Shi Xianyun didn't dare to disrespect these high-grade cultivators, and there wasn't anything to hide anyway, so she willingly revealed Han Li's identity to everyone.

Thus, it quickly became common knowledge in the nearby area that Han Li really was a Grand Ascension Stage human being from the Spirit Realm.

Everyone was extremely excited to hear this, and they were itching to visit Han Li in person on his ark.

However, as soon as they reached within half a kilometer of the ark, they were kept out by an invisible restriction, and they didn't dare to try and break through the restriction by force, so they could only depart again.

The next morning, several streaks of light shot forth from the distance.

Han Li was meditating in the ark's cabin when he opened his eyes and made a hand seal to withdraw the invisible restriction, then emerged from the cabin before arriving at the front of the ark.

The streaks of light arrived above the giant ark in a flash, then faded to reveal several human cultivators.

These cultivators all stopped over 1,000 feet above the ark, with the exception of a white-robed woman who resembled a celestial maiden, who drifted down directly toward Han Li with an elated smile.

As soon as Han Li caught sight of this woman, the entire world around him faded from his field of view.

The woman quickly arrived in front of Han Li, then said, "You've finally found your way here. I never doubted that this day would come, but I really have missed you during our time apart."

"Wan'er," Han Li called out in the gentlest of voices, then reached out to carefully caress the woman's silky smooth cheek, as if he were stroking a priceless treasure.

Indeed, this white-robed woman was none other than Nangong Wan, whom Han Li had been searching for for many years, and she was also the vastly renowned Fairy Moon of the Small Spirit Sky's human race.

A stir immediately ran through the onlooking human cultivators upon seeing this.

Nangong Wan was currently the undisputed most powerful being in the human race, and that, in conjunction with her stunning beauty, made her a goddess in the eyes of countless young male cultivators.

As such, everyone was stunned that she was being so intimate with a male cultivator from another realm, and there was no lack of envy and jealousy, either.

Only the group of cultivators who had accompanied Nangong Wan to the ark were unsurprised to see this, but they also had complex looks in their eyes.

In the next instant, Nangong Wan dove forward into Han Li's embrace...

Half a day later, Nangong Wan was nestled up in Han Li's arms with a captivating blush on her face.

The two of them were lying on a pristine white stone bed in an elegantly decorated bedroom on the ark, and Nangong Wan was giving Han Li a recount of her past experiences. [1]

It turned out that after Han Li ascended to the Spirit Realm, Nangong Wan also reached a bottleneck after many years of arduous cultivation.

Thus, she had no choice but to follow in Han Li's footsteps and enter a certain spatial node to ascend to the Spirit Realm.

At this point in her story, Nangong Wan paused and heaved a faint sigh.

"What happened? Did you encounter a spatial storm as well?" Han Li asked in a gentle voice as he inhaled her familiar scent.

Nangong Wan hesitated momentarily before replying, "I didn't encounter a spatial storm, but I did encounter two almighty beings battling inside the spatial node. Their battle had disrupted the spatial power within the spatial node, and that was how I fell into the Small Spirit Sky."

Han Li was quite surprised to hear this. "Who would dare to battle in a spatial node? Were they Grand Ascension Stage beings?"

"No, they were the true spirit Rahu that you had once encountered, and another ancient true spirit being, the Hundred Head Insect. At the time, the two of them were already on the brink of death, and the final blows that they dealt upon one another completely shattered the spatial node. Thus, both of their bodies and I fell into the Small Spirit Sky. Somehow, I remained largely unscathed and was granted a miraculous opportunity," Nangong Wan explained.

"I see. Could it be that the opportunity you were referring to were those two true spirit bodies?" Han Li asked.

"That's right. Both the Rahu and the Hundred Head Insect are ranked quite high even among true spirits. Setting everything else aside, their cores contain an enormous amount of energy, making them invaluable assets to cultivators. This was how I was able to reach my current cultivation base in no more than 2,000 years, even though the spiritual Qi in the Small Spirit Sky is far less abundant than in the Spirit Realm. In comparison, it's far more impressive that you were able to progress to the Grand Ascension Stage in the same period of time, even if you were in the Spirit Realm.

"The more I progress in my cultivation, the more I come to understand how difficult it is to reach the Grand Ascension Stage. Even with those true spirit cores at my disposal, I'm still not very confident in successfully making that breakthrough," Nangong Wan said as she turned to Han Li with a hint of undisguised intrigue in her eyes.

"I was very lucky to have progressed to the Grand Ascension Stage, and I only completed the breakthrough after making extensive preparations. Back when I emerged from the spatial node at the Deity Transformation Stage, it wasn't all smooth sailing for me. I was severely wounded in a spatial storm, and I even completely lost my magic power at one point..."

Thus, Han Li also began to deliver a recount of his own. Of course, there were some things that he had to keep secret, and he glossed over those matters through ambiguous wording.

Even so, an amused smile still appeared on Nangong Wan's face upon hearing about Han Li’s encounters with Yuan Yao in the infernal river and Violet Spirit in the Elder Devil Realm.

"Who would've thought that Yuan Yao and Violet Spirit would also encounter significant opportunities of their own? Perhaps they'll follow you even after you ascend to the True Immortal Realm someday."

"Surely you jest, Wan'er; I only encountered the two of them through sheer coincidence. As for ascending to the True Immortal Realm, that's going to be extremely difficult, and I have no confidence that I'll be able to achieve such a monumental feat. By the way, why did you bestow the Greater Incarnation Arts upon Guo'er? Her mother's rapid progression also had something to do with you, right?" Han Li asked.

Nangong Wan was very familiar with Han Li's past with Violet Spirit and Yuan Yao, so she naturally wasn't jealous of them. Instead, she was more amused than anything else.

"Guo'er is someone I discovered to have great aptitude for cultivating the Greater Incarnation Arts, so I took her as my disciple. However, I was guarding the secret of the two true spirit cores in my possession, so it would've been quite risky for me to take a disciple on an official basis. Thus, I indirectly passed on the cultivation art to Guo'er through her mother. Guo'er certainly didn't disappoint me; she made very fast progress in the Greater Incarnation Arts, but due to an accident, she fell into the Elder Devil Realm."

"As such, I had no choice but to accept her mother as an in-name disciple. She's not as suited to cultivating the Greater Incarnation Arts as Guo'er, but she possesses outstanding cultivation aptitude. I was planning to attempt a breakthrough to the Grand Ascension Stage in several centuries, and I needed someone I could trust to protect me during the breakthrough, so I used the true spirit cores to elevate her cultivation base to the Spatial Tempering Stage in a short time. Barring any mishaps, I had intended to elevate her cultivation base all the way up to the early-Body Integration Stage before stopping," Nangong Wan revealed.

"I see. Now that I'm here, you don't need to worry about these things. With my protection, no one will be able to disrupt your tribulation transcendence. Also, once we return to the Spirit Realm, I have some ways to increase your chances of making a successful breakthrough," Han Li said.

"What? Can you really do that?" Nangong Wan was very surprised to hear this.

"Hehe, do you really think I'm only a normal Grand Ascension Stage being? I don't mean to boast, but even if I were to come up against an ancient true spirit, the outcome of that battle would be very unclear," Han Li replied with a nonchalant smile.

"That's incredible! If I didn't know that you weren't the type to exaggerate such matters, I would be struggling to believe you. By the way, you mentioned taking me back to the Spirit Realm; could it be that the passageway between the two realms still hasn't disappeared? What if someone else has already discovered its location?" Nangong Wan hurriedly asked.

"That passageway isn't going to disappear in a short time, and I concealed it with a formation, so no one would be able to detect its exact location. Is there something on your mind, Wan'er?" Han Li could sense that there was something that Nangong Wan wanted to say.

"During my time in the Small Spirit Sky, I've made some very good friends. They've all reached bottlenecks in their cultivation, and if they want to progress further, their only chance would be to go to the Spirit Realm. Also, there are some juniors in our human race with exceptional aptitude. If you can return to the Spirit Realm, then you may as well take them with you," Nangong Wan replied.

"That wouldn't be an issue, but those people are the pillars of human race here in the Small Spirit Sky; if I take them all away, our human race is going to be oppressed by the other races. Unfortunately, the passageway isn't stable enough for me to take the entire human race with me," Han Li said with furrowed brows.

"I'm aware of that as well, but now that an opportunity to go to the Spirit Realm has been presented, I don't think any of them would be willing to give up on it," Nangong Wan sighed.

"Alright, here's what we'll do: get them to send several representatives to come and see me in three days, and I'll take care of everything," Han Li suddenly said with a smile as he stroked his own chin.

1. https://imgur.com/a/gYSTznP