(Still short by over three hundred votes to make the rankings! *Cough*, seeing this, Wang Yu really feels the future is bleak! If we can't even make the list, I can't possibly continue taking leave to write at home for everyone; I'll have to go back to working and simultaneously maintain a daily update progress of one 2,000-character chapter. So those readers who haven't voted, or who don't care whom to vote for, please cast your votes for this book! After all, with over six thousand collections, having so few votes is really unacceptable! Because we didn't make the list, I should have only updated one chapter, but considering the voting readers, I'll post another somewhat shorter chapter to encourage those who haven't voted to vote quickly. If by tomorrow we still haven't made the list, Wang Yu will have to honestly go back to work, after all, I have to support my family. Prices are so high, without money it's really impossible to move an inch!)
Han Li had only taken a few steps when he heard someone calling him from afar.
"Over here, Brother Han!"
Han Li turned toward the voice and saw Wan Xiaoshan standing beside an old man in a green robe, waving at him incessantly.
Han Li smiled slightly and quickly walked over. When he reached the old man in green, Wan Xiaoshan introduced him, saying:
"This is Qing Yan Zhenren of Tai Nan Valley, a close friend of my father. This Tai Nan Minor Gathering is being hosted by him and several other seniors."
Hearing the youth's words, Han Li couldn't help but take a careful look at Qing Yan Zhenren.
He saw that the old man was tall and thin, with broad shoulders and long hands, dressed in a green scholar's robe, and had quite an otherworldly, immortal bearing. However, his face, covered with green spots, was truly startling!
Then the youth said to the old man, "Brother Han is someone I just met outside the valley. Although he's an independent cultivator, we get along very well. Uncle, please take good care of him!"
The old man also sized up Han Li, then suddenly squinted his eyes and said to Han Li,
"Young Friend Han's wood attribute technique is quite good! At such a young age, you've already cultivated to the eighth layer. It's rare to see such skill even within cultivation families!"
Upon hearing Qing Yan Zhenren's praise, Han Li smiled bitterly inwardly. If it weren't for consuming large amounts of spiritual pills and good medicines, how could he possibly have reached the eighth layer? He would probably still be struggling between the third and fourth layers!
However, on the surface, he modestly declined, "Elder Qing flatters me too much. I was just lucky."
Qing Yan Zhenren nodded faintly and said no more to him. Instead, he turned to Wan Xiaoshan and said,
"Little fellow, the others from your family have already arrived. They are especially worried about you and asked me to bring you to them as soon as I saw you. Come with me now!"
Upon hearing this, Wan Xiaoshan's face fell.
"Did my Seventh Sister and Ninth Brother come too? I'm most afraid of their nagging. Can't I go?" Wan Xiaoshan looked at Qing Yan Zhenren with full hope.
Qing Yan Zhenren put on a stern face and said, "What do you think?"
"Of course not!" Wan Xiaoshan answered dejectedly.
"Hmph! You've got some nerve, sneaking out on your own without telling your family. If you had run into some evil-minded cultivators on the way, you'd have lost your life here!" As he said this, he gave Han Li a slight sidelong glance.
"This old man is not upright; he's clearly insinuating that I'm an evil-minded cultivator deliberately approaching this kid Wan." Han Li observed coldly, naturally understanding the insinuation in the words of this Qing Yan Zhenren.
"Alas! It's rare to meet such an unreserved young master, but it seems I'll have to part ways for now! Otherwise, if this Qing Yan Zhenren decides to make things difficult for me, I'll be in deep trouble." Han Li thought helplessly.
"Since Brother Wan is going to meet his family, I'll take my leave and look around on my own. If there's an opportunity, I'll drink and chat with you again, Brother Xiaoshan." Han Li clasped his fists and said to Wan Xiaoshan and Qing Yan Zhenren.