Han Li gazed at the seedlings glowing faintly in his palm, his brow slightly furrowed.
Morning mist drifted through the Herb Garden in Yellow Maple Valley, dampening the cuffs of his blue robe and veiling the medicinal seedlings in his hand with hazy moisture.
Should I grow them with the Little Green Bottle and refine Foundation Establishment Pills myself? Or trade directly with Jing Wen for the pills?
The thought circled repeatedly through Han Li's mind. He gently stroked a seedling's leaves, sensing the faint spiritual power within.
The Foundation Establishment Pill Formula he had paid the sect a considerable sum of Spirit Stones to copy lay tucked inside his robe. At that moment, it seemed especially heavy.
"If I refine them myself..." He rubbed the Jade Slip containing the Pill Formula he had recently obtained from the Technique Transmission Pavilion, making his calculations. Foundation Establishment Pills required dozens of medicinal herbs, three of which had all but vanished from the cultivation world.
With his current alchemy skills, his chances of successfully refining Foundation Establishment Pills on his first attempt were probably less than thirty percent.
Every medicinal seedling had been hard to obtain. Losing them during refinement would be a terrible waste.
Han Li made a rough estimate and realized that refining the pills himself seemed far less convenient than simply trading with Jing Wen.
But then again, if he relied on others for everything, how could he travel farther along the path of cultivation?
Suddenly, a mountain breeze swept past, carrying withered leaves.
Han Li's ears warmed, and the image of that hot spring in the Blood-Colored Forbidden Land abruptly surfaced in his mind.
Back then, cultivators from several sects had been pursuing him, leaving him no choice but to hide in a limestone cavern deep within the