Chapter 129: Daoist Master Qingyan
Han Li merely walked a few steps before he heard a voice calling him from far away.
“Over here, Big Brother Han!”
Turning his gaze in the direction of the voice, he saw Wan Xiaoshan standing beside a green-robed elderly man, incessantly waving his hands to get his attention.
Han Li lightly smiled as he walked over. When he approached the side of the elderly man, Wan Xiaoshan started an introduction, “This elderly figure is from Great South Valley, Daoist Master Qingyan. He is my father’s bosom friend. The recent Great South Meeting was organised and held by him and a few other elders.”
The moment Han Li heard the youth’s words, he involuntarily cast a few glances at the green-robed senior.
This elderly man was tall and skinny and wore a green scholarly robe. With wide shoulders, long hands, and a pockmarked face, he looked rather terrifying.
After introducing him, the youth spoke to the elderly, “Brother Han is someone I met when I was adventuring outside the valley. Although he is a rogue cultivator, we hit off extremely well. Senior Martial Uncle must take care of him as well!”
The old man regarded Han Li, and suddenly, he shut his eyes, saying:
“Little Brother Han, your wood attribute cultivation art is not bad. Reaching the eight layer at such a young age…your achievements are seen extremely rarely even in our cultivation world!”
Han Li bitterly smiled in his heart after he heard the praise of this old man. If it were not for him consuming a large amount of spiritual herbs and pills, how would he have reached the eighth layer so easily? If it weren’t for that, he estimated that he would still be at the third and fourth layer.
But still on the surface, he respectfully replied with a touch of modesty: “Elder Qing, thank you for your praise, but I was just lucky.”
The green robed old man nodded his head and stopped talking to him. Turning his gaze back onto Xiaoshan, he asked, “Little fellow, those in your family have already arrived and are very worried about you. They asked me to bring you to them the moment we met. You should follow me as I led you to them now!”
Upon hearing the news, Wan Xiaoshan couldn’t help but to show a face of depression.
“Don’t tell me that seventh sister and ninth brother came along as well? I’m most afraid of their constant nagging….Is it acceptable if I don’t go?” Wan Xiaoshan gazed at the old man with hopeful eyes.
The green-robed old man stopped smiling and asked, “What do you think?”
“Sigh, of course I have to go back!” Wan Xiaoshan sank his head as he replied in a depressed tone.
“Hmmph! Your guts are not small, and you actually dared to sneak out without informing your family. If you met an Immortal cultivator who was unscrupulous in the middle of your journey, do you think you would still be alive?” The old man harshly berated Xiaoshan while glancing at Han Li out of the corner of his eyes.
“Isn’t this old man hinting that I’m someone with a crooked heart, an extremely unscrupulous Immortal cultivator, and that I tried to get near to Xiaoshan for some other motive?” Han Li observed coldly towards the side, understanding the intent behind the old man’s words.
“Hai! It’s so hard to meet someone I can talk to about everything under the sun, but it seems like we have to be separated temporarily! If I don’t leave and Daoist Master Qingyan were to use his methods, I don’t even know if I can leave here alive.” Han Li helplessly exclaimed in his heart.
“Since Brother Wan wants to go back to meet his family, I shall go by myself and explore the place first. If we have an opportunity in the future, I will certainly treat Little Brother to a drink.” Han Li clasped his hands as he spoke to Wan Xiaoshan and Daoist Master Qingyan.
“Aiya! Don’t leave so fast, I still want to introduce you to……”
“Little Brother Han still has something he has to take care of. You shouldn’t disrupt his plans.”
Wan Xiaoshan saw that Han Li was leaving and frantically wanted to try and say something, but he was stopped by Daoist Master Qingyan.
Seeing this unfolding, Han Li smiled towards Wan Xiaoshan before turning and departing.
Meanwhile, that youth followed behind the old man with a face full of depression, as though he was being dragged to his execution ground. He walked slowly towards his family’s direction.
Even though Han Li had been treated like that by Daoist Master Qingyan, he wasn’t annoyed.
After all, as an elderly man, he would have plenty of life experiences. Seeing someone like Han Li, who came from an unknown background, he would surely view him with suspicion. Any normal mortal old man would surely do so, not to mention a senior such as Daoist Master Qingyan.
However, Han Li did not have any malicious intents towards Wan Xiaoshan; he purely wanted to understand matters about the world of cultivators.But now with the appearance of Daoist Master Qingyan, it seemed that he would have to find some other way to get more knowledge about the world of cultivators. Unknowingly, he started to move closer to the Immortal cultivators’ shops.
The cultivators’ shops were situated in a spacious market, lined up in the shape of a “回” design around the market. This way, it was easier for the potential customers in the crowd to browse their merchandise. Lining up in small groups of two to three, the customers split themselves up as they explored the stores, giving the market the atmosphere of a rowdy night market.
It was already approaching late evening, and the lights on the streets flickered into life. The majority of the merchants lit up their bronze lanterns that contained neither wick nor wax. Instead, the lanterns housed white stones that released a soft light, illuminating the streets.
The light emitted was stronger than ordinary candlelight. Not only was it capable of illuminating a small region, even the nearby streets were illuminated as well. To Han Li, this was an extraordinary treasure! Han Li couldn’t help but click his tongue as he exclaimed in wonder
The skies turned dark, but the crowd was even more populated than before. The majority were Immortal cultivators hidden in the crowd, causing the liveliness of the area to be even more rampant. Han Li slowly neared the market, but he didn’t bring his horse in. Instead, he observed from the outside, taking note of all the Immortal cultivators he saw.
Because now, at such a close distance, the attire of the Immortal cultivators allowed Han Li to widen his scope and knowledge.
Some of the cultivators had shabby robes on, only covering their private areas, with other parts of their bodies bare for all to see. While others were heavily robed in clothes, not revealing any parts of their skin, a total opposite when compared to the shabbily dressed cultivators. What was more ludicrous was that there was fellow who was obviously a man but was dressed like a woman. This almost caused Han Li to vomit, but luckily these type of strange people weren’t often seen. Although the other cultivators were dressed strangely, Han Li was still able to accept it.
After his observation, Han Li’s countenance suddenly flickered as his eyes grew brighter.
He discovered, that those in the market, regardless of whether they were merchants setting up stores or Immortal cultivators visiting the markets, all of them were between 10 and 20 years of age. He couldn’t even spot a Immortal cultivator older than 30.
This was just as Wan Xiaoshan had described it. Taking place every five years, “The Great South Meeting” was an event targeted young Immortal cultivators. It appeared that those who were older or had a higher status wouldn’t appear here. Even Daoist Master Qingyan wouldn’t dare to show his face here.
Thinking of this, he let out a sigh of relief. After all, these old fellows were tough to handle, and if they wanted to deal with him, they would easily be able to do, so just like using a finger and pressing an ant to death. No trouble at all.
However, although the ones in front of his eyes were all young Immortal cultivators, their individual levels of power weren’t weak. If Han Li were to compare himself with these cultivators, he could only be considered someone at the mid-tier, average standard. Back in Jia Yuan City, Han Li had once met the blue-clothed man, who was so much stronger than him. Over here, there were five to six Immortal cultivators on the same level as the blue-clothed man, which made Han Li perspire with nervousness.
