"Oh no, I've only just recently advanced to the Integration stage. Both my Magical Power and experience are still lacking — I'll need City Lord Peng to provide further guidance." Han Li naturally adopted a modest demeanor.
"Fellow Daoist Han's advancement from Deity Transformation to Integration within a few short centuries — which cultivator among the human and demon races doesn't know about it now? With your talent, it's entirely possible for you to advance even further. How could the likes of us old fogeys compare?" Peng Jue said with a smile.
"Brother Peng flatters me. But might I ask who this fairy is—" Han Li let out a chuckle and shifted his gaze to the woman in the black dress beside them.
This woman's Magical Power was extraordinarily pure and formidable — she was a late-stage Integration, a holy-tier cultivator. Han Li was secretly alarmed upon sensing this, and couldn't help but speculate about her true identity.
As for the woman in the purple robes, he had unconsciously overlooked her.
"This queen is Xiao Guan. I wonder whether Fellow Daoist Han has heard of me." The woman in the black dress fixed Han Li with an interested gaze and offered a faint smile.
"The Black Phoenix King!" Although he had already harbored some suspicions, hearing her state it so candidly still caused Han Li's expression to shift.
"It seems Fellow Daoist Han is no stranger to me. On that note, I have a descendant named Xiao Hong — back then, she had quite a entanglement with you." The woman in black chuckled softly.
"Regarding what happened back then—" Han Li furrowed his brow, about to say something, but the woman waved her hand and spoke indifferently:
"There's no need for Fellow Daoist Han to misunderstand. That girl Xiao Hong didn't know her place — she actually dared to conspire with others to steal the True Phoenix Blood of the Ye family on her own initiative. I punished her by confining her to the Flame Domain of the Black Phoenix Palace for a thousand years of solitary reflection. What I said just now was simply to thank Fellow Daoist Han for intervening back then and preventing our Black Phoenix Clan from falling out with the Ye family. What you may not know is that the Grand Elder of the Ye family has been a close friend of mine for many years. If things had truly soured between us because of this, that would have been something I'd never wish to see."
Han Li was somewhat surprised to hear this. He wasn't sure whether she was speaking the truth, but he smiled freely and replied:
"Since Fellow Daoist Xiao has put it that way, there's really nothing more I need to say."
Beside them, Peng Jue naturally knew nothing of the history between Han Li and the Black Phoenix Clan, but seeing the two of them easily smooth over the matter, he showed a trace of relief on his face. Cupping his fists toward them, he said:
"Fellow Daoist Xiao, Fellow Daoist Han — the auction is about to begin. The two of you should head inside first. I still need to wait here for some other fellow Daoists who are running late!"
"Very well. I should indeed be going in. Dai'er, let's go." The woman in black nodded, then called to the woman in purple robes behind her, and with a maidservant leading the way, she glided gracefully through the gates.
"Dai'er!"
The moment Han Li heard the woman use that name, he froze. Then he turned to look at the woman in purple with a peculiar expression.
But the woman had already lowered her delicate head partway at some point, and without sparing Han Li another glance, she followed the Black Phoenix King inside. From beginning to end, she hadn't uttered a single word to him.
Han Li, who had already harbored some suspicion, felt his expression shift uncertainly as the purple-robed woman's figure vanished beyond the gates.
Could this Dai'er be the little girl who had been taken away from his side by Xiao Hong all those years ago?
Back then, that Dai'er had been a half-human, half-demon hybrid, and her background seemed to be quite distinguished. Otherwise, Xiao Hong — a Deity Transformation-stage Black Phoenix demon cultivator — wouldn't have specifically infiltrated deep into human territory just to spirit her away.
If that were the case, and the woman in purple was indeed the little girl from back then, then appearing at the side of the Black Phoenix King would hardly be strange at all.
But to go from a powerless mortal to an early Deity Transformation cultivator in just a few short centuries — that seemed almost impossible.
Even if the Black Phoenix Clan valued Dai'er greatly, and even if the Black Phoenix bloodline was extraordinarily profound, this rate of advancement was simply too shocking. It was in no way inferior to his own leap from Deity Transformation to Integration within a few centuries.
He also remembered the little Dai'er's appearance with perfect clarity.
Even accounting for the changes that age might bring, he couldn't see any resemblance between the woman in purple and the little girl from back then.
And if she truly was the Dai'er from those years, his own appearance hadn't changed at all — so why hadn't she even greeted him?
The little girl back then had been quite attached to him.
Han Li's thoughts raced, and his confusion only deepened.
Peng Jue, noticing Han Li standing there with such a peculiar expression, felt a bit puzzled but didn't press him. He simply watched Han Li with a smile, saying nothing.
"Brother Peng, is this person called Dai'er also a member of the Black Phoenix Clan? Do you know what her relationship is with Fellow Daoist Xiao?" Han Li finally spoke up to ask.
"Heh heh, I thought you hadn't noticed her. From what I know, Dai'er is a direct descendant of Fellow Daoist Xiao. She's quite famous among the younger generation of demon cultivators. I hear that not only is her cultivation talent astonishingly exceptional, but her true appearance is breathtakingly beautiful — she's known on the outside as 'Fairy Fengling.' Countless talented young demon cultivators are absolutely infatuated with her and pursue her desperately to no avail." Peng Jue replied with a smile.
"Her true appearance?" Han Li's eyes flashed upon hearing this.
"No wonder you wouldn't know — her current face is concealed using an essential true feather of Fellow Daoist Xiao's. Unless that feather is removed, no one, regardless of how great their abilities, can pierce through the illusion to see her real face. According to what Fellow Daoist Xiao told me, this is meant to reduce the trouble she'd attract at the Myriad Treasures Gathering and spare her from being pestered by certain people. What's this, Fellow Daoist Han — are you interested in Fairy Fengling too? Come to think of it, even though you've advanced to the Integration stage, your age isn't all that great. If you wanted to take her in, it wouldn't be entirely impossible, would it? I hear the girl isn't a pure-blooded Black Phoenix — she's a hybrid of the human and demon races." Peng Jue said with a teasing grin, clearly joking.
The deputy city lord might have said this, but he obviously didn't take it seriously.
"Brother Peng is really teasing me. I simply noticed that this woman has a unique bearing and isn't an ordinary person — that's all." Han Li said with a smile, the corner of his lips curling upward. "Heh heh, it's getting late. I should head inside as well."
"I still need to wait for other fellow Daoists, so I won't see you off." Peng Jue cupped his fists without thinking much of it.