Chapter 1223

Liu Yu felt a little excited inside!

If Han Li truly made another major breakthrough in cultivation, her status would certainly rise again, and the benefits would be endless.

To be honest, having tasted the flavor of power and authority, even if this woman were to refocus on cultivation, she would likely not succeed. After all, now that she goes out, even cultivators of the same level, or even Nascent Soul-level old monsters, treat her with great courtesy—this feeling is truly enjoyable for her.

Moreover, this woman knows her own aptitude very well. After several consecutive failed attempts to break through to Nascent Soul, she has truly given up on the idea of condensing a Nascent Soul, and now devotes herself wholeheartedly to assisting Lu Luo in managing everything of the Falling Cloud Sect.

Even if the Great Dao is not attained, this woman does not intend to silently waste her life in obscurity. Therefore, the current rapid development of Falling Cloud Sect is, to a small extent, indeed the result of her painstaking efforts and hard work.

This in turn greatly pleased Lu Luo regarding this woman's performance, and in ordinary matters, he has granted her even more authority.

But when the party from Falling Cloud Sect arrived outside Mother-Child Peak, they were blocked by a layer of restriction.

Seeing the spiritual clouds in the sky begin to rotate into a huge funnel, seemingly about to slowly descend onto Lower Mother Peak, he immediately shouted in panic, sending a voice transmission into the restriction.

After a moment, the 'confusion' mist blocking the people ahead rolled and then split open a passage on its own; the group immediately transformed into escape lights and flew in without hesitation.

As a result, when Fang Yi emerged from the 'confusion' mist, these people saw Mu Peiling at the exit.

She was holding a yellow 'color' dharma flag in her hands, quietly waiting for their appearance.

"Greetings, two Elders. Elder Sister Nangong has been waiting nearby for some time; please follow me." Mu Peiling put away her dharma flag, lightly pointed toward a certain child peak in the distance, and spoke with extraordinary politeness.

Upon hearing this, Lu Luo and the others naturally had no objections, and immediately led the group straight toward that child peak.

At the summit of the child peak, Nangong Wan stood there in a spotless white palace robe, spotless and pure, resembling a celestial maiden from the Moon Palace. However, her brows were slightly furrowed; upon seeing Lu Luo and the others arrive, she merely nodded slightly, then fixed her gaze on the distant, changing spiritual clouds, her bright eyes flickering incessantly.

Beside her stood another male and female cultivator—specifically, Tian Qin'er and the male disciple named Shi Jian.

These two had both successfully formed their cores decades ago; in particular, Tian Qin'er had taken a Beauty-Preserving Pill, maintaining her appearance at that of a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl, so that even after many years, she still looks like a maiden.

After these two paid their respects to the Song surname woman and Lu Luo, they again stood behind Nangong Wan, wearing expressions of deep reverence.

"Elder Nangong, is Han Shidi stuck in the bottleneck of breaking through to Soul Transformation?" Lu Luo asked upon seeing Nangong Wan, unable to help but speak this way, a hint of excitement flashing on his face.

"Other than rushing the Soul Transformation realm, how could breaking an ordinary bottleneck cause such a great commotion? But this omen has already lasted for some time, and it seems not to be going smoothly." Nangong Wan replied softly, her eyes clearly showing some concern.

"Not going smoothly? Isn't Han Shidi already caused such an astonishing celestial phenomenon?" Lu Luo exclaimed in surprise.

"If the spiritual clouds in the sky could be summoned down onto the mountain peak and merge with her husband, this breakthrough would be considered largely successful. But the descent of these spiritual clouds is extremely strained—this is the manifestation of being unable to yet control the heavenly and earthly spiritual energy, so this breakthrough is likely not to go smoothly." Nangong Wan seemed to have studied the Soul Transformation breakthrough somewhat, and slowly explained her analysis.

The others, upon hearing Nangong Wan's words, looked again at the spiritual clouds in the sky and saw that the glowing spiritual cloud cluster had indeed descended several times toward the lower mother peak, but each time was repelled by an invisible force, never truly landing—appearing extremely strained.

Lu Luo felt his heart sink, and having no time to ask further details, he could only stare fixedly at the distant sky without blinking.

Although the Song surname woman did not speak, her beautiful eyes darted back and forth, clearly indicating her inner state was not as calm as her outward appearance suggested. The other cultivators naturally were not all feeling the same, but in the presence of the two Nascent Soul Elders, no one would dare speak casually—all remained honest and composed.

At this moment, the spiritual clouds in the distant sky suddenly trembled violently up and down, emitting a strange humming sound; immediately, the huge cloud mass rolled erratically, and then with a thunderous earth-shattering roar, it burst apart—five-colored spiritual light flashed in the air and then vanished without a trace.

Meanwhile, the original clusters of spiritual light flying toward this place, upon hearing a clear and abnormal soft sigh emanating from within Mother Peak, all turned fuzzy and dissolved into nothing.

In an instant, everything around Mother-Child Peak returned to its original state.

Seeing this scene, Nangong Wan's face revealed a hint of regret. But at this moment, the Song surname woman suddenly spoke first:

"Clearly, Han Li has already half-stepped into the gate of Soul Transformation; he only failed at the last moment. But it doesn't matter. Given Han Li's current lifespan, achieving such astonishing cultivation, he will surely succeed after a few more attempts—entering the Soul Transformation realm is merely a matter of time."

"Yes, with Han Li's cultivation level, causing such an astonishing celestial phenomenon on his first breakthrough attempt, entering Soul Transformation is certainly no problem." Lu Luo also felt regret, but after withdrawing his gaze, he nodded in agreement.

"Though that is true, Han Li has always been extremely steady; since he decided to attempt the Soul Transformation breakthrough, he must have made thorough preparations. His cultivation must have reached the point where no further progress is possible before taking this final step. If so, without other opportunities, even trying several more times would likely be futile." Nangong Wan fell silent for a moment, then let out a bitter laugh and said this.

Lu Luo and the Song surname woman naturally understood this principle; earlier, they had merely been offering comfort. Upon hearing Nangong Wan say this, they also found it inappropriate to say anything further.

Liu Yu naturally felt the same regret; just as she was about to say something, she suddenly heard Han Li's clear voice from within Mother Peak—though not loud, yet despite the great distance, many could actually hear it clearly, as if he were speaking right beside them.

"Wan'er! Lu Shi-xiong, Song Shi-mei, since you've already arrived, please come to my cave dwelling for a gathering. This time my Soul Transformation breakthrough failed, so I may have to leave Tiannan for a while. I have some things to say to you two. Oh, and call Liu Yu to come along as well."

"Lu Shi-xiong, Song Shi-mei, let's go together." Upon hearing Han Li's words, Nangong Wan was slightly startled, but immediately her expression returned to normal, and she smiled faintly at Lu Luo and the others.

Lu Luo and the Song surname woman exchanged a glance, naturally unwilling to refuse; immediately, together with Liu Yu's escape light, they transformed into several escape lights and shot toward Mother Peak.

Tian Qin'er and Shi Jian, who had not received Han Li's summons, wore expressions of hard-to-conceal disappointment, but could only remain honestly in place with the other core-forming cultivators, waiting for their return. Without orders from Nangong Wan and the other Elders, the other core-forming cultivators dared not leave lightly. Only after the Song surname woman and others had vanished from the peak did they begin to whisper and talk among themselves.

Several of those who had some acquaintance with Shi Jian and Tian Qin'er even came over to chat enthusiastically.

Although Tian Qin'er and Shi Jian had already formed their cores, due to Han Li's strict order, they normally spend most of their time in secluded cultivation within Mother-Child Peak and do not come out, so they actually get along very well with others in conversation.

Nangong Wan and the others stayed in Han Li's cave dwelling for several hours, yet no one came out.

The cultivators on the child peak, naturally surprised, secretly speculated that the sect's several Elders must be discussing some major matter……

Three months later, a blue light flew out from the Falling Cloud Mountain Range, and in the blink of an eye, it broke through the sky and vanished without a trace.

After several more days, the Falling Cloud Sect finally reported that Elder Han Da had left the sect and was once again traveling abroad.

As for the purpose of the journey and its duration, these remain vague—no one can say clearly.

Although this news surprised some people, no one was overly shocked. Because as early as half a month ago, the news of Elder Han Da's failed attempt to break through to Soul Transformation had already been secretly spread, and nearly all the sects, big and small, in Tiannan knew of this matter.

For those sects that secretly harbored fear and caution toward Han Li, this matter caused them to secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

Although Han Li is already the top cultivator in Tiannan, if he were to advance to Soul Transformation, his lifespan could extend to over two thousand years—such a long time would be too long even for some sects with slight ambitions. Naturally, they would not truly wish to be suppressed for so long by such a great mountain.

Since Han Li's Soul Transformation breakthrough failed, his going out to travel this time has, in others' eyes, become a natural and reasonable matter.

After all, if solitary cultivation is insufficient, one naturally needs to go out to seek opportunities. Of course, the chance of success in doing so is naturally pitifully small; otherwise, the three top cultivators of Tiannan would not have remained stuck at the late Nascent Soul stage for hundreds of years without anyone succeeding in advancing to Soul Transformation.

These sect leaders are not particularly worried about this matter.

Speaking of which, aside from Han Li, there are now only two late Nascent Soul cultivators left in Tiannan.

Originally, the Great Elder of the Nine Nations Alliance, Wei Wuyi, had already passed into meditation over a hundred years ago. But the news of his passing had been sealed off by his own Huayi Gate until recent years, when it was finally transmitted. This is also one of the most earth-shattering major events to have occurred in Tiannan in recent years.

It caused the Nine Nations Alliance to truly tremble and shake, and some sect powers also re-divided once.

When Han Li emerged from seclusion and heard this news, he felt deeply moved.

Although Wei Wuyi was only one step away from the Soul Transformation realm, it was precisely this one step—falling short at the last moment—that severed his connection with the Great Dao completely.

Truly a matter worthy of pity and lament!

But this only strengthened his resolve for longevity even further.

For Han Li, if he lacks the art of longevity, then everything he currently possesses is like fleeting clouds and smoke; even if he has the power to overturn rivers and seas, in the end it would all be for nothing.

He absolutely refuses to accept such a fate in this life.

Wang