Chapter 420: Tushan

After hearing this, Han Li did not immediately agree. Instead, he subtly wrinkled his nose, thought for a moment, and then said, "Brother Jin, how about I consider this matter? I'll give you my answer in two days."

"Alright! Fellow Daoist Han, please take your time to consider. If it truly doesn't work out, I'll try to find others to see if there are any other rogue cultivators who understand array formations," Jin Qing said understandingly.

After chatting with Han Li for a few more moments, he clasped his hands and departed.

Han Li watched Jin Qing's receding figure, standing motionless for a long time, a pensive expression on his face.

Speaking of ancient cultivator ruins, quite a few had indeed been discovered in the Starfall Sea.

However, they could either be completely empty or contain valuable items like ancient cultivators' cultivation insights, rare materials that were now extinct, or powerful magical treasures. Generally, most ruins yielded some discoveries, though the quality depended on the luck of the person who found them.

However, Han Li's true intention was not to go searching for ancient cultivator ruins. This was because the Starfall Sea was currently full of hidden dangers, and the area outside Starfall City wasn't very peaceful. Moreover, his "Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords" hadn't been refined for long and weren't particularly powerful yet. Given this, he was quite hesitant to go out now.

If it had been anyone else, Han Li would have flatly refused. But Jin Qing had a relatively good relationship with him, had offered some cultivation advice in the past, and this was the first time he had asked for a favor. Han Li found it hard to refuse him outright.

After pondering for a while, Han Li finally lifted his head and sighed softly.

"Anyway, there are still two days. I should give this matter more thought!"

With that thought, Han Li shook his head, moved his feet, and gracefully returned to his residence.

Two days later, Jin Qing indeed returned to the cave dwelling's entrance. Han Li finally agreed to accompany him on the trip. On one hand, it was to repay Jin Qing's favor. On the other hand, he genuinely had some interest in the ancient cultivator ruins. Who knew what valuable items might be found there?

Jin Qing was naturally overjoyed. The next day, he, Han Li, and Qu Hun left Starfall City and headed towards the ancient cultivator ruins. It was an open secret among nearby cultivators, who had interacted with Han Li over the years, that Qu Hun was Han Li's clone. Jin Qing naturally had no objections. They sped across a remote sea area in the Starfall Sea.

According to Jin Qing, after flying for such a long time, they should be arriving soon. Indeed, after flying for a little less than half a day, they finally spotted a large island.

The island was vast, spanning over a thousand *li* in circumference. However, it was mostly covered in hills and slopes, appearing dull gray and yellow as far as the eye could see.

"Is this the island?" Han Li asked Jin Qing, looking down from above the island with some surprise.

"Yes. We found this island by following the map. I've asked the nearby mortals. This is a true wasteland island. Not only are there no spirit veins nearby, but for some unknown reason, ordinary trees cannot survive on the island," Jin Qing explained, looking a bit puzzled.

Han Li was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, but after a brief thought, he smiled and said, "The more unusual this island is, the more it suggests that there might genuinely be ancient cultivator ruins here. That should be good news."

"Hehe! We thought the same thing back then, which is why we searched the entire island and found the most probable location," Jin Qing said, sounding a bit proud.

Han Li gave a faint smile. After looking around, he casually asked, "But where exactly is this place you mentioned that's covered by an array formation?"

"Fly about a hundred *li* further west. There's a huge earthen mountain. A slope there is sealed by a large array," Jin Qing replied without hesitation.

"Then let's go! Perhaps your fellow Daoist has already arrived and unlocked the array?" Han Li said with a smile.

"Hehe! If that's the case, it would be great, saving us a lot of trouble! At most, we'd just let them take a few more items," Jin Qing said, rubbing his chin and showing a hint of cunning. Han Li was momentarily speechless, chuckling to himself, as it was the first time he'd seen such an expression from Jin Qing.

However, they were just joking. Because everyone knew that a large array set up by an ancient cultivator wouldn't be easy to break open without at least a month or two of exploration.

"Let's go, Fellow Daoist Han! Don't let them wait too long," Jin Qing said, calling out to Han Li, then transformed into a long rainbow of blue and white and flew off first.

Han Li smiled faintly, then, along with Qu Hun, activated his magical treasures and followed suit.

For Core Formation cultivators, a distance of over a hundred *li* could be covered almost instantly. A truly tall yellow earthen mountain appeared in Han Li's sight. The mountain was about a thousand *zhang* high, entirely yellowish-brown, without a trace of green, giving off a very uncomfortable feeling, as if it were entirely made of piled-up loess.

As soon as Han Li and the others approached the mountain, a sudden strong wind began to blow, whipping up sand and stones. The boundless strong wind scraped a layer of yellow earth from the ground, immediately making the surroundings dark and hazy, so much so that they couldn't see their own hands.

Han Li and the others, naturally unafraid of such wind and dust, shimmered with protective spiritual light that enveloped them, allowing them to continue flying steadily forward. These winds and sands mysteriously disappeared after they had flown only a dozen *li* further, and by then, they had reached the foot of the earthen mountain.

Jin Qing led Han Li on a little less than half a circle around the earthen mountain, eventually stopping in front of a few stone houses. These houses were extremely crude and clearly created by petrification magic, all uniformly grayish-white in color.

Before Jin Qing and the others could even land, the stone door of one of the houses opened on its own, and three cultivators—two men and one woman—emerged, one after another. The men were both Core Formation cultivators, while the woman was only at the Foundation Establishment stage.

"Fellow Daoist Jin, you've arrived too! What a coincidence, we just got here ourselves!" A refined, white-robed young male cultivator, seeing Jin Qing, immediately greeted him with great enthusiasm, appearing quite hospitable.

"Fellow Daoist Hu, it's fitting that you arrived early. Unlike me, Jin, I had to return to Starfall City to find Fellow Daoist Han," Jin Qing said amicably, seeming to get along quite well with this person.

"Fellow Daoist Han?" The young cultivator's gaze immediately swept back and forth between Han Li and Qu Hun, clearly unsure which one was being referred to.

"I am Han Li, and this is my senior brother Qu Hun!" Han Li said with a slight bow and a smile. On the way here, Han Li had already agreed with Jin Qing that it would be best not to reveal Qu Hun's true identity.

Furthermore, Han Li noticed that while this cultivator named Hu appeared young, with radiant and supple skin, there were fine wrinkles around his eyes. It seemed he was merely good at maintaining his appearance, and his true age was likely not young. This cultivator named Hu was likely the fellow Daoist Jin Qing had mentioned, the one who had discovered two pearls together.

"I am Hu Yue. Although this is our first meeting, I hope we can exchange more cultivation insights in the future. After all, very few of us rogue cultivators manage to form a Core. Also, let me introduce these two fellow Daoists to you."

Hu Yue was clearly adept at socializing, and in just a few words, he left a good impression on Han Li. Then, he began to introduce the man and woman to Han Li and the others.

"These two are Immortal Stone Die and Brother Jian. Immortal Stone Die is a renowned expert in array formations from Red Moon Island. I believe that with her and Fellow Daoist Han working together, this array can surely be broken. And Brother Jian is already a mid-Core Formation cultivator, so he will certainly contribute a lot during the array-breaking process," Hu Yue introduced them one by one, smiling.

"Let's be clear from the start: I'm only responsible for helping you break the array. If there are any dangers behind it, I, a mere female cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage, will not participate. Furthermore, I must be the first to choose an item from whatever we obtain this time!"

This female cultivator named Stone Die was of average appearance, but her expression was arrogant, and her words were blunt from the start, causing Han Li and the others to be slightly taken aback.

"Red Moon Island? Excuse me, Fellow Daoist Shi, how are you related to True Monarch Shi of Red Moon Island?" Jin Qing suddenly asked with a hint of hesitation.

"That's my father!" the female cultivator replied coldly after glancing at Jin Qing.

"Haha, if that's the case, then everything will be as Miss Shi says!" Jin Qing immediately agreed without hesitation upon hearing her words, causing Han Li to look at him with some surprise.

"Fellow Daoist Han! True Monarch Shi once showed me kindness in my early years, so please bear with her a little," Jin Qing's voice transmission reached Han Li's ear.

Han Li said nothing in response but gave Jin Qing an almost imperceptible, faint smile.