Han Li feigned complete ignorance, firmly insisting that his current cultivation level was achieved through bitter training alone. As for why his cultivation speed was so astonishing, Han Li fabricated a story about accidentally consuming a mysterious fruit in his childhood, attributing everything to this "miraculous fruit." This was an excuse he had prepared specifically for such a situation.
Han Li knew that a lie must be seventy percent true to be believable, so the "mysterious fruit" he described wasn't entirely made up. It was actually a legendary celestial fruit known throughout history as the "Dragon Scale Fruit." According to legend, those who consumed it could undergo a complete transformation and ascend to heaven during daylight. Whether such a fruit actually existed, Han Li had no idea—no one had ever truly consumed it.
Wang Shishu, who was well-read in ancient texts, lit up with excitement upon hearing Han Li's description of the fruit. He actually managed to find an ancient book called "Records of Curious and Strange Things" from somewhere, located the "Dragon Scale Fruit" that Han Li had mentioned, and asked Han Li to confirm its identity.
Since things had progressed to this point, Han Li naturally went along with it and confirmed it was indeed the fruit, leaving Wang Shishu clucking his tongue in amazement.
Han Li further told him that once the fruit was picked, the original plant's roots and leaves would immediately wither and die. Even if one returned to search for another, there would absolutely not be a second fruit. This thoroughly extinguished any thoughts the other party might have about tracing the source to search for more, completely cutting off further questions.
As for whether this Wang Shishu might actually develop avarice and foolishly believe the story enough to search for a second fruit elsewhere, that was no longer Han Li's concern—he could busy himself with that if he wanted.
Moreover, Han Li was well aware that despite Wang Shishu's apparent epiphany and seeming belief in his story, the truth was likely that the elder was only half-convinced, teetering between belief and skepticism. Therefore, Han Li decided to avoid this Wang Shishu as much as possible in the future, keeping his distance and being extra cautious to prevent the other from noticing anything suspicious.
But Han Li believed that once he successfully established his foundation and entered the Foundation Establishment stage, his status would be entirely different. Even if Wang Shishu still harbored doubts, he would certainly not easily provoke him. After all, in the cultivation world, strength was what spoke!
Thus, Han Li finally managed to smooth over the awkward questions about his cultivation technique. Wang Shishu, perhaps feeling apologetic for having troubled Han Li earlier, made no difficulty whatsoever when processing his registration, completing all the formalities with ease and even providing several important reminders about the forbidden area expedition, advising Han Li to make preparations early.
Han Li expressed his profuse thanks and took his leave.
Upon returning, he informed the elderly supervisor and temporarily stepped down from his duties in the medicinal garden, so he could fully devote himself to preparing for the Blood Trial.
When the old man heard this news, he was silent for a long while, staring at Han Li with a peculiar look that said "you're dead," which made Han Li's skin crawl for quite some time.
But to Han Li's surprise, before departing, Elder Ma threw him two bottles of pills without a word, coldly stating, "One bottle for internal use, one for external application." Then, with an aloof expression, he mounted his flying artifact and departed.
This gesture brought a trace of warmth to Han Li's heart.
Over these two years of working together, Han Li had come to understand that although the old man was somewhat eccentric in temperament, he was actually cold on the outside but warm on the inside—merely somewhat obsessed with the art of alchemy. Being treated like this now showed that Elder Ma had come to regard him as a nephew-like figure, and Han Li felt genuinely touched.
Three days before the forbidden area expedition, Wang Shishu finally sent Han Li a message talisman, urging him to assemble at the Great Discussion Hall, as they were preparing to depart.
When Han Li arrived, all the disciples who had registered for the Blood Trial had gathered there, sizing each other up.
The Yellow Maple Valley had over ten thousand disciples in the Qi Condensation stage alone—Han Li naturally couldn't know them all. However, among the crowd, a woman appeared whose face he knew all too well. Not only did he recognize her, but he had also seen and touched every part of her body—none other than "Junior Sister Chen," who had nearly been raped by "Senior Brother Lu."
Speaking of which, after "Senior Brother Lu" had been eliminated by Han Li, it did cause a small commotion in the Yellow Maple Valley. Although the man had not yet reached Foundation Establishment, he was still a possessor of an exceptional spiritual root and was considered a low-level disciple who had received considerable attention from the sect's upper echelons.
After "Junior Sister Chen" returned, for reasons unknown, she never mentioned that night's experience to anyone, keeping completely silent about the matter.
As a result, the long-missing "Senior Brother Li" was treated as a missing person case. After the sect conducted an extensive search and found nothing, the matter gradually fizzled out and was forgotten.
Disappearances within the valley were not unprecedented— "Senior Brother Lu" was neither the first to encounter such misfortune, nor would he be the last.
Once the storm blew over, no one in the Yellow Maple Valley ever mentioned "Senior Brother Li" again, as if he had never existed. This outcome brought Han Li a measure of relief, but also sent a chill through his heart.
Cultivators were indeed mostly cold-hearted and detached. If he were to disappear one day, the sect's reaction would likely be even less than this. Most likely, they would forget about him in the blink of an eye and never bother to investigate his whereabouts.
It seemed his long-standing strategy of keeping a low profile and being cautious since joining the sect had been absolutely the right choice.
After all, the path of cultivation was so long, and accidents were so common. If one drew attention to oneself by doing foolish, attention-seeking things, then low-level cultivators without background or backing like him could be crushed at any time by some irresistible, powerful existence on their journey. And the chances of encountering another life on the path of cultivation again were slim to none.
Han Li, who had originally been skeptical about concepts like reincarnation and rebirth, had started to become half-believing ever since entering the cultivation world.
"Junior Sister Chen's" demeanor was clearly different from before. Perhaps it was the trauma of her lover's betrayal that had transformed her. She now wore minimal makeup, her appearance had become coldly beautiful, and her entire being radiated an aura of "keep your distance." Several young men who had been attracted to her beauty and attempted to approach her for conversation were all rebuffed.
Perhaps men were inherently masochistic in some way—her cold, aloof expression did nothing to diminish her beauty. Instead, it added an air of mysterious charm that made all the male disciples around her steal glances repeatedly. This kind of allure was far more captivating than the image she had presented as a dependent, clingy girl when she was with "Senior Brother Li."
But when Han Li looked at her, his insides twisted with discomfort.
No need to ask—another woman had been added to the ranks of those who viewed men as deadly vipers. After the betrayal by her former lover, this woman would likely never easily show warmth to a man again. She might even plan to remain alone for the rest of her life.
This "Junior Sister Chen" did not recognize Han Li. After he deliberately walked past her several times, the only response he received was her cold gaze—she clearly considered him one of the men who were trying to show off in front of her.
Han Li breathed a sigh of relief. The hallucinogenic effects of the Joy-Pleasing Pill were truly formidable—this woman had absolutely no impression of him left. This completely eliminated his last lingering worry.
However, thinking back to that night when she had been as passionate as fire and lying there completely nude and alluring, then looking at the "Junior Sister Chen" of today with her frosty demeanor, Han Li felt a mix of heat and regret in his heart.
It could be said that her participation in this Blood Trial was largely his doing. After losing her Foundation Establishment Pill, the only way for her to achieve Foundation Establishment was to go all-in just like him. After all, the forbidden area expedition was the only remaining途径 where one could obtain Foundation Establishment Pills.
And the disciples from Yellow Maple Valley participating in this forbidden area expedition could truly be described as a formidable and elite force. Among them, five or six were at the peak of the twelfth level.
The remaining disciples were mostly at the eleventh level, with "Junior Sister Chen" at the mid-stage of the eleventh level.
As for those at the tenth level, there were only three. Besides Han Li, there was a white-haired old man and a sixteen-or-seventeen-year-old youth, which made Han Li shudder with revulsion. The three of them were probably the legendary fillers and cannon fodder.
According to past practice, the seven major sects could send no more than twenty-five low-level disciples into the forbidden area—fewer was fine, but never more. In previous expeditions, they had often struggled to gather enough people, usually sending only a dozen or so participants to the Blood Trial.
But this time, not only had they reached the maximum number, but there were also so many elite disciples present. All of this indicated that this forbidden area herb-gathering expedition would certainly exceed the ordinary level of past trials, and the number of survivors would surely be less than one-fourth.
Seeing this expected scenario, Han Li could only curse inwardly, for there was nothing he could do. Without question, these elite disciples had undoubtedly been promised greater rewards by the sect's higher-ups—otherwise, they would not be here.