Chapter 146: Gray-robed Elder

Martial Uncle Wang and Han Li soared on a leaf-shaped magical artifact. After flying for an hour, they landed on a lush green mountain ridge, descending into a dense cluster of simple houses. These dwellings, built from ordinary stones, were incredibly basic, and not a single person was to be seen within the entire cluster, making Han Li somewhat puzzled, as they all seemed to be empty.

"Don't be surprised, these houses are indeed empty," Martial Uncle Wang said calmly, noticing Han Li's confusion. "This place was originally for new disciples who had just joined the sect. Only when they made some progress in their cultivation would they move out and find other residences. And now it is the ten-year rotation period, so new disciples have not yet entered the sect, which is why they are all temporarily vacant." This explanation made Han Li suddenly understand.

Martial Uncle Wang led Han Li through the houses, taking many turns and making Han Li dizzy, before finally stopping in front of a house much larger than the ordinary stone dwellings. Then, without explaining anything to Han Li, he shouted loudly:

"Junior Martial Brother Lin, open the door! I've brought a new disciple here to collect his things!"

No sooner had Martial Uncle Wang's words fallen than the door swung open with a whoosh. Seeing this, Martial Uncle Wang led the way inside without hesitation. Han Li hesitated slightly before following him into the house.

To Han Li's surprise, the interior of the house seemed even more spacious than it appeared from the outside. He secretly marveled, wondering what trickery had been used on the house.

The overall impression the interior gave Han Li could be summed up in one word: "disorder."

Various miscellaneous items were scattered everywhere in piles. Some were clothes, while others were weapons like swords and knives. However, judging by the spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from the weapons, they were actually well-made magical artifacts.

Besides these, the house also contained everyday tools like shovels and hammers, which also brimmed with spiritual energy, having been refined into objects similar to magical artifacts. This was an eye-opener for Han Li, though he wondered about the magical effects of using these tools.

In the center of the room sat a square eight-immortal table. Behind it, facing the door, sat a gray-robed, disheveled old man. This old man ignored Han Li and Martial Uncle Wang, who had just entered, and was diligently carving a palm-sized piece of yellow wood with a gleaming small knife.

Seeing this, Martial Uncle Wang frowned slightly, but his expression quickly returned to normal. He did not step forward to disturb the old man's work. Instead, he pulled a chair from a corner of the room and sat down opposite the old man, quietly waiting for him to finish carving the wood.

Han Li observed the situation, blinked, and then silently stood behind Martial Uncle Wang, wisely waiting with him.

The gray-robed elder's hands moved swiftly, and wood shavings scattered down from his fingers. In just the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a lifelike small monkey appeared in the palm of his hand.

"Junior Martial Brother Lin, your carving skills have improved significantly since I last saw them!" Martial Uncle Wang remarked with a smile.

"It's nothing, just passing the time when there's nothing else to do! But why has Senior Martial Brother Wang found the time to visit my humble abode?" the gray-robed elder said indifferently, though his eyes glanced at Han Li, seemingly having guessed their purpose.

"It's nothing major. I just need to collect some personal items for a new disciple from the valley and help this Martial Nephew Han get equipped with his supplies," he said with a smile.

"Didn't all the new disciples from this Immortal Ascension Gathering already receive their things? How is there another one? And his aptitude is really too poor! Have our Sect Master Zhong's standards fallen so low that he's even recruiting such mediocre talent into the valley?" The gray-robed elder spoke bluntly in front of Han Li, disparaging him completely. From his tone, he didn't seem to show much respect for Sect Master Zhong either.

Han Li naturally felt extremely embarrassed by these words, and Martial Uncle Wang could only smile wryly.

He knew that because of an incident years ago, this Junior Martial Brother Lin had always held a grudge against the current Sect Master. But in front of Han Li, a junior, how could he possibly respond to his junior martial brother's remarks?

So, he coughed a few times and changed the subject.

"Junior Martial Brother, this Martial Nephew Han brought an Immortal Ascension Token and has joined our Yellow Maple Valley! He was admitted as an exception, so the issue of aptitude is not important. The crucial thing is that our sect must uphold its promises."

"An Immortal Ascension Token!" The gray-robed elder was greatly surprised and re-examined Han Li with astonishment.

"Tsk, tsk! So, this kid has immense fortune and can even take a Foundation Establishment Pill?" The old man exclaimed, a look on his face as if to say, "You really struck gold, kid!"

"Haha, that's generally how it is. However, Martial Nephew Han made a deal with Senior Martial Brother Ye and voluntarily gave up that Foundation Establishment Pill," Martial Uncle Wang said with a smile.

"Gave up the Foundation Establishment Pill?" The old man was startled at first, but for some reason, his expression immediately saddened. After a moment of silence, he unexpectedly uttered something that greatly surprised Han Li.

"It's good to be able to give it up! The most important thing for a person is self-awareness. To understand the art of compromise at such a young age, this is much stronger than I was!" The gray-robed elder's expression was profoundly desolate, and his originally cold gaze towards Han Li softened slightly.

But after hearing the old man's words, Han Li was confused and deeply unconvinced in his heart!

"What does 'self-awareness' mean? I was forced into it, with a bleeding heart, to offer up the Foundation Establishment Pill! If not for that, who would be willing to give it up!"

Regardless of Han Li's inner complaints, the old man's face suddenly became stern, and he abruptly stood up. He made several light grabbing motions in the air around him with both hands, and an item suddenly appeared in his hand. More and more items materialized, leaving Han Li dumbfounded throughout the process.

"One yellow silk shirt, one green leaf magical artifact, one set of everyday refining tools, one Blazing Sun Sword and one Cold Moon Blade, and one Tenfold Storage Pouch." The old man coldly recited the names of the items in his hands, then placed them on the table.

"The items are all here, young fellow, take them! As for Senior Martial Brother Wang, he's a busy man, so I won't keep you. I won't see you out!" With that, the old man pulled out another piece of wood from his pocket and began carving again, ignoring the two of them.

Martial Uncle Wang sighed, said no more, and had Han Li pick up the items before leaving the house. As soon as they stepped out of the stone dwelling, the door slammed shut with a clang!

Martial Uncle Wang looked at the tightly closed door, shook his head gently, and prepared to leave the place with Han Li.

"Oh! You don't need to carry all these things in your arms; just put them into the storage pouch!" As Martial Uncle Wang turned around, he saw Han Li standing beside him, holding a large pile of items, looking bewildered and silly. He couldn't help but find it amusing, so he offered a reminder.

Only then did Han Li belatedly place the pile of items he was holding onto the ground and fish out a black cloth pouch from among them. "This is the so-called Tenfold Storage Pouch?" Han Li wondered.

He picked up the pouch, looked at its incredibly narrow opening, and then at the surprisingly large swords and knives in comparison. For a moment, he hesitated, unsure how to stuff them into the pouch.

"It's your first time using a storage pouch; I'll demonstrate!" Martial Uncle Wang was quite amiable. Seeing Han Li's confusion, he reached out and took the pouch.

"Just aim the pouch opening at the item you want to store, then inject some spiritual energy into the pouch, lock onto the item, and it will automatically be absorbed!" Martial Uncle Wang explained as he personally demonstrated.

He pointed the cloth pouch opening downwards, and a faint white light flashed in his hand. A streak of white mist shot out from the pouch, enveloping all the items on the ground. Those items immediately began to rapidly shrink in the white light, and once they reached a certain size, they were absorbed into the pouch. Han Li watched, astonished and delighted!

"The method for taking items out is the same; you just need to first lock onto the item you want to retrieve with spiritual energy," Martial Uncle Wang said, handing the pouch back to Han Li.

"However, there are a few important precautions when using a storage pouch, Martial Nephew Han, you must remember them well!" Martial Uncle Wang clasped his hands behind his back and said solemnly.

Upon hearing this, Han Li nodded vigorously like a chick pecking at rice.

"First, storage pouches have certain capacity and magnification limits for shrinking items. If items are too large or too many items are stored, the storage pouch will become ineffective and unable to hold anything else."

"Second, living creatures cannot be stored in a storage pouch. If you put living beings inside, they will surely die!"

"As for the last point, it's crucial to remember: low-level storage pouches do not have an owner-binding effect. Whoever seizes your storage pouch can claim the items inside as their own! Therefore, do not easily display your storage pouch in front of other cultivators. You must properly conceal it, otherwise, you could easily invite deadly peril."