The Chicken Rib Isle

Han Li took the album and slowly unrolled it, only to realize it was a completed map of Starfall Island, covered in interweaving golden and white lights that flickered with a mysterious glow.

However, the flashing areas were all concentrated in a large cyan region at the center of the map.

It was only now that Han Li understood that the area occupied by Azure Cloud Mountain was far vaster than he had ever imagined. The cyan region in the middle alone accounted for over a quarter of the entire island.

Looking at the gleaming white dots, Han Li narrowed his eyes and focused intently.

Compared to the golden lights, the white dots were far more numerous. However, their brightness was clearly not uniform.

Some were dazzlingly bright, while others emitted only a faint glow.

The spots marked as mountain peaks were extremely glaring and bright, but Han Li did not consider these places at all. The middle-aged cultivator’s supplementary explanation rang in his ears:

“Qi Condensation cultivators are not qualified to select various mountain peaks. Other locations have no such restriction; any place marked by white light is permissible!”

This was exactly what the young cultivator surnamed Wen had told him.

What remained were natural valleys, caves, and other such locations, their white lights much dimmer.

“Junior has a question. How large a cave residence can I open in these places? Are there any restrictions?” After looking at the album for a while, Han Li suddenly raised his head and asked the middle-aged man in a deep voice.

“Your cave residence is your private domain within a ten-li radius of its center. You may arrange formations and restrictions as you please, provided you have the ability to enclose such an area.” The middle-aged cultivator showed a hint of surprise but quickly revealed a trace of a mocking smile as he spoke.

“Then, junior would like to select this place. Since it is also marked by white light, it should have a spirit vein, correct?” Han Li said calmly after hearing this.

He then lightly tapped a spot on the map with his finger. Instantly, the white light at that location turned yellow.

Han Li returned the album to the other man.

“Here?” The middle-aged cultivator’s gaze swept roughly over the spot Han Li had pointed to, a look of surprise on his pale face.

Han Li had pointed to a place outside Starfall Island itself, a location that indeed flickered with a faint white light.

“This is Small Huan Island. The island is only sixty to seventy li long, but it does have a small spirit vein several li in length on it. We have set up a small protective formation on the island and built a small town there. There are probably a few hundred people.” The middle-aged cultivator spoke with a half-smile, a hint of mockery faintly showing through.

Han Li said nothing. He knew that since the man wore such an expression, this island could not be that simple.

“To us on Starfall Island, this island is a bit of a chicken rib. Discarding it would be a pity because it has a spirit vein. But its spiritual qi concentration is far inferior to that of other islands, and the area is too small.”

“If you truly choose this place, you would naturally have no other cultivators to disturb your cultivation. However, the spiritual qi concentration is at least a third thinner than what we provide on Azure Cloud Mountain. In other words, your cultivation speed will be noticeably slower than that of other cultivators.”

“In the past, there were a few cultivators like you who preferred to seclude themselves and chose this island. But none of them lasted more than a few years before obediently returning one by one. They would rather pay a large amount of spirit stones to reselect a cultivation site than continue staying on this island. After all, for us cultivators, spiritual qi is the most important thing.”

“Furthermore, the regulations state that a cultivator who chooses this island must also bear the obligation to protect it. That is to say, the spirit stones for the island’s protective formation are your own expense. Of course, you can collect a certain amount of spirit stones from the island’s residents as compensation, and you yourself will not have to pay an annual tribute of spirit stones to the main island. However, let me warn you first. The few spirit stones the island’s residents hand over are far from enough to cover the daily consumption of the protective formation. Up until now, the spirit stones consumed by this island have been directly covered by Starfall Island itself, which is how it has managed to last until now.” The middle-aged cultivator tapped the edge of his bed rhythmically with his index finger, speaking lazily.

“Can it be understood that if I go to this island, I would essentially be its island lord?” Han Li pondered for a moment after hearing this, then asked softly.

“Heh, you could certainly think of it that way.” The middle-aged man said, somewhat surprised.

He had already explained the disadvantages of this island so clearly, yet this young man still insisted on choosing it. That was no longer his concern.

At this point, the middle-aged cultivator sized up Han Li again with a somewhat meaningful look, sneering inwardly.

Just the sheer consumption of spirit stones would soon make this man wail in regret!

He believed that within a year or two at most, this young cultivator would return in disgrace to select a new cultivation site.

Otherwise, the position of a true island lord, even on a small island, would have long been fought over by other cultivators. Would it still be vacant until now?

“Alright, junior will choose this island!” Han Li thought it over a little more, then said without further hesitation.

Hearing Han Li’s affirmation, the middle-aged cultivator did not hesitate.

He pulled out a golden brush from his bosom, lightly tapped it on the island on the map, and the white light there instantly turned to gold.

Then, he took out a jade slip from his body, wrote a few characters on it with the golden brush, and tossed it to Han Li.

Han Li took the jade slip and glanced down at it. On the jade slip were two golden symbols, somewhat familiar, as if they were his name written in the local script.

“This jade slip is proof that Small Huan Island is your cultivation site. It also contains the roster of the island’s residents. Take good care of it!” The middle-aged cultivator said indifferently.

Then, he put away the album, half-lay back down on the bed, and waved his hand at Han Li.

The intent to dismiss him was perfectly clear!

Han Li made a slight bow and tactfully withdrew.

Leaving the Ascension Pavilion, Han Li had no intention of lingering on Azure Cloud Mountain to sightsee or make new acquaintances. He directly flew away from the mountain on his magic tool and returned to Gu Family Village.

Early the next morning, Han Li left a letter for Lord Gu on the wooden table in his room. Then, he took Qu Hun and flew towards the nearest town.

There, he bought a map of Starfall Island and the surrounding sea area before heading straight for the harbor.

According to Wang Changqing, the largest city on Starfall Island, “Starfall City,” was located in the western part of the island, and it had a “Heavenly Capital Street” where Immortals would buy and sell trade goods.

Although Han Li was very eager to go there and see what items overseas cultivators traded in and what techniques they cultivated.

However, his cultivation base was truly too low at the moment. Going to such a place where many cultivators gathered made him somewhat uneasy and deeply unsettled. So, he forcibly suppressed his curiosity and gave up.

“It seems that with insufficient strength, one’s courage also shrinks considerably.” Han Li mumbled to himself with some self-deprecation as he flew towards the harbor.

His choice of “Small Huan Island,” which had thinner spiritual qi, over a cultivation site on Azure Cloud Mountain, was a painstaking decision made to keep the small bottle’s secret.

Only on such a remote island, far from other cultivators, could he freely cultivate the medicinal herbs he needed. His rapid advancement in cultivation would then not draw the attention of other cultivators!

Although this might mean his cultivation speed would be slightly slower, as long as the spiritual qi was sufficient for him to cultivate the herbs he needed, that was enough.

After all, he mainly relied on consuming and refining medicinal pills for his cultivation. A slightly thinner spiritual qi concentration would not have too great an impact on him.

Han Li flew out of the massive restriction that enveloped the entire Starfall Island from the harbor and, following the description on the map, headed straight for “Small Huan Island.”

Although on the map, this island was only right next to Starfall Island, Han Li traveled on the Divine Wind Boat for an entire day and night before he spotted the island from the sky.

Circling the island once, Han Li finally spotted a small dock that seemed to be the entrance of a formation.

So, Han Li slowly descended onto the dock.

There were very few people on the dock, only a dozen or so fishermen resting on small boats by the shore.

As soon as they saw Han Li and Qu Hun descending from the sky, they all got off their small boats and crowded towards Han Li.

“I am Hei Gui. Greetings, Immortal Master!”

As they reached Han Li, the group bowed in unison. A sturdy, dark-faced man among them greeted respectfully, seeming to be the leader of these fishermen.

“Is this Small Huan Island?” Although Han Li was sure he hadn’t made a mistake, he still asked cautiously to be safe.

“Yes, Milord Immortal Master! Has the Immortal Master come to replace the spirit stones? But wasn’t the last batch replaced not long ago?” Hei Gui asked with a confused expression.

“I’m not here to replace spirit stones. But from today onward, the spirit stones consumed on this island will be paid by me. This island is now my cultivation site. From now on, you may call me Immortal Master Han.” Upon confirming that this was indeed Small Huan Island, Han Li breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile to the people before him.

Then, under the astonished gazes of the fishermen, he called out to Qu Hun and flew towards the center of the island on his magic tool.