"Are you the Zhao brothers from Jinhai Sect?" the middle-aged youth suddenly smiled warmly at the three of them. "May I ask, who is this gentleman? Hou, friend—what's going on?" The big Han's face showed clear signs of alertness. "Zhao, don't be so formal. This is our Grand Elder. The other one is Lin, my junior." The elder spoke, but as soon as he did, the three were startled. "Grand Elder, isn't this the esteemed elder from your sect, Han?" The leading Han could hardly believe his own words. "Indeed, I am the Grand Elder of Luchun Luoyun Sect. Han appointed Hou, my junior, to invite these friends here—perhaps I have been somewhat abrupt." The youth smiled pleasantly, revealing a bright set of white teeth. He himself had journeyed all the way from Luoyun Sect to Dongyu State. "It's an honor, truly, to be summoned by such a senior figure," the leading Han said, carefully studying Han once again. Seeing that the man indeed matched the description he had heard, he immediately bowed deeply and respectfully, showing great deference. The other two also hurriedly bowed in response. "Nothing at all. Since you three are not disciples of our sect, there's no need for formalities. As my junior disciple mentioned, you three have previously encountered one of our female disciples in the valley—could you confirm whether this is true?" Han Li waved his hand, then asked calmly. "Are you referring to Bai Xianzi and the others? Indeed, my brother and I had a brief meeting with her during our hurried visit to the Ruimagi Valley." The leading Han was momentarily startled upon hearing Han Li's question, but quickly replied honestly. "Oh, would you mind sharing with me in detail the circumstances of that encounter?" Han Li asked gently. "Of course. Several months ago, my brother and I entered the Ruimagi Valley in search of a rare material for crafting our artifacts. However, despite our efforts in the outer parts of the valley, we found nothing. As we were preparing to withdraw, we unexpectedly encountered Bai Xianzi and her companions along the way. Due to some past events, I had previously exchanged a few words with Bai Xianzi, so I took the opportunity to speak with her briefly." However, the three White Immortals appeared somewhat anxious, as if searching for something, and said little to my brothers before quickly departing. My brothers then immediately left the valley and have not been seen since. The messenger carefully recounted this. "Could you please elaborate on where and how you encountered your White nephew? I have a map of the outer valley here. Would you please mark the approximate location where you met the three of them?" Han Li paused slightly, then gently shook his sleeve, and a pre-prepared jade scroll flew toward the messenger. "We encountered the White Immortal deep within the outer valley." The messenger quickly caught the scroll, explained a few words, then immersed his mind into it. But suddenly stepped back, holding it out to Han Li with both hands. Han Li raised his hand, and the scroll instantly transformed into a streak of green light, vanishing into his palm. With a quick sweep of his consciousness, his brow slightly lifted. "Indeed, they are very close to the inner valley. Thank you all for your assistance this time." "Hou and Wu, you two take the three friends for a chat— I'll be off now." After closing the jade scroll, Han Li smiled warmly at the three Han men, then casually instructed the elder and the scholar. "Sending off Master Han!" The scholar and elder immediately bowed slightly, and the three Han men could not afford to be less formal, so they adopted a respectful gesture of farewell. Han Li's body shimmered with a bright azure glow, transforming into a vivid streak of azure light that surged through the air, vanishing from sight by the time it reached the horizon. "Hou elder! Is this truly Master Han, the senior cultivator from your sect?" It wasn't until the azure streak had disappeared beyond the horizon that the other Han man, who had remained silent until then, finally exhaled deeply, still struggling to believe. "Not this Master Han, then who else? It's quite a fortunate coincidence that we've all met today. Master Han is renowned throughout the sect, yet rarely receives visits from disciples. I've only had the pleasure of meeting him a few times myself." The elder with the surname Hou relaxed slightly, offering a wry smile. "Indeed, Master Han doesn't often interact with the junior disciples. Though I've stabilized my golden elixir for several decades, I've only once seen him at a grand ceremony from afar. This time, if it hadn't been for the matters concerning Master Bai and the others, even the Grand Elder would hardly have left his pavilion." The young scholar said likewise. "So it's true that the three young ladies—Master Bai and her companions—have truly vanished from the Valley of the Falling Demons. I used to hear some rumors from my brother, but I thought them mere idle talk." The leading Han, after a moment of silence, asked seriously. "By now, there's little to conceal. The young disciple and the others have indeed encountered difficulties." The elder sighed. "Master Bai and the other three are all at the stage of condensed elixir. How could they simply vanish without a trace? Perhaps they have entered the inner valley?" The leading Han was somewhat surprised. "It's likely so. Hopefully, they are merely trapped somewhere within the inner valley. With Master Han personally intervening, I believe retrieving them will be a certain success." "The scholar grew somewhat concerned. "Could it be that the White Immortal has some connection with Master Han? Otherwise, from the tone of the two friends just now, Master Han seems rather indifferent to matters of administration." Yet the leading Han heard something deeper. "Heh, it's said that White Sister has known Master Han for a long time. But I believe the key lies in the other two sisters. It's reported that Sister Liu Yu was Master Han's designated disciple back in the day, and Sister Mu Peilin, quite simply, is Master Han's concubine. When all three of them encounter difficulties at once, how could Master Han remain unmoved?" The elder smiled slightly. Now it all made sense—three of the men nodded in sudden realization. While these cultivators of the Jie Dan stage were still discussing, Han had already sped off toward the Valley of the Fallen Demon. Floating in the stream of light, he held a pale white jade plaque in his hands, deep in thought. "So, Master Han, are you worried about your disciples and concubine, or is it because you haven't yet fully comprehended the Golden Threshold Jade Scroll in your hands?" Suddenly, a soft, childlike voice reached Han Li's ears. Han Li's eyes flashed briefly as he glanced at one of his sleeves, then replied calmly, "The three of them have likely entered the Inner Valley of the Fallen Demon Valley. As long as they haven't truly encountered any mishaps, rescuing them won't require much effort. But I wonder—does your teaching of the Silver Tadpole Script have any gaps? The content in the jade scroll seems rather dry and difficult to grasp. Nevertheless, I'm certain it does describe a method for crafting seal scrolls. Yet the specific details are surprisingly profound and intricate." "Ah, of course. The jade scroll originally records the seal techniques of immortals. If a single cultivator from the Human World can easily comprehend it, I would indeed question the authenticity of the scroll. Moreover, you only possess half of the scroll, so naturally, it's more challenging to master." The child smiled gently, speaking without the slightest surprise. "You're right in part, after all, and with time still ahead, we can delve deeper into it when we have the chance," Han Li nodded, then carefully stored the jade plaque once more. "Han Brother, I've already taught you the Silver Kōkō script, as well as the methods for refining the Fire Spirit Silk and the Breakthrough Method of the Annihilation Sect. Now, wouldn't it be appropriate for you to assist me in withstanding the Transformation Lightning Storm?" The child remained silent, asking calmly. "Please rest assured, Tianlan Brother. Matters I've promised, I will never back out of. Once this current affair is settled, I'll seek a secluded location where I can help ensure your successful transformation." Han Li replied with sincerity. "That's all that's needed," the child seemed highly satisfied with Han Li's response, and immediately fell silent. Han Li, in turn, said nothing further, merely fully channeling his flight light, and after a few swift movements, vanished completely without a trace. Half a day later, at the entrance of the Fuding Valley in the Wanling Mountain Range, the once-built teleportation array constructed by the Gui Ling Sect still stood outside the valley mouth, yet it was covered in a thick layer of dust, as though it had not been used for many years. This was no surprise—formerly, the outer perimeter of the Fuding Valley had been densely encircled by numerous seals and countless spatial fissures. Now, however, most of those fissures had vanished, and even the outermost layer of seals had grown faint and nearly imperceptible. With a Jie Dan-level or higher cultivation, one could easily slip through the weakened sections of the seals and enter the valley without even needing to pass through the original entrance. Thus, the Gui Ling Sect's teleportation array had become obsolete. All of them were cultivators at the Ji Dan stage, one of whom even reached the late Ji Dan stage, seemingly preparing to enter the valley from the valley entrance. Suddenly, a few faint crackling sounds of rushing air came from afar, causing the group to startle and quickly lift their heads. There, at the distant horizon, a flash of emerald light appeared, as though a streak of flight energy had surged forth. As they were just about to focus their attention and examine it closely, the emerald light only wavered slightly before vanishing mysteriously. The group's expressions turned pale as they hurriedly extended their spiritual senses, trying to catch a glimpse. Just a dozen or so zhang away, the sound of rushing air returned once more—this time, a streak of emerald light darted past their field of vision, flickered a few times, and then disappeared into the valley entrance! Among so many cultivators, not a single one could clearly identify the figure within the emerald streak. They exchanged glances, stunned, each seeing the same look of astonishment on the others' faces. The young rainbow was clearly Master Han Li. He paid no attention to those mere Ji Dan cultivators and simply vanished into the Fumag Valley. Following the spot marked by the golden Sea Sect man within the valley, Han Li immediately sped straight toward it without hesitation. As he recalled, that area was not far from the entrance to the inner valley where he and Zilin had once entered together with the Ghost Spirit Sect disciples. Moreover, since the Song-named woman and Zilin were close friends, Han Li had no need to hesitate—he simply headed there to search for the traces of the three women. With Han Li’s current speed of travel, and considering that the spatial fissures outside the valley had mostly been cleared, there were no significant risks to his speed of movement, he reached the vast ice fissure leading into the inner valley just half a month later. The jade light spiraled once, and Han Li then calmly disappeared into the ice fissure.