The Revelation

Although the Five Meng Mountain Friends were greatly surprised by Han Li’s decision, they found his reasoning somewhat sound and raised no objections.

The middle-aged woman, however, seemed curious enough to ask one question—the true identities of the two Black Fiend Sect members—only to hit a soft wall from Han Li. He simply smiled faintly and said they would all know soon enough when the operation began that night.

This left the middle-aged woman with little choice but to drop the matter, putting on an air of indifference.

Soon after, Qin Ping arrived with a message from Qin Yan and led the Five Meng Mountain Friends to another nearby courtyard to settle them in.

Han Li watched the receding figures of the group with a strange look in his eyes. He muttered something to himself, but no one could catch what he said.

That evening, after dinner, the Five Meng Mountain Friends gathered in the main hall of the Pure Sound Courtyard, preparing to wait until the dead of night as Han Li had instructed before making their move.

“Strange! I just can’t remember!” The thirty-something young man, the fourth among them, paced in circles around the hall, shaking his head with a perplexed expression.

“Fourth Brother! Still can’t figure it out?”

The youngest, a young woman, sat lazily in her chair with a knowing, half-smile on her face.

“Fourth Brother, you keep saying that Senior Han looks familiar, that you must have met him somewhere before. But you can’t recall when or where at all. That makes it a little hard for me to believe, Sister. It’s not just wishful thinking on your part, trying to claim some connection to Senior Han, is it?”

The young woman’s tone was clearly teasing.

“Hah, that’s entirely possible. After all, this senior’s appearance is quite ordinary. It would be perfectly normal for Fourth Brother to find his face familiar!” The tall, thin second brother also joined in the banter while savoring his tea.

But his eyes never left the middle-aged woman beside him for a moment, darting back and forth between her still-handsome face and her seemingly normal belly, his face full of bliss.

The middle-aged woman, the third among them, grew irritated by his staring and shot him several hard looks. In return, she only got a silly, “Hehe,” laugh from him. All his usual shrewdness and gravity had vanished without a trace.

“Hmph, say what you will. I know I’ve seen him before. But it must not have been recently—it was some years ago, or I wouldn’t have forgotten it so completely.” The young man glared at the young woman and the tall man, unwilling to let the matter drop.

“Some years ago? Fourth Brother, we were in seclusion on Mount Meng for years and never left. How could you have met Senior Han then? Unless you met him when you were still in diapers?” The middle-aged woman chimed in with a grin, joining the teasing.

“Third Sister, you…” The young man was flushed to the roots of his hair, his face full of embarrassment.

“Years ago, Fourth Brother wasn’t in seclusion on the mountain the whole time. Have you all forgotten? Before we met Fifth Sister, we participated in an Ascension Assembly. That trip took two or three months. Unfortunately, we all came back empty-handed, but luckily no one was seriously injured.” The dark-faced old man interjected calmly.

“What? All of you participated in an Ascension Assembly!” The Fifth Sister blinked with curiosity. The second brother and the middle-aged woman, by contrast, wore bitter smiles.

“There’s nothing worth talking about. That was the first time we learned the meaning of ‘a frog at the bottom of a well.’” The middle-aged woman sighed.

“What? Fourth Brother, tell me about it! What was it… huh!”

The young woman’s curiosity was now fully piqued. She turned to ask the young man about the Ascension Assembly, but what she saw was a face full of shock.

“Fourth Brother, what’s wrong?”

The others had also noticed his abnormal expression and asked in surprise.

“Second Brother, do you remember that time during the Ascension Assembly when you, me, Big Brother, and Third Sister split up? I got a craving for some food and sneaked off to a tavern in Jiayuan City for a meal and some drinks?” The young man did not answer their question but suddenly brought up an old incident, leaving the tall man baffled.

“Of course, I remember. I covered for you at the time, but Big Brother found out afterward and gave you a thorough scolding!” The second brother replied, still puzzled.

“That’s right. When I came back, did I mention to you that I ran into a small-time cultivator in that tavern who also seemed to be there for the Ascension Assembly? His cultivation was only at the seventh or eighth layer of Qi Condensation, and we thought he was being overconfident.” The young man gave a bitter smile.

“It’s been too long. I don’t remember clearly, but it’s probably true!” The second brother said hesitantly.

He genuinely had no idea why his fourth brother was bringing this up now.

The others were equally confused, listening to their exchange with great curiosity.

“Well, that very small-time cultivator back then is today’s Senior Han!” The young man’s voice was dry as he uttered a statement that left everyone in the room stunned as if struck dumb.

“What? Senior Han was that low-level cultivator?” The tall man shot up from his chair, his face a picture of utter disbelief.

“What exactly happened? Give us the details!” The dark-faced old man, after recovering from the initial shock, frowned and asked.

“It’s like this, Big Brother!” The tall man hastily gave a rough account of the incident from years ago, leaving the others finding it hard to believe.

“Fourth Brother says Senior Han was only a seventh or eighth layer Qi Condensation cultivator back then?” The young woman swallowed hard as she spoke, then immediately realized her gesture was unladylike and blushed.

But the others were all still in shock and paid no attention to her small lapse.

“Could Fourth Brother be mistaken? That was over ten years ago. Senior Han’s appearance and age should be different by now!” The dark-faced old man stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“No. That man was definitely Senior Han! His face is exactly the same as back then, except he looks a little older!” The young man started with a moment of uncertainty, then thought it over and affirmed his conclusion.

Hearing the young man speak with such absolute certainty, the others exchanged helpless glances.

In just over ten years, a cultivator of such low power had become a Foundation Establishment cultivator. The realization left a bitter taste in their mouths.

For a moment, no one had the heart to speak another word.

“Alright. Regardless of whether Senior Han is that person from back then or not, he is now a bona-fide Foundation Establishment cultivator. We must not be remiss in our respect. Don’t ask any questions that shouldn’t be asked. Understood?” The old man finally broke the silence after some deliberation.

“I understand.” The young man hesitated for a moment, then obediently agreed, his expression finally returning to normal.

“Very good. Everyone go back to your rooms to rest and cultivate! Prepare yourselves. We don’t know what fierce battle awaits us tonight.” The old man said to the group.

Hearing this, the others exchanged glances, then one by one, they really did return to their rooms.

The Pure Sound Courtyard fell into complete silence.

About half an hour later, the sky was fully dark.

A figure suddenly emerged from one of the side rooms of the Pure Sound Courtyard.

The person carefully left the door ajar, looked around cautiously, then slipped out of the courtyard without a sound.

Taking advantage of the pitch-black night, they moved to a corner of a distant wall. A flicker of hesitation showed in their eyes, but it was quickly replaced by determination.

With a slightly nervous air, the person pulled a small box from their bosom and was just about to open it when…

A sigh sounded from behind them.

The person’s whole body jerked, nearly dropping the box in their hand in fright. The voice sounded exactly like Han Li’s.

“Why are you doing this?” Almost at the same time, the voice of another person, one they knew all too well, rang out, filled with grief.

In the next instant, light flared as several people holding Moonlight Stones emerged from nearby. Under the pale white glow, their faces were all frozen in disbelief.

“Why?” The dark-faced old man said, his voice full of pain.

“Why what? I was just coming out to test a magic tool!” The person’s face, which had been deathly pale, slowly returned to normal. They spoke as if nothing was wrong.

“Would you be willing to let me take a look at what’s in your hand?” From the darkness of the night, Han Li descended lightly from the air, his expression calm.

“How strange! Why would I show my magic tool to an outsider? Of course not! Isn’t that right, Fourth Brother?”

The one who had been sneaking around was none other than the young woman of the Five Meng Mountain Friends.

Even though she was trying her best to maintain a normal expression, her hands were involuntarily clutching the small box as if she would never let go.

“Fifth Sister. Give what’s in your hand to Senior Han!” The dark-faced old man said, his voice dark and cold.