Published: August 16, 2025
Chapter 173: Gathering
Han Li feigned ignorance and insisted that his current cultivation base was all the result of hard work. As for why his progress was astonishingly fast, Han Li told Senior Disciple Uncle Wang a pre-prepared story about a childhood mishap involving accidentally eating an abnormal fruit, placing all the credit on this strange encounter. This excuse had been deliberately crafted for such a situation.
Han Li knew that a lie had to be seventy percent true and thirty percent false to be believable. So the abnormal fruit he described wasn’t merely a figment of his imagination; it was based on a legendary immortal fruit called the "Dragon Scale Fruit," which had been passed down for centuries. It was said that those who consumed it could be reborn and ascend to immortality in broad daylight. Whether such a fruit really existed, Han Li had no way of confirming, but no one had ever really eaten one anyway.
Upon hearing Han Li’s description of the fruit, the well-read Senior Disciple Uncle Wang’s eyes lit up. He actually went to find an ancient book called "Records of Rare Things and Strange Accounts," and looked up the "Dragon Scale Fruit" to compare with Han Li’s story.
At this point, Han Li naturally went along with it, and Uncle Wang kept clicking his tongue in amazement.
Han Li also told him that once the fruit was picked, the original plant would wither and die immediately. Even if one returned to the same spot, there would never be a second fruit. This completely cut off any thoughts Uncle Wang might have had about tracking down the origin and searching for another fruit, effectively blocking any further inquiries.
Whether Uncle Wang would really become greedy and try to find a second immortal fruit elsewhere was no longer Han Li’s concern—let him be busy on his own!
Han Li was very clear that although Uncle Wang looked completely convinced and enlightened in front of him, he wasn’t sure how much of his story he truly believed. Probably, he was still half-believing, half-doubting.
So from now on, Han Li planned to avoid Uncle Wang whenever possible, being extra cautious so as not to reveal anything.
But Han Li believed that once he successfully established his foundation and entered the foundation establishment stage, his status would be completely different. Even if Uncle Wang had doubts, he wouldn’t dare to provoke him lightly—after all, in the immortal cultivation world, strength spoke the loudest!
Thus, Han Li managed to bluff his way past the issue of his cultivation technique. Perhaps because of the earlier ordeal, Senior Disciple Uncle Wang didn’t make things difficult when registering Han Li’s participation. He processed all the formalities smoothly and reminded him of some precautions for the Forbidden Zone journey, urging him to prepare early.
Han Li thanked him profusely and took his leave.
After returning, Han Li informed the old fellow to temporarily relieve him of his duties in the medicine garden so he could devote himself fully to preparing for the Blood Trial.
The old fellow, upon hearing this, was silent for a long while. He gave Han Li a strange look, as if silently saying "You’re doomed," which made Han Li uneasy for quite some time.
What surprised Han Li even more was that, before leaving, Senior Uncle Ma suddenly tossed two bottles of pills to him without a word and coldly said, "One for internal use, one for external application," before flying away on his magical artifact with a stern expression.
This gesture brought a faint warmth to Han Li’s heart.
After two years of living together, Han Li had come to understand that although this old fellow’s temperament was a bit strange, he was actually cold on the outside but warm inside—just a little obsessed with pill alchemy. That he was treated this way now showed that Senior Uncle Ma had come to regard him like a nephew, which made Han Li feel somewhat touched.
Three days before the Forbidden Zone expedition, Senior Disciple Uncle Wang finally sent Han Li a letter talisman, urging him to gather at the Council Hall to prepare for departure.