Chapter 367: Manor

However, while Han Li was observing the number of mortals, he also faintly sensed the presence of numerous cultivators around the harbor. It seemed these individuals were cultivators specifically responsible for maintaining order at the harbor.

As Han Li thought this, he brought Qu Hun along and followed the Master of the Gu Manor to a stone house at the edge of the harbor.

The interior of the house was furnished very simply; apart from a wooden table and a chair, there was only an old man with a sallow complexion sitting there, closing his eyes to rest.

Upon hearing the sound of Han Li and the others entering, this Immortal Master opened his eyes.

Instantly, a ray of cold light shot out from his eyes, causing Han Li's heart to tighten upon seeing it. This person was actually a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, and he appeared to be no weaker than Han Li was before he lost his magic power.

The sallow-faced old man directly ignored the Master of the Gu Manor and Wang Wang Changqing. After sweeping his gaze briefly over Han Li and Qu Hun and discovering that Han Li's cultivation base was only at the few layers of Qi Condensation, he returned to his lazy expression. However, Han Li noticed that this person seemed to linger with an extra glance at Qu Hun.

"What business do you have? If you have something to say, say it quickly; don't disturb my rest." The man said this listlessly, a trace of impatience appearing on his face.

Because of his photographic memory, Han Li had already learned the local language from Wang Wang Changqing to a decent degree. Although he still couldn't speak it, he could barely understand what others meant.

However, because he had absolutely no experience dealing with the cultivators of this place, he didn't open his mouth to say anything rashly, merely watching with a smile as the Master of the Gu Manor and the other two negotiated with the cultivator.

He saw the Master of the Gu Manor respectfully call out "Immortal Master Yang," then lean in close to the sallow-faced cultivator to whisper a few words. Afterward, he turned back and pointed at Han Li, seemingly explaining his background, and then stuffed several spirit stones into the man's hand.

After feeling the spirit stones in his hand, the expression of this "Immortal Master Yang" softened significantly. He then reached into his robes and pulled out a green jade tablet, asking Han Li in a stiff tone:

"What is your name?"

"Han Li!" Han Li spoke his own name very fluently. As for what characters the other party interpreted it as, he didn't care.

A green light flashed on Immortal Master Yang's hand, completely enveloping the jade tablet. A moment later, the light dissipated, and two strange symbols that Han Li did not recognize appeared on the tablet.

Then, the sallow-faced old man raised his hand, and the jade tablet was tossed toward Han Li.

"Keep this tablet safe. If you lose it, you must come to me to get a replacement immediately, otherwise, you will be punished for trespassing on Kuixing Island. Of course, if you settle down here in the future, this jade tablet will no longer be needed and will be taken back. As for this refined corpse behind you, it is naturally not needed." After saying these words in an old-fashioned manner, this Immortal Master ignored the three of them and closed his eyes to rest again.

The Master of the Gu Manor naturally retreated tactfully.

But Han Li was somewhat concerned that this person had seen through Qu Hun's true identity at a glance. After casting one more look at him, he walked out silently as well.

Not long after Han Li had left, this Immortal Master Yang opened his eyes again and muttered to himself in some confusion:

"This refined corpse is truly strange. It is clearly a dead body, so how can it still emit spiritual energy? Could it be a new type of corpse-refining technique?"

Following this, the sallow-faced old man fell into a long period of contemplation...

Outside, after the Master of the Gu Manor left the harbor, he hired a beast-drawn carriage pulled by two monsters that looked like a cross between a sheep and an ox, and brought Han Li galloping along a main road toward the interior of the island.

On this road, such vehicles were as numerous as ox hair, appearing bustling and crowded.

However, after the carriage passed through several neat and lively small towns, such vehicles became significantly fewer. Later, when they turned onto a few small paths, the pedestrians and vehicles they encountered became few and far between.

After galloping for another half day like this, the carriage finally arrived at a farmstead covering more than a dozen mu of land. In front of the manor, many strange crops that Han Li had never seen before were planted.

Some grain-like plants had rice ears resembling rice, but their leaves were thick and flat, and they were actually purple-red in color, emitting a faint, delicate fragrance; some vegetable-like plants looked extremely like Chinese cabbage, but how could any Chinese cabbage in the Southern Heaven be half as large as a person, and they even had several small blue flowers blooming at the heart of the vegetable...

In these vegetable plots, there were over a dozen people who looked like farmers, planting and tilling the fields in twos and threes.

What a peaceful scene of a farmstead!

Han Li was watching with great interest when the beast-drawn carriage arrived before the manor's main gate and came to a stop.

Han Li took Qu Hun and jumped down first, looking around the area.

The vicinity of the manor was planted full of green emerald pines, and there was also a fairly large hill nearby; it could be called an elegant environment, quite unique.

The entire manor was enclosed by an earthen wall two zhang high and several chi wide, and the various residences within the wall all looked exceptionally brand new, as if they had just been built not long ago.

"So this is the Gu family!" Han Li praised inwardly, but after carefully examining the pine trees for a few moments, his expression changed slightly and inadvertently.

Because he discovered with surprise that among the pine trees surrounding the manor, there was a faint, indistinct aura of a formation, clearly having been placed under a restriction.

In Han Li's eyes, although this could not be called a brilliant formation, it was enough to trap low-tier immortal cultivators.

Just as Han Li was feeling suspicious, the Manor Master Gu, who had gotten off the carriage with him, said with a fawning smile:

"Immortal Master Han, let's take a short rest in the manor first! I will call the servants right now to prepare the island's specialty fine wine for the Immortal Master!"

Upon hearing this, Han Li glanced faintly around the manor and replied with a smile:

"Forget it, I won't disturb the Gu family. I'll just stay in that place for a while. Once I've finished my business, I'll look for a long-term residence."

After saying this, Han Li pointed his finger in a certain direction nearby.

Manor Master Gu and that Wang Wang Changqing followed the direction of Han Li's finger and saw the lonely little hill, unable to help but be completely stunned.

But after several subsequent enthusiastic invitations failed, they had no choice but to let this somewhat strange Immortal Master stroll toward the small hill.

The two of them looked at each other helplessly and walked into the manor.

Han Li took Qu Hun along a slope that could hardly be called a path, climbed to the top of the hill, and then looked down at the Gu Family Manor below.

He saw Manor Master Gu, surrounded by a group of men and women, walking into a giant residence in the center of the manor, and then the crowd automatically dispersed; only a few people with some status and more ornate clothing followed into the residence.

The corners of Han Li's mouth curled slightly, and he turned back to attend to his own business.

He first found a relatively flat slope on the hillside. Then, in a few quick movements, he chose a few thicker pine trees, unleashed his magic tool to quickly dismantle them, and then Qu Hun...

Half an hour later, a simple little wooden house appeared on the hill. Moreover, the wooden table, wooden chairs, and even the wooden bed inside were all complete.

For the next month, Han Li took pills and medicine, practiced Qi, and meditated in the wooden house every day, striving to restore his cultivation base as soon as possible.

During this period, Manor Master Gu and Wang Wang Changqing also came several times to discuss some matters regarding the challenge with Han Li, and then left in a hurry, not daring to delay Han Li's cultivation.

But Manor Master Gu could be considered a thoughtful person; every few days, he would send people to deliver some exquisite food to the hill for Han Li to enjoy.

Han Li accepted it with a smile without any hesitation.

Among them were several kinds of very sweet fruits, which gave Han Li a great treat; they were clearly specialties of the island that he had never seen before.

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

This made him feel very surprised, and at the same time, he felt more at ease in his heart.

Because, according to what Manor Master Gu said, the Immortal Masters invited by those ten households were not people with astonishing cultivation bases either.

Except for a few individuals, most were at the sixth or seventh layer of Qi Condensation, and the opponents for the challenge were decided by drawing lots. As long as Han Li's luck wasn't too bad, defeating his opponent would definitely not be a problem.

Moreover, in order to increase Han Li's chances of winning, this Manor Master Gu also searched everywhere for two or three powerful magic tools, wanting to make Han Li's strength even stronger.

But when Han Li saw these items that could barely be considered top-grade magic tools, he could only roll his eyes inwardly and accept them first; only then could Manor Master Gu be at ease!

Two days after Han Li had just recovered his fifth-layer cultivation base, Manor Master Gu and Wang Wang Changqing finally came to find Han Li with nervous expressions.

Han Li didn't say a word, followed them onto that kind of carriage pulled by strange beasts, and headed straight toward a certain place on the island.

This time, after the beast-drawn carriage galloped for two hours, it pulled them into a city built entirely of white stone.

When entering the city, there were specifically many mortal guards guarding the city gate at the gate entrance.

They wouldn't question people leaving, but those entering the city had to take out a token very similar to Han Li's waist token for them to check.

However, when Han Li entered the city, the guard just took a cylinder-like object and shook it at Han Li a few times. After seeing green light emitted from the cylinder, he immediately bowed respectfully to Han Li and only checked the tokens of Manor Master Gu and Wang Wang Changqing.

Net