394: Chapter 394 Core Disciples of the Pill Cauldron Heavenly Palace

When Han Li heard the words "the back mountain of the main hall of Danding Heavenly Palace," the expression on her face grew somewhat complicated.

It was neither excitement nor disappointment, but more like she had a bellyful of words and didn't know where to begin.

The Randan Spirit glanced at her twice, and lightly tapped his wooden staff on the ground.

"What? Do you think this old man is tricking you?"

Han Li shook her head.

The old man looked at her for a few more seconds, his gaze sweeping over her face, and suddenly his eyebrows furrowed.

"You don't know where the Spirit Ruins Pool is."

It wasn't a question.

Han Li nodded.

The Randan Spirit moved his wooden staff half a step forward. He stared into Han Li's eyes for a moment, as if confirming something.

Then he shifted his gaze away from Han Li, swept it across the surrounding vast white space, and brought it back.

"You are not a Disciple of the Danding Heavenly Palace."

It was still a statement.

Han Li nodded again, even more gently this time.

The old man let out an "oh."

The "oh" was drawn out, its tone dipping at the end, carrying a hint of realization.

Leaning on his staff, he turned a small circle in place. His steps were slow, the hem of his robe dragging an arc across the white ground.

After turning halfway, he stopped.

"No wonder you don't know where the Spirit Ruins Pool is," he muttered to himself, his lips twitching. "And no wonder you didn't even know you possessed the Ten Thousand Wood Spirit Ruins Body. If you were a Disciple of the Heavenly Palace, your spiritual constitution would have been tested on your very first day. Any seedling with the Ten Thousand Wood Spirit Ruins Body would be sent straight to the Inner Sect and taken in as a Core True Disciple by a Grand Elder. How could they let you wander around outside for so many years?"

He sighed, as if feeling sorry for Han Li.

Then he turned back around to face Han Li, his expression becoming much more formal than before.

"How about this."

He held his wooden staff upright in front of him, resting his folded hands on top of it, and tilted his chin up slightly.

This posture made him look several degrees more solemn, no longer resembling the old man who had eagerly leaned in to sniff her Meridians earlier.

"Since you possess the Ten Thousand Wood Spirit Ruins Body and can enter the space of the pill king cauldron, it shows you share a destiny with the Danding Heavenly Palace. Although this old man is merely the artifact spirit of the pill king cauldron, in the absence of the Palace Master, I have the authority to act on behalf of the Palace Master."

He paused, as if giving his words time to sink in.

"This old man shall make the decision to accept you as a Core Disciple of the Danding Heavenly Palace."

Han Li froze in place.

Core Disciple.

When they were outside earlier, Tao Zhe had read this term from the tablet inscription.

The Disciples of the Danding Heavenly Palace were divided into three tiers: Outer, Inner, and Core. There were hundreds of thousands of Outer Disciples and tens of thousands of Inner Disciples. The inscription didn't mention the exact number of Core Disciples, but judging by the layout of the Cauldron Tomb, the number of cauldrons in the Core Disciple area was more than ten times fewer than in the Inner Sect.

To become a Core Disciple right upon entry.

Skipping the Outer and Inner Sects entirely, reaching heaven in a single bound.

Han Li opened her mouth, then closed it again.

She didn't know what to say. Logically, this was an incredibly fortunate event. A rookie who hadn't even stabilized her footing in the Qi Refinement Stage being accepted as a Core Disciple on the spot by the artifact spirit of a five-thousand-year-old Treasure Artifact—in any cultivation novel, this would be the treatment of a main character.

Yet, her expression showed she just couldn't bring herself to be happy.

It wasn't that she didn't want to be happy.

It was just that some words were stuck in her throat; saying them might break the old man's heart, but keeping silent felt dishonest.

Seeing her like this, the Randan Spirit frowned.

"What is it?" The old man's tone carried a hint of confusion as he tilted his head to study her. "This old man says he is accepting you as a Core Disciple, and this is your reaction? You're not willing?"

Han Li waved her hands, blurting out a "No," but the words that followed retreated back into her mouth.

The Randan Spirit's brow furrowed even deeper.

He swept his eyes up and down Han Li, suddenly took a step back, struck his wooden staff heavily on the ground, and a trace of displeasure surfaced on his face.

"Could it be that you want this old man to recognize you as master instead?"

Han Li was startled and hurriedly shook her head.

But the old man had already gone on talking.

"Although your talent is indeed excellent—the Ten Thousand Wood Spirit Ruins Body is top-tier Aptitude even in the entire cultivation world, and this old man has only seen two in all his years of living—your cultivation is too low."

He extended a withered finger and shook it in front of Han Li.

"The Qi Refinement Stage, and only the Early Stage at that. Even if this old man recognizes you as master right now and hands the pill king cauldron over to you, you wouldn't be able to display even one percent of its power. The pill king cauldron is Palace Master Yun Yangzi's natal spiritual cauldron. What was Palace Master Yun Yangzi's cultivation? The Late Stage of the Soul Transformation Stage. A girl at the Early Stage of Qi Refining like you holding a Soul Transformation Stage spiritual cauldron is no different from a small child carrying a heavy door—you can't carry it."

He withdrew his finger and tapped his wooden staff twice on the ground.

"At the very least, you must reach the Golden Core cultivation. Only at the Golden Core Stage can you initially control the Alchemy function of the pill king cauldron, and only at the Nascent Soul Stage can you unleash half of its power. Before then, recognizing you as master might actually harm you."

Han Li waved her hands in the air several times.

"No, no, no, Senior, that's not what I meant. It really isn't."

She spoke very quickly, afraid the old man would continue to misunderstand.

The Randan Spirit's expression softened slightly.

He lifted his wooden staff from the ground, leaning on it as his posture relaxed.

"Then what is with your hesitant, tongue-tied look?"

He truly couldn't fathom it.

In his understanding, for someone possessing the Ten Thousand Wood Spirit Ruins Body to be personally accepted as a Core Disciple of the Danding Heavenly Palace by the artifact spirit of the pill king cauldron, what a massive Opportunity this was.

Let alone skipping the Outer and Inner Sects, it wouldn't even be too much to directly apprentice under the Palace Master.

Han Li should have been jumping for joy.

Yet she stood there, hands wringing together, her lips twitching several times, her eyes darting around. No matter how he looked at her, something seemed off.

"If you have something to say, just say it," the Randan Spirit's tone softened slightly. "This old man won't eat you."

Han Li looked up at him, then lowered her head again.

She was organizing her words.

The old man waited for a few seconds. Seeing that she still hadn't spoken, he went on talking to himself, as if trying to dispel her worries.

"Your benefits in joining the Danding Heavenly Palace as a Core Disciple are solid and real. The Spirit Ruins Pool can activate your spiritual constitution, the Spirit Medicine from the seven outer medicine fields is yours to use for Cultivation, the natal spiritual cauldrons of past alchemists in the Cauldron Tomb are ready-made Legacies, and their lifelong Alchemy insights are carved on the stone tablets."

He counted them off on his fingers.

"With your talent of the Ten Thousand Wood Spirit Ruins Body, paired with the tempering of the Spirit Ruins Pool, and those Spirit Medicines in the medicine fields, advancing to the Golden Core cultivation within ten years will not be difficult. When that time comes, recognizing the pill king cauldron as master will happen naturally."

He spoke with absolute certainty.

The Spirit Ruins Pool, the medicine fields, the Legacy, a Golden Core in ten years.

Every step was arranged with crystal clarity, as if the path ahead was already paved as long as Han Li just nodded.

Listening to these words, Han Li felt a wave of sadness wash over her heart.

The old man didn't know.

He knew nothing.

He had stayed inside this palm-sized little cauldron for who knew how many years. The sky outside had collapsed, the earth had cracked open, and bones covered the land, yet he hadn't heard a single word of it. He still thought the Spirit Ruins Pool was fine, the medicine fields were fine, the Cauldron Tomb were fine, and the Disciples still came every day on time to burn incense and sweep the floors.

Han Li bit her lip.

"Senior," she spoke, her voice much softer than before.

"Hmm?"

"Do you... not know what the situation is like outside right now?"

The Randan Spirit's expression froze for a moment.

"Outside?" His eyebrows knit together. "What's wrong with the outside?"

Han Li looked at him and didn't answer immediately.

A subtle layer of unease surfaced on the Randan Spirit's face. This unease didn't spring up out of nowhere; it was more like something that had been suppressed deep down all along, now nudged by Han Li's words, exposing a tiny corner.

"Since this old man has not recognized a master, I cannot leave the internal space of the pill king cauldron." When he said this, his speaking speed was a beat slower than before. "As for what has happened outside, this old man knows absolutely nothing."

He stared at Han Li.

"Tell me, what is wrong with the outside?"

Han Li looked into the Randan Spirit's eyes.

Those old eyes, which had been shining brightly just a moment ago, were now dimming bit by bit.

He must have already sensed it long ago.

Just that he wasn't sure.

Or rather, he didn't dare to be sure.

Han Li took a deep breath.

"Senior, the Danding Heavenly Palace—"

She paused, rolling the rest of the sentence around in her mouth, searching for the way she felt would be the least hurtful.

"...seems to have already fallen into ruin."