Chapter 224: Passing the Trouble Onto Someone Else

After pondering the issue for a long time, Han Li finally arrived at a decision.

This saber is nothing but trouble, so as opposed to wasting the time it would take to refine it, it would be better for me to sell it.

The saber was indeed quite powerful, but his own safety was naturally far more important in comparison.

After making up his mind, Han Li didn't waste any time as he flipped his hand over to produce his Transient Guild mask, which he promptly put on.

A massive azure array projection soon appeared, and Han Li turned his gaze to the trade section before releasing a trade mission.

There were two ways to sell things in the Transient Guild, one of which was to only display images of the item being sold in a mission and setting out one's intentions. If someone were interested in the item, then the two parties could negotiate a price.

The second method was to list a set price that was non-negotiable.

Han Li chose the second option without any hesitation, listing the saber at a price of 50 Immortal Origin Stones.

Given the power and caliber of the saber, this was definitely a favorable price for prospective buyers.

In this current situation, all he wanted was to sell the saber as soon as possible to rid himself of this trouble, and he didn't conceal the fact that the bonded mark of the saber's previous owner still remained within it.

There were many pieces of stolen goods being sold in the Transient Guild, so this wasn't something that was frowned upon. In the world of cultivation, people were constantly stealing treasures from others, so the buyers in the Transient Guild didn't care where the items that they purchased had come from.

This was most likely why so many people were willing to pay a heavy price to join the Transient Guild.

Han Li placed the wooden box onto the teleportation array at the center of the array projection, and it instantly vanished amid a flash of light.

Han Li naturally didn't want to give up such a powerful treasure, but at the same time, it was a relief to do so.

He was just about to remove his mask when a thought suddenly occurred to him, and he released another mission searching for recipes for immortal wines.

Elder Hu Yan had countless fine wines in his Hundred Wine Cottage, so it wasn't going to be an easy task finding one that wasn't in his extensive collection, but Han Li was still eager to try his luck.

After that, he removed his mask and heaved a faint sight of relief.

He was feeling a little weary after that rather tense sequence of events, and he closed his eyes as a layer of faint azure light appeared over his body.

Two days flew by in a flash, and by the time Han Li reopened his eyes, he was completely reinvigorated.

He immediately pulled out his Transient Guild mask before putting it on, and sure enough, the black saber had already been sold.

"Thank heavens for that," Han Li murmured to himself as he counted the 50 Immortal Origin Stones in his hands.

As for whether the buyer of the saber was going to be pursued by its original owner, that wasn't something for Han Li to be worried about.

After all, clinching such a powerful Acquired Immortal Treasure for only 50 Immortal Origin Stones was a massive steal, so they had to pay an additional price elsewhere.

Even though the saber had been sold, the mission that he had released requesting wine recipes hadn't received any responses.

Han Li didn't have very high hopes for the mission anyway, so he immediately stowed the mask away before leaving his secret chamber.

It was only first light, and the sun had just begun to rise in the east, basking the earth in a warm golden glow.

A layer of golden radiance had appeared over the snow-covered Bell Toll Mountain Range, giving a far more dazzling and beautiful appearance than usual.

Han Li took a deep breath, feeling further reinvigorated by the cold air.

This was already the third day, and it was time that he went to the Rising Sun Palace.

Even though there wasn't supposed to have been any danger associated with this mission, given his careful and cautious nature, he still made sure to sort through all of his pills and belongings, making sure that he had everything that he might need before departing from the Crimson Dawn Peak.

Close to half a day later, Han Li emerged from a teleportation hall, then flew away in a certain direction as a streak of azure light, arriving at a golden palace shortly thereafter.

The palace was over 100 feet tall and extremely majestic to behold. On either side of the palace gates was a sun diagram, and a plaque was hanging above the gate with the words "Rising Sun Palace" inscribed upon it.

At this point, there were already quite a few people in the palace. Judging from their attire, they seemed to have all been inner court disciples, and all of them appeared to have been waiting for something.

Right as Han Li was hesitating about whether to go in, a square-faced young man in an attendant's robe approached Han Li from one side of the gate, then cupped his fist in a salute as he asked, "You must be Elder Li, right?"

Han Li nodded in response.

"My name is Fang Yu, and I'm an attendant here at the Rising Sun Palace. Please come with me, Elder Li," the square-faced young man said with a smile, then made his way toward a side door in the Rising Sun Palace.

Han Li followed along, and the two of them made their way into a side hall with only nothing more than a set of tables and chairs inside.

A middle-aged man in a scholarly robe was seated in the room, and his head was lowered as he savored the cup of spirit tea in his hand.

The man raised his head upon hearing the sound of footsteps, and Han Li faltered slightly at the sight of him, then cupped his fist in a salute as he greeted, "Long time no see, Brother Su."

The scholarly-robed man was one of the non-native elders that had undertaken Deputy Dao Lord Xiong's sword refinement mission alongside Han Li, and the two of them were on friendly terms.

"Indeed, Brother Li. I heard that you've been cultivating in seclusion this entire time. When did you come out of seclusion?" Su Tongxiao asked with a wide smile as he set down his teacup before leading Han Li to his chair in a hospitable manner.

Meanwhile, the square-faced young man had already prepared a cup of spirit tea for Han Li as well.

"I've been out of seclusion for a while now," Han Li replied with a smile. "Have you also taken on the mission to protect the inner court disciples during their promotion trial?"

"I have. I'm very short on funds at the moment, so I have to do more missions to earn some merit points," Su Tongxiao replied with a wry smile.

Han Li nodded in response, following which he seemed to have made an unexpected observation, and a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes as he cupped his fist in a salute and said, "It appears that you've already opened 12 immortal acupoints! This is truly worthy of celebration, Brother Su!"

There were quite a few True Immortal cultivators in the sect, but the majority of them were at the early-True Immortal Stage. Mid-True Immortal cultivators were quite rare, and as for late-True Immortal cultivators, there were barely any aside from the deputy dao lords.

"I was stuck at the early-True Immortal Stage for many years, and it was only just over 10 years ago that I finally managed to make a breakthrough. However, in order to do so, I had to spend virtually all of my merit points, and that's why I had to take on this mission," Su Tongxiao replied, and he was trying to put on a calm facade, but there was an undeniable hint of excitement in his eyes.

"If I can make the same breakthrough, I'd be willing to give up everything in my possession, let alone just some merit points. I must say, I'm extremely envious, Brother Su," Han Li chuckled.

The flattery in Han Li's words was inflating Su Tongxiao's ego, and he couldn't help but burst into laughter as he replied, "Surely you jest, Brother Li. I see that you've also made quite some progress in your cultivation base during these past few decades of seclusion."

The square-faced young man had been standing off to the side this entire time, and he interjected, "Please wait here for a moment, esteemed elders. The trial mission won't commence for some time, and when that time comes, someone will inform you of the specific details of the mission."

"I see. I'm sure you're quite busy, so you can go now," Su Tongxiao said with a wave of his hand.

The square-faced young man extended a salute toward the two elders before departing.

"Do you know him, Brother Su?" Han Li asked as he picked up his teacup before taking a sip.

The tea was very rich and fragrant, and its aroma lingered in the mouth for a long time even after it had already been swallowed, indicating that it was an exceptional tea.

"I've taken on this mission several times in the past, so I've met him a few times," Su Tongxiao explained.

"I see. In that case, I'll have to learn from you, Brother Su. This mission doesn't seem like much, but I can't shake the feeling that it's not as simple as it appears on the surface," Han Li said as he set down his teacup.

"That's well-observed of you, Brother Li. Indeed, there's more to this mission than meets the eye. Take a look at the inner court disciples in the main hall."

Su Tongxiao flicked a finger through the air as he spoke, releasing a streak of blue light that landed on one of the walls of the side hall.

A layer of gentle blue light instantly appeared over the wall, which gradually turned transparent.

On the other side of the wall was the main hall, and they were able to see everything inside, but what was quite interesting was that no one in the main hall seemed to have noticed the change in the wall.

"Your control over your water-attribute abilities is still as immaculate as ever, Brother Su," Han Li praised as he raised an eyebrow.

"You're far too kind, Brother Li," Su Tongxiao replied with a pleased smile.

Han Li cast his gaze toward the inner court disciples in the main hall, and they all appeared to have been quite young.

It was clear that they possessed exceptional aptitude, and all of them had reached the Spatial Tempering Stage.

Even though the age of a cultivator couldn't be determined solely based on their physical appearance, Han Li was able to tell at a glance that none of the cultivators in the hall were over 1,000 years of age.

Even in the Northern Glacial Immortal Region, it was extremely rare for someone to reach the Spatial Tempering Stage at such a young age, and it was apparent from this that these disciples most likely had enormous support in terms of resources to complement their outstanding aptitudes.

All of a sudden, Han Li noticed a beautiful young woman in a white dress. The woman was none other than Bai Suyuan, and he had only taken a rough glance at the disciples earlier, so he had failed to notice her.

Her appearance hadn't changed much at all, but she had already reached the mid-Spatial Tempering Stage. It seemed that she had only recently made the breakthrough, but that was still an astonishing rate of progress.

Then again, it wasn't all that remarkable once one considered that she possessed the Moonlight Immortal Physique with seven innately awakened immortal acupoints, in addition to the guidance of a Golden Immortal Stage master and an endless supply of pills from the sect.

"As I'm sure you can tell, all of these disciples possess outstanding aptitude. Furthermore, most of them are the descendants of various elders and even deputy dao lords of the sect," Su Tongxiao said in a meaningful voice.

Han Li merely nodded in response, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

All of the inner court disciples in the main hall carried an air of superiority, and they were all quite relaxed, even though they were standing in the prestigious Rising Sun Palace. Furthermore, their bodies were all glowing faintly with spiritual light, clearly indicating that they were carrying exceptional protective spirit treasures.

However, this wasn't the case for all of the disciples. Instead, there were four or five of them standing near the edge of the hall in silence, and their bodies weren't radiating spiritual light, either, making them appear rather shabby in comparison.

"Direct disciples will either become disciples to the 13 Golden Immortal Stage Dao Lords, or to the deputy dao lords. Not only do they have to be at least at the Spatial Tempering Stage, they must complete this final trial to be officially granted such a status.

“These disciples are considered to be the cream of the crop, and they'll receive unreserved support from the sect in all areas, including cultivation arts, pills, resources, and territories. The benefits that direct disciples receive far exceed those of the average inner court disciples.

“Otherwise, there's no way those elders and deputy dao lords would allow their precious descendants to undertake this trial," Su Tongxiao continued, and there was a hint of mockery in his voice.

"What is the purpose of this trial, Brother Su?" Han Li asked.

"You see, all of these disciples possess exceptional aptitude, and they've been cultivating arduously for centuries, but they're lacking experience in true life-and-death situations, and that's where this trial comes in," Su Tongxiao explained.

Han Li nodded in response, then turned his gaze back to Bai Suyuan as a hint of befuddlement flashed through his eyes.

Su Tongxiao quickly noticed the object of Han Li's attention, and he asked, "That woman is Bai Suyuan. Do you know her, Brother Li?"