"Hmph! Why must Brother Wei feign ignorance? I refuse to believe you harbor no apprehension whatsoever. To have reached mid Nascent Soul at such a young age, and to possess several divine abilities of considerable might — once he advances to late Nascent Soul, where will any of us have a place in Tian Nan?" The large man in black robes said coldly.
"Heh heh! My view differs somewhat from Brother Hehuan's." Wei Wuya swept a glance at the Hehuan Old Devil, a half-smile on his face.
"How so? By all means, enlighten me, Brother Wei. Surely you don't still believe you could suppress this man once he reaches late Nascent Soul?" The Hehuan Old Devil said, his voice dark and menacing.
"Suppress him? Why would I bother? I am the eldest among the three great cultivators — a hundred years at most before I pass on. Even if he were a True Immortal reborn, he couldn't possibly advance again within a hundred years. And if that's the case — even if his cultivation were to reach the heavens later on and he could sweep across all of Tian Nan — what would that have to do with me?" Wei Wuya said flatly.
"Are you content to let everything you've painstakingly built be snatched away by a single man? If you were willing to join forces with me, I could even make certain concessions on some matters." The Hehuan Old Devil narrowed his eyes.
"I have no interest in meddling! Besides, don't you think it's rather late to be hatching these schemes, Brother Hehuan? If you had been willing to pay a sufficient price when this man was at early Nascent Soul, I might have been tempted. But now, even though his cultivation hasn't yet reached our level, his divine abilities are hardly weaker than our own. I have no interest in making an enemy of someone at my own level, and even less in bringing perpetual disaster upon my sect. Fellow Daoist Hehuan, don't forget — for beings at our level, total annihilation is virtually impossible. Even the most meticulously conceived plan is likely to fall short. Of course, if one could assemble the same lineup that was brought against the Ancient Demon, that would be a different matter entirely. But in my judgment, you would do better to abandon these futile little machinations. They would only serve to earn this man's enmity. After all, even if he truly has the chance to unify all of Tian Nan, his reign won't last long. Don't forget the fate of that Spirit Transformation cultivator who once dominated all of Tian Nan." A cold smile tugged at the corner of Wei Wuya's lips.
The Hehuan Old Devil was taken aback by these words, then sank into pensive silence. It was unclear whether he had truly heeded Wei Wuya's counsel.
Meanwhile, Han Li and the Zhiyang Shangren had already descended several thousand zhang into the vortex.
Under the immense pressure of the spiritual energy, the two could hardly fly straight to the bottom — they could only descend slowly.
Han Li had already deployed his Blue Light Shield, which had transformed into a layer of blue light enveloping his entire body. At the same time, more than thirty golden flying swords dissolved into sheets of sword shadows that whirled ceaselessly around him as his body continued to sink.
As for the Zhiyang Shangren beside him, he was even more impressive — from the very beginning, relying on a single white, misty flying sword that circled his body as a dazzling streak of radiance, he effortlessly parted layer upon layer of white spiritual energy as he descended alongside Han Li.
Watching this, Han Li felt a secret twinge of admiration.
These old monsters at late Nascent Soul were truly extraordinary beings.
With this thought, Han Li probed downward with his spiritual sense once more. However, after penetrating barely a dozen zhang below, his spiritual sense was deflected entirely — accomplishing nothing.
His Clear Bright Spirit Eye fared somewhat better, managing to reach thirty to forty zhang, but all it revealed was a white, misty expanse. However, the spiritual energy vortices that appeared without warning could not escape the Spirit Eye's power — Han Li spotted every one in advance and deftly avoided them.
The fact that he could anticipate and evade those concealed vortices each time naturally did not escape the notice of the Zhiyang Shangren beside him. Secretly marveling at this, the old Daoist grew even more determined to win Han Li over.
As for whether Han Li would advance to late Nascent Soul and eventually unite the major factions, the old Daoist was not the least bit concerned.
He was absolutely certain he had not misjudged — Han Li was precisely the kind of ascetic cultivator who devoted himself single-mindedly to the pursuit of the Heavenly Dao. So long as matters didn't concern him, he would simply cultivate in silence, never involving himself in such troublesome affairs. Otherwise, with Han Li's abilities, controlling not just the Falling Cloud Sect but all of Xi Country would be trivially easy.
And according to intelligence from the Righteous Alliance's informants within Xi Country, whether during his early Nascent Soul stage or the period following his advancement to mid Nascent Soul, this young cultivator had shown no signs whatsoever of harboring such ambitions.
This only put the old Daoist more at ease.
After about the time it takes to eat a meal, Han Li estimated they had descended to a depth of over ten thousand zhang and couldn't help but glance upward.
The sky above was similarly cloaked in white, cut off by the spiritual energy — it was impossible to see any great distance.
The immense pressure bearing down from the flying swords all around confirmed his estimate — reaching such depths truly required at least mid Nascent Soul cultivation.
Had it not been for the fact that his practice of the Qingyuan Sword Technique had endowed him with magical power far deeper than that of cultivators at the same level, he would likely be struggling by now.
While Han Li was lost in thought, the Zhiyang Shangren suddenly spoke up in warning: "Fellow Daoist Han! We're about to reach the bottom. Be careful."
"Thank you for the warning, Brother!" Han Li quickly gathered his focus and peered downward.
Sure enough, after descending another several dozen zhang, a milky-white radiance appeared far below — blindingly bright, resembling a thick curtain of light.
At this sight, Han Li slowed his descent. Moments later, both he and the Zhiyang Shangren came to a halt five or six zhang above the luminous barrier.
Through the aid of his Spirit Eye, Han Li could clearly see countless streams of demonic qi ceaselessly writhing behind the dense barrier — a vast, dark mass in constant motion.