Han Li knew nothing about the Qin family matter, but that didn't dampen his wild elation in the slightest! Excitedly, he paced back and forth across his room, fidgeting with the Ascension Token in his hand, and the more he looked at the token, the more pleasing it seemed to his eyes.
After about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Han Li finally calmed down. He steadied the excitement thrumming in his heart and began to consider his future arrangements and the feasibility of traveling to Yellow Maple Valley to seek apprenticeship.
After a restless night of tossing and turning, the Tainan Small Gathering finally reached its end. Starting from the morning of the second day, many cultivators began departing the valley one after another, and the valley's population suddenly shrank by nearly half.
By afternoon, several senior experts appeared in the plaza. After offering words of encouragement and praise, they officially announced the conclusion of the Tainan Gathering, and Qingyan Zhenren was among them.
Immediately, the remaining cultivators either departed in groups of three to five or flew off alone like solitary wild geese. At this moment, Daoist Qingwen and several others approached Han Li and once again invited him to travel together.
After a moment of silence, Han Li still shook his head and declined Qingwen and the others' invitation, which greatly displeased Wu Jiuzhi and the Mo brothers. Even Daoist Qingwen's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.
"Since Brother Han is unwilling to travel with us, Qingwen won't insist. Do take care of yourself on the road!" Finally, Qingwen sighed and said with a tone of mild regret.
Then he patted Han Li on the shoulder and left the valley with the others.
Han Li didn't notice that in the instant Daoist Qingwen patted his shoulder, he had scattered some colorless, invisible powder from inside his sleeve onto Han Li's clothes, and the places where it landed showed no visible trace whatsoever.
Just as Wu Jiuzhi and the others stepped out through the thick fog at the valley entrance, Daoist Qingwen had somehow fallen to the rear. Taking advantage of the others not paying attention, he let a flash of sinister expression cross his face. Suddenly he raised his sleeve, and a streak of fire shot off at an angle, disappearing into the bushes to one side. Then his features returned to their usual appearance, still righteous and dignified, as though nothing had happened.
Han Li knew nothing of what Daoist Qingwen had done, but out of his habitual caution, he did not immediately set out from Tainan Valley. Instead, he stayed another night in the valley, and only when dawn was just barely breaking did he slip out undetected.
Once outside Tainan Valley, Han Li oriented himself, cast the Wind Riding Technique on his body, then lightly touched the tip of his foot to the ground and drifted several zhang forward. In this manner, with his robes fluttering, he gradually receded into the distance.
Shortly after Han Li departed, two more people hurried to the spot. Before them, a green light sphere the size of a thumb led the way. After circling once around the place where Han Li had just been, it followed in the direction he had gone, and the two pursuers trailed closely behind the green light.
Han Li didn't rest for a single moment along the way, covering over a hundred li in one stretch without stopping until he reached a small hill. Only then did he halt, sit down, eat something, and recover his strength and Magical Power.
Han Li had no idea that his string of unconventional movements had left the pair pursuing him cursing endlessly!
It was no wonder. Who on earth sets out before dawn to start traveling? Had they not planted a tracking method on Han Li in advance, they might have lost track of him entirely. But even so, their original plan—to set up an ambush ahead of time—was thoroughly ruined!
What made the two even more furious was that Han Li had covered over a hundred li in a single push, forcing them to eat a bellyful of dust from behind, nearly collapsing from exhaustion! After all, as cultivators of long standing, they had grown accustomed to comfort and luxury. Traveling long distances on foot like this was something neither had experienced in a very long time.
After an unknown amount of time, Han Li sat cross-legged in a depression at the base of the hill, eyes closed and completely motionless, as though he had entered a state of selfless meditation. Apart from the intermittent chirping of mountain insects, there was not a single other sound.
Just then, from somewhere in the nearby soil, a dozen or so streaks of white light suddenly burst from the ground, thrusting straight at Han Li.
The seemingly motionless Han Li suddenly snapped his eyes open, revealing a cold gleam. His body abruptly rose into the air for no apparent reason, then lightly touched down with both feet, landing on a patch of open ground to one side.
As a result, the white lights naturally missed their mark. Thud! Thud! They plunged at angles into the soil where Han Li had been meditating, revealing half of their true form—over a dozen razor-sharp ice cones!
Seeing this, Han Li's expression turned grim.
He extended his right hand, spreading all five fingers, and with a crackling burst of sparks, a small fireball appeared at each fingertip. However, these fireballs were a full half smaller than those produced by the ordinary Fire Bullet Technique!