On a remote peak in the Jinyuan Mountains, dark clouds loomed and a drizzle fell.

A thunderous roar echoed!

Within a mass of dark clouds high above, silvery lightning writhed, and a lightning formation glittering with electrical arcs briefly appeared before vanishing without a trace.

Where the lightning had faded, two figures fell together, landing with a thud in a dense forest on the peak.

Thud, thud, thud!

A series of crashing sounds continued, as ancient trees that took several people to encircle snapped and broke. Finally, the two figures ceased their tumbling and collapsed beside a giant rock.

"Master!"

An urgent voice cried out. One of the figures, a black-clad girl, disregarded her own injuries and hastily helped up the man in tattered green robes beside her.

"I'm fine. I can still suppress the injuries, but this tumble has overdrawn my immortal spiritual power and stamina somewhat," the green-robed man said with a wry smile, wiping the rain from his face.

This man was none other than Han Li, who had been fleeing from the Jinyuan Immortal Palace.

"That Qimozi is truly despicable, taking advantage of the fact that you had just fought Dongfang Bai and were exhausted…" Ti Hun began to complain, but Han Li cut her off.

"As the saying goes, man proposes, Heaven disposes. I really didn't expect Qimozi to come. It's still not safe. After we rest for a bit, we must continue our journey," Han Li said, taking a deep breath.

Ti Hun stopped speaking and nodded silently.

Han Li took out a medicinal pill and swallowed it before sitting down cross-legged to regulate his breathing.

After a short while, his eyes snapped open, with a gleam of light, and he stood up. Seeing this, Ti Hun, who had been sitting not far away, quickly rose and came to his side.

"Master, I fear that in addition to Qimozi, we must also guard against more pursuers. Before we attacked the Jinyuan Immortal Palace, Dongfang Bai contacted a Grand Luo cultivator in the Nine Yuan Sect, who indicated that they would send the Lan siblings to pursue and eliminate us," Ti Hun said quickly.

"The Lan siblings…" Han Li murmured.

"These two seem to be quite strong. Dongfang Bai didn't remember much about them, but trusted them quite a bit," Ti Hun added.

"In any case, we have already killed Dongfang Bai. There's no need to entangle with them further. It's best to leave here as soon as possible. The Jinyuan Immortal Palace controls the western part of the Jinyuan Mountains, while the central and eastern parts are controlled by many immortal sects and cultivation families. The power there is complex and deeply rooted, which will make it easier for us to hide. Let's head there first," Han Li said, shaking his head.

"Alright!" Ti Hun nodded.

"Ti Hun, to prevent being tracked, I will temporarily seal my immortal spiritual power and rely solely on the power of my physical body to travel as fast as I can, to conceal my spiritual power fluctuations as much as possible. You should stay in the Flower Branch Grotto and rest well," Han Li said. With a wave of his hand, a silver light gate opened.

Hearing this, Ti Hun didn't say much and quickly walked into the light gate, returning to the bamboo building.

After Han Li closed the light gate, he looked up at the sky and soared into the clouds.

...

Time flew by, and two years passed.

In the central Jinyuan Mountains, amidst a range of undulating mountains, there was a small, unremarkable, emerald green mountain depression called Green Silk Hollow.

Within it was a closed-off ancient village called Yuliang Village, where hundreds of villagers lived for generations, almost never interacting with the outside world.

On this night, Yuliang Village was brightly lit. None of the villagers rested, all of them donned bamboo rain capes, held torches, beat drums, and carried seven or eight bamboo stretchers towards the foot of the dark green mountain behind the village.

On those bamboo stretchers, without exception, were all carrying white-haired elders, who all looked dazed and on the verge of death.

Amidst the crowd, the sound of drums was noisy, and a tall man in green robes stood out somewhat.

He walked side by side with the leading strong man, and asked, "Village Chief, where are we going?"

The man he called Village Chief looked quite young, but his eyes were somewhat cloudy, not at all like the appearance of a strong middle-aged man.

"Doctor Han, we're going to White Head Valley in the back mountain," the Village Chief replied after hesitating slightly upon hearing the green-robed man's question.

The person referred to as Doctor Han was none other than Han Li, who had fled here.

Half a month ago, he had come to this place by chance, and happened to arrive when there was a rampant epidemic in the village. He took action to treat it, and as a result, he was treated as a traveling doctor and stayed in the village to be thanked.

Han Li didn't want to delay here, but after staying in the village for two days, he discovered some very unusual things. For example, the Village Chief in front of him might look to be only forty years old, but in reality, he had already lived for over five hundred years.

Even though mortals in the Immortal World generally had long lifespans, they usually only lived for about two hundred years. To live twice as long as ordinary people without spiritual roots or cultivating immortal methods was obviously not normal.

However, what was even more unusual was that the Village Chief was not the only person who had lived for hundreds of years.

"White Head Valley... what are we going there for?" Han Li asked, puzzled.

"This... well, Doctor Han helped us to get rid of the epidemic, and can be considered a savior of our Yuliang Village. I won't hide it from you. How old do you think the people being carried on these bamboo stretchers are?" the Village Chief said, stopping in his tracks after hearing the question.

"Judging by their appearance, they're probably about a hundred and fifty years old?" Han Li guessed after pretending to consider.

"That's right, they are indeed all around a hundred and fifty years old, but in reality, they are my juniors. I am already five hundred and thirteen years old," the Village Chief said, nodding.

"What?" Han Li immediately pretended to be shocked upon hearing this.

"Doctor Han, you don't need to be too surprised. There are others in the village like me, and even older than me," the Village Chief said with a smile, patting Han Li on the shoulder upon seeing his expression.

"There are... Did you all obtain some kind of spiritual medicine or immortal art?" Han Li asked.

"Where would we get any spiritual medicine or immortal art? It all depends on a clear spring in White Head Valley," the Village Chief said, shaking his head, and started walking forward with the group again.

"A clear spring? What kind of spring can make people live so long?" Han Li asked, surprised.

"This... I can't explain it clearly either. This clear spring is very strange. It only appears once every hundred years or so. Whenever it appears, we will carry the people in the village who are about to die into the valley, immerse them in the spring water, and then pick them up a day and a night later," the Village Chief said.

"Could it be that after being immersed in the spring water, one can rejuvenate?" Han Li asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's not wrong to say that, but it's not that simple. This spiritual spring is also sometimes effective and sometimes not. Sometimes it can turn white hair into green hair, and sometimes it can turn a decaying body into dust. It all depends on luck," the Village Chief said.

"I see..." Han Li said, nodding as if he understood.

"Doctor Han is in the prime of his life now, so don't try it. Although this spiritual spring can rejuvenate people, it cannot cure diseases. Once you have a serious illness, people will still die in the village. The reason why I'm telling you this is because I hope you can stay and live in our village, treat everyone's miscellaneous diseases, and share this long lifespan in the future," the Village Chief said.

"Han is just a wandering doctor. I am honored to be appreciated by the Village Chief, but this is not a small matter for me, so allow me to consider it and give you an answer later," Han Li said, looking embarrassed.

"Haha, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, Doctor Han can consider it," the Village Chief said with a smile.

The two walked along with the group, and the things they talked about gradually became more mundane. The Village Chief still hadn't given up, and asked Han Li who else was in his family, and whether he was married.

He said that he wanted to introduce Han Li to an old lady in the village who was already a hundred years old, but still looked like a young girl, which made Han Li feel a little dumbfounded.

After all, mortals were too slow, and by the time they reached White Head Valley in the back mountain, the moon was in the middle of the sky, and it was already midnight.

The valley was silent, and both sides were full of jagged rocks that had fallen from the mountain at some unknown time. Under the hazy moonlight, they looked like strange beasts, which made them look somewhat ferocious.

Entering the valley, the atmosphere of the entire team became more solemn. Apart from the sound of drums, everyone was silent, and their eyes were full of awe.

Deep in the valley, Han Li saw two huge mountain stones leaning against each other, forming a human-shaped space. Below them was a clear pool of spring water that was only ten zhang in circumference.

The water in the pool was crystal clear. Even under the illumination of the moonlight and torches, one could clearly see the blue mud and withered leaves at the bottom of the pool, as well as the spring eyes that were bubbling under a few small stones in the deepest part.

The crowd came to the edge of the spring pool, and all of them folded their hands in front of their chests, closed their eyes, and prayed. The Village Chief then began to recite a sacrificial text that was quite elegant.

While everyone was not paying attention, Han Li gently hooked his finger, pinched a ball of clear water in the lake, and frowned after carefully examining it for a while in his hand.

Standing by the pool, he could vaguely feel a trace of the law of time, which seemed to be there and yet wasn't, coming from the spring water. However, when he pinched out this ball of spring water, he found that it was no different from ordinary water.

While he was wondering, the Village Chief had already ordered people to carry the old men down and carefully place them in the pool.

The old men were all sitting cross-legged with their eyes closed, and the spring water had just passed their chests, causing layers of ripples.

After that, the Village Chief took everyone and bowed to the spring three times, and then they all withdrew from the valley, waiting for a day and a night before coming to the valley to check the results.

On the way back, they no longer beat the drums, and everyone was much more relaxed, and they soon returned to the village.

Han Li said goodbye to the Village Chief and returned to his thatched hut.

However, after only half a quarter of an hour, a figure flashed out of the thatched hut and disappeared into the village in an instant.