"Senior..." Seeing that the old man didn't seem inclined to speak, Han Li suppressed the apprehension in his heart and spoke.

However, before he could finish his words, the old man suddenly acted with lightning speed, reaching out to grab his chest from afar.

A strand of golden light appeared out of nowhere in the void, wrapped around Han Li's chest, and directly snatched the dark green vial that Han Li always wore hidden beneath his robes, never showing it to others. The vial was pulled into the old man's hand.

Han Li's body trembled, and his mind was shaken.

Aside from himself, no one knew what the Palm Heaven Bottle meant to him.

From their initial encounter in the Seven Mysteries Sect to the various encounters he had across the three realms, his growth along the path of cultivation was marked by the Palm Heaven Bottle. It could be said that without the Palm Heaven Bottle, he wouldn't be where he was today. He might not have even been able to escape Mo Daifu's Divine Hand Valley back then.

However, facing the old man before him, Han Li was like a child confronting a mountain, without even a sliver of a chance to resist.

He now cultivated both the body and the law, and he comprehended the law of time. Although he could handle opponents slightly higher than himself in the early stage of the Grand Luo realm, facing a Dao Ancestor who was a whole realm higher, one of the most powerful figures in the True Immortal Realm, even important figures in the Heavenly Court had to show deference. Any means were useless.

Now, Han Li could only stare intently at the old man and the dark green vial in his hand.

The old man's expression remained calm, holding the dark green vial in one hand, his fingers gently stroking the leaf patterns on the vial, as if he had found a beloved old item that had been lost for a long time, reluctant to let go.

After about a quarter of an hour, the old man's expression suddenly changed slightly, but he quickly returned to normal.

Han Li noticed the subtle change in his expression, and he vaguely felt that the old man might be talking with the bottle spirit in the Palm Heaven Bottle; otherwise, he shouldn't have changed like that.

After another moment, the old man suddenly sighed and looked at Han Li again.

He just blinked slightly, and the restrictive shackles placed on Han Li were released on their own and disappeared.

Han Li only felt a sense of ease around him, but he didn't dare to move in the slightest, just staring at the old man as if facing a formidable enemy.

Then, the old man did something that surprised Han Li immensely.

He raised his hand and tossed the dark green vial back to Han Li.

Han Li didn't understand why, so he subconsciously caught the vial in his hand, looking at the old man with a puzzled expression.

"This Palm Heaven Bottle will become more and more of a burden in the future. Losing it back then may not have been a disaster, and regaining it today may not be a blessing. Our Nine Yuan Temple cannot take this treasure. If you want to keep it, then keep it..." The old man said slowly, his expression unchanged.

Hearing this, a strange look appeared on Han Li's face, but without any hesitation, he directly wore the Palm Heaven Bottle around his neck again, carefully hiding it inside his clothes.

Han Li was completely confused by the old man, and his heart was full of doubts, but he couldn't ask them. After holding back for a long time, he said, "From your words, Senior, you don't intend to kill me?"

"Today, you can leave the Nine Yuan Temple safely, and even in the near future, no Nine Yuan Temple cultivators will pursue you. However, after that, you are still a remnant of the Reincarnation Hall, a person named on the Heavenly Court's Immortal Execution List. If you set foot in the Jin Yuan Immortal Territory again, you will surely die." The old man glanced at Han Li and said.

"Junior knows that I shouldn't be meddling at this moment, but I still hope that Senior will tell me, why is this?" Han Li hesitated for a moment after hearing this, but still asked.

"Some things are destined by karma, and even if separated by the Great Dao of Reincarnation, they cannot be changed. Since the rotation of the Heavenly Dao brought you before me, it is to repay the favor I owe and settle this karma." A look of reminiscence appeared on the old man's face, and after hesitating for a long time, he spoke.

Han Li was even more confused after hearing the old man's veiled explanation, and he asked with a puzzled look,

"Senior is saying that you once owed Junior a favor?"

Han Li was certain that he had never had any interaction with the old ancestor of the Nine Yuan Temple, and the difference in their realms was like heaven and earth. How could he have possibly bestowed a favor on him?

"Your current realm is not high enough. What you can see is only the trajectory of the present world. As for the entanglements of karma in reincarnation, even if I told you, you wouldn't be able to understand it for a while. In short, after settling this karma, the connection between you and me in the dark can be completely severed." The old man said, as if he had unloaded a heavy burden.

"Senior is saying that in the process of reincarnation, someone had a favor to you, and then this senior's soul reincarnated and became who I am now. This is actually a debt from a previous life, repaid in this life?" Han Li asked, his heart stirred upon hearing this.

The old man looked at Han Li strangely upon hearing this, seemingly surprised.

"Release the Gold Devouring Immortal, I have something to say to her." However, the old man didn't give an answer as to whether this was the case or not, but changed the subject.

As soon as the old man finished speaking, Han Li discovered that his connection with Jin Tong had reappeared.

After hesitating slightly, he still did as the old man instructed.

After all, since the other party said that he wouldn't harm him, he probably wouldn't harm Jin Tong either. It was better to see what the other party wanted to do.

A golden light flashed, and a slender, golden-haired girl appeared next to Han Li.

"Uncle, what's going on ahead... Oh, old man, why is it you?" As soon as she appeared, she saw the old man standing opposite her, a look of surprise flashing in her eyes, and she exclaimed.

"It's been a blink of an eye, and you've grown so much already?" The old man also seemed a little surprised, and said with a smile.

"Uncle, this is the old man I told you about, the one who was pretty good to me." Jin Tong looked at Han Li and said with a smile.

"Jin Tong, don't be rude, he is the old ancestor of the Nine Yuan Temple." Han Li was afraid that Jin Tong would say something reckless and cause trouble, so he quickly reminded her.

"Jin Tong, I find you quite agreeable, and I plan to take you in as a disciple, a closed-door disciple. Are you willing to stay in the Nine Yuan Temple?" The old man didn't care about this at all, and said.

Hearing this, Han Li's expression changed again. He had some guesses about the old man's identity, and he knew what it meant for the old man to say that he wanted to take Jin Tong in as a closed-door disciple.

Just as he was about to transmit a message to remind Jin Tong, he heard her say indifferently:

"No way! This fairy has finally escaped from that broken place in Ghost Valley, and I don't plan to stay in this broken place again."

"This time is different. You won't be a prisoner, but you will be my closed-door disciple, with the same seniority as Chun Jun. What do you think?" The old man's expression remained unchanged, and he asked again.

Hearing this, Han Li was even more certain of his previous guess, and he looked at Jin Tong hesitantly.

"I'm still not staying. Although this fairy thinks you're pleasing to the eye and gets along well with you, unfortunately, I already have a master and don't plan to follow anyone else." Jin Tong refused without hesitation.

"In that case, I won't force you. I'll give you this golden pill as a farewell gift." After saying that, the old man turned his wrist and took out a golden pill the size of a longan fruit, tossing it to Jin Tong.

"Thank you, you're really a good person, then I won't be polite." Jin Tong accepted it generously and grinned.

Han Li couldn't help but feel speechless upon hearing this. He was afraid that Jin Tong was the only person in the entire True Immortal Realm who dared to talk to the dignified old ancestor of the Nine Yuan Temple like this. If the master of Hundred Refinements Mountain knew about this, he would probably be so angry that he vomited blood.

"Alright, you can leave now." The old man smiled and glanced at Han Li again, waving his hand in front of him.

A metal disc flew out and landed on the ground, emitting a dazzling silver light.

After the light, a wave of spatial ripples spread out from it, and a silver light door appeared out of thin air above the disc.

Outside the silver light door was a vast blue sea.

"Let's go." Han Li called out to Jin Tong and walked towards the entrance of the silver light door.

As he reached the door, Han Li felt a jolt in his heart, and he suddenly remembered an extremely distant past event. He couldn't help but turn his head and ask, "Junior dares to ask, what is Senior's name?"

"My name? It's been many years since anyone has called it... It's Li Yuanjiu." After hearing this, the old man hesitated for a long time before saying.

Han Li was struck by lightning upon hearing this, and his body froze in place.

However, in the next instant, the old man waved his sleeve and turned into a whirlwind, sending him and Jin Tong into the light door together.

By the time Han Li reacted, he was already on that blue sea, and the old man's warning came from behind him:

"Leave quickly, and do not enter the territory of the Nine Yuan Temple again. Take care of yourself."

As soon as he finished speaking, the silver light door closed and disappeared into the void.

"Uncle, what do we do now, where do we go?" Jin Tong looked around and asked.

But after waiting for a long time, Han Li didn't answer. When she turned her head to look at Han Li, she found that Han Li still had a frightened and lost look, as if he hadn't heard her words at all.

In fact, Han Li's mind was full of the three words "Li Yuanjiu".

He still remembered that when his soul traveled through time due to an accident, he had entered the body of an old Taoist named Ling Yunzi, and that old Taoist's disciple was named Li Yuanjiu.

Han Li also remembered that he had taught him the *梵圣真魔功 (Fan Sheng Zhen Mo Gong)* and *托天魔功 (Tuo Tian Mo Gong)*. Could it be that the karma and favor that Li Yuanjiu was talking about was this?

But when he thought about it, he felt that it was unlikely. With Li Yuanjiu's cultivation level at the time of the transmission, it was impossible for him to discover the soul travel. How could he recognize himself now?

At this time, Han Li suddenly remembered that Li Yuanjiu's words seemed to have mentioned two words... "reincarnation."