The Settled Resolve

“Brother Qian exaggerates. Although this Senior Han has reached the Nascent Soul stage in such a short time, breaking through to Spirit Transformation is a distant matter, not so easily achieved. In truth, even reaching the late Nascent Soul stage would be enough to let his sect dominate a region. That is something which at least holds a glimmer of possibility.” Nie Ying pondered for a moment, then broke into a graceful smile.

“Heh. I overthought it. But barring any accidents, this Senior Han will, within a thousand years, become a figure capable of influencing the entire Heavenly South. And given his deep ties with your valley… if he could be brought into the Six Sect Alliance, perhaps it wouldn’t be long before we could return to the Yue Kingdom.” The cultivator surnamed Qian’s eyes flickered with a sharp light as he spoke slowly.

“Ties? Fellow Daoists saw it too. Senior Han may have originated from our Yellow Maple Valley, but he is now an Elder of the Heaven’s Alliance’s Falling Cloud Sect. Regardless of status or sect influence, what do we have to entice him with? Besides, you all saw it plainly—he has no intention of returning.” Lei Wanhe was silent for a moment, then heaved a sigh.

Hearing this, the others fell speechless as well.

“Why does this Senior Han treat your valley so coldly? He did originate from there. Is there truly no room for reconciliation?” The Greatsword Sect’s burly man asked, incredulous.

“The specific circumstances are not something I should disclose. But I suspect the chances are slim. However, he did seem to have a considerable friendship with Fairy Nangong of the Moon-Masking Sect. Perhaps Fairy Nangong could be asked to persuade him. Even if he won’t rejoin the Six Sects, maintaining good relations should still be possible.” Lei Wanhe shook his head first, then shifted his tone, addressing the middle-aged cultivator from the Moon-Masking Sect.

“That… is possible. But I would need to return to the sect to inquire about the exact nature of Senior Han’s friendship with Senior Uncle Nangong.” Tang Minghua said with some uncertainty.

“Forget it. Matters of recruiting a Nascent Soul stage cultivator are not for us to decide. Let the elders handle it. This Senior Han should appear at the grand ceremony in three months. We should hurry back to the alliance. This place is hardly safe.” Lei Wanhe suddenly glanced around, frowning.

The others were startled and lost their desire to continue the discussion. The five of them instantly transformed into five streaks of light and flew away.

But despite his casual tone, Lei Wanhe was inwardly troubled as he traveled.

How could he possibly explain this clearly to his Uncle-Master, Patriarch Linghu?

Should he simply say that a disciple they had abandoned back then had now become an existence no weaker than himself, and that due to past events, he was greatly dissatisfied with Yellow Maple Valley?

Would that not be a direct indictment of his own uncle-master’s judgment?

Letting out a few more helpless sighs, Lei Wanhe could only travel in silence, burying his head in the journey.

…

The Divine Wind Chariot was simply too conspicuous!

After Han Li had flown for a distance in the chariot, ensuring the others like Lei Wanhe were completely out of sight, he unhurriedly put it away and continued on using only ordinary flying techniques.

Now that he had suddenly received news of Nangong Wan—and in the worst possible way—he needed to think things over calmly.

Back then, he and Nangong Wan had only shared a single night of passion. In their only two meetings since, the vast disparity in their cultivation and status had left them with no trace of tenderness, like complete strangers.

But somewhere along the way, through a slow, subtle transformation, Han Li had come to regard Nangong Wan as his woman.

Especially after he had formed his Core and then his Nascent Soul, believing himself finally worthy to stand beside her, he had no longer harbored any doubt on this matter.

So when he first heard that Nangong Wan was about to become another man’s dual cultivation partner, his composure had nearly shattered, causing him to lose face.

The thought of standing by, feigning ignorance, and watching Nangong Wan marry another man was something Han Li would not tolerate, even in his wildest calculations.

In this life, the only man who could take this woman as his wife was Han Li, and Han Li alone.

Moreover, he believed that as the man who had taken Nangong Wan’s Yin essence, she could not be completely indifferent to him either.

The celebratory ceremony three months hence—Han Li absolutely could not allow it to proceed smoothly.

What he was now considering was whether to cast all caution to the wind, head directly to the Moon-Masking Sect, and secretly take Nangong Wan away. Or to wait until the day of the ceremony itself, then go to the sect and deal with it openly.

Both methods had obvious pros and cons.

The first was easier to execute, but he could hardly guarantee that Nangong Wan would follow him without a second word. After all, she had spent so many years in the Moon-Masking Sect, now a sect Elder herself. It would be impossible for her to leave quietly without any concerns.

The second method—appearing directly on the day of the ceremony to formally propose to Nangong Wan—would invite immense pressure from the Moon-Masking Sect, the Six Sects, and even the entire Nine Nations Alliance. It would be fraught with difficulty. But if he could resolve each obstacle one by one, he could be together with Nangong Wan openly and legitimately, with no lingering worries.

Of course, there was an even simpler method: to have Wei Lichen, the man who intended to marry Nangong Wan, eliminated from this world without a trace, so that no one would know.

This would remove all obstacles in one fell swoop.

However, this method was also the most dangerous.

The Transformation Art Sect was no ordinary minor sect. It was one of the two largest sects in the Nine Nations Alliance. Just its Nascent Soul stage Elders numbered four or five, making it far more powerful than sects like the Falling Cloud Sect.

If that Wei Lichen remained within his sect and never left its grounds, Han Li, for all his skills, could not kill him without anyone knowing.

And even if he succeeded in killing him, once his identity was exposed, even as an Elder of the Falling Cloud Sect, he would be in deep trouble.

Han Li advanced slowly, his mind going over the various countermeasures again and again.

Finally, for the sake of safety, he decided on a compromise among the several approaches.

He would first rush to the Moon-Masking Sect to see Nangong Wan and ascertain her true intentions. If she was weighed down by concerns or had some other hidden difficulty preventing her from leaving with him, then he would go to the Transformation Art Sect before the ceremony to see if he could secretly eliminate Wei Lichen, thus removing the problem at its root.

If no suitable opportunity to act presented itself, he would then, on the day of the ceremony, openly propose to Nangong Wan himself.

Regardless of the outcome, whether Nangong Wan was willing or not, he was determined to take her away by force.

In his life, he had rarely felt genuine passion and had always prioritized reason over emotion. But this time, deep down, he would not, under any circumstances, yield Nangong Wan to another.

And with his current level of power, as long as he did not encounter a late Nascent Soul stage cultivator attempting to stop him, there was probably no one who could truly threaten him.

Having settled his resolve, Han Li’s spirit was renewed. After confirming his direction, he abruptly accelerated his flying light, piercing through the air in an instant.

…

When the six Yue Kingdom sects had retreated, they were forced to withdraw into the Nine Nations Alliance. There, they re-established their foundations in the Beiliang Nation, which had the fewest cultivator sects among the nine nations.

The reason Beiliang Nation had so few cultivator sects was that its cultivation resources ranked second-to-last among the nine nations.

As newly arrived sects, the Six Sects had little choice in the matter.

Even so, the cultivators of the Six Sects had engaged in over a century of open and covert struggles with some local sects before they could barely take root through their own strength.

Of course, the spirit veins, spirit mountains, ore mines, and the overall prestige of the Six Sects in Beiliang Nation were far inferior to the days when they dominated the Yue Kingdom alone.

But after all these years of treading carefully, the Six Sects had finally recovered some of their strength, gaining more influence within the Nine Nations Alliance.

As the most powerful sect among the Six Sects, the Moon-Masking Sect naturally occupied a spirit vein location with decent spiritual energy.

On the westernmost edge of Beiliang Nation stood the Linglong Mountains. There, the cultivators of the Moon-Masking Sect had used spells to construct countless pavilions and halls around the spiritual mountain, setting up numerous restrictive grand formations.

This was the new mountain gate of the Moon-Masking Sect.

The Linglong Mountains were roughly divided into three levels.

The lowest level, at the foot of the mountain, was the living and cultivation area for low-ranking disciples. From the foot to the mountainside, only Foundation Establishment cultivators and above were qualified to enter.

And the highest level, above the mountainside, was naturally only open to Core Formation cultivators and above.

Though Foundation Establishment cultivators were insignificant in the eyes of those above Core Formation, to the newly initiated, low-ranking Qi Condensation disciples, they were the sect’s pillars, beings to be venerated.

Naturally, all of the Moon-Masking Sect’s various stewards and managers were appointed from among the sharp-witted Foundation Establishment cultivators who had successfully established their foundations.

But Yuan Kun, a Moon-Masking Sect steward specifically responsible for procuring mundane goods, was an exception among them all.

This man was the only steward in the Moon-Masking Sect who was still at the Qi Condensation stage.

The reason was that the Yuan family—a middle-ranking family native to Beiliang Nation—was the first to welcome the Six Sects’ relocation into Beiliang. They had put in considerable effort to help the Six Sects, especially the Moon-Masking Sect, establish a foothold in the nation.

Therefore, as a reward and compensation to the Yuan family, the Moon-Masking Sect had promised that this relatively unimportant stewardship position would be passed down through the Yuan family line for generations.

Unfortunately, Yuan Kun happened to be a close nephew of the current Yuan family head. In terms of cultivation, he had truly no prospect of progress. So, after the Yuan family head personally interceded on his behalf, the upper echelons of the Moon-Masking Sect reluctantly let him take on the role of steward.

Fortunately, although Yuan Kun was unaccomplished in cultivation, he was perfectly at ease with worldly affairs. He handled them neatly and without error, gradually securing his position.

However, in the cultivation world, everything is judged by one’s cultivation level. So, the lower-ranking disciples of the Moon-Masking Sect naturally held him in little regard.

The other Foundation Establishment stewards were even more contemptuous of him.

But Steward Yuan paid them no mind. When it was time to borrow the might of others, he did so; when it was time to bow and scrape with a smile, he smiled and scraped. He managed to live quite comfortably within the Moon-Masking Sect.

On this day, Yuan Kun appeared in a small secular town closest to the Linglong Mountains. Accompanied by two Moon-Masking Sect disciples of even weaker cultivation, he went to several shops as usual to purchase daily necessities.

What he did not notice was that, after only visiting two or three shops, a strand of faint yet immensely powerful divine sense emerged from a nearby tavern. It circled around his Moon-Masking Sect steward’s uniform a few times, then silently attached itself to him, locking onto this mere Qi Condensation stage cultivator.