Chapter 1194: with translation of chapter title

Nan Ting Mountain Region remained lush and green, spiritual energy suffusing the air, but Han Wuxian's keen divine sense detected a barely perceptible tension and killing intent in the air, as well as faint energy fluctuations coming from afar.

He furrowed his brows slightly, followed the fluctuation's source, took a step, space folded, and in an instant brought Qing Lin across countless miles of mountains and rivers.

The next moment, the two appeared above a ravaged valley.

Below, a pursuit was underway.

The two being pursued were all too familiar to Han Wuxian!

One of them wore a faded blue robe washed white, his countenance gentle yet his eyes showed urgency and resolve—it was Wang Tie, who had once given him a life-saving pointer in his humble beginnings; blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, his breath ragged, clearly suffering serious internal injury, yet he still shielded the other person tightly behind him.

The person he protected behind him, dressed in black, with a stern visage, bore an unshakeable weakness and repressed anger in his brow—none other than Xiao Ran, his former comrade-in-arms.

Xiao Ran's aura was extremely unstable, at times barely brushing the edge of Void Refinement, at times falling back to Perfected Spirit Transformation, clearly his old wounds had not healed, possibly even damaging his foundation.

Their pursuers were five fierce cultivators. The leader wore a dark-yellow Daoist robe, his countenance sinister, holding a horsetail whisk whose threads flashed with metallic cold light; his cultivation had reached mid‑Void Refinement! The four behind him were all late‑ or perfected Spirit Transformation experts.

"Wang Tie! Xiao Ran! Hand over the Nine‑Aperture Soul‑Returning Lotus and the Ten‑Thousand‑Year Earth‑Heart Milk if you know what's good for you, and I might spare you a whole corpse out of old sentiment," the dark‑yellow‑robed Daoist leader sneered, his eyes full of greed.

Wang Tie shielded Xiao Ran as he stepped back, his voice steady: "Daoist Leader Xuan Gen, these two items are vital to saving my junior brother; I cannot possibly hand them over! You take advantage of our peril—do you not fear karmic retribution?"

"Karma?" Daoist Leader Xuan Gen laughed as if hearing a great joke, "Hahaha! In this Nan Ting Mountain Region, my Xuan Gen Dao IS karma! Xiao Ran once acted arrogantly, made countless enemies; now fallen low, he deserves this calamity! Kill you, seize the celestial material—who would know?"

Before his words faded, he shook his horsetail whisk violently; myriad metallic threads shot out like snakes from a hole, rending the air with fierce killing intent, stabbing straight at Mu Qingfeng's vital spots.

The four other Spirit Transformation cultivators attacked simultaneously, their treasure lights flaring, sealing off every escape route for Mu Qingfeng and Xiao Ran.

Wang Tie's face turned pale; he gritted his teeth, ready to burn his essence to desperately protect his junior brother.

Xiao Ran's eyes flashed with extreme reluctance and anger; he forcibly drove his unstable Void Refinement cultivation, intending to push his senior brother aside: "Senior brother! Let me handle it!"

At this critical moment

A voice calm to the point of indifference suddenly rang out in the valley:

"Oh? Xuan Gen Dao claims to be the karma of this place? I'd like to see that."

Though not loud, it rose clearly above all the clamor of battle, reaching every ear.

Immediately, the deadly assault descending from the sky—whether Xuan Gen Daoist Leader's horsetail whisk threads or the Spirit Transformation cultivators' treasure lights—when still ten zhang from Mu Qingfeng and Xiao Ran, struck an invisible barrier and froze mid‑air.

Then, under everyone's astonished gaze, those fierce attacks, like sandcastles blown away by wind, silently and gradually dissolved, dissipating into the most primal spiritual particles, as if they had never existed.

Time seemed to freeze.

Xuan Gen Daoist Leader's ferocious grin froze, his pupils constricting.

Mu Qingfeng and Xiao Ran also stared, disbelieving at the uncanny sight before them.

The next moment, two figures appeared without warning before Wang Tie and Xiao Ran.

The leader wore a blue-gray robe, tall and straight, with a youthful, handsome face, yet his eyes were deep as the ancient starry sky; his aura seemed ordinary, yet also as if merged with heaven and earth, making his depths unfathomable.

Half a step behind him followed a woman clad in emerald battle armor, wielding a azure spear, her beauty exquisite, her aura fierce, gazing coldly at Xuan Gen Daoist Leader and his companions.

"Who… who are you?!" Xuan Gen Daoist Leader felt an unprecedented palpation, shouting harshly but inwardly timid, "How dare you interfere in the affairs of my Xuan Gen Dao?!"

Han Wuxian ignored him, instead slowly turning his gaze to the astonished faces of Mu Qingfeng and Xiao Ran, a faint, heartfelt smile touching his lips.

"Mr. Wang, long time no see. Brother Xiao, it's been ages—why are you in such a sorry state?"

That familiar tone, that calm voice laced with a hint of teasing…

Wang Tie and Xiao Ran widened their eyes, staring fixedly at Han Wuxian's face; though his bearing differed and his cultivation was unfathomable, the outline of his brows…

"Han… Han Xiao‑you?" Wang Tie's voice trembled, hardly believing his own eyes.

"Han… Wuxian?!" Xiao Ran exclaimed in shock, his stern face filled with astonishment and disbelief.

They could not reconcile the unfathomable expert before them, who could dispel a Void Refinement killing move with a flick of a finger, with the youngster who once needed their protection and struggled to survive in the Nan Ting Mountain Region.

How many years have passed?! His cultivation… what terrifying height has it reached?!

"It's me." Han Wuxian smiled and nodded, "It seems I've returned just in time."

Upon confirming his identity, Wang Tie exhaled in relief, then, overcome with emotion, began coughing violently—clearly his injury was serious. Xiao Ran's expression was mixed: joy at reuniting with an old friend, plus embarrassment at his own sorry state being seen.

Seeing them reminisce while completely ignoring him, Xuan Gen Daoist Leader flared with rage, yet, wary of Han Wuxian's earlier display, he suppressed his anger and said, "Who exactly are you? This is a private grudge between my Xuan Gen Dao and them; please step aside, lest you bring harm upon yourself."

Only then did Han Wuxian slowly turn, his gaze formally landing on Xuan Gen Daoist Leader for the first time.

Just a plain glance.

Yet Xuan Gen Daoist Leader felt as if stared down by a primeval beast, his hairs standing on end, his very soul trembling; the four Spirit Transformation cultivators behind him went weak‑kneed, barely able to stand.

"Are you after the Nine‑Aperture Soul‑Returning Lotus and the Ten‑Thousand‑Year Earth‑Heart Milk?" Han Wuxian asked calmly.

Xuan Gen Daoist Leader steeled himself: "Yes, and what of it? These two items…"

Before he could finish, Han Wuxian gave a light wave of his hand.

The horsetail whisk in Xuan Gen Daoist Leader's hand, together with a storage pouch at his waist, instantly slipped from his control and flew into Han Wuxian's grasp.

Xuan Gen Daoist Leader didn't even have time to react to what had happened!

Han Wuxian didn't even glance at the obviously extraordinary horsetail whisk; with a sweep of his divine sense he scanned the storage pouch and produced two jade boxes.

Opening the jade boxes, radiant light burst forth and a fragrant aroma assailed the nose! Inside lay a snow‑white lotus root bearing nine apertures, exquisite and translucent, and a pool of milky‑white spiritual fluid exuding rich vitality and earth‑element power, resting quietly.

These were precisely the two top‑grade celestial materials that Xuan Gen Daoist Leader had coveted!

"You!" Xuan Gen Daoist Leader exclaimed, shocked and angry, lunging to seize them, only to find the space around him as solid as iron, utterly immobile; his heart filled with horror and despair, he finally realized that the person before him possessed power far beyond his imagination.