Chapter 898: Cao Cao Mengrong

"It is certainly no problem to let you study it, Senior. However, I must wait until my cultivation base has recovered before I can retrieve the cauldron from within my body," Han Li said calmly.

"Fine! Since you have agreed, that settles it. However, there is indeed a cultivator on this ship, but she is just a little girl at the second or third layer of Qi Refining; she is not worth mentioning at all. Just keep an eye on her," Grandmaster Elder Dayan's tone softened. He then ceased speaking.

"Second or third layer of Qi Refining?" Han Li was startled, but he still opened his eyes.

"Oh, Master! This person is awake!" Han Li saw at a glance a young girl who looked only fourteen or fifteen years old standing before his bed. Upon seeing him open his eyes, she immediately called out in great joy. This girl had fair, tender skin, a round face, and large eyes; she was quite adorable.

"Mm, I naturally saw it."

Beside the girl, sitting on a chair, was an old man in a grey robe. He appeared to be over sixty years old, with a kind face and gentle eyes, and he was observing him without changing his expression.

"Master, you keep him company first. I am going to inform the Young Lady!" Before Han Li could ask anything, the round-faced girl chattered a sentence to the old man and ran off in a flash.

Han Li could not help but be startled.

"Hehe! This girl has always had such a temperament; Young Master, please do not take offense!" The old man shook his head slightly and smiled kindly at Han Li.

"I would not dare. Did the two of you save me? Where is this place? And you are..." Han Li returned the smile, sat up, and asked slowly.

"This is on the Shun River. You were drifting in the river with your fate unknown, and you were saved by my Second Young Lady's orders. As for me, He Wen, I am a tutor hired by the Lady," the old man stroked his short beard and nodded.

"So that is how it is. My surname is Han. I must thank the Young Lady for her life-saving grace," Han Li exhaled lightly and said with a cupped-hand salute.

"My Young Lady indeed has a heart of a Bodhisattva. But whether she will see you is hard to say. However, Young Master Han, could you tell me why you appeared in the ice, and how you were not dead? I am quite interested," the old man said with a smile, but his eyes were filled with curiosity.

"This? I do not wish to deceive you with lies, Tutor, but I do indeed have some unspeakable difficulties that I cannot disclose," Han Li hesitated for a moment before speaking frankly.

"That is nothing. Everyone has times when they are inconvenienced," the old man was very magnanimous; he waved his hand and appeared not to care at all.

Just then, the round-faced girl came skipping back in.

"Tutor, the Young Lady says to let this Young Master rest quietly; all other matters can wait until later," the girl said while curiously observing Han Li.

Han Li noticed this and smiled at her. As a result, the little maid immediately lowered her head with a slightly flushed face, and her thoughts turned as she secretly pondered: "This person looks completely unremarkable. Compared to some of the Young Lady's previous friends, he is far inferior. I wonder why the Young Lady is so concerned about this person?"

"Since the Young Lady has given her orders, Young Master, you should rest well since you have just woken up. I shall take my leave," the old man stood up to leave.

Han Li naturally offered another round of thanks and watched as the old man led the girl out of the room.

Left alone, Han Li stared at the wooden ceiling in silence for a long while before sighing softly.

Over the next two days, apart from a clumsy servant woman who brought three meals a day, no one else came to disturb him, which Han Li found quite satisfactory. Naturally, he seized the time to take medicinal pills and sit in meditation to cultivate.

As for the little girl at the second or third layer of Qi Refining that Grandmaster Elder Dayan mentioned, Han Li released his spiritual sense slightly and discovered that woman.

She was a young woman with a beautiful appearance, like a modest girl from a small family.

Judging by how others addressed her, she was indeed the "Second Young Lady" who had saved him. Han Li was not overly surprised; it seemed this woman should have discovered his identity as a cultivator.

By eavesdropping on the idle chatter of others on the ship, Han Li also learned the general situation of the vessel.

The people on the ship seemed to be the family of a County Commandant surnamed Cao from somewhere in Liao Prefecture. Because the transfer was hurried, he had gone ahead to take up his post, leaving his family to follow slowly.

But there were only a few true official family members: one primary wife, two concubines, and three sons and daughters. This Second Young Lady was born to the primary wife and was said to have been sickly since childhood. She had been fostered in a certain nunnery for a period during her youth and had only returned home in recent years. The other two were born to concubines; one was the Eldest Young Lady who had already reached the age of marriage and was already betrothed, seemingly about to be married off soon. There was also a Third Young Master who was only eleven or twelve years old.

Other people with some status included that Tutor He and Secretary Zhou. Another was the cold-faced Steward Wang, who was specifically responsible for managing all the maids and servants. The escorts on the ship were the two men, Wang Wang Tieqiang.

However, Han Li noticed something after paying a little attention. Not only was the Second Young Lady a low-tier cultivator, but even Steward Wang had a not-so-weak flow of true qi in his body, far surpassing the crude martial arts of the two escorts.

Among the servants, there were also several people whose movements were agile and who harbored a murderous aura, seemingly not ordinary people either.

Although he felt a bit strange, once he understood the situation on the ship, Han Li withdrew his spiritual sense and ignored them, continuing to cultivate on his own.

Two days later, the Second Young Lady indeed sent the little maid to invite Han Li over.

Han Li naturally would not refuse, and he finally met this Second Young Lady in a larger room on the ship.

As soon as the woman saw Han Li, she waved her hand to dismiss the others before smiling at him.

"Brother Han is also a member of the Daoist school, right! My younger sister is Cao Cao Mengrong, a disciple of the Profound Jade Daoist Sect. I wonder which sect Brother Han belongs to?" the woman said with extreme courtesy. In her view, Han Li had neither demonic qi nor Buddhist light, nor the noble aura of the Confucian school, so he could only be a member of the Daoist school.

"Profound Jade Dao?" Han Li's eyebrows twitched; he had never heard of this name. However, this was also normal; apart from the Ten Great Righteous Sects and the Ten Great Demonic Sects, he knew very little about the other sects in Great Jin.

"My sect is just an unknown small sect in Liao Prefecture; it is not strange that Fellow Daoist Han does not know of it," Cao Cao Mengrong explained with a light smile when she saw Han Li's hesitation.

"Fellow Daoist Cao is too modest. I am a rogue cultivator who has just entered the Great Jin cultivation world, so I was originally unfamiliar with the various sects. I have let you laugh at me," Han Li cupped his hands and put on an embarrassed expression.

"So Brother Han has just come out of the mountains. I also left my sect not long ago. However, my sect is indeed just a small one. But Brother Han is so young, yet his cultivation is so profound. It is truly something to be happy and congratulated about!" Cao Cao Mengrong's bright eyes lit up, and she said with a charming smile.

"It is nothing; I was just lucky. I once had a little bit of good fortune. Otherwise, I would not have reached this step," Han Li could only reply ambiguously.

Seeing that Han Li did not want to go into detail, the woman smiled slightly in understanding and did not pursue the matter. Instead, she changed the subject and said:

"Brother Han, why were you sealed in ice in the river? Did you encounter a powerful enemy?"

"Something like that. I must thank you for your help, Fellow Daoist!" Han Li gave a bitter smile, appearing unwilling to go into detail.

"Such a small matter is nothing. Actually, I could tell. Even if I had not saved you, Brother Han would have broken free from the ice before long. It is just that drifting on the river like that was truly a bit shocking. That is why I meddled. Moreover, we small sects and rogue cultivators should originally support each other," the woman said with a solemn expression.

Hearing this, Han Li was somewhat surprised. After observing the woman carefully for two glances, he nodded without changing his expression and said nothing.

"By the way, I wonder how Brother Han's recovery is going? If you do not mind, you can stay on the ship for a few more days. I was just thinking of asking you for some guidance on cultivation!"

"I have no urgent matters, so staying for a few more days is fine. But guidance is out of the question; we can exchange cultivation experiences," Han Li pondered for a moment, and for some consideration, he did not refuse and agreed.

Cao Cao Mengrong was overjoyed upon hearing this. Because her aptitude was limited, she had left her sect early and had not received any profound spell teachings. Now that she could receive guidance from Han Li, whose cultivation was clearly far superior to hers, this was naturally a good thing she could not ask for.

So, after agreeing on a time, Han Li chatted with the woman for a while longer before politely taking his leave.

"Little Han, why did you agree to stay? Don't you want to hurry and find a place with spiritual veins to recover your magic power?" Grandmaster Elder Dayan could not help but ask as soon as Han Li returned to his room.

"I naturally have to find a place with spiritual veins. But these spiritual lands are certainly occupied by the large and small sects of Great Jin, and the cultivators of Great Jin seem to be far more numerous than I expected. It is too risky to go out and wander with my current cultivation base. I do not want to lose my life foolishly on the road before I have the power to protect myself," Han Li said calmly.

"Oh! Then what are your plans..."

"I have enough medicinal pills with me, and I have several types of spiritual eye items, which are enough for me to recover my Foundation Establishment cultivation base within a year. It will not be too late to find a way to remove the baleful qi then. As for this woman, although she seems to have some schemes, her cultivation is shallow, and she has no ill intentions. I can just take this opportunity to learn about the current Great Jin cultivation world before planning my next move. Since I have already arrived in Great Jin, waiting a year or two does not matter," Han Li said slowly.

"Suit yourself. But I do not have much time left. If we drag it out for a few more years, I fear I will not live to see my own life's work. After all, collecting those materials also requires quite a bit of time," Grandmaster Elder Dayan seemed a bit worried.

"Senior, please rest assured. While looking for a way to remove the baleful qi, I will start keeping an eye out for these materials. However, the best method is to borrow the power of a sect to help us collect them. Only then can we save quite a bit of time," Han Li seemed to have a plan in mind and explained slowly.

"How to borrow it? This is not Tiannan; your title as Elder Han probably won't work here. The larger sects will not pay attention to you. Small sects do not have the strength to do this. After all, the materials we need are all rare items in this world," Grandmaster Elder Dayan did not seem to think much of this method.

"I haven't thought of the specific method yet; I can only take it one step at a time. Perhaps we won't even need to look for it, and the opportunity will come to our door," Han Li replied self-deprecatingly.

Then he stopped talking to Grandmaster Elder Dayan, took a set of formation flags from his storage bag, and set up a simple barrier in the surroundings. He then got on the bed, took a medicinal pill, and sat cross-legged to meditate.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 899 =====