Chapter 1136: A Helping Hand
After the masked woman left the Starry Sky Palace, the two Star Palace cultivators heaved a collective sigh of relief. The younger of the two glanced at Wen Siyue and the others, and a hint of anger flashed through his eyes.
If it weren"t for these people, they wouldn"t have been caught red-handed and have to suffer the torment of the lightning whips.
The Star Palace cultivator put on a stern expression and was just about to hurl some insults at the group to vent his frustration, when the elderly man suddenly turned to Wen Siyue with a respectful look, and said, "You sure are fortunate to have been able to make Senior Han"s acquaintance. This is an extremely rare opportunity. With Senior Han"s guidance, you"ll be able to easily progress to the Nascent Soul Stage in the future."
The elderly man"s cold demeanor toward Wen Siyue and the others had completely disappeared.
The other Star Palace cultivator was initially stunned by this turn of events, but he was then enlightened by the elderly man"s words. He immediately swallowed the insults that he was about to hurl before plastering a smile across his face.
In his fit of rage and frustration, he had forgotten that these people had a connection to a late-Nascent Soul cultivator. They were not people that measly Core Formation cultivators like them could mess with.
"Indeed, Brother Han is right. Perhaps we"ll be counting on you two for a.s.sistance in certain areas in the future, fellow Daoists. Here are your soul stones. We"ll cover your teleportation costs this time!"
The Star Palace cultivator plucked the storage pouch that was full of soul stones off his waist and offered it up to the Core Formation Stage couple. Even though his heart was throbbing with pain, he still forced an enthusiastic and hospitable look onto his face.
The graceful man took a glance at the storage pouch and hesitated momentarily. However, Wen Siyue decided to turn them down with a warm smile. "My Dao Companion and I are extremely grateful to you two that you"re willing to teleport us to the outer seas; how could we take back our soul stones? Please accept them as repayment for your kindness. I"m in a bit of hurry to catch up to Senior Han, so I hope you can teleport us over as quickly as possible."
"Of course. I"ll change the soul stones and you"ll be able to teleport immediately." The Star Palace cultivator could tell that Wen Siyue really didn"t" want to take back the soul stones, so he could only put them away again in a sheepish manner.
His body then flashed over to the teleportation formation, where he leaned down and began to change the soul stones that had just been used for the previous bout of teleportation.
Meanwhile, the elderly man was still conversing with Wen Siyue and her Dao Companion, trying to indirectly dig up more information about Han Li.
The graceful man knew absolutely nothing, so he couldn"t provide any answers. As for Wen Siyue, she merely smiled and provided ambiguous replies, clearly reluctant to disclose any information.
A short while later, the soul stones on the teleportation formation had been swapped over.
Wen Siyue really was in a hurry to catch up to Han Li, so she could only turn down the two Star Palace cultivators" further attempts to make converstaiong, plastering the teleportation talisman onto her body before leading everyone else into the formation.
White light flashed again as all seven of them disappeared.
The two Star Palace cultivators glanced at one another and sighed in unison before wry smiles appeared on their faces.
On the other end of the teleportation formation, within a stone chamber over around 100 feet in size, Wen Siyue and her group emerged amid a burst of white light.
Moments later, the seven of them recovered from the bouts of dizziness that always struck following teleportation.
Wen Siyue hurriedly looked around, upon which her heart immediatley sank.
The stone chamber was completely empty, thus devoid of Han Li"s presence.
"Wait here for me; I"m going to see if Senior Han is still nearby," Wen Siyue hurriedly instructed before rus.h.i.+ng out the stone door without waiting for a reply from her Dao Companion.
The graceful man wanted to say something, but swallowed his words in the end after a brief hesitation. However, his brows were slightly furrowed as he looked on at Wen Siyue"s departing figure.
Wen Siyue walked out of the stone chamber, and her eyes immediately lit up. The chamber was situated on a broad stone platform and the platform was, in turn, located on the peak of a steep mountain. The platform was surrounded entirely be sheer cliff faces that no mortal would have been able to climb up.
However, the cause for her elation was that Han Li was standing in a corner of the stone platform, conversing with a cultivator in Star Palace robes.
He stood with his hands behind his back and was speaking in a leisurely manner.
The burly and menacing mid-Core Formation cultivator was like an obedient lamb in the face of Han Li, nodding and bowing incessantly while providing answers to Han Li"s quetions with a fearful expression.
It appeared that this man was Star Palace cultivator guarding the teleportation formations on this end.
Wen Siyue took a moment to compose herself, but she didn"t immediately approach Han Li. Instead, she waited in silence as Han Li conversed with that Star Palace cultivator.
After a while, Han Li waved a hand and seemed to have asked all of the questions that he had.
The burly man extended a deep respectful bow before striding toward the stone chamber.
Only then did Wen Siyue make her way over to Han Li.
"Thank you for your help back there, Senior Han. If it weren"t for you, not only would we have been unable to make it to the outer seas, we could have been in deep trouble as well," Wen Siyue said with a respectful bow.
Han Li wore a calm expression as he glanced at the woman, and asked, "Don"t mention it. You were only caught because of me, so it was only right for me to lend you a hand. Your trip here seems to be rather urgent. Is there some important matter you have to attend to?"
"You have helped me a lot already and I should be content with the a.s.sistance I"ve received, but please forgive me for being greedy. My daughter is severely ill and could die at any moment. Please lend me your a.s.sistance again, Senior." Wen Siyue began to shed tears as she spoke and it was quite clear that she really was extremely concerned for her dauhghter.
"That poisoned little girl is your daughter?" A flash of light appeard in Han Li"s eyes, but his expression still remained calm and collected.
"She is! You truly have an exceptional eye to be able to identify the cause of my daughter"s illness, Senior Han!" Wen Siyue turned to Han Li with a hopeful expression upon hearing Han Li words.
"I overheard some parts of you conversation already. Haven"t you already found a way to cure the poison? Why are you still coming to me?" Han Li asked.
"Indeed, my Dao Companion and I received guidance from a great man, telling us that the demon core of the White Yang Demon Fish could be used to create a pill that would cure this poison. However, this pill can"t completely eradicate the poison. Even if it can temporarily save my daughter"s life, her physique would be ruined and her cultivation path would be as good as over. You"re a late-Nascent Soul great cultivator, Senior, so you must have a better solution. Please help us, Senior," Wen Siyue urgently explained.
"I see." Han Li didn"t immediately agree to help her. He merely fell silent as a contemplative look appeared on his face.
Wen Siyue"s heart was extremely uneasy, but she didn"t dare to rush Han Li for an answer. She could only stare up Han Li with a pitiable beseeching look on her face.
Han Li looked up at the dazzling sun in the sky, then down at Wen Siyue"s gorgeous features, and to her surprise, he said, "When did Brother Wen pa.s.s away?"
Wen Siyue was slightly taken aback to hear this, but a dejected look then appeared on her face as she replied, "When I returned to the inner seas all those years ago, Father had already disappeared. I"ve searched for him for several decades, but am still yet to find any leads. Unless Father has reached the Core Formation Stage, he has most likely already left his world."
"The path of cultivation is always fraught with peril; no one knows which step they"ll be able to reach. If you were a stranger requesting for my a.s.sistance, then I would most likely ignore you. However, you"ve encountered me on more than one occasion, so it appears we have affinity with one another. Seeing as you"re the daugher of my past acquaintance and I still have some time on my hands, I"ll take a look at your daughter," Han Li finally agreed with a nod.
"Thank you for your kindness, Senrio!" Wen Siyue was overjoyed to hear this and was about to fall to her knees in grat.i.tude.
"This is not a place to be administering treatment. I"ll wait for you in the inn in that small twon at the foot of the mountain. Come on over when you and your compmanions are ready."
Han Li swept a sleeve through the air and an invisible force carried Wen Siyue"s body, making her unable to fall to her knees as she intended. An azure light then flashed around him and he shot forth down the mountain as a streak of azure light.
Wen Siyue faltered momentarily before rus.h.i.+ng toward the stone chamber with an elated expression.
Moments later, the seven of them all rushed toward the direction that Han Li had disappeared in.
"That Han brat has already reached the late-Nascent Soul Stage?"
In the Inner Star Seas countless kilometers away, within the cave on the Heavenly Star City"s sacred mountain, an incredulous male voice rang out, causing the entire cave to tremor.
The man who had spoken was none other than one of the Heavenly Star Sages.
"He has. I was also in disbelief, but I used my spiritual sense to verify his cultivation base several times, so there"s no mistaking it," a female voice sounded in reply. The woman named Wen Qing had already taken off her scarf, revealing a set of beautiful yet slightly pale features, and she sat down on a translucent and glittering jade stone platform in the cave.
"That means his cultivation apt.i.tude is even superior to yours and mine." The man seemed to have recovered slightly from his initial astonishment.
"That does appear to be the case. As far as I know, he wasn"t 200 years old yet when he disappeared. His cultivation progress is unmatched by any of the past masters of the Star Palace. You and I only managed to just barely reach the late-Nascent Soul Stage at about 500 years of age." Wen Qing heaved a forlorn sigh.
She had thought that she was a superb cultivation prodigy, only to find that she was merely a frog sitting in a well, and the stark contrast struck her with a sense of loss and sorrow.
"If that"s the case, even if he"s only just advanced to the late-Nascent Soul Stage, with the Heavenvoid Cauldron on his side, he should be able to match either one of us in battle. No wonder you changed your mind and let him go in the end. What"s your first impression after talking to him?" the man asked with furrowed brows.
"First impression? He"s very cautious and bold. No, not bold. Instead, he"s..." Wen Qing"s brows suddenly furrowed as an indecisive light flashed through her eyes.
"Is he difficult to describe?" the man asked.
After a brief hesitation, Wen Qing replied, "No, it"s not that. It"s just that thinking back now, I"ve discovered something a little suspicious."
"Suspicious?"
"Yes. Now that I think about it, he clearly knew that I was one of the Heavenly Star Sages and that he was situated in the Heavenly Star City, but he showed no fear or concern about his situation. Even with the Heavenvoid Cauldron, he shouldn"t have been that confident. Also, when I was facing him, I was struck by this indescribable sense of fear, as if he"s an extremely fearsome person. I haven"t had such a feeling in a very long time," Wen Qing mused as she recalled the situation.
"You cultivated the Spirit Premonition Art, so your instincts are correct the vast majority of the time. That means that he really must be fearsome in some way." The man"s voice had also become quite grave.