"Brother Qian, you're exaggerating a bit. Senior Han may have cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage in a remarkably short time, but reaching the Deity Transformation stage is still an impossibly distant prospect — it's not nearly as easy as all that. Even reaching the late Nascent Soul stage would be enough for his sect to dominate a region. That part does seem genuinely plausible." Nie Ying thought for a moment, then smiled radiantly.
"Heh heh! I was getting carried away. But if nothing unexpected happens, this Senior Han will within the next thousand years become a figure who influences the entire situation across Tian Nan. And he has such deep ties to your valley. If we could bring him back into the Six Sects, who knows — before long, we might be able to return to the Yue Kingdom." The cultivator surnamed Qian's eyes glinted as he spoke slowly.
"Ties? You saw it for yourselves just now. Senior Han may have originated from our Huangfeng Valley, but he is now an elder of the Falling Cloud Sect under the Heavenly Dao Alliance. In terms of both status and sect resources, what could our valley possibly offer to entice him? Besides, as you all saw, he has no intention of coming back whatsoever." Lei Wanhe fell silent for a moment, then sighed.
Hearing this, the others were equally at a loss for words.
"Why would Senior Han treat your valley that way? He did come from your valley, after all — is there really no room to mend things?" The burly man from the Giant Sword Gate spoke with evident disbelief.
"I can't go into the specific details, but I'm afraid the chances are slim. However, I did notice that he seems to have quite a close relationship with Senior Nangong of the Concealed Moon Sect. Perhaps Senior Nangong could try to persuade him. Even if we can't get him to rejoin our Six Sects, maintaining a good relationship should still be possible." Lei Wanhe shook his head, then shifted his gaze toward the middle-aged cultivator from the Concealed Moon Sect as he spoke.
"Well... perhaps. As for exactly how close Senior Han and Martial Aunt Nangong are, I'll need to go back and ask around in the sect." Tang Minghua replied with some uncertainty.
"Forget it. This sort of business — courting a Nascent Soul cultivator — isn't something people like us can decide on our own. Let's leave it to the elders to handle. Senior Han will likely appear at the grand ceremony in three months. We should hurry back to the alliance. This isn't exactly a safe place." Lei Wanhe suddenly glanced around, his brow furrowing.
The others were startled by this and lost interest in continuing the discussion. The five of them immediately transformed into streaks of light and flew away.
Though Lei Wanhe had spoken casually enough, inwardly he was fretting the entire journey.
How was he supposed to explain this to Ancestor Linghu back in the sect?
Would he just come out and say that a disciple the old man had cast aside years ago had now grown into an existence no weaker than himself — and that, moreover, the man bore a deep grudge against Huangfeng Valley over what had happened back then?
Wouldn't that be tantamount to openly blaming his own martial uncle?
He sighed helplessly several more times in his mind, and Lei Wanhe could only bury his head and press on in silence.
……
Because the Wind Riding Cart was far too conspicuous!
After flying a distance in the cart and shaking Lei Wanhe's group until they were nowhere in sight, Han Li calmly stowed it and continued on using a普通的遁光 — an ordinary flight technique.
He had just received word about Nangong Wan, and it was the worst possible news. He needed to stay calm and think this through carefully.
Back in those early days, he and Nangong Wan had shared only a single night together. The two times they had met afterward, the enormous gap in their cultivation and standing had left them as cold toward each other as strangers, with not a shred of warmth between them.
Yet at some point, without even realizing it, Han Li had come to regard Nangong Wan as his woman deep in his heart.
Especially after he had formed his Golden Core and then his Nascent Soul in succession, and came to believe he was finally worthy of standing beside Nangong Wan — he had harbored no doubts about this whatsoever.
So the moment he heard that Nangong Wan was about to become someone else's dual cultivation partner, he had very nearly lost his composure entirely.
To simply stand by and watch Nangong Wan marry another man — Han Li wouldn't tolerate that, not even for a heartbeat.
The only man in this lifetime who could take Nangong Wan as his wife was Han Li, and no one else.
Besides, he believed that as the man who had taken Nangong Wan's true yin, she couldn't possibly feel nothing toward him.
The grand ceremony three months from now — Han Li was determined not to let it proceed as planned.
What he was deliberating now was whether to throw caution to the wind and go straight to the Concealed Moon Sect to spiritedly carry Nangong Wan away in secret, or to wait until the day of the ceremony and then show up openly.
Each approach had its own advantages and disadvantages.
The first would be easier to execute, but he could hardly guarantee that Nangong Wan would drop everything and leave with him without a second thought. After all, she had spent so many years at the Concealed Moon Sect and now held the position of elder — she couldn't simply slip away without any concerns.
As for the second option — appearing on the day of the ceremony and formally proposing to Nangong Wan — he would face enormous pressure from the Concealed Moon Sect, the Six Sects, and even the Nine Nations Alliance, making it an incredibly difficult path. But if he could overcome each obstacle one by one, he would be able to be with Nangong Wan openly and aboveboard, with nothing left to worry about.
Of course, there was an even simpler method: to quietly and cleanly eliminate Wei Lichen, the man who intended to marry Nangong Wan, without anyone ever knowing he was involved.
That would naturally make everything dissolve like smoke, removing every obstacle in one stroke.
However, this method was also the most dangerous.
The Transformation Intent Gate was no ordinary minor sect. It was one of the two largest sects within the Nine Nations Alliance, boasting four or five Nascent Soul elders alone — a might that far surpassed the likes of the Falling Cloud Sect.
If Wei Lichen stayed inside the gate and never ventured out, then no matter how extraordinary Han Li's abilities might be, he would have no way to assassinate the man undetected.
And even if he succeeded in killing Wei Lichen, once his identity was exposed, even as an elder of the Falling Cloud Sect, he would be in for a world of trouble.