The sea then returned to silence. Only the rapidly expanding black fog remained, continuing to silently release bursts of black lightning.
About five hundred kilometers away from the black mist, the silver light faded away to reveal Han Li holding Violet Spirit in one arm and Mei Ning in the other. From how tightly they were holding onto him, it appeared quite intimate.
Han Li appeared somewhat better off than the other two. Despite his overwhelmed senses, he managed to keep a calm face. However, the two women in his embrace were slightly scarlet, revealing a heart-moving tenderness.
Han Li took a glance around and wore an expression of relief. He then relaxed his grasp on the two women in an honorable manner and said, “This should be enough. The ghost mist can’t reach us now.”
“I must truly give my thanks to Fellow Daoist Han. If it weren’t for your miraculous movement technique, it’s quite likely that we wouldn’t have been able to escape.”
“Elder Sister Violet Spirit speaks truly. If it weren't for Brother Han’s amazingly swift actions, we may have been sucked back into the Umbra Realm. We’ve troubled Brother Han greatly.”
As soon as Violet Spirit and Mei Ning left Han Li’s embrace, their bodies began to shine with light as they floated at Han Li’s side.
Several days before, the three had encountered many dangers, but managed to climb up to Stormwind Mountain’s summit by relying on the Weeping Soul Beast’s strength. During the time they waited for the spacial tear to open, the two women found each other’s company extremely agreeable, and not long after, they became sworn sisters, much to Han Li’s surprise.
Several days after reaching the summit, a hundred-meter-wide spacial tear appeared about a kilometer above Stormwind Mountain. Massive amounts of Heaven-Earth spiritual Qi began to flow in from the outside, restoring the trio’s magic power in an instant and allowing them to fly into the air with joy.
However, Han Li truly didn’t expect that in the instant he left the tear that an immense suction force would pull at him from behind. He hadn’t been able to move in the slightest and was slowly being dragged back in.
Fortunately, Han Li quickly came to his senses and immediately unfolded the Thunderstorm Wings as he flickered several times to grab onto the two women, before launching himself out of the black mist. As a result, the two gave him their heartfelt thanks.
When Violet Spirit recovered her bearings, she casually swept her gaze over the ocean and frowned, “Where is this place? How can it be so odd? It’s completely calm!”
Mei Ning’s face appeared puzzled after taking a glance down, “What? It is truly as Elder Sister Violet Spirit says. This is quite amiss, there isn’t the slightest breeze and the seas are completely still.”
Han Li remained silent as he narrowed his eyes and released his spiritual sense. He began to sweep the depths of the nearby seas, and after a short moment, Han Li revealed an expression of shock.
Violet Spirit had also swept her spiritual sense deep into the seas and after a moment, her beautiful eyes were filled with shock, “Could it be Brother Han has discovered something? There are so few fish in the sea and they all seem to be extremely fierce sea beasts. However, none of them appear to be demon beasts.”
“Please wait a moment!” Han Li then took a deep breath and flicked his finger, shooting a ten meter streak of azure swordlight deep into the waters below.
A short moment later, a grotesque sea beast corpse floated to the water’s surface, much to the shock of the two women.
Chapter 596: Marriage to a Concubine
The sea beast corpse before them was over a dozen meters long. It had azure scales on its body and small, sharp teeth. It also had massively swollen eyes. It appeared quite fiendish, but what was most noticeable about its appearance were the crooked tusks that grew from the bottom of its cheeks.
Han Li grew closer to the corpse and carefully examined it several times before a flicker of understanding appeared in his eyes. He then cleaved the demon corpse into two with a streak of swordlight.
With a wave of his hand, a pitch-black item flew into his grasp. He took a whiff of it without any hesitation and found that it had an odd pungent smell that faintly contained a trace of flowery fragrance.
Han Li tossed the item away and revealed a strange expression as he muttered, “So its a Fragrant Tusk Beast.”
“Fragrant Tusk Beast?” Violet Spirit was stunned and glanced at Mei Ning. The two women revealed a trace of confusion as it was their first time of hearing such a name.
“It is natural that you two wouldn’t know of this sea beast. These beasts are absent in the Scattered Star Seas. They are unique to these strange depths.”
Fairy Violet Spirit gravely said, “From your tone, it seems Brother Han already knows that we are no longer in the Scattered Star Seas.”
Han Li swept his gaze past the dull ocean and nodded his head with a wry smile, “That is correct. We are no longer in the Scattered Star Seas. Although I’ve never been here before, I’ve heard many people speak of it. If I haven’t guessed incorrectly, this place should be the Endless Seas.” He then turned his head to the sky and silently became lost in thought.
“The Endless Seas?” They clearly hadn’t heard of this name before.
Violet Spirit muttered to herself before wearing a smile and gently asking, “Brother Han seems to hold some knowledge of these seas. Could you give us sisters an explanation?”
Han Li awoke from his indescribable wave of emotion calmly nodded his head, “Of course. That won’t be a problem. As the term implies, the Endless Seas is known to the Heavenly South Region to be without end. It...” Han Li leisurely began to speak of the legends and hearsays of the Endless Seas in full detail. At the same time he spoke, a question buried deeply in his heart began to surface after remaining there for such a long time.
With a tone of astonishment, Violet Spirit said, “From Brother Han’s words, this Endless Seas should be north of the Heavenly South Region. And not only is there little life in these seas, but there also exists no islands.”
Han Li rubbed his nose and calmly replied, “That’s is right, much to our great distress. Without islands, we fundamentally have no method of determining our location. We have no way of knowing how far we are from the Heavenly South Continent.”
The two women couldn’t help but look at each other dismay.
After some thought, Han Li firmly said, “Regardless, we must head south without delay and reach the mainland before we run out of spirit stones. Hopefully it won’t be too far away.”
Violet Spirit agreed with a trace of helplessness, “Since that is the case, we can only hope that the Heavens favor us!” Mei Ning naturally followed along without complaint.
As a result, the three recognized their bearings before immediately heading south.
Several days later, Mei Ning and Violet Spirit became entirely convinced of Han Li’s judgements. During their entire journey, there were no islands to speak of and the sea was completely void of Qi. Additionally, there wasn’t a single demon beast in the oceans, only fierce looking sea beasts.
When these women discovered these circumstances for the first time, they were completely baffled.
Perhaps due to their previous experiences of having undergone tribulations together, the three behaved quite harmoniously and bantered along the journey. As for Han Li, he couldn’t help but feel his heart stir in the presence of these two beautiful women.
However, now that he had arrived at the Endless Seas, the face of an icy woman came to mind – Nangong Wan. It was unknown where this Masked Moon Sect Core Formation cultivator had gone, but when he thought of her, a strange emotion began to well in his heart. He couldn’t tell whether it was foolish attachment, tender affection, or annoyance, as if a thousand different feelings had muddled his mind. He couldn’t make heads of what he currently felt.
Regardless, the party of three continued their flight for four months before eventually spotting an exp
anse of green on the horizon. The three were immensely rejoiced at the sight, and their most pressing worry was relieved. They then flew towards the mainland in excitement.
The State of Xi was the Heavenly South Region’s northmost country. It was about a third smaller than Han Li’s home country, the State of Yue, and it was divided into seven provinces. The Min Province was the largest province among them and was also the one that neighbored the Endless Seas.
As of current, Han Li had brought Mei Ning and Violet Spirit to a restaurant’s private room in a small city of the Min Province.
Violet Spirit coquettishly glanced at Han Li in feigned anger and said, “Brother Han, so it turned out that you came from the Heavenly South Region. You’ve sure put us through a bit of trouble for having hid this so well.”
Not long before, Han Li had divulged a few small details about his identity, astonishing the two women. Of course, the two had already guessed as much considering Han Li’s familiarity with the Endless Seas, so it hadn’t come with too much surprise.
Han Li hoarsely laughed, appearing to be in a good mood. “What is there to say? I unintentionally fled to the Scattered Star Seas. I truly didn’t expect to be brought back to the Heavenly South so soon.”
Violet Spirit pursed her lips in a smile and playfully said, “Since Brother Han is a lord of the land, he must properly entertain us sisters of course!” Because she feared that her stunning beauty would arouse trouble, she had already restored her original appearance to when she had first met Han Li. However, Han Li still felt shaken by her beauty as if he could see it through her disguise.
“Hehe! Of course. However, I’ve lost all relation to my sect after fleeing to the Scattered Star Seas. How could I possibly be a lord of this land? However, I’m going to give you each a jade slip that I made in particular to translate the script and language of the Heavenly South. Since you won’t be able to return to the Scattered Star Seas for a while, you may as well learn the language. It will make things far more convenient in the future.” Han Li then took out two white jade slips he had made the previous night and handed it over to them.
“Hehe! Many thanks, Brother Han!” Violet Spirit was initially stunned, she soon thanked him a chuckled and accepted the jade slip.
Mei Ning also took the jade slip and gratefully whispered thanks.
“However, I imagine you two will have your plans for the future. As for me, I will be preparing to inquire what has happened in the Heavenly South Region the past couple hundred years before immediately finding a cave residence for secluded cultivation. Because I’ve faintly felt that I’ve already reached the peak of Core Formation stage, I want to make preparations to form a Nascent Soul.” After Han Li said this, he sipped on the fragrant tea before him and lightly pursed his lips, calmly paying attention to the women’s reaction in front of them.
After a moment of consideration, Violet Spirit’s luminous eyes rippled as she said, “I’ve only formed a core just recently and I’ve yet to stabilize my cultivation. I also intend on finding a cave residence to cultivate for a time before further planning what to do. Little Sister Mei, what do you intend on doing?”
After a moment of hesitation, she muttered,“I... I don’t know. I’ve only reached mid Foundation Establishment stage. Based on my aptitude, my hopes of reaching Core Formation are quite slim. Apart from finding a heaven-defying spirit medicine, my only hope is to find a high grade cultivator and marry him as a concubine. Perhaps I will be able to form a core through pair cultivation!”
Violet Spirit shook her head and dissuaded her, “Don’t you feel indignity from marrying as a concubine? How will that do?”
Han Li frowned in response, but he remained silent.
Violet Spirit continued, “Becoming a concubine isn’t much different from becoming a cultivation vessel. If you were to come across a malicious high grade cultivator, it wouldn’t be unimaginable for him to regard you as a cultivation vessel. This plan isn’t reliable.”
When Mei Ning heard this, she bit her lips in silence with a sad expression on her face.
After seeing Mei Ning’s sad face, Violet Spirit suddenly thought of something and covered her smile in her hand before saying, “Even if little sister wishes to become a concubine for pair cultivation techniques, then it would be best to find a reliable person you are familiar with. For example, I feel like Brother Han would be very reliable and wouldn’t wrong little sister in the slightest.”
Han Li was shocked, but soon he calmly rubbed his nose as if this had nothing to do with him. Mei Ning then let out a gasp of surprise and her face soon blushed, revealing a gorgeous allure. She then lowered her head in silence as if she didn’t oppose Violet Spirit’s scheme.
After all, Han Li held deep cultivation that had already reached late Core Formation stage. Although he was about to prepare to condense a Nascent Soul, from her experience in the Umbra Realm, she came to realize that Han Li wasn’t an insidious or unfeeling person.
As a result, even if she didn’t have the qualifications to become his Dao companion, she would be quite satisfied to become his concubine.
With her alluring beauty and cultivation, it was inevitable that she would attach herself to a powerful male cultivator. Else, she would encounter great difficult in the cultivation world, or worse, she would immensely suffer at the hands of others. And with her brother gone, she only had herself to rely on, causing a dreadful encounter to become all the more likely.
The atmosphere in their private room suddenly became exceptionally stale following Violet Spirit’s words.
Chapter 597: Drifting Cloud Sect
Seeing that Han Li remained silent, Fairy Violet Spirit smiled and asked, “Brother Han, how do you feel about marrying her? Little Sister Mei Ning’s beautiful appearance should more than qualify her enough to become your concubine. Surely you wouldn’t refuse such a pleasant matter that has come knocking on your door?”
Han Li unconsciously frowned and turned to look at the charming, bright appearance of Mei Ning.
Mei Ning held her head low and a faint blush was revealed from her snow-white neck, making for a rather touching scene. It seemed she had tacitly agreed with Violet Spirit’s proposal.
Han Li slowly spoke with a calm expression, “Based on her appearances alone, she wouldn’t qualify as a mere concubine of a high grade cultivator; even being a Dao companion wouldn’t be out of the question. However, I am different from common cultivators. I have dedicated myself to the pursuit of immortality and cannot easily involve myself with the affairs of men and women. Furthermore, I am a lone wanderer and often encounter perilous situations. How could I possibly take in a concubine? If Fellow Daoist Mei were to follow me, it wouldn’t be a good thing for her at all; it would only lead her down a path of unprecedented hardship!”
Mei Ning’s body faintly trembled upon hearing him and her blush hastily faded away. She only raised her head to reveal a paled face.
As if greatly discontent with Han Li’s refusal of the beautiful woman, Violet Spirit annoyedly said, “But in the end, Brother Han is still rejecting her. Needless to say, with your late Core Formation cultivation, who could possibly pose a threat to you apart from Nascent Soul eccentrics? Perhaps Fellow Daoist may soon succeed in condensing a Nascent Soul. After that, the entire world would be free to roam as you choose. How would you be unable to protect Little Sister Mei Ning?”
Han Li flatly said, “Fellow Daoist Violet Spirit should already be aware. Although I believe myself to be a level higher than similar grade cultivators, I’ve always provoked enmity from foes far stronger than I. Until I reach Nascent Soul stage and possess enough power to defend myself, I cannot possibly consider taking in a concubine. When the time comes that I am incapable of defending her, she will only face a bitter reality.”
Violet Spirit creased her brow, knowing that Han Li had spoken truthfully. Moreover, she faintly felt that Han Li was somewhat displeased. She could only sigh and avoid further mentioning the topic.
Mei Ning eventually recovered her calm and bit her lips while staring at Han Li and asking, “Since Brother Han didn’t reject this little woman based on her lacking appeal, would you be willing to accept me after you enter Nascent Soul stage?”
Han Li looked at the woman and calmly said, “Nascent Soul stage? I don’t have any certainty that I will be able to condense a Nascent Soul. Furthermore, even if I am able to reach the Nascent Soul stage, I have no idea about how many years it will take. Would Fellow Daoist Mei be willing to wait over a hundred years for an uncertain chance that I would able to condense a Nascent Soul?”
“I...” When Mei Ning heard this, her expression grew unclear and she was incapable of responding. As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, even thirty years was too long, let alone a hundred. Although Han Li made for a very good choice for pair cultivation, she didn’t have the time to wait for an uncertain result.
After all, the cultivation world was a truly cruel place. Although she had only spent a short amount of time together with Han Li and had a favorable impression of him, it was impossible for her to have fallen so completely in love with him that she’d ignore the consequences.
Seeing her hesitation, Han Li could only inwardly sigh and placed two bottles onto the table before pushing them towards her.
Han Li unhurriedly said, “These are a few cultivation progression pills that I concocted from demon cores. Instead of seeking a man to pair cultivate with, it may be better to diligently cultivate by yourself. Perhaps you’ll even form a golden core like Fellow Daoist Violet Spirit.”
Since these medicine pills were for Foundation Establishment cultivators, they no longer had any value to Han Li, but since the woman had passed on her Transient Spirit Qi to him, he may as well use this opportunity to repay the favor without much effort. As such, he would no longer need to dwell on the matter.
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