Baleful Purgatory Arts without rest in a state of high focus and concentration, and he had accumulated far too much fatigue, both mentally and physically.

With that in mind, he fell onto his bed and instantly fell into a deep sleep.