"Look over there!"
"What is that?"
"I can't believe it!"
A pile of spirit herbs suddenly appeared on the ground, and several sharp-eyed people exclaimed in surprise!
Their cries immediately attracted the attention of others, including Grand Elder Li and Fuyunzi.
However, when both of them clearly saw the spirit herbs at Han Li's feet, the Taoist's beaming expression froze instantly, while Grand Elder Li was stunned for a moment before bursting into delighted laughter. This unexpected windfall made his heart soar with joy.
After Grand Elder Li realized his loss of composure and stopped laughing, he looked at Han Li with a smile, examining him from every angle. No matter how he looked at Han Li, the young man seemed increasingly pleasing to the eye. Meanwhile, the Taoist's face was ashen with disbelief at his loss, and his gaze toward Han Li was naturally filled with hostility.
"Daoist Brother, what are you doing? Are you really going to bully a junior?" Grand Elder Li snorted when he saw Fuyunzi's expression, and stepped forward to shield Han Li with a stern face.
Now that Han Li had just performed a great service for him, he naturally couldn't let this junior be intimidated by Fuyunzi in front of everyone. Otherwise, his own reputation would be ruined.
The Taoist, after being reprimanded by Grand Elder Li, suddenly realized how inappropriate it was for someone of his status to glare at a Qi Condensation stage disciple like this. People might mistake it for personal revenge against a junior, so he hastily shifted his gaze and forced a smile toward Grand Elder Li:
"Benefactor Li misunderstands. This poor priest was merely thinking that for a young cultivator with such cultivation to gather so many spirit herbs is truly incredible. I was just taking a closer look!"
The Taoist tried hard to appear nonchalant, but every time he thought of the Blood-Line Flood Dragon inner core, he felt as if his heart was bleeding, and his complexion couldn't return to normal no matter what.
Grand Elder Li gave two cold laughs but didn't say anything further. After all, he had won the bet decisively and didn't want to verbally push the other party too far.
However, he was also puzzled about how Han Li had managed to obtain so many spirit herbs. But with representatives from other sects present, Grand Elder Li didn't want to interrogate Han Li about it, so he pretended not to notice. Moreover, his heart was burning with excitement—as long as he could beat the Moon Veil Sect people, this trip to the forbidden land would be an enormous gain for him. He couldn't be bothered with such trivial matters. As long as it helped him win the bet, he didn't care how Han Li had obtained those spirit herbs through whatever means.
The Taoist saw Grand Elder Li's expression and naturally understood his thoughts. Frustrated and pained, he could only accept his elimination and continue watching the contest between Grand Elder Li and Elder Qiong.
But Elder Qiong's expression wasn't much better than the Taoist's. The spirit herbs submitted by the previous Moon Veil Sect disciples had all been ordinary, making it impossible for him to smile.
Just when Grand Elder Li was feeling triumphant, the situation suddenly took a dramatic turn. The last few Moon Veil Sect disciples submitted over ten stalks of spirit herbs each, suddenly surpassing the combined total of Pure Void Gate and Yellow Maple Valley by five or six stalks, ultimately winning the final bet.
This blow immediately stunned Grand Elder Li, while Elder Qiong let out a long sigh of relief and burst into strange laughter.
"Hand it over, hand it over! Give me that Blood-Line Flood Dragon inner core! I've been wanting to refine a batch of good pills, and this inner core would be perfect as a medicinal guide!" Elder Qiong shamelessly demanded the bet from Fuyunzi right on the spot.
Upon hearing this, Fuyunzi forced a smile and opened his mouth as if wanting to say something, but couldn't bring himself to speak.
Elder Qiong glared at him, displeased.
"What's this? Is the great Fuyunzi of Pure Void Gate trying to renege on a bet?"
"Reneging? I dare not renege on your debt, Elder Qiong!"
Fuyunzi certainly didn't actually want to go back on his word or refuse to hand over the inner core. It was just that such a precious item made his heart ache immensely, and his reluctance was purely instinctive.
But now that Elder Qiong had put it this way, his face flushed red and white. With a fierce stomp of his foot, he tossed a white spherical object to the other party, then turned away with a pained expression. That white sphere was none other than the Blood-Line Flood Dragon inner core.
Elder Qiong caught the inner core with a wave of his hand, examined it carefully, and beamed with delight—though he still muttered:
"Seems like the quality isn't great... the spiritual energy is rather depleted. I suppose it'll have to do!"
Hearing this, the Taoist opposite him turned crimson with rage, nearly coughing up blood. He hastily retreated far away to avoid losing his Dao heart from the frustration.
"Benefactor Li, you..."
"I will send two pieces of Iron Essence within twenty years!" Grand Elder Li didn't even wait for Elder Qiong to finish speaking before voluntarily making the promise.
"Heh heh! Benefactor Li is so straightforward. Then I have nothing more to say!" Elder Qiong nodded with satisfaction, then swayed his head as he walked back to the Moon Veil Sect side.
The twists and turns of this betting contest left the onlookers from the other sects marveling with wonder. In the end, they all secretly rejoiced at Grand Elder Li and Fuyunzi's loss—suffering the irony of trying to steal a chicken only to lose the rice. Who told them to bet against that old monster?
Regardless, the forbidden land expedition had now come to an end.
The leaders of each sect collected their disciples' spirit herbs, had them inspected by spirit-sensing beasts, then bid farewell and departed with their groups.
The Moon Veil Sect people were the first to leave. After greeting the other sects and boarding the Celestial Moon Divine Vessel, Han Li couldn't help but look toward Nangong Wan among them. But from the moment she boarded the vessel until their final departure, she never once glanced in his direction, leaving Han Li feeling quite bitter.
However, Han Li was a man of strong will and soon recovered, continuing to watch the other sects depart.
When Han Yunzhi left with the Spirit Beast Mountain people, she glanced at Han Li and gave him a kind smile, which brought a touch of warmth to his heart.
—
As the host, Yellow Maple Valley was naturally the last to leave. So after the other seven sects had departed, only the Yellow Maple Valley people remained outside the forbidden land.
But Grand Elder Li didn't lead his people away immediately. Instead, he gazed silently toward the forbidden land with his head raised. Everyone knew that this elder had just lost the bet and his mood certainly wasn't good, so no one dared to be tactless enough to urge him. They could only wait patiently behind him.
After half a day, Grand Elder Li's mood seemed to have improved somewhat. Though he still hadn't turned around, he finally spoke—and his first words were directed at Han Li.
"The disciple who submitted the most spirit herbs—what's your name? How many years have you been in the valley?"
Hearing these words, the others showed envy. To have one's name known by this grand elder would surely bring great benefits in the future. Han Li was slightly startled and didn't dare delay, immediately responding respectfully:
"This disciple is Han Li. I've been in the valley for nearly three years!"
"Han Li?"
Grand Elder Li slowly repeated Han Li's name, seeming to be considering something without responding immediately. This made the people behind exchange bewildered glances, unsure what the grand elder meant. But Grand Elder Li's next words sent a chill down Han Li's spine, making him focus with extreme alertness.
"Han Li, tell me how you obtained these herbs. I'd like to hear." Grand Elder Li asked as if casually.
Though Han Li felt a sense of wariness, he had long been prepared for someone to question him about this matter. He remained composed and answered calmly:
"Yes, Grand Elder!"
"This was actually quite a lucky coincidence, sir! Though I managed to infiltrate the Circular Mountains that day, I'm ashamed to say I hadn't found anything for a long time. But on the afternoon of the fourth day, in a very remote valley, I discovered two people fighting over several stalks of Jade Marrow Fungus. One was a disciple of the Giant Sword Sect with silver barefoot swords, the other was a scar-faced person from Celestial Gate Fortress. I secretly hid and..."
Thus, Han Li vividly recounted a story of two snipe fighting while the fisherman reaped the benefits, exaggerating his dumb luck as much as possible. This made Chen Shi and the other disciples extremely jealous, their envy plainly showing on their faces.
After listening to Han Li's account, Grand Elder Li secretly nodded, thinking this explanation made sense. Otherwise, how could a disciple with such low cultivation possibly gather so many spirit herbs? It seemed the young man truly had the stars aligned—it was pure coincidence.
Having convinced himself of how this came about, Grand Elder Li didn't want to waste any more effort investigating. However, after a moment's pause, he suddenly spoke to Han Li with a solemn expression:
"Han Li, you've done great service for our sect this time! And though I didn't win the bet, I still want to reward you handsomely. I plan to take you under my wing as a nominal disciple. Would you be willing?"
Hearing this, Han Li was completely stunned, momentarily unsure how to respond!
The other Yellow Maple Valley people were equally shocked when they heard these words, then all stared fixedly at Han Li with expressions of utter disbelief!
This was simply too incredible—had they heard correctly? This grand elder was so casually offering to take this person as his disciple? Whether in cultivation or talent, this young man was utterly ordinary, showing nothing remarkable enough to catch the grand elder's eye!