Chapter 1197: Yan Xirou's News

Han Wuxian raised his hand and pretended to grab; the few golden flame flowers together with the underground fire lotus below smoothly flew into his hand, where he carefully sealed and preserved them with Chaotic Return-to-void Qi.

At the same time, on the outer perimeter, Wang Tie and Xiao Ran, relying on their familiarity with the habits of spirit herbs and Xiao Ran's methods after partially regaining his strength, successfully found enough fiery Yang herb and Red Essence fungus; there were setbacks, but nothing serious.

The three met up and immediately returned to the valley they had been in.

Next came the tense preparations.

Wang Tie, with his superb medical skill and formation expertise, began mixing the elixir and carving the "Nine Yang Reviving Formation". Han Wuxian assisted from the side, using Chaotic Return-to-void Qi to purify the spirit herbs, ensuring the medicine's purity.

After several hours, all preparations were complete.

In the center of the valley, a complex formation radiating Supreme Yang aura had taken shape. Xiao Ran sat cross‑legged at the formation's eye, his expression solemn.

Wang Tie poured the prepared elixir into the formation's core and shouted, "Activate!"

Buzz!

The Nine Yang Reviving Formation instantly flashed with dazzling golden light, and Supreme Yang vitality surged into Xiao Ran's body like a tide! Xiao Ran let out a muffled groan, his face showing pain, but the layer of Silence Extinction power outside his Nascent Soul was indeed temporarily suppressed and soothed.

This is the moment!

"Han, fellow Daoist!" Wang Tie shouted anxiously.

Han Wuxian's gaze hardened, and his finger, like a sword, directed a strand of Chaotic Return-to-void Qi, pure to the extreme, grayish yet brimming with endless vitality, as fine as the thinnest thread, precisely threading through the formation's golden light into Xiao Ran's dantian, silently sinking into the most stubborn Silence Extinction origin at the core of his Nascent Soul!

The process was silent, yet extremely perilous!

Han Wuxian's mind was highly focused, controlling that strand of primordial Qi like the finest scalpel, painstakingly refining that fragment of Silence Extinction origin.

Time seemed to stretch infinitely.

Wang Tie was so nervous his palms were drenched in sweat.

Finally, Han Wuxian's fingertip twitched slightly, and he retracted it.

Almost simultaneously, Xiao Ran's whole body convulsed violently, spitting out a mouthful of pitch‑black clotted blood! Yet once that blood left his body, the gray defeat aura on his face vanished instantly, and a massive, pure, fierce Sword Intent of Refining Void surged skyward, solidifying completely, even more refined than before his injury!

It succeeded!

Not only did the old wound disappear, the refined pure energy of the Silence Extinction power, after being refined, became nourishment for his cultivation to advance further!

Xiao Ran opened his eyes, his gaze filled with ecstatic joy and excitement, and he bowed heavily to Han Wuxian and Wang Tie, saying, "Senior brother! Han brother! Great gratitude…"

In the valley, Xiao Ran's injuries were fully healed, his aura surpassing his former self; the peak Sword Intent of the early Refining Void stage was poised but unspent, causing the surrounding air to tremble faintly. The excitement and ecstasy on his face gradually subsided, replaced by a complex, long‑settled melancholy and hatred.

He looked at Han Wuxian, his gaze deep, bearing a hint of unspoken struggle.

"Han brother," Xiao Ran's voice lowered, breaking the brief tranquility that followed the triumph, "Had you not returned in time, my senior brother and I would likely have perished. This debt of gratitude, Xiao Ran will never forget."

Han Wuxian waved his hand: "Between us, no need for repeated thanks. It seems you have endured many hardships in Nan Ting over these years."

Xiao Ran inhaled deeply, pain and anger flashing in his eyes: "More than hardships… it was nine deaths to one life!"

He began to speak slowly: "After parting from you that year, I returned to Nan Ting Mountain Region, intending to devote myself to cultivation and breakthrough Refining Void. Yet a fragment of an ancient sword manual I happened upon caused great trouble."

"That fragment was linked to a mysterious organization called the 'Phantom Shadow Pavilion'. They acted covertly, their techniques were vicious, adept at a method that turns into gray mist and corrodes the Yuan spirit. The pavilion master calls himself 'Grey Mist Yanluo'!" Mentioning this name, Xiao Ran gritted his teeth, his hatred nearly becoming tangible.

"Grey Mist Yanluo is extremely powerful, his methods bizarre and unfathomable. He has gathered many evil cultivators under his command, operating covertly in Nan Ting Mountain Region, apparently scheming something. In my pursuit of the sword manual fragment's secret, I inadvertently stumbled upon one of their bases, and have since been subjected to endless relentless hunts."

"That injury in the secret realm was because I fell into a trap set personally by Grey Mist Yanluo! He intended to forge me into a sword puppet under his control; thanks to my senior brother's life‑risking rescue, I barely escaped, yet I ended up in this dire situation, barely clinging to life to this day…"

Han Wuxian listened quietly, his brows slightly furrowed.

Grey Mist Yanluo?

Wang Tie, standing nearby, also wore a face of sorrow and anger, clearly those years of being hunted were unbearable to recall.

Xiao Ran paused, looked at Han Wuxian, his eyes becoming even more complex, even showing a hint of hesitation and… reluctance?

"Han brother," his voice grew deeper, cautious, "All these years while being hunted, I have also been secretly investigating the Phantom Shadow Pavilion and Grey Mist Yanluo, trying to find a chance to strike back. During the investigation… I… I happened to learn that you seem to have been searching for a woman named 'Yan Xirou'?"

Han Wuxian heard this, and a barely perceptible ripple rose in his normally calm eyes. Yan Xirou… that name was a lingering attachment and obsession buried deep in his heart.

He looked at Xiao Ran, nodded, and said, "Indeed. Do you have any news about her?"

Xiao Ran inhaled deeply, as if making a resolute decision, his gaze fixed on Han Wuxian, and he said word for word, "I have found it… but the truth may be even more… cruel than you imagine."

"As far as I know, I can almost be certain… that 'Grey Mist Yanluo'… his real name is Yan Buji!"

Yan Xirou embarked on the cultivation path, largely because she was searching for her father!

And Yan Xirou… she is the biological daughter of Grey Mist Yanluo, Yan Buji!

Boom!

This news, like thunder on a plain, exploded in Wang Tie's ears, leaving him dumbfounded!

Han Wuxian's body trembled imperceptibly, and the timeless calm on his face finally broke, a flash of shock and disbelief flickering deep in his eyes.

Although Han Wuxian holds no grudge against Yan Buji, Grey Mist Yanluo's evil is pervasive across the Five Realms, notorious, and if Yan Xirou truly is his daughter, then she now…

"Where is she now?"

"The situation is dire; Yan Xirou also heard about Grey Mist Yanluo. When I was attacked, I heard she went to Zhong Tian Zhi Yu, searching for Yan Buji!"

Xiao Ran gritted his teeth: "Yan Buji is now a Great Ascendant, wielding the Way of Desire with vicious methods. Yan Xirou back then… sigh, back then…"

Xiao Ran began to speak but stopped; Han Wuxian's expression darkened: "So you have known Grey Mist Yanluo, Yan Buji, for a long time, Brother Xiao?"

"I… when I was still mortal, I had dealings with that father‑daughter pair." Xiao Ran sighed, slowly recounting the events of those days.