The western peak of White Pool Mountain was a bit larger than Han Li had imagined.
Atop the summit stood not only an ancient temple, but also over a dozen stone pavilions of various sizes, some already occupied by groups of cultivators engaged in long conversations.
Outside the pavilions and the temple, a scattered few cultivators could be seen walking about.
It seemed the gathering at White Pool Mountain had drawn some eager early arrivals.
Han Li hovered above the summit for a while, circling once before landing in a secluded corner of the peak.
He then brought Qu Hun along and strolled casually toward several nearby stone pavilions.
With his powerful spiritual sense, Han Li quickly picked up the contents of every conversation inside the pavilions without any difficulty.
One pavilion in particular, where four cultivators were chatting loudly, caught his attention.
Han Li listened in briefly — they were discussing the war between the Seven Sects of the Yue Kingdom and the Demonic Faction — and his spirits lifted. Without hesitation, he walked over.
"The recent crushing defeat against the Demonic Faction didn't just force the six sects to flee their homeland — even our Yuanwu and Purple Gold kingdoms are headed for disaster down the road. The only question now is whether the Demonic Faction will strike at Yuanwu or Purple Gold first." A pale-faced middle-aged man among the four sighed as he spoke.
"That's right. The last great war did heavy damage to the six sects, but the cultivators from the two kingdoms who went to help lost fifty or sixty percent of their numbers! The Heavenly Star Sect and the other major sects are going to be in a terrible mess this time!" A young man of about twenty chimed in with undisguised schadenfreude.
Hearing the young man's words, two elderly men among the other three maintained their composure with no visible reaction. The middle-aged man who had spoken first, however, let out a few bitter laughs and opened his mouth to say something more.
But just then, a voice came from nearby.
"I'm afraid that even though the major sects like the Heavenly Star Sect are in a wretched state, life will only get harder for us independent cultivators and cultivation families. The Demonic Faction lives by the law of the jungle — the strong devour the weak. When the time comes, we won't have it as easy and carefree as we do today." Han Li walked over slowly, voicing exactly what the middle-aged man had been about to say with his bitter smile.
The four men were startled to find a stranger nearby and immediately fell silent.
But when they realized they could not gauge Han Li's cultivation level, a flicker of unease crossed their faces. They rose one after another and bowed respectfully. The middle-aged man hurriedly spoke up, clearly trying to smooth things over on behalf of the young man: "Senior, Young Yu here was merely making a passing remark just now. He meant absolutely no disrespect toward any of the sects. Please don't take offense!"
They had taken Han Li for some high-ranking cultivator from a major sect in the Yuanwu Kingdom.
The young man's expression had turned equally tense.
"Hehe, there's no need for any misunderstanding, fellow Daoists. I'm just an independent cultivator myself. I was merely chiming in casually," Han Li said with a warm smile, his tone gentle.
Only then did the four of them relax. Whether or not they believed Han Li's claimed identity, it was clear he had no intention of pursuing the young man's careless remark.
Thus, surrounded by their respectful gestures of welcome, Han Li sat down at the stone table inside the pavilion.
"It is our honor that a senior of your standing has come to this place. But with your level of cultivation, why would you attend a gathering of this scale?" the red-faced elder, who possessed the deepest cultivation among the four, asked with a hint of trepidation.
His surprise was entirely understandable. A local, small-scale gathering like this one at White Pool Mountain would rarely attract Foundation Establishment cultivators. When high-level cultivators wished to exchange knowledge and information, they would naturally attend gatherings of a much higher caliber.