After Han Li made up his mind, he put down the jade cylinder and picked up another one.
The production of "Complexion-Setting Pills" was much simpler than Foundation Establishment Pills. It didn't require real fire refinement and didn't involve any unfamiliar medicinal materials; all of them were quite common varieties.
The only thing that surprised him was that these medicinal materials required a millennium of medicinal properties, which explained why he had never heard of this pill. After all, any cultivator who possessed millennium-old spiritual herbs would cherish them as treasures and wouldn't waste them on a pill like Complexion-Setting Pills, which had no practical use in cultivation. This led to very few people in the cultivation world knowing about Complexion-Setting Pills.
But for Han Li, this wasn't a problem at all; it just required a slightly longer incubation time. Therefore, he decided that after settling the matter with the Foundation Establishment Pills, he would try to refine a furnace of Complexion-Setting Pills to see if they were really as magical as the formula claimed, able to maintain one's appearance as it was when the pill was taken.
About six or seven days later, when the old man came to the Hundred Herb Garden again to collect the medicinal materials, Han Li didn't conceal anything and directly asked about these three rare medicinal herbs.
"Jade Marrow Mushroom, Purple Monkey Flower, and Celestial Spirit Fruit?" The old man stroked his beard, squinting his small eyes.
"Hehe! It seems that Junior Nephew has already obtained the formula for Foundation Establishment Pills, so he's inquiring about these three main herbs! But, Junior Nephew! Do you really want to refine pills yourself?" The old man sneered, looking at Han Li as if he were an ignorant fool.
"Of course not. Don't mention these three main herbs; the junior doesn't even know about the hundreds of years old auxiliary herbs. Where could I find them? Even the oldest plants in your garden are only a hundred years old! In this situation, how could the junior think about refining pills?" Han Li replied without telling the truth, skillfully deflecting the question.
"Since you don't intend to refine pills, why ask about these three rare herbs? I'm busy, I don't have time to chat with you!" The old man's face turned stern, showing no empathy.
Han Li had already anticipated this strange temperament of the old man, so he wasn't flustered at all. Instead, he smiled and said:
"Junior Nephew was just curious about the names of these three main herbs, which are quite peculiar. Since I've never heard anyone mention their appearance or medicinal properties, I was just curious. But what puzzles Junior Nephew is why there are none of these rare herbs in Senior Uncle's herbal garden. You see, with such rare varieties, according to Senior Uncle's usual practice, you should try every means to obtain seeds and cultivate them in the garden. Could it be that these rare herbs are so difficult to cultivate that even Senior Uncle cannot grow them? "
"Nonsense! Do you doubt my skills? The reason why there are no such herbs in the garden has nothing to do with my skills. They are all transformed from the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, natural-born species. Where can I find seeds? Even if I manage to obtain seedlings, because of their unique growth conditions, they cannot survive in ordinary environments. Even if I try my best, it would be futile. Otherwise, do you think I would let them go?" The old man was irritated by Han Li's words and couldn't help but get angry.
"No seeds? How is that possible!" Han Li couldn't help but exclaim.
"Hmph, why is it impossible? You should know that things like these, which are almost extinct in the outside world but extremely useful for cultivators, if they could be artificially planted, the major sects would have cultivated them in large quantities long ago. Why would Foundation Establishment Pills decrease year by year?" The old man rolled his eyes at Han Li, speaking impatiently.
