After Shangguan Ruolin left, Shu Han stood motionless on the rooftop for a whole day and night. Eventually, the mountain wind carried away the last traces of her fragrance from him, jolting him out of his daze.
Having spent the past year inseparable from Shangguan Ruolin, being without her for just a day made Shu Han feel an intense emptiness. At that moment, he wished he could use the Shrinking Earth into Inches technique to follow her.
Slap!
"You're just a burden to her now! What face do you have to follow her?"
Shu Han slapped himself to snap out of his daydream.
"I should focus on my cultivation. Linlin once said that no one has ever reached the Nascent Soul stage before the age of five hundred. If I want to break this record, I need to cultivate every single moment!"
Pushing aside his longing for Shangguan Ruolin, Shu Han began to outline his future cultivation plans. Currently, only he and the sisters of Shangguan Ruolin had escaped the Immaculate Realm. Everyone else had perished inside. Although the Immaculate Realm was dangerous, the benefits it had brought him were unimaginable.
Firstly, Shu Han took out the Yin Spring water he had bottled. The moment he unveiled the Yin Spring water, the rooftop was instantly enveloped in an icy chill. The cold from the Yin Spring mixed with the chill of the profound ice, immediately froze everything around, even the hot spring. However, Shu Han found it comforting.
Shangguan Ruolin had told him that, given enough time, the profound ice combined with Yin Spring water could cultivate the Heavenly Cold Body. This special physical, which is resistant to frost, fearless of fierce flames, immune to all poisons, and exceptionally durable, is a transcendent physical constitution pursued by countless cultivators.
However, Shangguan Ruolin also mentioned that achieving the Heavenly Cold Body is exceedingly difficult. In the Eternal Night Palace of the extreme south, Core Formation cultivators would lie on beds made of ten thousand profound ice. Even then, it would take centuries to cultivate.
Shu Han didn't have that much time. He thought to himself, with the black jar, creating a bed of ten thousand profound ice should be a piece of cake. Coupled with an endless supply of Yin Spring water, he should be able to cultivate the Heavenly Cold Body in a much shorter time.
The real challenge was whether he could withstand it! After all, the ten thousand profound ic bed was designed for those at the Core Formation stage.
"Take it slow," he thought, "First, I'll use the Yin Spring water to gradually alter my constitution, then I'll adapt to the ten thousand profound ic bed."
Next, he took out the root tendrils of the illusory dragon crystal ginseng. He mused the cunning old ginseng must have perished in the Immaculate Realm. It's a pity, I only got its less spiritually potent root tendrils. If I could obtain its essence, my Heaven-Earth Transformation technique would undoubtedly progress significantly. But given that this old ginseng likely lived for more than a thousand years, nearing ten thousand, even its roots should surpass the effects of a typical millennia-old specimen.
Shu Han then turned his attention to a precious item. The Earth Goddess Divine Soil. A mere pinch of this divine soil was as heavy as a boulder. This divine soil could accelerate the growth of spiritual herbs, and the Earth Goddess radiance it emitted could suppress cultivators. It was an invaluable ingredient for cultivating medicinal herbs and crafting artifacts.
Shu Han was elated, now he had the material for crafting his lifebound magic treasure. With a magic treasure forged from the Earth Goddess Divine Soil, his strength would surely soar to new heights. Then, he summoned the Black Abyssal Fire.
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The Black Abyssal Fire blazed within his palm. He hadn't yet had the chance to refine and control the source of this heavenly fire, so he couldn't wield it freely. Moreover, this heavenly fire's core was too weak. To utilize it fully, it would need nurturing. But how to nurture the heavenly fire's core? He was clueless about that and decided he would need to seek out this information.
Next, he opened the storage bags of the four Green Thunder Sect members who were slain by Shangguan Ruotong. Although they mostly contained pills and spirit stones, Shu Han discovered a technique named the Green Thunder Tribulation Technique. This technique required three or more individuals to cast and could form the Green Thunder Tribulation Formation.
The power of the Green Thunder Tribulation Formation was so great that even Shangguan Ruotong found it challenging within the Immaculate Realm.
Shu Han pondered, that if he could master this technique and combine it with the Triple Rotation Avatar Technique, he alone could set up the thunder formation. This would be more effective than the Stellar Wish Formation and the Silent Heartbreak Formation! In this way, when facing advanced cultivators, he would stand a better chance of winning, rather than solely relying on the Eight-Direction Evil-Breaking Sword to hold his ground.
After studying this technique, Shu Han found a method for crafting the Tribulation Thunder Talisman in Luo Haoguang's storage bag. He had used this talisman amidst the Chaos Vortex before; its power was immense. A single one possessed the force equivalent to a peak Foundation Establishment stage strike, far surpassing the Fire God Talisman.
Indeed, with his current cultivation level, using the Fire God Talisman was no longer suitable. The most potent talisman mentioned in the Bai Family Artifact Refining Manual was the Fire God Talisman. This Tribulation Thunder Talisman arrived just in time, filling the gap in his repertoire of talismans.
Under the manual for the Tribulation Thunder Talisman, Shu Han found a stone flashing with blue specks. As he took out this stone, the early morning clouds started emitting electric sparks. Looking up, Shu Han noted the weather wasn't typical for a thunderstorm. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning descended from the clouds, aiming straight for him.
Shocked, Shu Han immediately dodged. The lightning struck the terrace, leaving a large crater in the jade floor. Yet, this lightning bolt seemed to have depleted the thunderous energy stored in the thin layer of clouds. Even though faint sparks still danced in the sky, no more lightning descended.
In response, the stone in his hand emitted faint electric arcs.
A thrill surged through Shu Han, "Such a powerful lightning-attracting ability!"
While Shu Han wasn't sure about the stone's identity, its intense lightning attraction suggested it would be a treasure for lightning-based techniques. Using this stone to forge three magic treasures, and combining them with the Green Thunder Tribulation Formation, would surely amplify their power!
However, crafting magic treasures from this object would be challenging. Different materials possess distinct properties. Crafting blindly without understanding the material's exact nature can easily damage it, wasting all efforts. Shu Han's knowledge of crafting and materials all came from the Bai Family Artifact Refining Manual. However, the manual, penned by a Foundation Establishment cultivator, increasingly couldn't meet Shu Han's needs.
"It seems I need to seek more advanced alchemical and crafting knowledge. What my master taught me is no longer sufficient."
Securing the thunderstone, Shu Han examined his storage bag, only to find Linlin's jade pendant. Knowing its value, he realized that not only did it have vast internal space, but it could also store living beings. Its worth was no less than a top-grade spatial crystal.
Did she leave it behind?
Shaking his head, Shu Han mused that Linlin wouldn't forget such a precious item. So, he opened the space within the jade pendant, and a streak of light shot out.
The Grand Yin Jade Rabbit, with a bunch of herbs atop its head, hopped out from the pendant. Glancing around and not seeing Shangguan Ruolin, it scampered over to Shu Han, squeaking plaintively.
Seeing the rabbit, Shu Han commented, "Don't look for her. She left you with me. She's now in the Core Formation stage; you're of little use to her."
Hearing this, the Jade Rabbit seemed petrified and started throwing a tantrum in Shu Han's hand.
"You really don't want to be with me, huh?"
Amused yet sympathetic, Shu Han dangled an old ginseng root in front of it. The rabbit perked up immediately, devouring the root in one go, then licked Shu Han's palm, wanting more.
"You cheeky rabbit change moods so fast! Rest assured, with me, you'll have all the spiritual herbs you need."
Lifting the rabbit, Shu Han mused, "Since you're with me now, you should have a name. Grand Yin Jade Rabbit, let's use my surname; I'll call you Shu Yu. But the elders of the Shu clan believe in naming kids humbly to ensure they live long and well. Considering how you always scurry around with herbs on your head like a cabbage, let's call you Cabbie!"