When Linghu Ancestor saw Han Li, his expression remained perfectly composed, without the slightest hint of surprise. Whether he had failed to recognize the former Foundation Establishment disciple or was simply too deep a schemer to let his emotions show, it was impossible to tell.
Han Li's gaze swept the room.
Apart from those few, seated in the center of the great hall were an elderly man with a purple-hued face and a magnificently dressed, elegant woman in courtly robes.
The moment Han Li probed the pair with a wisp of spiritual sense, a chill ran through his heart.
Both were mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators. They had to be the ones running the Nine Nations Alliance.
While Han Li was scanning the cultivators in the hall, they too were sizing up the young man who had just entered.
Most of them were visibly surprised by how young Han Li looked. After all, techniques that could preserve a male cultivator's appearance indefinitely were exceedingly rare.
"Junior Brother Han, you've finally arrived. Please, take a seat. We were just discussing the Mulan situation with Sect Leader Wu and the others." The Lu-surnamed cultivator greeted him with a warm smile.
The Fire Dragon Boy at his side also offered a faint smile and nodded amicably.
Han Li smiled faintly, gave a brief cupped-fist salute to the other cultivators in the hall, and took the wooden chair beside the Lu-surnamed cultivator.
"This must be Fellow Daoist Han of the Falling Cloud Sect. I am Wu Peng of the Beiyue Sect. We heard from Brother Lu that you advanced to the Nascent Soul stage in just over two hundred years — a true prodigy among the cultivators of Tian Nan. Perhaps the Great Dao really is within your reach!" The purple-faced cultivator smiled at Han Li after he had settled into his seat.
Although Han Li's cultivation was currently a notch below his own, Wu Peng dared not underestimate him when it came to potential.
"Sect Leader Wu is too kind. I merely stumbled into the Nascent Soul stage by luck — I wouldn't dare speak of reaching the Great Dao." The Beiyue Sect stood alongside the Huayi Gate as one of the two great powers within the Nine Nations Alliance, and Han Li had no intention of putting on airs. He offered a few polite words of modesty.
As he finished speaking, however, Han Li's gaze briefly swept over the beautiful middle-aged woman seated beside the old man.
Since this purple-faced old man was the Sect Leader of the Beiyue Sect, this woman was most likely a cultivator of the Huayi Gate.
Sure enough, no sooner had the thought crossed his mind than Wu Peng gave a light cough and said: "This is Madam Qi of the Huayi Gate. She and I are currently handling the Nine Nations Alliance's affairs on a temporary basis. As for the other fellow cultivators here..."
The old man introduced every other cultivator in the hall to Han Li one by one. When he came to Linghu Ancestor of Yellow Maple Valley, the latter responded with an expressionless nod and nothing more.
Han Li felt a faint stir in his heart but returned the gesture with an equally impassive nod.
Once the introductions were complete, Wu Peng's expression turned solemn: "Fellow Daoist Han, your timing is perfect. We've been discussing how the Fa Masters' strength has far exceeded our initial estimates. We've heard that Elder Yu and the others on the front lines have suffered another devastating defeat. They even used giant beasts to forcibly break through the protective formations at two critical locations. We've lost a great number of cultivators. Fellow Daoist Huan of the Shadow Sect was killed in action — that makes him the second Nascent Soul cultivator to fall since the war with the Fa Masters began. It's clear the Mulan people have come in overwhelming force. Our alliance urgently needs the help of every one of you."
Hearing these grave words from the Beiyue Sect Leader, the smiles faded from every face in the hall. A heavy atmosphere immediately settled over the great hall.
"Sect Leader Wu, we've received some news of this as well. After all, our sects also have disciples rotating on the front lines under your alliance's banner. But the exact circumstances of Fellow Daoist Feng's death — we really aren't clear on that. Could Brother Wu elaborate? Losing two Nascent Soul cultivators in such a short span is simply inconceivable. Could it be that the enemy has already committed a large number of high-level Fa Masters?" An old man in green robes, with a hawkish face, asked in a gloomy, slightly hoarse voice.
Hearing this, Han Li took a few extra glances at the speaker. From Wu Peng's introductions, this was an elder of the Spirit Control Sect on the Demonic Path. Han Li wondered what connection he might have to Liu Yu and Han Yunzhi.
"I haven't received any report about whether all of the enemy's high-level Fa Masters have been deployed. But both Fellow Daoist Feng and Fellow Daoist Xin, who perished earlier, died in one-on-one combat — neither was surrounded." Wu Peng said this with a peculiar look on his face.
"Impossible. Even against a mid-stage Fa Master, they should have been able to retreat if the fight turned against them. Could it be that a Divine Master of the Mulan people struck?" The green-robed old man was visibly alarmed by this.