At Pure Light Peak, beneath the gentle breeze and the warm rays of the evening sun, the mountain remained tranquil despite the chaos beyond its borders. This peace was preserved by the powerful hidden formation Han Ming had established, along with the efforts of his five disciples, who had mercilessly eliminated every intruder.
With Han Ming's return, the peak came alive once more. He summoned all seven of his disciples to gather before the training grounds and introduced the two newest members to their seniors.
Lei Chen grinned broadly and spoke in a friendly tone. "If you run into any trouble, just let me know anytime."
Rong Lixian let out a soft laugh. "Tell me instead. I'm way better than he is."
Lei Chen raised a brow. "In that case, how about golden dragon stew tonight?"
Feng Huangjun nodded seriously. "I agree. I've grown tired of that golden dragon myself."
Rong Lixian chuckled under her breath.
"Let's not be hasty. I think roasted phoenix sounds better. After all, we've got some fine fire-handlers among us, don't we, Junior Brother Hao Yang and Junior Sister Bai Ning?"
Hao Yang, who had been silent the whole time, gave a dry laugh. "Spare me. I don't want to be the spark that starts a hot pot war."
Su Baining added, "Senior Sister Rong, I can light the fire too, you know!"
Rong Lixian smiled proudly.
"See? With such adorable juniors like these, what more could a senior like me ask for? Certainly not that gloomy black bird!"
Laughter rang throughout the training grounds. Everyone was relaxed and at ease, like siblings bound not just by name, but by heart.
Guan Zixuan gave a faint smile before speaking with steady resolve. "From now on, I'll be in your care, Senior Brothers and Sisters."
Ye Liyin followed with a nod. "Me too. I look forward to learning from all of you."
As the disciples laughed and enjoyed themselves, the scent of sizzling oil and rising steam drifted from behind the cottage, enticing them with its warmth. Han Ming was quietly cooking, his gaze fixed on the flames with a calm expression, but his mind was elsewhere.
He recalled the events from a few days prior. A man dressed in black had appeared before him without a sound. The man's aura was not that of a Great Emperor it was far beyond that.
The man spoke only a single sentence. "Mu Nansi is calling for you."
Han Ming didn't ask anything further. He followed silently, his expression unchanged, until he arrived at a hidden location where he met Mu Nansi face to face.
She handed him a task to eliminate the traitors and stage a deception in order to send an infiltrator into the Wu Clan. He accepted without hesitation and received a reward in return.
Some time later, Mu Nansi summoned everyone to a meeting. Han Ming had looked at her with curiosity, but as he observed carefully during that gathering, he realized that Mu Nansi had truly erased her own memories. She hadn't merely fooled others in the sect she had performed an act so flawless it deceived spies, traitors, even the heavens themselves.
She had deceived everyone in that room. She had deceived all who sought to divine her fate. She had even deceived herself. All so that no one would discover her true goal. It was never about survival. It was never about defending the Holy Land.
It was… the Secret Herb Realm.
After the Holy Land of the Immortal River was attacked once again by the Wu Clan this time led by the Seven Fairies of the Golden Crow Dynasty, along with over two hundred Great Emperors the battle they had believed would merely force the other side to summon their ancestors turned into a crushing, overwhelming defeat.
Han Ming had played a critical role in all of this, for his cultivation had already surpassed the realm of the Great Emperor. His power truly stood above the laws of the Lower World. He slaughtered enemies as if brushing aside grass beneath his feet. Not a single one could withstand him.
The only reason he had not yet been expelled from this world was because the System had helped conceal his power. However, even the System had its limits. Han Ming's strength could not exceed that of one hundred thousand Great Emperors. If it did, the laws of heaven would collapse, and this world would shatter into pieces.
After cutting down a great number of the Wu Clan's Great Emperors, Han Ming proceeded to carry out the mission Mu Nansi had assigned to him earlier. But before he could depart, the man in black appeared before him once more.
The man handed Han Ming a teleportation talisman and spoke just one sentence.
"Bring Ji Yiren back. As for her disciples, let them choose for themselves."
This request was personal it had nothing to do with Mu Nansi. Even she likely had no knowledge of it.
Naturally, Han Ming accepted. But he did things his own way. After acquiring Wu Zhao's System, he had a desire to fully understand how to use that power. And the disciples of Heavenly Bamboo Peak became the first subjects of his experiment without their knowledge.
At first, he simply intended to steal their fate and convert it into power for his own System. But then, a new idea emerged.
He would use their fate… to lure the Heavenly Tao into revealing itself.
With resentment that had festered for so long, he began setting up a trap. Slowly, he applied pressure, forcing Ji Yiren's disciples and Ye Lin into despair, draining their fate bit by bit. But the Heavenly Tao still refused to descend. So he increased their value again by enhancing their cultivation and implanting them with the fate he had already stolen.
After that, all he had to do was wait for the Heavenly Tao to strike with lightning. The moment it did, he would drag its head down and slaughter it before the eyes of the world. And it happened. The Heavenly Tao descended upon the skies, thunder roaring so loud the earth itself trembled. Han Ming crushed the Heavenly Tao mercilessly, beating it into the ground until it was on the brink of death, draining its fate until it was nearly emptied.
But in the instant before his blade could sever its head, everything froze.
Something far more powerful than the Heavenly Tao appeared without warning, halting all things in place.
At first, it intended to kill him but the System reacted with its full force. The power of the System clashed with that entity's power, creating a bizarre equilibrium. Neither side could touch the other.
In the end, both sides came to an agreement.
Han Ming would no longer hunt the Sons of Destiny or Daughters of Destiny in this small world under any circumstances.But in greater worlds beyond, the Heavenly Tao of each realm would not interfere. He would be free to hunt them without restriction. In fact, the Heavenly Tao would even grant him fate in return.
…However…
When the sun turns black.
On that day, no matter what happens, Han Ming must fight alongside it with no escape, no exception.And he agreed with a smile.
After sealing the pact, they parted ways. Han Ming resumed the task the man in black had given him retrieving Ji Yiren and allowing the girls to choose their paths for themselves. Naturally, he didn't do it for free. He requested something in return.
One million top-grade immortal spirit stones. And he received every last one.
When Han Ming returned to the Holy Land of the Immortal River, the battle had already come to an end. The five supreme ancestors had been driven out of the world, and the Seven Fairies had been repelled as well.
What followed was a devastating loss. All inner and outer sect disciples had been wiped out. The elders, both internal and external, had been completely purged either by betrayal from within the sect or by the overwhelming destruction caused by the clash between the Seven Fairies and the five ancestral guardians.
Now, only a handful remained in the Holy Land of the Immortal River: Mu Nansi, the Divine Daughter and master of all ten peaks, four guardian elders, five ancestors, and just ninety-five core disciples who had survived. As for the true disciples and primary disciples, only a little over ten thousand were left.
But that was not the worst of it.
The Spirit Hall of the Holy Land of the Immortal River had been completely destroyed. Those who perished in this battle… could never be revived again.
Even so, a few souls had managed to escape. If fortune favored them, they might be reborn someday but certainly not any time soon. For in just a few days, the Secret Herb Realm would open…