Chapter 145: The Uninvited Guest

"That's right, Brother Wu, what a brilliant idea!" The elder surnamed Ye's eyes lit up, and he grew excited.

He then turned his head and asked Zhong Lingdao with anticipation, "Sect Master, could you let me meet the owner of this Immortal Ascension Token? I wish to make a trade with him to exchange for him voluntarily giving up the Foundation Establishment Pill!"

Upon hearing this, Zhong Lingdao pondered for a moment before nodding in agreement. However, he once again admonished the elder not to use excessive means to force a sale before letting that Junior Brother Wang take him to see the uninvited guest.

The elder and Junior Brother Wang exited the great hall, immediately stepped onto a leaf-shaped magic tool, and soared into the air, flying toward the Guest House of the Yellow Maple Valley.

Inside a room at the Yellow Maple Valley Guest House, a young man was lying on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. He was none other than Han Li, who had arrived at Yellow Maple Valley along with the victors of the Immortal Ascension Assembly.

Back when Han Li killed the two cultivators who ambushed him, he had traveled without further incident to a hidden mountain range in Lanzhou, where he participated in the Immortal Ascension Assembly held shortly thereafter. He had witnessed with his own eyes the arena battles, which were even more brutal than what Hu Hu Pinggu had described.

After a series of life-and-death struggles, the final victors were decided in each arena. It was then that the guides from the seven immortal sects finally appeared, and the guide for Yellow Maple Valley was that Junior Brother Wang.

After meeting the guide from Yellow Maple Valley, Han Li, after careful consideration, decided to take a risk and handed the Immortal Ascension Token to the guide to examine, which left the other party greatly astonished.

The other party immediately stated that he could bring Han Li back to the sect, but as for how to handle him and this Immortal Ascension Token, it would have to be decided by their Sect Master. After all, the last time an Immortal Ascension Token was recovered was four or five hundred years ago!

Han Li naturally would not object; otherwise, just finding the mountain gate of Yellow Maple Valley on his own would have been arduous enough.

Just like that, under the astonished gazes of the other cultivators, Han Li sat on a giant boat-shaped magic tool along with the ten victors and was brought back to Yellow Maple Valley by this guide, Junior Brother Wang, who arranged for him to stay here to await a response. As for the other ten, they were separated from him, and he did not know where they had been taken.

Han Li had been here for three or four days and had not even stepped out of the room. Apart from an eleven or twelve-year-old servant who delivered meals on time every day, he had not seen anyone else.

This was not because Han Li was obedient and honest, but because the guide surnamed Wang, after arranging his stay and testing his spiritual roots, had explicitly told him that because he was not yet a disciple of Yellow Maple Valley, some restrictive spells had been placed on the room. He was not to leave the room for the time being, otherwise, he would trigger the spells and be trapped by them.

Having heard the guide surnamed Wang say this, Han Li naturally would not ask for trouble. Moreover, upon learning that he was a pseudo-spiritual root with four attributes, Han Li's mood had been quite poor for a while.

Although Han Li had long known that his aptitude for cultivation was poor, he still felt despondent for an entire day after hearing it with his own ears. It seemed that if he wanted to achieve anything on the path of cultivation, he could only rely on external forces such as medicinal pills.

It was just that after his Everlasting Spring Technique reached the ninth layer, he felt that the efficacy of the "Yellow Dragon Pill" and "Golden Marrow Pill" had significantly diminished, and they were not as helpful to him as before. It seemed he had to find a few more medicinal pill formulas to concoct some pills truly suitable for cultivators, so as not to delay his cultivation progress.

Just as Han Li was lost in thought, footsteps suddenly came from outside the door, and it was the sound of more than one person. Han Li's spirits lifted; it seemed that after waiting bitterly for many days, he had finally received the news he was waiting for.

"Little friend, are you accustomed to staying here?"

The door was gently pushed open, followed by the voice of the guide surnamed Wang. This person then walked in from outside, followed by an elder with a red face.

"Greetings, Immortal Master Wang!" Han Li immediately jumped off the bed and bowed respectfully. He knew well that courtesy costs nothing, and acting more humble would only benefit him and do no harm.

"And this is...?" Han Li glanced at the elder and asked with some confusion.

"This is my Senior Brother, surnamed Ye." Junior Brother Wang smiled and explained briefly.

Surnamed Ye? Han Li was startled. Could it be that the matter of him killing and seizing the token from the Golden Light Master had been exposed, and the Ye family had come looking for him? But looking at the elder, although his complexion was not very good, he did not have that gnashing-of-teeth appearance. It seemed there was another mystery. Han Li muttered to himself, but on the surface, he showed no signs of abnormality and immediately bowed respectfully again:

"So it is Immortal Master Ye!"

The elder had already looked Han Li up and down. No matter how he looked, he felt Han Li was extremely ordinary, with nothing extraordinary about him, which gave him more confidence in the purpose of his visit this time.

Therefore, upon hearing Han Li's greeting, he also became amiable and said with a smile, "Haha! Little friend Han, no need for such formalities! Since you have come to our Yellow Maple Valley holding an Immortal Ascension Token, you are a disciple of our sect. So, you can just call me Uncle-Master Ye; no need to be so formal!"

Upon hearing the elder's words, Han Li felt much more relaxed, but he also had a few more doubts in his heart.

Since the other party was speaking so politely, it seemed they were not here for revenge. But wasn't this level of politeness a bit excessive? What did he mean by "not an outsider"? Han Li was baffled.

"Little friend Han, Senior Brother Ye is right! The Sect Master has already agreed to let you join our valley and become a disciple of our sect, and he has even yielded one Foundation Establishment Pill, which has been prepared for you!" Junior Brother Wang said with a light laugh.

"Really?" Even though Han Li was accustomed to being calm and composed, upon hearing this news, he couldn't help but get excited, wishing he could dance for joy to vent the excitement in his heart.

Seeing Han Li's appearance, Junior Brother Wang smiled and didn't feel too surprised; it seemed Han Li's reaction was already within his expectations!

"Junior Brother Wang, I would like to talk to Nephew-Disciple Han alone. Could you excuse yourself?" The elder was getting a bit impatient and finally said the words he had wanted to say as soon as he entered the room.

"Of course, then I will return to the Sect Master first. After you and Nephew-Disciple Han finish talking, you can both come over together!" Junior Brother Wang sighed inwardly, glanced at Han Li, said indifferently, and then left the room.

At this moment, only the elder surnamed Ye and Han Li remained in the room.

Han Li looked at everything happening before him in astonishment. Why did the one surnamed Wang just leave? And why did he leave behind a guy who called himself an Uncle-Master to talk to him alone? Although he didn't know what this Uncle-Master Ye wanted to do, Han Li vaguely had a bad premonition.

The elder also saw Han Li's unease, but he didn't care at all. He believed that the things he could offer would definitely open the eyes of this young man who hadn't seen much of the world, allowing this trade to be completed smoothly.

"Nephew-Disciple Han, I am a straightforward person, so I don't intend to beat around the bush. I'll just say it! The matter I want to discuss concerns the Foundation Establishment Pill allocated to you. I want to buy this Foundation Establishment Pill from you. What do you think, Nephew-Disciple?" The elder said straight to the point.

"He actually wants to buy the Foundation Establishment Pill allocated to him? Did he hear that right? Who would give up a Foundation Establishment Pill to others!" Han Li was stunned at first upon hearing this, but then his complexion changed drastically, becoming very ugly.

"Nephew-Disciple Han, rest assured, I won't ask you to hand over the Foundation Establishment Pill for nothing. Seven or eight mid-tier spirit stones, some low-tier mid-to-high-grade spirit talismans, and a few fine magic tools—I can still afford to take those out. If that really won't work, I still have some medicinal pills that can improve magic power. Although they cannot be compared to the Foundation Establishment Pill, they are also rare medicinal pills within the sect! As long as Nephew-Disciple Han agrees, these can all be used to exchange for the Foundation Establishment Pill." The elder naturally saw the change in Han Li's expression and hurriedly explained.

After hearing these words, Han Li's complexion improved a lot. He felt the sincerity in the other party's words; it seemed this Uncle-Master did not intend to rob him by force and really wanted to buy his Foundation Establishment Pill.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 146 =====