The Heavenly South's cultivation world was once again thrown into an uproar.
Elder-level Nascent Soul cultivators from the various major sects suddenly received another ceremonial invitation from the Flowing Cloud Sect. This time, they were invited to attend the Dual Cultivation Grand Ceremony formalizing the union of the Flowing Cloud Sect's Grand Elder — known as the foremost cultivator in the Heavenly South — with another Nascent Soul female cultivator who had been virtually unknown, Nangong Wan.
Among the Nascent Soul monsters who received this invitation, aside from the handful who already knew the details, all the rest were greatly astonished. But given Han Li's unrivaled reputation, no one dared decline the invitation. Even the other three great cultivators, who were in secluded cultivation and could not attend in person, specifically sent disciples bearing extraordinarily rare congratulatory gifts.
It was said that on the days of the ceremony, the sky above the entire Flowing Cloud Mountain Range was shrouded for most of its span in dazzling five-colored light, and magnificent towers and jade terraces glowing with five hues seemingly materialized out of thin air among the mountains. Every spirit tree and sacred wood throughout the range bloomed simultaneously under the effect of restrictions, bursting into verdant life, making the Cloud Dream Mountains look truly like an immortal realm.
The three sects of the Cloud Dream Mountains and some of the smaller nearby sects that wished to curry favor with Han Li had spared no effort whatsoever. The grandeur of the ceremony far surpassed even the celebration held when Han Li had become a Great Cultivator.
As for those who attended, besides the cultivators from major sects personally invited by the Flowing Cloud Sect's invitations, many cultivators from smaller and mid-sized sects, as well as several rogue cultivators of considerable renown, also arrived uninvited bearing gifts of their own.
As a result, during the days the ceremony was held, outside cultivators flooding into the Cloud Dream Mountains numbered five or six thousand, most of them high-level cultivators. It was truly the grandest celebration the Heavenly South had seen in over a thousand years.
But when one thought about it, it really wasn't so strange.
Previously, when Han Li had advanced to become a Great Cultivator, while many had come to offer congratulations, most had harbored doubts — and besides, there were still three other Great Cultivators of equal rank in the Heavenly South. But after the battle at the Great Cultivator ceremony, Han Li's title as the Heavenly South's foremost cultivator had been firmly established.
When word spread that Han Li could fight two opponents of the same rank simultaneously and still hold a clear advantage, every sect — no matter how ancient its heritage or how vast its influence — felt a chill in their hearts.
This was proof enough that with Han Li's current powers, so long as he did not care about the fate of his own sect, he could single-handedly wipe out any cultivation sect.
No sect in the Heavenly South could possess more than two Great Cultivators at the same time. There was simply no force that could stand against Han Li as the Heavenly South's foremost cultivator.
And so, regardless of whether they had any prior connection to the Flowing Cloud Sect, all the sects sent representatives to build ties. As for the high-level rogue cultivators, even more of them hoped to get acquainted with the foremost figure of the Heavenly South, hoping he might offer some guidance in their cultivation, or simply use the ceremony as an opportunity to meet other cultivators.
Thus, combining the outside cultivators who came for the ceremony with the Flowing Cloud Sect's own members and the other two allied sects, it truly could be called a grand assembly of ten thousand cultivators.
The time Han Li and his beautiful bride Nangong Wan spent appearing at the ceremony was not particularly long. The two merely wore smiles as they offered a few words of gratitude to the assembled cultivators, drank a single cup of paired wedding wine on the spot, and then drifted away gracefully.
Everything that followed was handed over entirely to Elder Lu Luo, the Flowing Cloud Sect's other Elder, to preside over.
This Elder Lu proved worthy of his experience and reputation. Even without the two protagonists present, he still managed to conduct the remaining festivities with tremendous vigor and spirited grandeur.
The Dual Cultivation ceremony lasted three or four days before finally drawing to a close.
The assembled cultivators who had come to offer congratulations began departing in groups, but among them, a few had unexpectedly stayed behind.
……
Han Li and Nangong Wan, clad in a white robe, stood shoulder to shoulder at the summit of the Mother Peak of the Parent-Child Mountains, gazing out at the extraordinary sight of rolling white clouds in the distance. The two stood in quiet silence, as though the wordless moment spoke more than words ever could.
After who knew how long, Nangong Wan brushed aside the dark hair falling across her forehead with her pale wrist, then turned her head and gave Han Li a radiant smile:
"This time, I suppose I turned misfortune into blessing. By relying on the Heavenly Moon Technique of the Charming Maiden, I finally broke through to mid-stage Nascent Soul while in the seal. But in the end, I still have my husband to thank most of all — you actually gave me a drop of Emperor's Fluid, such a wondrous substance. That alone saved me at least a decade of bitter cultivation. Otherwise, whether I could have broken free at all would still be uncertain. But for my husband to have advanced to late-stage so quickly — that truly took me by surprise. With your current powers, husband, in the entire Human World, apart from those Deity Transformation stage old monsters who rarely ever act, I'm afraid there is no one left who could be your match."
"No match? I wouldn't dare say that so freely. Since I was able to obtain such fortuitous opportunities, who knows — perhaps somewhere else in the Human World, there are other Nascent Soul cultivators whose fortunes are no less remarkable than mine!" Han Li smiled faintly, rather modest about it.
"Heh heh, I don't believe that for a moment! But what I didn't expect was just how insidious that Soul-Sealing Curse really was. I originally thought that with the power of the Fire Toad's inner core, the curse had been mostly cleansed, but it turned out there were several additional layers of restrictions that had been dormant in my body all along without ever activating. It's a good thing I went through the proper unsealing procedure beforehand, otherwise the consequences would have been endless." Nangong Wan's eyes rippled with a flirtatious light, looking as enchanting as a young maiden.
"I breathed a huge sigh of relief too — it was well worth the dedicated trip all the way to the Great Jin. When we get back, Wan'er, you should take the Essence-Nurturing Pill I gave you as well. With that, advancing to late-stage Nascent Soul might not be out of reach either." Han Li glanced at the beauty beside him and replied with a smile.
"Is that Essence-Nurturing Pill really that miraculous? It's even effective for breaking through to late-stage Nascent Soul?" Nangong Wan blinked her lovely eyes, seeming somewhat dubious.
"Heh heh — for the sake of this single pill, several mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators in the Great Jin fell one after another. What do you think its efficacy is?" Han Li merely smiled without elaborating further.