The Immortal Ascension

Chapter 26: Accelerating Growth with the Medicine

Just as Han Li thought the gloomy weather would persist for a while longer, the sun finally reappeared in the sky, and the weather cleared up.

It had been nearly half a month since Han Li discovered the secret of the green liquid, and he had grown increasingly impatient. On the night the weather cleared, he once again witnessed the miraculous phenomenon that had occurred four years ago—countless points of light densely gathered around the bottle, forming a large glowing sphere.

When Han Li saw this spectacle, the heavy stone in his heart finally settled. This confirmed that the small bottle was not a one-time consumable but a reusable treasure.

After another seven days of waiting, a drop of green liquid finally appeared in the bottle again. Although Han Li had been almost certain of this outcome, he was still overjoyed. This meant that he would have an endless supply of rare medicinal herbs in the future, and he would no longer have to worry about them.

It is important to note that the value of medicinal herbs is largely determined by their age. The older the herb, the more potent its medicinal properties. Similarly, the older the herb, the harder it is to find, as they usually grow in remote mountains, deep forests, or on steep cliffs. Without taking some risks, obtaining such herbs would be nearly impossible.

While some pharmacies and doctors cultivate their own herbs, these are mostly common varieties that can be used after a short growth period. Most people would not bother cultivating herbs that take decades to mature.

However, some wealthy and influential families, as a precaution, have people cultivate a few extremely rare herbs for use in emergencies. These herbs generally require a long growth period to develop their medicinal effects. For these families, buying slightly less rare herbs is easy, so they see no need to go through the trouble of cultivating them. Moreover, these families can pass down their wealth through generations, so they are not concerned about the time it takes to cultivate these herbs. No one knows if they will ever need them, so these herbs are often cultivated for over a century or are rare, one-of-a-kind specimens. Ordinary people do not have the financial or material resources to do this.

Occasionally, some rare wild herbs appear on the market, but they are usually quickly purchased by these wealthy families. This has led to a continuous rise in the price of rare herbs, often creating a situation where they are in high demand but hard to find.

Han Li was not optimistic about Doctor Mo's prospects during his recent trip, estimating that he would not achieve much. However, Han Li no longer had to worry about this. With the bottle, he could accelerate the growth of any amount of high-quality herbs in a short time.

With a mix of emotions, Han Li conducted several experiments over the next few days to test the effects of the green liquid on herb growth.

In one experiment, he diluted the green liquid and sprinkled it on a large number of herbs. The next day, he found that the herbs had only been accelerated to a growth equivalent of one or two years, far inferior to the results of his first experiment. From this, Han Li began to vaguely understand some of the rules governing the green liquid's effects.In the next experiment, Han Li decided to skip the dilution step altogether and directly dripped the green liquid onto a ginseng plant. To his astonishment, when he woke up the next day, he found that the ginseng had transformed into a hundred-year-old ginseng, indistinguishable from a wild one. This success filled Han Li with joy, not because he had obtained a rare medicinal herb, but because he had finally grasped the method of using the green liquid.

Subsequently, Han Li conducted several experiments to test the preservation of the green liquid. He placed the freshly extracted green liquid into various containers, including porcelain bottles, jade bottles, gourds, and silver bottles. However, he discovered that no matter the container, the green liquid could not be preserved for more than a quarter of an hour. Once the green liquid was taken out of the mysterious small bottle, it had to be used within that time frame, or it would gradually vanish without a trace. The diluted liquid exhibited the same characteristics; although it could last slightly longer, after a certain period, only the other liquids that had seeped in remained in the container, while the green liquid's components had disappeared.

After several such experiments, Han Li completely lost confidence in preserving the green liquid in other containers. It seemed that it was impossible to store this mysterious liquid in large quantities, so he turned his attention to another test: the stacking of medicinal properties.

Han Li dripped a drop of the green liquid onto a green Three Crow Grass, transforming it into a yellow Three Crow Grass with a hundred-year medicinal potency. A few days later, he dripped another drop onto it, and its potency increased by another hundred years.

Seeing that this method was indeed effective, Han Li repeated the process continuously over the next two months. Whenever a new drop of green liquid was produced from the small bottle, he would drip it onto the Three Crow Grass. The grass did not disappoint; its leaves gradually changed from yellow to yellowish-black, and then to black. Finally, when its leaves became completely jet-black and shiny, it had transformed into a rare thousand-year-old Three Crow Grass.

This test was a great success. It seemed that with patience, the potency of the Three Crow Grass could be further increased. However, for Han Li, this was unnecessary. As long as he knew that this method was feasible, that was enough. He didn’t need medicinal herbs with such ancient potency; herbs with a few hundred years of potency were sufficient for his own use.

After completing this series of lengthy experiments, Han Li finally had some time to rest and reflect. By now, quite some time had passed since Doctor Mo had gone down the mountain.

Now, Han Li lay on the wooden bed in his room, holding the thousand-year-old Three Crow Grass in his hand, staring blankly.

His eyes were fixed on the jet-black medicinal herb, as if he were studying it. However, anyone else in the room could tell from his unfocused gaze that his mind was not on the Three Crow Grass at all. Instead, he was lost in thought, pondering something far beyond the herb.

The initial joy he had felt upon obtaining the Three Crow Grass had completely faded. Now, he was carefully considering the benefits and dangers that the small bottle had brought him, and he was planning his next steps.Han Li had come across numerous examples of "the sin of possessing a treasure" in the various books within Doctor Mo's room. The bottle he held in his hand was undoubtedly a priceless treasure. If outsiders were to learn of its existence, he would not live to see the next morning. Like many others who had been in possession of such treasures before him, he would be overwhelmed by the greedy individuals who would come flocking upon hearing the news. To give a closer example, if the Sect Leaders within his own sect were to discover the secret of this bottle, they would undoubtedly not let him off the hook. They would go to great lengths to kill him and seize the treasure, leaving him with the tragic fate of "losing the treasure and his life."

"I must never reveal the existence of this bottle to anyone. Even on the mountain, I must use it with extreme caution. The commotion caused by the bottle absorbing the light dots is too noticeable, and a single misstep could lead outsiders to uncover its secret," Han Li resolved firmly, deciding to keep his lips sealed and not utter a single word about it to anyone.

"However, I am currently in desperate need of medicinal herbs for my cultivation. Not using the bottle would be a great waste. I must find a way to have the best of both worlds," he thought. Recalling his stagnant progress in cultivation, he felt a pang of gloom. No matter what, the progress of the chant must not be delayed. He was not cultivating under Doctor Mo's pressure, but because he had vaguely sensed that some of the unusual changes he had experienced in recent years were inextricably linked to the cultivation of this nameless chant.

(End of Chapter)