Chapter 1017: Waiting for Someone

"There might be secret scriptures, but forget about heavy treasures. When a clan is wiped out, even the mountain peak where the ancestral hall stood was sliced off by a single sword strike. If there were any real clan-guarding treasures, they would have been taken out to defend against enemies long ago, not left in the ancestral hall." Han Li said casually as he walked up the steps to push open the two black doors.

"Oh... that's a pity." The young girl said with some disappointment.

But soon, she cheered up again and said, "Secret scriptures are still pretty good. High-level cultivation techniques are also very precious. If we can get a few, this trip won't be in vain."

With a creak,

the long-sealed mountain gate of the ancestral hall slowly swung open, revealing a narrow courtyard. The central yard was empty, with only a bronze vat placed there, covered in green patina.

Approaching it, Han Li noticed that the bronze vat was engraved with ancient runes around its rim. Inside was half a vat of clear water, on which floated a dark green water lily, emanating a dense aura of water-attribute law power.

"Wow, such rich moisture..." Hu Xiaocheng, only at the Nascent Soul stage and with a shallow understanding of law power, exclaimed in surprise.

"It seems there are still some good things here." Han Li said with a smile.

He waved his hand casually, and the green vat vanished under a layer of silver light, absorbed into his Flower Branch Cave Heaven.

On either side of the courtyard were two spacious corridors, leading to a main hall at the far end.

This hall seemed to be a meeting hall. Apart from some long-decayed meditation cushions, there was nothing else, making it feel rather empty.

Passing through this hall, they entered a small courtyard, much larger than the front one, paved entirely with white stone, resembling a modest training ground.

Beyond the training ground was the last and most important building of the ancestral hall.

Han Li looked up and saw a vermilion plaque hanging above the hall's lintel, inscribed with four characters: "源远流长" (Long-standing and Well-established).

Entering the hall, they were greeted by a tall nine-tiered offering table.

On the table were rectangular wooden plaques, gilded and carved with intricate patterns, exquisitely made. Unlike the typical ancestral tablets of common households, these were longevity tablets for the living.

Han Li quickly counted and found over eighty plaques, all belonging to the sect's patriarchs and elders.

On the lowest tier of the offering table lay two thick books bound in gold and jade, covered with a layer of golden flowing light.

Han Li examined them and discovered they still bore sealing restrictions, though due to their age, the spiritual power had waned and become very weak.

He casually broke the seals and flipped through them, only to find that neither book was a cultivation secret scripture.

One recorded a series of major events from the sect's founding to its destruction, serving as the sect's chronicle.

The other was the sect's genealogical record, listing all names from the founding patriarch to inner and outer disciples.

"So this sect was called the Pure Clarity Sect. It had been passed down for so long, yet still couldn't escape annihilation..." Hu Xiaocheng couldn't help sighing.

Hearing this, Han Li couldn't help thinking of the True Word Sect and the Nethercold Immortal Mansion—hadn't they also suffered sudden, undeserved calamities?

He looked at the highest tier of the offering table, his gaze flickering. Suddenly noticing something odd about the longevity tablet inscribed with "常清流" (Chang Qingliu), he reached out and grabbed it from a distance.

The longevity tablet flew down with a whoosh, and Han Li caught it in his hand.

Purple light flickered in his eyes. After examining it for a moment, the corners of his mouth curled slightly. He raised his hand and tapped on the tablet.

After a moment, a patch of green light lit up on the longevity tablet, and a hidden jade slip flew out.

Han Li took the jade slip, waved his hand, and returned the longevity tablet to its original place.

"Is it the sect's secret scripture?" Hu Xiaocheng watched in amazement, her eyes wide, and asked.

"Yes. It's indeed their Pure Clarity Sect's technique, called the 'Invisible Record.'" Han Li raised the jade slip to his brow, examined it for a moment, and nodded.

"I was worried that our honored guest might have made this trip for nothing, getting no treasures at all, and wasting such a large sum of money. Now that we have this secret scripture, I can rest easy." Hu Xiaocheng said with a delighted expression.

Han Li was momentarily taken aback, then a hint of a smile appeared on his lips.

He led Hu Xiaocheng in a thorough search of the entire ancestral hall. Finding nothing else, the young girl still felt a bit regretful.

But Han Li didn't think he had lost out. The 'Invisible Record' was a technique for cultivating water-attribute law power. Though not very useful to him, it would come in handy for his earthbound incarnation still in the Black Wind Sea.

Moreover, the bronze vat he had taken into the Flower Branch Cave Heaven and the golden water lily were clearly no ordinary items. Even just these two were more than enough to cover the immortal essence stones he had paid earlier.

The entire ancestral hall was situated beneath the lake water, so although there was no breeze, it felt exceptionally cool.

Han Li sat with Hu Xiaocheng on the threshold of the ancestral hall's main gate, looking up at the light barrier above. Both were silent, lost in thought.

"Miss Hu, when the managing elder told you to accompany me, did he also instruct you to report my whereabouts at all times?" Han Li suddenly asked.

"How did you know?" Hu Xiaocheng asked in surprise.

As soon as the words left her mouth, the young girl regretted it. She scratched her head and said,

"Actually, it's not just you. For every honored guest who rents here, the sect sends someone to accompany them. Of course, it's not mandatory; you can refuse. But usually, they send some extremely beautiful fairy sisters, so no one ever refuses. This time, I don't know what happened, but Elder Lu actually sent me along."

"That elder must have looked down on me, not believing I could break the Water Mansion's restrictions, so he sent you." Han Li saw through it at once.

"So that's how it is..." Hu Xiaocheng suddenly understood.

"Remember, others may look down on you, even despise you, but you must not despise yourself. I can see that your cultivation aptitude is not bad. That you're still stuck at the late Nascent Soul bottleneck is probably due to limited resources, right?" Han Li said seriously.

Hu Xiaocheng didn't know why Han Li brought this up, and nodded somewhat dazedly.

Han Li flipped his palm and produced a small vermilion porcelain bottle, handing it to her.

"I don't have any pills suitable for low-level cultivators on me. Even the ones in this bottle can only be used after you reach at least the Integration stage. Keep it for now, and take it when you've made progress in cultivation later."

Hu Xiaocheng was stunned on the spot, not daring to reach out for a moment.

Seeing this, Han Li pressed the small bottle into her hand, then raised his finger and tapped her between the eyebrows.

Hu Xiaocheng felt her sea of consciousness shake, her whole body becoming somewhat ethereal. She swayed for a moment before steadying herself, only to find that Han Li had already withdrawn his hand.

She dazedly probed her sea of consciousness and discovered that many characters had appeared in her mind—it was actually the cultivation technique called "The Invisible Record."

"Honored guest, you..." Hu Xiaocheng's body trembled as she suddenly stood up, too shocked to speak.

"Soon, this entire Three Rivers Lake will be turned upside down." Han Li's expression turned serious as he also stood up from the threshold and said slowly.

"Senior, did you rent this Water Mansion to do something big?" Hu Xiaocheng changed her address and asked.

"Nothing major, just waiting for someone." Han Li said calmly.

"A friend?" Hu Xiaocheng probed.

"An enemy."

"Ah... Is there anything this humble servant can do to help?" Hu Xiaocheng frowned and asked.

"I've already removed the mark that the Comb Flow Sect left on you. You should leave Comb Brush Mountain immediately, go as far as you can, cultivate well in the future, and never return here." Han Li slowly shook his head and said.

"Senior, why are you treating me like this?" Hu Xiaocheng felt somewhat embarrassed, thinking of her own low cultivation.

Han Li looked at her, sighed, and said:

"Consider it compensation for the guilt I feel toward another girl..."

Hu Xiaocheng saw that Han Li's expression was somewhat gloomy, and inexplicably felt a bit sad as well.

"In that case, if this humble servant achieves success in cultivation one day, I will repay Senior's kindness." The young girl thought for a moment, then bowed deeply to Han Li and said respectfully.

"Go now." Han Li said with a smile.

Hu Xiaocheng bowed again, then flew away.

After her figure disappeared, a ripple suddenly appeared beside Han Li, and the Soul Devourer's form emerged from it.

"Master, aren't you afraid she'll go straight to Comb Brush Mountain to report you and claim a reward?" the Soul Devourer asked impatiently.

"Have I ever been so wrong in judging people?" Han Li smiled and said.

Hearing this, the Soul Devourer also smiled and said nothing more.

"Even if she really disappoints me, it doesn't matter. I came here without any disguise, in my true form, and left my real name at the Comb Flow Sect. Isn't that precisely because I want the Immortal Palace to know I'm here?" Han Li changed the subject and said leisurely.

"This time, we'll make sure they never return." The Soul Devourer nodded and said.

"Alright, since we've decided to open the door and welcome guests, we need to set things up properly. Can't be lacking in courtesy." Han Li clapped his hands and said.

With that, he turned and entered the Patriarch Hall.

...

Half a month later.

On Comb Brush Mountain by the shore of Three Rivers Lake, a ten-zhang-long white flying shuttle hovered in the air above the cliff, shimmering with spiritual light.

Four people stood on the shuttle. The leader was a middle-aged man in a white brocade robe, followed by a long-nosed old man, a boy in colorful clothes, and a burly man in a black robe.

They were naturally none other than Dongfang Bai and Tao Ji, a group of four.

On the mountain peak below them stood a handsome young man in an emerald gauze robe and a round-faced old man. The former was the current sect leader of the Comb Flow Sect, and the latter was the steward who had received Han Li earlier.

At this moment, both wore slightly fawning smiles as they looked up at the four high above.

"Has the news of that man's presence here been leaked beyond your report to the Immortal Palace?" Dongfang Bai looked down at the two and asked.