Strangers Gather Beyond the Sea

Another few days passed, but the trickle of arriving cultivators gradually thinned to nothing. By midday, not a single newcomer had entered.

Yet Extreme Yin and the Confucian-robed elder had grown visibly solemn. They no longer conversed; instead, their gazes kept sweeping toward the entrance, as if waiting for someone.

“Could it be that ‘Brutal Beard’ fellow?” Han Li noted this shift with quiet curiosity and began to pay closer attention himself.

By early afternoon, footsteps finally echoed from the passage once more. Blue light flashed a few times, and two figures entered one after the other.

The first was an old Daoist with snow-white hair, a childlike complexion, and ruddy cheeks. The second was a thin, dark-skinned elder dressed like a peasant, his face etched with bitter lines.

At the sight of these two, a stir ran through the assembled cultivators. Most turned toward the newcomers with looks of awe and respect.

Clearly, these two had quite a reputation.

Extreme Yin and the Confucian-robed elder, however, shot them extremely hostile glances.

Extreme Yin’s expression in particular turned sharply cold.

The two newly arrived experts returned the hostility with equal intensity. The old Daoist snorted openly and said straight out:

“Extreme Yin, you old fiend! You arrived early enough, didn’t you? It seems you demonic path fellows are fully determined to make this Void Heaven Palace expedition a success.”

“Heavenly Realization! It’s not that I came early—it’s that you sanctimonious hypocrites came too late. I was beginning to think the rumors of you two holding fragmentary maps were false. Too bad you tracked it down after all. But this works out perfectly—it gives me a chance to deliver you to your salvation.” Extreme Yin’s voice was icy cold.

“Extreme Yin! Who are you saving? Why not save me at the same time!” Before the old Daoist could retort, a booming voice rang out from outside the hall.

Extreme Yin and the Confucian-robed elder’s faces changed dramatically. The hitherto silent beautiful woman suddenly lifted her head, fixed her gaze on the entrance, and said coldly:

“Wan Tianming. You’ve come too.”

“If Madam Wen is here, why should my presence be surprising?” As the voice spoke, a figure flickered at the entrance, and a middle-aged man in a purple robe and jade belt strode in.

He had a square face and bushy eyebrows; when he opened his mouth, two rows of brilliant white teeth gleamed. He cast a casual sidelong glance at the beautiful woman, then turned his gaze to Extreme Yin, exuding an overwhelming aura of dominance.

Extreme Yin, stared down so unceremoniously, kept his face dark and his lips tightly sealed, remaining stubbornly silent.

This startled Han Li greatly, and he took a closer look at the man.

If even Extreme Yin, an early Nascent Soul cultivator, showed such wariness, could this man be a mid-Nascent Soul expert? Han Li made a puzzled guess.

He could now see clearly: these three were righteous path cultivators from the Chaotic Star Sea, natural enemies to Extreme Yin and the other demonic path masters.

The stir among the other cultivators in the hall died down the moment this middle-aged man entered. Only faint murmurs could be heard—someone whispered something about the “Ten Thousand Laws Sect Sect Leader” and the like.

Clearly, this man’s reputation seemed to surpass even the two who had arrived before him.

“Wan Tianming, it was your disciple who wounded my sword-serving maid, was it not?” The beautiful woman surnamed Wen did not seem to fear him; she questioned him bluntly.

“It’s hardly a wound. My disciple merely saw that your maid’s cultivation wasn’t bad and sparred with her a little. Surely Madam isn’t here to demand an explanation for such a trivial matter?” Wan Tianming narrowed his eyes and spoke casually.

“Spar? My sword maid was only at early Foundation Establishment. Your disciple clearly bullied the weak. Was he deliberately humiliating my sect?” The beautiful woman’s face turned cold.

“Humiliating your sect? How would I dare? In consideration of your husband Six Paths’ face, I’ll have my disciple offer a formal apology to you on his knees.” The middle-aged man frowned slightly, then dismissed the matter with indifference.

“My affairs have nothing to do with Six Paths. If you’re unwilling, I’d like to ‘spar’ a round with Sect Leader Wan using my Phoenix Sword Art.” Hearing this, the beautiful woman grew even angrier.

“Spar with Madam? That won’t do. If Six Paths found out I was bullying his wife, he’d come at me with everything he’s got. I don’t want to trigger a full-scale war between righteous and demonic paths just yet.” Wan Tianming laughed it off, as if the idea were utterly ridiculous.

The beautiful woman flushed at his words. In the end, she shot him a glare and let the matter drop.

But though the beautiful woman had backed down, the middle-aged man had no intention of letting Extreme Yin off so easily.

Just as he turned toward Extreme Yin with a cold smirk and was about to speak—

A sudden rumbling vibration came from the passage outside. The entire hall trembled slightly.

This time, aside from the Nascent Soul old monsters, every cultivator in the room stared toward the entrance in alarm.

Extreme Yin and the Confucian-robed elder exchanged a glance, a faint trace of joy flickering across their faces. Yet there seemed to be a hint of wryness mixed into Extreme Yin’s pleasure.

Wan Tianming, however, flashed a cold light in his eyes—a blade-sharp killing intent that appeared and vanished in an instant.

The old Daoist and the peasant-like elder seemed to know who was coming as well, but their expressions showed a hint of worry.

The rumbling grew louder with each step. At the hall’s entrance, a towering, extraordinary figure appeared.

A strange man with curly yellow beard, dressed in a blue robe, strode in. Every step he took made the entire hall shake, as if he weighed tens of thousands of jin—a truly terrifying sight.

Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, the strange man surveyed the hall as if no one else were there. He finally fixed his gaze on Wan Tianming and burst into loud laughter.

“Unexpected, truly unexpected! The great Sect Leader Wan came here himself. It seems I made the right choice after all. I’ve long wanted to test my skills against you, Sect Leader Wan, but never had the chance. Now, at last, I can have my wish.” His eyes were filled with open provocation.

“I, too, have long admired Brother Man’s ‘Heaven-Supporting Art,’ said to be the best defensive demonic technique in the Chaotic Star Sea. I’ll be sure to seek your guidance later.” Wan Tianming shot the strange man a cold glance and replied without a trace of fear.

“Hehe! Well said, well said! And I’ve heard a great deal about your ‘Celestial Net True Art,’ Sect Leader Wan.” The strange man grinned broadly, not even trying to hide the eagerness in his eyes.

Unfortunately for him, the Sect Leader seemed unwilling to stir up trouble just now.

After quietly exchanging a few words with the old Daoist and the peasant-like elder, the three of them flew up together and landed atop a certain jade pillar.

The old Daoist then smiled and said a few words to the cultivator already on that pillar. That Core Formation elder, flattered and overwhelmed, promptly vacated the pillar of his own accord and found another spot.

Seeing this, the strange man sneered. He lifted his head, scanned his surroundings, and then—with a blur of motion—flew toward a jade pillar.

And this pillar happened to be the very one Han Li was occupying.

Han Li’s expression flickered.

“Get lost. I’m taking this spot.” The strange man’s massive figure had barely steadied on the pillar when he barked at Han Li with icy disdain.

Han Li’s face darkened. His hands, hidden in his sleeves, clenched involuntarily.

But after a brief, silent pause, he suppressed the urge to fight, leaped off the jade pillar without a word, and landed softly on the ground. The strange man’s raucous laughter echoed from above.

Han Li’s face was frosty.

To him, it was deeply humiliating—but he had no choice but to endure for now.

After all, while the hall’s restrictions could suppress fights among ordinary cultivators, he had no idea whether those same restrictions would bind these Nascent Soul experts as tightly. He was not about to throw his life away over a moment’s pride.

He found a clean spot on the ground, sat down sullenly, and forced himself to calm his mind.

The Confucian-robed elder, beaming, turned to the strange man and asked:

“Brother Man arrived so late. I was beginning to think you’d changed your mind and decided not to come this time?”

“Not come? How could I? I was counting on something from inside the Void Heaven Palace to refine my Longevity Pill. I was just delayed on the road. But I am surprised that Wan Tianming showed up. Does he also know the Lifespan Fruit is reaching maturity and wants to gather some?” The strange man stroked his yellow beard, looking puzzled.

“Hard to say. Aside from that, there are plenty of other precious things in the Void Heaven Palace. Who knows what he’s really after?” The Confucian-robed elder also looked uncertain.

“Wan Tianming is one of the top leaders of the righteous path. Could he be after the Void Heaven Cauldron?” Extreme Yin seemed to have thought of something and spoke with some worry.

“The Void Heaven Cauldron? Impossible. If it were that easy to obtain, it would have been taken long ago by some ancient predecessor. How could it still be waiting for them?” The Confucian-robed elder shook his head vigorously before Man Brutal Beard could even respond.

(After resting a couple of days, I’ve recovered some energy and revised the outline for the coming chapters. Regular two-chapter updates will resume tomorrow!)

(End of this chapter)