Chapter 299: Cracks and Ominous News

The young girl immediately looked disappointed, but then Han Li suddenly smiled and quietly said, "Although I cannot accept you as my disciple, don't lose heart! I can introduce you to another senior fellow apprentice, also in the Foundation Establishment stage, who could be your master. Whether you succeed in becoming his disciple, however, will depend on whether he is satisfied with you."

"Really?" The girl, whose spirits had been low, instantly brightened upon hearing this.

Without a word, Han Li took out a communication talisman from his person. After whispering a few words to the talisman, he handed it and a jade token to the girl.

"Take this talisman and jade token to the Hundred Herbs Garden in Yellow Maple Valley and find a senior named Ma. Whether you can become his disciple will depend on your fortune," Han Li said indifferently.

The girl had not expected that even though Han Li was unwilling to accept her as a disciple, she still had another opportunity. A flicker of hope rekindled within her, and she quickly bowed in gratitude to Han Li. The old man was equally thrilled.

"Since this introduction might not guarantee discipleship, I'll also give you two high-grade magic tools, as a token of appreciation for your family's cultivation texts."

As Han Li spoke, he took out an emerald silk sash and a small blue sword from his storage pouch and handed them to the old man.

Seeing this, the old man's face lit up with surprise and delight.

He had thought that Han Li's introduction of a master for the girl was already a significant benefit, but he hadn't expected Han Li to give them additional gifts. He was immensely grateful.

The old man hastily thanked him repeatedly before respectfully taking the magic tools, clearly delighted with both items.

He had cultivated for so many years and only possessed one such magic tool. Now, to suddenly receive two more, he had no reason to be dissatisfied!

Han Li did not linger there. He effortlessly withdrew the two masses of spiritual energy he had secretly placed inside them, then floated away, respectfully seen off by the grandfather and granddaughter.

Only after confirming Han Li had truly departed did the old man happily hand the silk sash to the girl, keeping the small sword for himself. He planned to set off on an auspicious day to Yellow Maple Valley to find Senior Ma and see if his granddaughter had the fortune to become a disciple of one of the Seven Sects.

However, the old man, surnamed Xiao, found it somewhat strange that Han Li was involved with the Qin family, who were undeniably mortals.

Leaving Old Man Xiao's musings aside, Han Li finally returned to the Qin Manor with excitement.

Since he used a magic tool to land directly at his residence, his return went unnoticed by anyone. He appeared in his bedroom as if by magic.

The newly acquired nameless Qi concealment technique felt incredibly practical to Han Li, so he immediately opened the ancient book and began practicing it that very night.

The incantation consisted of mere minor techniques for spiritual energy manipulation, and with Han Li's profound magical power, mastering them proved to be no difficult task.

In just one night, he had grasped most of it.

The next morning, as Han Li finished his meditation and Qi refinement, feeling that his recent luck was quite good, a muffled "thump" suddenly 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. A moment later, he reached into his storage pouch and pulled out a purple bead, identical to the magic tool he had given to the white-haired old Daoist. However, several cracks of varying depths had appeared on its smooth, crystalline surface.

After a moment of silence, Han Li suddenly walked out of the room without a word. After glancing around the courtyard and seeing no one, his Divine Wind Boat instantly flew out and hovered before him. With a flash, he boarded the small boat and silently vanished from the Qin residence.

Fifteen minutes later, Han Li appeared above a small village outside Yuejing City. His expression unchanged, he surveyed the area from above, seemingly searching for something.

Finally, on a secluded hill several miles from the village, Han Li descended with his magic tool, his gaze fixed intently on a massive willow tree.

After a while, Han Li formed a hand seal and softly uttered the word "Collect."

Immediately, a green light cluster flew out from the tree's deeply buried roots. Enclosed within the cluster was a spherical bead, shimmering purple, with several cracks of varying depths on its surface. The shape and size of these cracks were identical to those on the bead in Han Li's hand.

Han Li sighed and beckoned to the light cluster. The cracked bead, still encased in the cluster, immediately flew into his hand.

As soon as the bead reached his palm, the outer light cluster instantly dissolved into Han Li's body, leaving only the bare bead, which he continued to turn over in his hand.

Han Li pondered for a moment, then suddenly flicked his finger. A fist-sized fireball shot from his fingertip, striking the base of the large tree and creating a deep pit. The entire willow tree instantly turned to ashes.

Han Li stepped forward and observed carefully for a while, but found nothing.

"It seems they likely met with foul play," Han Li murmured, shaking his head.

The "Violet Light Bead" magic tool he had originally chosen to give to the old Daoist was actually fully named the "Violet Light Sensing Bead."

This magic tool, once refined, always came in a pair of two beads. They could not only release a protective light barrier, but if one bead was destroyed when its barrier was breached, the other bead, if within a thousand li, would also simultaneously crack and shatter. It was truly an incredible item.

This type of magic tool was the most commonly used defensive artifact among the disciples of the Joyous Union Sect, one of the Six Demonic Sects. Han Li had confiscated several pairs during battles at the border. Finding them quite rare, he had kept them instead of selling them.

When he gave this magic tool to the old Daoist, he secretly harbored the intention that he would immediately know if anything untoward happened to the old Daoist.

However, he had never imagined that the old Daoist would use this magic tool in just one night, and it appeared things had taken a turn for the worse.

This was completely unexpected for Han Li, leaving him feeling somewhat unprepared!

Han Li stood motionless by the pit, seemingly deep in thought.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Han Li's expression seemed to shift slightly. Then, emotionlessly, he released his Divine Wind Boat, jumped onto it, and transformed into a streak of white light, flying away into the distance.

The desolate small hill seemed to return to silence, becoming eerily still once more, save for a few chirping birds.

"Whoosh!"

Half an hour later, a deep sigh echoed nearby.

Then, from beneath a small tree a dozen zhang away from the large pit, a figure slowly emerged. This person was completely covered in black cloth, revealing only a pair of eyes that shone with a dark gleam. A yellow light barrier shimmered around them.

However, as soon as the person fully emerged from the ground, the yellow light barrier immediately faded, then completely vanished without a trace.

After emerging, the person cautiously scanned their surroundings and the sky, then said in a deep voice:

"Come out, that person is truly gone!"

As soon as these words fell, several spots on the surrounding ground simultaneously bulged and recessed, and three more similarly dressed figures emerged. They all wore the same yellow light barriers and black, masked clothing. However, one of them had a slender build, appearing to be a woman.

"Big Brother, what should we do? They ordered us to capture or kill the person who came. But now we've just watched him leave. Will there be any trouble?" The newly emerged, slender figure asked anxiously. From their accent, they seemed quite young.

Upon hearing this, the person who had emerged first involuntarily shivered. These words hit exactly on what he was worried about. They had all experienced firsthand the ruthless cruelty of those who gave them orders.

"It should be fine, right? When they gave the order, they didn't mention that the person coming would be a Foundation Establishment cultivator. This is far beyond our capabilities; if we had made a move, it would have been suicide." The person said, sounding somewhat uncertain.

"Hmph! Big Brother is right. How could we possibly stop a Foundation Establishment cultivator? I refuse to believe those people are completely unreasonable!" The only woman among the three said, somewhat indignantly.

Hearing this, the other three exchanged bitter smiles. Their little sister was still so naive; with their lives hanging in the balance, how could their opponents possibly reason with them?

"However, what our little sister said isn't entirely without merit. Perhaps they didn't expect such a 'big fish' to appear, otherwise they wouldn't have just left this matter to us. They should have sent at least one Foundation Establishment cultivator to help." The last person, who was tall and slender, also spoke.

"That's right! If we explain the situation clearly, we shouldn't face too severe a punishment!" The slender person seemed to perk up, hastily agreeing.

However, no matter how one listened to these words, they sounded mostly like self-reassurance.

"Still, it's a bit strange. I keep feeling like I've seen this young Foundation Establishment cultivator somewhere before; he looks familiar!" The person's eyes suddenly showed a hint of doubt as they softly murmured to themselves.

This remark made the other three pause, greatly surprised.

Especially the woman, a flicker of curiosity in her eyes, opened her mouth, ready to ask for clarification.

However, the one referred to as Big Brother suddenly waved his hand, interrupting her:

"Alright, let's leave this place quickly. Anything else can be discussed later."

Seeing this, the woman had no choice but to swallow her words and nod in agreement.