Silvermoon quickly inspected Han Li's bodily condition before a congratulatory smile appeared on her face.
"Congratulations on progressing to the Grand Ascension Stage, Brother Han. You are now the third Grand Ascension Stage patriarch among our human and demon races; looks like I'll have to refer to you as a senior from now on."
"Are you making fun of me, Silvermoon? With the bond that we share, I'll still regard you as an equal even though I've progressed to the Grand Ascension Stage," Han Li replied with a smile.
Silvermoon was naturally quite pleased to hear this.
Xu Qianyu was standing behind Silvermoon, and she carefully examined Han Li for a long while before finally asking in a hesitant voice, "Senior Han, is that you? Have you really become a Grand Ascension cultivator?"
Han Li faltered slightly upon hearing this, and only then did he realize that there were some acquaintances among the group of cultivators accompanying Silvermoon.
As for Xiao Guan and Mouse Monarch Dong Tian, they were also staring at Han Li with astonishment in their eyes.
However, compared to Mouse Monarch Dong Tian, Xiao Guan was far more shocked by Han Li's rapid progression.
She had met Han Li once before, and back then, he had only been at the early-Body Integration Stage, so the current situation naturally felt like a dream to her.
"I didn't think that I would be visited by acquaintances right after my Grand Ascension Stage breakthrough. Fellow Daoist Xu, how is Fellow Daoist Ice Soul's blood soul?" Han Li asked.
Xu Qianyu hurriedly repressed her own incredulity as she replied in a respectful manner, "So it really is you, Senior Han! Our matriarch's blood soul left our Xu Family many years ago, and we haven't received any news from her since then."
Han Li was quite taken aback to hear this, and he said, "So she's disappeared again? That's rather surprising. Having said that, even though she's only a blood soul, I'm sure she'll be fine with her Body Integration Stage knowledge and experience."
"I certainly hope so. The blood soul is our Xu Family's only hope of finding our matriarch; if something were to happen to it, then Matriarch Ice Soul most likely won't ever be able to return to our family," Xu Qianyu replied with a wry smile.
Han Li nodded in response, then turned his attention toward Xiao Guan, upon which a faint smile appeared on his face.
"I didn't expect to see you here, Fellow Daoist Guan. You don't seem to have aged a day since we last met."
"Do you know this senior, Fellow Daoist Black Phoenix?" Mouse Monarch Dong Tian couldn't help but ask in a quiet voice.
"Fellow Daoist Han… No, it's Senior Han to me now. I didn't think that you would progress to the Grand Ascension cultivator so quickly; your breakthrough is truly fantastic news for our two races. Fellow Daoist Dong Tian, you've actually heard of Senior Han as well; he's the renowned human cultivator who's been making rapid strides in his cultivation during the past few centuries," Xiao Guan said in a meaningful voice.
"What? He's Han Li of the human race? Forgive me, what I meant to say was Senior Han." Mouse Monarch Dong Tian was so stunned to hear this that he was tripping over his own words.
"Dong Tian? Could it be that you're Mouse monarch Dong Tian?"
Han Li's heart stirred slightly as he swept his spiritual sense toward the burly man to find that his cultivation base was inferior to that of Xiao Guan, but his aura was extremely subdued, clearly indicating that he had cultivated some kind of extremely profound cultivation art and was not to be looked down on.
Mouse Monarch Dong Tian quickly put on a fawning smile, and replied, "Indeed, Senior, I am the current leader of the Jade Mouse Race. It is truly an honor for me to have witnessed your Grand Ascension Stage breakthrough."
Han Li carefully inspected Mouse Monarch Dong Tian for a while before suddenly saying something asking, "Have we met somewhere in the past? Your aura reminds me of a past acquaintance of mine."
Mouse Monarch Dong Tian's heart jolted upon hearing this, and his face paled slightly as he hurriedly explained, "Surely you jest, Senior Han; this is the first time that we've met. Perhaps you came into contact with one of my clones during the Myriad Treasure Convention. That clone of mine is extremely adept in transformation techniques, so perhaps you encountered it once but no longer recall the meeting."
Instead of prying into the matter any further, Han Li smiled and suddenly changed the subject. "Perhaps so. By the way, why have you two appeared in this place? Don't tell me that you predicted my breakthrough in advance and came here solely to spectate."
"Fellow Daoist Dong Tian and I are here to do something quite important, namely…"
Han Li suddenly cut off Xiao Guan mid-sentence, and said in an implacable voice, "Forget it, I have no interest in hearing about your activities. However, I've only just made a breakthrough, and I plan to stay here for some time to consolidate my cultivation base. I don't want anyone else to receive news of my breakthrough, so as a safety precaution, I'll ask the two of you to stay at my cave abode for now. After I complete the consolidation process, I'll let you two go."
Xiao Guan's heart sank slightly upon hearing this, but her expression remained unchanged as she replied with a smile, "Of course, we'd be honored to stay in your cave abode, Senior."
In contrast, Mouse Monarch Dong Tian was rather hesitant, but he also quickly nodded to accept this arrangement.
As for the group of Xu Family cultivators, they naturally didn't dare to raise any objections, either.
Thus, everyone was led by Han Li back to his cave abode.
Four hours later, Xu Qianyu found herself seated on a wooden chair in the hall of the cave abode, providing a recount of some events in an uneasy manner.
Han Li was situated on the main seat of the hall, while Silvermoon was sitting on a chair next to him.
As the two listened to Xu Qianyu's story, both of their expressions gradually became grimmer and grimmer.
As for the other Xu Family disciples and the two demon monarchs, they were nowhere to be seen, and seemed to have been arranged places to stay.
After a while, Xu Qianyu's recount concluded, and Han Li and Silvermoon couldn't help but exchange a glance.
After a lengthy silence, Silvermoon asked with furrowed brows, "Fellow Daoist Xu, according to you, the Elder Devil Realm separated from our Spirit Realm 30 years ago, and the devilish army has already retreated out of our Spirit Realm, so why is that I encountered a group of devilish beings with even a Body Integration Stage elder devil among them not long ago?"
"The majority of the devilish army has retreated out of the Spirit Realm, but a part of their forces were unwilling to leave, so they decided to stay in the Spirit Realm. Even though our races managed to quickly defeat these devilish beings, a huge number of them still managed to escape, and there's no lack of devilish lords among them. As such, it would be impossible to hunt them all down in a short time. I was sent here with my brethren to hunt down some low-grade devilish beings hiding in this area, but we ran into a trap set by the devilish beings instead. If Senior Ling Long hadn't stepped in to save us, we would all be dead by now," Xu Qianyu explained as a grateful look appeared on her face.
"I see. However, prior to my seclusion, the devilish army had already conquered the Wood Tribe's territory; it's not like them to just give up on that territory so easily. What kind of agreement have our races made with the Elder Devil Race to convince them to make such a concession?" Silvermoon asked.
"I'm afraid that information is not accessible to a lowly Deity Transformation cultivator like myself. However, I've heard from the seniors of our family that some Grand Ascension Stage beings had made a mysterious pact with the three devilish patriarchs on behalf of our races, following which the devilish army agreed to retreat out of our Spirit Realm," Xu Qianyu replied.
"What kind of pact could convince the three devilish patriarchs to abandon the territory they've claimed in the Spirit Realm?" Han Li murmured to himself in a contemplative manner.
“Rest assured, Brother Han; at your current cultivation base, I'm sure you can go directly to either my grandfather or Senior Mo to clarify the situation. In any case, it's fantastic news that the devilish army has given upon on their invasion of our Spirit Realm,” Silvermoon said with a smile.
"That's true. Organize a place to stay for Fairy Xu, Silvermoon; I'm going to have a chat with an old friend," Han Li suddenly said as he stood up with a smile.
"Another old friend? Are you going to see Fellow Daoist Xiao?" Silvermoon was rather surprised to hear this.
"No, I'm going to see Mouse Monarch Dong Tian," Han Li replied before vanishing from the hall amid a flash of golden light.
"When did Mouse Monarch Dong Tian become an old friend? Haven't they only just met for the first time?" Silvermoon was quite perplexed.
At the same time, Mouse Monarch Dong Tian was seated in an uneasy manner atop a futon in a quiet secret chamber.
All of a sudden, spatial fluctuations erupted, and Han Li emerged amid a flash of golden light.
Ironically, the uneasiness on Mouse Monarch Dong Tian's face faded upon seeing Mouse Monarch Dong Tian's arrival, and he said with a wry smile, "So you came, after all."
"Looks like you've been waiting for me. You must've known that you hadn't managed to fool me earlier," Han Li said with a smile, then sat down before Mouse Monarch Dong Tian in a casual manner.
