Junior Brother Wang carried Han Li on his leaf-shaped magical treasure, flying for roughly an hour before descending upon a lush, verdant mountain ridge. They landed amidst a cluster of plain stone dwellings—huddled together like a small village of uniform rooftops. The houses were crude beyond measure, constructed from rough mountain stone, and not a single soul could be seen among them. Every last one appeared to be vacant, which struck Han Li as peculiar.
"Think nothing of it—these houses are indeed empty. This was where newly admitted disciples were meant to live. Once their spiritual power showed even a trace of progress, they would move elsewhere. But the current cycle is one of transition: the new disciples have yet to enter, so everything stands vacant for the time being." Junior Brother Wang caught the puzzlement on Han Li's face and offered the explanation in a matter-of-fact tone. Han Li's confusion cleared at once.
Junior Brother Wang led Han Li through a tortuous path among the dwellings—left, right, left again—until Han Li's sense of direction was thoroughly scrambled. At last they halted before a house considerably larger than the rest. Without any preamble, Junior Brother Wang raised his voice and called out:
"Junior Brother Lin! Open the door. I've brought a new disciple to collect his supplies!"
No sooner had the words left his lips than the door burst open on its own, swinging outward. Junior Brother Wang strode in without hesitation. Han Li hesitated for a moment, then followed.
The interior of the house was far more spacious than the exterior suggested—a fact that immediately caught Han Li's attention. He wondered what kind of technique had been applied to alter the perceived dimensions. As for the state of the room within, the only word that came to mind was "chaos."
Miscellaneous items lay in heaps and scattered piles everywhere he looked. Some were garments; others were blades and swords. But judging by the spiritual fluctuations emanating from the weapons, they were actually quite well-crafted magical treasures. Beyond these, there were everyday implements—shovels, hammers, and the like—all imbued with spiritual energy, apparently refined into some approximation of magical tools as well. Han Li found this eye-opening, though he wondered what wondrous functions such ordinary tools might possess.
At the center of the room stood a square table, and behind it—facing the door—sat an elderly man in a gray robe with unkempt hair. He paid no attention to the two who had entered, his entire focus devoted to a gleaming small knife in his hand as he carved a piece of yellow wood no larger than his palm.
Junior Brother Wang's brow creased slightly at the sight, but his expression quickly returned to normal. He did not interrupt the old man's work. Instead, he pulled a chair from a corner of the room, sat down across from the elder, and waited quietly for him to finish.
Han Li observed this, blinked, then stood silently behind Junior Brother Wang, wisely joining the wait.
The gray-robed elder's hand moved with astonishing speed. Wood shavings cascaded from between his fingers like falling leaves. In barely the time it took to drink a cup of tea, a lifelike little monkey had materialized in his palm.
"Junior Brother Lin, your carving has improved considerably since I last saw it!" Junior Brother Wang offered with a smile.
"It's nothing—merely a way to pass the time when there's nothing else to do." The elder waved off the compliment dismissively, though his eyes had already shifted to Han Li. He had evidently guessed the purpose of their visit. "But why has Senior Brother Wang come to grace my humble dwelling?"
"Nothing of great consequence—just collecting personal supplies for a newly admitted disciple and having Nephew Han here outfitted." Junior Brother Wang replied with an amiable smile.
"The new disciples from this cycle's Ascension Assembly have all received their allotments already. Why is there an extra one? And his aptitude is rather poor, isn't it? Has Sect Master Zhong's standards truly fallen so low that even this sort of mediocrity is admitted into the valley?" The elder's words were blunt to the point of cruelty, delivered directly in front of Han Li without a shred of delicacy. And from his tone, the respect he bore toward Sect Master Zhong was thin at best.
Han Li felt his face flush with embarrassment, while Junior Brother Wang could only manage a helpless grimace. He knew that due to certain events from years past, this Junior Brother Lin harbored lingering resentment toward the current Sect Master. But how could he engage with such talk in front of a junior?
He cleared his throat awkwardly and changed the subject.
"Junior Brother, this Nephew Han has brought an Ascension Token and has been admitted to our Yellow Maple Valley. His entry was made as a special exception, so his aptitude is beside the point. What matters is that our sect must honor its commitments."
"An Ascension Token!" The elder's surprise was genuine. He looked Han Li over once more with renewed interest.
"Remarkable! So this boy has quite the fortune—and he's entitled to consume a Foundation Establishment Pill as well?" The elder's expression conveyed the unmistakable sentiment: You lucky brat, stumbling into such luck.
"In principle, yes. However, Nephew Han struck a deal with Elder Ye and voluntarily relinquished the Foundation Establishment Pill." Junior Brother Wang replied with a smile.
"Relinquished the Foundation Establishment Pill?" The elder stiffened, then—curiously—his expression darkened. After a moment's silence, he spoke words that caught Han Li entirely off guard.
"It is well that he did. The most important thing for a man is self-awareness. To understand the value of giving and taking at such a young age—that surpasses me by far." The elder's tone carried a profound sense of desolation. The cold, detached gaze he had turned on Han Li softened ever so slightly.
But Han Li, hearing these words, was thoroughly confused and secretly disagreed.
"Self-awareness? I was practically forced into it, my heart bleeding as I handed over that Foundation Establishment Pill! Who in their right mind would give that up willingly?"
Putting aside Han Li's inner complaints, the elder's expression abruptly hardened. He rose to his feet and began making subtle grabbing motions toward the empty air around him. Objects materialized in his hands—first one, then another, multiplying rapidly. Han Li stared, transfixed, his mouth agape.
"One yellow silk robe, one green-leaf magical treasure, one set of daily-use refinement tools, one Blazing Sun Sword and one Cold Moon Blade, and one tenfold storage pouch." The elder recited the items in a flat, mechanical tone, then placed them all on the table.
"That's everything. Take them and be off. As for Senior Brother Wang—I know you're a busy man, so I won't keep you. Forgive me for not seeing you out." With that, the elder produced yet another block of wood from his robes and resumed carving, paying them no further mind.
Junior Brother Wang sighed but said nothing more. He gestured for Han Li to gather the items and leave. The moment they stepped outside, the door slammed shut behind them with a resounding clang.
Junior Brother Wang gazed at the closed door, shook his head gently, and prepared to lead Han Li away.
"Hm? You don't need to carry all of that—just put them in the storage pouch." Junior Brother Wang turned around to find Han Li standing beside him, arms piled high with items, looking rather like a stunned ox. The sight was amusing enough to draw a chuckle.
Only then did Han Li belatedly set his burden on the ground and rummage through it until he pulled out a black cloth bag. "So this is the so-called tenfold storage pouch?" He eyed it with suspicion, comparing the tiny opening of the bag against the comparatively massive swords and blades. He hesitated, at a loss for how to fit everything inside.
"It's your first time using a storage pouch—I'll demonstrate." Junior Brother Wang was patient enough. Seeing Han Li's bewilderment, he took the bag and held it up.
"Aim the mouth of the pouch at the object you wish to store, then channel a measure of spiritual power into it to lock onto the item. It will be drawn in automatically." As he spoke, he turned the bag downward and let a brief flash of white light pass over his hand. A burst of white radiance shot from the pouch, enveloping all the items on the ground. They shrank rapidly within the light, and once small enough, were sucked into the bag. Han Li watched from the side, eyes wide with wonder and delight.
"To remove items, the process is the same—just use spiritual power to lock onto the item you wish to extract beforehand." Junior Brother Wang returned the pouch to Han Li.
"But there are certain taboos regarding storage pouches that you must remember well." Junior Brother Wang clasped his hands behind his back and spoke with unusual gravity.
Han Li nodded eagerly, like a chick pecking at grain.
"First, every storage pouch has a capacity limit and a shrinkage ratio. If the items are too large or you've stored too many, the pouch will lose its function and refuse to accept anything more.
"Second, a storage pouch cannot hold living creatures. If you place a living being inside, it will die without question.
"And lastly—and this is the most important—you must commit it to memory: low-grade storage pouches possess no binding functionality. Whoever seizes your pouch can claim everything inside as their own. So never reveal your storage pouch to other cultivators. Keep it well hidden, lest you invite catastrophe upon yourself."