Chapter 1544: Zhu’er and the Wuluo Tribe

At the foot of a small hill, there was a compound formed by several green wooden houses connected together. The woman, riding a white cloud, stopped in front of the courtyard and turned her head with a smile to ask Han Li, “What does Senior Han think of this place?”

Han Li took a deep breath, feeling the dense spiritual energy rushing toward him, and a satisfied expression appeared on his face as he nodded slightly.

Seeing this, the woman was delighted and immediately urged the white cloud to move directly into the small courtyard. She raised her hand and pushed open a wooden door in the air, intending to send Han Li inside directly.

However, at this moment, Han Li suddenly smiled and said, “There’s no need to trouble you further, Fellow Daoist. I can enter on my own.”

As he spoke, Han Li’s figure flickered as he stood up from the white cloud and slowly floated down.

“Ah, Fellow Daoist, you—” The woman was stunned, greatly surprised.

“Although my injuries remain, I should have no trouble moving around now,” Han Li said with a faint smile.

“Congratulations, Senior. I originally intended to send a few disciples to serve you, but it seems unnecessary now. I suppose Senior prefers not to be disturbed,” the woman said, her expression returning to normal.

“Indeed, I prefer not to have outsiders around while I recover. This place is good; I’ll stay here for a while. As for the Solar Yang Divine Pill you mentioned, it’s best to deliver it as soon as possible. If it truly proves effective, I can restore my magical powers sooner and fulfill my promise to protect your clan,” Han Li said solemnly.

“Rest assured, Senior, of course. However, the Solar Yang Divine Pill has been refining in the earth’s fire, and it will take me a few more days to retrieve it. Please don’t blame me for the delay,” the woman agreed readily and explained briefly.

“A few days is nothing. Just bring it to me as soon as you retrieve it. You may leave now; I’ll begin my meditation immediately,” Han Li nodded and said calmly.

Hearing Han Li’s implicit dismissal, the woman naturally didn’t linger. She bowed and immediately rode the white cloud away.

Han Li stood still, quietly watching the sky until the white cloud disappeared completely at the horizon. Only then did he turn and walk toward the house with the open wooden door.

The house wasn’t large, and its furnishings were extremely simple—just a few wooden pieces of furniture.

Han Li didn’t bother looking at anything else and went straight to the wooden bed in the corner of the room. His figure flickered as he sat cross-legged on it.

He let out a long sigh, and a trace of exhaustion appeared on his face.

“I didn’t expect standing for just this short while to deplete all the energy I’d just accumulated. It seems the loss of my vital essence was indeed severe,” Han Li murmured. Then, with a single hand, he touched his storage bracelet. A faint white light flashed, and four or five small bottles of varying designs appeared in his hand.

Without hesitation, Han Li poured several pills from each bottle and swallowed them all at once. Then, he closed his eyes quietly to dissolve the medicinal effects.

After a short while, he felt a surge of heat in his dantian, followed by several streams of cool energy that began circulating through his meridians, nourishing the depleted parts of his body.

Han Li felt a surge of joy in his heart.

These pills, refined from ten-thousand-year spiritual medicines, lived up to their reputation as supreme healing elixirs, with remarkably potent effects.

In just a short time, a faint golden light emerged over Han Li’s body, and a hazy golden shadow flickered indistinctly above his head, alternating between brightness and dimness.

The wooden house fell into complete silence…

At the same time, the woman rode the white cloud back to the earthen city and landed in front of the grand hall in the square.

Dozens of low-ranking priests in white robes were still waiting there quietly.

“Yanwu, come with me. The rest of you, summon the hunting party that first discovered Senior Han. I need to question them in detail,” the woman ordered immediately.

“Yes!”

Some of the white-robed serpent people naturally complied at once, while the alluring serpent woman who had escorted Han Li obediently followed the woman back into the grand hall.

“You accompanied this person all the way here. First, tell me your impressions of him and everything you observed. Don’t miss even the slightest detail!” the woman said with a grave expression.

“I will report truthfully! At the time, I was on duty at the port…” Yanwu felt slightly nervous but recounted everything she had noticed during her time with Han Li, leaving nothing out.

Though everything sounded rather dull, the woman listened intently without blinking…

Several hours later, the burly men and other serpent people who had first discovered Han Li rode their lizard beasts into the earthen city and arrived before the grand hall.

After exchanging a few words with the white-robed serpent people guarding the hall, they hurried inside. However, once they entered, it took nearly two hours before they emerged, along with Yanwu.

At this moment, the woman sat on the main seat in the hall, leaning back against the chair with an unsettled expression, as if unable to make up her mind about something.

“What is it, Mother? Is there something troubling you?” Suddenly, a clear and bright voice echoed leisurely through the hall.

“Zhuer, you’re back? When did you return to the clan?” The woman was startled at first, then overjoyed as she asked.

In that instant, a white light flashed before the woman, and a slender serpent figure faintly materialized within the spiritual glow.

It was a serpent girl, about sixteen or seventeen years old, with unparalleled beauty, long jet-black hair, and a string of silver thumb-sized rings tied into her hair bun. She carried a large yellow bow and three white bone arrows on her back, a black leather pouch at her waist, and held a white misty banner in her hand.

The lower half of her body was serpentine, but her skin was so fair that her scales were almost invisible.

Standing gracefully, she smiled sweetly at the woman, revealing two charming dimples on her cheeks.

“It really is you, Zhuer! I never imagined your cultivation would advance so much after all these years apart,” the woman said with immense joy, quickly rising to embrace the girl, her face full of maternal affection.

“I’m the one who’s shocked! Mother, it’s only been a few years, and you’ve already broken through to the Transformation Stage,” the serpent girl named Zhuer giggled.

“I didn’t have the ability to break through a bottleneck that had stumped me for centuries. I merely consumed the ‘Immortal Refining Fruit,'” the woman sighed lightly, her smile fading.

“What? You ate the ‘Immortal Refining Fruit’! Then your lifespan must have suffered greatly!” The girl’s expression changed drastically. She grabbed the woman’s wrist and probed with her spiritual power, her face turning completely pale.

“If I were dead, what use would a long lifespan be? By the way, did your master not return with you?” The woman forced a bitter smile but then asked hopefully.

“When I received the letter you sent, Master had just left the island to visit friends. Fearing something urgent had happened to the clan, I rushed back alone with a few of Master’s island-protecting treasures. When I arrived earlier, I saw you questioning others about some ‘Senior Han,’ so I didn’t reveal myself immediately,” the girl explained clearly, though her face was still clouded with worry.

“Your master couldn’t come? That’s unfortunate,” the woman said, her expression darkening slightly.

“Mother, is the clan’s situation really that dire? I brought Master’s ‘Sky-Piercing Bow.’ As long as the enemy’s power isn’t ten times greater than mine, I should be able to kill them with a single shot,” the girl said, blinking, half to reassure and half with confidence.

“Zhuer, though your cultivation has advanced greatly, it’s only comparable to mine before my breakthrough. Even if your power increased tenfold, you likely couldn’t handle this calamity. Only if your master came in person might there be a chance to turn things around,” the woman said softly, stroking the girl’s head.

“I came in a hurry, but your letter was vague about the nature of this disaster. What kind of catastrophe has befallen our clan to make you so worried that you’d consume the Immortal Refining Fruit and seek help from an unknown upper-cultivator?” The girl nestled in the woman’s arms, looking up at her mother’s face, unable to hide her heartache.

“Now that you’re back on the island, sending you away might only put you in greater danger. I’ll tell you a little about it,” the woman hesitated but finally patted the girl’s shoulder and spoke.

“You must already know that the other two clans have been wiped out.”

“Yes, your letter mentioned it briefly. But even so, Mother, there’s no need for such fear. Those two clans were always weaker than our Fire Sun Clan, and their high priests weren’t even as strong as you before you consumed the Immortal Refining Fruit,” the girl said, though her expression was grave, her tone deliberately light.

“But do you know what destroyed them?” the woman asked slowly.

“Didn’t you say there were no clues?” the girl asked, puzzled.

“Two entire clans were annihilated. No matter how secretive the act, some traces must remain. If I’m not mistaken, the culprits are likely our ancient enemies—the Wuluo Clan,” the woman said, a trace of fear flashing across her face.

“The Wuluo Clan! Impossible! According to our records, they were completely eradicated by our Nüwa Clan tens of thousands of years ago. How could they appear in these waters?” The girl’s face paled instantly, and her voice trembled as she spoke.

“True. Logically, after the battle between the Wuluo Clan and our Nüwa Clan on the Thunder Continent, all Wuluo should have been exterminated. But it’s not impossible for remnants to have fled overseas. Besides, what other clan would have the habit of abducting our men and devouring the flesh of our women? The only thing that puzzles me is that our three clans have lived here for thousands of years. If the Wuluo Clan has been nearby all along, why did they only strike now?” The woman’s expression darkened, but as she spoke the last sentence, a flicker of doubt passed through her eyes.