As such, Han Li willingly sat down in the main seat within the hall, but he refrained from saying anything.
After all, it had been many years since he had returned to the sect and he was completely unfamiliar with the situation within the sect, so it was best to leave the logistics to Senior Martial Brother Lü.
As it turned out, Lü Luo was nowhere near a standout among Nascent Soul cultivators, yet he was very good at managing the sect's internal affairs. He organized all of the new Core Formation disciples in the sect to pay their respects to Han Li one after the other, then officially announced the news of Han Li's progression to the late-Nascent Soul Stage again. Then, he began to hand down some missions to all of the ecstatic disciples in preparation for the upcoming celebration.
Han Li said in his seat with an indifferent expression as he swept his gaze nonchalantly over the disciples before him.
Most of the disciples who had the right to be here were Core Formation disciples, and the rare Foundation Establishment disciples among them were all responsible for important duties within the sect.
No matter which disciple he turned his attention to, the disciple would always lower their head in order to avoid Han Li's gaze as a sign of respect.
After a while, Han Li discovered that his in-name disciple, Liu Yu, and that woman with the Song surname weren't present.
Han Li stirred slightly with a peculiar look on his face upon arriving at this realization.
After Lü Luo had finally finished delivering a long list of instructions to everyone, all of the disciples exited the hall in a respectful manner to make preparations for the upcoming celebration.
"Senior Martial Brother Lü, I don't think I saw Martial Niece Song, there; has she gone out on a mission?" Han Li asked.
Lü Luo chuckled in reply, "Hehe, Martial Niece Song has gone to the Devilfall Valley. She's trying to refine a type of pill, but she's missing a rare herb. This herb is already extinct, yet someone has recently discovered some in the Devilfall Valley."
"She went to the Devilfall Valley?" Han Li's expression changed upon hearing this.
"Don't worry, Junior Martial Brother, this type of herb can be found in the outskirts of the Devilfall Valley. Also, due to some unknown reason, ever since you last visited the Devilfall Valley, the inner valley is still fraught with peril, yet the restrictions in the outer valley are growing weaker year by year, and almost all of the spatial rifts there have also disappeared. On the outskirts of the valley, there are only a few areas where demon beasts may be lurking, but overall, it's not very dangerous. Many cultivators have traveled there in the past several decades and emerged from within with bountiful hauls. By the way, Martial Niece Liu and that concubine of yours also went together with her. The three of them are all Core Formation cultivators, and they brought several powerful treasures with them, so they should be fine," Lü Luo hurriedly explained.
"Is that so? Liu Yu and Mu Peiling also went to the Devilfall Valley?" Han Li was rather surprised to hear this.
"Indeed. I don't know what kind of miracle pill you left behind, but your concubine was able to reach the mid-Core Formation Stage in just a century. The rate of her cultivation was quite shocking, even to me. Perhaps she'll also have a chance to reach the Nascent Soul Stage." Lü Luo clicked his tongue in wonder.
"The pills I left behind was only a secondary factor; Peiling's attitude has always been exceptional," Han Li replied as he stroked his chin.
Back when he first left, he had thought that he would be able to return from the Great Jin in around a decade or so and as a result, he hadn't left behind all that many pills for her that would advance her cultivation base. Otherwise, if she had been given a larger supply of those pills, it was very much possible that she could've been able to reach the late-Core Formation Stage within a century.
However, he had now reached the late-Nascent Soul Stage and the Copulation Essence Arts were only effective for Nascent Soul cultivators, so he would have to think about what to do with this woman.
After all, everyone knew that this woman was his concubine, so even if he were to release her right away, there would be very few male cultivators who would dare to risk irking a great cultivator just to take her for themselves.
After chatting with Lü Luo for a while longer, Han Li suddenly got up and took his leave so he could visit Nangong Wan.
Lü Luo naturally wasn't going to try and stop him.
Thus, Han Li left Tian Qin'er in the hall for now while he headed to the forbidden area within the sect.
A short while later, Han Li appeared in front of the stone chamber within the forbidden area. His emotions were feeling slightly unstable as he lifted the restriction and slowly pushed the stone door open.
The stone chamber had been maintained in a pristine condition, and looked completely identical to when he had last left it. The shimmering wall of ice was still situated directly across from the stone door.
The only thing that was different was that Nangong Wan had turned from a little girl into an exquisite beauty again. However, her eyes were shut, and she appeared to still be in a deep slumber.
Han Li's body swayed and he instantly appeared in front of the ice wall.
He stared intently at the woman within the ice with a complex expression on his face.
Right at this moment, Nangong Wan's eyelashes tremored and she slowly opened her eyes, meeting Han Li's gaze with her own.
The two of them stared at each other in silence.
A short while later, a faint smile appeared on the woman's face as she said in a gentle voice, "I'm glad to see that you're back."
...
Within the depths of the Devilfall Valley's inner valley, an earthshattering boom suddenly erupted halfway up an unidentifiable mountain.
A burst of dense black Qi emerged from a cave before tumbling erratically, and proliferating over an area of several thousand feet in the blink of an eye. Almost half of the entire sky had been obscured by this black Qi, and it was as if an almighty fiendcelestial were descending into this world.
"Hehe, through the use of the devil Qi left behind by that ancient devil, I was able to reach the mid-Nascent Soul Stage in just over a century. I've even mastered the last two layers of Profound Yin Devil Qi. It looks like it really was the correct decision to take such a big risk in coming to this Devilfall Valley. Next, I just have to find a few powerful treasures within the valley and I'll have nothing to fear, even if that man comes again. After that, I'll find a way to enter the Myriad Depth Devilish Abyss, then draw upon the devilish Qi there to nurture this devilish corpse body. In that case, it won't be impossible for me to reach the late-Nascent Soul Stage. Haha, other devil cultivators are afraid of self-detonation from absorbing too much devilish Qi, but I have the body of a devilish corpse, so I have nothing to fear! When the time comes, I'll reach the late-Nascent Soul Stage and kill that man, then engulf his soul. I'll be only Han Li in this world, then, and that's how it should be..."
A coarse voice rang out from within the black Qi, followed by a burst of deranged laughter. All of a sudden, the black Qi surged violently toward a certain direction, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
...
Within a bamboo forest on the outskirts of the Devilfall Valley, a ball of red light suddenly shot forth before fleeing rapidly into the distance.
However, a delicate cry erupted and three streaks of lights of different colors hurtled through the bamboo forest at an even more incredible speed, catching up to the red light after just a few flashes.
The three streaks of light flashed toward the ball of red light, and a peculiar cry erupted from within as a strange bird over 10 feet in size plummeted to the ground.
A white streak of light then flew through the bamboo forest, reaching the fallen bird in a flash before revealing a beautiful woman in a white dress.
The woman feigned a grabbing motion, and a purple herb rose up from the bird's carcass before landing in her hand.
; Chapter 1174: Arrangements
Another two streaks of light shot forth from within the bamboo forest, reaching the woman in white in the blink of an eye. Two other beautiful women were then revealed and one of them, a yellow-robed woman, asked, "Big Sister Liu, have you gotten the herb?"
"I did, but it's not what we're looking for; it's just a Purple Flame Flower!" the white-robed woman replied with a wry smile.
The final woman to complete the trio wore an azure palatial dress, and she smiled as she said, "There's no need to feel disheartened, Junior Martial Sister Mu. We've only searched through a small area of the outer valley; perhaps the Illusionary Spirit Herb we're looking for could simply be elsewhere!"
These three gorgeous women were naturally none other than Liu Yu, Mu Peiling, and the woman with the Song surname.
They had been scouring the outskirts of the Devilfall Valley for close to half a month and during the process, they had found some spiritual herbs that grew in obscure locations, but they Illusionary Spirit Herb that they were searching for continued to elude them. Liu Yu and Mu Peiling were starting to get quite impatient. In contrast, the woman with the Song surname appeared to have the patience of a saint.
"That's true, but if we venture into any other places, it's going to get dangerous. Those areas could have residual spatial rifts and if we fall into one, we'll be dead for sure." Liu Yu's brows furrowed with concern.
"Most of the spatial rifts in the outer valley have disappeared long ago. As long as we keep our guard up, there's no way we'd bump into one. Besides, this pill is very important to Core Formation cultivators like us, and cultivation is always a path that's fraught with peril. If we don't even dare to take risks like this, then we might as well just stay in constant seclusion at the sect and not go anywhere," the woman with the Song surname chuckled.
Mu Peiling was silent for a while before heaving a forlorn sigh, "Senior Martial Sister Song is right. I've reached the mid-Core Formation Stage bottleneck and without this pill, it's going to be very difficult for me to make a breakthrough."
A smile appeared on Liu Yu's face as she said, "Seeing as Senior Martial Sister Song and Junior Martial Sister Mu are both in support of this decision, I can only accompany you two."
Thus, a decision was reached the and the three women shot forth toward another area in the outer valley, disappearing in a flash.
At the same time, in the forbidden area of the Drifting Cloud Sect, the door to the stone chamber was opened again and Han Li emerged from within with a hint of elation in his heart. However, he immediately discovered that Lü Luo was waiting outside for him along with Tian Qin'er, and that discovery made him falter momentarily.
"Junior Martial Brother Han, how is Sister Nangong?"
"She's doing well. I used the curse dissolving method that I obtained in the Great Jin, and lifted the Soul Seal Curse on her again. There should be no further mishaps arising now. However, Wan’er is at a critical juncture in her cultivation of the Youthful Celestial Moon, so she won't be able to leave the ice wall for the time being. It's probably going to take several years for her to master the cultivation art. It's a pity that my cultivation art is of a different attribute to hers. Otherwise, I'd be able to lend her some assistance," Han Li sighed in a forlorn manner.
Lü Luo's expression eased as he joked, "There's no need to hurry, Junior Martial Brother. Sister Nangong is unable to come out of the ice wall right away, but she's already woken up on her own and it'll only be a matter of a few years until she regains her freedom. When that time comes, you have to make sure to invite me to your wedding!"
A rare blush appeared on Han Li's face upon hearing this, but his expression quickly reverted back to normal.
Lü Luo hesitated momentarily before asking, "By the way, you're already a great cultivator now, so it's inappropriate for you to continue living on this mountain. How about you move back to the sect, and I'll construct a new cave abode for you on the main peak?"
Han Li contemplated this offer momentarily before shaking his head as he said, "There's no need for that. My cave abode isn't very large, but it's very peaceful. Even if Wan'er were to come out from the ice wall, it would be large enough to house the two of us."
A reluctant expression appeared on Lü Luo's face and he hesitated momentarily before continuing, "Alright, then we'll do as you say, Junior Martial Brother. Oh, right, I still have your Nascent Soul Stage puppet, I..."
"I've already reached the late-Nascent Soul Stage, so that puppet won't be very useful to me. I'll give to the sect as a present and you can continue using it," Han Li said with a nonchalant smile.
"Thank you, Junior Martial Brother!" Lü Luo was overjoyed to hear that. The puppet was slightly redundant for Han Li, but it was extremely useful for him.
Han Li's brows furrowed as he suddenly said, "Wan'er is at a critical juncture during her breakthrough; I don't want anything to disturb or disrupt her during this time."
"So what you're saying is..." Lü Luo was a little perplexed.
"My cave abode is rather far away from the forbidden area and even though I don't plan to go into seclusion for long periods of time in the near future, I do have some treasures that I have to refine, and I'll perhaps need to make a few trips. Hence, I want to enhance the restriction here so it's completely inaccessible to anyone else. What do you think, Senior Martial Brother?" Han Li asked with a serious expression.
"Haha, there's no need for you to ask my permission about that; just do whatever you please. I was planning to hand over the reins on this forbidden area to you after you came back anyway," Lü Luo replied with a smile.
A smile appeared on Han Li's face and a thought suddenly seemed to have occurred to him as he pointed to Tian Qin'er, and said, "Thank you, Senior Martial Brother. Also, I might have to trouble you to look after this disciple of mine from time to time."
He then divulged the information regarding Tian Qin'er's Dragon Cry Physique, as well as the fact that she could be a reincarnation of a good friend of his.
Lü Luo immediately understood Han Li's intentions, and he nodded without any hesitation as he promised, "Tsk tsk, so reincarnation truly does exist. Don't worry, if you're not around to administer timely treatment, I'll be sure to repress the Yang energy backlash in Martial Niece Tian's body."
"Hehe, then I'll have to trouble you, Senior Martial Brother Lü. In the meantime, I'll try to find some Yin-type spiritual pills and if they're potent enough, they'll also be able to temporarily repress her Dragon Cry Physique so you won't have to always step in," Han Li assured.
In response, Lü Luo waved his hands in a nonchalant manner.
Tian Qin'er was quite touched by Han Li's gesture. She had always been concerned about what would happen to her if her master were to go on a long journey or into extended periods of seclusion.
Who would've thought that Han Li already had everything planned in advance?
Lü Luo then spoke to Han Li about the upcoming celebration, and the potential visits from the Ancient Sword Sect and Hundred Possibilities Pavilion before departing.
As soon as Lü Luo exited the forbidden area, Han Li immediately pulled out several formation flags and formation plates from his storage pouch in order to alter the restriction around the entire stone chamber.
Han Li had slain many Nascent Soul cultivators in the Great Jin, and he had obtained many powerful formation tools from their storage pouches. As such, the restriction around this forbidden area was far too feeble in his eyes, so he decided to revamp the whole thing.
In that case, even if he weren't by Nangong Wan's side, he wouldn't have to constantly be fretting over her safety. He didn't want his companion to come to harm because he wasn't by her side.
With these ready-made formation tools available, setting up the formation was an extremely quick and easy task.
A short while later, all of the formation spells had been set, and Han Li turned to Tian Qin'er with a smile before dusting himself off and entering the stone
chamber again. Only after spending a short while in there did he re-emerge with a smile on his face.
Han Li was in a rather good mood as he said, "Let's go. I'll take you to my cave abode, and I'll construct a separate one for you as well. I've also got many spell formation tomes in my collection, and you can take all of them as well."
Azure light then flashed over his body, sweeping up Tian Qin'er with him as he departed from the forbidden area, flying toward the interconnected mountains where he once lived.
A short while later, the azure streak of light flew out of the restriction formation around the Drifting Cloud Sect. Han Li traveled to the interconnected mountains to the east of the sect and circle around in the air before landing on one of the mountain peaks down below.
He swept a sleeve through the air and over ten golden flying swords shot forth, transforming into streaks of golden light that were over 100 feet in length, which disappeared in a flash.
Han Li then sat down with his legs crossed, making hand seals in silence. However, loud rumbling was erupting incessantly halfway up that mountain peak.
Tian Qin'er stood behind him with curiosity shimmering in her eyes as she surveyed her surroundings.
At Han Li's current power level, constructing a small cave abode naturally wouldn't take too much time. Less than 10 minutes had passed when he abruptly opened his eyes, and said, "Alright, the cave abode is complete. You can arrange the interior however you like. Let's go in first and if there's something you don't like, I can make some adjustments for you. If you're missing some things, you can take my elder badge to the sect and get everything you need. I'm going to be in my cave abode refining a few treasures in the next few days, so you can familiarize yourself with the sect first."
"Yes, Master!" A hint of excitement appeared on Tian Qin'er's face upon hearing this.
Han Li flipped his hand over, and several shiny objects appeared over his palm. There was a badge, a flag, a bead, a flying sword, a bronze mirror, as well as six or seven other treasures of remarkable appearance. "You should be able to use these treasures, and they're all pretty decent. Refine them and use them to protect yourself. That badge is a treasure to activate the restriction around these mountain peaks; refine that one first before you leave this place."
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 643