Chapter 288: Clash of Souls

Qin Yan saw that even the extremely steady Elder Hua was acting so impatient, and finally felt tempted in his heart.

Although he could tell from Han Li’s tone that he looked down on this immortal master, after all, the other party was truly a cultivator willing to take disciples!

As for whether this immortal master’s cultivation level was high or low, he couldn’t afford to care about that.

Originally, he had considered having his descendants become Han Li’s disciples, but after spending time with Han Li, he knew the other party had no intention of taking disciples at all and that it couldn’t be forced.

Speaking of which, when his father was still alive, he had told him that when the Qin family first rose to great wealth, Immortal Master Li Huayuan had once visited their household to see if any of the younger generation had the fate for immortality. Unfortunately, no one possessed such fortune, and he had to leave disappointed.

From then on, whenever Immortal Master Li visited the Qin family again, he never mentioned taking disciples. According to Immortal Master Li Huayuan, his immortal fate with the Qin family was limited to one generation, and the later descendants of the Qin family had no master-disciple fate with him.

Now that another opportunity for immortality had appeared before him, he naturally had to give it a try no matter what.

Thinking this, Qin Yan made up his mind, called out to a few of the younger generation, and walked over as well.

Han Li coldly watched this scene without saying a word.

Since he had already warned Qin Yan, and the other party still insisted on seeking apprenticeship, he naturally wouldn’t meddle.

Speaking of which, Han Li had never really paid attention to whether these young masters and ladies of the Qin manor truly had spiritual roots. But among mortals in the secular world, those with spiritual roots were truly one in ten thousand—pitifully few!

As Han Li was pondering this, he suddenly noticed that one or two of the Qin family disciples following Qin Yan to Immortal Master Wu actually turned back and gave him mocking smiles, putting on smug expressions as if ridiculing him.

Han Li was slightly taken aback upon seeing this, then inwardly chuckled with amusement.

Clearly, these few, seeing that Qin Yan hadn’t called Han Li to test their immortal fate, thought that Old Master Qin actually favored them the most in his heart. Hence their self-satisfied expressions.

Han Li secretly shook his head and couldn’t be bothered to pay them any more attention, instead looking around the hall.

By now, those who remained seated were very few—only six or seven people. Most were solitary individuals who hadn’t brought any nephews or children, and they now wore expressions of extreme regret.

The only ones that caught Han Li’s attention were an old and young pair sitting at a table in the corner of the hall.

The elder was a grey-haired man in his sixties wearing a blue robe, calmly savoring the tea in his hand as if completely unconcerned about the immortal opportunity before him. The younger one was a clear-eyed, handsome youth with delicate features, who occasionally showed a look of disdain towards Immortal Master Wu’s direction.

Although these two appeared to be sitting there quite leisurely, when Han Li saw them, he couldn’t help but show a faint smile.

This old and young pair were actually also cultivators, and their cultivation levels weren’t bad. The blue-robed elder was around the ninth level of Qi Condensation, and the youth was at the fifth level—not inferior to that Immortal Master Wu.

What surprised Han Li a bit was that these two practiced some kind of technique that allowed them to conceal their spiritual energy to the point of being almost undetectable. If Han Li’s cultivation hadn’t been far superior to theirs, he really wouldn’t have easily recognized them as cultivators.

As for that Immortal Master Wu, he naturally didn’t have the ability to notice anything unusual about this pair. This technique that could conceal spiritual energy from peers immediately intrigued Han Li. If he could learn such a method, wouldn’t it give him a significant advantage in battles against cultivators of similar level?

Thinking this, Han Li took another careful look at the two. This time, he noticed something unusual.

The clear-eyed, handsome youth actually had two small holes in his delicate, white earlobes—he was actually a young woman in disguise!

Just as Han Li was feeling surprised, the “youth” unintentionally noticed Han Li staring dumbly at her. She couldn’t help but blush, then glared back fiercely at him.

The disguised girl’s action attracted the attention of the elder beside her. He frowned and turned to look expressionlessly at Han Li.

Seeing this, Han Li smiled at the elder.

The blue-robed elder was greatly surprised! He had thought it was some frivolous young master who had seen through his granddaughter’s disguise and was teasing her with his gaze, but he didn’t expect it to be an extremely ordinary-looking young man who, moreover, showed no fear towards him at all.

Feeling somewhat annoyed, the blue-robed elder pondered for a moment, then gently closed his eyes.

This action made Han Li pause momentarily, then he couldn’t help but wonder: “Is he closing his eyes because he wants to…”

Before Han Li could finish the thought, the elder’s next action completely confirmed his speculation.

When the elder opened his eyes again, his gaze towards Han Li showed a blue-purgle glow—he had actually used some soul-confusing magic on Han Li, apparently wanting to make him lose face on the spot to teach him a small lesson.

Seeing this, Han Li found it somewhat amusing.

With the elder’s cultivation at the ninth level of Qi Condensation, actually using a soul-confusing technique on Han Li, who was at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment—wasn’t this seeking death? If Han Li were to counter with just a bit of spiritual power, it would certainly cause a backlash against the elder.

However, since Han Li had his eyes on their energy-concealing technique, he naturally couldn’t make enemies of them. So, he just smiled back while meeting the elder’s gaze, showing no unusual expression.

This made the blue-robed elder’s expression slowly change from a cold smile to surprise, then to one of astonishment.

When the elder inwardly cried “not good” and tried to look away, it was already too late. Han Li’s eyes now faintly glowed with a yellow light, like magnets that made it impossible for the elder to shift his gaze even slightly.

The blue-robed elder felt both shocked and afraid, filled with regret. He never expected that this young man who seemed to have no spiritual power at all was actually also a cultivator, and one whose cultivation appeared far superior to his own.

Had he known this, he would never have used the “Nightmare Technique.” Now his mind was completely controlled by the other party, unable to break free from the countermeasure.

The more the elder thought about it, the more afraid he became. In an instant, sweat the size of soybeans beaded on his forehead, his face turned ashen, yet his eyes remained fixed on Han Li.

The girl in male disguise finally noticed that something was wrong with her elder. In her anxiety, she urgently tugged at the elder’s sleeve.

Unexpectedly, after pulling the blue-robed elder around halfway, she easily freed him from the attraction of Han Li’s gaze, saving him from the backlash of the Nightmare Technique.

The blue-robed elder suddenly went from certain doom to escape—the extreme shift in his mental state left him stunned for a while. It took him a moment to come to his senses, but by then the clothes on his back were completely soaked through with cold sweat.

Now looking flustered, he quickly whispered a few words to the girl, then didn’t dare to glance in Han Li’s direction again.

The blue-robed elder clearly understood that the girl could rescue him so easily only because the other party had gone easy on them. Otherwise, he would have at least suffered mental damage and fallen seriously ill.

Although he didn’t know why the other party had acted this way, it was better for him and his granddaughter to stay far away from this person. This ordinary-looking young man’s cultivation was truly terrifying! Definitely not someone they could afford to provoke!

What puzzled him was that he had already used the Heaven’s Eye Technique to check this person—there hadn’t been the slightest fluctuation of spiritual power from him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have recklessly used the “Nightmare Technique.”

“Could it be that this person’s cultivation has actually reached…” The blue-robed elder’s face began to turn pale at his own speculation. If it was as he thought, hadn’t he provoked someone his entire family couldn’t afford to offend?

Thinking this, his recently calmed mind became restless again.

As for the girl in male disguise, she looked in astonishment at her elder’s face alternating between green and red, extremely surprised.

In her mind, her grandfather had always been unflappable and steady as Mount Tai. Now he actually showed such an expression! Could that ordinary-looking young man really be so terrifying?

Thinking this, she couldn’t help but feel the impulse to look back at Han Li again.

But before she could act, the elder seemed to read her thoughts and suddenly said to her with extreme seriousness in a low voice: “Don’t provoke that young man again. If I’m not mistaken, he’s likely a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator. Whatever you do, don’t anger him again!”

“What? A Foundation Establishment stage cultivator! That can’t be! How old is he?” the girl exclaimed in a low voice, covering her mouth with a jade-like hand, her face pale with shock, not daring to speak too loudly.