Since mastering the Imperial Flight Technique, Han Li had become even more intrigued by the potential of the other two magic techniques, “Soul-Lock Talisman” and “Telekinesis Technique”, so he spent large amounts of time and energy, hoping that one day he could make a sudden breakthrough like he did with the Imperial Flight Technique and gain a flash of insight.

But after spending some time on valuable research, Han Li discovered that he was unable to use these two techniques. It wasn’t because of an inherent defect in Han Li’s constitution, but rather because his body wasn’t strong enough for either technique.

As described in the book, the Soul-Lock Talisman was a type of charm that one had to prepare beforehand. Han Li used yellow paper that he bought from a nearby small town and followed the book’s instructions, drawing the pattern with a writing brush.

Even though the book did not describe what materials should be used to create the talisman, he kept thinking back to Doctor Mo’s silver-colored talisman. He naturally adopted the use of this precious and luxurious silver powder. Whether this material was effective or not, Han Li did not know, but his homemade talismans soon looked exactly like the illustrations found in the book.

What a shame! Even though the talismans’ appearance was identical, it was still not enough.

Whenever Han Li performed the activation incantation, the writing on the magical talisman would not emit a dazzling silvery light that had appeared back when Doctor Mo used the Soul-Lock Talisman. Nothing strange or out of the ordinary occurred either. It was an utter failure, causing him to fall into a predicament with no room for improving it. He didn’t know whether his failure was due to an error in chanting the incantation, his inability to grasp how to do it, or a mistake in creating the talisman.

But after a more recent investigation, a different result was revealed.

After an intensive series of studies about materials, folklore, and magic techniques, Han Li finally discovered that the talismans used by cultivators were not objects that ordinary mortals would recognize. They were not made of ordinary papers and materials, but rather materials that only cultivators would know how to process into talismans. These materials could only be found in special areas accessible only to cultivators. Because of this, even though he had performed the incantation gesture perfectly, he never succeeded.

Telekinesis Technique also followed the same logic.

Han Li used to believe that he could cast the Telekinesis Technique on whatever item he casually picked. He practiced on common household items, such as knives, blades, etc, but failed in every attempt.

But now that Han Li was more informed, he finally understood that the Telekinesis Technique could only control objects that had been specially crafted for cultivators. It would not work on ordinary items.

As a result, Han Li took the weird and bizarre items he gained from Doctor Mo, including the Soul Luring Clock and the seven silver knives used in the Seven Soul Devouring Technique, and used them as a medium for the Telekinesis Technique. After some experimenting, however, not a single item could be used to perform the technique. This made Han Li be extremely disappointed. None of these items could be used with the Telekinesis Technique; he had no choice but to stop until he found a suitable object.

(TL: The Soul Luring Watch is the watch that Han Li and Doctor Mo used to control Crooked Soul)

Since he knew that his problem was a lack of suitable objects for the Soul-Lock Talisman and the Telekinesis Technique, Han Li could only shift his attention elsewhere. He intended to take the other secret martial arts skills and magic techniques in order to combine them and increase his own strength, raising him to new levels in a relatively short period of time.

After entertaining this wild fantasy , Han Li once again resumed his bitter and difficult training. He quickly completed several small achievements.

After several attempts, he successfully fused together the Shifting Smoke Steps technique and the Imperial Flight Technique.

Although he thought of it as a fusion, it was actually just Imperial Flight Technique followed by Shifting Smoke Steps. The harmony and compatibility of the two techniques had to be carefully controlled; otherwise, mistakes would easily occur. For this reason, Han Li devoted quite a bit of energy and attention to these aspects.

But just with this, he was able to remove the disadvantages of the Imperial Flight Technique and the heavy energy consumption of the Shifting Smoke Steps, gradually perfecting both techniques. He appeared as a mixture of lightning and fire whenever he unpredictably shifted to the next location, appearing and disappearing in different spots.

Not long after, Han Li also gained a novel insight on a different application of the Fireball Technique.

Normally, the user would use their own magic to launch the small fireball towards the enemy. Although this was the technique’s original function, Han Li thought that this was not the technique’s limit.

A movement expert would be able to easily avoid the small fireball, which depended on one’s magic power to fly slowly, thus restricting Han Li’s ability to fight at close quarters against the cultivators of Jiang Hu. He might as well use only half of the energy he originally needed to cast the flashy Fireball Technique. When the fireball appeared, instead of shooting it out directly, he would first control it with his hands like a small blade, taking advantage of its destructive, unstoppable power.

Han Li was confident that he could easily kill any skilled opponent with his heavily modified technique.

With his new trump cards to rely on, Han Li could finally relax, no longer having to worry about his own ability. He could finally be confident enough to travel to the Lan Province to get the antidote for the poison within Han Li’s body.

(TL: Lan Province was Doctor Mo’s previous home, although this is the first time that it was mentioned by name)

In addition to perfecting his techniques, Han Li had been treating precious herbs as if they were snacks, eating them to break through to the eighth layer of the Eternal Spring Arts and thus allowing his magic power to greatly increase.

Simply based on the current density of his magic power, Han Li surpassed Yu Zhitong in his original corporeal form, but in terms of techniques, Han Li could not compare himself to him. Back when Yu Zhitong was cultivating in his clan, he had received pointers from his seniors and exchanged notes with his peers. He was much stronger than Han Li, a half a bottle of vinegar.

Han Li was not aware of this, but even if he were, he would not have been concerned. He was not arrogant enough to believe that learning one or two basic magic techniques would allow him to compete and stand on even ground with other cultivators. His current enemies were still the mortals of the secular world, not the cultivators of Jiang Hu.

As a result, Han Li was not arrogant; instead, he was merely enjoying his own success. Just as he was preparing to find an excuse to leave the Seven Mysteries Sect, the Feral Wolf Gang suddenly suggested holding peace talks.

When the news spread, it caused the Seven Mysteries Sect to be in an uproar. In recent battles it had been the Feral Wolf Gang who had the upper hand, constantly pressuring the Seven Mysteries Sect. Under such circumstances, why would the Feral Wolf Gang want to engage in peace talks? Was it possible that there was a hidden trick? This raised suspicions within several people.

In a short period of time, calls for accepting and rejecting the peace talks rang out in succession within the Seven Mysteries Sect. All of the elite members had their own views. Li Feiyu was among those who stubbornly refused.

Those who opposed the peace talks and those who supported the talks voiced their opinions in equal clamors. Neither side could come out from the argument as a clear winner. In the end, Sect Leader Wang had to put his foot down and make a decision. He declared that the Seven Mysteries Sect would hold the peace talks, and if the conditions weren’t too ridiculous, then the two powerhouses would shake hands. If the conditions were too extravagant, they would continue fighting.

Even though this kind of filthy decision was unable to satisfy either party, it was the only compromise available. The Seven Mysteries Sect was forced to proceed in this manner.

(TL: The original Chinese said “mixed in mud”)