Wan Lihan left the lower residential pavilion on foot, setting his sights on the jagged, rushing ridges of the Waterfall Peak. Since his current realm completely barred him from sword-flight, it took him three grueling hours of climbing the steep, damp stone steps to reach the summit.
Arriving at the grand courtyard of the alchemy halls, Lihan spotted several inner disciples sorting drying racks of vegetation. He stepped forward, offering a respectful greeting. "Senior brothers, is Elder Han Yao present within the halls?"
"Yes, he is currently inside the refining quarters," one disciple replied, gesturing toward the main hall.
Lihan walked through the arched entrance, finding Elder Han Yao standing over a wooden counter, meticulously inspecting a fresh harvest of mountain flora. Lihan bowed politely. "This junior greets Elder Han Yao. Elder, does your peak possess a recipe script to refine an Iron Bone Pill?"
Elder Han Yao halted his movements, turning his sharp, analytical gaze toward the young supervisor. He narrowed his eyes, sensing the dense energy rippling from Lihan's frame. "An Iron Bone Pill recipe? Yes, it is within our archives. But why on earth do you need it, boy? Your core cultivation is currently resting at the 8th Layer of the Qi Cleansing Realm. It is far too early for you to look toward skeletal hardening."
Lihan kept his face a perfectly blank stone mask, offering no deeper explanation. Seeing the teenager's absolute, unyielding calm, Elder Han Yao gave a soft sigh, reached into his sleeve, and retrieved a small jade slip. He handed the recipe script over to Lihan.
Lihan thanked him greatly, tucked the script into his robes, and immediately descended the mountain trails on foot.
Returning to the lower housing pavilion, he locked himself inside his private supervisor office. He unrolled the script, meticulously reading through the complex alchemy requirements. A flash of heavy disappointment crossed his blank eyes. The manual required four incredibly rare, high-tier spiritual ingredients. I don't have these properties, Lihan calculated coldly. Even these vast inner mountains do not host these specific crops.
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Suddenly, a hidden memory sparked inside his mind.
He reached deep into his storage box, pulling out the old leather spatial pouch he had scavenged from the deceased cultivator’s skeleton back in his original abandoned cottage. He untied the binding, peering deep into the spatial compartments. Sure enough, resting perfectly intact within a stasis compartment were the four exact legendary ingredients required by the recipe: a stalk of Titan Bone Grass, a shimmering cluster of Nine-Refined Jade Vine, a dense Draconic Marrow Root, and three metallic Heavenly Iron Seeds.
Lihan only had one single chance to refine this high-level pill, and he refused to rush the process. His current 8th Layer Qi was too weak to safely manipulate the furnace for such volatile properties.
To maximize his success rate, he pulled out the remaining water crystal and the elemental beast cores he had harvested five days ago. Crossing his legs on his cot, he activated his core cultivation, aggressively consuming the dense energy into his pathways. He sat in absolute, silent meditation for one full day.
When the next morning came, an explosive shockwave of Qi rippled through the office. The bottleneck shattered. Thanks to the raw density of the high-level cores, Wan Lihan's cultivation violently surged forward three entire levels, successfully advancing straight to the 9th Layer of the 15-Layer Qi Cleansing Realm.
After devouring a fast ration of meat, Lihan descended to his secluded riverbank spot to test his new boundaries. He drove his bare fist forward into a massive cliffside boulder. Boom! The sheer kinetic shock cracked the solid rock cleanly in half. His physical running speed had also multiplied, his movements turning into a complete blur across the sand.
Returning up the mountain plaza with absolute confidence, Lihan walked straight to the table. Utilizing his supreme supervisor authority, he casually swept the board, claiming three separate Level 5 hunting contracts simultaneously.
He descended the wild mountain passes on foot, tracking deep into the unknown valleys to systematically slaughter the targets. His sharp gaze locked onto the horizon as the growls of his three prey echoed through the crags: a heavy Low Tier Golem, a razor-fanged Low Tier Iron Fang Wolf, and a massive, toxic Low Tier Green Poisonous Toad.