Han Xuanji said irritably:
"Forget it. I don't have time to deal with so many things."
He had no desire to become a steward or anything of the sort.
As things were now, he could keep checking in and cultivating, and if he truly grew tired, he could always go out for a walk and relax.
Most importantly, Han Xuanji had no longing for power.
In his eyes, power and beauties were nothing but passing clouds; only his own cultivation was real and substantial.
If he revealed his identity, he could become an inner sect elder outright and make his name shake the world.
But that would only make him the tree that stood above the forest, inviting disaster, and it did not suit his path of cultivation.
Li Shanhai smiled and said no more.
He knew some of Han Xuanji's thoughts, so he was not surprised.
"If you change your mind, you can come find me anytime."
Li Shanhai spoke slowly.
"All right. Thank you, Senior Brother Li."
Han Xuanji smiled.
The friendship between them might not have been especially deep, but it was certainly untainted by anything else.
After the banquet ended, Han Xuanji returned to his cave abode and sat down to cultivate.
"I wonder how things are at home..."
Han Xuanji sighed softly.
In the mountains, time passed unnoticed; the cold came and went, and the years slipped by.
Stepping onto the path of cultivation also meant being separated from the mortal world.
The parents of many Divine Profound Sect disciples were not cultivators either, and plenty of them never returned home after joining the sect.
His parents in this life were mortals, but they were not a poor family, so Han Xuanji was not worried about how they were doing. After reaching the Golden Core Realm, he had returned once and given them many spirit pills that even mortals could take.
With Han Xuanji's help, his parents had finally reached the Qi Refinement First Layer. Though they had not mastered any powerful Law Techniques, they had some Law Artifacts to protect themselves and had no fear of cultivators below the Foundation Establishment Realm.
"But why did I suddenly think of my family?"
Han Xuanji suddenly had a premonition.
At his realm, a sudden impulse might somehow foretell something.
"Anyway, at my speed, a round trip won't be much trouble."
With a thought, Han Xuanji quickly left Spirit Elegance Peak.
The Nine Provinces Continent was vast beyond measure, and Great Xia occupied only part of Eastern Cang Province. Within its thirteen provinces, various mountain ranges and rivers were held by sects and demons.
The Divine Profound Sect was located in Yong Province and naturally protected the entire province. There were not many demons within its borders, and whenever any caused trouble, the Divine Profound Sect would send disciples to deal with them.
His hometown, Bluestone City, lay in Cangnan Commandery in Yong Province.
At his current speed, the journey was not far.
A short while later.
A thousand li away from Bluestone City, Han Xuanji activated his Void-Penetrating Divine Eye and swept his gaze over a thousand-li radius.
He could sense that his parents were safe and sound, but he soon discovered an ominous presence not far away.
A presence reflected certain aspects of a person. The presences of mortals and cultivators were entirely different, and those of Devil Cultivators were clearly different as well.
At that moment, Han Xuanji saw that a mountain peak not far from Bluestone City was filled with the presences of a large number of Devil Cultivators.
"Good thing I came..."
Han Xuanji immediately understood the situation.
These Devil Cultivators were strong enough to overthrow the entire Cangnan Commandery. If his guess was right, they were probably targeting the commandery city, while Bluestone City might merely be caught up in it.
"There's no helping it. I have to act."
A trace of coldness flashed through Han Xuanji's eyes, and he moved to the foot of the mountain.
If these Devil Cultivators were not dealt with, they would remain a hidden danger, and he could not stay by his family's side to protect them at all times.
As he recalled, this place should have been home to a small sect called the Thousand Mountains Sect. His original plan had been to come here to cultivate if he failed to join the Divine Profound Sect; after all, it was a sect with a Foundation Establishment cultivator in residence.
Now, only the presences of Devil Cultivators remained.
Clearly, these Devil Cultivators had wiped out the Thousand Mountains Sect and taken up residence here to plan their next move.
Thinking about it now, he was glad he had joined the Divine Profound Sect. Otherwise, he would be a corpse by now.
Han Xuanji's arrival did not alert the Devil Cultivators inside.
Most of them were hiding on the Thousand Mountains Sect's rear mountain.
The rear mountain was now shrouded in a concealment formation. No one knew that it had already become a devil's den.
Two Devil Cultivators stood guard at the entrance to the rear mountain.
"Where did this Foundation Establishment cultivator come from? Are you looking to die?"
One of the Devil Cultivators, a tall man, spotted Han Xuanji and could not help laughing.
"Who are you? Don't you know this is a forbidden area of the Thousand Mountains Sect?"
The other man was clearly much more cautious. He assumed a defensive stance and demanded an answer.
Hearing this, Han Xuanji said playfully:
"I was just about to ask who you two are."
The two exchanged a glance at his words.
The tall Devil Cultivator's face turned cold, and killing intent flashed in his eyes:
"Looking to die."
He was a Golden Core Realm Devil Cultivator; taking down a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator would be effortless.
The tall Devil Cultivator struck out with his palm, and his spiritual power transformed into a gigantic, ferocious blood-colored tiger that pounced on Han Xuanji.
Seeing this, the other Devil Cultivator nodded.
Even a lion used its full strength to hunt a rabbit.
Han Xuanji stood motionless.
The two sneered inwardly, thinking Han Xuanji had been scared witless by the power of the Golden Core Realm.
Yet in the next second.
Han Xuanji's body was like a mountain. The ferocious tiger slammed into a point three inches from him and could advance no farther. It shattered instantly, and its spiritual power dissipated.
Then, with a thought, he released a wisp of Sword Intent.
Boom!
Terrifying Sword Intent enveloped the two men, instantly dealing a devastating blow to their minds. They died on the spot, their paths extinguished.
Thousand Mountains Sect, rear mountain.
The presences of over a hundred Devil Cultivators were hidden here. More than ten were Nascent Soul Cultivators, while the rest were Golden Core Realm cultivators.
Nascent Soul Cultivators were not cabbages, after all.
Although a Nascent Soul Cultivator was only qualified to be an outer sect elder in the Divine Profound Sect, out in the wider world, such a person could establish a sect of their own. In a remote little country, a Nascent Soul Cultivator could even destroy the nation single-handedly without much difficulty.
This force was enough to destroy any power in Cangnan Commandery.
"Lord Holy Son, the Life-Devouring Essence-Transforming Formation is nearly complete."
A gloomy old man among the crowd looked toward a figure at its center and made his report.
They had already laid out numerous formations. As long as they used enough Blood Qi to activate the first formation, a chain reaction would follow, activating the remaining formations one after another, and blood would flow like rivers throughout Cangnan Commandery.
Once the Life-Devouring Essence-Transforming Formation devoured the living beings of an entire commandery, the immense energy would be enough for Chen Sheng to reach the Spirit Transformation Realm, and his foundation would also be exceptionally strong.
"Good."
A trace of delight flashed in Chen Sheng's eyes.
The strong preyed on the weak; that had always been the rule followed by cultivators of the devil path.
He felt not a shred of pity at sacrificing the countless lives of Cangnan Commandery to achieve his great path of Spirit Transformation. On the contrary, he could hardly wait for that day.
As the Heavenly Devil Cult's third Holy Son, he had cultivated for far less time than the other two Holy Sons, and his reputation was not as great as theirs. It was time to do something to announce his emergence to the world.
"Work quickly. Yong Province is the Divine Profound Sect's home base, so don't let your guard down."
Chen Sheng spoke coldly.
This was his first battle since becoming a Holy Son. If anything went wrong, he might even be stripped of his position, and the loss would outweigh the gain.
Just then.
The presences of the Devil Cultivators guarding the entrance vanished, quickly alerting many of those present. Someone immediately said:
"Lord Holy Son, someone has broken in! The two guards are already dead!"
Chen Sheng frowned and murmured:
"So bold. How many are there?"
He immediately used his Nascent Soul Divine Sense to scan the surroundings, only to find a single Foundation Establishment Realm presence.
This was far beyond his expectations.
"Could this person's cultivation be even higher than mine?"
Chen Sheng's expression changed, and surprise showed in his eyes.
He was no fool. He realized that the person who had attacked could not be this Foundation Establishment cultivator. It was very likely that the intruder had concealed his cultivation, or that the person who had attacked had hidden his presence so well that even Chen Sheng could not detect him.
Whichever it was, the situation seemed unfavorable.