Han Li pondered for a moment before answering, “I don’t have more important matters on hand, so I may as well stay for few more days. However, providing you guidance will be out of the question, but we can exchange our cultivation experiences.”
Cao Mengrong was overjoyed to hear this. She had left her apprenticeship earlier because of her limited aptitude. As a result, she hadn’t learned any deep magic techniques. Having a superior cultivator such as Han Li to provide some guidance was exactly what she had wanted.
After setting up a time for the occasion, Han Li chatted with the girl for a moment before he respectfully took his leave.
Once Han Li returned to his room, Monarch Soul Divergence asked, “Youngster Han, why did you agree to remain behind. Don’t you wish to find a spirit vein to help restore your magic power?”
“Naturally, I will be looking for a spirit vein, but they will certainly be occupied by the various sects of the Great jin. Furthermore, there seems to be more cultivators in the Great Jin than I expected. If I rush out at my current cultivation, it will prove dangerous. I don’t wish to carelessly walk into death while I don’t have the power to protect myself."
“Oh! So you plan on...”
“I have enough medicine pills on hand and several spirit well objects,” Han Li slowly said, “A year will be enough for me to recover my Foundation Establishment cultivation and will still give me plenty of time to find a method to dissolve my baleful Qi. As for the girl, she seems quite shrewd, but her cultivation is shallow and she holds no malicious intent. I’ll have her make a few things clear about the Great Jin cultivation world before I head on my way. And since I’ve only just arrived at the Great Jin, I can afford to wait a year.”
“Do as you wish, but I don’t have much time left,” Monarch Soul Divergence worriedly said, “After a few more years passes, I fear that it will be too late for me. After all, it will take you quite some time to collect the materials for my grand puppet.”
“Senior, don't worry.” Han Li explained, “As I look for the method to dissolve my baleful Qi, I will also look for the materials. However, the best method would be to acquire the assistance of a sect. This way, we can cut down on the time needed.”
“Acquire their assistance? This isn’t the Heavenly South where we can draw on your fame and title. It won’t be so easy. The larger sects won’t pay attention to you and the smaller sects don’t have the capability. After all, the materials that I want are rarely ever seen in this world.”
“The specifics have yet to be determined, so let’s take this a step at a time. Perhaps I won’t even need to find them and they’ll just come knocking on my door,” Han Li jokingly replied.
Afterwards, he ceased talking to Monarch Soul Divergence and took out a set of formation flags from his storage pouch. Then, he placed down a simple restriction around him before taking a medicine pill and meditating on the bed.
Chapter 903: Hostile Visitors
In the Liao Province’s Wuyuan Prefecture, there was a small town in the west known as Xinan. Nearby, there were two slender women dressed in azure Daoist robes that were heading towards a small remote mountain.
As their feet shined with white light, they stood on their toes before effortlessly floating a foot off the ground. Then, their gowns lengthened and they gracefully flew through the air at a low altitude.
The younger woman of the two appeared to be eighteen years old and gloomily spoke to the somewhat older woman at her side, “Senior Martial Sister Lu, will Master truly not assist us? Even if we were to add on Junior Martial Sister Cao, I fear we won’t be able to deal with the Sharp Spirit Sect’s Wu Xiaoyu. He is at the eighth layer of Qi Condensation, and it is said that the Sharp Spirit Sect Master holds him in high esteem. We are only a pair of sixth and seventh layer cultivators. With our combined strength, we won’t stand a chance even if we had help. And if we lose, Junior Martial Sister Cao will have no choice but to allow Wu Xiaoyu to rescue that heavy criminal which I fear will bring disaster to her father.”
“There is nothing we can do about it,” the older of the two martial sisters sighed, “Cultivator sects have always left matters of the mortal government alone. And Junior Martial Sister Cao is only an in-name disciple of our Profound Jade Sect and was only imparted a few shallow magic techniques by the Master. That’s why nothing had been said to her. After all, the government holds a few low-grade loose cultivators in order to have them deal with a few matters of the cultivation world. However, Wu Xiaoyu has a deep relationship with the person he wishes to save and knows that Junior Martial Sister Cao has a relationship with our sect. When he personally came to knock on our door, we couldn’t continue to turn a blind eye to this affair.
“Nevertheless, Master had used her status as an in-name disciple to avoid having to punish her, instead sending off that person to handle it instead. After he left, Master immediately called us over to inform us that this person most likely will be challenging Junior Martial Sister Cao in order to force her to retreat. Master knows that our relationship with her is quite deep and sent us to warn her; it’s clear that she wants us to lend her some strength. Otherwise, she would’ve simply used a spirit bird to deliver the message instead of us. Although Senior Martial Sister Yu has a deep cultivation, she doesn’t have a strong relationship with Junior Martial Sister Cao and will not risk offending the Sharp Spirit Sect over the matter. And Master has her hands tied since the Sharp Spirit Sect has friendly relations with our own sect. As a member of the senior generation, she finds it awkward to interfere.”
The younger of the two couldn’t help but say, “I recall that when Junior Martial Sister Cao’s father, Country Officer Cao, was stationed near our temple, he appeared quite strong and was very respectful towards the Master. If he is truly implicated because of this matter, it would be a disaster!”
“If that is true, there is nothing that can be done over it. But even if he were to lose a criminal, he would only lose his position as a country officer at most. He won’t die. But since Junior Martial Sister Cao appeared so calm, could it be that she already has a plan?”
The younger woman smiled and said, “There is no need for Senior Martial Sister to trouble herself over the matter. Everything will be clear once we get to the mountaintop.”
“Junior Martial Sister is right!” The older woman nodded.
The two quickly hurried on their way and after the time it took to finish a meal, they arrived at the mountaintop and yelped with surprise when saw an unexpected straw cottage three hundred meters away.
In front of the straw cottage, there was a simple stone pavilion with a young man and a girl sitting at a stone table and chatting. The man’s appearance was rather ordinary, but he had a pale complexion. The girl had a dainty appearance and was attentively listening to him.
When the two women arrived on the mountaintop, the man immediately sensed them and stopped talking. He turned to the girl he was talking to and said, “Fellow Daoist Cao, your guests have arrived.” The man then smiled and stood up.
The girl glanced over and stood up with a smile, saying, “Senior Martial Sisters have arrived! It’s good to see you!”
The older of the two senior martial sisters beamed when she saw Cao Mengrong and said, “Junior Martial Sister, you appear to be doing well! Yi! Your cultivation has risen by an entire level. Congratulations!”
“I’ve only managed to make a breakthrough in the past few days. I am still quite lacking compared to you two!” Cao Mengrong smiled and spoke with an excited tone.
The younger senior martial sister curiously examined the Confucian-robed man and asked, “Junior Martial Sister Cao, which sect is this Fellow Daoist from? His cultivation is quite high, at what seems to be the tenth layer.”
The man calmly answered, “I am Han Li, a loose cultivator. I am Lady Cao’s guest.”
The older senior martial sister smiled and said, “So it was like that. I was wondering why Junior Martial Sister was so calm. It appears
that an expert like Fellow Daoist Han was her guest. When Wu Xiaoyu gives the challenge, he will only make a fool of himself.”
“Senior Martial Sisters, please sit and let us talk,” Cao Mengrong happily said, “Although Brother Han is a loose cultivator, he is very experienced in the path of cultivation. I was able to break through in such a short time only because of the guidance that Brother Han had provided me.”
“Oh, then we’ll want to talk with Fellow Daoist Han...” Just as the older of the two was about to sit down, she suddenly heard a series of deep shrieks from below the mountain.
“He’s arrived!”
“How did he know of this place? He’s arrived so quickly!” The two senior martial sisters stood up in alarm and turned to look.
“Senior Martial Sisters, please don’t be alarmed,” Cao Mengrong explained with a calm tone, “I was the one who invited Wu Xiaoyu over. Fellow Daoist Wu had sought me out several days ago and with Brother Han’s agreement, I invited him over for this meeting.”
“So it was like that. Although we were making haste, it seems we were still too slow.” The younger senior martial sister quickly calmed down. After all, they had a tenth layer cultivator to deal with the eight layer Wu Xiaoyu.
At that moment, a ball of white light arrived on the top of the mountain, revealing the silhouette of two people within it.
“A flying magic tool! And he has another person escorting him!” The younger senior martial sister cried out in alarm. Cao Mengrong and the other woman exchanged a glance before revealing a trace of worry.
After all, flying magic tools were rarely ever seen. Even the low-grade ones were far beyond the price of other mid-grade magic tools. Low-grade cultivators such as themselves couldn’t afford to buy them, let alone mid-grade magic tools. Any magic tools they had were gifted to them by the sect. If they didn’t advance in their cultivation, it was likely they would only possess one magic tool throughout their lifetime.
Additionally, the cultivators that were bestowed flying magic tools most likely had backers behind them. This is particularly true for small sects such as theirs.
When the new arrivals appeared at the mountaintop, Han Li glanced at them and revealed no change of expression.
As of current, it had already been nine months since Cao Mengrong had rescued him. Perhaps because his injuries weren’t as severe as he thought or his pills were more effective than anticipated, he was able to recover a portion of his strength during his time as Cao Mengrong’s guest, allowing him to recover his Foundation Establishment cultivation. Although his vitality was still injured and he still had yet to recover most of his blood essence, he now had the power to defend himself in the cultivation world.
Of course, Cao Mengrong didn’t have the cultivation to see through this astonishing change and she would often ask him a few questions about problems she had on own her cultivation.
As a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator, Han Li was overqualified to give this Qi Condensation cultivator some guidance and managed to clear the girl’s doubts with just a few words. With much joy, Cao Mengrong began to treat Han Li with greater respect. Han Li’s pointers had allowed her to ascend to the fourth layer of Qi Condensation, bringing her closer to becoming an official disciple.
While this happened, he was already preparing himself to depart in a month. After all, the girl had already given him an explanation of the general circumstances of the Great Jin cultivation world.
And while he did have some medicine pills for Qi Condensation cultivators, they weren’t so trivial that he could give them to others. After all, there were countless opportunists and robbers in the cultivation world, even more in the Great Jin than the Heavenly South.
But unexpectedly, Cao Mengrong received a letter of warning from her master and in the girl’s alarm, she sought out Han Li. When Han Li heard that there was an eighth layer Qi Condensation cultivator looking to fight her, Han Li indifferently agreed to duel the opponent on her behalf. Afterwards, he would make use of this opportunity to leave.
Although the two new arrivals were surrounded by the brilliant glow of their magic tools, he was able to clearly see them. They were cultivators at the eighth and eleventh layer of Qi Condensation. They were below his notice.
As the three women were all lost in shock, Han Li slowly walked out from the stone pavilion and raised his head to look at them, saying, “I will be fighting on Fellow Daoist Cao’s behalf. Do you plan on having a match or do you wish for this to be an all out battle?”
The ball of white light descended on the ground and in a flash of white light, two people were revealed. A middle-aged man with slender eyes and a wood board magic tool in hand snorted and said, “It was fortunate that I’ve come or Junior Martial Brother Wu would’ve suffered a loss. Your face is quite unfamiliar but your cultivation is high. I will be your opponent. Let us fight now and save the words for later.”
The other man was tall and appeared over thirty years of age. From the way he coldly stared at Han Li and the others, he appeared to be Wu Xiaoyu.
The older senior martial sister wore an expression of shock and asked, “Ma Yulin! How could it be you? You are an enforcer of the Sharp Spirit Sect. How are you able to easily take part in the affairs of others?”
The middle-aged man spoke with a harsh tone, “It seems that Fairy Lu doesn’t know that I am not an outsider. Junior Martial Brother Wu and I have mutual family. Assisting him is no problem.”
The younger senior martial sister revealed an expression of apprehension when she heard this. Cao Mengrong’s expression wavered and she found herself at a loss of what to say.
Han Li then took another glance at the middle-aged man and mysteriously smiled, saying, “Then let us quickly start. When we are done, I have some urgent business to attend to.”
When the middle-aged man heard him, he coldly smiled and put away the wood board magic tool in his hand before taking out a small yellow pitchfork from his storage pouch.
Chapter 904: The Grand Assembly
When the three girls saw that Han Li and the middle-aged man named Ma Yulin were about to fight, they all unconsciously took a step back and held their breaths.
In their point of view, a battle between two high-layer Qi Condensation cultivators was something rarely ever seen; but to Han Li, dealing with a Qi Condensation cultivator was hardly worth any interest. He simply stood in place with his hands behind his back as he waited for his opponent to attack.
Ma Yulin grew furious upon seeing Han Li’s careless attitude and raised the small pitchfork in his hand, muttering an incantation and forming a hand gesture with his free hand. Then after a moment, the small pitchfork trembled several times before releasing a flash of light as it shot towards Han Li in a yellow streak.
Han Li’s expression remained calm and showed no intention of using a magic tool. Instead, he raised his hand and released a dozen talismans, each of them combusting into a fist-sized fireball as they charged towards the yellow streak.
When Ma Yulin saw this, he inwardly sneered. The Yellow Wind Fork was a mid-grade magic tool that his master had personally given him. A few fireballs weren’t going to be able to block it.
Despite these thoughts, he wasn’t willing to meet the attack head-on and potentially damage his magic tool. He promptly formed an incantation gesture and had the yellow streak made a sudden turn and avoid the fireballs in an arc before streaking back to attack Han Li.
Han Li smiled and pointed at the fireballs. Suddenly, the fireballs came to a stop and condensed together to form a cloud of flame the size of a wheel. It promptly turned into a three-meter-long fire snake and shot towards the flying pitchfork, coiling around it and completely restraining it.
Ma Yulin was greatly shocked and hastily poured the entirety of his magic power into the magic tool in an attempt to break it free, but as a result, the pitchfork simply glowed with brilliant yellow light and became further tangled with the fire snake. As the struggle continued, the magic tool sudde
nly dimmed and released a series of hums, a clear omen of its destruction.
The middle-aged man saw that things were turning for the worse. Unwilling to have his magic tool destroyed, he quickly shouted out, “Stop! Fellow Daoist’s magic power is outstanding. I concede defeat!”
When Han Li heard this, he smiled and pointed at the fire snake, having it relax its grip before disappearing into embers of flame.
Han Li’s effortless battle against an opponent of seemingly higher cultivation came as a delightful surprise to the three women in the pavilion.
Wu Xiaoyu wore an unsightly expression when he saw this and hesitantly muttered, “Senior Martial Brother Ma, this...”
“Enough, Junior Martial Brother Wu!” Ma Yulin quickly interrupted, “You’ve clearly seen that I am no match against him even with my Yellow Wind Fork. The life of your nephew has been decided.”
He retrieved his magic tool and felt relieved after finding that it wasn’t damaged. However, he now had a newfound fear towards Han Li’s abilities and was unwilling to meddle with him any further.
Wu Xiaoyu was brimming with resentment upon hearing this, but if his eleventh layer Qi Condensation Senior Martial Brother didn’t prove to be Han Li’s match, then he wouldn’t either.
Afterwards, there was nothing to say and the two Sharp Spirit Sect disciples flew off the mountain with anger in their hearts. As for the other three women, they had gathered around Han Li and were asking him about the magic techniques that he used.
He gave them a practiced excuse, explaining a bit about the small tricks he used to control the low-grade magic techniques. Then, the two senior martial sisters sincerely requested Han Li to answer a few questions about their cultivation problems, to which he casually agreed.
As time slowly passed by and the day turned to night, the three found it awkward to stay and reluctantly departed.
When the three women returned together on the next day, they found that Han Li had disappeared, only to leave behind a letter of farewell. After Cao Mengrong read the letter, she blankly stood in place. For some unknown reason, Han Li’s sudden departure had caused her to feel an indescribable pain.
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