Chapter 129: True Person Qing Yan

Han Li had only walked a few steps when he heard someone calling him from afar.

"Over here, Brother Han!"

Hearing this, Han Li looked toward the source of the voice and saw Wan Wan Xiaoshan standing beside an old man in a green shirt, waving at him incessantly.

Han Li smiled slightly and walked over quickly. When he reached the side of the old man in the green shirt, Wan Wan Xiaoshan introduced him to Han Li:

"This is True Person Qing Yan of Tainan Valley. He is a close friend of my father, and he is one of the seniors who jointly hosted and organized this Tainan Small Assembly."

Upon hearing the youth's words, Han Li couldn't help but take a careful look at True Person Qing Yan.

He saw that the old man was thin and tall, with broad shoulders and long arms, and was dressed in a green Confucian robe; he truly possessed the refined air of an otherworldly immortal. It was just that his face, covered in green spots, was truly somewhat startling!

Following this, the youth said to the old man, "Brother Han is someone I just met outside the valley. Although he is a rogue cultivator, we get along very well. Uncle, please look after him a bit!"

The old man also sized Han Li up at this moment, and suddenly, he narrowed his eyes and said to Han Li:

"Little Friend Han's wood-attribute cultivation technique is practiced quite well! To have already reached the eighth layer at such a young age—this level of standard is rarely seen even within cultivation families!"

Upon hearing True Person Qing Yan's praise, Han Li felt a bitter smile inside. If it weren't for relying on consuming large amounts of spirit pills and good medicine, how could he possibly have practiced to the eighth layer? He would probably still be crawling between the third and fourth layers!

However, on the surface, he still respectfully and modestly replied, "Elder Qing is too kind; I was just lucky."

True Person Qing Yan nodded faintly and didn't say anything more to him, instead turning his face to Wan Wan Xiaoshan:

"Little fellow, the others from your family have already arrived. They are all especially worried about you and told me to bring you to see them the moment I saw you. Come with me now!"

Hearing this, Wan Wan Xiaoshan couldn't help but let his face fall.

"Don't tell me my Seventh Sister and Ninth Brother have come too? I fear their nagging the most; can I not go?" Wan Wan Xiaoshan looked at True Person Qing Yan full of hope.

True Person Qing Yan straightened his face and said, "What do you think?"

"Of course not!" Wan Wan Xiaoshan answered himself, dejected.

"Hmph! You have quite some nerve, actually daring to hide it from your family and sneak out on your own. If you had run into some ill-intentioned cultivators on the way, you would have had to forfeit your life here several times over!" When True Person Qing Yan said this, he glanced slightly askance at Han Li.

"This old man is not decent. These words clearly imply that I am the ill-intentioned cultivator who deliberately approached this Wan kid." Han Li watched coldly from the side and naturally understood the meaning in True Person Qing Yan's words.

"Hey! It's rare to meet such a talkative young master, but it seems I have to part ways for now! Otherwise, if this True Person Qing Yan decides to give me a hard time, I'll be the one suffering the consequences!" Han Li thought helplessly.

"Since Brother Wan needs to see his family, I will go wander around on my own first. If there is a chance in the future, I will drink and chat with Brother Wan Xiaoshan again." Han Li cupped his hands and said to Wan Wan Xiaoshan and True Person Qing Yan.

"Oh! Don't rush off; I still need to introduce you to..."

"Little Friend Han has his own important matters to attend to; don't go adding to his troubles!"

Seeing Han Li was about to leave, Wan Wan Xiaoshan hurriedly spoke up, wanting to say something more, but was grabbed by True Person Qing Yan, who cut him off first.

Seeing this, Han Li gave Wan Wan Xiaoshan a brilliant smile, then turned and continued walking toward the plaza.

As for the youth, like a prisoner being escorted to the execution ground, he followed behind True Person Qing Yan with a bitter face, slowly moving toward the direction of the pavilions.

Han Li wasn't particularly annoyed by being treated this way by True Person Qing Yan!

After all, any elder, upon seeing a friend of unknown origin appear beside their own nephew or niece, would first view them with suspicious eyes, let alone a great cultivation clan like Wan Wan Xiaoshan's family.

However, Han Li truly held no malice toward Wan Wan Xiaoshan; he simply wanted to learn more about the cultivation world from him. He had not expected Master Qingyan to interfere, so he would have to find someone else and act according to the situation!

As Han Li thought this, he gradually approached the plaza where the small stalls were set up.

The cultivators' small stalls surrounded the relatively spacious plaza, sparsely setting up a "Hui"-shaped path. Those who were selecting items for trade walked in twos and threes in the middle of the open space with stalls on both sides, coming and going, which actually had quite the atmosphere of mortal business dealings.

At this time, the sky was already somewhat dim, but the plaza was brightly lit. Most of the stalls had huge, uniform-style lamps placed in front of them. These lamps were made of bronze, with an antique style, and were a full meter tall.

However, there was no lamp oil or similar fuel placed in these lamps; instead, they each supported a fist-sized white stone that emitted a soft glow.

The light emitted by these stones was much brighter than ordinary oil lamps, not only illuminating the stalls beneath them like broad daylight but also making the nearby paths clearly visible; they were truly marvelous items! Seeing this scene, Han Li couldn't help but secretly marvel.

Although it was already late, there were many more people in the plaza than just a moment ago. Not only had some new stalls been added, but the number of people browsing had also surged significantly. A large number of cultivators poured into the venue at this time, making this place exceptionally lively for a while.

Han Li slowly approached the plaza but didn't enter immediately; instead, he stayed nearby and began to observe these coming and going cultivators.

Because he was relatively close, the appearances and attire of these cultivators truly opened Han Li's eyes.

Some cultivators wore very simple clothes, with only a few vital parts covered, while other places were bare. Others, however, were wrapped tightly from head to toe, not revealing a sliver of skin, which was the exact opposite of the others. Even more outrageous was seeing one who clearly had the appearance of a man but wore clothing and ornaments just like a woman's, which made Han Li want to vomit for a moment. Fortunately, such freaks were not common, and although most people's attire was somewhat strange, Han Li could still accept it.

After observing like this for a while, Han Li's expression suddenly stirred, and a divine light appeared in his eyes!

He discovered that whether they were setting up stalls or wandering around, the cultivators in the plaza were all young people in their teens or twenties; he hadn't even seen a single person in their thirties or older.

At this time, the words Wan Wan Xiaoshan had said—that the "Tainan Small Assembly" was held every five years specifically for the juniors—appeared in his mind. Looking at it this way, those older cultivators with slightly higher seniority wouldn't appear here, and that True Person Qing Yan was probably only able to show his face here due to his status as a host!

Thinking of this, Han Li felt a sense of relief inside. After all, those old fellows were truly not easy to deal with, and if they wanted to deal with him, it would probably be no more troublesome than crushing an ant.

However, even the so-called junior cultivators before his eyes were each not weak in strength. People like Han Li could only be considered mid-level in the crowd, and cultivators with extremely high levels like the blue-clothed person he had seen before were also not lacking here. In just a short while, Han Li saw five or six such experts, which made Han Li feel quite ashamed.

===== CHAPTER 130 =====