Chapter 1332: The Great Calamity of the Immortal Realm

"Who might you be, sir?"

Han Li stared at the young woman, pausing briefly on the dragon horns atop her head before quickly looking away. He asked slowly, the coldness in his tone having diminished considerably.

As he spoke, he made a hand seal and beckoned.

Thunderlight flashed around him repeatedly, and the Green Bamboo蜂Cloud Swords scattered across the Dragon Abyss Immortal Domain all flew back, entering his sleeve in a single file.

"This little woman is named Chen Ruyan, and I hold the position of Water Origin Dao Ancestor. Fellow Daoist Han need not stand on ceremony; you may call me Ruyan." The blue-haired young woman giggled.

Upon hearing this, Han Li's pupils involuntarily contracted, even though he had already guessed something about her identity.

He said nothing, merely staring at her.

"Although this little woman captured Fellow Daoist Han's Dao companion, it was done under orders, and I have just returned her to you. There is no need for you to regard me with such hostility, Fellow Daoist." Chen Ruyan pouted slightly, looking aggrieved.

"Are you also under the command of the Heavenly Court?" Han Li's gaze flickered as he asked.

"This little woman has not truly joined the Heavenly Court, but I occasionally help them with some matters. This is also out of necessity, you know... Gu Huojin is too powerful, and I dare not offend him too much." Chen Ruyan smiled, appearing willing to answer any question, without a trace of hostility.

"According to Feng Qingshui, wasn't Wan'er already sent to the Heavenly Court? How did she end up with you?" Han Li asked in a deep voice.

Chen Ruyan merely giggled in response, saying nothing.

Han Li frowned.

At that moment, a figure flew out from the blue spirit domain—it was Feng Qingshui.

His injuries were no longer visible, and his aura had recovered considerably.

"Lady Ruyan, this subordinate is incompetent and has caused you trouble." Feng Qingshui bowed to Chen Ruyan, his face full of shame.

Seeing Feng Qingshui, Han Li's gaze turned cold.

He was not surprised by Feng Qingshui's current attitude.

Chen Ruyan was the Water Origin Dao Ancestor, while Feng Qingshui was a Dao Ancestor of a water-attribute branch law. There was a natural subordination between them, with Feng Qingshui essentially being Chen Ruyan's subordinate.

This kind of subordination was not uncommon among the various Dao Ancestors; almost every Origin Dao Ancestor had a group of lower-level Dao Ancestors following and relying on them.

"Fellow Daoist Han's strength is now formidable, and I cannot defeat him. Your defeat at his hands is only natural; there is no need for such self-reproach." Chen Ruyan said indifferently, her attitude completely different from when she spoke to Han Li.

Feng Qingshui glanced at Han Li with a complex expression and nodded.

"Fellow Daoist Han, it was indeed Feng Qingshui who captured your Dao companion, but he was acting on orders from the Heavenly Court. I hope that, in consideration of my having returned Fellow Daoist Nan, you will not trouble him in the future. Although Feng Qingshui and I occasionally help the Heavenly Court with some matters, we are not on the same side as Gu Huojin, nor do we intend to be enemies with the Reincarnation Palace." Chen Ruyan turned and made a curtsy to Han Li.

Hearing this, Han Li felt a vague sense of understanding.

"So that's it. Gu Huojin ordered these two to capture Wan'er, but now that the Reincarnation Palace is launching a massive attack on various immortal domains and has entered an all-out war with the Heavenly Court, they cannot see through the future situation. So they did not hand Wan'er over to the Heavenly Court but kept her in their hands to see which way the wind blows before acting. Earlier, Feng Qingshui lied that Wan'er had already been handed over to the Heavenly Court, probably to deliberately anger me and test my strength. After seeing my strength, they became even more reluctant to offend the Reincarnation Palace and thus returned Wan'er."

Thoughts raced through Han Li's mind as he quickly analyzed the current situation and their possible motives.

"Since Fellow Daoist Chen says so, I will spare you this time. But if you dare to lay a hand on those close to me again, you won't be so lucky." Han Li glanced at Feng Qingshui and said.

Then he made a hand seal and waved his hand, withdrawing the time domain, and golden thunderlight appeared all over his body.

With a loud thunderclap, his figure vanished.

Chen Ruyan looked at the spot where Han Li had just stood, a slight smile curling at the corners of her mouth.

"Who would have thought the Reincarnation Palace could recruit such an expert. Coupled with that mysterious Reincarnation Palace Master who has never truly revealed himself, the outcome of the war with the Heavenly Court becomes even more unpredictable." Chen Ruyan chuckled lightly and said.

"Lady Ruyan, you have handed Nan Wan over to Han Li. How will we answer when the Sovereign asks about this?" Feng Qingshui's face showed worry.

"No matter. Just say that you were about to send that person to the Heavenly Court when the Reincarnation Palace suddenly attacked and rescued Nan Wan. The Heavenly Court is currently at war with the Reincarnation Palace and won't dare to do anything to us." Chen Ruyan shook her head and said.

"Understood. By the way, Lady Ruyan, regarding that Han Li just now..." Feng Qingshui's expression relaxed, but then he seemed hesitant to speak.

"Speak your mind." Chen Ruyan said.

"I once saw this person in the Gray Realm about two thousand years ago. There were several others with him, and according to information I just received, one of them is a prince of the Demon Domain. I suspect he has some connection with the Demon Domain." Feng Qingshui said.

"Oh? What happened? Tell me in detail." Chen Ruyan's brows moved.

Feng Qingshui dared not be negligent and immediately recounted the events that had occurred in the Gray Realm back then.

"From the peak of Golden Immortal to the peak of Great Luo in two thousand years is absolutely impossible. He must have concealed his true strength back then... As for his breaking through the void with that Demon Domain prince to go to the Demon Domain, even if he didn't act personally, he must have been closely involved. This complicates things. Could it be that the Reincarnation Palace has long been colluding with the Demon Domain? And that Liu Qi Patriarch escaping from the Gray Realm—was that also the Reincarnation Palace's doing?" Chen Ruyan squinted her eyes, a sharp glint flashing within.

"Isn't it already an established fact that the Demon Domain has ties with the Reincarnation Palace? The masks of the Reincarnation Palace can construct that kind of long-distance trading method, which must rely on extremely exquisite spatial law power. In the current True Immortal Realm, only those from the Demon Domain can cultivate spatial laws to such a degree." Feng Qingshui said.

"There are other details about this matter that you don't know." Chen Ruyan shook her head slightly, a strange light flashing in her eyes.

Feng Qingshui was taken aback, curious, but seeing Chen Ruyan's expression, he tactfully did not press further.

"If that Liu Qi Patriarch was also rescued by the Reincarnation Palace back in the Gray Realm, then the Barbarian Realm might have already allied with the Reincarnation Palace. This Reincarnation Palace is truly formidable, seemingly infiltrating everywhere!" Feng Qingshui brought up another matter, a look of horror on his face.

"What do you think? If the Reincarnation Palace didn't have such capabilities, how could it have contended with the Heavenly Court openly and covertly for so many years and still stand firm?" Chen Ruyan said indifferently.

Feng Qingshui clicked his tongue in amazement and said no more.

"The wind is rising, and the storm is coming. It seems the True Immortal Realm is truly about to face a world-shaking calamity. I only wonder if we can weather it safely." Chen Ruyan sighed.

"Lady Ruyan, are you overthinking this? We are Dao Ancestors. As long as we don't involve ourselves in the conflict between the Heavenly Court and the Reincarnation Palace, we should be fine." Feng Qingshui said dismissively.

"Fine? When a great calamity arrives, anyone can be swept up in it. For instance, today, if I hadn't arrived in time, you might have already perished." Chen Ruyan said.

Feng Qingshui's expression froze, and he lowered his head.

"Forget it. Worrying about this is useless. We'll take it one step at a time." Chen Ruyan shook her head, and with a flicker of her form, she vanished instantly.

Feng Qingshui stood there for a moment, then turned into a blue light and flew toward the Mist Dragon Sect.

The shattered spaces within the Dragon Abyss Immortal Domain had already been restored to their original state, and the chaotic celestial energy gradually calmed, the sky slowly clearing.

Meanwhile, above a remote small barren island, golden thunderlight flashed, and Han Li's figure appeared, landing on the island.

He extended his divine sense to briefly probe the surroundings, found nothing unusual, and made a hand seal to set up several layers of restrictions, covering the entire barren island.

From the outside, the barren island had vanished without a trace.

After doing this, he flipped his hand and took out two azure-blue pills, swallowing them. He then took out two superior-grade immortal spirit stones and held them in his hands, absorbing the immortal spiritual power to recover.

Having just fought two Dao Ancestors in succession, Han Li had expended a great deal of his primordial energy.

The azure-blue pills were obtained from that Shui Changtian's storage artifact. They were recovery pills for the late Great Luo stage and were quite effective, aided by the two superior-grade immortal spirit stones.

Before long, his primordial energy had recovered by nearly half.

Han Li did not continue cultivating. He stood up somewhat impatiently, opened the entrance to the Flower Branch Space, and entered.

Nan Wan was surrounded by a layer of white light, floating quietly, sleeping peacefully.

Not far away on the ground lay a person—the Yang Mountain Sect Leader. After having soul-searched this person earlier, Han Li had casually thrown him into the Flower Branch Space.

Han Li waved his hand, emitting a burst of golden light that rolled the man over to him. He cast a spell to carefully erase the traces of time law residue on him.

Then he raised his hand and sent out a golden thunderbolt, wrapping around the Yang Mountain Sect Leader and sending him out through the entrance of the Flower Branch Space.

However, Han Li unceremoniously kept the storage artifact on Yang Shan's person.

With a flash of golden thunderlight, the Yang Mountain Sect Leader's figure vanished, teleported to who knows where.

He had originally planned to use the Yang Mountain Sect Leader to exchange for some information about Nan Wan.

Now that Nan Wan had been found, the Yang Mountain Sect Leader was useless. Keeping him around was not appropriate, and he was not a bloodthirsty person, so it was better to send him away.

After doing this, Han Li brought Nan Wan to the pavilion.

He took out a delicate ivory bed and placed it there, carefully laying her flat on it.

Han Li sat down beside her, quietly gazing at Nan Wan's sleeping face, a faint smile involuntarily appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Since ascending to the True Immortal Realm, he had thought of the person on the bed countless times. Although they had met before, Nan had not regained her memories at that time. If what Jiao San said was correct, only today could the two finally be reunited.

Han Li did not look for long. He let out a light breath, quickly calmed his mind, and pointed a finger at Nan Wan's brow.

Immediately, blue patterns appeared on Nan Wan's brow, forming a sealing array, though it was not complicated.

Han Li's gaze focused. A faint light glowed at his fingertip, forming a sharp cone shape, and gently pierced through the blue sealing array.

The sealing array immediately collapsed, flickering twice before rapidly fading away.

Nan Wan's long eyelashes trembled slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes.