Chapter 748: Chapter 749

Foster Sister

A white-haired old man sitting across from Lu Luo suddenly asked, “Brother Lu, has your esteemed sect not received any news from Elder Han?”

This early Nascent Soul cultivator named Xu Changjing was an elder of the Heavenly Dao Alliance’s “Water Shadow Sect”. He had only arrived at Tianyi City yesterday and had met Lu Luo several times before.

Lu Luo faltered slightly upon hearing this before replying with a smile, “Not at the moment. Is Brother Xu very concerned about Junior Brother Han?”

Xu Changjing chuckled and replied, “Of course! From what Brother Lu said, it seems other Fellow Daoists have asked the same question. It is no wonder. Before I arrived at Tianyi City, my ears were already filled with rumors about Fellow Daoist Han. Tsk tsk! As an early Nascent Soul cultivator, he was actually able to escape from a Moulan Divine Sage. This isn’t something we can do. Furthermore, I heard that Fellow Daoist Han had only recently condensed his Nascent Soul. I don’t know if this is true or not. If it is true, then it will be even more astonishing.”

When the other cultivators heard this, they glanced at Lu Luo with interest.

These people had naturally heard a few rumors about Han Li, but none of them had heard of the fact that Han Li was a new Nascent Soul cultivator.

Lu Luo hesitated for a moment before admitting, “Well? Junior Brother Han has only recently reached the Nascent Soul Stage.”

“Ha!”

The others in the hall couldn’t help but be moved, and two of them even sucked in a breath of cold air.

Xu Changjing was also inwardly shocked and spoke with a trace of envy, “Since Elder Han possesses such abilities at such a young age, it is likely that he will advance to the late-Nascent Soul Stage in the future. I must first congratulate Brother Lu. The Drifting Cloud Sect’s prosperity is only a matter of time. At that time, our Heavenly Dao Alliance will have another great cultivator!”

The others were similarly envious and said a few words of praise.

Lu Luo felt quite pleased with himself, but he still spoke a few words of modesty.

“However, Brother Lu, although Elder Han escaped from a Divine Sage, he must’ve suffered heavy injuries. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have disappeared for so long. Brother Lu should send more people to find him. If you lack manpower, our sect can send some disciples to assist you.” A middle-aged man with a pair of craggy eyebrows frowned and spoke with a cold voice.

When Lu Luo heard this, his heart couldn’t help but tighten, but his expression remained unchanged and he indifferently said, “I’m not too sure about this. However, I believe that he must’ve suffered some damage to his vitality and is resting somewhere.”

Lu Luo was also an experienced person who had lived for several hundred years, so it was difficult for him not to notice the other party’s jealousy.

This middle-aged man was an elder of the number one sect in the Heavenly Dao Alliance, the Phoenix Cry Sect. The Heavenly Dao Alliance’s Dual Cultivation Couple, who were able to contend against the three great cultivators, were the two elders of the Phoenix Cry Sect. Otherwise, how could the Phoenix Cry Sect stand out among the various sects of the Heavenly Dao Alliance?

Now that he heard that the Drifting Cloud Sect elder was likely to reach late-Nascent Soul stage in the future, he felt somewhat uncomfortable and poured cold water on them.

However, on the surface, the cultivator appeared to be very concerned, leaving him at a loss for words.

Just as the atmosphere became somewhat awkward, a streak of red light suddenly flew in from outside the door. After circling around, it shot towards Lu Luo.

Everyone was stunned when they saw this.

Lu Luo was also quite surprised, but he still waved his hand at the red light.

The red light immediately turned into a ball of raging flames and fell into Lu Luo’s hand.

Lu Luo immersed his spiritual sense into it and soon revealed a pleasantly surprised expression.

Lu Luo forcibly suppressed the excitement in his heart and explained, “My sect’s Junior Brother Han has already entered the city and is currently at my sect’s encampment. I will take my leave first.”

As Lu Luo hurriedly left, the other cultivators present stared at each other with various expressions.

No one had expected that the legendary Elder Han would immediately appear upon being mentioned.

Xu Changjing twirled his beard and revealed a pensive expression. As for the middle-aged man, his expression remained unchanged, but upon closer inspection, one would discover that there was a trace of gloominess in the depths of his eyes.

…

Although Tianyi City was a newly constructed stone city, the four great powers, regardless of the size of their sects, all had their own residences.

It just so happened that the city had been divided into four regions according to their influence.

As for the central area, it was naturally a public area where famous vagrant cultivators could stay.

The Heavenly Dao Alliance was located in the western region of the city, and the Drifting Cloud Sect was located in the southernmost region of the western region. They occupied a large area of several tens of acres.

There were over 200 Drifting Cloud Sect disciples, all of whom were Foundation Establishment cultivators and above. There were also six or seven Core Formation cultivators, accounting for most of the Drifting Cloud Sect’s strength.

Within the Drifting Cloud Sect encampment hall, Han Li was sitting on a wooden chair with an indifferent expression on his face.

There was a man and a woman standing to his left and right. They were Firecloud Peak’s master, the red-robed old man, and White Phoenix Peak’s woman surnamed Song.

The red-robed old man wore a respectful expression, and the woman surnamed Song also stood with her hands behind her back. However, there was a complicated expression on her face, and her bright eyes seemed to be thinking about something.

Right at this moment, Lu Luo hastily walked into the hall. When he saw Han Li sitting on the wooden chair, he immediately took a few steps forward with an overjoyed expression.

“Junior Brother Han, you’ve finally returned. You haven’t shown yourself for the past half year, causing Senior Brother and I to be extremely worried.”

Han Li stood up from his chair with a smile and casually said, “Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother. My vitality was damaged that day and I had no choice but to recuperate for a period of time. However, I was truly worried when I heard that Soaring Heavens City had fallen.”

“It’s good that nothing happened. Huh, where are the other disciples? Why haven’t they come out to pay their respects to Junior Brother Han?” Lu Luo asked with a gloomy expression.

The red-robed old man respectfully replied, “Reporting to Martial Uncle, Junior Brother Yu and the others are on duty today and have gone to gather the vagrant cultivators.”

“Oh! I see. You can’t blame them.” When Lu Luo heard this, his expression relaxed.

At this moment, Han Li smiled and said.

“When I came back this time, I discovered that I had actually become a famous person. There seem to be many rumors about me.”

Along the way, he happened to hear a few cultivators discussing him and couldn’t help but feel greatly surprised!

Lu Luo laughed and was just about to continue when he glanced at the red-robed old man and the woman and indifferently said, “Haha! I was just about to tell Junior Brother about this matter… The two of you can leave. I want to speak with your Martial Uncle Han alone for a moment.”

The two of them naturally didn’t dare to disobey and hastily agreed to leave. However, before they left, the Song-surnamed woman glanced at Han Li.

Han Li felt somewhat puzzled, but his expression remained unchanged, as if he hadn’t noticed anything.

Ever since the woman surnamed Song saw him, her expression had become somewhat odd, as if she had something to say to him. However, she appeared to be hesitant.

Han Li found this strange, but he had no intention of taking the initiative to ask.

When Lu Luo saw the two disciples leave, he bitterly smiled and complained, “Junior Brother, you’ve kept us in the dark for so long. With such great abilities, why didn’t you reveal them earlier?”

Han Li shook his head and helplessly said, “I’ve only just condensed a Nascent Soul. It’s not like Senior Brother doesn’t know of it. How could it be a great ability? The rumors were just exaggerated.”

Lu Luo chuckled and said, “Alright, Junior Brother doesn’t need to be so modest. Although the Moulan Divine Sage is an enemy, his evaluation of you shouldn’t be too far off. However, what surprised me and Senior Brother even more was that Junior Brother was able to kidnap a Nascent Soul female cultivator from the Masked Moon Sect. Senior Brother truly admires you.”

When Han Li heard this, his expression stirred and he asked with concern, “What? Did Senior Brother see Wan’er?”

Before they parted, he had given Nangong Wan a jade slip that vaguely explained her identity. However, from what Lu Luo had said, he seemed to know everything.

“That’s right! Celestial Nangong has already told Senior Brother Cheng everything. Junior Brother has nothing to worry about.” Lu Luo seemed to have seen through Han Li’s worry and smiled.

“Senior Brother Lu, you mean…” Han Li frowned, somewhat confused.

Lu Luo blinked his eyes and said with a smile, “Junior Brother doesn’t know. Several months ago, the Masked Moon Sect suddenly spread the news that Celestial Nangong had fallen to Qi Deviation due to a cultivation technique. Her engagement to the Flowing Mind Sect’s Wei Lichen was naturally canceled. However, Senior Brother Cheng recognized a female cultivator named Wan’er as his adopted younger sister and planned to give her to Junior Brother as a dual cultivation companion. What does Junior Brother think?”

“Wan’er acknowledges Senior Brother Cheng as her sworn brother?” Han Li was dumbstruck.

Lu Luo confidently said, “That’s right. Senior Brother has already said that once we repel the Heavenly South cultivators, we will openly hold a Dual Cultivation Ceremony for you and his adopted sister. At that time, even if some people are suspicious, they won’t dare to offend the entire Heavenly Dao Alliance and come looking for us. Even if Wei Wuya were to find out about this, with our Heavenly Dao Alliance joining hands to resist the enemy, he would have no choice but to accept it. Furthermore, Junior Brother’s current reputation is no small matter. The Flowing Mind Sect and Masked Moon Sect will most likely feign ignorance of this matter.”

After Han Li heard this, he fell silent with a complicated expression. After a long while, he sighed and slowly spoke.

“This time, I’ve troubled you two Senior Brothers for my own matter. I will remember this favor.”

Although Han Li had only said a few simple words, Lu Luo was overjoyed to hear them. He and his Senior Brother had spent a great deal of effort to make this Junior Brother Han owe them a favor.

With these words, it was most likely impossible for Yellow Maple Valley to rope Han Li in.

“Hehe! Junior Brother Han and I are all family, so there is no need to be so polite. Right, when Lady Nangong heard of Junior Brother’s disappearance, she was somewhat anxious. She originally wanted to personally come here, but Senior Brother Cheng spent a great deal of effort to dissuade her. After all, there are quite a few cultivators from the Masked Moon Sect and the Flowing Mind Sect here. Before we officially hold the Grand Dual Cultivation Ceremony with Junior Brother, it would be best for Celestial Nangong not to meet these people. As for Junior Brother’s concubine, I’ve asked the other disciples to escort her back. A great battle is about to break out here, and it is truly too dangerous.” Lu Luo spoke with an intimate tone.