Senior Wang led Han Li, stepping on a leaf-shaped artifact, flying for a couple of hours, and landed on a lush mountain peak, descending into a dense cluster of flat houses. These simple stone houses were incredibly crude, and the entire settlement seemed deserted, as if they were all empty rooms, which puzzled Han Li!
"Don't be surprised, these houses are indeed all empty. This place was originally for newly entered junior disciples to live in. They will move out to find another place when their cultivation improves slightly. And now is the time for the ten-year rotation, the new disciples have not yet entered, so they are temporarily empty," Senior Wang explained lightly, seeing Han Li's confusion. This made Han Li suddenly realize.
Senior Wang led Han Li through the winding paths among the houses until they stopped in front of a house much larger than the ordinary stone houses. Without explaining anything to Han Li, he shouted loudly:
"Junior Lin, open the door. I've brought a new disciple to collect things!"
As soon as Senior Wang's voice fell, the door of the house swished open automatically. Seeing this, Senior Wang led the way in without hesitation. After a moment of hesitation, Han Li followed him into the house.
Inside the house, it seemed even larger than what Han Li had seen from the outside, which surprised him. The interior was chaotic, with various odds and ends scattered around, piles of clothes, and some weapons such as swords, all of which emitted spiritual fluctuations indicating they were well-crafted magical tools.
In addition to these items, there were also some everyday tools like shovels and hammers, all brimming with spiritual energy, turned into similar magical items, broadening Han Li's horizons. He wondered what magical effects these tools had when used.
In the center of the room, there was a square table, and behind it sat a grey-clothed elder. The elder paid no attention to Han Li and Senior Wang, but concentrated on carving a piece of palm-sized yellow wood with a shiny little knife.
Seeing this, Senior Wang frowned slightly, but then his expression returned to normal. Without disturbing the elder's work, he pulled a chair from a corner of the room and sat down opposite the elder, quietly waiting for the carving to be completed.
Seeing this scene, Han Li blinked and stood silently behind Senior Wang, waiting respectfully.
The grey-clothed elder carved swiftly, and wood shavings fell from his fingers. In just the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, a lifelike little monkey appeared in his palm.
"Junior Lin's carving skills have improved a lot since I last saw them!" Senior Wang smiled and praised.
"It's nothing, just killing time when I have nothing else to do! But why did Senior Wang come to my humble abode?" the grey-clothed elder said casually, but his eyes had already glanced at Han Li, seemingly guessing something about the two visitors.
"It's nothing major, just here to collect some personal items for the new disciples of the Ascension Ceremony, and to equip this Han nephew with some things," Senior Wang said with a smile.
"All the new disciples for the Ascension Ceremony have already received their items, haven't they? Why is there another one? And with such poor aptitude! Has our Sect Master's discernment become so low that even such mediocre talent is recruited into the sect?" The elder spoke disdainfully in front of Han Li, criticizing him harshly, and from his tone, he didn't seem to show much respect for the Sect Master either.
Han Li felt extremely embarrassed to hear this, while Senior Wang was caught in a dilemma.
He knew that because of what happened years ago, this Junior Lin had always held a grudge against the current Sect Master. But in front of Han Li, how could he easily engage in conversation with this Junior Lin!
