Chapter 217: The Slovenly Old Man

"Is it beautiful?"

Just as Han Li was gazing intently, a somewhat sardonic voice came from behind the rosewood desk.

Hearing this, Han Li quickly looked toward the source.

Behind the desk, in a spacious armchair, lounged an old man wearing a lotus crown and a faded gray-white Daoist robe. His hair was gray and disheveled, his nose slightly red—he seemed altogether unkempt.

At his waist hung two gourds, one silver-white and one vermilion, neither too large nor too small.

Both were inscribed with intricate runes, appearing quite extraordinary.

"It is beautiful," Han Li replied, his mind stirring.

"More beautiful than those big-chested, big-bottomed fairies?" The old man snorted, sitting up a little straighter, and continued.

Han Li was momentarily taken aback, unsure how to respond.

This old man before him, from head to toe, inside and out, exuded an air of peculiarity.

Since he sat here, he should be the presiding elder of this place, yet he wore no inner sect elder's robes. Judging by the potted medicinal herb on the table and the two gourds at his waist, none seemed like items an ordinary person could possess.

What puzzled Han Li most was the man's aura—so strange that when he probed with his ordinary divine sense, he could not discern the man's specific cultivation level.

"Senior, please do not jest with me. I have come to receive a regular steward-level mission," Han Li said, cupping his hands.

Since he could not gauge the other's depth, he thought it safer to address him as 'senior.'

The old man, as if not hearing Han Li's words, muttered to himself, "This job is truly not fit for humans—boring to death. Growing some flowers and plants is far more interesting..."

He leaned forward, took the silver-white gourd from his waist, and with a 'pop,' pulled out the stopper. A fragrance of floral honey immediately filled the entire side hall.

Han Li's eyes brightened at the scent. The silver-white gourd contained what seemed to be an artificially concocted spiritual liquid.

The old man caught Han Li's reaction out of the corner of his eye, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly, revealing a hint of smug satisfaction.

He raised the gourd, slowly tilted its mouth, and carefully poured out a single drop of pale golden liquid, letting it fall onto the roots of the potted plant.

Suddenly, a burst of golden light flared up on the potted plant; specks of golden radiance, like liquid, slowly rose from its roots, flowing all the way to the branches and the tips of the pine-needle-like leaves.

After this repeated several times, the golden light gradually faded away.

Seeing this, the old man nodded with satisfaction, hung the silver-white gourd back at his waist, and took down the vermilion gourd from the other side.

Han Li thought he was going to use some other spiritual liquid, but the old man leisurely leaned back, pulled out the gourd's stopper, brought it straight to his lips, and began to drink in gulps.

An even richer aroma immediately filled the entire hall, overpowering even the fragrance of the previous spiritual liquid.

Clearly, what this gourd contained was not some spiritual liquid, but a mellow and exquisite wine.

Han Li was left speechless at the sight, then turned his gaze to examine the potted spiritual plant once more.

After the old man had drunk his fill of wine and wiped his mouth, the tip of his nose, which had already been slightly red, grew even redder.

He glanced at Han Li, seeing that he was very interested in his medicinal herb potted plants, looking as if he could never get enough, and felt even more pleased with himself.

How could he know that Han Li was already scheming about how to get his hands on this technique, so that in the future he wouldn't have to plant rare medicinal herbs in the garden but could just grow them directly in his own secret chamber?

"Young man, judging by the order in the merit value register, the task you want to take is to go to Cloud Lake Island, located in the eastern sea of the Ancient Cloud Continent, find the lair of a Mirage Beast, and bring back a spiritual shell it has shed."

The old man produced a thick blue book from somewhere, flipped to a page, and pointed at the words on the page, reading them out word by word.

"Just retrieving the spiritual shell?" Han Li was slightly taken aback upon hearing this.

"Heh, young man, don't underestimate this Mirage Beast. As far as I know, its strength has reached the mid-stage of the True Immortal realm. Sneaking into its lair to steal the spiritual shell is no easy task." The old man glared at Han Li and said.

"Senior's reminder is well taken. I was being rash. I wonder if Senior has any other information about this beast." Han Li's heart stirred, and he quickly said.

"Seeing that you have good taste and have shown me proper respect, I'll give you a word of advice: this beast stays in seclusion all year round, but every ten years it leaves its lair for seven days to stir up trouble everywhere. That's when you have a chance to retrieve its spiritual shell... If you're unlucky, you'll just have to wait a few more years. Don't barge in recklessly and throw away your life for nothing." The old man glanced at Han Li, shook his head, and said.

"Thank you for telling me, Senior." Han Li said.

"This task is neither difficult nor simple. With patience, there is naturally no risk. The sect's reward is two hundred merit points. After completing it, come back here to claim it." The old man glanced at the merit handbook again and continued.

Han Li acknowledged and handed over his elder token.

After receiving the task, along with the relevant maps and intelligence, he took his leave and departed from the side hall.

Above the Taixuan Hall, Han Li pondered briefly and then decided to set off immediately for Yunhu Island.

This was not because he was overconfident in his cultivation or eager to complete the task, but because he had no idea when the Mirage Beast would leave its lair. If he delayed and arrived late, just as the beast had returned from stirring up trouble, he would have to wait another ten years to complete this task.

Thus, it was best to arrive early to avoid missing the opportunity.

With this thought, Han Li immediately went to the Teleportation Hall on the square and took a teleportation array to Wanghai Peak in the eastern part of the Zhongming Mountains.

This peak was near the eastern edge of the Zhongming Mountains, the farthest area he could reach via teleportation array so far.

Standing atop this peak and looking eastward, even with his eyesight, he could only see a hair-thin black line at the end of his vision—that was the Dongliu Sea, adjacent to the Zhongming Mountains.

Yunhu Island, Han Li's current destination, was one of the countless islands in the Dongliu Sea.

He took out a sea route map obtained from the slovenly old man, examined it carefully for a long time, then chose a direction. His figure shot up, transforming into a rainbow streak as he flew away.

...

Several months later.

In the northeastern part of the Dongliu Sea, there was a massive island shaped like a lotus leaf, floating alone on the blue sea surface.

A huge lake, covering one-tenth of the entire island's area, lay like a green pearl embedded in the island's center. The water systems branching from it wound toward the island's periphery like the veins of a lotus leaf.

This lake was called "Yunzhe Lake," the source of freshwater for Yunhu Island and the origin of the island's name. Its branching freshwater systems nurtured tens of millions of living beings on the island, with cities and towns of various sizes lining the banks along these waterways.

To the west of Yunzhe Lake, there was a major tributary called "Chenshe River." On the left bank of its middle reaches, hundreds of thousands of miles from Yunzhe Lake, stood a massive city with walls a hundred zhang high, named Chenshe City.

As its name suggested, this city was built from the unique black Chenshe sand collected from the Chenshe River. It had stood for nearly a hundred thousand years, housing not only millions of ordinary mortals but also a cultivation sect that had existed since the city's founding.

It was dusk, the sky gradually darkening, but the sun had not yet fully set.

A blood-red sunset clung to the sea surface, its dying light staining most of the ocean crimson, and also casting the towering walls of Chenshe City in a blood-red hue.

In the high sky, a streak of green light shot over from the horizon and landed on the city wall, revealing a human figure.

This person wore a green robe, was tall, and had unremarkable features, but his eyes were deep and bright, shining with a captivating light. It was Han Li, who had traveled thousands of miles to reach this place.

His gaze swept over the city wall beneath him and the houses inside, and his expression gradually turned solemn.

The once-impregnable city wall beneath his feet had collapsed for the most part, leaving a massive breach. Even the arrow towers on the wall were completely shattered, with no trace of their original form.

The inner and outer walls of the remaining sections were smeared with blood, some already dried and blackened, emitting a nauseating stench.

Inside the city, collapsed and destroyed houses were everywhere. Amid the ruins, one could faintly see many human limbs and remains, as well as the carcasses of livestock and poultry, all bloodied and mangled, a scene of utter misery.

As the sun gradually sank into the sea, the entire city was swallowed by a huge shadow, plunging into complete darkness. Apart from the wailing wind, there was no sound—it was clearly a dead city.

Just then, Han Li's brow suddenly twitched. He saw a glimmer of yellow light in the central area of the city, as if someone had lit a bonfire.

His mind stirred, and he abruptly released his spiritual sense, sweeping it toward that area.

A moment later, he stamped his foot on the city wall, and his entire body shot out like an arrow, descending toward the location of the bonfire.

With a loud "boom!"

Han Li's figure crashed heavily into the center of a slightly open courtyard, shaking the entire courtyard violently. The surrounding buildings, already on the verge of collapse, completely crumbled with a series of rumbling sounds.

The bonfire lit in the center of the courtyard was also scattered by the impact, sending up a cloud of crimson sparks.

The three people originally gathered around the bonfire were so frightened that they fell to their knees.

Among them, a young man in brown clothes and a middle-aged beautiful woman trembled in fear, drenched in cold sweat, while a dark-skinned burly man kowtowed frantically, not daring to lift his head, and repeatedly cried out:

"Spare us, Senior, spare us! We'll leave right away... right away..."