Han Li, seeing the young girl’s look of disappointment, suddenly laughed and said softly, “Although I can’t take you as my disciple, don’t lose heart! I can introduce you to another senior brother who is also at the Foundation Establishment stage to be your master. However, whether you can successfully become his disciple depends on whether he is satisfied with you.”
“Really?” The girl, who had been extremely disheartened, immediately perked up upon hearing this.
Without another word, Han Li took out a communication talisman from his person, whispered a few words into it, and then handed the talisman along with a jade token to the girl.
“Take this talisman and jade token to the Hundred Herb Garden in Yellow Maple Valley to find a senior surnamed Ma. Whether you can become his disciple will depend on your luck,” Han Li said indifferently.
The girl had not expected that although Han Li was unwilling to take her as his disciple, he would still offer her another opportunity. A glimmer of hope reignited within her, and she quickly bowed in gratitude to Han Li. The old man was similarly uplifted.
“Since the matter of introducing a master isn’t guaranteed, I’ll give you two top-grade magical instruments as compensation for the kindness you’ve shown me with the Dao book,” Han Li said.
As he spoke, he took out an emerald-green brocade ribbon and a small blue sword from his storage pouch and casually handed them to the old man.
Upon seeing this, the old man’s face lit up with surprise and joy. He had thought that Han Li’s offer to introduce the girl to a master was already a significant favor, but he hadn’t expected Han Li to give them additional rewards. He couldn’t help but feel immensely grateful.
The old man hurriedly expressed his thanks repeatedly before respectfully accepting the magical instruments, his face showing extreme fondness for the two items.
After all these years of cultivation, he only possessed one top-grade magical instrument. Now, he had acquired two more at once—how could he possibly be dissatisfied?
Shortly after, Han Li did not linger. He casually withdrew the two strands of spiritual energy he had latent within their bodies and, under the respectful gazes of the grandfather and granddaughter, drifted away.
Only when Han Li was truly far away did the old man happily hand the brocade ribbon to the girl, keeping the small sword for himself. He planned to set out soon for Yellow Maple Valley to find Senior Ma and see if his granddaughter had the fate to become a disciple of one of the seven major sects.
However, the old man surnamed Xiao found it somewhat strange that Han Li would be involved with the Qin family—those people were genuine mortals, after all!
…
Setting aside old man Xiao’s wild speculations, Han Li finally returned to the Qin residence in high spirits.
Since he landed directly at his residence using his magical instrument, his return went unnoticed by anyone. He appeared in his bedroom as if out of thin air.
The newly acquired set of unnamed Qi Concealment techniques struck Han Li as very practical, so he immediately opened the ancient book and began studying it overnight.
The techniques were merely minor tricks for manipulating spiritual energy. With Han Li’s profound cultivation base, mastering them posed no difficulty.
In just one night, he had grasped most of it.
By the next morning, Han Li had just finished his meditation and Qi refining, feeling that his luck had been quite good lately, when suddenly a dull “thump” came from the storage pouch at his side. It sounded as if something had shattered.
Han Li’s expression immediately turned grim, his face darkening. After a moment, he reached into the storage pouch and pulled out a purple pearl, identical to the magical instrument he had given to the white-haired old Taoist. However, the smooth, crystalline surface of this pearl was now crisscrossed with cracks of varying depths.
Han Li was silent for a while before wordlessly walking out of the room. He glanced around the courtyard and, seeing no one, summoned the Divine Wind Boat, which floated before him. In a flash, he boarded the small boat and silently disappeared from the Qin residence.
A quarter of an hour later, Han Li appeared above a small village outside Yuejing City. His expression unchanged, he scanned the village from the sky as if searching for something.
Finally, he landed his magical instrument on a remote hill several miles from the village, his gaze fixed intently on a large willow tree.
After a long while, Han Li formed a hand seal with both hands and softly uttered the word “Retrieve.”
Immediately, from the deeply buried roots of the tree, a green glowing sphere flew out. Encased within the sphere was a round pearl, purple and brilliant, its surface similarly cracked in several places. The shape and size of the cracks were identical to those on the pearl in Han Li’s hand.
Han Li sighed, beckoned to the glowing sphere, and the cracked pearl, still encased in the light, flew into his hand.
As soon as the pearl landed in his palm, the outer layer of light dissolved into his body, leaving only the bare pearl for him to toy with.
Han Li pondered for a moment before suddenly flicking his finger. A fist-sized fireball shot from his fingertip, blasting a large crater at the base of the tree and instantly reducing the entire willow to ashes.
Han Li stepped forward to examine the site carefully but found nothing.
“It seems he likely fell victim to foul play,” Han Li murmured, shaking his head.
The magical instrument he had selected for the old Taoist, the “Purple Light Pearl,” was actually fully named the “Purple Light Sensing Pearl.”
This type of magical instrument was always crafted in pairs of two pearls. Not only could they release protective barriers, but if one pearl was destroyed due to its barrier being breached, the other pearl would simultaneously crack and break as well, as long as it was within a thousand miles—a truly inconceivable phenomenon.
This magical instrument was most commonly used by disciples of the Harmonious Joy Sect, one of the six major demonic sects. Han Li had acquired several pairs during border skirmishes and kept them instead of selling them due to their peculiar nature.
When he gave the old Taoist this instrument, he had actually harbored an alternative motive: if the old Taoist met with misfortune, Han Li would know immediately.
But he never expected that in just one night, the old Taoist would have used this instrument, and it seemed the situation was dire.
This was completely beyond Han Li’s expectations, leaving him feeling rather unprepared.
Han Li stood motionless by the crater, seemingly deep in thought.
After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Han Li’s expression shifted slightly. Then, with an impassive face, he released the Divine Wind Boat, jumped aboard, and transformed into a streak of white light, flying far into the distance.
The desolate little hill seemed to return to silence, becoming lifeless once more except for the chirping of a few small birds.
“Whew!” Half an hour later, a deep, long sigh sounded nearby.
Then, from under another small tree about ten zhang away from the crater, a figure slowly emerged. This person was tightly wrapped in black cloth from head to toe, revealing only a pair of sharp, gleaming eyes, and was enveloped in a yellow light barrier.
However, as soon as this person fully emerged from the ground, the yellow light barrier immediately faded and then vanished without a trace.
After emerging, the person cautiously scanned the surroundings and the sky before saying in a low voice, “Come out, he’s really gone!” As these words fell, the ground in several places around them bulged simultaneously, and three similarly dressed figures emerged—each with a yellow light barrier and clad in black with covered faces. However, one of them had a slender figure, seemingly a woman.
“Big brother, what should we do? They ordered us to capture or kill the person who came. But now, we just watched him leave. Will we be in trouble?” asked one of the newly emerged figures, who was tall and slender, sounding anxious. Judging by the voice, this person seemed quite young.
The one who had emerged first trembled slightly upon hearing this, as the words struck directly at his worries. The ruthlessness of those who had given them the order was something they had deeply experienced.
“It should be fine! When they gave the order, they didn’t mention that the person coming would be a Foundation Establishment cultivator. That’s far beyond our capabilities. If we had acted, we would only be seeking death,” he said, though lacking confidence.
“Hmph! Big brother is right. How could we possibly detain a Foundation Establishment cultivator? I refuse to believe those people are completely unreasonable!” the only woman among the three said indignantly.
Hearing this, the other three could only exchange bitter smiles. Their younger sister was still so naive—when their lives were in the hands of others, how could they expect reason?
“However, what little sister says isn’t entirely without merit. They probably didn’t expect such a big fish to show up. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have left this matter just to us. They should have at least sent a Foundation Establishment cultivator to assist,” the last person, who was tall and thin, also spoke up.
“Right, if we explain the situation clearly, we probably won’t be punished too severely!” the tall and slender person seemed encouraged and quickly agreed, though his words sounded more like self-comfort.
“But it’s a bit strange. I have a feeling I’ve seen that young Foundation Establishment cultivator somewhere before. He looks familiar,” the first person suddenly said with a trace of doubt, speaking softly to himself.
This statement stunned the other three, greatly surprising them.
Especially the woman, whose eyes flashed with curiosity. She opened her mouth, about to ask for details.
But the person called “big brother” suddenly waved his hand to cut her off. “Enough, let’s leave this place quickly. We can discuss anything else later.”
Seeing this, the woman had no choice but to swallow her words and nod in agreement.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage