Following the battle at Huanglong Mountain, the French forces advanced unexpectedly to the outskirts of Qiantian City within just half a month. The Nine-Nation Alliance, caught off guard, was left in shock and had no choice but to face the enemy independently. Fortunately, Wei Wuyi, the senior elder of the Alliance and one of the three great cultivators of Tiannan, had just arrived at the city upon hearing the news. Thanks to the protective seal array of Qiantian City, the Alliance managed to withstand the French forces' relentless assaults for over a month. However, eventually, the three great masters gathered and, with the assistance of several black-robed cultivators, launched a total of seven or eight massive, towering beasts at once. As a result, the defensive array was soon breached, and Qiantian City fell into French hands. Fortunately, the majority of the Alliance's core forces remained unscathed, and in a hurried retreat, all cultivators were evacuated to Beiliang, a neighboring state of Yu Guo. At this critical moment, reinforcements from the Zheng and Mo sects, as well as the Heaven Path Alliance, arrived. United, the four major powers of Tiannan engaged in several smaller battles and successfully held off the advancing Yet both sides were well aware that the true, decisive battle had not yet begun. Once the Mulan forces captured Qian Tian City, they immediately established it as the first stronghold of Fashi in the southern heavens, continuously sending large contingents of allied Fashi from the Mulan grasslands. Aside from the largest Mulan tribe, Jin Yang, which remained vigilant over the movements of the Tuyu people and could not fully commit its forces, all other tribes dispatched their elite troops, placing all their hopes on securing dominance in southern heaven through a single decisive campaign. The Mulan forces would await the full arrival of the allied armies before launching their final, life-or-death confrontation. Meanwhile, the southern forces, enjoying the strategic advantage of their geographical position, naturally refused to weaken. In addition to the full mobilization of the four major powers, several other sects outside these four also sent representatives to join the battle. Even some independent practitioners, recognizing the magnitude of this conflict—its implications reaching the very foundations of the Yan clan in southern heaven—volunteered to participate without any formal call for mobilization. The four major powers, seeing that the hearts of their allies were now trustworthy, immediately employed their great divine arts at the border region between Northern Liang and Yuu Kingdoms, constructing a large stone city within a single night—establishing it as a temporary stronghold to counter the magical cultivators. They also needed to organize and coordinate the scattered practitioners from various sects before launching a unified campaign to drive the Mulan people out of Tiannan. For now, the war among the magical cultivators has temporarily ceased, as calm and serene as the stillness before a storm. During this period, Han Li's reputation grew significantly, thanks to a series of unfolding events. Unaware that, alongside him, another Yuan-Stage cultivator had survived the misty sea of Huanglong Mountain—a senior elder of Haohan Sect—had also emerged. This elder, however, was unable to withstand the wind-based technique of the Le family woman and had to abandon his physical form, returning only as a Yuan-Stage spirit to the Nine Kingdoms Alliance. Additionally, the Jindan-stage practitioners Ying Ning and the Mo brothers, sensing the shifting tide, had also fled early and safely returned. Thus, the incident in which Han Li instantly eliminated the black-robed Yuan-Stage cultivator became known to others. His reputation began to rise. As for the matter of Han Li and the Lu-named Han capturing the rogue spies from Yuling Sect and eliminating them, only senior cultivators from several major powers were aware of it—this had not yet spread beyond their circles. However, what truly established Han Li's distinguished reputation was the news from the Mulan people that he had escaped from the Mulan Master. When the Zhong-named scholar returned to the army of the Fashis, he failed to defeat Han Li, which indeed caused a stir among the Fashis. To avoid appearing too embarrassed, the scholar naturally offered a high commendation of Han Li, stating that his abilities even surpassed those of an ordinary Yuan-Stage mid-stage cultivator. With a Master making such a statement, no one could doubt its authenticity. Moreover, with the various divine arts displayed by Han Li and the Le-named woman during their combat, and with the complete destruction of the Mu-named spiritual master of the Tianfeng clan during the battle on the Mulan Grasslands, his reputation among the spiritual master forces even surpassed that among the cultivators themselves by a third. As a result, upon learning of these events in the southern region, there was yet another wave of excitement, further solidifying Han Li's prestige. Of course, several other mid-tier Yuan-En stage cultivators, previously less known, also gained significant recognition through their performances against the spiritual master forces. After all, only through actual combat could one truly reveal the depth of a cultivator's abilities. Under these circumstances, after having remained in seclusion for nearly six months, Han Li finally restored his vital energy and stepped out of the secluded chamber deep within the mountain valley in a certain mountain gully of Yu Guo. Now he has departed from a post near the northern border of the Northern Cool State, leading a small contingent of cultivators at the Qi stage, patrolling along a route stretching for hundreds of miles to guard against a sudden attack by southern cultivators. It has been just half a day since he left the post; by now, the time should have come for the next batch of cultivators to be dispatched to take over. With just a few more tens of miles of flight, he would be back. At that moment, they just happened to be flying over a rugged outcrop that was rarely visited by others. As they had intended to glance past it without paying much attention, suddenly beneath the scattered stones, patches of emerald light flickered, and then a figure materialized—standing firmly on the ground. The young man, seemingly no more than twenty-five, looked steadily at the group of mage-scholars, his expression cold and composed, showing no emotion at all. "Southern Celestial cultivator—definitely at least Jin Dan level. It's impossible to gauge his cultivation depth," Feng Tu observed clearly, then scanned him with his spiritual awareness, his breath catching in his throat. "Retreat! This man is beyond our reach." Feng Tu proved quite alert, immediately calling out to the five or six junior mage-scholars behind him, and then swiftly tossed upward a small, elegant bag containing a spirit-beast. Instantly, a streak of red light burst forth from the bag, spiraling before heading straight toward Feng Tu's stronghold. Yet at that moment, a flash of white light surged through the sky, and suddenly a beautiful young woman in a white gown appeared near the red glow. With a cheerful smile, a soft pink fragrance burst from her mouth, instantly enveloping the red light. A clear, crisp bird call echoed, and as the red glow faded, a fiery red bird plummeted down from the sky. The woman extended her hand, and the bird promptly flew straight to Zhu's outstretched palm. Seeing this, Feng Tu's heart sank. He no longer cared about the others and quickly pressed hand seals, his body radiating a strong yellow light, preparing to cast a life-saving spell and vanish several miles away. But just then, the younger man, gazing at them, narrowed his eyes and suddenly emitted a cool, ordinary nasal sound. Though the sound seemed unremarkable, Feng Tu instantly felt a thunderous roar in his ears, his mind grow heavy, and he spun around, collapsing as if the world had turned upside down. The other several cultivators at the Qi stage fared even worse. At the very instant the young man scoffed as he poured his spiritual power, he blacked out and fell from the sky, unconscious of life or death. As for Feng Tuo, her figure merely shifted, and she found herself beside the falling body, seizing the young man's neck and collar gently, allowing them both to drift downward. "Master, this man is the leader. He should know more details," the young woman smiled sweetly as they landed. These two naturally discovered upon their recovery that the State of Yu had fallen—Kong Li and Yin Yue. Kong Li casually approached a junior spiritualist and learned the general situation. He then quietly led Yin Yue to this area near the border. Originally intending to cross the border directly, he unexpectedly encountered Feng Tuo and her party of spiritualists on patrol. At this, Kong Li decided to capture another spiritualist, inquire about the specific conditions at the border, and then proceed further—so as not to run headlong into a sanctuary guarded by a high-ranking spiritual master, which would surely be disastrous. Under the coordination of Yinyue's illusion technique, Han Li easily obtained what he desired using the "Dream-Weaving Technique. He exhaled a deep sigh of relief. Although the border area indeed had the three senior master priests rotating on duty, the section ahead of him was far from their main bases—occupied only by a single senior master disciple of Mulan. With Han Li's current level of cultivation, passing undetected was entirely feasible. Glancing at the captive still unconscious, Han Li furrowed his brows. To expedite the intelligence gathering, he had naturally employed a more forceful method, severely damaging the captive's consciousness—leaving him a mere shell upon waking. Han Li sighed lightly, then lightly flicked his finger, sending a fire ball that reduced the man to ashes. As a surge of azure light emanated from his body, engulfing Yinyue within it, he transformed into a streak of azure light and sped off through the air. In a modest hall at one corner of the city, Han Li's senior disciple, Lü, was chatting with several high-ranking cultivators from the Heaven's Way Alliance. Yet his expression was somewhat dazed, and he remained restless throughout. Originally, since he had already participated in the earlier battle of the delayed forces' vanguard, he could have returned to Luoyun Sect right away. However, with only himself and the silver-haired elder remaining as Yuan-Ying cultivators at Luoyun Sect, it would have been impossible to send the still-recovering silver-haired elder to join the current battle. Thus, he had voluntarily stayed behind to look after the sect's disciples. Another reason for his reluctance to leave was the growing reputation of Han Li, the senior monk of Luoyun Sect, whose current whereabouts remained unknown. This source of anxiety weighed heavily on Lü's mind—worrying whether Han Li had encountered any mishap, and making it difficult for him to leave. Indeed, Han Li's ability to defeat other Yuan-Ying cultivators, and even to escape from Mu Lan's mastery, still left Lü somewhat unconvinced. After all, others might not be aware, but he had personally witnessed how just a few years ago, Han Li had solidified his Yuan婴. How could it be that in such a short span of time, he now possessed such extraordinary abilities? Moreover, Master Mu Lan herself had praised his talents, stating they even surpassed those of Yuan婴中期 cultivators. Could it be that the Luoyun Sect had truly stumbled upon a treasure this time? Was Han, this junior disciple, indeed a rare cultivator of a thousand-year caliber? Though currently seated in the hall, Lu Luo's mind had drifted back to this matter repeatedly. Though he listened attentively to others' words, his thoughts remained far from present.