Chapter Seventy-Five: Inquiries

"What's wrong?" Han Li frowned slightly and asked.

"Just now, Fellow Daoist Sima sent word from the Cold Flame Sect, saying... saying that Miss Liu was... was taken away..." Heshan Daoist said somewhat hesitantly.

"Speak clearly. What exactly happened?" Han Li's expression darkened slightly.

Seeing Han Li's displeased look, Heshan Daoist quickly began to explain:

"Just at dusk, a woman in white broke through the restrictions of the Spirit Flame Mountain Range and went straight to Cloudrise Peak, taking Miss Liu away."

"She just brazenly took Le'er away, and no one in the Cold Flame Sect tried to stop her?" Han Li pondered for a moment and continued asking.

"Fellow Daoist Sima said he tried to stop her, but as soon as he made a move, the woman easily neutralized it. With just a casual flick of her sleeve, she sent him flying, making it impossible to stop her. However, the woman seemed to have no intention of harming anyone. She only said she was a clansman of Miss Liu, then left with Miss Liu, drifting away gracefully." Heshan Daoist replied with a bow.

"A flick of the sleeve and she repelled Sima Jingming..." Han Li was taken aback and fell silent.

"That's what Fellow Daoist Sima said. Senior Han, should I send disciples of the Jingyuan Temple to investigate Miss Liu Le'er's whereabouts? Our Jingyuan Temple is quite skilled in finding people..." Heshan Daoist cautiously suggested.

"As far as you know, is there anyone in this realm who can, with a wave of a hand, repel a Mahayana cultivator?" Han Li glanced at him and interrupted what he was about to say.

"That... there should be no one." Heshan Daoist was slightly startled.

"Alright, I understand. You may withdraw." Han Li said upon hearing this.

Heshan Daoist respectfully acknowledged and flew away from the Star-Gathering Platform.

Han Li watched Heshan Daoist leave, remained silent for a moment, then suddenly waved his hand. A layer of silver light emerged, covering the entire Star-Gathering Platform.

...

Early the next morning.

Heshan Daoist's plump figure appeared again before the Nine Peaks Peak. He bowed deeply toward the Star-Gathering Platform and said in a clear voice:

"Junior Heshan pays respects to Senior Han."

In fact, over the past three years, he had come to report every day, updating Han Li on various major and minor developments in the Spirit Realm, and occasionally acting as a messenger for the Cold Flame Sect, rain or shine, without interruption.

Most of the time, Han Li was in seclusion cultivating, so he would respectfully announce himself, wait patiently for about an hour, then respectfully bid farewell and leave. Throughout the entire process, he was deferential and never showed any impatience.

As a result, over these thousand-plus days, the disciples of the Jingyuan Temple gradually noticed that their usually reclusive Mahayana Grand Elder, who was rarely seen even in a century, could now be encountered from time to time. Although they could only catch a distant glimpse, it still excited many low-level disciples.

Of course, almost all the temple elders at the Integration stage and some at the Void Refinement stage were more or less aware of the inside story, but they all tacitly chose to remain silent, as if they knew nothing about it.

Heshan Daoist stood respectfully with his hands down in the void a hundred zhang away from the Nine Peaks Peak, gazing at the Star-Gathering Platform shrouded in silver light, feeling somewhat puzzled.

In the past, when Han Li was in seclusion cultivating, the area would be filled with surging star power and some commotion, but today it was eerily quiet.

Although he was a bit confused, he didn't dare to disturb rashly. Perhaps Han Li was engaged in some other cultivation. He obediently waited aside and, after an hour, took his leave again.

As time passed day by day, he still came daily, but found that there was no movement at all from the Star-Gathering Platform.

In the blink of an eye, more than two months passed, and Heshan Daoist gradually grew impatient.

One day, after waiting for a full half day, he found that the Star-Gathering Platform still showed no change, with only the surrounding silver light flickering faintly.

"Senior Han, I have found some new clues regarding Liu Le'er. I wonder if you have time now?" Heshan Daoist took a deep breath and called out loudly.

There was no response from within the light barrier.

"Senior Han!" Heshan Daoist called out twice more, but still received no reply from within the barrier.

"Could it be..." His expression changed as a thought struck him. He waved his hand, sending a beam of golden light that struck the silver barrier.

Crack!

The silver barrier shattered on impact. The Star-Gathering Platform inside was empty—Han Li was nowhere to be seen.

But in the center of the platform lay a white jade slip.

Heshan Daoist picked it up and probed it with his divine sense. His plump body trembled violently, and his face showed excitement.

What was recorded in the jade slip was none other than the method to remove the restrictions within his body.

"Thank you, Senior Han!"

He withdrew his divine sense, looked into the distant sky, and, regardless of whether the other could hear him, bowed from afar.

...

Spirit Flame Mountain Range.

In a certain great hall, after Sima Jingming discussed matters with the sect master and several Nascent Soul elders, they took their leave, leaving only Sima Jingming alone in the hall.

He let out a soft breath, his face showing signs of fatigue.

Ever since the Heavenly Ghost Sect, once the number one sect in the Spirit Huan Realm, was reduced to ashes overnight, various forces had been locked in endless conflict over its territory for the past few years. The Cold Flame Sect, as the only one of the three original major sects to emerge unscathed, was especially busy.

Even he, a Great Vehicle cultivator, had no time for secluded cultivation and spent his days handling various affairs.

For a long time in the past, he had mostly focused on his own cultivation in seclusion, rarely involving himself in sect matters. Now, suddenly managing sect affairs, he found it quite unaccustomed.

Of course, part of the reason for his current state was that the Jingyuan Temple, which he had thought would be severely weakened, had not only suffered no loss but had actually gained considerable benefits from the Heavenly Ghost Sect incident.

He knew full well why this was so, yet he could not speak of it openly.

However, as the Cold Flame Sect expanded its influence, the Cold Flame Ancestor, who resided in the Immortal Realm, was extremely pleased and had already bestowed rewards several times.

With these rewards, if he went into secluded cultivation afterward, his strength could advance another step.

If things continued this way, the day when he would achieve perfect merit and ascend to the Immortal Realm no longer seemed so distant.

Sima Jingming secretly rejoiced, stood up, and was about to walk toward the back of the hall.

“Daoist Sima.” A familiar voice suddenly rang out.

Sima Jingming’s expression changed abruptly.

A flash of green light, and a man in a green robe appeared out of thin air in the hall. It was Han Li.

In his hand, hidden within his sleeve, a faint shadow of a silver-glowing purple talisman flickered.

Sima Jingming recognized the newcomer, his pupils constricted. Countless thoughts raced through his mind in an instant. A brilliant smile spread across his face as he cupped his hands and said, “So it’s Senior Han. It’s been a few years, and your aura is even more impressive than before. Truly a cause for celebration.”

“Daoist Sima flatters me,” Han Li replied coldly.

“Senior Han, please have a seat.”

Sima Jingming’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly invited Han Li to take the seat of honor and sat beside him to keep him company.

“I have come today for no other reason than to ask if it is true that my younger sister, Liu, was taken away from the Cold Flame Sect,” Han Li said immediately after sitting down.

“It is… it is my failure to protect her properly that allowed someone to take Miss Liu away. However, there are other circumstances…” Sima Jingming said uneasily.

“Do you have any leads on the person who took Le’er? What did she say that day?” Han Li interrupted him expressionlessly.

“To report to Senior, that person was a young and beautiful woman in white robes. She claimed to be a clansman of Liu Le’er and asked me to tell you that she thanked you for taking care of Le’er. I have never seen this woman before. Afterward, I sent sect disciples to investigate extensively, but found nothing. Hence, I have a private conjecture…” Sima Jingming hesitated at the end.

“Speak,” Han Li said, raising an eyebrow slightly.

“I suspect that this woman is not from the Spirit Huan Realm. After all, her strength was overwhelming—I could not even withstand a single move from her. Perhaps she is a true immortal from the upper realm.”

“A true immortal!” Han Li had already suspected as much. Hearing Sima Jingming’s words, he was not particularly surprised, only frowning in contemplation.

As far as he knew, the Cloud Fox Clan to which Liu Le’er belonged was merely a declining branch of the demon fox clan. Otherwise, it would not have been destroyed by the Blood Blade Society back then. How could a true immortal clansman suddenly appear?

Could it be that one of her ancestors had ascended to the Immortal Realm and happened to return to the Spirit Huan Realm at this time? Or perhaps Liu Le’er had kept something from him…

“Since Daoist Sima has done his best, I naturally cannot blame you. Fortunately, that person is Le’er’s clansman and should not harm her,” Han Li said with a sigh after a moment of thought.

Seeing that Han Li was not angry, Sima Jingming breathed a sigh of relief. Only then did he realize that his back was drenched in cold sweat.

“By the way, I also came here to seek your advice on another matter,” Han Li said after a moment of silence.

“I dare not presume! Senior Han, please speak. I will tell you everything I know without reservation,” Sima Jingming quickly replied.

“Has your sect’s Cold Flame Daoist ever spoken to you about ascending to the Immortal Realm? Are there any taboos regarding ascension from the Spirit Huan Realm to the Immortal Realm?” Han Li asked directly without ceremony.

Sima Jingming was startled by the question. After taking a deep breath, he answered respectfully:

“Senior Han follows the path of physical cultivation. Once you achieve the True Extremity Body, your physical form will be repelled by the power of this realm. To ascend, you must break through the void with force.”

“I see.”

Han Li nodded in sudden understanding. No wonder the closer he came to perfecting the Little Big Dipper Star Origin Art, the more he sensed an indescribable, intangible force suppressing him, affecting his spellcasting and flight.

“The Spirit Huan Realm is close to the Northern Frost Immortal Domain, so ascending from here will randomly be drawn to an ascension platform in the Northern Frost Immortal Domain. There are no taboos. On the contrary, because the spiritual energy in the lower realm is thin, those who successfully ascend are all highly talented and resolute, and they are generally valued in the Immortal Realm,” Sima Jingming said, revealing what he knew without concealment.

Han Li’s expression remained unchanged, but his mind was churning.

The Immortal Realm’s attitude toward ascended immortals was the same whether in the former Spirit Realm or the current Spirit Huan Realm. Now that he was clearly being watched by some force or individual in the Immortal Realm, the last thing he wanted was to attract attention.