Playing dumb

In less than an hour, Li Yunfan piloted the Cloud Piercing Boat and flew to a certain place on the border of Yue Kingdom, only a few dozen miles away from Yuanwu Kingdom.

"If I remember correctly, Senior Brother Lin and the people from the Thousand Bamboo Sect did not seem to have entered Yuanwu Kingdom. If they had already met, I should have been able to sense the aftershocks of the battle... It seems I can only spend more time exploring along the border between the two countries." Li Yunfan frowned, pondering to himself.

Just as he was about to set off to explore the area, he suddenly noticed a streak of light flying away from the northwest.

The light was incredibly fast, closing the distance of over ten miles in just a few breaths. Li Yunfan narrowed his eyes slightly, and with a thought, he focused all his spiritual sense on the northwest direction.

With his mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation and the completion of the first level of the Great Evolution Technique, his spiritual sense strength has far surpassed that of ordinary late-stage cultivators. When he exerts his full power, he can sense distances of four or five miles.

When he saw the figure in the ray of light, a strange expression appeared on his face.

"It's him! Could he have just returned from the Tianxing Sect's market? If so..."

After thinking it over, he immediately steered the Cloud Piercing Boat toward the other party, who had obviously not yet noticed him and was still flying at high speed toward the Taiyue Mountains.

When he was about a mile away from the other person, the other person finally sensed his presence. When he saw the person's face clearly, he stopped in surprise.

"I never expected to meet Brother Han here. What a pleasant surprise!" Li Yunfan stopped the Cloud Piercing Boat in front of him, cupped his hands and smiled.

"Greetings, Brother Li!" Although Han Li was somewhat surprised by their meeting, he didn't think much of it and returned the greeting with a smile and a cupped hand.

Li Yunfan chuckled. Although he knew the other party had already reached the Foundation Establishment stage, he still pretended to be surprised, looked Han Li up and down, and then said with feigned surprise, "Brother Han, you've successfully advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage?"

"I've managed to successfully establish my foundation," Han Li nodded with a smile, then asked why the other party was here.

Li Yunfan naturally used the excuse of going to the market to fob off the other party, and then spoke first before Han Li could speak.

"Brother Han, after you achieved Foundation Establishment, did you visit your master's cave? According to etiquette, we disciples are required to pay our respects to our master after achieving Foundation Establishment."

"To be honest, Brother Li, I didn't know the location of my master's cave, which is why I didn't go to pay my respects immediately..." Han Li shook his head and said with a wry smile.

Li Yunfan nodded in realization, then smiled and told the other party that he could go with him.

Han Li naturally had no objection to this, but now that he had just obtained the Reversed Five Elements Formation from Qi Yunxiao, he naturally wanted to set it up outside the cave first to ensure the safety of the cave before going there with Li Yunfan.

"Brother Li, I have just opened up my cave dwelling and have not yet set up any formations. How about I go to your cave dwelling in three days and we can pay our respects to our master together then?" Han Li pondered for a moment before offering his idea.

Li Yunfan's lips curled up slightly. He was just wondering what excuse to use to go to Han Li's cave. Now that the other party had said this, it was just the right time to cover up his actions.

"Brother Han has already built the cave dwelling? That's wonderful! I was just about to discuss future alchemy matters with you. Would you mind if I came to sit in the cave dwelling for a while?" Li Yunfan said with a hint of surprise on his face.

Han Li's expression stiffened slightly, but he quickly regained his composure and politely declined, saying, "Brother Li, aren't you going to the market? Why don't you go and take care of your business first? Once you're free, I'll gladly welcome you back!"

Li Yunfan naturally understood the refusal in the other party's words, but since this concerned the Great Evolution Technique, he could only pretend not to know.

"It's alright, it's alright. I'm just going to the market to look for medicinal herbs for alchemy. It's not a big deal. I can go and look for them another time!" Li Yunfan waved his hand and said.

Han Li frowned inwardly, wondering what was wrong with the other party today. In their previous interactions, the other party had always been very considerate, so why did he seem like a completely different person today?

"What, does Brother Han have some secret in his cave that even I have to be wary of?" Seeing that the other party was still unmoved, Li Yunfan had no choice but to forcefully bring it up.

"Brother Li, what are you saying? Since that's the case, then please come with me to my cave for a chat!" Han Li sighed inwardly and could only nod in agreement.

What secrets did he have in his cave? It was nothing more than the Spirit Eye Spring and the Inverted Five Elements Array he had just obtained.

Seeing that the other party had finally agreed, Li Yunfan couldn't help but smile. In this way, he could wait with peace of mind for that fool, Senior Brother Lin, to come to him on his own.

As for how to obtain the last two layers of the Great Evolution Technique, he will have his own way when the time comes. In any case, he never intended to keep it all to himself. It's just that things have changed a bit from his initial plan.

Han Li then piloted the Divine Wind Boat towards the cave, while Li Yunfan followed closely behind in the Cloud Piercing Boat. The two flying boats disappeared into the horizon shortly afterward.

At the foot of a precipitous peak in the northwestern part of the Taiyue Mountains, two flying boats slowly descended to the ground.

Looking at the narrow crevice before him, Li Yunfan couldn't help but sigh to himself, "This place is indeed sparsely populated. No wonder Han Li chose this place. But his luck is truly extraordinary; he can create a spiritual eye in any place he chooses."

"Brother Li, this is my cave dwelling. Please wait a moment while I finish setting up the formation, then I will invite you into the cave to discuss matters!" Han Li said, cupping his fists to Li Yunfan.

"Of course!" Li Yunfan nodded with a smile.

Han Li smiled slightly, then took out a jade slip to check the array formation method. After a few breaths, he put it away and then took out more than a dozen array plates and more than thirty array flags, which he arranged around the cave.

Before long, a colorful light curtain slowly rose up, enveloping the entire mountain stream.

Looking at the Inverted Five Elements Array that Han Li had set up, Li Yunfan couldn't help but compare it to his own Soul-Locking Bewildering Array.

After exchanging insights with Xin Ruyin, his mastery of formations has improved considerably. Although he has not personally experienced the power of the Reversed Five Elements Formation, based on its renowned reputation, he deduces that his Soul-Locking Bewildering Formation should be inferior to it.

"I'm sorry to have kept Brother Li waiting!" Han Li returned to the entrance of his cave after setting up the formation, and said with a somewhat apologetic bow.

"Brother Han, this formation looks extremely powerful. I'm afraid even ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators might not be able to break through it!" Li Yunfan smiled and shook his head, then pointed to the formation's light screen and praised it.

A hint of surprise flashed in Han Li's eyes. He hadn't expected Li Yunfan to be so knowledgeable about formations, recognizing their power with just a glance.

"Brother Li, you flatter me. It's just an ordinary formation, not worthy of your attention," Han Li said with a slight smile, denying the other party's statement.

Li Yunfan glanced at Han Li and couldn't help but chuckle.

"Brother Li, please!"