The middle-aged man of the Gan family stared at the young woman, his lips moving slightly, and at the same time, three of the Jiadian cultivators present heard a serious tone: "Stop talking nonsense! This is a late-stage cultivator. What you say now may still be sensed by him." Startled by these words, the graceful woman suddenly became extremely composed. The Han man and the elderly man in blue robe exchanged glances and both fell silent. The Gan cultivator sat in his chair, slightly tilting his head, his gray-white pupils flickering with a steady, cold light. After a full cup of tea's worth of time, the middle-aged man's gaze settled. "He must have already vanished over a thousand li away—no longer able to sense this place. Still, to be safe, we should remain cautious." With that, he flicked his finger, and a green glow flashed briefly before vanishing into a thick pillar nearby. The pillars roared, radiating a gentle green luminescence. The other pillars nearby also began to hum loudly, and soon, as flashes of light rippled through them, a soft, misty green aura formed, enveloping a small area around them. "Now we can speak freely!" The middle-aged man with the name Gan finally relaxed. "Master is indeed very cautious." The graceful woman smiled faintly, with a touch of wryness. "When facing such a formidable presence, even more caution is entirely warranted." Gan gave a cold chuckle. "You're right. Moreover, practitioners who have reached this level of cultivation often have peculiar temperaments. Should any of our words offend this being, it could spell disaster for our entire sect. However, among our renowned Yuan-Stage elders from Luan Xing Hai, I haven't heard of a single pair consisting of a man and a woman like this. But just now, listening to the man's tone, it seems he knows our sect very well—clearly not a stranger." "He must indeed be a recluse devoted to ascetic practice," the man in yellow robes said, hesitating, his voice uncertain. The man in green robes, however, frowned deeply, remaining silent. "Shi Xuan, what are you thinking about?" the middle-aged man noticed the elder's unusual demeanor and naturally asked. "I've been reflecting on this," the man in green robes said, lifting his head slowly, "this person seems familiar—almost as if I've seen him before." "Have you actually seen him?" The moment the question was uttered, everyone else was startled, their eyes now fixed on the elder. "The man looks quite ordinary—perhaps you've mistaken him, Brother!" the graceful woman interjected. "Though his face is unremarkable, I'm certain I've seen him before—just not recently. Ah! I remember now—his name is Han! He was one of the targets of the Inverse Star Alliance's Elimination Order back then!" The man in green robes suddenly brightened, exclaiming softly. "The Elimination Order? A senior Yuan-Stage cultivator being pursued? I didn't know about this at all!" "The Gan-family cultivator was first stunned, then his expression darkened. "Master uncle has misunderstood! The edict clearly states that this person is a Juandan cultivator who has not yet formed an embryo. Moreover, Master uncle was in seclusion at the time, and both Qian and Jing had not yet reached Juandan stage. It was Master Ma and I who handled the affairs within the sect. We merely dispatched a few assistants to handle the matter hastily and did not inform Master uncle. By the way, this incident occurred nearly two centuries ago—still, I have preserved the original command scroll from that time." The elder sweat-drenchedly explained, immediately reaching into his storage bag, fumbling around, and producing a ghost-faced jade scroll, which he handed to the middle-aged cultivator. "Nonsense! How could this person have advanced from Juandan to late Yuan-Ying stage within such a short period?" Upon hearing this, the middle-aged Gan-family cultivator's face grew even more somber, though he still accepted the scroll and used his spiritual awareness to scan its contents. Yet, after merely glancing at it twice, the middle-aged man's expression changed several times, and he stared at it with a look of A phantom emerged within the jade scroll, clad in a green robe, smiling gently—neither the one who had just departed nor anyone else could it be, for their expressions were identical, utterly indistinguishable from one another. The middle-aged man with the surname Gan experienced waves of astonishment, carefully reading every word of the scroll's accompanying text before withdrawing his spiritual awareness, his face settling into deep contemplation, silent for a long while. Seeing the senior cultivator's serious demeanor, not only the green-robed elder and the yellow-robed magistrate, but even the graceful woman, fell into quiet silence, as though everything now rested entirely in the hands of this esteemed senior disciple. "Indeed, I have mistaken my nephew. The one being pursued by the Inverse-Star Alliance is precisely the person who just left. However, listen closely—this matter must remain strictly confidential. Though the Inverse-Star Alliance is formidable, this individual is no longer the same结丹 cultivator he once was. I do not wish for our sect to become entangled in their disputes." Otherwise, should either of them be displeased with our sect, the humble Kemu Island would utterly fail to withstand the force of their wrath." The middle-aged man with the name Gan flashed a resolute expression, speaking coldly. "Yes!" The three elders in green robes were struck with sudden alertness, quickly responding. "For the next ten years, you three shall not leave this sect. Remain within your pavilions and diligently cultivate. I have a strong feeling that two great cultivators will suddenly emerge—among them one who has ties to the Inverse Star Alliance. I fear the chaos in the Luoxing Sea will intensify. Also, urge the other disciples to remain on the island. There is no need for them to leave. We must quietly seal the mountain gate for some time!" The middle-aged man seemed to have carefully considered his words, issuing a series of instructions that left the other three deeply astonished, yet compelled to nod and agree repeatedly. Immediately, the three elders bowed and withdrew from the hall to carry out the sealing orders given by the middle-aged cultivator. Only the middle-aged man from the Gan family remained seated on the main throne of the hall, his face shifting between gloom and agitation under the gentle glow, as though still struggling with an unresolved decision. "Well, even if this person truly is the one who originally obtained the Xutian Cauldron, what does that matter to me? The cauldron itself is the Xutian Cauldron—so what? Perhaps others could wrest treasures from the hands of great cultivators, but never me. Once the news leaks out, I'll surely face a fatal consequence!" After an indeterminate length of time, the Gan cultivator finally sighed, a touch of self-mockery evident on his face, and rose to his feet. With a swift motion of his sleeve, he transformed into a streak of blue light, shooting off into the distance and vanishing from the scene, his destination unknown. The hall once again grew empty and quiet. As for Han Li, who had already departed from the island, he naturally had no idea that the modest Huangsha Sect had managed to uncover so much of his past identity—let alone that the Gan cultivator had even deduced the very fact that the Xutian Cauldron was associated with him. It's no surprise, for the fact that the Xutian Ding had once left the Xutian Pavilion was known only to a few ordinary cultivators, but had already spread widely among Yuan-Ying cultivators. Hadn't Han Li accidentally been transported into the ghost mist and returned to the southern lands, and stayed in the Luanxing Sea, he would eventually have been discovered and jointly tracked down by those Yuan-Ying elders. As for the pursuit of Han Li by the Nixing Alliance's extermination order, it was a direct result of the elder cultivators—especially Zi Yin—the persistent search efforts going fruitless, leading to their growing frustration and ultimately prompting them to pressure Han Li into revealing his whereabouts, forcing him to flee with nowhere to hide. Though over the years the story of the Xutian Ding had long since become legend, the extermination order against Han Li remained in effect, and most cultivators on both the Zheng and Mo sides had long since forgotten it. Nevertheless, the news of the Xutian Pavilion's reappearance spread swiftly and gradually reached the surrounding seas. The cultivators who had witnessed the scene on Kemu Island, though mostly low-ranking and unremarkable, included two passing Jiandan cultivators who had also read about the Xitian Hall in ancient texts. Naturally, they regarded this as a remarkable event and spread the news widely. As the rumor grew, the details became increasingly vague and inconsistent. In particular, the account of the Ice Phoenix decisively eliminating a Yuan婴 cultivator eventually transformed into the story that the Hong Lao Mo had fought fiercely before being jointly defeated by two Yuan婴 cultivators. While the news remained impressive, it no longer carried the same shock value as the unprecedented appearance of two late-stage cultivators at once. Instead, upon his emergence from the Xitian Hall and his subsequent command of the colossal Xitian Ding, Han Li began to appear mysteriously linked in people's minds with his former identity. As a result, many Yuan婴 cultivators soon became eager and active. Han Li had no knowledge of the extermination order, nor did he know that most Yuan-Infusion cultivators and the sects themselves possessed their own true portraits. Otherwise, he would have changed his appearance long ago and taken great care to avoid any potential trouble. Though he now possessed formidable abilities and could withstand attacks from ordinary cultivators, he still didn’t want to incur unnecessary complications or waste his time. At present, he had transformed into a streak of azure light, following the coastal map and rushing straight toward the location of Tianxing City. Along the way, he passed by several islands. Each time, he exchanged the high-grade spiritual stones from the island’s markets—either for treasures or rare materials—for empty storage vessels, amassing a total of over twenty. This brought him great satisfaction, and deepened his focus on the mineral vein regions. On his journey, he naturally encountered numerous cultivators, mostly at the lower levels of cultivation. With Han Li’s near-divine abilities, he simply brushed past them without stopping or even making eye contact, gliding smoothly through the sky. Among these cultivators, only a few with higher attainments glanced upward as they passed through the lofty sky, slightly puzzled. The rest were entirely unaware, not knowing that they had actually brushed past a Yuan婴后期 cultivator. After flying for over a month, a dark spot began to appear on the sea surface. After several more hours of flight, Han Li finally spotted the towering sacred mountain of Tianxing City in the distance, and a gentle smile spread across his face. At that moment, suddenly, a group of ten or so flying lights emerged from the opposite horizon, forming a column and swiftly approaching Han Li's position. Han Li scanned the group with his spiritual awareness, and was momentarily startled. Among the cultivators, there were no less than four or five Jie Dan stage practitioners, and one of them was a high-level Yuan婴 initial cultivator. Moreover, the aura emanating from the Yuan婴 cultivators seemed familiar to him—something he had encountered before. Han Li's expression grew slightly doubtful as his eyes flickered several times, yet he remained motionless, choosing not to activate his flight technique to conceal himself. (Second update. Sweating profusely! Just glanced at the monthly pass leaderboard—two names dropped within a single day. Nothing more to say—only hope everyone continues to support us, especially now, at the crucial end-of-month stage. Don’t hold back on your passes anymore, folks! Our heartfelt thanks to all of you for your tremendous support to the ordinary people!!