Fame Spreads, an Oath-Sister is Found

Chapter 758: Fame Spreads, an Oath-Sister is Found

“Brother Lü, has your sect still not received any news from Elder Han?” A crane-haired old man sitting across from Lü Luo suddenly asked him politely.

This Foundation Establishment initial-stage cultivator, named Xu Changjing, was an elder of the Profound Shadow Sect, a member of the Heavenly Alliance. He had only arrived at Heavenly Sky City the day before and had met Lü Luo a few times in the past.

“Not yet. Why, is Brother Xu also concerned about Junior Han’s affairs?” Lü Luo was startled for a moment, but then replied with a smile.

“Hehe! Naturally. From the way you speak, Brother Lü, it seems others have asked the same question. That’s no surprise. Before I even reached Heavenly Sky City, my ears were full of rumors about this Fellow Daoist Han. Remarkable! To escape from a Moulan Divine Master at the initial Nascent Soul stage… that is not something someone like me could accomplish. I also heard someone say that this Fellow Daoist Han only recently formed his Nascent Soul. I wonder if that is true or false. If so, it would be even more astonishing.” Xu Changjing said with a laugh.

When the crane-haired old man said this, the other cultivators present exchanged glances and then looked at Lü Luo with expressions of keen interest.

They had all heard rumors about Han Li, to varying degrees. However, none of them had heard anything about Han Li being a recent Nascent Soul cultivator.

“This? Junior Han did indeed advance to the Nascent Soul stage not long ago.” Lü Luo hesitated for a moment, but then, thinking that many others already knew this, he admitted it without trying to hide it.

“Hiss!”

The others in the hall were all visibly moved. Two of them even gasped sharply.

“For Elder Han to possess such divine abilities at such a young age, it is highly likely he will be able to advance to the late stage in the future. I would like to congratulate Brother Lü in advance. The prosperity of the Falling Cloud Sect is just around the corner! At that time, our Heavenly Alliance will gain a Grand Cultivator as well!” Xu Changjing was also secretly shocked, his tone carrying a hint of envy.

The others echoed similar sentiments, offering words of praise and flattery.

Lü Luo felt a bit of pride, but of course, he humbly deflected their praise.

“However, Brother Lü, while Elder Han escaped from the Divine Master, his injuries must be severe. Why else would he not show his face for so long? You should send more men to look for him. If you are short-handed, our sect can send some disciples to assist.” A middle-aged man with thick, drooping eyebrows spoke, his voice slightly cold.

“I am not too clear about this matter. I imagine he did suffer some damage to his vitality and is in seclusion somewhere to recuperate.” Lü Luo’s heart tightened, but his expression remained unchanged as he spoke calmly.

Lü Luo was a veteran who had lived for centuries; he could easily hear the jealousy in the other man’s words.

This drooping-eyebrowed man was an elder of the Luanming Sect, the premier sect of the Heavenly Alliance. The dual-cultivating husband-and-wife pair who could rival the Three Grand Cultivators were precisely elders from the Luanming Sect. Otherwise, how could the Luanming Sect stand alone above all other sects in the Heavenly Alliance?

Now, upon hearing that the Falling Cloud Sect’s elder might advance to the late Nascent Soul stage, this man naturally felt uncomfortable and poured a bit of cold water, disguised as concern.

But on the surface, the drooping-eyebrowed man appeared very concerned, making it impossible to say anything about his true intentions.

Just as the atmosphere grew a bit awkward, a streak of red light suddenly shot in from outside the door. After circling once, it flew straight towards Lü Luo.

The others were taken aback.

Lü Luo himself was also quite surprised, but he waved his hand at the red light.

The light immediately transformed into a ball of flame and fell into Lü Luo’s hand.

Lü Luo immersed his divine sense into it, and after a moment, a look of pleasant surprise appeared on his face.

“Junior Han of our sect has already entered the city. He is currently at our sect’s compound. I will take my leave now.” Lü Luo suppressed the excitement in his heart, explained to the others, and then hurriedly left.

Watching Lü Luo’s departing figure, the other cultivators in the room looked at each other in stunned silence, their expressions varied.

None of them had expected that the moment the legendary Elder Han was mentioned, he would appear.

Xu Changjing stroked his beard, a thoughtful expression on his face. The drooping-eyebrowed man looked calm, but a careful observer would notice a cold glint flash deep in his eyes.

…

Although Heavenly Sky City was a newly built stone city, every sect, large or small, among the four major powers had a place to station their members.

The city had been divided into four districts according to each power’s sphere of influence.

The central district was naturally a public area, where some well-known independent cultivators could reside.

The Heavenly Alliance was located in the western district of the stone city. The Falling Cloud Sect was positioned at the southernmost edge of the west district, occupying a large area of dozens of acres.

There were over two hundred Falling Cloud Sect disciples who had come to help, all of whom were at the Foundation Establishment stage or above. There were also six or seven Core Formation cultivators. This accounted for over half of the Falling Cloud Sect’s total strength.

In the main hall of the Falling Cloud Sect’s compound, Han Li was sitting on a wooden chair in the center, one hand supporting his chin, his expression calm and indifferent.

Standing on his left and right were a man and a woman. The man was the red-robed old man, the peak master of Blazing Cloud Peak. The woman was the Song woman from White Phoenix Peak.

The red-robed old man’s expression was respectful. The Song woman also stood with her hands at her sides, but her face held a hint of complex emotion, her bright eyes flickering as if lost in thought.

It was at this moment that Lü Luo hurried in from outside the hall. The moment he saw Han Li on the wooden chair, a great joy filled his face, and he quickly stepped forward.

“Junior Han, you’ve finally returned. Not showing your face for over half a year had me and Senior Brother truly worried.”

“My apologies for the concern, Senior Brother. I damaged my vitality a bit when I was escaping and had no choice but to go into seclusion to recuperate. I heard that Tiandian City had fallen, however, and was quite worried about you, Senior Brother.” Han Li stood up from the chair, gave a faint smile, and said lightly.

“As long as you are safe, that’s all that matters. Eh, where are the other junior disciples? Why aren’t they here to pay their respects to Junior Han?” A look of relief appeared on Lü Luo’s face. But after sweeping his gaze around, his expression darkened as he asked.

“Reporting to the Sect Master, Junior Martial Brother Yu and the others are on duty today. They’ve gone to organize those independent cultivators.” The red-robed old man answered respectfully.

“Oh, I see! Then it’s not their fault.” At this, Lü Luo’s expression relaxed.

It was then that Han Li spoke with a smile:

“On my way back, I found that I’ve become quite a celebrity. It seems there are quite a few rumors about me.”

On the road, he had happened to overhear some cultivators talking about him and was quite surprised.

“Haha! That’s something I wanted to discuss with you, Junior Brother… You two may leave. Your Uncle-Master Han and I need to talk privately for a bit.” Lü Luo laughed heartily, about to continue. But his gaze flickered over the red-robed old man and the woman as he gave the order without expression.

The two naturally did not dare to disobey. They hurriedly acknowledged the order and withdrew. However, before the Song woman left, she cast a flickering glance at Han Li.

Han Li was a bit puzzled but his expression did not change; he pretended not to notice.

The Song woman had seemed a bit off ever since seeing him, as if she had something to say but was hesitating.

Han Li was curious, but he had no intention of taking the initiative to ask.

“Junior Brother, you’ve kept me and Senior Brother in the dark. With such great divine abilities, why didn’t you reveal even a hint earlier?” As soon as the two junior disciples had withdrawn, Lü Luo began with a bitter complaint instead of anything else.

“I really did just form my Nascent Soul, Senior Brother, as you well know. What great divine abilities are there to speak of? The rumors are a bit exaggerated.” Han Li shook his head and said helplessly.

“Alright, Junior Brother, no need to be so modest. Although the Moulan Divine Master is our enemy, his evaluation of you can’t be too far off. But what surprised me and Senior Brother even more was that you managed to bring a female Nascent Soul cultivator away from the Moon-Masking Sect. I have to say, I’m deeply impressed by that.” Lü Luo chuckled, a strange smile on his face.

“Oh, you’ve seen Wan’er?” Han Li’s expression shifted with concern.

When they parted, he had given Nangong Wan a jade slip with his identity mark, vaguely explaining her situation. But from Lü Luo’s words, it seemed he knew everything clearly.

“Yes! Fairy Nangong has already told Senior Brother Cheng everything. And now, Junior Brother, you have nothing to worry about anymore.” Lü Luo seemed to have seen through Han Li’s concern and said with a smile.

“What do you mean by that, Senior Brother Lü…” Han Li frowned, half-understanding and half-confused.

“Junior Brother, don’t you know? The Moon-Masking Sect, several months ago, suddenly announced that Fairy Nangong had suffered a Qi Deviation from her cultivation technique and had tragically perished. The engagement with Wei Lichen of the Transformation Meaning Sect was naturally annulled. Senior Brother Cheng, however, has taken this female cultivator named Wan’er as his sworn sister and intends to betroth her to you as your Dao partner. What do you think?” Lü Luo winked and said with a grin.

“Wan’er has become Senior Brother Cheng’s sworn sister?” Han Li was stunned.

“That’s right. Senior Brother has already said that once we have driven off the Tian Nan cultivators, he will openly hold a grand Dao partner ceremony for you and his sworn sister. By then, even if some people are suspicious, what can they do? With the rice already cooked, would they dare to offend the entire Heavenly Alliance and come knocking on our door? Even if Wei Wuyai himself knew, given that the Heavenly Alliance is currently allied against the common enemy, he would have to swallow his anger and accept it. Furthermore, with your reputation now being quite remarkable, the Transformation Meaning Sect and the Moon-Masking Sect will most likely just pretend they don’t know.” Lü Luo said with great confidence.

After hearing this, Han Li fell silent for a moment, a complex look on his face. After a long while, he let out a light sigh and spoke slowly:

“For my sake, I have put you and Senior Brother to a lot of trouble. I will remember this debt.”

Although Han Li said only a few simple words, they filled Lü Luo’s heart with great joy. He and his Senior Brother had exhausted their schemes, and they had finally made this Junior Brother feel indebted to them.

With these words, it was highly likely that Yellow Maple Valley’s attempt to lure Han Li away would fail.

“Hehe! Junior Han and I are practically family, why be so courteous? Oh, by the way, Fairy Nangong was quite anxious when she heard you were missing. She wanted to come here herself, but Senior Brother Cheng managed to dissuade her with great effort. After all, there are quite a few cultivators from the Moon-Masking Sect and Transformation Meaning Sect here. Before the official grand Dao partner ceremony with Junior Brother, it’s better for Fairy Nangong not to meet these people. As for your concubine, I have already arranged for other disciples to escort her back. A major war is imminent here, and it’s simply too dangerous for her.” Lü Luo continued, his tone warm and intimate.