"Well... since the Master has personally asked, Silver Moon will speak freely. May I ask what the Master's plans are for the future? If there are no other arrangements, staying in the Falling Cloud Sect would be quite a good choice. Both of them are early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, so the Master wouldn't be subject to anyone's restrictions while remaining here. Moreover, the Falling Cloud Sect is no small power — it can certainly provide the Master with a measure of support. Of course, if the Master has other plans, that's perfectly fine as well. A Nascent Soul cultivator, even a rogue cultivator, isn't someone any sect would dare provoke lightly." Silver Moon spoke calmly.
"I don't have any concrete plans for the time being. I need several years to first stabilize my Nascent Soul. Besides, I'll have to make a trip to the Extreme West at some point. I absolutely must get my hands on the last three layers of the Great Development Art's technique. I'll also need to visit the Yuanwu Kingdom eventually — I once promised someone that I would exterminate the Fu family in that kingdom. I wonder whether that family has any connection to the Fu family of the Hundred Treasures Academy?" Han Li said mildly.
"If that's the case, then Master would do well to remain in the Falling Cloud Sect for now. Being a rogue cultivator does leave one rather isolated, and having guidance from Nascent Soul cultivators would be of great benefit to Master's cultivation," Silver Moon suggested after a moment's thought.
"Mm. There's some sense in that. I'm rather tired now — you may leave first." Han Li neither confirmed nor denied whether he would accept the advice. With that, he changed the subject, rose to his feet, and walked toward the bedroom.
The white fox tilted her head and watched Han Li's retreating figure, a contemplative look flickering in her eyes, before she too left the hall.
...
Lying on the stone bed in the bedroom, Han Li stared blankly at the ceiling of his stone chamber, his emotions churning. Sleep would not come easily.
The process of condensing his Nascent Soul had seemed straightforward enough on the surface, but the sheer danger involved still filled Han Li with lingering dread whenever he recalled it.
The violent convulsions and reversal of energy through his meridians when his core shattered had nearly driven him to the point of wishing for death. Fortunately, his cultivation was far deeper than that of other cultivators at the same stage, and he had barely managed to endure through it. The miraculous medicinal power of the Nine-Curve Spirit Ginseng Pill had certainly played the largest role — without it, Han Li truly doubted whether he would have simply passed out on the spot.
The shattering of the core had been fraught with peril, but it was nothing compared to the backlash of the Heart Demons that followed.
He had originally assumed that with several extraordinary soul-soothing treasures — the Soul-Nurturing Wood, the Bodhi Beads, and others — along with a specially prepared Spirit-Calming Pill prepared specifically for this purpose, weathering the Heart Demons would be far easier for him than for other cultivators attempting to form their Nascent Soul, even if it wouldn't be entirely effortless.
He had not expected the Heart Demons' cunning and ferocity to far exceed anything he had heard.
First, the Heart Demons forced Han Li to relive his deepest fears and most terrifying anxieties — many things buried so far in the depths of his heart that even he had not been consciously aware of them now played out one after another in illusory visions.
Whether it was his small hometown village suddenly ransacked by bandits, with his parents and little sister all slaughtered, or his cultivation completely lost as he fell back to the state of a mortal, or even the secret of the Small Bottle being exposed and the entire cultivation world hunting him down — every one of these scenarios struck at his most vulnerable points, manifesting before his eyes as vivid as reality, as illusory as a dream. Once one fell into them, there was no escape.
Even someone of Han Li's ordinarily resolute and steady temperament nearly succumbed to the fury and terror.
Fortunately, the Spirit-Calming Pill and his other treasures had not earned their reputation in vain. At the critical moment, they managed to preserve a sliver of clarity in his mind, allowing him to break through the illusions and return to reality.
Even so, the experience had left Han Li drenched in cold sweat.
Before his mind could even settle, the Heart Demons launched their next wave of assault.
In a daze, he found himself immersed in one pleasant illusion after another — visions of bliss and happiness.
There were scenes of reuniting with his parents and little sister, returning to the carefree joy of his childhood. Then came an unexpected marriage to Nangong Wan, their dual-cultivation dream unfolding together. Finally, the Mo sisters, Chen Qiaolian, and several other women all appearing together as part of one household. Han Li sank into these visions briefly but managed to shake off the enchantment.
His cultivation achieving great success, his domination of the Tian Nan cultivation world, his eventual ascension to the Spirit World, and his transformation into a true immortal, living as long as heaven and earth — these visions all followed one after another.
He had no idea how many years he spent lost in those illusions, as though having lived through lifetimes of joy and sorrow, before some unknown stroke of awareness suddenly jolted him awake. He finally broke free of the Heart Demons' bewitchment, and his Nascent Soul took shape.
Han Li lay in bed, silently recalling all of this, and could not help but remember the first time his Nascent Soul left his body.
When the Nascent Soul had just formed and flown out through the crown of his head, he had clearly felt that the Nascent Soul was himself and he was the Nascent Soul. Yet he could do nothing to control any of its movements — he could only watch helplessly as the Nascent Soul frolicked and played above his head, as though he had returned to those carefree, innocent days of childhood.
In that moment, his heart had been filled with a profound and matchless serenity. Every worry and vexation was cast aside, as though he had entered that legendary state of returning to simplicity and truth.
Afterward, when Han Li thought it over carefully, he understood the reason: his Nascent Soul had just formed and he had not yet achieved unity of mind and spirit with it. Once the Nascent Soul fully stabilized and his cultivation advanced further, such a thing would naturally never happen again.
Tossing and turning, utterly exhausted in body and mind from the ordeal of forming his Nascent Soul, Han Li drifted into a hazy sleep. And for once, he dreamed a supremely sweet dream — as if he had returned to that small mountain village once more, running joyfully through the hills with his elder brother and little sister, then going home to eat, laugh, and talk before his parents.