A Reunion on the Road

Han Li opened the remaining jade boxes one by one.

One jade box contained a small green porcelain bottle. Another held a fist-sized, blurry purple object.

He casually opened the green bottle and brought it close to his nose for a light sniff. A pungent, spicy aroma surged forth.

Han Li’s expression changed drastically. As if stung by a scorpion, he quickly re-corked the bottle. Then, with a strange look, he studied the small bottle for a few more moments before cautiously stowing it away in his storage pouch.

Finally, his gaze fell upon the purple-glowing object. He picked it up and gave it a gentle squeeze between his fingers. It was exceedingly soft. In an instant, shimmering strands of light flickered within the glow, bright and dazzling.

“Oh?”

Han Li let out a soft exclamation of surprise. He concentrated his spiritual sense into a single point and probed the object.

A moment later, he understood. With a single flick of his wrist, the glowing mass in his hand transformed into a cloud of purple mist that swirled above his head. After a spell formula was cast upon it, the mist reverted to its original form and fell back into Han Li’s hand.

It was a layered, gossamer-thin purple net. The threads on it were so fine they seemed barely there, shimmering with a crystalline light. One glance was enough to tell that it was a rare and extraordinary treasure.

“Isn’t this the Purple Cheng Net? This was a famous ancient treasure from the primeval era!” the white fox blurted out in surprise once she got a clear look at the purple crystalline net.

“You know this item? Its reputation is vast… Is it also a Heavenly Spirit Treasure?” Han Li asked, a flicker of joy in his eyes as he forced down a surge of excitement.

“No, it’s not. Although the Purple Cheng Net is also a top-tier existence among ancient treasures, it’s far inferior to a Heavenly Spirit Treasure. However, when it comes to defensive capabilities, its mystical uses are truly endless. Depending on the power with which it was forged, once this treasure is fully deployed, it can cover an area from a hundred to a thousand zhang. It’s a rare large-scale defensive treasure. It is said that the most supreme grade Purple Cheng Net could even shield all creatures within a hundred li from harm. I don’t know if that’s true or not. Of course, this treasure is also exceptionally effective for trapping enemies. It can release ‘Jade Yang True Fire’ on its own, more than enough to annihilate powerful foes.” Silvermoon spoke as if reciting from a family heirloom catalog.

“Silvermoon, you seem to know the Purple Cheng Net quite well. Have you seen it before?” A trace of disappointment flickered across Han Li’s face, but he weighed the purple net in his hand and asked with a peculiar tone.

Silvermoon fell silent at this question. After a long pause, she spoke with a bitter smile:

“Now that you mention it, Master, I just realized… In my fragmented memories, before I was refined into a tool spirit, I think I possessed such an ancient treasure called a Purple Cloud Net. That’s why I know it so well.”

As she spoke, a contemplative look passed through her eyes, as if she had recalled something. But then she shook her head and gave up the effort, feeling frustrated.

“Since this Purple Cloud Net is so formidable, I’ve never heard of Senior Cangkun using it in battle. It’s highly likely a treasure he obtained from the Fallen Devil Valley. What a pity, though. None of these four jade boxes we acquired contain any information about the Fallen Devil Valley. The relevant items must have been in South Latter Marquis’s two boxes. Truly a shame.” Han Li said self-deprecatingly, but his expression didn’t show any real discouragement.

He was also well aware that obtaining the secret of the Fallen Devil Valley would provide a chance to enter the valley and acquire its treasures in the future. But by the same token, he would become a target for everyone the moment the news leaked. Who knows how many old monsters and grand powers would come knocking at his door?

The pros and cons of this were truly hard to weigh.

“Master, isn’t there anything in that jade slip?” Silvermoon finally couldn’t help but ask another question.

“That jade slip contains Senior Cangkun’s techniques and divine abilities. Although I can’t cultivate its main cultivation art, the ‘Moon Gazing Art,’ I can glean a few things from the secret arts and his cultivation insights it contains. It’s quite useful to me.” Since Silvermoon had asked, Han Li saw no reason to hide it and told her plainly.

Silvermoon sighed upon hearing this, losing some of her spirit.

At that moment, Han Li put away all the jade boxes, instructed Silvermoon, and then closed his eyes to meditate.

Silvermoon did not stand on ceremony. She curled up her fox body next to Han Li, her jet-black, gleaming eyes staring into a vacant corner of the carriage, lost in thought.

The Moulan procession advanced bit by bit. Han Li and Silvermoon remained safely inside the carriage for two days and two nights.

During this time, the group encountered two inspections by Dharma Warriors.

But when Silvermoon woke Han Li, one brief application of a spell was enough to send these low-level Dharma Warriors away, having found nothing.

This carriage was designated for holding insignificant supplies. None of the Moulan mortal members of the group ever entered it to take a look.

As a result, as soon as the group left the Moulan Grasslands, Han Li immediately took Silvermoon and left the procession, unnoticed by anyone. He took another road into the wasteland, heading straight for the Heavenly South.

Relying on the power of his formidable spiritual sense, Han Li could clearly sense the presence of Dharma Warriors from over a hundred li away. Thus, he easily avoided unnecessary trouble, smoothly crossed the wasteland region, and entered the country of Fengyuan of the Nine Nations Alliance.

Fengyuan was one of the three countries closest to Moulan. On the border, several spirit mountains typically had many Nine Nations Alliance cultivators stationed there.

However, in the few days since entering Fengyuan, Han Li hadn’t seen a single cultivator. Instead, he had discovered many traces of Dharma Warriors patrolling everywhere.

Clearly, the Nine Nations Alliance, having been caught off guard by the Moulan Dharma Warriors’ surprise attack, had suffered an initial defeat and temporarily retreated.

The real major battle between the two sides probably hadn’t even started yet.

Han Li didn’t dwell on this. He focused on traveling quickly through desolate and wild areas.

After several uneventful days, he was flying as a streak of azure light over a nameless small hill when he suddenly froze. He turned his head to one side, a look of surprise crossing his face, which then became somewhat uncertain.

Under his spiritual sense, he had detected drastic fluctuations of spiritual power in that direction, accompanied by a faint, surging baleful aura. It was clearly a conflict between cultivators of considerable power.

Given the scale of the battle in this location, it was most likely a fight between regular cultivators and Dharma Warriors.

He probed a little more carefully. Among the fluctuations, one was enormously powerful, belonging to a Nascent Soul cultivator. The other four or five were at the Core Formation level, and they seemed to be working together to resist that Nascent Soul cultivator.

Among these Core Formation auras, one or two felt familiar to Han Li, as if he had known them before.

He thought for a moment, but couldn’t recall who it was.

After a moment’s hesitation, Han Li, unable to suppress his curiosity, quietly flew over.

With Han Li’s teleportation technique, such a short distance was traversed in an instant.

As he arrived, flashing spiritual lights and colorful beams of energy shot into the sky before him, accompanied by a continuous roar of explosions. The battle seemed fierce.

Five male and female cultivators, dressed in different styles, were surrounding a Dharma Warrior, fighting him together.

Han Li could tell at a glance that although the five Core Formation cultivators were doing their utmost, each driving their respective natal magic treasures with consummate skill, they were still being steadily pushed back by a series of yellow mist rings released by the yellow-robed, bald-headed Dharma Warrior in the center.

This yellow-robed Dharma Warrior had a fierce face and possessed cultivation at the early Nascent Soul stage. Though he had not released any magic treasure of his own, he was easily gaining the upper hand, relying solely on a set of mystical techniques and his profound cultivation base.

Furthermore, if this man wasn’t utterly unwilling to exert himself and was repeatedly showing mercy to one of the extremely beautiful women, as if he wanted to capture her alive, the other five probably wouldn’t have been able to hold on until now.

Han Li felt the beautiful woman looked somewhat familiar, but his gaze fell upon an obese old man.

This old man was surrounded by arcs of silver-white lightning, and the magic treasure he wielded was a giant sword that constantly radiated electric light. His power was the greatest among the five Core Formation cultivators.

“It’s him? What a coincidence, the world truly is small!” After clearly seeing the old man’s appearance and techniques, Han Li murmured to himself, a complex, unreadable expression on his face.

“You girl, you really don’t appreciate kindness! If this master didn’t need an excellent furnace for the technique I’m practicing, would I have let you live until now? If you don’t surrender to me now, don’t blame this master for lacking the grace to cherish a beauty!” The yellow-robed Dharma Warrior, having fought for so long, was finally losing patience. He sneered at the beautiful woman.

Then, opening his mouth, he spat out a yellow feather fan. The fan was covered in radiant spiritual light, with faint images painted on it. The bald-headed Dharma Warrior grabbed it in his hand.

Seeing this, the five Core Formation cultivators, including the fat old man, all had their expressions change drastically, knowing the situation had turned bad.

They were well aware that their opponent had not been using his full strength until now. But they didn’t dare simply turn and flee. If their united front was broken, it would be far too easy for the enemy to capture them one by one, and they would have no chance of survival.

Thus, inwardly lamenting their bad luck, they could only steel themselves and once again muster their full spiritual power, increasing the ferocity of their attacks.

For a moment, the five magic treasures erupted in a burst of overwhelming power, actually scattering a good portion of the yellow mist and barely managing to reverse their decline.

But seeing this, the yellow-robed, bald-headed Dharma Warrior flew into a rage.

He sacrificed the feather fan in his hand into the air, spat a mouthful of blurry yellow vital energy onto the magic treasure, and then began to chant incantations.

Under the spell, the feather fan trembled. Gently, it fanned once towards the group opposite him.

Instantly, a great howl arose. A gale of deep yellow wind surged out from the feather fan. In the blink of an eye, it swelled to an enormous size.

A hurricane, dozens of zhang tall, swept all five Core Formation cultivators into its midst.