The Silent Horizon

But while Han Li was taking note of the mortals, he also faintly sensed the auras of numerous cultivators scattered around the harbor. They were presumably the cultivators responsible for maintaining order at the dock.

As this thought crossed his mind, Han Li, accompanied by Curly Soul, followed Steward Gu and the other man into a stone building at the edge of the harbor.

The interior of the building was very simple. Aside from a wooden table and a chair, there was only an old man with a sallow complexion sitting in the chair, meditating with his eyes closed.

When he heard the sound of Han Li and the others entering, this "Immortal Master" opened his eyes.

A sliver of cold light shot forth from his gaze. Han Li’s heart tightened. This man was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and not one any weaker than Han Li himself had been before losing his magic power.

The sallow-faced old man directly ignored Gu Dongzhu and Wang Changqing. His gaze swept briefly over Han Li and Curly Soul, and after noting that Han Li’s cultivation was only at the Qi Condensation layer, he resumed a listless expression. However, Han Li noticed that the man had taken an extra glance at Curly Soul.

"You few—what business do you have? If you have something to say, say it quickly. Don’t disturb my rest." The man spoke weakly, a trace of impatience showing on his face.

Thanks to his photographic memory, Han Li had already learned a decent amount of the local language from Wang Changqing. Although he could not yet speak it, he could barely manage to understand what others said.

However, having zero experience dealing with local cultivators, he did not open his mouth to say anything foolish. He merely smiled and watched as Gu Dongzhu and the other man negotiated with the cultivator.

Gu Dongzhu respectfully addressed the man as "Immortal Master Yang," then stepped closer to the sallow-faced cultivator and whispered a few words. He then pointed back at Han Li, as if explaining his origins. Finally, he pressed several spirit stones into the cultivator's hand.

The "Immortal Master Yang’s" expression softened considerably at the feel of the spirit stones. He reached into his robes and pulled out a green jade token, then asked Han Li stiffly:

"Your name?"

"Han Li." Han Li spoke his own name very fluently. As for how the other party would transcribe it into whatever script they used, he did not care.

A green light flickered on Immortal Master Yang’s hand, completely enveloping the jade token. Moments later, the light faded, and two strange symbols that Han Li could not recognize had appeared on the token.

The sallow-faced old man tossed the token to Han Li.

"Keep this token safe. If you lose it, come to me in time for a replacement. Otherwise, you’ll be charged with trespassing on Starfall Island. Of course, if you settle here later, this token will be taken back and is no longer needed. As for the refined corpse behind you—it doesn’t need one." After speaking these words with an air of elder authority, the Immortal Master paid them no further attention and closed his eyes to rest again.

Gu Dongzhu, understanding the cue, immediately withdrew.

But Han Li was somewhat concerned that the man had immediately seen through Curly Soul’s true nature. After taking one more glance at him, he also silently walked out.

Not long after Han Li left, the Immortal Master Yang reopened his eyes and muttered to himself in confusion:

"That refined corpse is a bit strange. It’s clearly a dead body, so why is it still releasing spiritual energy? Could it be some new kind of corpse-refining technique?"

The sallow-faced old man sank into a long contemplation.

Outside, after leaving the harbor, Gu Dongzhu hired a beast cart pulled by two strange creatures that looked like a cross between a sheep and an ox. With Han Li in the cart, they sped along a main road into the island’s interior.

On this road, such carts were as numerous as oxen, bustling to and fro.

But after passing through several clean, lively towns, the number of carts noticeably decreased. Later, when they turned onto a few small paths, they encountered even fewer travelers and carts.

After another half-day of rapid travel, the cart finally arrived at a farmstead covering over a dozen acres. In front of the farm were planted many strange crops Han Li had never seen before.

Some cereal-like plants had rice ears resembling ordinary rice, but their leaves were thick, flat, and a purplish-red, emitting a faint fragrance. Some leafy greens looked exactly like Chinese cabbage, but what kind of cabbage in the Heavenly South grew to half the height of a man and had several small blue flowers blooming in its heart?

In the fields, a dozen or so farmers were working in small groups, tending to the crops and tilling the soil.

A truly peaceful pastoral scene.

Just as Han Li was taking in the sight with interest, the beast cart arrived at the farm’s main gate and came to a stop.

Han Li and Curly Soul jumped down first and looked around.

Near the farm were planted green, verdant pines, and next to it was a not-insignificant hill. One could call the environment elegant and quite distinct.

The entire farm was enclosed by an earthen wall two zhang high and several feet thick. The houses within the wall were all brand new, as if they had been built not long ago.

"So this is the Gu family's estate," Han Li praised inwardly. But after carefully examining the pines, his expression inadvertently shifted slightly.

He was startled to discover that, within the pine grove surrounding the farm, there was a faint trace of formation activity. It was clearly warded.

From Han Li’s experienced eye, while it was not a very sophisticated formation, it was enough to trap low-level cultivators.

While Han Li was pondering this, Gu Dongzhu, who had also alighted from the cart, said with an ingratiating smile:

"Immortal Master Han, please rest a while in the estate! I will have the servants prepare some of the island’s specialty wine!"

Hearing this, Han Li cast an almost imperceptible glance around the estate. Then he smiled and replied:

"Never mind. I won’t disturb the Gu family. I’ll just stay temporarily over there. Once the matter is settled, I’ll find a more permanent residence."

As he spoke, Han Li pointed in a certain direction.

Gu Dongzhu and Wang Changqing followed the direction of Han Li’s finger and saw the lonely, solitary hill. They were completely dumbfounded.

But after a few more warm invitations failed, they had no choice but to let this somewhat eccentric Immortal Master stroll off toward the hill.

They exchanged helpless glances and walked into the estate.

Han Li, with Curly Soul in tow, climbed a slope that could barely be called a path to the top of the hill. Then he looked down at the Gu family estate below.

He saw Gu Dongzhu, surrounded by a crowd of men and women, walking into a large mansion at the center of the estate. The crowd then dispersed on its own, with only a few people of higher status or more splendid attire following him into the mansion.

Han Li’s mouth curled slightly. He turned around and busied himself with his own affairs.

He first found a relatively flat stretch of ground halfway up the hill. Then he quickly selected a few thicker pine trees, offered a magic tool, and swiftly dismembered them. Curly Soul then…

Half an hour later, a crude wooden hut stood on the hill. Inside the hut, a wooden table, chairs, and even a wooden bed were all present.

Over the next month, Han Li stayed in the wooden hut, taking pills, using medicine, and practicing meditation every day, striving to recover his cultivation as soon as possible.

During this time, Gu Dongzhu and Wang Changqing visited a few times to discuss the upcoming challenge. Then, not daring to delay Han Li’s cultivation any further, they hurriedly left.

Gu Dongzhu was a thoughtful man. Every few days, he would send someone up the hill with some exquisite food for Han Li.

Han Li accepted it all without the slightest hesitation.

Among the offerings were several very sweet fruits that delighted him, clearly local specialties he had never seen before.

In the last few days of the month, Han Li’s cultivation had actually recovered to the fifth layer of Qi Condensation.

This surprised him greatly, and at the same time, made him feel a little more secure.

According to Gu Dongzhu, the cultivators hired by the other ten families were not exceptionally powerful. Aside from a rare individual, most were at the sixth or seventh layer of Qi Condensation. The opponents for the challenge were decided by drawing lots. As long as Han Li’s luck was not terrible, defeating his opponent would not be a problem.

To increase Han Li’s chances of victory, Gu Dongzhu had even scoured the area for two or three powerful magic tools, hoping to strengthen Han Li’s combat ability.

But when Han Li saw these items, which could barely be considered high-grade magic tools, he could only roll his eyes inwardly and accept them for now. It would set Gu Dongzhu’s mind at ease.

Two days after Han Li’s cultivation had just recovered to the fifth layer, Gu Dongzhu and Wang Changqing finally came to find him with visibly tense expressions.

Without a word, Han Li followed them back into one of those monster-drawn carts, which sped off toward a certain location in the island’s interior.

After racing for two hours, the cart brought them into a city built entirely of white stone.

When they entered the city, there were many mortal soldiers guarding the gate.

Those leaving the city were not questioned, but everyone entering had to produce a token very similar to the one hanging at Han Li’s waist for inspection.

However, when Han Li entered, the soldiers simply took out a cylindrical device and waved it near him. Upon seeing a green light flash from the cylinder, they immediately saluted him respectfully, then only checked the tokens of Gu Dongzhu and Wang Changqing.