Chapter 720: Former Heart

As Han Li entered, the woman in white put the silver sword she had been caressing back into its wooden box. Then, she gently raised her head and calmly looked at him.

Before Han Li stood a beautiful face that had haunted his dreams countless times.

Her slightly pointed chin, delicate nose, and clear, intoxicating eyes—all of it was so familiar and captivating to Han Li. A profound sense of warmth, previously unknown to him, welled up in his heart.

It was as if he had spent hundreds, even thousands, of years with this woman!

At that moment, all thoughts of cultivation techniques or mental states were completely forgotten. He allowed this previously unexperienced surge of emotion to instantly fill his entire being.

Nangong Wan saw Han Li staring at her so brazenly. She was startled at first, then a thoughtful look flickered in her beautiful eyes, and her delicate brows unconsciously furrowed.

"Yu'er, you may go. I need to speak with him alone," Nangong Wan said calmly, raising her chin slightly, to the yellow-robed female cultivator who had led Han Li in.

"Yes, Martial Ancestor!" The yellow-robed girl was initially surprised, but quickly bowed her head and complied.

She quietly exited the hall and disappeared.

Han Li waited for her to completely vanish from the doorway, then looked left and right, scanning the surroundings with his spiritual sense. There were indeed no other cultivators near the hall.

He then fixed his gaze on Nangong Wan. Without a word, he formed a hand seal, and a sudden cracking sound emanated from within his body. His figure abruptly grew several inches taller, and a blue light shimmered across his face as Han Li revealed his true appearance.

"It's really you! Han Li!" A complex expression flashed across Nangong Wan's beautiful face, but she didn't seem overly surprised. She only let out a soft sigh.

"You...you knew I'd come!" Han Li, having returned to his original appearance, didn't know how to address her. He stammered, awkwardly uttering such an uninteresting remark.

As soon as he spoke, Han Li immediately regretted it, scratching the back of his head in frustration.

"Oh, you! Just call me Wan'er," Nangong Wan said, her beautiful face breaking into a gentle smile upon seeing Han Li's somewhat dazed expression.

Her bright eyes sparkled, and her radiant beauty was captivating.

"Wan'er!" Han Li's heart swelled with joy, and he couldn't help but call out her name softly.

His initial anxiety finally subsided.

This woman clearly had feelings for him; otherwise, she wouldn't have shown him such an expression.

For a moment, Han Li stared at her exquisite face, somewhat lost in admiration.

"What's so good about me? Am I more pleasant to look at than your new concubine?" Nangong Wan's face flushed, and she tilted her head slightly, speaking coolly.

"Concubine? You know about that too?" Hearing her seemingly displeased words, Han Li finally came to his senses and asked in surprise.

"Hmph! The newly promoted elder of the Falling Cloud Sect, a Nascent Soul cultivator who advanced in just over two hundred years, how could I not know?" Nangong Wan lowered her head slightly, looking at the smooth, green stone floor, and hummed softly, revealing a hint of willfulness.

"Is it the cultivator surnamed Tang I met a few days ago?" Han Li pondered for a moment, then said with a touch of realization.

"You're not so slow after all! It was indeed that Martial Nephew Tang who sent me a sound transmission through a special channel. When I received it, I could hardly believe it. You, who had disappeared for so many years, had actually become a Nascent Soul cultivator. I immediately had someone gather recent information on the Falling Cloud Sect. I usually don't pay much attention to such news. Although it was a bit late, I finally learned about your general situation. From your sudden appearance as an elder of the Falling Cloud Sect to your departure during the trade fair, I know a little about it all. And your concubine is still in Tiancheng and hasn't left!" Nangong Wan brushed a wisp of hair from her forehead, glancing at Han Li with a half-smile. Her expression suddenly became incredibly alluring, displaying a myriad of charms.

"I clearly told her to return to the sect with another elder at the time. It seems something might have delayed her! But this concubine is..." Han Li rubbed his nose, looking a little embarrassed as he tried to explain.

"Alright, there's no need to say more. I'm not complaining about you taking a concubine. Am I not going to be married myself?" Nangong Wan abruptly interrupted Han Li, her expression simultaneously dimming, becoming incredibly fragile.

"What exactly is going on? Do you really intend to marry that person?" Han Li's face changed slightly, his voice deepening as he slowly asked.

"Before I answer that, Wan'er would like to ask carefully: why have you come this time? Are you here to stop me from marrying that person, or do you just want to see me and then leave?" Nangong Wan lightly bit her red lips, her star-like eyes flickering as she spoke.

"Of course, to take you away. I want you to be my wife, Han Li's wife! No matter who tries to interfere, they'll have to ask for my permission first." Han Li replied without hesitation, his words filled with unwavering resolve.

"You wish! When did I ever agree to marry you?" Nangong Wan's face instantly flushed upon hearing this, and she lightly spat out a shy, alluring retort.

Han Li chuckled, saying nothing.

Even though he was a novice in matters of the heart, he knew it was best to argue less at such a moment.

A moment later, as the shyness gradually faded from Nangong Wan's face, she straightened her expression and said:

"Do you know, back then in the forbidden bloody trials, after what happened between us, the first thought that rose in my mind was to chop you, a mere Qi Condensation cultivator, into countless pieces, and then use the Vermilion Bird Ring to reduce you to dust, to avenge myself! After all, my purity, which I had guarded for over a hundred years, was ruined by you. How could I not utterly despise you?"

"So, I really almost died back then!" Han Li rubbed his nose, a half-amused, half-helpless expression on his face.

"Of course. If I hadn't inexplicably had a sudden change of heart and let you go, do you think it would have been so easy to take advantage of a Core Formation cultivator like me?" Nangong Wan said, a trace of blush still lingering on her face, but her tone was reproachful.

Han Li grimaced, saying nothing further.

After a trace of resentment in Nangong Wan's heart eased, she parted her apricot lips and continued:

"Later, after we parted ways and I returned to my sect, for some reason, no matter if I was cultivating my techniques or meditating in seclusion, I could never shake off your image. And it appeared more and more clearly, more and more frequently. It was then that I realized you had become a mental obstacle in my life. If I didn't find a way to eliminate it, my cultivation might never progress.

"There were only two ways to eliminate this mental obstacle: one was for me to marry you, and as husband and wife, the obstacle would naturally cease to exist. The second method was for you to disappear from this world; if you no longer existed, the obstacle would gradually fade. Marrying you was impossible given the huge disparity in cultivation and status at the time. So, after being tormented for a long time, I gritted my teeth and decided to eliminate you. But before I could act, the Six Devilish Sects happened to invade. I coincidentally met you again at the Seven Sects' camp. And you were already a Foundation Establishment cultivator by then. This made my recent resolve waver again. After all, if you could continue to advance, it wouldn't be impossible for us to become husband and wife."

"So you intended to kill me again then. When I saw you, masked, at that time, I was incredibly excited. But your cold demeanor poured a bucket of cold water on me, and I was dejected for quite some time," Han Li said with a start, then muttered a bitter laugh.

Nangong Wan smiled, pursing her lips, and continued without interruption:

"Later, due to the betrayal of the Spirit Beast Mountain, the Seven Sects suffered a great defeat. Each sect prepared to evacuate their core disciples from Yue State. As the youngest Core Formation cultivator, I was originally among those to be evacuated first. However, I had a good friend from the Yellow Maple Valley who, in our private communications, subtly revealed Old Ancestor Linghu's evacuation plan. I learned that you might be in danger.

"At that time, perhaps I was possessed. For some unknown reason, I had only one thought: to suddenly return and save you. But by the time I got there, it was already too late. The battle had ended, most of the disciples who had been used as bait were killed, and only a small number of cultivators had broken through. I didn't know if you were alive or dead. Helpless, I had to return to the sect first and assist the remaining disciples in a fierce battle against the demonic cultivators. I was severely injured by a Core Formation cultivator and then pursued by some juniors when I broke through and escaped. You must know what happened next, right? There is no such person as Nangong Ping in this world. It was simply me in disguise. It wasn't that I didn't want to meet you with my true face, but as a Core Formation cultivator, I couldn't very well tell you directly that I specifically came to save you because I wanted to marry you! Moreover, I had absorbed most of your cultivation then, so I was even more embarrassed to meet you with my true face. But didn't I ask you to return to the Empyrean Moon Sect with me? If you had just come back with me, I would have revealed my true appearance, done my best to help you form your Golden Core, and then married you. Who would have thought that whether you were truly greedy for wealth or simply too much of a chauvinist, you only wanted some spirit stones? This left me at a loss." When Nangong Wan spoke here, a playful glint flashed in her bright eyes, and she glared at Han Li fiercely. But Han Li couldn't help but feel that there was a hint of satisfaction in those alluring eyes.

Han Li, of course, did not know that if he had truly agreed to return to the Empyrean Moon Sect with her that day, Nangong Wan might have indeed married him as promised, but it was more likely that she would have been greatly disappointed by his casual agreement to dual cultivate with another woman, and would have thus resolved her inner demon.

At that time, the now indifferent woman would likely have casually found a female disciple to deal with him.