In a remote, desolate valley, the wind stilled and the clouds stood motionless.
Tianjizi stood before the Void Rift, his gray robes stirring without wind. His eyes, which saw through the ways of the world, regarded Han Li calmly. Han Li's words had been like a stone cast into a deep pool, stirring little expression on his face, yet the faint scrutiny and gravity in the depths of his eyes had quietly deepened.
"Han Li..." Tianjizi slowly rolled the name over his tongue, his tone even. "Master of the Heavenly South Star Palace, a Deity Transformation cultivator who rose within a century, slew Hu Qinglei with thunderous force, unified Heavenly South, and awed the Chaotic Star Sea with his might. Indeed, hearing of a man cannot compare to meeting him."
He paused, then glanced at Li Mu, who still lay prostrate below, not daring to raise his head, and casually waved a hand. As though granted a pardon, Li Mu scrambled to his feet and fled the valley in a streak of light, not daring to look back. What transpired here was no longer something a lowly steward like him could overhear.
"Fellow Daoist Han, what you mentioned just now-the true core of Kunwu Mountain, the path beyond Deity Transformation..." Only then did Tianjizi turn back to Han Li, a meaningful note entering his voice. "Such secrets are worth a king's ransom. Yet I am curious. You possess the Primordial Magnetic Divine Light and have already attained Deity Transformation. Your good fortune could be said to reach the heavens. Why would you still seek this bargain with me? Or rather, what bargaining chip do you hold that gives you the confidence to speak of 'the path beyond Deity Transformation'?"
Tianjizi truly lived up to his reputation as an old monster