Mo Returns to the Valley

Han Li had originally planned not to prepare the last two medicines, since they had nothing to do with cultivation. But after thinking it over carefully, he felt that, whatever else he might be, he was half a member of the jianghu. Heaven knew whether some natural or man-made disaster might befall him one day, or whether he might get caught up in the fighting and killing of the jianghu. It was better to prepare some marvelous antidotes and healing medicines in advance. If he were poisoned or injured and kicked the bucket for lack of good medicine, wouldn't that be an unjust end?

With that in mind, Han Li prepared small quantities of the last two medicines to carry with him in case of an accident. After all, everyone had only one life, and Han Li did not want to die young.

Although this would reduce the amount of the other two spirit medicines and slow his progress in cultivating the Mnemonic somewhat, it could not be helped. After all, there could not be so many perfectly satisfactory things in the world; sometimes, a person had to make choices.

On the day he finished preparing the pills, Han Li took one Yellow Dragon Pill and one Golden Marrow Pill, following the instructions in their respective recipes. The two medicines were indeed worthy of their legendary reputation as sacred medicines. Under the influence of their astonishingly potent medicinal power, he broke through the bottleneck that very night without the slightest effort and reached the fourth layer of the Mnemonic.

As soon as he reached the fourth layer, Han Li immediately experienced a feeling utterly unlike anything before. His five senses improved with a boom, reaching an unbelievable level. Everything he saw suddenly became so bright and clear. Tiny things he had been unable to see before seemed to have been magnified all at once, plainly visible to his eyes; he could even make out every slender strand of spider silk in the corners of the room. His hearing suddenly became incredibly acute as well, and countless sounds, some familiar and others he had never heard before, flooded into his ears: the rustling of an earthworm burrowing into the ground more than ten zhang away, the buzzing of some unknown insect flying past the front of the room, and so on. They sounded as though they were ringing right beside his ears, so vivid and clear. Besides that, some strange smells that suddenly emerged also made Han Li realize that his sense of smell was vastly different from before.

Han Li was both astonished and delighted. This was the first time since he had begun cultivating the Mnemonic that he felt the time he had spent had not been wasted. Such an extraordinary sensation showed that the Mnemonic was not useless after all, but had its own unique strengths.

Although cultivating the previous layers had also improved his five senses to a certain extent, none had brought about such an obvious and enormous change as the fourth. This was a qualitative leap, as though he had become an entirely different person.

Besides that, he also felt that his body was much lighter and nimbler than before, and his mental state had made considerable progress. Now, Han Li reckoned he could go three to five days without sleep without much trouble.

Han Li savored the things in his body that were utterly different from before. Without moving from where he stood, he could perceive everything, great or small, that happened within several dozen zhang. This feeling of being able to control everything fascinated Han Li, and he was loath to let it go.

Only now did he understand that reaching the fourth layer of the Mnemonic was the point at which one truly achieved a modest level of mastery.

He could not help imagining the future. The fourth layer already brought such an unforgettable sensation! What wonderful feelings would the fifth and sixth layers bring?

Not long after Han Li had begun to grasp the mysteries of the Cultivation Method he practiced, his master in name, Doctor Mo, returned to the valley. He had not come back alone, but had brought a mysterious figure with him.

As soon as Doctor Mo entered Divine Hand Valley, Han Li heard his long-familiar cough from afar. At the time, he was sitting in meditation and cultivating in the stone chamber, striving to advance another layer as soon as possible. Upon hearing Doctor Mo, he hurriedly circulated his Qi and ended his cultivation. He left the stone chamber and headed toward the valley entrance to pay his respects to the master he had not seen in nearly a year. He met Doctor Mo not far from the entrance.

The moment he saw Doctor Mo, Han Li was greatly shocked. He was still the same man, but the face that met Han Li's eyes was ashen and almost lifeless. Although his complexion had been sallow and sickly before, it had never been as utterly unhealthy as it was now; he looked as though his appointed end had already come.

What astonished Han Li even more was the mysterious figure following behind Doctor Mo. The figure wore a black hood and was wrapped from head to toe in a wide green robe, with not a scrap of skin showing. The person was exceptionally tall and burly, a full two heads taller than Han Li, with a huge frame like that of the Giant Spirit God. But because of the hood, Han Li could not see the person's face clearly; he could only vaguely feel certain that it must be fierce, terrifying, and exceptionally ugly.

Han Li suppressed the questions in his heart and hurried forward to bow to Doctor Mo. Then he stood respectfully to one side, waiting for Doctor Mo to question him.

He knew perfectly well that Doctor Mo did not care whether his disciple was polite or respectful to him. But as a disciple, Han Li still had to observe all the proper courtesies between master and disciple. He could not simply discard them and give Doctor Mo the impression that he was unruly and defiant; that would only place him in a more disadvantageous position.

Based on everything Han Li knew about Doctor Mo and how concerned he usually was about Han Li's cultivation of the Mnemonic, Han Li expected that, after such a long separation, Doctor Mo would ask about his cultivation as soon as he saw him, to determine what progress he had made.

Sure enough, Doctor Mo was slightly taken aback to see Han Li come out of the valley to greet him of his own accord. He coughed twice, then asked weakly:

"How is your cultivation of the Mnemonic going? Have you made any slight progress?" Anxiety and anticipation immediately appeared on his face.

Han Li had long since prepared himself for this and gave the answer he had readied.

"It's still the same as before. There hasn't been much change." Han Li did not intend to tell him the truth about his cultivation, because he could not explain his seemingly divinely assisted progress. How could he have suddenly leaped, as if by a miracle, from the initial stage of the third layer to the fourth without outside help?

"Hold out your hand." Doctor Mo's expression darkened, and his tone abruptly turned curt.

Han Li noticed Doctor Mo's expression, and his heart gave a thud as a trace of unease arose in him.

Even so, he was not afraid of Doctor Mo personally taking his pulse to examine the state of the True Qi in his body. After entering the fourth layer, Han Li had unexpectedly discovered that he could control the strength of the strange True Qi in his body at will. He could easily reduce it to the strength it had possessed at the third layer, deceiving even the heavens and the seas, so he had no need to fear Doctor Mo's personal examination.