Han Li took the album and slowly unrolled it, discovering it was a complete map of Kuixing Island. Golden and white lights shimmered across its surface, radiating an enigmatic glow.
However, the glowing areas were all concentrated within a large cyan region at the center of the map.
Only then did Han Li realize that the Qingyun Mountain range covered a far more extensive area than he had imagined—the central cyan region occupied over a quarter of the entire island.
Han Li narrowed his eyes slightly, focusing intently on the shimmering white dots.
Compared to the golden lights, the white lights were significantly more numerous, though their brightness varied greatly. Some were dazzlingly brilliant, while others emitted only a faint glimmer.
The markings indicating mountain peaks shone especially brightly, but Han Li dismissed those areas entirely. The middle-aged cultivator’s supplementary words echoed in his ears: “Peak locations are not eligible for selection by Qi Refinement cultivators. Other areas have no such restrictions—anywhere with white light is permissible.”
This matched exactly what the young cultivator surnamed Wen had told him. The remaining options were natural valleys, caves, and similar places where the white light was noticeably dimmer.
“This junior would like to ask: how large a cave abode may I establish in these areas? Are there any restrictions?” After studying the album for a while, Han Li suddenly looked up and asked the middle-aged man solemnly.
“Within a ten-mile radius centered on your cave abode, it will be your private domain. You may set up arrays and restrictions as you wish, provided you have the capability to secure such an area.” The middle-aged cultivator showed a hint of surprise but then wore a faintly mocking expression.
“Then may this junior choose this location? Since it also emits white light, it should have a spiritual vein, right?” Han Li asked calmly.
He lightly tapped a specific spot on the map with his finger, and the white light there instantly turned yellow. Han Li then handed the album back to the other party.
“Here?!” The middle-aged cultivator’s gaze swept over the spot Han Li had indicated, his pale face registering clear surprise.
Han Li had pointed to a location outside Kuixing Island—a place that indeed shimmered with a faint white glow.
“That’s Xiaohuan Island. The island is only about sixty or seventy li in length, but it does have a small spiritual vein spanning a few li. We’ve set up a minor protective array there and established a small town with a population of a few hundred.” The middle-aged cultivator spoke with a faint, almost mocking smile, his tone laced with subtle ridicule.
Han Li remained silent. He knew that if the other party showed such an expression, the island couldn’t be as simple as it seemed.
“For us on Kuixing Island, this island is something of a dilemma. It has a spiritual vein, so abandoning it feels wasteful, yet its spiritual energy density is significantly inferior to other islands, and its size is too small. If you truly choose this place, you won’t be disturbed by other cultivators, but the spiritual energy concentration is at least one-third weaker than what Qingyun Mountain offers. In other words, your cultivation speed will be noticeably slower than others’.”
“In the past, a few cultivators like you, who preferred solitary cultivation, also chose this island. But none of them stayed more than a few years before obediently returning. They’d rather pay a large sum of spirit stones to choose a new cultivation site than remain on that island. After all, for us cultivators, spiritual energy is paramount. Moreover, according to regulations, any cultivator who chooses this island must also take on the responsibility of protecting it. This means the spirit stones required to maintain the island’s protective array will come out of your own pocket.”
“Of course, you can collect a certain amount of spirit stones from the island’s residents as compensation, and you yourself will be exempt from paying the annual spirit stone tribute to the main island. However, let me remind you—the spirit stones contributed by the island’s residents are far from enough to cover the daily consumption of the protective array. Until now, the spirit stones consumed by the island have been directly supplied by Kuixing Island, which is the only reason it has been sustained.” The middle-aged cultivator tapped the edge of his bed rhythmically with his index finger as he spoke lazily.
“Can it be understood that if I go to this small island, I would effectively become its island master?” After pondering the other’s words for a moment, Han Li asked softly.
“Heh, you could indeed think of it that way.” The middle-aged man replied, somewhat surprised. He had clearly laid out all the drawbacks of the island, yet this young man still wanted to choose it. Well, that was no longer his concern.
At this point, the middle-aged cultivator gave Han Li another meaningful once-over, inwardly sneering. Once faced with the enormous spirit stone consumption, this guy would surely be crying out in frustration!
He was confident that within a year or two, this young cultivator would return in disgrace to choose a new cultivation site. Otherwise, if being the master of a small island were truly desirable, other cultivators would have fought over it long ago—it wouldn’t have remained available until now!
“Very well, this junior chooses this island!” After a brief moment of further thought, Han Li stated decisively without hesitation.
Hearing Han Li’s firm decision, the middle-aged cultivator showed no hesitation. He pulled out a golden brush from his robe, lightly touched the island on the map, and the white light there instantly turned gold.
Then, he retrieved a jade slip, wrote a few characters on it with the golden brush, and tossed it to Han Li.
Han Li caught the jade slip and glanced down. Two golden symbols were inscribed on it, somewhat familiar—likely his name written in the local script.
“This jade slip serves as proof that Xiaohuan Island is your cultivation site! It also contains a roster of the island’s residents. Keep it safe.” The middle-aged cultivator said indifferently.
Then, he put away the album, lay back down on the bed, and waved a hand at Han Li, making his intention to dismiss him unmistakably clear.
Han Li offered a slight bow and tactfully withdrew.
After leaving the Ascension Pavilion, Han Li had no intention of lingering in Qingyun Mountain to enjoy the scenery or meet fellow cultivators. Instead, he directly flew away on his artifact, returning to Gujia Village.
Early the next morning, Han Li left a letter for Master Gu on the wooden table in his room and flew with Qu Hun to the nearest small town. There, he purchased a map of Kuixing Island and its surrounding sea area before heading straight to the port.
According to Wang Changqing, Kuixing Island’s western region housed the island’s largest city, “Kuixing City,” which contained a street called “Tiandu Street” dedicated to transactions among immortal masters.
Although Han Li was very curious to visit and see what kind of items overseas cultivators traded or what techniques they practiced, his current cultivation level was pitifully low. The thought of going to a place crowded with cultivators made him uneasy and insecure, so he reluctantly suppressed the urge.
“It seems with insufficient strength, my courage has shrunk considerably too,” Han Li murmured self-deprecatingly on his way to the port.
His decision to forgo a cultivation site in Qingyun Mountain in favor of the spiritually thinner “Xiaohuan Island” was a carefully considered move to protect the secret of his small bottle. Only on such a remote island, far from other cultivators, could he freely cultivate the spiritual medicines he needed. His rapid progress in cultivation would then go unnoticed by others!
Although this might slow his cultivation speed slightly, having enough spiritual energy to grow the necessary medicines was sufficient. After all, his cultivation primarily relied on consuming and refining pills—the thinness of spiritual energy wouldn’t significantly impact him.
Han Li flew out of the massive restriction enveloping Kuixing Island from the port and headed straight for “Xiaohuan Island” according to the map’s description.
Although the island appeared close to Kuixing Island on the map, Han Li flew on his Divine Wind Boat for a full day and night before finally spotting it from the sky.
After circling the island once, Han Li eventually noticed a small dock that seemed to be the entrance to the array. He gradually descended onto the dock.
There were few people at the dock—only a dozen or so individuals who looked like fishermen resting in small boats along the edge. As soon as they saw Han Li and Qu Hun descending from the sky, they disembarked and gathered around Han Li.
“This lowly one is Hei Gui, paying respects to Immortal Master!” The group bowed as they reached Han Li. A particularly robust, dark-faced man stepped forward and greeted him respectfully, appearing to be the leader of these fishermen.
“This is Xiaohuan Island, correct?” Although Han Li felt he couldn’t have mistaken it, he still asked cautiously to confirm.
“Yes, Immortal Master! Are you here to replace the spirit stones? But the last replacement wasn’t long ago…” Hei Gui asked, looking puzzled.
“I’m not here to replace spirit stones. But from today onward, the spirit stone consumption of this island will be my responsibility, as this island is now my cultivation site. You may address me as Immortal Master Han from now on!” Relieved to have confirmed the island’s identity, Han Li smiled and addressed the crowd.
Then, under the astonished gazes of the fishermen, he signaled to Qu Hun and once again rose on his artifact, flying toward the center of the island.
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