Chapter 748: Return

During the battle at Huanglong Mountain that day, with the three great divine masters of the spellcasters taking the lead, the spellcaster army unexpectedly advanced to the gates of Dantian City in just half a month.

Caught off guard, the Nine Nations Alliance had no choice but to face the enemy alone in shock and fury.

Fortunately, the alliance’s grand elder, Wei Wuyi—one of the three great cultivators of the South Sky—had just arrived in the city upon hearing the news. Relying on the city’s defensive formations, they managed to hold out against the spellcasters’ fierce assault for over a month.

However, when the three divine masters finally gathered and, with the help of some black-robed cultivators, unleashed seven or eight colossal beasts, the formation was soon broken, and Dantian City fell into the hands of the spellcasters.

Thankfully, most of the Nine Nations Alliance’s main forces remained intact, and they hastily withdrew all their cultivators to the neighboring Beiliang State in Yu Country.

At this time, reinforcements from the Righteous and Devilish Paths, as well as the Heavenly Dao Alliance, also arrived.

The four major forces of the South Sky joined hands and, after several minor skirmishes, temporarily halted the Mulan people’s advance.

But both sides knew well that the true life-and-death battle had yet to begin.

After occupying Dantian City, the Mulan people immediately turned it into their first stronghold in the South Sky, continuously summoning large numbers of allied spellcasters from the Mulan Grassland.

Apart from the Mulan’s largest tribe, the Golden Sun Tribe, which was preoccupied with monitoring the Utsu people, all other tribes sent their elites, pinning their hopes on seizing the South Sky in one decisive battle.

The Mulan people were only waiting for all their forces to assemble before launching the final battle.

With the advantage of terrain, the South Sky forces naturally refused to show weakness.

Not only were the four major forces fully mobilized, but even smaller sects outside these factions sent their members to join the fight. Even some rogue cultivators, aware of the gravity of this battle—which could determine the fate of the Yan Clan in the South Sky—volunteered without needing persuasion.

Seeing the morale was high, the four major forces used their great powers to construct a massive stone city overnight near the border between Beiliang State and Yu Country, serving as a temporary stronghold against the spellcasters.

They also needed time to organize and coordinate the various sects and rogue cultivators before launching a full-scale attack to drive the Mulan people out of the South Sky.

For now, the fighting between spellcasters and cultivators had temporarily ceased, with both sides eerily calm, as if bracing for an impending storm.

It was during this period that Han Li’s reputation soared due to certain events.

Unbeknownst to him, apart from himself, another Nascent Soul cultivator—an elder surnamed Ma from the Haoran Sect—had survived the misty sea of Huanglong Mountain.

However, this elder had been forced to abandon his physical body and flee back to the Nine Nations Alliance as a Nascent Soul after encountering the wind-escape technique of the woman surnamed Yue.

Additionally, the Core Formation cultivators Ying Ning and the Murong brothers had escaped early and returned safely.

Thus, word spread that Han Li had slain a black-robed Nascent Soul cultivator in an instant.

His fame skyrocketed.

As for his capture and execution of the Yuling Sect spy alongside the burly man surnamed Lu, only high-ranking members of the major factions knew of it, and it was not widely publicized.

But what truly cemented Han Li’s reputation was the news from the Mulan side that he had escaped from the hands of a Mulan divine master.

When the Confucian scholar surnamed Zhong returned to the spellcaster army without successfully killing Han Li, it caused quite a stir.

To save face, the scholar naturally praised Han Li highly, claiming that his abilities even surpassed those of an average mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

With such an evaluation from a divine master, no one doubted its validity.

Coupled with the various techniques Han Li had displayed in his battle against the woman surnamed Yue and his destruction of the body of the Mulan spellcaster surnamed Mu from the Tianfeng Tribe, his name became even more renowned among the spellcasters than among the cultivators.

When the South Sky forces learned of this, it caused another sensation, further elevating Han Li’s fame.

Of course, apart from Han Li, other previously lesser-known Nascent Soul cultivators also gained prominence through their battles against the spellcaster army.

After all, only in combat could a cultivator’s true strength be revealed.

It was under these circumstances that Han Li, after half a year in seclusion in a remote valley in Yu Country, fully recovered his vitality and finally emerged from his underground chamber.

…

Feng Tuo was a Foundation Establishment spellcaster from a minor Mulan tribe. Though revered as an immortal master in his own tribe, he was just an insignificant figure in Dantian City.

Now, he led a small squad of Qi Condensation spellcasters on patrol along a route spanning hundreds of miles near the Beiliang State border, guarding against sudden attacks from South Sky cultivators.

Having patrolled for half a day, Feng Tuo calculated that it was almost time for the next shift to take over. After flying a few dozen miles further, he could return.

Thinking of the dozens of spirit stones he had received two days prior, Feng Tuo felt hopeful about breaking through his early Foundation Establishment bottleneck. Eager to return and cultivate, he wished to advance his cultivation before the great battle. If he could distinguish himself in the war, the rewards would surely be substantial.

As the mid-tier Mulan spellcaster led his team in a leisurely flight, his mind wandered.

Just as they passed over a desolate rocky slope, a flash of cyan light appeared below, and a green-robed young man materialized on the ground.

The man, appearing to be in his twenties, looked up at the spellcasters with an icy, expressionless gaze.

“A South Sky cultivator! At least Core Formation or higher—I can’t even gauge his cultivation level!” Feng Tuo’s heart sank as he scanned the youth with his spiritual sense.

“Retreat! This isn’t someone we can handle!”

Feng Tuo reacted swiftly, shouting to his subordinates before tossing a small spirit beast pouch into the air.

A red streak shot out, circling once before darting toward the nearest Mulan outpost.

But then, a flash of white light appeared, and a stunningly beautiful woman in white robes materialized near the red streak. With a smile, she exhaled a pink mist that enveloped the red light.

A clear bird cry rang out before the red light dissipated, and a small crimson bird plummeted from the sky.

The woman caught the bird effortlessly.

Seeing this, Feng Tuo’s heart sank further. Ignoring his companions, he formed hand seals, his body glowing yellow as he prepared to teleport miles away.

But at that moment, the young man below narrowed his eyes and snorted coldly.

Though it sounded like an ordinary sound, to Feng Tuo, it was like thunder in his ears. His mind went blank, and he tumbled from the sky.

The other Qi Condensation spellcasters fared even worse—they blacked out instantly and fell unconscious.

As Feng Tuo plummeted, the white-robed woman flashed to his side, catching him by the collar and gently descending.

“Master, this one is the leader. He should know more,” the woman said sweetly to the young man.

These two were none other than Han Li and Silvermoon, who had just emerged from seclusion to find Yu Country already lost.

After capturing a low-level spellcaster and learning the general situation, Han Li and Silvermoon stealthily approached the border.

Originally intending to cross directly, they stumbled upon Feng Tuo’s patrol.

Deciding to capture another spellcaster for more detailed intelligence, Han Li and Silvermoon used a combination of illusions and the “Dream Induction Technique” to extract the information they needed.

Han Li sighed in relief.

The border was indeed guarded by the three divine masters in rotation, but the stretch ahead was far from their outpost, with only a high-ranking Mulan spellcaster stationed there.

With Han Li’s cultivation, slipping past would be no issue.

Glancing at the unconscious captive, Han Li frowned.

To extract information quickly, he had used a brutal method that left the man’s mind shattered. Even if he woke, he would be a vegetable.

With a flick of his finger, Han Li reduced the man to ashes with a fireball.

Then, enveloping Silvermoon in cyan light, he transformed into a streak of light and shot into the sky.

…

In the newly built “Tianyi” stone city on the Beiliang State border, within a modest hall, Han Li’s senior brother, Lu Luo, was conversing with several high-ranking Heavenly Dao Alliance cultivators.

Though he participated in the discussion, his mind was elsewhere, restless and uneasy.

Originally, having already fought in the battle against the spellcaster vanguard, he could have returned to Falling Cloud Sect.

But with only himself and the silver-haired elder as Nascent Soul cultivators in the sect, and the elder still recovering, Lu Luo chose to stay to oversee the sect’s disciples.

Another reason was his growing anxiety over the whereabouts of Han Li, the now-famous Falling Cloud Sect elder.

Though others might doubt it, Lu Luo had witnessed Han Li’s Nascent Soul formation just a few years prior. How could he have grown so powerful so quickly, even earning praise from a Mulan divine master?

Could it be that Falling Cloud Sect had truly stumbled upon a once-in-a-millennium genius?

Lost in thought, Lu Luo barely registered the conversation around him.