Though Mo Jianli already knew Han Li had just returned from the Demon Realm, the notion that Han Li had actually managed to enter the Cleansing Spirit Pool had never once crossed his mind.
After all, over the course of countless millennia, countless powerhouses from every realm had ventured forth in search of the Cleansing Spirit Pool and the Purifying Spirit Lotus, yet the number who had truly succeeded was vanishingly small. While Han Li was unquestionably a heaven-blessed prodigy among the human and demon races, when measured against the monstrous talents of other realms, his edge was far from certain.
But what Mo Jianli could never have imagined was that Han Li's abilities were anything but comparable to those of an ordinary late-stage Integration cultivator. In terms of physical toughness and spiritual sense alone, he was nearly on par with an ordinary Holy Sovereign, and when he activated his second Nirvana Transformation, he could even hold his own against a Holy Sovereign's true body for a brief time.
Furthermore, when Han Li had entered the Demon Realm, he had done so at the height of the demon race's great tribulation — the high-ranking demons were in complete disarray, paying no attention whatsoever to outsiders like Han Li. Had even a few Holy Sovereigns turned their true bodies upon them in earnest, joining forces, then no matter how extraordinary Han Li and his companions might have been, they would never have been able to reach the Origin Sea.
"Good — this truly is yet another piece of wonderful news. With Fellow Daoist Han's extraordinary talent, combined with the bone-cleansing, meridian-transforming effects of the Cleansing Spirit Pool and the Purifying Spirit Lotus, and with the two of us providing our full support going forward, I would estimate there is a thirty to forty percent chance of your advancing to the Mahayana Stage." Mo Jianli's eyes gleamed as he spoke.
"Hmph — he's a cultivator of your human race. What reason does this old ancestor have to pour his full effort into aiding him?" Ancestor Ao Xiao said coldly.
"The human and demon races are one and the same in the Spirit World. If Fellow Daoist Han truly advances to the Mahayana, he will naturally become a pillar of support for the demon race as well for tens of thousands of years to come. Why must you draw such sharp lines between us, Fellow Daoist Ao Xiao? If someone among the demon race had a genuine chance of reaching Mahayana, I too would spare no effort in helping them." Mo Jianli said matter-of-factly.
"Old Mo, do you truly mean that?" Upon hearing this, Ancestor Ao Xiao narrowed his eyes slightly, a half-smile playing on his lips.
"Of course I speak from the heart — why, does someone in the demon race actually have a chance at advancing to Mahayana?" Mo Jianli replied without hesitation, but then suddenly seemed to realize something.
"Heh heh — this granddaughter of mine, Old Mo, you've met her many times. But I don't suppose you know — she possesses the Seven Star Moon Body. Once she cultivates to the perfection of late-stage Integration, her chances of advancing to Mahayana may be somewhat lower than Fellow Daoist Han's, but the difference will certainly not be great." Ancestor Ao Xiao pointed to Silvermoon, who stood behind him with a calm expression, and spoke with undisguised pride.
"Linglong has the Seven Star Moon Body, just like you? Old Ao Xiao, you've kept me in the dark about this for far too long! Why didn't you tell me sooner — don't you trust me?" Mo Jianli was visibly shocked. He swept his gaze over Silvermoon, his expression shifting to one of surprise.
"How could I not trust you, Brother Mo? It's simply that when this granddaughter of mine was born, no corresponding signs manifested. I only discovered later that she possessed this constitution as well. There was no intention of keeping it from you, Fellow Daoist Mo." Ancestor Ao Xiao waved his hand and explained unhurriedly.
"Hmph — let's say that's true. Even so, you haven't let a single hint slip in recent years. And now you suddenly bring it up using Fellow Daoist Han's matter as a pretext — you must have something else in mind." Mo Jianli snorted, his expression returning to normal, though a note of dissatisfaction lingered in his voice.
"Indeed. Although my granddaughter possesses the Seven Star Moon Body, she has encountered certain difficulties in her cultivation. I'm afraid I will need to call upon your strength, Brother, if there is to be any hope of resolving them." At this point, Ancestor Ao Xiao sighed.
"What difficulties? As long as it's something I can help with, don't hesitate to ask, Fellow Daoist Ao Xiao." Mo Jianli agreed readily.
"It's like this…" Ancestor Ao Xiao nodded. After speaking only a few words aloud, his lips moved faintly without any sound emerging, and he began transmitting his voice directly to Mo Jianli.
Mo Jianli listened with focused attention, and as time passed, his expression gradually grew solemn.
"I understand. Everything you need, I will provide. But in return, when Fellow Daoist Han attempts to break through the Mahayana bottleneck in the future, whatever he requires, we must both do everything in our power to provide." After Ancestor Ao Xiao finished his voice transmission, Mo Jianli pondered for a moment, then said with firm resolve.
"Of course. Whether it is Fellow Daoist Han or Linglong who advances to Mahayana, either one will be enough to secure our human and demon races' foothold in the Spirit World." This time, it was Ancestor Ao Xiao's turn to smile.
"I thank you both, esteemed seniors, for your generous offer, but I don't have much confidence in advancing to Mahayana. Should I fail, wouldn't that leave you both deeply disappointed?" Han Li, who had been quietly listening to the two Mahayana cultivators speak, finally cleared his throat and spoke up.
"Who can ever guarantee success in advancing to Mahayana? When I myself broke through to Mahayana all those years ago, it was nine parts luck. Among my contemporaries, there were several whose talent exceeded my own, yet by chance alone did I succeed where they did not. Fellow Daoist Han, you needn't put too much pressure on yourself." Mo Jianli stroked his beard as he spoke.
"Precisely. The reason we will help with your cultivation going forward is twofold — first, among both our races, no one else has a greater chance of reaching Mahayana than the two of you; second, this practice has long been a tradition for our races. Whenever a Mahayana elder approaches the end of his lifespan, the clan begins concentrating its resources to cultivate promising juniors who might one day break through. And it isn't just the two of us doing this — the Holy Island has long been fully nurturing several other juniors believed to have a chance at Mahayana. That was, in fact, one of the original purposes for founding the Holy Island. It's simply that compared to those fellows on the island, we happen to place more faith in you two at the moment. That said, had your situations not been somewhat special, you might already have been invited to the island. Fellow Daoist Han, would you be willing to train on the Holy Island in the future? If so, the two of us could arrange to send you there." Ancestor Ao Xiao chuckled and added a few words of explanation.
"I wasn't aware the Holy Island served such a purpose. In that case, I won't decline your generous offer, esteemed seniors. However, I am accustomed to training on my own. Perhaps I will visit the Holy Island in the future when the opportunity arises." Han Li's thoughts raced for a moment before he made his decision.
"Very well. Since Fellow Daoist Han has made up your mind, we naturally won't press the matter. However, there is one more thing I wish to ask — the Long Clan Ancestor and the Ye girl who entered the Spirit World with you, did they truly fall?" After nodding, Mo Jianli suddenly straightened his expression and raised another matter.
"Brother Long and the others did indeed meet with misfortune in the Demon Realm." Han Li answered truthfully.
"What a pity! Among the True Spirit great families, the Long and Ye clans were the most powerful. With both fallen, the impact on the True Spirit families will be considerable, and our human race's strength will be greatly diminished. However, with Brother Crab's assistance, the situation may yet be different." A flash of regret crossed Mo Jianli's face, but when his gaze fell upon Daoist Crab, his spirits visibly lifted.
"Those True Spirit families of the human race — when they do produce high-ranking cultivators, those cultivators are indeed somewhat stronger than their ordinary peers. But by the same token, the proportion of high-ranking cultivators emerging from these True Spirit families is far lower than among ordinary people. I don't think they merit that much attention." Ancestor Ao Xiao said dismissively.
"That's not entirely fair. Regardless, the True Spirit families do share some ancestral connection with the ancient True Spirits. Once an Integration cultivator emerges from among them, they become a formidable fighting force for our human race — still well worth looking forward to." Mo Jianli shook his head.
"In my eyes, these True Spirit families are far less worthy of attention than the great royal clans of our demon race. Over the ages, the proportion of Integration cultivators produced by our royal clans has far surpassed that of these True Spirit families." Ancestor Ao Xiao let out a cold laugh.
"Your royal clans have always been prodigiously talented — the True Spirit families truly can't compare. But there's no point in discussing this now. I had been hoping that besides Fellow Daoist Han, others might return from the Demon Realm as well, but it seems that hope is truly gone." Mo Jianli furrowed his brow.
"What do you mean? You're short on manpower — is the allied army planning some major operation?" Ancestor Ao Xiao immediately caught the implication, his expression darkening.
"The Wood Tribe has prepared a plan for a counter-offensive against the demons, and has won the support of Elder Sang of the Yaksha Tribe. They are hoping for a single decisive battle to reclaim all lost territory." After a moment's deliberation, Mo Jianli said slowly.
"Have they gone mad? If lost territory could be recovered so easily, why would we have been locked in this stalemate with the demons for so many years? Setting the Wood Tribe aside, has that old fool Sang Hai lost his senses as well? Did you not object?" Ancestor Ao Xiao's face flushed with anger.
"Ao Xiao, you've been away from the allied army for a full six months and aren't aware of the latest intelligence — no wonder you'd think that. Three months ago, our two races, along with the Yaksha Tribe, the Spirit Tribe, and several others, all simultaneously received word from our home territories. The demons have suddenly dispatched massive reinforcements into each of our territories and launched another fierce offensive. Without a Mahayana cultivator to anchor our defenses, the situation has rapidly deteriorated. We must resolve the Wood Tribe's affairs swiftly and strike a quick victory — we can no longer afford to wait until the day the two realms separate." Mo Jianli's expression was equally grave.
"What — the demons have sent another army into our Spirit World? Has this intelligence been verified? This could simply be a bluff on the demons' part." Ancestor Ao Xiao's face turned ugly in an instant.
"I naturally contacted the Holy Island through special channels. Not only is the intelligence genuine, but the avatars of the demon race's three Primordial Ancestors have been spotted among the new reinforcements. Whether the Primordial Ancestors' true bodies have also entered the Spirit World, I cannot say." Mo Jianli smiled bitterly, then added a statement that made even Han Li's expression change.
"That's impossible. Ordinary Holy Sovereigns are one matter, but the true bodies of the three demon Primordial Ancestors absolutely cannot enter our Spirit World so easily. Wasn't the entire purpose of all the painstaking measures we laid out back then to prevent exactly this?" Ancestor Ao Xiao flatly denied it.