Han Li naturally wasn't going to squander such a valuable opportunity, and he listened with rapt focus, asking questions immediately when there were areas that he failed to understand.
The small child was also a very patient teacher, answering his inquiries one by one.
Thus, two months passed by in a flash. When the two of them were finally close to the next island on their journey, Han Li had almost mastered the basics of the beveled silver text.
On this day, Han Li had just finished listening to the small child's lesson and was slowly digesting the information as he flew through the air, when a tiny black spot suddenly appeared on the surface of the ocean up ahead.
Han Li's heart stirred upon seeing this and he immediately accelerated, reaching that black spot in the blink of an eye.
After drawing closer, Han Li discovered that this was a small island with an area of only around 30 to 35 square kilometers. It was downright tiny compared to the islands that Han Li had seen earlier on his journey.
However, this tiny little island was emanating faint spiritual Qi, indicating that there was a small spirit vein on the island. Of course, the quality of this spirit vein was naturally of an extremely low caliber.
Han Li hovered in the air several thousand feet above the island and looked down at the mountain ranges down below. His face remained completely expressionless, yet there was an undisguisable trace of nostalgia in his eyes.
Back when he had left the island, he hadn't even reached the Core Formation Stage yet. However, passing by the island now, he was already a late-Nascent Soul great cultivator. Thinking back, this was quite a staggering transformation.
Even though his heart had been very firm in his pursuit of the Geat Dao when he had left the island, never could he have imagined that he would really become a Nascent Soul cultivator someday.
Han Li hovered above the island in silence for a long while before the nostalgic look gradually disappeared from his eyes, upon which he shot forth into the distance again as a streak of azure light.
Seeing as he had already reached the minor expanse island, he had to be quite close to his destination.
Sure enough, less than half a day later, Han Li caught sight of the massive island he was traveling toward far in the distance.
However, on this occasion, Han Li didn't enter through the dock. Instead, he found a completely secluded place and a layer of spiritual light appeared over his body as he shot directly toward the white restriction enshrouding the island. A loud boom erupted as a result and the surrounding light barrier tremored violently.
Han Li was able to force his way through the light barrier through brute force, then fly away from the scene at a leisurely pace.
A short while after Han Li had left, streaks of light began to converge toward the spot where Han Li had broken into the light barrier. Those streaks of light quickly revealed themselves to be several Foundation Establishment cultivators, and all of them wore panicked and urgent expressions on their faces.
However, the light barrier had already completely sealed over again, and they were unable to discover anything even after splitting up and searching through the surrounding area.
In the end, they could only engage in a bewildered discussion before flying away again.
At this point, Han Li was had already descended upon a mountain several hundreds of kilometers away. All of a sudden, a formation plate that was emanating faint white light appeared in his hand.
Han Li opened his mouth and a ball of azure spiritual Qi was blasted onto the formation plate as he began to chant something.
White and azure light immediately began to intermingle with one another along the formation plate, and the plate itself became extremely bright and dazzling.
Han Li tapped a finger gently on the formation plate and the light immediately receded, revealing the formation plate again, which had become a mirror-like surface that was as clear as water. On the surface of the mirror, there were a series of red lights that were flashing rhythmically.
Han Li gave a content nod upon seeing this, and he carried the formation plate in one hand as he rose into the air.
After ascertaining a certain direction in the air, he began to fly into the distance again.
A short while later, Han Li appeared in the air above a certain spot on the island. He looked down at the farmstead down below and an incredulous look appeared in his eyes.
"Isn't this where the Gu Clan Manor was once situated? Why are Wen Siyue and the others staying here?" Han Li murmured to himself with a surprised and perplexed look on his face.
Han Li was hovering in the air above the manor without making any attempt to conceal himself, so his actions naturally created a stir among the mortals in the manor.
Moments later, two streaks of light suddenly flew out from one of the rooms down below before reaching Han Li in the blink of an eye. The lights then receded to reveal an elderly man and a middle-aged man, both of which were at the Foundation Establishment Stage.
"You are?" Han Li looked at the two of them with slightly furrowed brows.
Upon catching sight of Han Li's facial features, the two of them immediately delivered respectful salutes with stunned expressions on their faces.
"We pay our respects to Senior! We didn't know that you would be visiting this place, so please forgive us for not preparing a more thorough welcome!"
These two were both Wen Siyue and her Dao Companion's Foundation Establishment disciples. They were aware of the fact that Han Li was a great cultivator, so they were naturally filled with awe and veneration.
"Why are you living here? Where are your masters?" Han Li asked expressionlessly.
"This is the residence of one of my in-name disciples, so I decided to bring everyone here. Master and his Dao Companion find this place too rowdy for their liking, so they're living in a makeshift cave abode nearby with their daughter," the elderly man replied in a respectful manner.
"An in-name disciple of yours? Is he a member of the Gu Clan?" A peculiar look appeared on Han Li's face.
"That's right! You know of the Gu Clan as well, Senior?" The elderly man was suddenly struck by a sense of unease.
"The master of the Gu Clan had some ties with me in the past, but that was over 200 years ago," Han Li replied.
"What? Is that so?" The elderly man was stunned to hear this.
"And now, I'm back at this place; looks like I really do have some sort of affinity with the Gu Clan. I'm going to meet your masters first. Get you in-name disciple from the Gu Clan to see me later," Han Li instructed in an implacable tone.
"Yes, I'll be sure to do so!" The elderly man was both stunned and elated to hear this. He didn't know what kind of ties Han Li had had with the Gu Clan in the past, but at the very least, it didn't sound as if they were enemies.
Han Li nodded and sent his spiritual sense sweeping through the air, allowing him to quickly track down the location of Wen Siyue and her Dao Companion.
Chapter 1168: Return to Heavenly South
Han Li transformed into a streak of azure light and soon descended on a plateau halfway up a small mountain. He looked at the seemingly mundane and nondescript rock face in front of him before sweeping his sleeve through the air, sending a burst of azure light sweeping toward it.
A loud thump erupted as the azure light struck the rock face, following which a burst of light appeared over the mountain's rocky surface.
The rock face began to blur as if it were an illusion, following which a massive stone door several tens of feet tall appeared before Han Li. White spiritual light was flashing incessantly over the stone door, and it seemed that a restriction had been cast onto it.
Han Li surveyed the stone door for a while before releasing a burst of flames from his hand, which immediately disappeared into the door.
Moments later, an elated female voice was transmitted to him from the other side.
"Senior Han! We're so glad you're here! Please wait for a moment, my Dao Com
panion will come out to welcome you right away."
A few seconds later, the white light on the stone door flashed violently a few times before dimming completely. A loud rumbling sound then rang out as the stone door was slowly opened, while two women and one man emerged from the cave abode within.
They were none other than Wen Siyue's couple and their young daughter.
Han Li turned his attention to the young girl, and was slightly taken aback by what he saw.
The young girl had been stickly thin with a sickly yellow pallor on their previous encounter but since then, she had grown into a gorgeous young woman who bore more than a hint of resemblance to her beautiful mother.
It appeared that she had recovered quite well after the poison had been expelled from her body. This was what her appearance should have been like had she not been afflicted by her conditions.
Wen Siyue was the most familiar with Han Li among the three, so she came forward with a captivating smile on her face and extended a respectful curtsey as she said, "We pay our respects to Senior Han! We didn't think that you would arrive so quickly, so we made no preparations in advance; please forgive us for our oversight, Senior!"
"My trip went relatively smoothly, so I arrived here a little earlier than I planned." Han Li waved a hand, indicating for them to skip the formalities.
"We've been eagerly awaiting your arrival, Senior. Please come in and have a seat in our humble cave abode." Wen Siyue stepped aside with a dainty smile to allow Han Li passage into the cave abode.
"Sure. I also want to see the level of mastery your daughter has achieved in the formation spell book I left her. If she's reached a satisfactory level of mastery, then I'll take her under my wing." Han Li nodded in response before taking a glance at the young woman again.
A blush appeared on Tian Qin'er's face from Han Li's gaze, and she immediately ducked her head.
In contrast, Wen Siyue and her Dao Companion were ecstatic to hear this, and they hurriedly led Han Li into their cave abode.
Han Li spent a day and a night inside the cave abode. During this time, Wen Siyue and her Dao Companion, as well as their Foundation Establishment disciples, had all come to pay their respects to Han Li at different points. The elderly man from earlier had brought along a young boy who appeared to be around seven or eight years old to see Han Li, and they also entered the cave abode, but they didn't immediately come out.
Another day later, a streak of silver light shot forth into the air from the small mountain, within which the figures of a man and a woman could be indistinctly identified. A few flashes later, the azure streak of light had disappeared from view.
A month later, within the Heavenly South Region, which was countless kilometers away from the Scattered Star Seas. Within a massive barren valley, several black-robed cultivators were flying through their air on their respective treasures. They all appeared to be quite graceful in flight, but they were absurdly slow and it was quite apparent that none of them were high-grade cultivators.
After flying for a while, the black-robed cultivators suddenly flew toward the rock face beside them and disappeared into an extremely well-concealed cave.
They traveled over 100 feet into the cave, upon which they arrived at a stone door that was shimmering with spiritual light, indicating the presence of a restriction.
The group was led by an intimidating and brawny black-robed man and he strode over to the stone door before making a hand seal and chanting something at the same time. After a long while, he raised a hand and cast an incantation seal, which disappeared into the stone door in a flash, sending ripples running through the flashing spiritual light as a result.
The stone door wobbled slightly before slowly rising into the air.
"Which Junior Martial Brother is it?" Before the group had passed through the entrance, a lazy voice sounded from within. A ball of black Qi then flew out from the cave and reached the brawny man in a flash, following which the Yin Qi dissipated to reveal an elderly man with pale features.
"Oh? If it isn't Junior Martial Brother Meng. Are you here to take over from me?" The elderly man initially wore a dark expression on his face, but he faltered slightly upon seeing the brawny man before immediately putting on a smile.
The brawny man was a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator while the elderly man was only an early-Foundation Establishment cultivator, so he naturally didn't dare to treat this junior martial brother of his with disdain.
"That's right, Senior Martial Brother Fan! I've been deployed here to guard this spirit mine in your place. Is this cave the entrance of the mine?" the brawny man asked expressionlessly.
"Haha, you sure do have a straightforward personality, Junior Martial Brother Meng. Indeed, the entrance to the spirit mine is in here. However, is this all the people that you have with you? It doesn't appear to be enough." The elderly man was rather perplexed by the lack of numbers in this small group.
"Our Ghost Spirit Sect isn't as powerful as it once was. Most of our disciples have to contribute to the effort to ward off the Controlling Spirit Sect and Devil Flame Sect; I had to work very hard just to gather this group of people. Thankfully, this is the core region of our sect and we're only overseeing some mortals, so this should be enough," the brawny man harrumphed in response, seemingly also very displeased with the current situation.
"That makes sense. You'll just have to work slightly harder, Junior Martial Brother Meng." The elderly man could only nod with a resigned expression upon hearing this.
"That's enough of this depressing conversation. Senior Martial Brother, please take me to the mines and show me around first," the brawny man said as he cast his gaze into the cave.
"Of course. Please come with me, Junior Martial Brother." The elderly man nodded and made a hand seal to close the stone door again before leading the group of black-robed cultivators deeper into the cave.
After a few twists and turns, the group appeared in front of a massive fissure in the ground that several tens of feet wide. There was faint light flashing within the rift and it appeared to be leading to the underground.
There were two black-robed Qi Condensation cultivators sitting with their legs crossed on either side of the entrance to the rift. The two of them hurriedly rose to their feet and extended respectful salutes at the sight of their approaching Foundation Establishment martial brothers.
The elderly man waved a hand in a calm manner before leading the brawny man and his group directly into the rift.
15 minutes later, the elderly man had led the brawny man on a tour of almost the entire mine. There were many passageways within the mine that were rather complex and convoluted, within which there were many young and fit mortal men that had been hired to mine for spirit stones. The elderly man led the way while providing an introduction like a tour guide, seemingly very familiar with every single inch of this place.
It was no wonder that this was the case; if anyone were to stay in this place for over 10 consecutive years, they would most likely be able to navigate the passageways even with their eyes closed.
The brawny man and his group listened carefully, but didn't say much.
After the group made another turn, another passageway appeared before them, this one leading downward, seemingly reaching even deeper underground.
The elderly man's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this passageway and he shook his head to himself. Instead of leading the group down that passageway, he turned and prepared to lead them back in the way that they had come.
"Senior Martial Brother Fan, where does this lead to? Why aren't you taking us down there to have a look?" The brawny turned to his senior martial brother with a perplexed look.
"Many years ago, this was once a restricted area and the sect had deployed a few disciples solely to guard this place, but it's been abandoned long ago and all of the guards have been withdrawn," the elderly man replied in a casual manner.
"A restricted area? What's in there? And why was it abandoned in
the end?" The brawny man was intrigued to hear this.
The elderly man hesitated momentarily before deciding that this was an inconsequential matter, and explained, "Nothing much; there's only an ancient teleportation formation in there, but it's been in disuse for a long time and isn't functional anymore. As for why this place was once a restricted area and why it was abandoned later on, I'm afraid I do not know. However, it seemed to have something to do with Martial Uncle Wang Chan."
"Martial Uncle Wang? So it's..." The brawny man was startled to hear this, and his voice abruptly cut off mid-sentence, as if he were extremely wary of something.
"Keep it to yourself, Junior Martial Brother. Martial Uncle Wang is not someone that the likes of us can express our opinion on," the elderly man said with a meaningful look.
The brawny man was silent for a moment before suddenly asking, "In that case, would you be able to take me down there, Senior Martial Brother? Truth be told, I've been studying the way of formation spells in the past few years, and I'm very curious about this ancient teleportation formation."
"You're learning about formation spells? Hmm, that place is rather far away and it'll be quite time-consuming to get there." The elderly man faltered slightly upon hearing this before a peculiar look appeared on his face.
"There's no need to be concerned, Senior Martial Brother Fan. I know the dangers of becoming a jack of all trades, yet a master none. However, I've encountered a bottleneck in my cultivation and can only try some different methods to stimulate myself for improvement. Perhaps I'll be able to glean something useful by studying formation spells," the brawny man sighed.
Seeing as the brawny man was being quite insistent, the elderly man could only agree. "If that's the case, then I'll be happy to lead the way. However, if you actually want to carefully examine the teleportation formation, it's best to do it at another time."
A smile appeared on the brawny man's face upon hearing this.
Thus, the group continued down this passageway.
In the blink of an eye, they had reached an even deeper underground level.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 639