Han Li closed himself off in the inner chamber. When he stepped out again, smiling contentedly, he found Lü Luo already seated cross-legged outside the seal of his dwelling, waiting for some time. After a brief thought, Han Li understood the situation at once, smiled gently, and then opened the seal of his dwelling, personally stepping out to greet Lü Luo. "Frater Han, I heard from Tian's junior that you had been refining a piece of equipment. I thought you'd need another two days. I didn't expect you to emerge so quickly," Lü Luo said, beaming with delight upon seeing Han Li, and rising promptly to bow respectfully. "I merely recharged and refined a few small items obtained by the Great Jin. I originally thought I could emerge within three days. It seems, however, that the process took longer than expected. Thank you so much for your patience. Did you come this time because of the visits from the Ancient Sword Sect and the Hundred Skills Academy?" Han Li asked calmly, "Indeed, several senior monks from both clans have come, and it seems some of them still doubt that your disciple has truly reached the late Yuan Yin stage." Lü Luo replied with a warm smile. "Then I shall meet them personally," Han Li said, without expressing any particular opinion. "That will be perfect," Lü Luo said, clearly satisfied. At once, the two of them transformed into two streaks of light and sped toward Luoyun Sect. A short while later, they arrived outside the grand hall at the foot of the main peak. There were over a dozen Foundation Stage disciples stationed at the hall's entrance, who immediately bowed respectfully and approached to greet Han Li and his companion. Several of them could not help but keep glancing at Han Li with growing interest. Han Li frowned slightly and gave a soft, quiet hum. To others, this hum sounded quite ordinary, but to the few who had been watching him closely, it struck like a thunderclap—shocking them so much that they dropped their heads in surprise, unable to meet his gaze even once. "Are all the guests inside the hall?" Lu Luo paid no attention to Han Li's actions and casually asked. "Report to the two senior teachers," said a quick-witted disciple, "several senior masters from Gu Jian Gate and Bai Qiao Institute have been meditating inside the hall, and nothing unusual has occurred." Lu Luo nodded. Meanwhile, Han Li's spiritual awareness had already swept across the hall, capturing the cultivation levels of all the attendees. Two at the mid-stage of Yuan Ying, three at the initial stage—seems both gates' senior elders have personally come. Han Li thought lazily. With his previous ability to annihilate Yuan Ying stage cultivators, he naturally didn't regard these hall attendees as anything significant. Han Li immediately remained silent and began walking steadily toward the hall. Lu Luo was momentarily startled, mounted his horse and followed closely, yet deliberately stepped back one pace to show Han Li as the lead. However, after only a few steps, Lu Luo was suddenly struck with awe—Han Li had seemingly vanished entirely from view ahead. This apparent disappearance—though the eyes can still see Han Li standing there—vanishes completely when one scans with divine awareness, as though he were merely a mass of air. Lü Luo instantly drew in a sharp breath, his heart slightly concerned. Such a complete severing of one's aura was a technique only accessible to high-level cultivators, who, with their strong divine awareness, could employ it when facing lower-level cultivators who were significantly weaker than themselves. Given that Lü Luo, with his Yuan Ying stage awareness, clearly knew where Han Li was, yet felt absolutely no sense of his presence, it meant that Han Li could strike him—this initial-stage cultivator—without them even noticing him approaching. Of course, Lü Luo also worried: Han Li, though newly promoted to a late-stage cultivator, might be demonstrating this technique for the first time to impress the two senior elders of the Ancient Sword Sect and the Hundred Skills Academy. After all, those elders were at the mid-stage level. If Han Li failed to overpower their divine awareness, it might well prove a misstep. Of course, Lu Luo also understood that Han Li had taken this step not without some confidence. Even so, the senior monk from Luoyun Sect remained uneasy, full of hesitation and apprehension. The corridor was but a short stretch, and in a moment's time, Han Li and Lu Luo had entered the hall. Han has reached the late stage of advancement, and his pace of cultivation is so swift that even if he isn't truly unprecedented—either before or after—he's certainly close to being so. Another who quickly caught on was a tall man dressed in purple robes, the elder of the Hundred-Tricks Academy, renowned for his fiery prowess. Both of these individuals, Han Li had once seen during his visits to the Hundred-Tricks Academy, and even faced off against the Golden Elder once. Thus, Han Li smiled gently and replied, "Han Li has merely encountered some fortunate circumstances during this recent journey outside the Academy. As for the honor of having both of you personally come to Luoyun Sect, and having our guests wait so long, I truly feel it's a slight oversight." "Ha ha, for us cultivators, these days aren't even a blink of an eye—how could that be considered anything special?" the Golden Elder chuckled. Upon hearing this, Han Li smiled slightly and then took a moment to observe the other three guests. Among them, two were newly attained Yuan婴 cultivators, but the last one was a seemingly gentle young wife—none other than Ming Xin, the female cultivator from the Ancient Sword Sect who had once attended the Hundred Skills Hall ceremony. Back then, this young lady had once attempted a particularly subtle and profound secret technique on him, yet had failed to gauge his true depth. That experience, however, had left a lasting impression on Han Li. As Han Li scanned her with his divine awareness, a look of surprise flashed in his eyes. Suddenly, he spoke slowly to her: "Ming Xin, I hope you're well. It seems your cultivation has reached the early stage of your bottleneck. With another decade of dedicated practice, you're likely to advance into the mid-stage within the near future." Upon seeing Han Li's gaze, the young wife felt slightly uneasy. When he casually mentioned her cultivation progress with such precise accuracy, her composed expression faltered, and her face flushed with surprise. Among the two sects of Gu Jian Men, before ever seeing Fan Li, the one who most doubted his genuine ability to reach the late-stage great cultivator stage—neither the senior cultivators like Jin the Old Monster in the mid-Stage Yuan Ying, nor the other elders—was this young woman. Indeed, at the time of the Hundred Skills Hall's observance ceremony, although this young woman had only recently attained Yuan Ying stage, she was regarded as a prodigy due to her exceptional progress. She held a unique treasure that enhanced her cultivation, allowing her to advance at nearly several times the pace of ordinary cultivators, and repeatedly overcoming bottlenecks to finally solidify her Yuan Ying. Thus, she was seen as a rare talent within the Gu Jian Men. Yet, when she encountered Fan Li—whose cultivation duration was reportedly shorter than hers but who had achieved a more advanced level—she naturally decided to put him to the test. However, her attempts failed to reveal any depth in Fan Li’s cultivation, leaving her somewhat startled. Still, she remained unconvinced. Believing that with her unique treasure, she would eventually catch up with Fan Li, no matter how long it took. But now, just over a hundred years have passed, and upon hearing that Han Li has returned from his travels and has suddenly advanced to the late stage—this young, elegant immortal maiden was utterly astonished and absolutely could not believe it. However, Han Li had just demonstrated the strength of his divine awareness; upon a simple glance, the young wife felt as though she were suffocating, and when he casually mentioned her current cultivation level, he described it with such precision that it sounded as though it were his own knowledge. Deeply startled, she managed only a faint smile after a moment: "Brother Han truly possesses great capabilities—his description of Mingxin’s cultivation level is flawless. Indeed, it appears he has reached the late-stage master cultivator’s level. With Brother Han stationed at Yunmeng Mountain, I am certain the petty rivals will no longer dare to challenge our three sects." "Haha, Madam Mingxin, you speak most wisely. And considering Brother Han’s age, it is entirely feasible for our Yunmeng lineage to remain undisturbed for seven or eight centuries. Heavens! As for challenging our three sects—I believe it would be more likely that our three sects themselves would have to step out of Yunm At this moment, Lu Luo suddenly interjected. Upon hearing his words, the others—Jin the Old Sage and the others—were all visibly stirred. Han Li now smiled silently, yet the aura that had seemed to fade from his body began to re-emerge, growing stronger and stronger, clearly revealing the powerful spiritual pressure of a late Yuan婴 stage. A short while later, the five figures in the hall were nearly unsteady in their postures, their faces pale, and their doubts completely dispelled. Subsequently, Lu Luo and the two disciples from the two sects calmly discussed how to expand their influence, with the clear intention of bringing the entire Xiu Kingdom's cultivation realm firmly under their control. In their conversation, the ancient Sword Sect and the Hundred Ingenious Sect were subtly treated as subordinate branches. Jin the Old Sage and the purple-robed man exchanged glances, each reading a touch of resignation in the other's expression. Yet Lu Luo remained completely indifferent. "This is likely the last spot where the spirit grass might grow. Yet we've come empty-handed—could it be that the spirit grass around the outer perimeter has already been completely harvested?" After the three women had fully stepped out of the cave, Liu Yu paused, her expression hesitant. "That's not impossible. However, if we venture into the inner valley, we're certain to find this rare herb there." The Song-family woman, no longer composed as before, frowned deeply. "The inner valley? Absolutely not. With our current levels of cultivation, entering there would surely mean a near-certain death." On hearing this, Mu Peilin's face changed dramatically. "That may not be true. I once knew a close friend of a Han senior disciple who provided me with a detailed map outlining a safe route into the inner valley. As long as we follow this path, the risk of encountering spatial rifts within the valley should be minimized to a great extent." Song Yu blinked her beautiful eyes, suddenly thoughtful. (First update!) The weather lately has been quite unpredictable—alternating between cold and hot, leaving us with frequent headaches and minor illnesses. As we enter the transitional season, I hope all of you, my dear book friends, take special care of your health. Also, nearing the end of the month, I'd like to kindly ask for your monthly subscriptions. Hehe, this month's updates have been fairly steady—any support you can offer would be greatly appreciated!