"Ying'er, if Master Han agrees to join the Ye family and assist in cultivating the Disciples of the Nirvana Sacred Spirit, that would indeed be ideal. With Master Han's Consolidated Body cultivator status, the Tianfeng True Blood of most Ye family heirs likely wouldn't be pure enough to achieve effective cultivation. I've long heard that although the Ye family has many disciples, only a few truly inherit the pure Tianfeng True Blood. Moreover, Master Han has remained unmarried—this seems quite fitting!" The lady, momentarily setting aside her earlier concerns, spoke with a touch of amusement. "This... how could Ying'er possibly know? It still depends entirely on whether Master Han truly decides to join the Ye family—only then will my mother make her final decision." The young woman blushed deeply and stammered. Li Qing simply smiled and remained silent. Han was no dull-witted person—he immediately grasped that the Nirvana Sacred Spirit cultivation actually referred to a dual-cultivation practice. And considering the reserved demeanor of this young lady, if any member of the Ye family were to join Li's cultivation journey, it would most likely be Ye Ying herself. Han Li felt a certain sense of unease, yet maintained an exceptionally composed exterior. After swiftly turning over several thoughts in his mind, he shook his head: "Thank you very much for the kind offer from the Ye family. However, my heart is already set—my intention is to remain free from external constraints. I can only sincerely appreciate the noble family's generosity." Upon hearing Han Li firmly decline the proposal, Ye Ying seemed to exhale in relief, though a subtle sense of disappointment lingered in her eyes. Yet she quickly regained her composure and replied: "Should the senior truly be unmoved by external considerations, then I shall naturally drop the matter of joining the Ye family. But if there is another condition, would the senior be willing to lend a hand to the Ye family once, after ten years?" "Ten years hence—do you mean the True Spirit Ceremony?" Han Li asked, a faint smile of wryness appearing on his face. "Hmm, Master Han also knows about this—does that mean he has already..." Ye Ying reacted swiftly, immediately guessing what was on her mind. "Indeed, the仙子 has arrived a little late. I've already agreed to assist Xiao Feng, the immortal maiden from the Valley family, at the True Spirit Ceremony." Han Li looked deeply regretful. "The Valley family—then that's settled. The Valley family has always maintained a close relationship with our Ye family, so Master Han won't have any direct conflict with us at the ceremony." Ye Ying relaxed visibly and said this with a sense of ease. "Ah, that makes sense. Then I can feel more at ease as well." Han Li nodded with a gentle smile. The young lady had now nearly finished what she wished to say. Naturally, Han Li could not stay at the residence any longer, so after a few more words of courtesy, he politely bid farewell and departed. Liu Qing naturally accompanied the young lady to the teleportation array. As they watched Han Li's figure vanish in a flash of light, Liu Qing sighed softly and simply remarked, "It's a pity." "What does Aunt Liu mean by that? What exactly is regrettable?" Ye Ying was slightly puzzled upon hearing this. "It's truly a pity that your mother wasn't able to bring this young man into the Ye family. Otherwise, with his early achievement of reaching the Consolidated Stage, and if he could safely endure the Demon Cataclysm, his future prospects would be truly boundless." Liu Qing smiled lightly. "Although Consolidated Stage cultivators are among the elite in the human race, my grandmother has already reached the mid-Consolidated level. Should the Heavenly Phoenix bloodline be further awakened, she could even challenge a late Consolidated cultivator. Now that Aunt Liu herself has joined the Ye family, even if Master Han truly becomes a part of it, he would merely be an added enhancement. Whether it's the upcoming True Spirit Ceremony or the future Demon Cataclysm, our family will still have ample strength. Moreover, with the conditions offered by the Ye family, there's still a strong chance of attracting other independent Consolidated cultivators." Ye Ying gave a light scoff, seemingly indifferent in tone, yet clearly harboring a sense of unyielding determination. "Perhaps that's true. Your mother likely valued him primarily for his potential." But this friend of mine, Han, seems quite unusual—indeed, it appears as though he has completely overlooked your Ye family's conditions. Unfortunately, I am only here in the form of a puppet avatar. If my true self were present, I could certainly invite him to a duel, to better gauge his true capabilities." Li Qing's eyes flashed with a subtle expression as she spoke slowly. "What need is there to investigate? With Li aunt's skill, even if Han possesses some extraordinary abilities, he would merely be at the early stage of Consolidated Body stage—certainly unable to withstand her for long. Moreover, according to my mother, before the Celestial Miracle Emperor passed away during his Great Transformation, he had actually entrusted several carefully crafted puppets to Li aunt. I would think Li aunt's current abilities now surpass even those of the Three Emperors and the Seven Great Demigods. You Ye family truly have excellent information flow. It's quite rare that such news would reach your mother's ears—this point, I simply cannot admire it enough! Li Qing's expression changed at first, but then remembered something, and could only shake her head with a wry smile. The young lady smiled lightly, her lips parting slightly. At the same time, Han Li, who had returned to his residence earlier, gave a few instructions to the two young men who had arrived at the grand hall first, and then immediately entered the inner chamber of the hall, settling into a meditative posture. Han Li had originally planned to delay his cultivation after achieving the Consolidated Stage, believing he could manage without immediate focus. However, upon learning of the imminent magical calamity, that plan vanished instantly. Now, he needed to carefully reconsider and restructure his long-term strategy over the coming centuries, aiming to strengthen his own power as quickly as possible to avoid being truly wiped out during the calamity. Indeed, in the previous magical crisis, several of the Three Emperors and the Seven Great Demigod Kings had perished. This time, the crisis seemed even more severe. Moreover, Han Li felt increasingly uneasy, recalling that during his time in the Human Realm, he had once offended the Primordial Saint Patriarch of the Magic Realm. This demon, in fact, had a divine manifestation descended to the human realm, and precisely because of him, the Silver Moon was consumed. The Holy Ancestor of the Demon Realm, however, is equivalent to a late-stage cultivator of the human race. With such power, if he truly seized the opportunity when the Demon Calamity descended upon the Spiritual Realm, it would be likely that he either dispatched his subordinates or personally came to visit. In that case, he would have to elevate his cultivation to the late Consolidation stage before the Demon Calamity arrived. Only then could he rely on his full array of powers and treasures to safeguard himself adequately, even facing the ancient Holy Ancestor of the Demon Realm with a fighting chance. Yet, considering that he had only recently attained the Consolidation stage, through his interactions with other cultivators of the same stage over the past few days, he has come to realize just how difficult the progression beyond Consolidation truly is—far exceeding his original expectations. Indeed, many ordinary early-stage cultivators spend thousands or even tens of thousands of years, and some even perish during their celestial lightning trials without ever breaking through their mid-stage bottleneck. As for those who have reached the late Consolidation stage, they are naturally far rarer. Even among the successive Three Emperors and Seven Great Demon Kings, not all possessed the late Consolidation level of cultivation. Moreover, the time he had available was far from sufficient to allow such a prolonged period of cultivation. Fortunately, he had acquired certain immortals' herbs from the Cold Moon Realm, which enabled him to produce numerous refined pills to enhance the cultivation of Consolidation-stage practitioners. This at least saved him several times the usual cultivation time compared to ordinary cultivators. Should he continue to diligently cultivate for several centuries, his accumulation of spiritual energy would certainly remain solid. The only challenge remains the breakthrough of his cultivation bottlenecks. Despite consuming numerous pills designed to improve his physical constitution and root quality, his innate potential still did not surpass that of ordinary cultivators significantly. He would likely need to make more preparations and rely on various stimulating factors to force his breakthrough. At the very least, his stock of the Spirit-Refining Pill and Qingyuan's River of the Underworld Divine Milk offered great promise. Han Li thought thus, and felt a slight relief. Then, his eyes flashed with a sudden recollection—he single-handedly flipped his palm, and a black beast materialized in his hand. He sent his divine awareness into the ring, his brows furrowing slightly. Inside the ring’s space, a faint black mist coalesced into a cluster, within which a small black monkey lay in deep sleep. It was the Ti-Hun Beast. After transforming and defeating the celestial demon from beyond the heavens, the beast had remained in deep slumber within the spirit beast ring. Otherwise, its astonishing powers would have been a decisive asset when facing formidable foes. Fortunately, the magical calamity was still far off, and Han Li didn’t believe this beast would truly remain asleep for a thousand years. With these thoughts, he shook his palm slightly, and the spirit beast ring vanished. In its place, a shimmering golden map of ten thousand swords appeared in his hands. He flicked his wrist, throwing it gently into the space just in front of him, then slowly unfolded it—after which it remained still, motionless. The Nian Jian Jue practiced here is an extraordinary great ability. When he first grasped just a little of it and integrated it into the Qing Pan Sword Array, the array's power significantly increased. If he could fully comprehend and master it, it would undoubtedly be a major means of enhancing his strength in the near future. After all, he has already come into contact with numerous Consolidated Stage cultivators. Though most of them are independent practitioners or from various sects and noble families, that has been sufficient. Meeting figures of the Three Emperors and the Seven Great Beast Kings still requires certain opportunities. Especially that day, the Kuai Wolf King—though Han Li has not yet seen his true form—reminds him somewhat of a sense of dissatisfaction and mild irritation whenever he recalls the incident involving the Silver Moon. He wonders how the Silver Moon, having regained her identity as the Línglóng Fairy and returned to the Spiritual Realm for so many years, has developed since then. As the wife of the Kuai Wolf King, she likely returned to his side long ago, and perhaps even during the recent Wàn Bǎo Grand Assembly, he might actually have the chance to meet her face to face. Yet, whenever Han Li thought of the unusual gaze the young woman had given him at the time of her departure, a deep sense of melancholy stirred within him. He was no novice, and naturally perceived the depth of feeling embedded in that gaze. Silver Moon had been by his side for so many years, sharing his every triumph and hardship—so to claim he felt nothing for her would be impossible. But back then, he had only been a Yuan婴 cultivator, and his influence had been limited. Now, though he had advanced to the Hé Tǐ stage and had journeyed to the Spiritual Realm, how much had truly changed in the years that had passed? Was Linglong, the current Fairy Queen of the Spirit Realm, still the Silver Moon of those days? Han Li himself was unaware of this, and unconsciously avoided dwelling on it, fearing it might create a significant flaw in his composure. His inner thoughts churned with unease, and it took him a while to restore his calm. Only then did his eyes flash with a steady blue light, fixing upon the Great Map of a Thousand Swords before him. After a brief moment, Han Li’s expression remained composed, and his mind fully immersed in the intricate network of golden sword patterns. Feeling feverish in the evening, so I'll take the day off.