Western Great Jin, at the edge of Dream Cloud Marsh.
A pale blue-green Pseudo-Space Partition enveloped two figures, hovering soundlessly above a mist-shrouded marsh lake. Below, oddly shaped duckweed floated on the murky water, and enormous marsh demonic beasts occasionally slipped beneath the surface, stirring ripples in their wake. The air smelled of damp earth and decaying vegetation. Though the spiritual energy was somewhat richer than in the desert they had left behind, it was impure, mingled with faint traces of poisonous miasma.
Han Li stood with his hands behind his back inside the membrane of light, his calm gaze sweeping over this wild region, reputedly a suitable place to hide. After a moment, he gently shook his head.
"The spiritual energy here is impure, and hidden miasmic poisons lurk within it. For your recovery and future cultivation, it would do more harm than good." Han Li turned toward Zi Ling, whose aura had grown considerably steadier. "Besides, the situation in Great Jin remains unclear, and both of us are unfamiliar faces. Settling here rashly for secluded cultivation would leave too much to chance."
Zi Ling nodded slightly. She had always trusted Han Li's judgment. "Then where should we go? Back to the Chaotic Star Sea?"
At the mention of the Chaotic Star Sea, an almost imperceptible glimmer flashed through Han Li's eyes. It was where he had risen to prominence, but also where countless karmic ties lay tangled. Now, however, Ling Yuling presided over the Chaotic Star Sea, and the threats posed by the Sea Race and demonic beasts had never truly subsided. It was not the best place to settle Zi Ling while her grave injuries remained unhealed, nor to digest his gains from this journey in peace.
"No, we're going to the Heavenly South," Han Li said