Mortal's Journey: Reborn as Xin Ruyin, she begins by possessing Qi Yun's body.

Seeing this, Wan Xiaoshan quickly added with a smile, "Brother Qi, Brother Han, True Person Qingyan is my father's close friend. This Tainan Small Gathering was co-hosted by True Person and several other Foundation Establishment seniors. With True Person's protection, we can feel more at ease in the valley."

Han Li finally came to his senses. He had been momentarily distracted, partly because he was intimidated by the Foundation Establishment pressure emanating from Qingyan Zhenren, and partly because he was always cautious and dared not speak rashly.

Upon hearing Wan Xiaoshan's explanation, he quickly stepped forward and bowed in greeting, mimicking Qi Yunxiao's manner.

Although his tone was slightly reserved, it was still respectful: "Junior Han Li greets Senior Qingyan."

Master Qingyan's gaze fell on Han Li, noticing that he looked somewhat wooden, his reaction was a beat slow, and his face remained expressionless.

He simply nodded noncommittally, a faint indifference flashing in his eyes.

Clearly, they didn't pay much attention to this seemingly ordinary, even somewhat reserved, boy.

Then, he raised his eyes, narrowed them, and with a sharp gaze, slowly swept over Qi Yunxiao and Han Li.

His gaze seemed to penetrate their skin and see into their bodies.

After a moment, he slowly spoke, his tone carrying a hint of approval: "You two young friends are so young, yet you have already cultivated the basic techniques to the eighth level of Qi Refining. Your foundation is solid, and you are truly rare talents."

Qi Yunxiao felt a chill run down his spine, thinking to himself that Foundation Establishment cultivators were indeed powerful, able to see through his cultivation level at a glance.

During this period of travel, Qi Yunxiao's cultivation also broke through to the eighth level of Qi Refining, the same as Han Li's.

He quickly bowed humbly in response: "Senior, you flatter me. I am merely a junior who has inherited the legacy of my ancestors and had the opportunity to cultivate. I have only managed to cultivate to this level by chance, which is nothing special."

Upon hearing this, Han Li's face showed a bitter expression. He shook his head slightly and bowed, saying, "Senior, you flatter me. I was just lucky and have no special talent."

Upon hearing Han Li's words, Qi Yunxiao's lips curled up almost imperceptibly.

He chuckled to himself.

What a stroke of luck!

There's no such thing as luck in this world!

Others may not know, but he knows it very well.

Han Li's so-called "luck" was nothing more than relying on the Palm Heaven Bottle's ability to accelerate the ripening of spiritual herbs, allowing him to consume those precious pills as casually as candy, thus enabling him to stabilize his cultivation and advance his realm so quickly.

Thinking this, he couldn't help but feel a little envious.

Han Li was lucky. The Palm Heaven Bottle's ability to accelerate the ripening of spiritual herbs was a treasure that cultivators dreamed of, making it extremely tempting.

He subconsciously thought of his Eight Trigrams Furnace, and a thought suddenly came to mind: why not let the Eight Trigrams Furnace perform some calculations and see if it can refine a magical artifact similar to the Palm Heaven Bottle that can accelerate the ripening of spiritual herbs?

But as soon as the thought popped into his head, he forcibly suppressed it.

"It's just a thought."

Qi Yunxiao sighed inwardly.

"The Heavenly Palm Bottle's heaven-defying function cannot be replicated by ordinary magical artifacts. Even if the Eight Trigrams Furnace can deduce the refining method, the ancient materials required would probably be difficult to find, let alone at present."

He shook his head slightly, temporarily abandoning this unrealistic idea, but a trace of reluctance still flashed in his eyes.

Then he thought again and realized there was no need to rush. He should first focus on participating in the Tainan Small Meeting and try to join Huangfeng Valley.

Break through to Foundation Establishment and Core Formation as soon as possible. When your cultivation is sufficient to refine magic treasures in the future, try to let the Eight Trigrams Furnace deduce them.

Perhaps we can actually refine a similar magical artifact. Even if its functions are not as good as the Heavenly Bottle, it would still save us a lot of trouble in searching for spiritual herbs.

Upon hearing this, Master Qingyan simply nodded, his gaze not lingering on Qi Yunxiao and Han Li any longer.

He then turned to look at Wan Xiaoshan beside him, his tone instantly becoming more serious, with the sternness of an elder speaking to a younger generation: "Little guy, the rest of your family members have arrived. They are all eager to see you and specifically instructed me to take you to see them as soon as I see you. Now come with me."

Wan Xiaoshan's smile froze instantly, then collapsed, his face contorted in a grimace, his brows furrowed in dismay.

Her tone was full of grievance and resistance: "Huh? No way... My seventh sister and ninth brother are coming too? Seriously, I hate their nagging the most, they never stop going on and on, can I not go?"

As he spoke, he looked up at Qingyan Zhenren with hopeful eyes, his gaze full of pleading, like a child who had done something wrong and was afraid of being scolded.

Master Qingyan's expression hardened, his brows furrowed slightly, and his tone carried an unyielding authority as he uttered only three words: "What do you think?"

Wan Xiaoshan was taken aback by his gaze and immediately deflated, his head drooping. He answered dejectedly, his tone full of helplessness: "Of course... no way."

"snort!"

Master Qingyan gave a soft snort, his tone becoming increasingly stern.

"You've got some nerve, daring to sneak out and wander around alone without telling your family. This cultivation world is a mixed bag, and people's hearts are unpredictable. If you encounter some wicked cultivators along the way, with your level of cultivation, you'll lose your life no matter how many you have!"

As he said this, Master Qingyan glanced sideways at Qi Yunxiao and Han Li, his eyes carrying a hint of barely perceptible wariness and distance.

The look in his eyes was all too clear; it was an obvious implication that Qi Yunxiao and Han Li, these two rogue cultivators of unknown origin, were the "malicious cultivators" he had mentioned.

Qi Yunxiao felt a chill run down his spine, instantly understanding the unspoken meaning of Qingyan Zhenren's words. Han Li beside him also showed a look of understanding.

The two subconsciously exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of helplessness in each other's eyes.

They knew that the family cultivators were already wary of rogue cultivators, let alone Qingyan Zhenren, who was Wan Xiaoshan's elder.

Naturally, they didn't want Wan Xiaoshan to get too close to people like them with "unknown origins," so these words were a veiled way of asking them to leave.

Qi Yunxiao, being quite sensible, didn't want to make a fool of himself or put Wan Xiaoshan in a difficult position, so he immediately stepped forward.

He clasped his hands in a fist and bow to Wan Xiaoshan, speaking in a calm and polite tone: "Since Brother Wan has matters to attend to at home, then Brother Han and I will not disturb you any longer. We will wander around the valley to familiarize ourselves with the environment, and we will meet and chat with you again when the opportunity arises."

Seeing this, Han Li quickly stepped forward and clasped his hands in a slight fist salute.

His tone remained calm, yet carried a hint of politeness: "Brother Wan, I'll take my leave now. If there's an opportunity in the future, we can drink and chat again, discussing the path of cultivation."

"Hey! Don't rush off!"

Upon seeing this, Wan Xiaoshan became anxious and quickly reached out to grab them, his face full of urgency.

"I haven't introduced you to my seventh sister and ninth brother yet. They're all very nice people, so it wouldn't hurt to get to know them..."