The tea shop was not large, just three single-story buildings connected together, but as soon as Han Li stepped inside, a rich tea fragrance assailed his nostrils!
Han Li was somewhat surprised. Although he didn't know much about tea ceremonies, he sensed a faint trace of spiritual energy in this tea fragrance.
His heart stirred, and without further hesitation, he stepped inside.
The three rooms were arranged side by side—one large and two small—all filled with tea drinkers gathered in small groups. Because there were no empty seats in the tea house, seven or eight people dressed in various styles of clothing stood quietly to the side, waiting patiently.
Even though the tea house was crowded with customers, not a single person spoke loudly.
Most kept their eyes lightly closed, savoring the tea before them with relish, while only a handful whispered quietly to each other.
On the main wall of the central, largest room, a large yellow sheet of paper was pasted prominently, bearing several bold, sweeping characters that read: "One pot per person per day"—extremely conspicuous.
When Han Li saw these words, he found it somewhat amusing. This was the first time he had heard of a food and drink establishment placing limits on how much a customer could consume.
Still, he simply smiled it off and didn't think much of it. After glancing around the room, he immediately walked toward a person who looked like a shopkeeper in the corner.
This person, who appeared to be the tea house shopkeeper, was around forty years old, with a small mustache and an exceptionally shrewd look about him.
At the moment, he was bent over a section of counter, abacus in hand, occasionally glancing at an accounting ledger beside him.
Han Li walked up in a few strides, stood before the counter, and said nothing, his expression calm. This made the shopkeeper look up in surprise.
Upon clearly seeing Han Li, the shopkeeper's face changed dramatically. He hurriedly set aside the abacus and ledger, and came around from behind the counter.
With a tone of reverence bordering on fear, he asked respectfully:
"Senior, is there anything this junior can help with? I will do my utmost!"
This shopkeeper was also a cultivator, though his cultivation was pitifully low—only at the fourth level of the Qi Refinement stage.
Now, facing Han Li, a "Senior" whose depth was unfathomable, he naturally felt extremely anxious!
Without a word, Han Li swept his sleeve lightly across the counter, and a translucent jade pendant appeared on the surface.
Upon seeing this jade pendant, the shopkeeper was first stunned, but then his face lit up with surprise and delight:
"So it is Senior Han who has graced us with his presence! This junior has been discourteous! Young Master Qi has long instructed that Senior would be arriving soon, and this junior has been waiting for quite some time!"
Hearing this, Han Li retrieved the jade pendant in the same manner and said calmly:
"I wish to see your young master now. Lead the way."
"As you command, Senior!" the shopkeeper responded submissively.
He then called over a person dressed as a waiter, gave him a few instructions, and led Han Li out through the back door, straight out of the small city and westward.
To the west of "Golden Horse City" lay a vast expanse of yellowish-green hills, of all shapes and sizes, too numerous to count. But the shopkeeper, like an old hand who knew the terrain, led Han Li through the hills, making several turns and twists, until they arrived at a sunken, flat basin spanning over a hundred acres.
In the center of the basin stood seven or eight white stone houses. Around them, a few emerald-green bamboo trees were planted here and there—sparse and unremarkable.
When the shopkeeper brought Han Li to the vicinity of this place, he bowed and said:
"Senior, my young master is inside the houses. However, there are some formations set up outside. Normally, I should report to the young master before bringing outsiders in. But regarding Senior Han's matter, the young master has long given instructions, so Senior need only follow closely behind me. Otherwise, triggering the restrictions would be quite troublesome!"
Han Li looked thoughtfully at the surroundings of the basin and the seemingly random bamboo trees, then said unconcernedly:
"Understood. Just lead on."
The shopkeeper took a deep breath upon hearing this, then carefully led Han Li toward the houses.
His route was quite peculiar—sometimes taking three steps forward and then two back, sometimes stepping five paces to the east only to turn and walk six steps back. His entire movement appeared chaotic, seemingly without any pattern to follow.
Thus, the two of them slowly made their way toward the houses in the basin.
"Young Master, Senior Han has arrived! Please come out and greet him!" When they were only about thirty feet from the houses, the shopkeeper finally relaxed and called out loudly toward the largest building.
"Senior Han is here? Wonderful! Please wait a moment—I'll be right out!" Qi Yunxiao's surprised and delighted voice came from inside, followed by a muffled "bang," and then Qi Yunxiao's bitter lament.
"Ugh, it failed again!"
The stone door opened, and Qi Yunxiao walked out with a face full of disappointment, a wave of scorching heat still clinging to his body.
But when he saw Han Li, his expression instantly brightened from gloom to joy. He hurried forward with some excitement:
"It really is Senior! This is wonderful! Please, come with me—allow this junior to play host. There may not be much here, but several cups of truly fine fragrant tea are certainly available."
Qi Yunxiao enthusiastically invited Han Li into an adjacent room, his manner noticeably more mature and composed than it had been a few years ago.
"Then I shall trouble you, Fellow Daoist," Han Li said politely, knowing he still needed this person's help.
They entered the room and sat down beside a rectangular table.
"Senior, about that..." Qi Yunxiao had just instructed the shopkeeper to go prepare tea when he turned back, looking somewhat hesitant, as if wanting to say something.
Han Li smiled silently and flipped his hand, and the book "Yunxiao's Insights" appeared on the table, still shimmering with silver light, indicating it remained under seal.
When Qi Yunxiao saw the book, his spirit lifted. He was about to reach for it when he suddenly remembered something. He quickly said, "Please wait a moment, Senior."
Han Li chuckled softly, seemingly guessing what the other intended.
Before long, Qi Yunxiao returned to the room in high spirits, carrying a wooden box roughly a foot long.
"Senior, here is a set of improved formation-arranging artifacts for the Inverted Five Elements Array. Although the power did not reach what was originally anticipated—it can achieve only half the power of the original array—it has been enhanced to one-third of the original array's power, which is still much better than before!" Qi Yunxiao said with some apology, clearly feeling uneasy about not having improved the artifacts to the previously agreed-upon strength.
"One-third?" Han Li's expression shifted, his heart filled with astonishment!
He had never truly expected the array flags to be improved. The fact that the Inverted Five Elements Array could already exert one-tenth of its power had already satisfied Han Li immensely. After all, even Foundation Establishment cultivators like Lei Wanhe found this array quite troublesome to deal with. If it were really strengthened by another two or three times, wouldn't it be able to keep even Foundation Establishment cultivators at bay?
Thinking of this, Han Li accepted the wooden box and prepared to examine it closely, while Qi Yunxiao picked up the silver book to inspect it.
Upon opening the box lid, a set of array flags and an array disk, brimming with spiritual energy, were revealed inside.
Han Li took them out one by one and examined them carefully. This set contained considerably more flags and disks than the original, and the patterns and runes on them were visibly more complex. It seemed what the other had said was true—this set's power should indeed be greater than the previous one.
Han Li happily stored away the array flags, then looked across at his companion.
At this moment, Qi Yunxiao's face was beaming with joy as he gently caressed "Yunxiao's Insights," having verified the seal had been removed as well.
"This improved set of formation artifacts is very satisfactory. I truly appreciate all your trouble, Fellow Daoist," Han Li said with a smile.
"What Senior speaks of! It is this junior who should be infinitely grateful to Senior for returning this book unharmed!" Qi Yunxiao shook his head vigorously upon hearing Han Li's words, speaking with complete sincerity.
Han Li smiled and exchanged a few modest pleasantries before continuing to chat with Qi Yunxiao.
After a short while, the shopkeeper returned and served two cups of tea that glistened with a vibrant emerald hue.
This tea's fragrance was noticeably more delicate and refined than that of the "Clear Spring Tea House," clearly indicating a superior grade of tea leaves. The spiritual energy it emitted was also more concentrated.
Under Qi Yunxiao's earnest invitation, Han Li took two sips. Instantly, he felt his entire mouth refreshed and his mind clear, and he couldn't help but praise:
"Excellent tea! To think that spiritual energy could be infused into tea leaves—truly marvelous beyond words! Did Fellow Daoist make this yourself? I am deeply impressed." Han Li spoke these words with complete sincerity. Infusing ordinary tea leaves with spiritual energy was something he had truly never heard of before, and this tea was undeniably fragrant beyond compare—no worse than any renowned tea in the world.
Upon hearing Han Li's words, an awkward expression appeared on Qi Yunxiao's face, and he hurriedly explained:
"Senior has misunderstood! This tea was not prepared by this junior, but was a gift from a close friend. It took my friend nearly ten years of research to develop these tea leaves!"