A day later, a streak of azure light shot out from the mountain range where the Xu family resided. After circling once in the air, it revealed the figure of Han Li hovering high above.
He glanced back at the mountains below with an indifferent gaze before his light flared again, propelling him swiftly away.
After a few flickers, the light vanished without a trace on the distant horizon.
In the following days, Han Li began a years-long journey through the Tianyuan Region, visiting cities of various sizes. His presence was noted in the vicinity of renowned sects and noble clans, where he either paid direct visits to engage in discussions with high-ranking cultivators or simply observed coldly before departing unnoticed.
Though his travels covered only a fraction of the Tianyuan Region, these few years were enough for Han Li to gain a deeper understanding of the human race’s circumstances.
The number of Body Integration cultivators among humans was indeed far fewer compared to races like the Horned Race or even the Winged Spirit Race. Apart from those affiliated with Skydeep City or under the command of the Three Sovereigns, very few Body Integration cultivators remained hidden within other noble clans or sects.
As for self-reliant Body Integration rogue cultivators like himself, they were even rarer among humans.
The demon race was said to have slightly more, but the disparity wasn’t significant.
Combined, the strength of the two races was roughly on par with that of a mid-tier race on the Windstorm Continent.
This was largely due to the fact that the territories of humans and demons were located in a relatively remote part of the Windstorm Continent, with no powerful neighboring races nearby. Otherwise, even with the protection of super formations and Skydeep City, it was uncertain whether the two races could have endured in the Spirit Realm until now.
After all, many races far stronger than humans and demons had vanished like fleeting flowers in the river of time.
Given his status as a Body Integration cultivator, Han Li naturally encountered no danger during his travels. Instead, by chance, he eliminated a few evil cultivators, gradually earning a reputation in the Tianyuan Region.
Many small and mid-sized sects and noble clans became aware of this new Body Integration cultivator—youthful in appearance but with unfathomable power.
Later, even some major factions from the Xuanwu and Tianling Regions sent envoys to recruit him, but Han Li politely declined each time.
Thus, five years passed in the blink of an eye…
On this day, halfway up a lush, verdant mountain at the border of the Xuanwu and Tianyuan Regions, three human cultivators in different attire sat in a stone pavilion, chatting and laughing.
One wore a white Confucian robe, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes—a handsome man in his thirties.
Beside him sat a round-faced youth in a yellow Daoist robe, carrying a tattered black wooden sword on his back. He appeared to be a young Daoist, no older than seventeen or eighteen.
The last was an ordinary-looking man with slightly dark skin, clad in a blue robe—a youth of about twenty-three or twenty-four.
This youth was none other than Han Li.
At the moment, Han Li wore a faint smile as he listened to the Daoist’s enthusiastic speech.
“Now, I’m not bragging, but our Mist Sea Temple’s founding ancestor once belonged to the Mist Sea Sect in the lower realm—the undisputed number one sect, dominating the human world and suppressing all demons. Our ancestor, Xuan Lingzi, was hailed as the greatest cultivator of his time. Now that I, Qi Lingzi, have inherited his legacy and taken charge of the Mist Sea Temple, if you two brothers were to join, it would be like adding wings to a tiger! Once the three of us achieve great cultivation, even if we can’t make our temple the top sect among humans, dominating a region would be more than enough!”
“Haha, Qi Lingzi! You’ve repeated this spiel at least a dozen times to Brother Han and me already. Your Mist Sea Temple barely has a handful of members—just you and a few disciples—yet you dare invite us to join? Even if your ancestor was mighty in the human world, in the Spirit Realm, he was just an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator. Otherwise, why would your temple be in such a sorry state?” The handsome man chuckled, flicking open a green paper fan with a snap and waving it leisurely.
“Nonsense! Hai Dayou, what do you know? It’s not that our temple’s techniques are lacking. It’s just that the Mist Sea Infinite Art left by our ancestor has extremely specific requirements for aptitude. When he ascended to the Spirit Realm, he happened to encounter a once-in-a-millennium spatial storm. Though he escaped, he was gravely injured. After hastily founding the Mist Sea Temple, he passed away. Otherwise, why would our temple be stuck in such a backwater place?” The young Daoist retorted, his face flushed.
“I think your ancestor was just being wise. With your temple’s strength, if you’d occupied any spiritual mountains or veins, who knows if your lineage would even exist today. Right, Brother Han?” The handsome man, Hai Dayou, snapped his fan shut and turned to Han Li with a smirk.
“Brother Hai’s words do hold some merit. However, Daoist Qi Lingzi’s techniques are indeed unique and profound, likely requiring specific aptitudes.” Han Li replied with a faint smile.
“See! Even Brother Han agrees! That proves our temple’s legacy is extraordinary. So, how about it? Join us, and I’ll teach you the Mist Sea Infinite Art right away!” The young Daoist beamed, his eyes narrowing into slits as he spoke enticingly.
Hai Dayou rolled his eyes and scoffed,
“I practice the most orthodox body-refining techniques and have exceptional talent in it—I’ve already reached the third layer of the Vajra Art. You, the temple master, have barely reached Foundation Establishment. You might not even beat me in a fight—what could you possibly teach me? If I’m going to join anyone, it’ll be a proper major sect. And Brother Han, your words just now were vague. What do you mean ‘some merit’? My point stands—Ancestor Xuan Lingzi chose that remote valley precisely to preserve his legacy!”
Hai Dayou grew increasingly smug as he spoke.
Han Li’s lips twitched, but he could only smile wryly and say nothing more.
These two were truly a pair of living treasures.
He had met them about a month earlier near a small city. At the time, they had offended a local minor sect and were being pursued by several Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Such conflicts were commonplace among humans and demons. Han Li, passing by overhead, had initially paid no heed. But a casual sweep of his divine sense revealed something unusual—one of the two had exceptional spiritual roots yet practiced mortal body-refining techniques, having already reached the third layer of the Vajra Art at a young age. The other had poor spiritual roots but cultivated a peculiar technique that allowed him to hold his own against multiple peers.
Together, they managed to hold off five or six Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Intrigued, Han Li concealed his aura to the peak of Foundation Establishment and intervened. With his skills, even suppressing his power to the same level, he effortlessly drove off the pursuers.
Grateful, Hai Dayou and Qi Lingzi immediately proposed sworn brotherhood. Han Li, flustered, declined with an excuse. However, upon learning that Han Li was also heading to the Xuanwu Region for the Myriad Treasures Convention, they insisted on accompanying him.
To his surprise, they too planned to attend the grand event—a gathering where even Body Integration cultivators and figures like the Three Sovereigns or Seven Demon Kings might appear.
For two Foundation Establishment cultivators to cross regions for such an event was absurd. While low-level cultivators did attend, they were usually attendants or disciples. Those who came alone typically lived nearby.
Yet here was Hai Dayou, carrying a few jars of spiritual tea, and Qi Lingzi, lugging unknown ores, determined to make the journey. It was almost laughable.
That said, Qi Lingzi’s tea was surprisingly high-grade, and the ores, though worthless, were of unknown origin—something even Han Li couldn’t identify.
Curious and with time to spare before the convention, Han Li agreed to travel with them, using a high-grade flying carriage.
Along the way, before he could even probe their backgrounds, the two bickered their way into revealing everything.
Hai Dayou claimed to hail from a renowned body-refining family in a mortal city. Though born with excellent spiritual roots, a botched test by an incompetent cultivator had mislabeled him as rootless. Raised as a body-refiner, he later discovered his mistake—a thunderbolt realization.
Unlike others, he abandoned body-refining to seek immortality. But his city had no proper sects, and his pride rejected minor ones. After “careful consideration,” he ran away to find a major sect.
En route, he met Qi Lingzi, bound for the Myriad Treasures Convention. Their shared eccentricities sparked an instant camaraderie.
Under Qi Lingzi’s persuasion, Hai Dayou not only became sworn brothers with him but also joined his quest to attend the convention—where, in Qi Lingzi’s words, “Nascent Souls are as common as dogs, and even a random cultivator there is better than any sect.”
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