In a vast crimson forest dotted with twisted, strange trees, five young men and women gathered in a secluded spot. A man in his thirties, dressed in rich brocade, with snow-white eyebrows and eyes like lightning. A young woman in a black gown, tall and graceful, with dark brows falling to her shoulders, her face carrying a fierce aura. A young man in purple robes, around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with a blood spot on his lips, handsome and refined, smiling gently. A young woman in white robes, about sixteen or seventeen, with a delicate, slightly youthful face. Lastly, a man in his twenties or early thirties, dressed in green robes, expression neutral—none other than Han Li, who had only recently left Tianyuan City. Though all five appeared remarkably young, each of them had attained the stage of Huashen or beyond. Except for Han Li and the youngest white-robed woman, who were at the mid-stage of Huashen, the other three had reached the peak of the late Huashen stage. Among them, the black-gowned young woman was none other than Xiao, the woman from the Black Phoenix Clan, who had first appeared in Han Li's life after the great wave of beasts The woman stared at Han Li with a cold expression, though she said nothing, her eyes naturally conveying a sense of surprise and doubt. "I never expected that among the three cultivators dispatched by your human clan, two of them would only be at the mid-stage level. Does it seem as though the noble house deliberately intends to stall this mission?" The young man in the snowy-white robes, dressed in a rich crimson robe, spoke with a calm and clear voice. Though his voice was not loud, it resonated clearly throughout the gathering. Upon hearing the young man's words, the youth with the crimson birthmark slightly adjusted his brow, and his smile softened a bit, while Han Li remained completely still, quietly handling a pale white jade scroll between his fingers. As for the young woman in the white robe, she merely turned her dark, glossy eyes in a quick, thoughtful motion, smiling gently. None of the three interjected. Seeing Han Li and the others' composed demeanor, the young man in the snowy-white robes grew increasingly furious, his expression sharp. Just as he was about to speak further, the woman with the Xiao surname suddenly spoke up: "This journey may well be of vital importance to Tianyuan City, or even to the very safety of If we are not sincerely committed to cooperation, I doubt we could even reach the site where the tasks are to be carried out, let alone complete them. Don't forget that merely making the journey will take us half a year. The noble house has sent three of you, so I assume all three of you are exceptional. However, as we will be traveling together for such an extended period, we should introduce ourselves to one another. This is Xiao Hong, from the Black Phoenix Clan, and this is Li, from the Azure Eagle Clan." The young woman maintained a composed and dignified demeanor. Upon hearing this, the young man with the red birthmark blinked slightly and smiled gently: "My name is Long Dong. I sense a remarkable mastery of fire energy in you—surely you have refined the Black Phoenix Clan's essence flame to an advanced level." "Ah, you're from the Long family!" The young woman's expression slightly changed upon hearing the young man's name. "I didn't expect you to know of the Long family as well." With a smile, the young man revealed a bright, white set of teeth. "My name is Ye Ying," the young woman said, her voice clear and crisp, like that of a yellow orio "Han Li!" Han Li softly uttered the two characters and then immediately silenced himself. "Han Li? Indeed you are. I never realized before that you possessed such a rare treasure—the Immortal Immortality Pearl—back then. It's clear now that you've always been a high-level cultivator. So you've been practicing a dual cultivation path, combining both body and spirit, correct?" Xiao Hong faced Han Li, yet her tone grew cold. Upon hearing the mention of dual cultivation, the young man from the Lo family and the young man with the white brows both were startled, while the young woman in the white robe paused in surprise. "Fine, if you say so. It's been years since we last saw each other—how is Dai'er these days?" Han Li remained composed, simply asking with a calm tone. "Back then, when Dai'er chose to follow me, it was indeed a wise decision. Now, she has progressed astonishingly fast and has already formed her golden elixir stage. She will eventually catch up with you and me—no matter how long it takes." After a brief silence upon hearing Dai'er's name, the woman replied coldly. "Indeed? Then I'm relieved." Han Li sighed lightly The young woman named Ye Ying glanced at Han Li and the other person, then smiled and asked cheerfully, "Do you know them? Hehe! Well, we can call ourselves old acquaintances!" The housewife sneered softly. At that moment, the young man with the blood spot glanced this way, seemingly looking at Han Li and Xiao Hong, but his gaze paused slightly on the young woman before drifting away as if by accident. The faint greed that flashed in his pupils went unnoticed by anyone. "Though we haven't yet reached the deepest part of the Wild Realm, the fact that each of you has managed to come here independently shows that your abilities are quite strong. However, the journey ahead won't be as easy as the one we've just covered. If we don't work together, it's unlikely that we'll all reach Black Leaf Forest safely. The dangers we'll face along the way will be far more severe than those we've encountered so far," Xiao Hong warned after a brief pause. Upon hearing the names Black Leaf Forest and Black Stone Forest, the other four people exchanged glances, their expressions shifting to one of concern. "This mission—can't it simply be a reconnaissance effort to monitor the Wood Spirit clan's movements and retrieve the intelligence gathered over the years by our undercover agent stationed among them? It sounds rather straightforward." The young woman smiled and asked. The young man from Long family did not directly answer the question asked, but instead looked at the young woman in a half-smiling, half-quirky manner. "Since you are aware of these matters, it seems the human side should now place you at the head of the delegation." The young woman showed no surprise, speaking calmly. "Indeed, I do know a few things." The blood-stain on Long Dong's mouth moved slightly, confirming the statement without denial. Upon hearing this, the young woman of Ye family slightly drew her lips, then remembered something, and turned to glance at Han Li. Han Li, however, remained expressionless, as if he had not heard at all the conversation between the blood-stain youth and the young woman, which caused the girl to express a subtle sense of surprise. "We have only sent our Fu Shen cultivators this time because the Black Stone Forest has already been enveloped by Tian Mu Meng Luo of the Wood Spirit Clan. Any cultivator at Fu Shen level or above will immediately reveal their presence upon entering that area." Xiao Hong turned to the white-haired youth and explained. "Indeed, apart from Long Dao-you, these two have only mid-Stage of the Huashen stage—so their cultivation level is somewhat inferior." The white-mustached young man nodded, then suddenly narrowed his eyes, looking at Han Li and Ye Ying with an unyielding tone. "Li brother, please rest assured. The elders will send Han Dao-you and Miss Ye together, and they are absolutely confident in both of you. I can guarantee that you will not be disappointed. This I can personally vouch for." Long Dong chuckled lightly. "Should Han Dao-you assure you thus, then that will suffice. But should they truly become a burden during the later stages of our journey, I shall not hesitate to see them fall without intervention." The white-mustached young man said with a cold, solemn tone. "Hmph. You're only one stage above me, yet you speak as though you were a Lianxu cultivator yourself." The white-mustached young man's repeated condescension finally caused the young lady in white robes to grow slightly stern. "When cultivation reaches our level, a difference of just one stage can mean a significant gap in their abilities." The white-mustached young man sneered and replied with dignified composure. As the white-robed maiden was about to speak, Han Li suddenly interjected. "Since Lóng Dao-yi and Xiao Lady are more informed about the mission than we are, why not provide us with a detailed account? When I first accepted the task, I only knew the general outline. I never expected it would require cooperation among multiple parties. Had I known this earlier, I would have certainly declined it." Han Li spoke with a composed expression, though his inner satisfaction was clearly tinged with mild displeasure. Upon learning from Tianyuan City that the mission would require a collaborative effort, he had already sensed it would not be straightforward, and indeed, he had begun to consider withdrawing. Yet he was informed by above that this task was of great significance. Once he accepted it and became aware of its general scope, should he withdraw, he would lose his eligibility to take on any further tasks, and furthermore, he would be required to remain within Tianyuan City for ten years. Thus, having other pressing matters that demanded his departure from Tianyuan City within several years, he found himself compelled to make the difficult journey. In the end, it took him a full month to reach this so-called rendezvous point, only to find that instead of other cultivators who had ascended to the heavens, he encountered native spiritual realm cultivators and the inhabitants of the spirit realm and the fangzu. He could only shake his head in quiet dismay. It seemed the complexity and danger of this task far exceeded his initial expectations. H Zhao Wugui and the others had stated that such tasks were typically undertaken only by the ascended cultivators—had he then somehow been assigned the wrong one? Yet, prior to departure, he had indeed been fully equipped with sufficient Mochen Dan, and had been promised that upon successful completion of this task, he would be free to leave Tianyuan City. This point matched exactly what Zhao Wugui and Han Li naturally felt somewhat puzzled. "Regarding the details of the mission, I will naturally explain them in full to Brother Han and Miss Ye on the way. However, the timeframe for this mission is not particularly generous, so we should set off promptly and discuss further once we're on the move." Longdong smiled gently and said this. "Brother Long is right—our time is indeed tight. It would be best to start off now, and I can also share some relevant materials en route." Xiao Hong agreed. The white-mustached young man and Ye Ying listened without any objections. Han Li paused a moment, then slowly nodded. "Very well—on the way, we'll certainly have time to ask questions in detail." "Then, for safety's sake, I propose that all of you ride my Lingyun Boat. First, everyone will only need to expend a few spiritual stones rather than significant spiritual energy; second, this boat excels at changing form and concealing itself, which will allow me to minimize many logistical concerns along the way." The young man with the blood-stained spot spoke warmly and enthusiastically, as if especially eager to assist.