When Han Li heard this, he simply smiled without revealing the slightest surprise, “It seems Brother Nanlong trusts me quite deeply. I am truly honored!”
Master Jadepearl took quick breath and stared at Han Li, asking, “Fellow Daoist Han, we’ve already handled our other affairs. Will you tell us your answer?”
Han Li skirted the question and asked, “Could it be that you plan on going to Devilfall Valley soon?”
Marquis Nanlong quickly answered, “No. Although the majority of spatial tears constantly change, every fifty years there comes a year where the spatial teras are comparatively calm. I particularly looked into it before we entered the Moulan Plains. This calm period will become in about four years. During this time, we will have to make a few preparations.”
Han Li stroked his chin before eventually coming to a decision, “Since it is still a while away, I will have to deliberate carefully. How about I give you a reply a year before the period of calm for Devilfall Valley? Even if I can’t enter Devilfall Valley , I’ll still be able to give you the Heaven-Earth Ring to you.”
The two weren’t very satisfied with his answer, but Han Li wasn’t about to rashly agree to head into such a dangerous area.
After all, he was different from the two. He could tell from a glance that Marquis Nanlong and Master Jadepearl were far older than he was and were even nearing the end of their lifespans. They were willing to brave the danger as this was likely their last opportunity. On the other hand, Han Li was still young and was hesitant to face such dangers. After all, changes occur quickly in the world. He would still be able to come to a decision after seeing how things have changed.
Fortunately, Han Li had already agreed that he would give the Heaven-Earth Ring to them and the two hadn’t further pressed the issue. After chatting a bit more on matters related to Devilfall Valley, Han Li tactfully took his leave.
Before he left, Master Jadepearl gave Han Li a medallion. He said that so long as Han Li show the medallion to any Heavenpeak disciple, he would be able to contact Master Jadepearl through his disciple. Han Li took the item without any reservations and left the stone room. Once he reached back to the store on the ground level, he made way to the street under the shopkeeper’s respectful farewell.
Han Li was certain that not long after he left, the two would change locations, particularly due to Marquis Nanlong’s heavy wounds. He would surely be anxious to find a safe area to recover. However, it would be incredibly difficult for Marquis Nanlong to completely recover after a sparse few years. It was quite possible that his injuries could cause his cultivation to fall an entire level.
Han Li inwardly shook his head and tossed the matter to the back of his mind before calmly heading back to his residence.
The matter of Devilfall Valley was still quite a distance away, but the invasion of the Moulan spell warriors was happening now. It wasn’t something that he’d be able to avoid. Han Li began to consider this matter as he slowly disappeared from view.
Chapter 728: Providing Assistance
Once Han Li returned to his residence, he found Senior Martial Brother Lu and the Child Fire Dragon waiting for him in the hall of the first floor. Mu Peiling was currently sitting to the side just like one would expect of a hostess.
When she saw Han Li enter, she immediately stood up and said, “My Lord, Senior Lu and Senior Lan have been waiting for you for quite some time. Did something happen?”
Han Li gave Mu Peiling a rare smile and gently said, “It’s nothing. You can go up first and rest. I’ll be having a proper chat with my two Senior Martial Brothers.”
“Yes, My Lord.” Mu Peiling gave an charming curtsy and climbed up the stairs without another word. When Han Li glanced at her from behind, he felt satisfied at the woman’s intelligent response, but when he recalled the matter with Nangong Wan, he couldn’t help but sigh.
When Lu Luo saw that Han Li had returned in such an excited mood, he teased, “What? Does Junior Martial Brother Han finally have desire for children?”
Han Li smiled and sat down beside the two. He calmly said, “Hehe, Senior Martial Brother Jests. Since you two are here, it must be about the treaties meeting earlier today.”
Lu Luo slowly said, “Junior Martial Brother guessed correctly. It is about the Moulan Invasion. We’ve already delivered the news to the other sects in the alliance and the matter has spread to our fellow alliance members in the city. A majority of these Fellow Daoists are willing to send reinforcements in acknowledgement that the matter will not be solved by hiding. They are willing to assist the Nine Nations Union in resisting the Moulan Vanguard.
Of course, these Nascent Soul cultivators will require a sizable amount of spirit stones as compensation. I’m sure the Nine Nations Alliance will be more than willing to pay. After all, the Moulan are a fearsome opponent, but it is true that the Nine Nations Union does bear the brunt of the invasion.”
Han Li nodded his head and spoke with slight puzzlement, “Since that’s the case, what is there to discuss? Although I’ve reached Nascent Soul stage for only a few years, I am still capable of fighting enemies.”
The Child Fire Dragon then spoke with a solemn expression, “Fellow Daoist might not know that a group of Righteous and Devil Dao cultivators paid us a visit and spoke of a few matters. I feel that it is reasonable to tell you what they said.
Han Li blinked several times before wearing a mysterious smile, “What did they say? Don’t tell me that they said the Nine Nations Union was using this as an opportunity to weaken the other three powers.”
Lu Luo replied with a wry smile, “Junior Martial Brother Han is truly intelligent indeed to have guessed correctly after only a moment. However, the Nine Nations Union would find it difficult to deal with all three superpowers at once. It is quite possible that they will ally with one or two parties and take down another. This isn’t something that our Heavenly Dao Alliance is willing to see happen —
The cultivation world will become unstable when the Moulan spell warriors retreat. Our alliance cannot allow this to happen and upset the balance of power.”
Han Li smirked and calmly asked, “Oh? You mean...”
The Child Fire Dragon said, “It’s quite simple. Although the three superpowers will listen to the Nine Nations Union for the time being, we will not allow them to weaken any of us. We had discussed this together with the Devilish and Righteous Dao, and we came to a conclusion to have further discussions on some rules tomorrow in the official hall.
At the very least, the Nine Nations Union will be forced to send their own elders into battle alongside ours, instead of covertly weakening our Nascent Soul cultivators. We will require Junior Martial Brother Han along with the other cultivators to back this proposal.”
Han Li replied without further thought.“It is no problem. I also have no wish for cultivators to secretly plan behind my back while I fight spell warriors.”
Lu Luo sighed and said, “That is good. In addition to Junior Martial Brother Han, we will contact other Fellow Daoists and ensure that the Enlightened Leaf Sect and the Flowing Mind Sect will not be able to do this. I hope this war will end as soon as possible; else, the losses in the Heavenly South will be untold!”
The Child Fire Dragon wore a cold smile and ominously said, “Hehe! With our cultivation, so long as we are careful, we will be able to preserve our lives in the war. In the last Moulan invasion, I managed to slaughter a good number of spell warriors. This time, I will want to also slay a good number.”
Han Li glanced at the Child Fire Dragon with astonishment. This cultivator had the appearance of a boy, but his cultivation was at early Nascent Soul stage. The baleful Qi his body emitted was also far more heavy than his peers. It appeared many lives had been slayed by his hand.
The three chatted a bit more about the concrete details for tomorrow’s discussion and had a few brief words on the sudden appearance of the huge beasts and the strange spell warriors before they departed.
When Han L
i saw the two to the residence’s entrance, Lu Luo hesitated for a moment before asking Han Li, “Junior Martial Brother, did anything happen from your meeting today with your old acquaintance?” At that moment, Lu Luo was staring at Han Li’s face as if wishing to see if he would betray anything from his expression.
Han Li blinked and calmly answered, “Nothing happened. We merely discussed about the past.”
“That is good! I am relieved.” Lu Luo felt most of his worries disappear with his response and happily said a few more words with Han Li before leaving with the Child Fire Dragon.
Han Li stood in front of his residence and watched the two enter another building nearby, presumably to meet with another cultivator. It appeared that the two had been assigned a duty within the Heavenly Dao Alliance. Otherwise, the Devilish and Righteous Dao representatives wouldn’t have sought them out.
Han Li stoked his chin and pondered for a moment before going back inside.
...
The second day of discussions had nearly double the number of Nascent Soul cultivators. In addition to the elders of the three superpowers, there were also a few vagrant cultivators.
This sudden change had caught the hosts of the conference — the Flowing Mind Sect’s Lady Qi and the Enlightened Leaf Sect’s Kun Peng — off guard. They had been forced to agree to the many cultivator’s conditions regardless of what they had in mind previously. The most important of these conditions being that high grade assignments must be participated by an equal share of cultivators among the four powers, avoiding any machinations the other powers may have in store for another.
Han Li had been particularly surprised to see that the a coalition of Nascent Soul cultivators from the Heavenly Dao Union — after being informed by Lu Luo and the Child Fire Dragon — had already came to decision to a send Nascent Soul elders and Core Formation cultivators to support Soaring Heavens City.
Of course, since they were still quite a distance away, Lu Luo and the other cultivators already present would have to delay the Moulan invasion in the meantime.
And for the purposes of being fair, those that acquired vast merits in battle would be allowed to return to their sects once reinforcements arrived, and will not be required to participate in any later battles as the incoming cultivators would take their place.
Additionally, whether it be the Child Fire Dragon, Lu Luo, or any others, all the cultivators in the hall have each been assigned various duties to support the frontline.
Han Li and the other two Nascent Soul cultivators were leading a party of eight Core Formation cultivators to provide support to a strategic location on the border of the State of Yu. It was one of the tensome vital points along the border that would be a target of the Moulan Invasion. If these points remained uncaptured, the Moulan wouldn’t be able to truly hold any land going forward for fear of attack.
As for the Nine Nations Union, their current strength wasn’t enough to launch a decisive battle against the Moulan. They could only rely on favorable conditions and meticulously placed grand formations to gradually delay the spell warriors’ main army. Else given the speed of the high grade spell warriors, they would’ve been able to reach Soaring Heavens City in only a month.
The army of the spell warriors have yet to reach the strategic location that Han Li was assigned to protect. However, there was only one Nine Nations Union Nascent Soul cultivator amongst the high grade cultivators that were guarding it. It appeared that in the past invasions, a single Nascent Soul cultivator was enough to contend against a number of spell warriors with the support of the restrictions and spell formations. However, this was nowhere near enough to top spell warrior’s current attacks.
As for the other Nascent Soul cultivators, there was Old Man Ma from the Righteous Dao’s Grand Pavilion — a lean old man with a healthy appearance — and there was also the green-robed old man that he saw the other day in the discussion hall named Gu Shuangpu. Although he only had a single spirit beast pouch at its waist, Han Li felt uncomfortable from the Qi that it faintly emitted. It appeared that it was quite unordinary.
The two of them possessed similar cultivation to Han Li, at early Nascent Soul stage.
Because it was likely that the main army of the spell warriors would soon attack this location, the three Nascent Soul cultivators quickly decided to leave behind their Core Formation cultivators and hurried to reach the spell formation first, and have their Core Formation Juniors lag behind.
On the way, Old Man Ma had proven quite entertaining and spoke of humorous matters as if they were on a scenic journey rather than on their way to fight spell warriors.
As for the Controlling Spirit Sect’s Gu Shuangpu, he kept silent for most of the journey and wore a sullen expression. It was unknown what he was thinking. As for Han Li, he wore a smile on his face and spoke with Old Man Ma, giving the two a refined impression. The two both knew that Han Li was a newly ascended Nascent Soul cultivator and they didn’t hold Han Li’s strength in much esteem.
Chapter 729: Yellow Dragon Mountain
Nearly half a month later, in the Yellow Dragon Mountains of the State of Yu’s Li Prefecture, there was a large bald middle-aged man that stood inside a jade hall on top of the Yellow Dragon Mountains. He continuously walked in a circle with an apprehensive expression.
A short moment later, the large man sat down on a straw chair and took a sip of tea from the cup on the table, calming his roiling heart for a time. But then a red streak of light suddenly flew inside and began to circle around the hall. The large man’s expression changed upon seeing this and he beckoned to the red light, having it fall into his hand.
The light burst into raging flames upon touching his hand and the large man sunk his spiritual sense within them. His expression immediately turned unsightly. Silence filled the hall for a time and his expression grew ashen. Then, he silently took out a small azure bell from his storage pouch and struck it with his finger.
A melodious ring filled the entire hall, with unceasing echos returning from a distance.
Soon, the ring spread to the entirety of the Yellow Dragon Mountains, and the jade buildings on top of the other peaks began to flourish with lights of every color. Then cultivators wearing various clothing hurriedly flew out from these buildings as if practiced. Not long after, a dense green mist began to spread throughout the entire Yellow Dragon Mountain, turning an area of tens of kilometers into a sea of strange dark-green mist.
Soon after, four cultivators appeared before the large bald man from within the hall, three men and one woman — all possessing Core Formation cultivation. There were two men that appeared thirty years of age, appearing similar enough to be siblings. The other man was wearing Daoist robes, wielded a horsetail whisk, and despite his gallant appearance he was middle-aged. As for the sole female cultivator, her figure was dainty and her face was exceptionally beautiful.
The four were each standing next to one another in the hall with grave expressions.
With an expression of disbelief, the female cultivator hesitantly asked, “Senior Lu[1], is it true that a spell warrior army has arrived so quickly. From what we heard last time, wasn’t it only supposed to be a squadron of spell warriors? And what happened to Senior Bu? Could it be that in a mere week the Heavenwind Storm Formation was destroyed even under the guard of Senior Bu? Is this not a misunderstanding?”
[1] This Lu is different from the past two ‘Lu’s (Master Jadepearl[ Lu Weiying]), (Lu Luo)’ that have been encountered. They’re homophones.
The bald man coldly smiled and grimly said, “Misunderstanding? I would think that also were it not for the fact that Hunchback Bu had personally sent me the message. He even mentioned that he sustained heavy injuries and was about to soon arrive at our Yellow Dragon Mountains along with a few of his defeated garrison. This is by no means a misunderstanding. We will have to face the enemy alone without any reinforcements.”
When the four Core Formation cultivators heard this, they could only glance at o
ne another with a bitter smile and acknowledge him.
Following that, the large man gave each of the four their orders in preparation for the oncoming battle, but suddenly yet another streak of red light flew into the building. The cultivators in the room were stunned by the sudden appearance.
The large man grew still and reached for the sound transmission talisman without any hesitation. As a result, the talisman bursted into flame and clearly transmitted its message to him, causing him to wear an odd expression.
The female cultivator couldn’t help but ask, “Senior Lu, what’s the matter? Spell warriors have already arrived?” When the other three Core Formation cultivators heard this, their expressions all grew tense.
The large man grinned. Suppressing the excitement in his heart, he slowly said, “No, our reinforcements have arrived. Three Nascent Soul Fellow Daoists have arrived outside the grand formation. Quickly, head out to welcome them and invite them inside.”
Immediately, the four Core Formation cultivators revealed delight and promptly accepted the large man’s orders with a salute.
Three silhouettes were floating outside above the green mist and were examining the restrictions of the grand formation down below. The three, of course, were Han Li and the other two Nascent Soul cultivator that had hurried on their way.
Because the three would soon be relying on the grand formation to resist a siege from the Moulan armies, they each examined the sea of mist surrounding the mountains as they waited for the cultivators inside to respond, wishing to see the mysteries that it hid.
Let alone whatever the true power of the spell formation may be, the green sea it produced seemed nearly limitless at a glance and emitted an unordinary pressure. With his hands behind his back, a blue light suddenly appeared in Han Li’s eyes as he glanced at the formation, resulting in a pensive expression on his face.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 390