Chapter 74: Something Has Happened

Inside a cave dwelling halfway up Mount Chuyun.

At night, the cold moonlight filtered through the window lattice, spilling into the room and illuminating a palace-robed young woman with skin as white as snow and a delicate, beautiful face.

At this moment, she was leaning against the edge of the ivory bed in the room, a faint smile on her exquisite face, while two lines of crystal tears silently streamed down her cheeks.

"Father, brother, the Heavenly Ghost Sect has been wiped out by Han... Brother Han, and the Feng Kingdom has been returned to the control of the Cold Flame Sect. Our Yu family's great revenge has been fully avenged. Our clansmen will soon move back to our homeland. Your spirits in heaven can rest in peace." The young woman wiped the tears from her cheeks and spoke in a low voice.

This young woman was naturally Yu Menghan. She was now crying tears of joy because her great revenge had been fulfilled, but her mind couldn't help conjuring the tall young man's figure, and her feelings were a mix of emotions.

"Brother Han..." she murmured involuntarily.

...

Half a month later, on the Nine Peaks Peak of Jingyuan Temple.

Han Li, dressed in a green robe, was bending down to embed the last piece of Star-Washing Stone into the ground.

With a soft "click."

The entire Star-Gathering Platform suddenly blazed with light, and a hazy silver radiance descended from the sky, like a mist, enveloping the entire platform.

At that moment, all the star charts were fully illuminated.

Han Li looked up at the star-filled night sky, his expression calm as he lifted his foot and slowly walked up the steps toward the Star-Gathering Platform.

...

The Immortal Realm.

By an unknown boundless sea, a massive cliff over a thousand zhang high jutted out over the sea like an eagle's beak.

Atop the cliff stood a majestic city covering an extremely wide area.

The outer city wall was over a hundred zhang high, built of fine steel rock, entirely dark, blending with the entire cliff.

On the side near the sea, the wall bore many mottled erosion marks, traces left over the years by the thousand-zhang waves from the sea crashing against it whenever storms struck.

Inside the city, besides four straight main roads, there were many narrow alleys crisscrossing, with shops and markets of various sizes scattered among them.

The city had a considerable population; the main roads were bustling with traffic, and the small streets were also crowded and lively.

In the southwest of the city, there was a narrow street of bluestone, filled with taverns, shops, brothels, and entertainment venues. On both sides of the street, various flags and banners fluttered, and people came and went incessantly, creating a noisy atmosphere.

At the end of Bluestone Street, beside a green poplar tree, stood an unremarkable three-story building with blue brick walls, red wooden pillars, octagonal eaves, and green tile roofs. Outside, a green banner hung, bearing the character "Medicine," looking very ordinary.

In the main hall on the ground floor, several clerks in plain clothes bustled about, attending to merchants who had come to purchase spiritual medicines, while a few guests were led by the shopkeeper up the stairs to the second floor.

At the stairway leading from the second floor to the third, a green wooden door had been added, sealing off the third floor.

At this moment, in a guest room on the third floor, a soft couch was placed, with a purple tea table on it, from which curling sandalwood smoke rose, filling the room with fragrance.

On either side of the tea table sat two figures, holding cups of fragrant tea, facing each other.

One was a young man in black attire, handsome with sharp features; it was Fang Pan.

The other was a man of about forty or fifty, slightly plump, dressed in silk with coin prints, hands tucked into his sleeves, wearing a warm smile, looking like an ordinary wealthy merchant.

Fang Pan glanced around the room, saw a faint golden light shimmering, with a layer of light golden barrier covering it, and said:

"As they say, 'a great hermit hides in the city.' It's somewhat interesting that your building sets up a branch in such a bustling city inhabited by mortals."

"Haha... the Ten Directions Building, after all, is not a major sect; it engages in the business of whispering and eavesdropping, so naturally it cannot be established in remote immortal mountains and blessed lands." The middle-aged man said with a smile.

"You sent word earlier that you had news of that person. Is that true?" Fang Pan changed the subject and asked.

"Of course. We asked you to make this trip precisely to complete this transaction." The middle-aged man smiled and said.

Hearing this, Fang Pan said nothing more. With a flick of his wrist, he produced a bulging green storage pouch and placed it on the table.

The middle-aged man picked up the storage pouch, swept his divine sense over it, and his smile deepened. Nodding, he said, "The person you are looking for is currently in the Linghuan Realm."

With that, he waved his hand, and a purple-gold round bowl filled with clear water appeared on the tea table.

The middle-aged man raised a finger and gently tapped the rim of the bowl.

"Dong..."

The clear water in the bowl rippled, and after a flash of green light, a scene of a fierce battle between a giant ape and a yellow-cloth giant appeared within.

Fang Pan immediately spotted the golden giant ape, as large as a mountain, and his gaze sharpened, revealing undisguised murderous intent.

The middle-aged man, looking like a wealthy merchant, showed no change in expression, still wearing a gentle smile.

After a moment, he gently wiped his hand over the purple-gold bowl, and the light inside dimmed, the scene disappearing.

"This person is still in a sect called Jingyuan Temple in the Linghuan Realm and shouldn't leave anytime soon." The middle-aged man said slowly.

"Thank you for your trouble."

Fang Pan expressed his thanks, but in his heart, he was already planning how to go to the Linghuan Realm.

"No need. It's just a matter of taking money and providing convenience. If you need anything in the future, don't forget to come to our building." The middle-aged man smiled even more and cupped his hands.

Just as Fang Pan was about to speak, a golden light suddenly flashed at his waist, blinking intermittently, sometimes slow, sometimes fast.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man immediately stood up and said respectfully, "The isolation barrier here is absolutely no problem. You may rest here for a while. I will not disturb you."

With that, he made a slight bow and left the room without looking back.

After he left, Fang Pan waved his hand over his waist, and a golden token with extremely ornate patterns appeared in his palm.

He looked at the golden light flickering on the token, hesitated for a moment, then closed his eyes and immersed his divine sense into the token.

In a trance, his figure appeared in a magnificent hall, almost devoid of furnishings, except for the walls, which were carved with exquisite patterns of flowers and birds.

Standing in front of the hall was a palace-robed woman with a white veil covering her face. As soon as she saw the black-clad young man, she said:

"Fang Pan, a thousand-year tide of hidden beasts has erupted in the Yunfu Realm. Hundreds of cities within the realm have been brutally massacred, and dozens of sects have been annihilated. You are hereby ordered to go to the Yunfu Realm to handle this matter."

Hearing this, the black-clad young man's face stiffened. After hesitating for a moment, he still said:

"Immortal Envoy, it will take at least several years to completely quell the hidden beast tide. I have some urgent matters that I must attend to immediately. May I ask if someone else can be assigned to this mission?"

"The others under me all have their own tasks, and none are idle. Only you have not taken on any new missions since completing your last one." The white-clad immortal shook her head.

"Immortal Envoy, but..."

"Fang Pan, don't forget your duties and the rules of the Immortal Palace." Fang Pan tried to argue, but was interrupted by the white-clad immortal mid-sentence.

"I dare not. Fang Pan accepts the order." Though extremely unwilling, Fang Pan had no choice but to reply helplessly.

After withdrawing his divine sense from the token, his face darkened, and he gritted his teeth, thinking, "Lucky bastard, I'll let you live a few more years."

...

Three years later, Jingyuan Temple.

At night, the Nine Peaks Peak was bathed in silver light, as bright as day.

The entire Star-Gathering Platform was enveloped in seven extraordinarily thick silver-white light pillars. A massive tornado formed by the convergence of star power surrounded the light pillars, looking like an insurmountable great wall.

At this moment, on the platform, Han Li sat cross-legged in the center, his body seemingly filled with starlight, glowing translucent, almost transparent.

On his chest and abdomen, six blue light points were arranged like a ladle, shining brightly, while at the tail of the ladle, a seventh blue light point, though still somewhat hazy, was on the verge of emerging.

At this moment, Han Li's eyelashes fluttered, and his eyes suddenly opened. He withdrew his hand seals, and the seven light pillars surrounding the Star-Gathering Platform immediately scattered and gradually disappeared.

Seven black lights whirled down from midair, turning into seven Star-Moon Treasure Mirrors that fell into Han Li's hand, which he casually put away.

Back in Jingyuan Temple, to break free from the secret realm, he had self-destructed the original mirrors. Later, in the Heavenly Ghost Sect, he had captured a large amount of Yin Chen Stone and re-refined seven mirrors.

A smile appeared on his face, and he murmured to himself, "Finally, I'm about to condense the seventh Xuanqiao."

He had not had much direct experience with Xuan Immortals before, but since the battle with the yellow-cloth giant three years ago, combined with his insights from cultivating the Little Big Dipper Star Origin Art, he had gained a more concrete understanding of this level.

He believed that once he achieved the True Ultimate Body, if he encountered an opponent like the yellow-cloth giant again, he might not need to use the Vajra True Demon Art; pure physical strength would be enough to suppress the opponent.

Thinking of this, he suddenly remembered something. With a flick of his wrist, a walnut-sized yellow bean appeared in his palm.

It was the one he had taken from the chest cavity of the yellow-cloth giant at that time.

Ever since learning that a secret organization in the Immortal Realm had placed a bounty on him, Han Li had been busy cultivating and improving his strength. Today was the first time he had carefully examined this bean.

He held it in his palm, concentrated, and observed for a moment, finding that apart from being several times larger than an ordinary soybean, it had no other special features.

However, when he probed the bean with his divine sense, he was startled.

Inside the bean, it was filled with a dense green light. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes but only sensed it with his eyes closed, Han Li would have thought there was a vast forest in front of him, full of astonishing vitality.

"This object contains such abundant life force; it is truly extraordinary." Han Li couldn't help but exclaim after opening his eyes.

This large yellow bean had only been used to condense the yellow-cloth giant, and he didn't know how to drive it, but given the vitality it contained, it might prove very useful in the future.

After pondering for a moment, he waved his hand and put the mother bean away, then stood up and walked down the stone steps beside the Star-Gathering Platform.

At this moment, a thick beam of light shot rapidly from the night sky and landed before him.

A worried-looking He Shan Daoist emerged from the light, quickly bowed to Han Li, and said:

"Senior Han, something has happened."