Since mastering the "Wind Control Technique," Han Li's interest in the other two spells, "Mind-Settling Glyph" and "Object-Driving Spell," grew even stronger. He spent a considerable amount of time and effort on them, hoping to suddenly comprehend them thoroughly one day, just as he did with the "Wind Control Technique," experiencing a sudden breakthrough.
However, after numerous attempts, Han Li unexpectedly discovered that he couldn't cast these two spells. It might not be his own fault, but rather the external conditions for casting the spells weren't met.
The "Mind-Settling Glyph," as described in the book, is a type of charm that requires pre-prepared talismans to work. So Han Li had always used nearby yellow paper bought from the town, then followed the symbols in the book to draw what were supposed to be the talismans with a brush.
Although the book didn't specify what kind of paint should be used to draw the talisman, he recalled the silver talisman symbol from Master Mo's, naturally opting for silver powder, a precious luxury. Whether this pigment was effective, Han Li didn't know, but at least from the outside, these homemade talismans looked exactly like the examples in the book.
Unfortunately, merely looking alike wasn't enough.
When Han Li used the incantation to activate these talismans, the symbols on the talismans didn't emit the dazzling silver light as when Master Mo used them, nor did any other strange phenomenon occur. It could be said that his spellcasting attempt completely failed, leaving him in a dilemma. Because he didn't know whether the failure was due to errors in the incantation or mudra gestures, or because the talismans were not successfully made.
But things changed after this research.
Through in-depth searches of various related materials and books on magical legends, Han Li finally discovered that the talismans used by cultivators were definitely not ordinary paper and paint casually drawn, but rather made from certain specific materials unique to cultivators, possibly requiring some special method during the production process. So even if his mudra gestures were flawless, casting spells would still be impossible.
The same goes for the "Object-Driving Spell."
Han Li used to think that the "Object-Driving Spell" could be cast with any object as a target, so the objects controlled by the incantation were all common items like furniture or swords, naturally without any effect.
But now reminded of the matter with talismans, he realized that what the "Object-Driving Spell" controlled was definitely not ordinary objects, but specific items used by cultivators.
So Han Li regarded the strange things he obtained from Master Mo, including the "Soul-Calling Bell" and the seven silver blades used in the "Seven Ghosts Devouring Soul Great Technique," as objects controlled by the "Object-Driving Spell," and experimented with them, but unfortunately, none of these items could be successfully cast. This disappointment left Han Li in despair. It seemed that these artifacts were also not what the "Object-Driving Spell" controlled; it must be something else.
Since knowing the rough root cause of the problem, understanding that without the corresponding items, it's impossible to cast the "Mind-Settling Glyph" and "Object-Driving Spell," Han Li shifted his focus away from this and instead came up with the idea of combining martial arts secrets with several spells, intending to quickly improve his strength and elevate himself in a short time.
With this whimsical idea in mind, Han Li began another arduous journey of self-training and quickly achieved some success.
After some attempts, he finally integrated the "Roaming Smoke Steps" and the "Wind Control Technique."
It's said to be integration, but in fact, it's just casting the "Wind Control Technique" first and then using the "Roaming Smoke Steps" afterward. However, the coordination and combination between the two must be well controlled; otherwise, it's easy to make mistakes, which cost Han Li a lot of effort and energy.
But by doing so, he gradually perfected the shortcomings of the "Wind Control Technique," which was originally not good at maneuvering and consuming too much energy when using the "Roaming Smoke Steps," and made him as elusive as an electric light in the movement and shifting positions, even more elusive in his footwork.
Shortly thereafter, Han Li also had his own creative approach to using the "Fireball Technique."
Originally, after the appearance of the small fireball of the "Fireball Technique," the caster should rely on his own mana to push the fireball toward the target to kill the enemy. This was the original usage of this technique, but Han Li found it unsatisfactory.
Han Li believed that relying on mana to eject the small fireball was too slow; a skilled martial artist could easily dodge it, which greatly limited its usefulness in battles. Therefore, he simply cast only half of the "Fireball Technique," and when the fireball appeared, he didn't eject it but instead used its property of destroying everything to control it as a short and sharp divine weapon in his hand for use.
In this way, with his improved maximum body technique and the high-temperature fireball in his hand, Han Li was now confident that he could easily kill any master.
With these dependencies, Han Li finally breathed a sigh of relief, no longer worrying about his inadequate strength. Now he could confidently go to Lan Prefecture to detoxify.
At this time, Han Li's "Spring Longevity Technique" had also quietly entered the eighth level by eating Ling Pills every day, extending his mana by another section.
In terms of the depth of mana alone, Han Li at this time had surpassed Yu Zitong when he was still alive. But in terms of the mastery of spells and actual combat skills, he still couldn't catch up with the former Yu Zitong. After all, when Yu Zitong practiced spells in the family, he had elders to guide him and peers to learn from, much better than Han Li, who was almost completely self-taught.
Han Li didn't know all this, and even if he did, he didn't care. He never arrogantly thought that mastering one or two shallow spells could compete with true cultivators. His current enemies were mainly the martial artists of the mundane world.
So Han Li's mood was very good. Just as he was confident and ready to find an excuse to leave the Seven Profound Sect, the Wild Wolf Gang suddenly proposed to negotiate with the Seven Profound Sect.
This news caused a stir within the Seven Profound Sect. It's known that recently, the Wild Wolf Gang had been gaining the upper hand in conflicts, suppressing the Seven Profound Sect. In such a favorable situation, why would they suddenly propose negotiations? Could there be some trickery involved? This raised many suspicions.
For a while, voices both for and against negotiations and different opinions from various high-level figures arose within the Seven Profound Sect, including strong opposition from Li Feiyu.
As the voices of those in favor and against were about the same, unable to argue which was better, the final decision was made by the sect leader, Wang, to first negotiate with the other party. If the conditions weren't too unreasonable, they would shake hands and make peace; if they were too harsh, they would continue to fight.
Although this compromise couldn't satisfy both sides, it was the only compromise, and they could only do so.
