Stirrings Beyond the Sea — Earthen Mountain

Chapter 423: Stirrings Beyond the Sea — Earthen Mountain

Han Li did not immediately agree upon hearing these words. Instead, he unconsciously wrinkled his nose, thought for a moment, and then said:

“Brother Jin, let me think this over for now. In two days, I’ll give you my answer.”

“Alright! Take your time and consider it carefully, Brother Han. If it truly won’t work, I’ll just find someone else to try and see if there are any other wandering cultivators who understand formation methods.” Jin Qing spoke with great understanding.

Then, after exchanging a few more pleasantries, he clasped his hands in farewell and took his leave.

Han Li watched Jin Qing’s retreating figure and stood still for a long time without moving, a contemplative expression on his face.

Speaking of it, quite a few ancient cultivator ruins had been discovered in the Chaotic Star Sea.

But what lay inside could be anything—completely empty, or one might find ancient cultivators’ cultivation notes, some now-extinct rare materials, or valuable treasures like magical artifacts.

Generally speaking, most ruins yielded at least some gains. Of course, the quality depended entirely on the luck of the discoverer.

However, following his own inclination, Han Li truly did not want to go out searching for any ancient cultivator ruins.

The Chaotic Star Sea was currently seething with undercurrents, and things outside Heaven Star City were not exactly peaceful. Moreover, his Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords had not been nurtured for long enough to boast any great power.

Given these circumstances, he felt some hesitation about venturing out now!

If it had been anyone else, Han Li would have flatly refused without a second thought. But this Jin Qing was on reasonably good terms with him, had once given him some pointers on cultivation, and this was the first time he had asked a favor. Han Li couldn’t bring himself to be so discourteous as to refuse outright.

After pondering on the spot for a while, Han Li still let out a light sigh.

“There are still two days. I should deliberate on this matter a bit more.”

Thinking this, Han Li shook his head, moved his feet, and drifted back inside his residence.

Two days later, Jin Qing indeed arrived again at the entrance to Han Li’s cave estate. In the end, Han Li agreed to accompany him on this trip.

Partly it was to repay the favor, and partly he did harbor a flicker of interest in the ancient cultivator ruins. Who knew what decent things might be found inside?

Jin Qing was naturally overjoyed. The very next day, he, Han Li, and Qu Hun left Heaven Star City together, heading for the ancient cultivator ruins.

That Qu Hun was Han Li’s clone was something the nearby cultivators had figured out tacitly over the years of their acquaintance. Jin Qing naturally had no objections.

……

Two months later, Han Li, Jin Qing, and the others were speeding across a remote stretch of sea in the Chaotic Star Sea.

According to Jin Qing, after such a long flight, their destination should be just ahead.

Indeed, after flying for half a day more, they finally spotted a large island.

This island was extremely vast, spanning a full thousand li in circumference. But the island was mostly covered in hills and earthen mounds, giving everything a greyish-yellow appearance as far as the eye could see.

“Is this the island?” Han Li looked down from above the island and asked Jin Qing with some surprise.

“That’s right. According to the map, this is the place. I made inquiries among the mortals nearby. This island is a genuine, uninhabited wasteland. Not only is there not a single spirit vein nearby, but for some reason, ordinary trees cannot survive on the island either.” Jin Qing spoke with a hint of puzzlement.

Han Li was slightly taken aback but, after a brief consideration, said with a smile:

“The more unusual this island is, the more it suggests that there might truly be an ancient cultivator ruin here. This should be good news.”

“Hehe! That’s what we thought at the time. That’s why we searched the entire island and found the most likely location.” Jin Qing said with a touch of pride.

Han Li let out a faint smile, glanced around, and then asked casually:

“But this place you mentioned that’s covered by a formation—where exactly is it?”

“If we fly another hundred li west, there’s a huge earthen mountain. A slope on that mountain is sealed by a great formation.” Jin Qing replied without hesitation.

“Then let’s head over! Perhaps your Fellow Daoist has already arrived and even cracked the formation by now.” Han Li said with a chuckle.

“Heh! If that were the case, it would save us a lot of trouble! At most, we’d let them take a few extra items.” Jin Qing rubbed his chin, showing a hint of cunning in his expression.

It was the first time Han Li had seen such an expression on him, and he was somewhat amused.

They were just talking, of course.

Everyone knew that a great formation set up by an ancient cultivator wouldn’t be so easily cracked without a month or two of exploration.

“Let’s go, Brother Han! Let’s not keep them waiting too long.” Jin Qing beckoned Han Li and then took the lead, transforming into a rainbow of cyan and white light as he flew off.

With a calm smile, Han Li and Qu Hun urged their own treasures to follow.

A hundred li was almost nothing to a Core Formation cultivator; they arrived in the blink of an eye.

A truly towering yellow earthen mountain came into Han Li’s view.

The mountain was about a thousand zhang high, entirely earthy yellow, without a trace of green. It gave off an extremely unpleasant feeling, as if it were simply a pile of compacted loess.

Just as Han Li and the others flew near the mountain, a fierce wind suddenly kicked up, stirring sand and stones.

An endless, powerful gale lifted a layer of the yellow earth from the ground, darkening the sky and blotting out the sun, reducing visibility to almost nothing.

Han Li and the others were hardly afraid of a little wind and dust. With a flash of light, a protective barrier appeared around them, shielding them as they continued flying steadily forward.

After flying just over ten li, the wind and sand vanished as inexplicably as they had appeared, and they found themselves at the foot of the earthen mountain.

Jin Qing led Han Li in a half-circle around the mountain before stopping in front of several stone huts.

These stone huts were extremely crude, clearly conjured using a Stone Transformation technique. Their color was a uniform greyish-white.

Before Jin Qing and the others could even land, the stone door of one of the huts slid open on its own, and two men and one woman emerged one after another.

The men were both Core Formation cultivators, while the woman only had Foundation Establishment cultivation.

“Brother Jin, you’ve arrived! What a coincidence! We only arrived shortly ourselves!” Among the male cultivators, a gentle, scholarly-looking young man in white robes greeted Jin Qing with great warmth as soon as he saw him, appearing quite hospitable.

“Brother Hu, it’s only natural that you arrived early. Unlike this Jin, who had to return to Heaven Star City to find Fellow Daoist Han here.” Jin Qing seemed to be on reasonably good terms with this man and replied amiably.

“Fellow Daoist Han?” The young cultivator’s gaze swept back and forth between Han Li and Qu Hun a few times, clearly unsure which one was being referred to.

“I am Han Li. This is my senior martial brother, Qu Hun.” Han Li gave a slight clasped fist salute and said with a smile.

On the way there, Han Li had already agreed with Jin Qing that it was best not to reveal Qu Hun’s true identity.

Han Li also noticed that this Hu-surnamed cultivator, while appearing young with smooth, supple skin, had fine wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. It seemed he only looked youthful due to good care and was actually not young at all.

This Hu-surnamed cultivator must be the same fellow Daoist Jin Qing had mentioned, the one who had discovered the two spirit pearls together with him.

“I am Hu Yue. Though this is our first meeting, I hope we can exchange cultivation insights often in the future. After all, there are far too few wandering cultivators who manage to form their cores. Allow me to introduce these two fellow Daoists to you all.”

Hu Yue was clearly a skilled socializer. In just a few sentences, he had left Han Li with a decent impression. Then, he began introducing the other man and woman to Han Li.

“These two are Fairy Shi Die and Brother Jian. Fairy Shi is a well-known formation expert from Red Moon Island. I believe that if she joins forces with Brother Han, we’ll surely be able to break this formation. And Brother Jian is already a mid-Core Formation cultivator, so he will certainly be of great help during the process.” Hu Yue said with a smile as he made the introductions.

“Let me make this clear first: I’m only responsible for helping you break the formation. If there’s any further danger behind it, I, as a mere Foundation Establishment woman, will not be getting involved. Also, I get to pick first from whatever we find!”

This female cultivator named Shi Die had average looks but a haughty demeanor. Her opening words were blunt and unceremonious, leaving Han Li and the others momentarily taken aback.

“Red Moon Island? If I may ask, what is your relationship with the True Man Shi of Red Moon Island?” Jin Qing suddenly asked, a hesitant expression on his face.

“He is my father.” The female cultivator glanced at Jin Qing and said coldly.

“Oh, I see. In that case, everything will be as Miss Shi says!” Upon hearing this, Jin Qing agreed without the slightest hesitation, causing Han Li to glance at him with some surprise.

“Brother Han! The True Man Shi once showed me great kindness in my early years. Please bear with this a little.” Han Li heard Jin Qing’s voice transmission in his ear.

Han Li said nothing in response but gave Jin Qing an imperceptible, faint smile.