Published: September 8, 2025
Chapter 720: Discussion in the Hall
When Ancestor Linghu saw Han Li, his expression remained unchanged, revealing no sign of surprise. It was unclear whether he simply did not recognize the once foundation establishment stage disciple from long ago, or if his scheming mind was deep enough to conceal any emotion.
Han Li’s gaze shifted.
Besides these few people, at the center of the grand hall sat a purple-faced elder and a stately, elegantly dressed woman in palace attire.
As Han Li’s spiritual awareness briefly swept over them, a chill ran through his heart.
Both of them were cultivators at the mid nascent soul stage, likely the key figures of the nine nations alliance.
While Han Li scanned the cultivators inside the hall, the others similarly sized up the young newcomer.
Most were evidently surprised by Han Li’s youthful appearance. After all, cultivation techniques suitable for male cultivators that could preserve youthful looks indefinitely were indeed rare.
“Junior Brother Han, you’ve finally arrived. Please, come in. We are currently discussing matters concerning the Mulan people with our sect leader,” greeted the cultivator surnamed Lü with a smile.
The Fire Dragon Attendant Boy standing nearby also showed a faint smile and nodded kindly.
Han Li smiled calmly in return, bowed slightly to the other cultivators in the hall, and then took a seat on a wooden chair beside the cultivator named LĂĽ.
“This must be Han Dao-you from Luoyun Sect. I am Wu Peng from Beiye Sect. From Brother Lü’s words, I understand you reached the nascent soul stage in just over two hundred years. Truly a prodigy among Tian Nan cultivators. Perhaps you really do have hope of mastering the great dao!” the purple-faced cultivator said with a smile after Han Li sat down.
Though Han Li’s cultivation base was currently somewhat lower, in terms of potential, Wu Peng did not dare to underestimate him.
“Sect Leader, you flatter me. I merely got lucky to reach the nascent soul stage. I dare not speak of mastering the great dao,” Han Li replied modestly.
Beiye Sect was one of the major factions in the nine nations alliance, on par with the Transformation Intent Sect, so Han Li did not dare to be arrogant.
As he spoke, his gaze briefly flicked over the middle-aged beauty beside the elder.
Since this purple-faced elder was the leader of Beiye Sect, the woman was most likely a cultivator from the Transformation Intent Sect.
Just as Han Li’s thoughts shifted, Wu Peng cleared his throat and said,
“This lady is Madam Qi of the Transformation Intent Sect. She and I are currently responsible for affairs within the nine nations alliance. The other cultivators present are…”
The elder then proceeded to introduce the other cultivators in the hall to Han Li one by one. When he came to Ancestor Linghu from Yellow Maple Valley, the elder responded with a blank expression, showing no special reaction.
Han Li’s heart stirred slightly, but he gave only a nod, his face remaining calm.
After finishing the introductions, Wu Peng’s expression grew serious.
“Han Dao-you’s arrival is timely. We were just discussing the overwhelming strength of the spellmasters; it far exceeds our earlier expectations. I've heard that Elder Yu and the others suffered yet another major defeat at the front lines. Even the restraining great formations protecting two locations were forcibly broken by the giant beasts they commanded. We lost many cultivators. Among them, Dao-you Huan from Shadow Sect was killed in battle. He is the second nascent soul stage fellow practitioner to fall since the war with the spellmasters began. This shows how fierce the Mulan people's advance is. The alliance urgently needs your strong assistance.”
Upon hearing Wu Peng’s solemn words, the smiles on the cultivators’ faces vanished, replaced by a heavy atmosphere that quickly filled the grand hall.
“Sect Leader, we have also received some news of this. After all, some of our sects’ disciples stationed within your alliance are fighting alongside at the front. However, the specific circumstances of Dao-you Feng’s death remain unclear to us. Could you elaborate on this? It seems unbelievable that nascent soul cultivators have suffered such losses in such a short time. Could it be that high-level spellmasters have already been fully deployed?” asked a green-robed elder with a hooked nose, his voice hoarse and gloomy.