A Name Shakes the Region – Divine Sense Manifestation

Chapter 685: A Name Shakes the Region – Divine Sense Manifestation

“Fellow Daoist speaks fairly, but I have no intention of yielding my servant either. I suppose I must learn a thing or two.” Han Li said calmly. Without further discussion, he released his divine sense, a shocking aura erupting from him as something shot invisibly across the space between them.

“Well met!”

Nanlonghou, far from being daunted, let out a booming shout. He released his own divine sense as well, and two nearly visible streams of immaterial force collided and detonated in the empty air between them. A fierce gale immediately arose, sweeping outward in all directions.

Seeing this, Nanlonghou was startled. His probing divine sense instantly multiplied several times over.

Explosions rang out in succession. Layer after layer of gale force winds formed a white, hazy air current that swept both men into its midst. Their figures blurred, turning into two motionless black shadows, faintly visible high in the sky.

“Divine Sense Manifestation! Impossible! How can Junior Han’s divine sense be this powerful?” Lü Luo, watching from below, cried out involuntarily, his face a mask of disbelief.

“Divine Sense Manifestation? Then can the young master defeat him?” Mu Peiling asked, unable to help herself, though she did not fully understand the term.

“I don’t know. By common logic, Divine Sense Manifestation is a technique that only Nascent Soul mid-stage cultivators can master through the sheer strength of their divine sense. If Junior Han can already use it… then perhaps the main cultivation art he practices leans toward divine sense refinement. Yes, that must be it. Only that could explain this.” Lü Luo began by answering Mu Peiling’s question, but ended up muttering to himself.

“So the young master does have a fighting chance!” Mu Peiling asked, filled with hope, ignoring Lü Luo’s rambling tone.

“It’s hard to say. Even among Nascent Soul cultivators of the same stage, there are differences in strength. Nanlonghou entered the mid-stage three hundred years ago. Though he remains at that level now, there’s no doubt he has cultivated to the peak of the mid-stage, only a step away from the late stage. It will be difficult for Junior Brother to overcome that old monster.” Lü Luo’s expression was unsettled.

Hearing this, the flicker of hope that had just risen in Mu Peiling’s heart turned cold again.

At that moment, the explosions in the sky grew more frequent. The gale force winds, rotating incessantly, even formed a massive white wind circle, completely swallowing the two men.

This made Lü Luo let out another soft exclamation.

“Strange! Unbelievable. Junior Han hasn’t fallen behind at all.” His face was filled with a very peculiar expression.

Mu Peiling was overjoyed. Her lips parted, ready to ask more questions.

But suddenly, a blinding white light flashed in the sky, followed by a clear thunderclap. The hazy wind circle exploded apart, and the wild gale surged in all directions.

Mu Peiling and the others, standing several dozen zhang below, saw the fierce white wind bearing down on them, and their expressions all changed drastically.

“Not good!”

Lü Luo let out a low roar. His figure flickered as he placed himself in front of Mu Peiling. At the same time, his hands traced a pattern, and a blue protective barrier materialized before him, enveloping them both.

In that brief moment, the violent gale had already slammed into the barrier.

A series of strange creaking sounds rang out. The moment the thick barrier wall made contact, it seemed to be struck by a heavy hammer. Under the onslaught of the gale, it was forced inward by several inches.

Fortunately, the gale only passed in a dispersed manner, most of it sliding past either side of the barrier. The recessed wall soon returned to normal.

Lü Luo’s face flickered with blue light as he dismissed the barrier.

Not far away, Nanlonghou’s Golden Halberd Warriors, facing the oncoming gale, acted with practiced discipline. They raised their golden halberds as one, and a large patch of golden light appeared above their heads, forming a massive golden shield that protected them, along with the beast-drawn carriage in their midst.

But even so, when the white gale swept past, the golden light only held for a moment before shattering. The remaining gale rolled over them. The armored warriors and female cultivators clutched their heads and screamed in agony, blood beginning to flow from their seven orifices, their faces twisted in terror.

Only the two palace-robed female cultivators seated in the beast carriage remained unharmed, protected by the carriage’s own restrictive formation.

But their faces were pale, their expressions full of panic.

Seeing this, Mu Peiling drew in a sharp breath of cold air. She gazed at Han Li, who had reappeared in the sky, and fell into a daze.

Just then, a cold snort rang out from Nanlonghou.

A ball of golden light descended from the sky, but it exploded mid-air, turning into countless golden specks that enveloped all his subordinates.

Where the golden light passed, those who had been clutching their heads stopped screaming and steadied themselves one by one.

Though they still wore looks of alarm, they seemed to have suffered no lasting harm.

Nanlonghou, having administered this aid, looked at Han Li, who appeared as calm as ever, a look of shock and doubt on his face. It was as if he still could not believe that the other man’s divine sense was truly a match for his own.

After all, although he had not released every ounce of his divine sense, he had used seven or eight-tenths of it. And seeing how easily the other man had taken it, he too had clearly held back. It was even possible that his divine sense surpassed Nanlonghou’s own.

Just as Nanlonghou’s contempt was fading and hesitation was setting in, Han Li suddenly smiled at him.

“Let’s stop here. If we continue, I’m afraid I might not be able to hold on much longer.” Han Li said lightly.

“Haha! You are too modest, Fellow Daoist Han. Leaving aside your cultivation arts, your divine sense is definitely not inferior to mine. It’s best we end this contest here. Otherwise, we really will damage our goodwill.” Nanlonghou thought it over for a moment, then seized this convenient excuse to speak, his expression also softening.

Han Li smiled but said nothing. Inwardly, however, he sighed. It seemed that in the cultivation world, even for Nascent Soul cultivators, strength was the ultimate currency.

At the very least, Nanlonghou before him—even if he did not truly believe that Han Li, in terms of pure cultivation and techniques, could match him—the contest just now had been enough to make him wary, preventing him from acting too casually or disrespectfully.

Moreover, the other man’s powerful divine sense suited his requirements perfectly. He still had a favor to ask.

“Since Fellow Daoist Han’s divine sense is not much inferior to mine, I naturally will tell you the real reason for this contest. As you guessed, if I didn’t have another purpose, I wouldn’t have pressed you into a divine sense duel. But this reason is of great importance and cannot be discussed here. This jade slip contains a map. On the fourth day of the trade fair, you can go to the location marked on the map for a gathering. I will introduce a few other fellow Daoists to you, and there will be a great stroke of fortune to share.” Nanlonghou gave Han Li a cryptic smile. As his lips moved slightly, a short, encoded message made its way clearly to Han Li’s ear.

Then he reached into his storage pouch, produced a small, delicate jade slip, and raised his hand to toss it. The jade slip shot out as a streak of white light, without any attempt to conceal it from Lü Luo and the others below.

Han Li was taken aback. He raised his hand, drawing the jade slip into his grasp. After blinking a few times as he examined Nanlonghou, he put the jade slip into his storage pouch without showing any intention of reading it immediately.

Seeing this, Nanlonghou was not angry but instead laughed heartily. Then light gathered around him, and in an instant, he transformed into a massive orb of light, plummeting downward.

Golden light flared up again from the beast carriage. All the halberd-wielding warriors surrounded the carriage as it sped swiftly toward Tiantian City, and the sound of drums and music once again emerged from within.

Without so much as a greeting to the nearby Lü Luo, this Nanlonghou simply left in such a manner.

Any other Nascent Soul cultivator would surely have felt indignant and resentful. But Grand Elder Lü, who knew Nanlonghou’s eccentric temperament well, only gave a bitter smile.

Han Li, too, floated lightly down to the ground.

“Young master, are you alright?” Mu Peiling, whose composure had returned the moment she saw Han Li back in his place, asked him with a flushed face, her bright, autumn-pool eyes fixed on him.

Even though her “young master” had only faced Nanlonghou for a short while, his majestic display just now had stirred something within her.

She felt that staying by Han Li’s side was not necessarily a bad thing. She even felt a faint, warm sense of security.

“I’m fine. I just expended a little divine sense.” Han Li said flatly. His heart stirred slightly at her sudden show of concern.

“Junior Brother, you’ve been hiding things well. You had this senior brother worrying for nothing.” Lü Luo, standing by, stared at Han Li for a good while before speaking, his face full of joy. The last trace of any invisible estrangement had vanished without a trace.

“I never hid anything from you two senior brothers. It’s just that you never asked. Let’s go now. The ruckus from our divine sense gale is likely to attract quite a few cultivators.” Han Li said, his tone mild.

“You’re right. If other cultivators take notice, it really could be troublesome. Let’s hurry to Tiantian City!” This time, Lü Luo agreed without the slightest hesitation.