"Wow!" Han Li raised his hand high, clenched his fist, and exclaimed excitedly.
At that moment, his childish nature was evident.
It seemed that his assumption was correct: the closed doors and windows hindered the bottle's attraction to the white threads of light. Only in wide-open spaces could the bottle attract more light threads, forming a larger light cluster.
Although he didn't know where these light threads came from or what purpose the bottle served in absorbing them, he felt he had made a significant step towards unraveling the mystery.
Han Li felt that he was close to unlocking the secret of the bottle, which made him exceptionally excited.
It wasn't until dawn approached that the light around the bottle gradually disappeared, returning to its calm state.
During this time, Han Li observed the changes in the bottle while keeping an eye out for anyone who might discover what was happening.
He picked up the bottle and checked it.
It was no different from before, the cap still tightly sealed.
Han Li felt disappointed, but seeing that it was getting late, he reluctantly put the bottle away.
He had to hurry back to the stone chamber to meditate and practice.
For the next several days, the same phenomenon occurred every night. Countless light threads were attracted to the bottle, transforming into small light dots that the bottle greedily absorbed.
Just when Han Li thought this phenomenon would continue to occur every day, on the eighth day, something else happened.
When Han Li returned to the usual spot and took out the bottle, the absorption of light dots only lasted for a short half hour before stopping. Then, the ink-green patterns on the bottle suddenly emitted a dazzling green light, and several golden characters and symbols appeared on the surface of the bottle. These strange characters, with their smooth structure and peculiar strokes, exuded an indescribable ancient charm, constantly flickering and moving on the surface of the bottle.
This unusual phenomenon lasted only a moment before disappearing, leaving behind a few raised golden characters on the bottle's surface, as if everything had returned to its original state.
After experiencing these strange events with the bottle for several days, Han Li was no longer as surprised by these phenomena as he was at the beginning. Even if something more bizarre happened to the bottle, it wouldn't shock him anymore.
He casually picked up the bottle and subconsciously tried to open the lid.
To his surprise, the cap came off effortlessly, without any effort or skill.
Han Li couldn't believe it as he stared at the cap in his hand. Had he solved this puzzle, which had troubled him for several days, so easily?
When Han Li confirmed that what was happening before his eyes was real, and the secret of the bottle was right in front of him, he couldn't contain his excitement. He leaned closer to the bottle's mouth and looked inside.
Inside the bottle, a drop of green liquid, the size of a soybean, rolled slowly, casting a greenish glow on the entire bottle wall.
What was this?
Han Li felt somewhat disappointed. He had gone to such lengths, only to obtain something so uninteresting.
He closed the bottle cap, put it away in his pouch, and headed back to his residence. The excitement he felt moments ago had dissipated.
Although he had managed to open the bottle's cap, the result was unsatisfactory to him.
Han Li planned to explore the secret of the green liquid when he had nothing else to do in the future. Perhaps it might bring him a small surprise!
Now, what he needed to do was to go back and get a good sleep to make up for the lack of rest in the past few days. He had been unable to sleep well every night, which greatly reduced his efficiency in practicing during the day and caused him to feel lethargic, arousing some inquiries from Doctor Mo.
Since becoming Doctor Mo's direct disciple and breaking through to the first level of the mantra, Han Li felt that he had lost the motivation to practice. Moreover, he was dissatisfied with the results of practicing the mantra, which made it difficult for him to muster the enthusiasm to continue.
Because of this, Doctor Mo had scolded him severely.
However, even though he scolded him, when it came time to practice, Han Li still felt drowsy and lethargic, without any energy at all.
This situation drove Doctor Mo a little crazy, wondering if he had picked the wrong person.
Thinking of this, Han Li felt a little wronged. He didn't want to be like this, but he just couldn't get into the right state of mind.
What Han Li didn't expect was that the next day, after waking up from a good sleep, he once again voluntarily and wholeheartedly immersed himself in intensive practice.
The reason for his sudden change in behavior was just a casual remark from Doctor Mo.
"Every time you advance a level in this mantra, I'll double the monthly stipend I give you." Finally recognizing Han Li's desire for money, Doctor Mo found a solution from the root cause, binding him to the chariot of desperate practice with just a simple sentence.
In the days that followed, Han Li practiced desperately to advance to the next level of the mantra.
Every day, from morning to noon, and from noon to night, he entered the stone chamber twice a day to meditate, living a monotonous and routine life, leaving everything else behind.
In order to let him concentrate on his practice without being disturbed by external matters, Doctor Mo temporarily closed off the entire Valley of Divine Hands to the outside world. Even medical treatments were conducted outside the valley, and Han Li was not allowed to worry about his daily necessities.
The matter of the bottle gradually faded from Han Li's mind.
As autumn turned to winter, and spring passed into summer, time flew by. Four years had passed, and Han Li was now fourteen years old.
He had grown into a dark-skinned, silent, and determined rural youth. From the outside, he didn't appear much different from other ordinary farming youths, neither handsome nor strikingly charismatic.
However, he shuttled between the stone chamber and his residence every day, occasionally visiting Doctor Mo to learn some medical skills and reading various books in his room. The entire valley became his entire world, and he had successfully reached the third level of the mantra.
