"Hmph! You sneaked into this room—you're either a thief or a spy! And you dare to play tricks here, don't—" The old Daoist had perhaps been flattered too much by the people of the Prince's Manor these past few days and had shouted out harshly without even thinking.
But the moment he habitually cast the Celestial Eye Technique at Han Li, the furious expression on his face froze instantly, and his complexion turned pale.
"Y-you're a Foundation Establishment stage senior?"
The old Daoist stuttered, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"Didn't you just see with your own technique?" Han Li's smile faded as he said calmly.
"Please don't be offended, Senior. I have never met a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage before. The most powerful ones I've ever encountered were only at the eleventh or twelfth level of the Qi Refining stage. I truly had no way to judge your cultivation level! All I know is that your power is unfathomable!" The old Daoist seemed to snap out of a daze, hastily extinguishing the fireball in his hand, stepping forward to bow, and explaining repeatedly. His face was filled with apologetic caution.
When Han Li saw that the old Daoist, unlike the elderly man surnamed Xiao, didn't show any fear but instead revealed a hint of excitement, he was slightly taken aback.
But after thinking about it for a moment, he understood the other party's little scheme.
This white-haired old Daoist was already of such advanced age and still stuck at the sixth level of the Qi Refining stage—most likely a rogue cultivator with poor aptitude. He had never had the chance to interact with cultivators of deeper cultivation. After all, even among rogue cultivators, one only associated with peers of similar strength.
Now that he had encountered a high-level cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage, he naturally treated it as a rare stroke of fortune, and probably hoped to gain some benefit from him!
Understanding this, Han Li couldn't help but smile. If the old Daoist could satisfy him, he wouldn't mind giving the man a little reward.
So Han Li looked at the old Daoist and spoke slowly.
"You guessed correctly—I am indeed a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator!"
Upon hearing Han Li's words, the white-haired old Daoist's expression became even more reverent, and the gleam of joy in his eyes grew brighter.
"I wonder what business brings a senior here? Is there something you would like to command of this humble one?" the Daoist asked respectfully.
This one was quite perceptive—he understood that if he wanted to gain something from Han Li, he naturally had to be of some use.
Han Li looked pleased at these words and said with a light laugh:
"First, tell me about yourself. Today I saw your Fire Manipulation Technique performance at the Prince's Manor—very impressive!" Han Li gave the man a small compliment, which was genuinely meant.
The old Daoist was momentarily surprised by Han Li's words.
He hadn't expected that this senior had actually witnessed his performance, but he hurriedly replied in a humble manner:
"I wouldn't dare! I've made a fool of myself before Senior's eyes! This humble one only has the fire manipulation technique to show. Everything else is a mess! As for my background, there's really nothing remarkable. When I was young, I accidentally came across a copy of the *Blazing Sun Art* from a dying cultivator, and that's how I entered the world of cultivation. It's a pity that my aptitude is too poor, and with no one to guide me, I could only barely reach the sixth level."
"Is your fire manipulation technique also from that same manual?" Han Li's interest was piqued, so he asked casually.
"No, it isn't. This Fire Manipulation Technique was something I came up with out of desperation when I hit a bottleneck in my cultivation and couldn't make any further progress. But after decades of refinement and modification, it has become what I'm most proud of."
"You developed it yourself?" Han Li was startled and looked at the white-haired old Daoist again with a measure of surprise.
"Yes, Senior! I even wrote my little insights into a book called *the Flame Dance Art*. If Senior doesn't disdain it, please take it and offer me a few words of guidance!" Seeing that Han Li seemed interested in his fire manipulation technique, the old Daoist had a flash of inspiration and hurriedly pulled out a thin book from his robes, respectfully offering it to Han Li.
Han Li was taken aback by this!
To be honest, while Han Li found the old Daoist's flame transformation technique quite novel, he had no intention of forcibly taking the man's personal insights.
He didn't believe such a small fire trick would be of much use to him in his current state!
But since the old Daoist had voluntarily offered it, Han Li accepted it with some surprise and leafed through a few pages.
At first, Han Li looked at the book with a nonchalant attitude.
But as he read on, though his expression remained calm, his mind grew increasingly astonished.
The small tips about flame transformation described at the beginning of the book were indeed of little significance to Han Li in his current state—purely flashy but impractical. However, in the last few pages, the old Daoist proposed a vague concept of applying cultivation techniques flexibly, along with several genuinely practicable methods. These gave Han Li a sense of sudden enlightenment, and he felt he had benefited greatly.
After a moment, Han Li gently closed the book.
This was not the time to study cultivation techniques. He would wait until he had free time to carefully ponder the contents of this book.
He believed it would elevate his understanding and application of techniques to an entirely new level.
"This book—I'll keep it!" Han Li said. "I know that although you framed it as asking for guidance, you actually wanted to give it to me. As a senior, I won't take your things for nothing. I have some dao technique manuals, magical treasures of various grades, and several types of medicinal pills highly useful for cultivators at the Qi Refining stage. You may choose one category as your reward for this book. I'll give you the time it takes to drink a cup of tea to make up your mind."
After giving the old Daoist a long look, Han Li spoke words that set the old man trembling with excitement.
"Thank you, Senior! Thank you for your generosity!" A flush rose on the white-haired old Daoist's face, and he trembled with excitement.
Han Li smiled faintly, said nothing more, and gently closed his eyes to rest in his chair.
The old Daoist, meanwhile, paced back and forth through the room like an ant on a hot pan, clearly torn and unable to make a decision.
"Well, have you decided?"
After a while, Han Li felt enough time had passed and opened his eyes, asking calmly.
"This humble one has decided—I would like medicinal pills that can help a cultivator at the Qi Refining stage break through their bottleneck." The old Daoist, upon hearing Han Li's question, finally made up his mind and said decisively.
Han Li showed no surprise at this answer. He had estimated the man would choose the pills, after all—magical treasures and technique manuals could be acquired later once his cultivation improved significantly.
Han Li gave a slight nod and then swept his sleeve across the table. Two identical small celadon bottles appeared on the rosewood surface.
"Here are two bottles of Yellow Dragon Pills. They are clearly effective for cultivators below the tenth level of the Qi Refining stage. Take them," Han Li said, his tone unchanged.
"Tenth level of the Qi Refining stage... Thank you, Senior, for your great kindness! Thank you..." The old Daoist's gaze toward the two bottles of pills was burning with desire. After expressing his thanks repeatedly, he excitedly stepped forward and took both bottles into his hands.
He then could not wait to open the lid of one bottle, hold it beneath his nose and sniff gently twice, before a look of deep satisfaction spread across his face.
"The reason I came to find you is that I actually have something else I need you to do. Once it's done well, I will reward you handsomely again!" Only after the old Daoist had carefully tucked the bottles into his robe did Han Li unhurriedly state his real purpose for coming.
Under the promise of a generous reward, Han Li did not believe the man would be unmoved.
Sure enough, after a moment of surprise, the old Daoist's face broke into a broad smile:
"Whatever Senior needs, just give the order! This humble one will do anything, even at the risk of death!"
Han Li smiled slightly at these words and said:
"It's nothing too important. I just need you to keep an eye on your disciple, the Young Prince, and Steward Wang at the Prince's Manor over the next few months. If anything unusual happens, just let me know!"
Though Han Li spoke as if it were a trivial matter, the old Daoist was stunned.
He had truly not expected that this senior would ask him to monitor two mortals—and one of them was about to become his own beloved disciple!
Bewildered, the old Daoist carefully glanced at Han Li and asked in a probing tone:
"May I ask the reason? Is there something wrong with these two people?"
The old Daoist asked very cautiously, afraid that a careless word might offend this powerful figure.
Han Li did not show any displeasure on his face, but neither did he immediately answer the Daoist's question. After a moment of deliberation, he said in a serious voice:
"I am actually a cultivator of Yellow Maple Valley, one of the Seven Sects. The Demonic faction is invading our Kingdom of Yue—you should have heard about this. I suspect that these two may have connections with the Demonic faction. That is why I need someone to keep watch on their movements, just in case!"
Though Han Li believed that Steward Wang and the Young Prince were unlikely to be associated with the Demonic faction, it was better to be cautious in all things. Given that he had not been able to determine the true backgrounds of these two, Han Li harbored great wariness toward them, which was why he had sought out the old Daoist in advance to have him monitor their actions.
However, he obviously could not tell the old Daoist all of this directly, so he simply blamed it on the Demonic faction—this saved him the trouble of explaining.
After all, that these two were dangerous was merely a conclusion Han Li had reached by intuition, and it was not something he could openly justify.