Chapter 1028: The Strange Spring

Above a remote peak in the Jinyuan Mountain Range, dark clouds gathered and a fine rain fell incessantly.

A thunderclap roared!

Within a mass of dark clouds high in the sky, a tangle of silver lightning flashed, and a lightning array flickering with electric light emerged, then vanished in a flash.

Where the lightning died out, two figures fell together, crashing with a bang into a dense forest on the mountaintop.

Bang, bang, bang—

A series of impacts rang out as ancient trees, several arm spans thick, snapped with a crack. The two figures finally stopped tumbling and collapsed beside a large boulder.

"Master!"

An urgent cry rang out. One of the black-clad girls, ignoring her own injuries, quickly helped up the tattered green-robed man beside her.

"I'm fine, I can still suppress the injuries. But after all this commotion, my immortal spiritual power and physical strength are somewhat drained." The green-robed man wiped the rain from his face and gave a bitter smile.

This man was none other than Han Li, who had fled all the way from the Golden Origin Immortal Palace.

"That Qimozi is truly despicable, striking when you were exhausted after battling Dongfang Bai..." Ti Hun complained, but before she could finish, Han Li interrupted her.

"Man proposes, heaven disposes. I really didn't expect Qimozi to come. It's still not safe here. After a short rest, we must continue on our way." Han Li took a deep breath and said.

Ti Hun said no more and silently nodded.

Han Li took out a medicinal pill, swallowed it, and sat down cross-legged to regulate his breathing.

After a moment, he opened his eyes, which now held a sharper gleam, and stood up. Seeing this, Ti Hun, who had been sitting not far away, quickly rose and came to his side.

"Master, this time, besides Qimozi, we must also be wary of more pursuers. Before we attacked the Golden Origin Immortal Palace, Dongfang Bai had contacted a Daluo cultivator from the Nine Yuan Temple, who promised to send the Lan siblings to hunt us down." Ti Hun said hurriedly.

"The Lan siblings..." Han Li murmured.

"These two seem quite formidable. Dongfang Bai had few memories of them, yet trusted them greatly," Ti Hun added.

"Regardless, we've already killed Dongfang Bai. There's no need to entangle with them further. It's best to leave here as soon as possible. The Golden Source Immortal Palace's sphere of influence is mainly concentrated in the western part of the Golden Source Mountains. The central and eastern regions are controlled by many immortal sects and cultivation families, where the forces are complex and intertwined, making it easier for us to conceal our traces. Let's head there first," Han Li shook his head and said.

"Alright!" Ti Hun nodded.

"Ti Hun, to avoid being tracked, I will temporarily seal my immortal spiritual power for a while and travel solely with my physical strength, suppressing any spiritual fluctuations as much as possible. You stay in the Flower Branch Cave Heaven for now and rest well," Han Li said, waving his hand to open a silver light door.

Ti Hun said nothing more and quickly walked through the light door into the bamboo building.

Han Li closed the light door, looked up at the sky, and shot into the clouds with a leap.

...

Time passed, and two years went by.

In the central part of the Golden Source Mountains, amidst a range of undulating peaks, there was a small, inconspicuous green mountain hollow called Green Silk Hollow.

Within it lay a secluded ancient village named Surplus Grain Village, where generations of hundreds of villagers lived, almost never interacting with the outside world.

One night, the village was brightly lit. None of the villagers rested; all had changed into rain capes woven from green bamboo, holding torches and beating drums, carrying seven or eight bamboo palanquins toward the foot of an ink-green mountain behind the village.

On each palanquin was an elderly man with snow-white hair and beard, all looking dazed and on the verge of death.

Amid the crowd, the clamor of drums and gongs was loud, and a tall man in a green robe stood out as somewhat out of place.

He walked side by side with a leading middle-aged man and asked, "Village chief, where are we going?"

The man he called village chief looked quite young in appearance, but his eyes were somewhat murky, not at all like what a middle-aged man should have.

"Doctor Han, we're going to White Head Valley behind the mountain," the village chief hesitated briefly before answering upon hearing the green-robed man's question.

The man called Doctor Han was none other than Han Li, who had been fleeing all the way here.

Half a month ago, he had also arrived here by chance, just as a plague was ravaging the village. He treated the sick, and as a result, he was taken for an itinerant doctor and kept in the village to be properly thanked.

Han Li had not intended to linger here, but after staying in the village for two days, he noticed some very unusual things. For instance, the village chief before him, who appeared to be only around forty years old, had actually lived for over five hundred years.

Even though mortals in the immortal realm naturally had long lifespans, they usually lived no more than two hundred years. For someone without spiritual roots and not practicing immortal cultivation to live twice as long as an ordinary person was clearly abnormal.

However, what was even more unusual was that the village chief was not the only one who had lived for centuries.

"White-Haired Valley... What are you going there for?" Han Li asked in confusion.

"Well... never mind. Since you, Doctor Han, helped us drive away the plague and are our Yuliang Village's lifesaver, I won't hide it from you. Look at these people on the bamboo litters—how old do you think they are?" The village chief stopped walking and said.

"Judging by their appearance, they must be around a hundred and fifty years old?" Han Li pretended to ponder and guessed.

"That's right, they are indeed about a hundred and fifty years old, but in fact, they are my juniors. I am now five hundred and thirteen years old." The village chief nodded and said.

"What?" Han Li immediately feigned shock.

"Doctor Han, don't be too surprised. There are others in the village who are like me, or even older." The village chief smiled, patted Han Li on the shoulder, and said.

"There are more... Could it be that you all have obtained some kind of miraculous medicine or immortal technique?" Han Li asked.

"What miraculous medicine or immortal technique? It's all thanks to a clear spring in White-Haired Valley." The village chief shook his head and began walking forward with the procession again.

"A clear spring? What kind of spring water can prolong life like this?" Han Li exclaimed in surprise.

"Well... I can't really explain it. This clear spring is very peculiar; it only emerges once every hundred years or so. Whenever it appears, we carry those who are on the verge of death into the valley, immerse them in the spring water, and after a day and a night, we go to bring them back." The village chief said.

"So just soaking in the spring water can restore youth?" Han Li raised an eyebrow and asked.

"That's one way to put it, but it's not that simple. This miraculous spring is unreliable; sometimes it can turn white hair black, but other times it can turn a frail body into decayed bones. It all depends on luck." The village chief said.

"I see..." Han Li seemed to understand and nodded.

"Doctor Han, you are in the prime of your life now, so don't attempt this. Although this spring can restore youth, it cannot cure diseases. If someone has a serious illness, people still die in the village. The reason I'm telling you this is that I hope to keep you in our village to treat everyone's ailments, so that in the future, you can also enjoy this long lifespan." The village chief said.

"I am just a wandering doctor. To be appreciated by you, Village Chief, is truly an honor. But this matter is no small thing for me. Please allow me to think it over before giving you an answer." Han Li said with a troubled expression.

"Haha, no problem, no problem. Take your time, Doctor Han." The village chief said with a smile.

The two continued walking with the procession, and their conversation gradually turned to everyday matters. The village chief, still not giving up, asked Han Li about his family and whether he was married.

He then offered to introduce Han Li to an old maiden in the village who was over a hundred years old but still looked like a young girl, which left Han Li somewhat amused and exasperated.

After all, mortals walked too slowly. By the time they reached White-Haired Valley at the back mountain, the moon was high in the sky, and it was already midnight.

The valley was silent, with jagged rocks that had fallen from the mountains on both sides, looking like strange, ferocious beasts under the hazy moonlight.

As they entered the valley, the entire procession became more solemn. Apart from the sound of gongs and drums, everyone was silent, their eyes full of reverence.

Deep inside the valley, Han Li saw two enormous boulders leaning against each other, forming an A-shaped space. Beneath them was a clear pool of spring water, no more than ten zhang in circumference.

The water in the pool was so clear that even under the moonlight and torchlight, one could see through to the green mud and withered leaves at the bottom, as well as the bubbling spring eye under a few small stones in the deepest part.

When everyone arrived at the pool, they folded their hands in front of them, closed their eyes, and assumed a praying posture. The village chief began to recite a eulogy with fairly elegant phrasing.

Taking advantage of everyone's inattention, Han Li lightly flicked his finger, scooping up a handful of clear water. He held it in his hand and examined it carefully for a moment, then frowned.

Standing by the pool, he could faintly sense a trace of time law fluctuations emanating from the spring water. But when he scooped up the water, he found it no different from ordinary water.

While he was puzzled, the village chief ordered the elderly men to be carried down and carefully placed in the pool.

The elderly men all sat cross-legged with their eyes closed, the spring water just covering their chests, creating ripples.

Afterward, the village chief led everyone in bowing three times to the spring, then they all withdrew from the valley, planning to return after a day and a night to check the results.

On the way back, there was no more beating of gongs and drums, and everyone was much more relaxed. They soon returned to the village.

Han Li bid farewell to the village chief and returned to his thatched hut.

However, less than half an hour later, a figure flashed out of the hut and instantly disappeared into the village.