"You must be the Zhao brothers of the Golden Sea Sect?" The young man in the center suddenly smiled at the three of them and asked.
"Who are you, Fellow Daoist Hou? What's going on?" A look of wariness appeared on the big man's face.
"Daoist Zhao, don't be rude. This is our Sect's Grand Elder! The other is Junior Brother Lin." The old man also spoke, but his words gave the three of them quite a shock.
"Grand Elder? Could it be the Han Senior from your esteemed sect?!" The leading big man blurted out in disbelief.
"That's right. I am indeed fortunate to serve as the Grand Elder of the Luo Yun Sect. It was somewhat abrupt of me to have Senior Nephew Hou invite you Fellow Daoists here." The young man smiled, revealing a set of snow-white teeth.
It was none other than Han Li, who had traveled all the way from the Luo Yun Sect to the Kingdom of Eastern Yu.
"We wouldn't dare. It is our honor to be summoned by Senior!" The leading big man was surprised. After carefully examining Han Li again and seeing that his appearance indeed closely matched the person from the rumors, he immediately bowed respectfully without daring to show any neglect.
The other two hastily bowed in imitation.
"There's no need. The three of you are not disciples of my sect, so there's no need for such formalities. I heard from Senior Nephew Hou that you three once encountered our sect's female disciple in the Valley. Is this true?" Han Li waved his hand and asked calmly.
"Does Senior mean Fairy Bai and the others? We did indeed cross paths with them briefly in the Valley of Falling Demons." The leading big man was momentarily stunned when Han Li brought this up, but immediately answered honestly.
"Oh? Could you Fellow Daoists describe the circumstances of that encounter to me in detail?" Han Li asked gently.
"That is no problem at all. Several months ago, my brothers needed a rare material for refining artifacts, so we entered the Valley of Falling Demons hoping for some luck. But we found nothing in the Outer Valley and were preparing to leave when we ran into Fairy Bai and the other two on the way. Due to some past matters, I had met Fairy Bai a few times before, so I went up to exchange a few words. However, Fairy Bai and her companions seemed somewhat anxious, as if they were also searching for something. They didn't talk much with us and soon left. My brothers then immediately left the valley and never saw the three fairies again." The big man recounted carefully.
"Fellow Daoist, could you be more specific about where you met Senior Nephew Bai? I have a map of the Outer Valley of Falling Demons here. Please mark the approximate location where you encountered them on this." Han Li pondered for a moment, flicked his sleeve, and a prepared jade slip of green light flew toward the big man.
"The place where we met Fairy Bai is already deep inside the Outer Valley." The big man quickly caught the jade slip, explained a few words first, then immersed his consciousness into it. But in an instant, he withdrew and presented the jade slip to Han Li with both hands.
Han Li raised his hand in a beckoning motion. The jade slip transformed into a streak of green light that vanished into his palm. He swept his spiritual sense through it, and his eyebrow twitched slightly.
"Indeed, it is very close to the Inner Valley this time. I thank you three for your trouble. Senior Nephew Hou, Senior Nephew Wu, you two keep our guests company for a while. I will take my leave first." After putting away the jade slip, Han Li smiled at the three big men, then casually instructed the old man and the scholar.
"We respectfully see off Senior Uncle Han!" The scholar and the old man immediately half-bowed, and the three big men did not dare neglect to assume a posture of respectful send-off.
Brilliant green light flared around Han Li's body. In an instant, he transformed into a dazzling green rainbow that shot into the sky, vanishing over the horizon in the blink of an eye.
"Brother Hou! Is this really the Han Li Senior from your sect who advanced to the rank of Great Cultivator?" Only after watching the green rainbow disappear at the horizon did the other big man, who had not spoken the entire time, finally let out a long breath, as if he still found it somewhat hard to believe.
"If not this Senior Uncle Han, then who else? You three having this chance to meet him is quite a stroke of fortune! You should know that Senior Uncle Han's reputation is enormous, but he rarely meets even the sect's own disciples. I have only seen Senior Uncle a few times myself." The old man surnamed Hou also visibly relaxed, and said with a bitter smile.
"Indeed. Senior Uncle Han doesn't interact much with the inner disciples. Although I have condensed my Golden Core for decades, I only saw him once from a distance during a grand ceremony. If it weren't for Senior Sister Bai and the others' matter, I'm afraid the Grand Elder wouldn't have left his cave abode." The scholar added.
"Does that mean Fairy Bai and the others are truly missing in the Valley of Falling Demons? Earlier, my brothers heard some rumors but thought them just wild talk." The leading big man stared blankly for a long while before asking solemnly.
"The matter has come to this; there's nothing to hide. Junior Sister Bai and the others have indeed run into trouble." The old man sighed.
"But Fairy Bai and the other two all have the cultivation of Core Formation. How could they go missing so easily? Don't tell me they entered the Inner Valley?" The leading big man was somewhat shocked.
"I'm afraid that is the case. The best scenario is that they are just trapped somewhere in the Inner Valley. In that case, with Senior Uncle Han personally taking action, rescuing them should be absolutely no problem." The scholar sounded worried.
"Does Fairy Bai have some connection with Senior Han? Otherwise, from what you two said earlier, it seems Senior Han doesn't like to involve himself in matters." The leading big man caught on to something.
"Hehe. I've heard that Senior Sister Bai has known Senior Uncle Han for a very long time. But I think the main reason lies with the other two fellow sisters. I hear that Senior Sister Liu Yu was once Senior Han's In-Name Disciple, and the other, Senior Sister Mu Peiling, is in fact Senior Uncle Han's personal attendant. When all three of them encountered trouble at the same time, how could Senior Uncle Han not get involved?" The old man smiled faintly.
So that was it. Understanding dawned on the faces of all three big men simultaneously.
While these Core Formation cultivators were discussing matters, Han Li was already hurtling at top speed toward the Valley of Falling Demons.