"Nangong Wan!" Han Li finally found the source of that ripple.
The female cultivator named Zhuo Ruting, though her appearance was different from Nangong Wan's, carried some of Nangong Wan's bearing — and it was precisely that which had given him such an unusual feeling, stirring something deep within his heart.
Once he understood the reason, Han Li glanced at Zhuo Ruting with complicated emotions before withdrawing his gaze and restoring his tranquil state of mind.
Even so, now that Han Li and Qu Hun had arrived, Madam Fan and Zhuo Ruting showed no sign of departing immediately. Instead, they kept glancing up at the sky from time to time, as though waiting for someone else.
Seeing this, Han Li felt a flicker of confusion but didn't voice his question. Instead, he found a secluded corner, sat cross-legged with Qu Hun, and quietly waited for the departure time.
He waited for the better part of half a day.
If not for the fact that everyone present was a cultivator with ample patience, someone would surely have started complaining long ago.
Even so, a few eventually revealed expressions of displeasure.
At the sight of this, Madam Fan and Zhuo Ruting also showed hints of anxiety. Reluctantly, the two drew together and exchanged a few whispered words.
Han Li observed all of this, and just as he was speculating about who they might be waiting for, he faintly caught the sound of wind and thunder. Then, on the distant horizon, a sliver of pitch-black appeared.
The darkness hurtled toward them at tremendous speed, causing the seated cultivators to rise one after another, their faces filled with astonishment as they stared.
The black mass arrived overhead in the blink of an eye. Only then did Han Li and the others see clearly — it was an enormous dark cloud roughly fifty or sixty zhang in diameter, so vast that it nearly shrouded the entire mountaintop beneath it. Bolts of lightning and tongues of fire periodically erupted from within, lending it an utterly eerie spectacle.
While everyone stood there dazed, a cold, clear female voice suddenly drifted down from the dark cloud.
"Senior Chi, you may set me down now. I need a few words with my two senior sisters."
"Heh heh, of course, no problem!" a grating, metallic voice answered.
At the sound of these two voices, Madam Fan and Zhuo Ruting's expressions shifted subtly, and they exchanged a glance.
Some of the other cultivators who knew the origin of the dark cloud turned pale.
Han Li was inwardly alarmed as well. Just as he was puzzling over the matter, someone among the cultivators muttered under their breath.
"The Mysterious Sound Sect's connections are truly impressive — they even managed to invite Old Monster Chihuo from Yuan Turtle Island!"
The voice was low, but Han Li, relying on his powerful spiritual sense, heard every word with perfect clarity. A chill ran through his heart.
The moment "Yuan Turtle Island" and "Old Monster Chihuo" reached his ears, he immediately recalled the origin of the dark cloud.
During his casual conversations with other cultivators, he had heard the name "Old Monster Chihuo of Yuan Turtle Island" mentioned more than once.
This person had made his name very early and had already reached the late Core Formation stage. His Kui Water Devilish Arts were endlessly versatile, and he was particularly renowned across the Scattered Star Seas for his ruthlessness and utter lack of sentiment.
Many had declared that Old Monster Chihuo was among those most likely to advance to the Nascent Soul stage — sooner or later he would become a tyrant on the level of Patriarch Ji Yin. He ruled Yuan Turtle Island alone, and no one dared cross him lightly. He was, without question, a figure of considerable renown.
But how had such a notorious devil cultivator ended up here? Had the Mysterious Sound Sect truly invited him as backup?
Han Li concealed his alarm and fixed his gaze on the dark cloud, studying it carefully.
At that moment, the cloud churned violently, and a woman in a purple palace gown flew out from within.
She was tall and slender, her figure graceful and light, but a faint purple mist shrouded her face, obscuring her true features.
Madam Fan and Zhuo Ruting immediately stepped forward to greet her.
"Sister Wang, why is Old Monster Chihuo here? Did you invite him? But there was no need for that!" Zhuo Ruting furrowed her delicate brows and asked in a low voice.
"Indeed! That old monster is not someone to be trifled with. I'm afraid it'll be far easier to invite him than to see him off. Besides, with our current numbers, we should be more than sufficient!" Madam Fan added with a grave expression, a hint of dissatisfaction creeping into her tone.
"Do you two senior sisters truly believe that the cultivators who ambushed the shipment last time constituted their entire force?" The purple-robed woman ignored their concerns and spoke flatly.
"Sister, what do you mean? They have other formidable people?" Madam Fan's expression changed with alarm, and she immediately grasped the implications behind the woman's words.