Name Shakes a Region, Descendants of Old Friends

Chapter 664: Name Shakes a Region, Descendants of Old Friends

Outside the hall, the inner fortress of the Fu Family was already completely empty. Aside from scattered pools of blood on the ground, there was not a single figure to be seen.

It seemed that the Fu Family's direct-line cultivators had truly been wiped out to the last, their very bodies turned to ash.

However, some cultivators who had risen into the air on their artifacts to survey the Fu Family Fortress from above noticed that the outer fortress, where the mortals and low-rank collateral disciples of the Fu Family lived, was still intact, with everyone unharmed.

They seemed utterly unaware of the upheaval in the inner fortress, going about their business as usual.

It appeared that the perpetrator had either deigned not to bother with these people, or had determined that merely exterminating the Fu Family's direct line was enough to erase the family from existence.

Having experienced such a shocking turn of events, these cultivators naturally dared not linger. Most of the rogue cultivators immediately took to their artifacts and fled the scene of trouble.

The remaining cultivators exchanged a few low words before departing one by one.

The annihilation of the Fu Family was no small matter for any force, large or small, whether friendly or hostile towards them. Once news of this spread, a great commotion was inevitable.

Furthermore, this time, even two Dharma Protectors of the Devil Flame Sect had been lost here. Regardless of whether the one who had destroyed the Fu Family truly was a Nascent Soul cultivator, the Devil Flame Sect would have to take some kind of action.

The task for these people now was to bring this news back to their own families and sects as quickly as possible, to seize the initiative or make early preparations to deal with whatever might come next.

But not long after the last few cultivators had hurriedly left the Fu Family Fortress, several unfamiliar cultivators in green robes belatedly arrived at Purple Path Mountain from outside.

When they saw the Fu Family Fortress, its restrictions wide open due to the lack of a controller, they were thoroughly stunned.

It was at this moment that the outer fortress's collateral disciples finally discovered the cataclysm in the inner fortress, and the entire Fu Family Fortress descended into chaos.

Watching the commotion of those Qi Condensation stage cultivators below, all shouting and panicking, the few green-robed cultivators hovering above the fortress looked at each other in bewilderment.

The news that the Fu Family, the premier clan of Yuanwu Country, had been annihilated in a single day by a mysterious Nascent Soul cultivator, spread throughout the Yuanwu Nation’s cultivation world within a few days.

For a time, the entire cultivation world of Yuanwu Country was in an uproar.

As the two Devil Flame Sect Dharma Protectors who had come to offer birthday congratulations had also been caught in the crossfire, the high-ranking members of the sect, out of shame and anger, dispatched a large number of people to search for this mysterious killer. They even declared that the sect's Nascent Soul Patriarch would come and meet this "expert" who showed the Devil Flame Sect no respect.

However, anyone with discerning eyes could see that the Devil Flame Sect’s actions were mostly just a bluff, and the matter would probably end up being quietly dropped.

After all, based on the accounts of the cultivators who had witnessed the event, it was the fault of those two Devil Flame Sect Dharma Protectors for getting so close to the Fu Family and foolishly butting in. Running headlong into a Nascent Soul cultivator who was seeking vengeance was simply their own bad luck.

Consider this: once a Nascent Soul cultivator has annihilated a family and leaves the country immediately, even the Devil Flame Sect, with all its power, would have nowhere to start looking for the perpetrator.

Moreover, once a cultivator reaches the Nascent Soul stage, they are difficult to kill. Defeating one is possible, but killing or trapping a Nascent Soul cultivator is an extremely difficult task. Without the combined effort of three or four fellow Nascent Soul cultivators, or some extremely powerful formation or restriction, the matter is simply not worth considering.

The Devil Flame Sect would never mobilize so many Nascent Soul cultivators just to avenge a pair of Core Formation Dharma Protectors. Besides, even if they were willing, those Nascent Soul old monsters would not easily act for such a reason.

Even so, the entire Yuanwu Nation cultivation world was still rocked by this incident.

The spirit mines, market towns, and other assets formerly held by the Fu Family naturally became the subject of a new round of division and contention among the various powers.

However, this had little to do with Han Li.

He had not left Yuanwu Country as others might have guessed. Instead, a few days later, he appeared on an unremarkable, nameless hill.

Floating in the air, enveloped in azure light, he stared blankly at the mist-shrouded mountainside, a faint look of nostalgia on his face.

"A hundred years. It's still the same as before, with no changes. But, since the restriction is still active, has this place been taken over by another cultivator?" he murmured to himself, his expression calm.

After using the flying swords transformed from his Tri-Colored Gold Devourer Beetles to annihilate the cultivators of the Fu Family Fortress, Han Li had taken the Fu Family Ancestor's head and flown directly to this place—the nameless hill where Xin Ruyin had once lived in seclusion.

He had formed a bond of friendship with Xin Ruyin and Qi Yunxiao back then. Now that he had avenged them, he intended to use the Fu Family Ancestor's head to offer a small sacrificial tribute to the two of them, giving this matter a complete conclusion.

Unexpectedly, it seemed that Xin Ruyin's old residence was now occupied by other cultivators, causing a sliver of doubt to rise in Han Li's heart.

After a moment's thought, his form sank, and he flew directly toward the restriction on the mountainside.

With his current level of cultivation and his knowledge of formations, this restriction was naturally no obstacle at all.

Standing before the mist, he calmly flicked his five fingers, sending several streaks of multicolored light flashing into the restriction.

Immediately, the mist rolled and churned, splitting open to create a narrow passage.

Han Li instantly transformed into a streak of azure light and flew inside.

In a moment, the mist vanished, and Han Li found himself standing before a somewhat aged bamboo building.

This was the old residence that Xin Ruyin had built with her own hands.

Gazing at the large and small, deep-yellow bamboo houses, a faint look of melancholy crossed Han Li's face, a sense of the place being the same but the people long gone settling in his heart.

Just then, a middle-aged woman walked out from one of the bamboo houses. Her features were still comely, and she carried a faint aura of spiritual Qi, but she was only a low-rank Qi Condensation cultivator, at the third or fourth layer.

However, at a single glance, Han Li couldn't help but frown. Her features seemed somehow familiar.

"Ah! You… who are you? How did you get in here?" As the middle-aged woman stepped out of the house, she immediately spotted Han Li standing before it. Her face changed drastically as she cried out in alarm. Flustered, she reached for her waist and produced two fiery-red talismans, glaring at Han Li with undisguised hostility.

This was to be expected.

Anyone whose residence they believed was secure and impenetrable, only to find a strange cultivator suddenly inside, would react with such shock and wariness.

Moreover, with her pitifully low cultivation, she naturally couldn't identify Han Li's true level. Despite this, she could sense that the other party's magical power was unfathomable, and her wariness only deepened.

"Eh, Senior... wouldn't you be Senior Han Li?" Just as Han Li was rubbing his chin, about to ask about the woman's origins, she took a closer look at him and, with a cry of pleasant surprise, called out his name.

Han Li was taken aback, a look of surprise crossing his face. But after a moment of thought, he suddenly recalled something and asked:

"What relation are you to the young girl Xiao Mei from years ago? Your features are about fifty or sixty percent similar."

Han Li looked at the woman, his expression one of complete amiability.

"Xiao Mei? Oh, Senior must be referring to my grandmother! She passed away several decades ago. Our family now temporarily resides in Miss Xin's old residence," the woman replied, hearing Han Li speak her grandmother's name. This confirmed she hadn't been mistaken, and she immediately bowed respectfully.

"So you're little Mei's descendant? I never would have thought it. That little girl with the brown hair has become a grandmother herself," Han Li said with a wry smile, not doubting her words.

"But how did you recognize me?" Han Li asked, still puzzled.

"Grandmother once had a hand-painted portrait of you, Senior. I've grown up looking at it since I was a child, so I recognized you at a glance," the woman said, a slight blush creeping onto her cheeks as she spoke a little sheepishly.

"Oh? A true portrait. I didn't know about this. Could I take a look?" Han Li was momentarily stunned, but then asked with curiosity.

"Of course, Senior. Please, come in and sit for a while. I'll go and retrieve the scroll," the woman said, stepping aside to respectfully invite Han Li inside.

Han Li hesitated for a moment before accepting and stepping into the bamboo house from which the woman had come.

The interior was not elegantly or exquisitely decorated, but it was spotlessly clean and tidy. Han Li gave a slight nod of approval.

After he was seated in a bamboo chair, the woman busied herself brewing a pot of fragrant tea.

Although it couldn't compare to the spirit tea Xin Ruyin had once cultivated, its aroma was still quite pleasant and refreshing.

Seeing Han Li take a sip, the woman excused herself and left the house to fetch the scroll.

Han Li casually swept his spiritual sense out, and the woman's every move was immediately under his control.

He saw her head straight for a nearby tower. The tower was a bit far off, in a secluded corner.

As the woman entered the tower, the first floor was completely empty, bare of anything.

But upon reaching the second floor, Han Li immediately saw a long wooden table. On the table, side by side, stood two black, worn spirit tablets, inscribed with the names Qi Yunxiao and Xin Ruyin.

His heart sank at the sight, and the faces and voices of the two from back then involuntarily surfaced in his mind. It was a pity they had both passed away so long ago.

The woman paid her respects to the two tablets with a ceremonial bow before pulling a round scroll, about a foot long, from a hidden compartment beneath the wooden table. Then she hurried down the tower and rushed back towards the bamboo house where Han Li was waiting.