Han Li sighed and helplessly said, “Why is it that you and Senior Martial Brother Lu haven’t left as we discussed? I might’ve not returned.” He then took a glance at Mu Peiling and smiled, “But I didn’t think that you’d actually break through your bottleneck so quickly! Congratulations on entering mid Foundation Establishment stage!”

“I broke through by chance half a month ago thanks to the medicine pills my Lord has given me. It wouldn’t have been the case otherwise.” Mu Peiling spoke with great excitement and appeared all the more beautiful for it. Han Li felt his mind shake and calmed down once he stroked his nose.

Han Li then casually asked, “Does your prolonged stay with Senior Martial Brother Lu in Soaring Heavens City have to do with the spell warriors?”

Mu Peiling bit her lip and carefully said, “My Lord already guessed it. Senior Lu and I planned on returning once the trade fair ended, but who could’ve thought that news of the spell warrior invasion had spread before the trade fair concluded. As a Heavenly Dao Alliance Nascent Soul cultivator, he had no choice but to remain and negotiate a plan with the other powers. I also remained behind as a result.”

“In that case, I can’t blame you. But where is Senior Martial Brother Lu —” Han Li suddenly wore an odd expression when he interrupted himself.

Mu Peiling was startled by this sudden stop. Before she realized what Han Li intended, she suddenly heard a young man’s voice from outside the building, “Fellow Daoist Mu, are you there? I am Bai Shujun. I wish to discuss something with you.”

After Han Li swept his spiritual sense past him, he discovered a Core Formation youth with a scholarly appearance that was standing outside the building’s restrictions. Han Li pensively asked, “Who is this? It seems you’ve made friends!”

In the instant Mu Peiling heard the man’s voice, he face instantly paled. She hastily explained, “Lord, please don’t misunderstand. This person is a disciple of a Heavenpeak Sect Elder. We had unintentionally met a few days ago and he had been bothering me ceaselessly ever since. I’ve already said that I am your concubine, but this person has bothered me ever since. I’ll drive him away right now.”

Han Li raised his brow and asked, “So it was like that? Does Senior Martial Brother Lu know of this?”

Mu Peiling was relieved that Han Li wasn’t angry and replied with a sigh of relief, “I’ve already spoke to Senior Lu of this matter, but Senior Lu seemed to recognize this elder of the Heavenpeak Sect. He even seemed somewhat fearful of him. For the time being, he’s left me to fend for myself with regards to his matter. He’s been waiting for Lord to return before dealing with this matter.

After a moment of silence, Han Li coldly smiled, “Oh! Isn’t the Heavenpeak Sect one of the four great sects of the Righteous Dao Alliance? It is no wonder why Senior Martial Brother Lu was so careful in handling this matter. However, this meager Core Formation cultivator must be quite brave to act so imprudently. Follow me out. Let’s see what this Junior intends to do.”

Mu Peiling respectfully replied, “As you command, Master!”

At that moment, Han Li wordlessly climbed down to the ground floor with Mu Peiling closely following after her.

“Fellow Daoist Mu, you’ve finally— Yi! This Senior is...” When the youth named Bai Shujun saw someone leaving the building, he originally believed it to be the woman he fancied. But when he saw Han Li with his profound cultivation, his expression vastly changed.

At that moment, Mu Peiling followed behind Han Li and stood closely behind him. When the youth saw this, his expression wavered several times.

Han Li’s expression grew sullen and he spoke bluntly to the youth, “You are a disciple of the Heavenpeak Sect?”

Displaying an unordinary guile, he regained his calm after only a moment even as he faced a Nascent Soul cultivator like Han Li. He then spoke with a courteous tone, “That’s right. This Junior is a disciple of the Heavenpeak Sect Elder Lu [1]. Could it be that you are Senior Han?”

“Speak! What are you intentions in coming here? Why is it that you bother my concubine without end? You should have some other purpose in performing such a brainless task.” Han Li’s harsh tone had caused a trace of astonishment to appear from Mu Peiling’s face.

Bai Shujun smiled and eloquently said, “Senior is wise! In truth my master wishes to meet you, but since there has been no news of Senior Han, Junior has done this. However, I am truly fond of Fellow Daoist Mu. If Senior would agree to accommodate me, I wouldn’t be able to thank you enough!”

“Can’t thank me enough? What use is your grat.i.tude? Don’t get caught up in your dreams! I have no such habit of giving my own concubines to others. I also have no connection with your Heavenpeak Sect, so why is it that you’ve come to find me?”

Han Li narrowed his eyes and glanced in an empty area. After squinting his eyes, he wore a weird smile and suddenly released an astonis.h.i.+ng spiritual pressure from his body.

Bai Shujun recoiled several steps with a greatly alarmed expression. Bearing a pressure of what seemed to be a huge mountain, his legs folded and he fell to a half kneel. He hastily attempted to resist, but after his body trembled several times, his knees still remained unsteady.

As he knelt, a white silhouette suddenly appeared in front of Bai Shujin. He gently patted Bai Shujun’s shoulder and suddenly relieved him of the pressure, allowing him to stand once more.

The white silhouette was a white-robed old man with light grey hair and a friendly face. As Han Li examined him, the old man smiled at him and said, “Fellow Daoist Han, please don’t be angry. My disciple has been doing this on my command. How could I meet you otherwise?”

When Han Li saw the old man, the pressure emitting from his body vanished and his expression became calm once more as if it had never happened. “Who is your esteemed self? And why do you wish to see me? If I remember correctly, this will be the first time I ever made contact with you and your sect.”

“Hehe! This old man goes by the name of Lu Weiying, and is an elder of the Heavenpeak Sect. As for why I wish to see you, this is not a convenient place to speak of it. If Fellow Daoist wishes to know why, let us meet later tonight. At that time, Fellow daoist will surely come to know the details.” Showing not the slightest anger, he waved his hand and tossed a green jade slip he had already prepared to Han Li.

Han Li expressionlessly waved his arm and caught the jade slip in an azure mist. After sinking his spiritual sense into the jade slip, he found the details of a location and thought to ask about it, but when he raised his head, the old man had already saluted him and was leading Bai Shujun away.

Han Li frowned. He acted rather mysteriously, but they seemed to misunderstand that Han Li had been hiding in Soaring Heavens City all this time.

Han Li rubbed his chin and felt this matter to be somewhat unclear. As such, he left the matter alone for now and brought Mu Peiling back into their residence.

After Han Li entered the pavilion, he calmly asked, “Where is Senior Martial Brother Lu currently?” It was as if he had thrown the recent matter to the back of his mind.

I heard that the war situation was dire and Senior Lu went to discuss a countermeasure with the other powers.”

Han Li interestedly asked, “Where are they having this discussion?”

“It is at Soaring Heavens City’s official hall. I heard that only Nascent Soul cultivates affiliated with a superpower are allowed to attend. Does my Lord wish to go take a look?”

“The official hall?” Han Li recalled a huge palace hall at the center of the city that was heavily covered in restrictions.

“Alright, I do wish to see how the matters of spell warriors are being handled. Wait here and don’t go out without a reason.” With his mind set, he departed to where his Senior Martial Brother Lu was located.

The official hall was the towering building built at the center of the city, and was extremely noticeable. Apart from matters concerning the life or death of the Nine Nations Union, it was hardly ever used.

But now that the Moulan had begun another a.s.sault since their ceasefire a hundred years ago, the upper echelon of the Nine Nations Union showed no hesitation in opening this hall and convening with cultivators of other powers. After all, with the overbearing invasion of the Moulan spell warriors, it would be extremely difficult for the Nine Nations Union to defend against them alone.

When Han Li arrived in front of the official hall, a guard standing at the front noticed Han Li’s cultivation and asked for his name before reporting it to his superior. Soon, Han Li was granted permission and a cultivator respectfully led him inside the official hall.

There couldn’t be said to be many Nascent Soul cultivators in the meeting, only over a dozen, far fewer than Han Li had imagined. However, Han Li understood that despite the large number of Nascent Soul cultivators that had gathered at Soaring Heavens City, there was no need for each of them to personally attend. They merely had their power’s representative stand in their place.

As for Senior Martial Brother Lu, he was currently sitting on a chair to the left. He smiled when he caught sight of Han Li. Closely sitting beside him was the Child Fire Dragon.

Apart from the yellow-robed old man, Han Li found the others to be unfamiliar. After taking two glances at the yellow-robed old man, he couldn’t help but inwardly sigh. This old man was Martial Ancestor Ling Hu of Yellow Maple Valley!

[1] The Heavenpeak Sect Elder is surnamed 鲁 Lu, and the Drifting Cloud Sect Elder, Han Li’s Senior Martial Brother is surnamed Lu 吕. They are h.o.m.onyms.