Hearing these words, Han Li did not agree right away. Instead, he wrinkled his nose almost imperceptibly, and only after a moment's thought did he say, "Brother Jin, would you allow me to think this over? In two days, I will give you an answer, Fellow Daoist."
"Very well! Take all the time you need, Fellow Daoist Han. If it truly will not work, I will go try to find someone else and see whether there are any other rogue cultivators who understand the way of formations," Jin Qing said with great understanding.
He then exchanged a few more pleasantries with Han Li, cupped his fists, and took his leave.
Han Li watched Jin Qing's receding figure, standing in place for quite a while without moving, a pensive look surfacing on his face.
Come to think of it, quite a few sites of ancient cultivator ruins had indeed been discovered in the Scattered Star Seas.
But inside, one might find nothing at all — or one might find cultivation insights left by ancient cultivators, rare materials that had since vanished, or magic treasures and the like...
On the whole, most ruins yielded gains of one sort or another; of course, whether they were good or bad depended on the luck of whoever discovered them.
According to Han Li's own inclinations, however, he really had no wish to go out searching for any ancient cultivator ruins.
The Scattered Star Seas were seething with undercurrents at the moment, and things outside Heavenly Star City were far from peaceful. What was more, his "Azure Bamboo Bee Cloud Swords" had not been tempered for long and could hardly be called powerful.
Under the circumstances, he genuinely hesitated to set out right now!
If it had been anyone else, Han Li would have flatly refused long ago. But Jin Qing was on fairly good terms with him, had given him some pointers on cultivation back in the day, and was asking him for a favor for the first time — it would have been rather embarrassing to refuse outright.
After pondering on the spot for a while, Han Li lifted his head and gave a soft sigh.
"Either way, there are still two days. Better to weigh this matter carefully!"
Having thought this through, Han Li shook his head, moved his feet, and drifted back into his residence.
Two days later, Jin Qing indeed came to the outside of the cave abode once more, and Han Li ultimately agreed to go out with him.
On one hand, it was to repay the favor he owed; on the other, he truly did feel a flicker of interest in those ancient cultivator ruins. Who knew what fine things might be discovered inside?
Jin Qing was naturally overjoyed, and the next day he set out from Heavenly Star City together with Han Li and Qu Hun, heading for the ancient ruins.
That Qu Hun was Han Li's second self was something the nearby cultivators had tacitly guessed after years of contact with Han Li, so Jin Qing naturally had no objection. They flew at great speed across a remote stretch of the Scattered Star Seas.
According to Jin Qing, after such a long flight, they should arrive not far ahead.
Sure enough, after flying for less than half a day, they finally sighted a large island.
The island was enormous, a good thousand-odd li across, but it was mostly hills and earthen slopes; as far as the eye could see, everything was a dull yellowish-gray.
"Is this the island?" Han Li asked, looking down from high above with some surprise at Jin Qing beside him.
"Indeed. Following what the map indicated, I found this island. I asked the mortals nearby: it is a genuine, out-and-out deserted island. Not only is there not a single spiritual vein anywhere near it, but for some unknown reason, ordinary trees cannot survive on it either," Jin Qing related, a hint of puzzlement on his face.
Han Li was also slightly taken aback, but after a moment's reflection, he said with a smile, "The more unusual this island is, the more it suggests there really may be ancient cultivator ruins here. That ought to count as good news."
"Heh! That is exactly what we thought at the time, which is why we searched the entire island and found the most likely spot," Jin Qing said, a little smugly.
Han Li gave a faint smile, glanced around, and asked casually, "By the way, where exactly is that place covered by the formation you mentioned?"
"Fly a hundred-odd li further west. There is a huge earthen hill there, and one of its slopes is sealed by a grand array," Jin Qing answered without hesitation.
"Then let us go over! Perhaps your fellow Daoist has already arrived and even unraveled the formation?" Han Li said, smiling.
"Heh heh! If it were so, that would be fine too — it would spare us a great deal of trouble. At most, we would let them take a few more items," Jin Qing said, stroking his chin, a sly gleam in his eyes. It was the first time Han Li had seen him wear such an expression, and he could not help chuckling.
The two of them were merely speaking in jest.
For everyone knew that a grand array laid down by ancient cultivators could not be cracked easily without a month or two of probing.
"Let us go, Fellow Daoist Han! We really shouldn't keep them waiting." With a beckoning gesture to Han Li, Jin Qing transformed into a long rainbow of azure and white and flew off first.
Han Li smiled faintly, and together with Qu Hun urged on his magic treasure and chased after him.
A hundred-odd li was, for a Core Formation cultivator, a distance covered in mere moments.
A yellow earthen hill that did indeed look very tall appeared before Han Li's eyes.
The hill was roughly a thousand zhang high, entirely earthen yellow without a trace of green, giving off an extremely uncomfortable feeling, as if its whole body had been piled up from yellow earth.
The moment Han Li and the others flew near the hill, a fierce wind suddenly whipped up, sending sand and stones flying.
The boundless gale scraped up a layer of the yellow earth from the ground, plunging the surroundings at once into darkness so deep that one could not see his own fingers.
Naturally, Han Li and the others had no fear of such wind and dust. Light flashed over their bodies as protective auras appeared, enclosing them within, and they continued steadily forward.
This wind and sand inexplicably vanished after they had flown only a dozen-odd li, by which time they had already arrived at the foot of the earthen hill.
Jin Qing led Han Li in a flight around a good half of the hill, and finally stopped before several stone huts. These huts were extremely crude, and it was obvious at a glance that they had been conjured through a petrification technique, every one of them the same uniform grayish-white.
Before Jin Qing and the others had even descended, the stone door of one of the huts pushed open on its own, and three cultivators — two men and one woman — walked out, one after another.
The men were both Core Formation cultivators, while the woman was only at Foundation Establishment.
"Fellow Daoist Jin, you have arrived as well! What a coincidence — we only got here a short while ago ourselves!" One of the male cultivators, a refined and courteous young man in a white robe, greeted Jin Qing warmly the moment he saw him, appearing quite hospitable.
"You arrived early, Fellow Daoist Hu, as is only proper. Unlike this Jin, who still had to return to Heavenly Star City to find Fellow Daoist Han." Jin Qing seemed to be on rather good terms with this man, and spoke quite amicably.
"Fellow Daoist Han?" The young cultivator's gaze immediately swept back and forth between Han Li and Qu Hun, evidently unsure for the moment which of them was meant.
"This one is Han Li, and this is my senior brother, Qu Hun," Han Li said with a slight cupping of his fists and a smile.
On the way there, Han Li had already agreed with Jin Qing that it would be best not to reveal Qu Hun's true identity.
Moreover, Han Li had noticed that although this cultivator surnamed Hu looked young, with lustrous, supple skin, there were fine wrinkles at the corners of his eyes — he was merely good at preserving himself, and his actual age was surely not young.
This cultivator surnamed Hu had to be the very companion Jin Qing had spoken of, the one who had discovered the two pearls with him.
"This one is Hu Yue. Though this is our first meeting, I hope we may exchange insights on cultivation often in the days to come. After all, far too few of us rogue cultivators ever manage to form a core. Also, allow me to introduce these two Fellow Daoists."
Hu Yue was clearly skilled at social niceties, and after only a few words, Han Li had formed a good impression of him. Then he began introducing the man and the woman to Han Li and the others.
"These two are Fairy Shi Die and Brother Jian. Fairy Shi is a formation expert of great renown on Red Moon Island. Joined with Fellow Daoist Han, she will surely be able to break this array. And Brother Jian is already a mid-Core Formation cultivator, so he will be able to contribute no little effort in the breaking of the formation," Hu Yue introduced them one by one, smiling.
"Let me be blunt: my only duty is to help you break the array. If there is any danger behind the formation, a mere Foundation Establishment woman like me will not lift a finger. And of whatever we obtain this time, I get first pick of one item!"
This female cultivator called Shi Die was of ordinary looks, but her manner was haughty, and her opening words were utterly unceremonious, giving Han Li and the others a slight start.
"Red Moon Island? Might I ask, Fairy Shi, how you are related to True Person Shi of Red Moon Island?" Jin Qing suddenly asked, a flicker of hesitation showing on his face.
"He is my father!" The female cultivator gave Jin Qing a glance, then said coldly.
"Heh, in that case, everything shall be as you say, Fairy Shi!" The moment Jin Qing heard this, he agreed without the slightest hesitation, drawing a somewhat surprised glance from Han Li.
"Fellow Daoist Han! True Person Shi once did me a great kindness in his early years, so I beg you to bear with her." Jin Qing's voice transmission reached Han Li's ears.
Han Li said nothing upon hearing this, but gave Jin Qing a faint, offhand smile.