The Gathering of the Desperate

Han Li pleaded ignorance on all counts, insisting that his current cultivation level was entirely the product of bitter hard work. As for why his progress had been so astonishingly fast, he produced a story he had prepared long ago for just such a situation: a chance encounter in his childhood where he had eaten a strange fruit. He attributed everything to that fruit.

Han Li knew that a lie had to be seven parts truth and three parts falsehood to be believed. So the strange fruit he described was not a pure invention. It was based on a legendary immortal fruit called the “Dragon Scale Fruit,” which had been passed down through the ages. It was said that whoever ate it would be reborn, their bones and marrow transformed, and could ascend to heaven in broad daylight. Whether such a thing actually existed, Han Li had no idea; after all, no one had ever truly consumed one.

When this well-read Uncle Wang heard Han Li describe the fruit’s appearance, his eyes lit up. He actually fetched an ancient book called Records of Strange Things from somewhere and found the “Dragon Scale Fruit” Han Li had mentioned, asking him to confirm it.

With things having reached this point, Han Li naturally went along with the flow and acknowledged it. Uncle Wang clicked his tongue in wonder.

Han Li also told him that once the fruit was picked, the original plant’s roots and leaves withered and died immediately, so even if someone went back to the same spot, there would never be a second fruit. This utterly cut off any notion of the other man tracing the source and searching for more, completely blocking his next line of inquiry.

As for whether this man would truly be seized by greed and actually go looking for another immortal fruit elsewhere, that was none of Han Li’s concern. Let him wear himself out!

And Han Li was well aware that, no matter how much Uncle Wang put on a show of sudden understanding and total belief in front of him, he had no real confidence in how much of this story the other man actually believed.

Probably the man was caught somewhere between half-belief and half-doubt. So regarding this Uncle Wang, Han Li decided he would avoid him as much as possible from now on, steer clear, and be extra vigilant so as not to be seen through.

But Han Li believed that as long as he succeeded in Foundation Establishment and entered the Foundation Establishment stage, his status would be completely different. Even if Uncle Wang still harbored doubts, he would not lightly provoke him. After all, in the cultivation world, strength spoke!

Thus, Han Li managed to muddle through the problem of his cultivation technique. Whether it was because Uncle Wang felt some apology for the trouble he had put Han Li through earlier, he showed no sign of obstructing Han Li’s registration. He easily completed all the formalities and even gave Han Li some precautions regarding the forbidden land expedition, telling him to prepare early.

Han Li expressed his thanks profusely and took his leave.

After returning, he informed the little old man and temporarily put aside his duties in the medicine garden to focus entirely on preparing for the Blood Forbidden Trial.

Upon hearing this, the little old man was silent for a long time. He stared at Han Li with a strange look that seemed to say, “You’re as good as dead,” which made Han Li’s hair stand on end for quite a while.

But to his surprise, this Uncle Ma, before leaving, tossed two bottles of medicine to Han Li without a word and said coldly, “One for internal use, one for external application.” Then he flew off on his magic tool with an indifferent expression.

This gesture gave Han Li a faint warmth in his heart.

After two years of association, he had come to understand this little old man. Though his temperament was somewhat odd, he was a man with a cold exterior but a warm heart, simply a bit too absorbed in the Dao of alchemy. The fact that he would treat Han Li this way showed that he regarded him as a nephew or junior. Han Li felt genuinely moved.

Three days before the forbidden land expedition, Uncle Wang finally sent Han Li a message talisman, urging him to gather at the main议事 hall to prepare for departure.

When Han Li arrived, the disciples who had signed up for the Blood Forbidden Trial were all assembled there, sizing each other up.

The entire Yellow Maple Valley had over ten thousand Qi Condensation disciples, so Han Li naturally did not know everyone. But among them, one figure appeared whom Han Li knew all too well—a woman. He not only recognized her; she was the very “Junior Chen” who had nearly been drugged and assaulted by “Senior Lü.”

Speaking of which, after Han Li had killed Senior Lü, it had caused a minor stir in Yellow Maple Valley. Though this man had yet to establish his foundation, he was still a possessor of a mutated spiritual root and had been a low-level disciple of considerable interest to the upper echelons.

As for Junior Chen, after she returned, for whatever reason, she never mentioned that night’s experience to anyone and kept silent about it.

Thus, Senior Lü, who had vanished for a long time, was treated as a missing person. After the sect made inquiries and searched everywhere with no results, the matter gradually faded away.

Such disappearances from the valley had happened before; Senior Lü was neither the first nor the last.

Once the dust settled, no one in Yellow Maple Valley mentioned Senior Lü again, as if he had never existed. This situation relieved Han Li but also sent a chill of cold realization through him.

Cultivators were indeed mostly people who cut off emotions and desires. If he himself were to disappear one day, the sect’s reaction would likely be even less than this. In the blink of an eye, he would be forgotten, and no one would bother to inquire about his whereabouts.

It seemed his low-key, cautious approach since entering the sect had been the right one.

After all, the path of cultivation was long, and the possibility of accidents was so great. If he drew attention to himself and did stupid things to show off, then as a low-level cultivator without any background or backing, he could be crushed at any moment on the path of cultivation by some irresistible, powerful existence. And the chance of being reborn and walking the cultivation path again was so low it might as well be zero.

Although he had not originally believed much in reincarnation and rebirth, since coming into contact with the cultivation world, Han Li had begun to harbor some doubts.

Junior Chen’s demeanor was markedly different from before. Whether it was due to the blow of her lover’s betrayal, she was now simply dressed, cold and stunning, exuding an aura that kept everyone at arm’s length. Several young men who had been attracted by her appearance and tried to strike up a conversation were sent packing.

Was it some perverse quality in men that made her cold, proud expression not diminish her beauty but instead add a layer of mysterious charm? The surrounding male disciples couldn’t stop stealing glances at her. This charm was far more compelling than the image of the clinging little bird she had shown beside Senior Lü.

But when Han Li saw this, he felt a wry grin inside.

No need to ask—another woman had been added to the world who regarded men as venomous scorpions. After experiencing her lover’s betrayal, this woman would probably never show a pleasant face to any man again. She might even plan to live out her life alone.

This Junior Chen did not recognize Han Li. He deliberately walked past her a few times, but all he got in return was her icy gaze, clearly mistaking him for just another show-off.

Han Li breathed a sigh of relief. The illusion-inducing power of the Harmony Elixir was indeed formidable; she had no memory of him at all. This eliminated his last remaining worry.

Thinking about it, her decision to participate in the Blood Forbidden Trial was likely his doing. After losing her Foundation Establishment Pill, if she wanted to establish her foundation, she had to take the same desperate gamble as he did. After all, the forbidden land expedition was the only remaining way to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill.

The disciples Yellow Maple Valley was sending on this forbidden land expedition were truly a strong and elite force. There were as many as five or six disciples at the peak of the thirteenth layer alone.

Among the remaining disciples, the majority were at the twelfth layer, with Junior Chen being at the mid-level of the twelfth layer.

Finally, there were only three disciples at the eleventh layer. Besides Han Li, there was a white-haired old man and a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old kid, which sent a chill through Han Li’s heart. Those three were probably the legendary “filler” and “cannon fodder” disciples.

According to past practice, the seven great sects could not send more than twenty-five low-level disciples into the forbidden land—at most, fewer was acceptable. In previous expeditions, they often failed to gather enough people, sending only a dozen or so to participate in the Blood Forbidden Trial.

But this time, not only had they reached the maximum number, but so many elite disciples had appeared. All of this indicated that this expedition would be far beyond the ordinary level, and the number of survivors would certainly be less than one-quarter.

Seeing this expected scene, Han Li could only curse inwardly and accept it helplessly. No doubt these elite disciples had been privately promised higher rewards by the sect’s upper echelons, or else they would not be here.