Chapter 1357 - Return (2)

Experts from the Han Clan burst out of their residences and looked up into the sky. When Han Shanzi emerged from the ice chamber, the terrifying aura above also shocked him, and he saw four figures standing proudly in mid-air, looking down at the Han Clan.

"This is the Han Clan's settlement," Han Shan said, his eyes growing damp as he gazed at the thousands of Han Clan members below. These people shared the same bloodline as him, and no amount of time could sever that bond. There was no need for introductions, as Han Shan and Han Shi could feel their blood boiling in resonance with the clan.

The Han Clan assumed the four figures in the sky were enemies and raised their bows, aiming their arrows upward. Several Heaven Profound Realm elders even began forming hand signs, ready to unleash their techniques at any moment.

Ever since the laws of the True Martial Continent had grown more complete, an astonishing number of Heaven Profound Realm experts had emerged over the past year.

Han Shanzi's eyes narrowed. He did not recognize three of the four figures, but the last one was someone he could never forget, even if hundreds of thousands of years passed.

"Let's go down," Liu Wuxie said and shot out of the sky like a comet, landing before Han Shanzi, with Han Shan, Han Shi, and Song Ying following closely behind him.

"Senior Han, I didn't come back too late, did I?" Liu Wuxie asked, cupping his fists respectfully.

Han Shanzi was so overwhelmed by emotion that he could not form any words. He turned slightly away and wiped at his tears.

When Han Long saw Liu Wuxie, his mouth fell open as well, and his eyes reddened as tears began to stream down like his elder brother's.

"No, you're not late," Han Shanzi said after wiping his tears dry. The wrinkles on his face seemed to loosen as his expression softened. He stepped forward and clasped Liu Wuxie's hands warmly.

"Let me introduce you. This is Han Shan and Han Shi, they're disciples of the Spirit Sealing Institute with the same origin as you," Liu Wuxie said in an introduction, and Han Shanzi and Han Long immediately hurried forward to examine the two young men.

"Greetings, uncles!" Han Shan and Han Long immediately greeted the two.

The surrounding Han Clan disciples quickly gathered around. An uproar broke out among them when they learned that Liu Wuxie had returned, and their excitement only intensified when they heard he had brought members of the main lineage back with him.

"Good! Good! This is great! I can now die with no regrets after seeing members from the main lineage," Han Shanzi said, no longer holding back his tears as he pulled the two young men into his arms.

Han Shi and Han Shan could clearly feel the depth of Han Shanzi's emotions. After all, the Han Clan on the True Martial Continent had waited three hundred thousand years for this very moment.

"Senior Han, how is Brother Han's situation?" Liu Wuxie asked, putting Han Feizi's condition above everything else. The reunion could wait.

"His situation isn't very good," Han Shanzi spoke, deep worry flashing across his face the moment someone mentioned Han Feizi.

"Quick, take me to him! I've brought the Dragon Origin Herb back," Liu Wuxie said, his tone turning anxious as soon as he heard that Han Feizi's condition remained dire.

When they entered the ice chamber, Liu Wuxie sent his divine sense into Han Feizi's body, finally letting out a breath of relief.

Han Shan and the other two had followed them inside as well. They had long known that Liu Wuxie had entered the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain solely for the sake of a Han Clan member, and their respect for him deepened further.

Liu Wuxie immediately summoned the power of the Ancestral Tree and began channeling wood-attribute essence into Han Feizi's body to awaken his meridians and physical form. Next, he took out the Dragon Origin Herb along with a Divine Fruit.

He had slain many divinekins in the Netherworld and kept a few Divine Fruits specifically to save Han Feizi. As he formed seals, the Dragon Origin Herb began to transform, releasing a stream of dragon aura that poured into Han Feizi's body. After that, he crushed the Divine Fruit, turning it into liquid, and guided the essence into Han Feizi's soul sea.

Over the past three years, Han Feizi's soul sea had completely dried up, and only his primordial spirit still emitted a faint aura. Nourished by the Divine Fruit, his soul energy gradually began to recover, like rain falling onto parched earth.

The Dragon Origin Herb contained not only a strand of dragon aura but also a thread of pure vitality. That thread of vitality entered Han Feizi's body and started to awaken his lifeforce.

As Han Shanzi watched the blood slowly return to his son's withered face, the crushing weight in his heart finally began to lift.

"Senior Han, these three come with an important task on hand. Our time is limited, and we have to split up to ensure efficiency," Liu Wuxie said to Han Shanzi. They had only three days before they had to return, and he needed to arrange everything as quickly as possible.

"Tell me what you need, and I'll have it done," Han Shanzi replied, his expression turning solemn. He could easily tell that Liu Wuxie had returned for far more than just treating Han Feizi.

"Uncle, take us to pay respects to our ancestors first before we discuss the rest," Han Shan said. Now that they had arrived at the Han Clan, paying homage to their ancestors naturally had to come before anything else.

"Come with me," Han Shanzi said. He led Han Shan and Han Shi out of the chamber, while Han Long remained behind to keep Liu Wuxie company.

Song Ying left the chamber as well to survey the True Martial Continent. Everyone already understood their roles clearly.

Two hours later, everyone in the Han Clan had learned of Liu Wuxie's return. Thousands of disciples knelt outside the ancestral hall, and tears streamed down the faces of every single one of them.

When Han Shan and Han Shi finally emerged from the ancestral hall, their eyes were red from crying.

Back in the chamber, Han Feizi's facial features gradually grew fuller and more defined again.

"What terrifying recovery speed!" Han Long exclaimed, knowing it came from the immense wood-attribute energy within the Ancestral Tree.

Han Feizi's eyelids trembled, and he slowly opened his eyes, staring blankly at his surroundings.

"Where am I?" Han Feizi asked. He had not fully regained his senses and felt as though he had just woken from a long dream. He had dreamed of roaming the world with his brother, of his father's earnest instructions, and of his mother quietly sobbing by his ear.

"Brother Han!" Liu Wuxie rushed forward and grabbed Han Feizi's right hand, tears sliding down the corners of his eyes. The heavy stone that had weighed on his heart for the past year finally lifted when he saw Han Feizi recovering.

"Brother Liu, you made it back!" Han Feizi said. His memories had stopped three years ago, at the moment he stood upon the Celestial Astral Platform, and everything afterward had become a blur. He vividly remembered Liu Wuxie falling into the void through the Heaven-Curtaining Red Luan. He remembered igniting the Celestial Astral Platform to lead Liu Wuxie back home.

"I'm home," Liu Wuxie said. Though they shared no blood ties, they felt closer than blood brothers and embraced each other tightly.

Han Long turned his head away, unable to bear watching any longer, and slipped quietly out of the chamber.

When Han Shanzi heard that Han Feizi had recovered, he rushed into the chamber. Knowing this place was no longer suitable for anyone to live, he immediately began making arrangements to move Han Feizi out.

Han Shan had already explained their mission on the True Martial Continent to Han Shanzi. They needed the Han Clan's help to construct an interstellar teleportation array that would link the continent to the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain. Only then could they gradually draw the True Martial Continent toward the astral domain.

"Wuxie, I understand most of the situation now. You only have three days, and I'm sure you have many things to handle. I won't keep you around. I already know the location, and I will take them there instead," Han Shanzi said, urging Liu Wuxie to head off without delay.

He was already deeply grateful that Liu Wuxie had come to the Han Clan first upon returning to the True Martial Continent, and he could not bear to waste any more of Liu Wuxie's time.

Han Shan and the others had brought the materials needed to construct the interstellar teleportation array with them, so they required no resources from the Han Clan. The Han Clan only needed to provide manpower to assist.

"I'll take my leave then. Senior Han, please pick some members in the next two days. I plan to bring them back to the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain with me," Liu Wuxie said. He missed home intensely and wished he could rush back immediately.

"Okay!" Han Shanzi nodded and personally escorted Liu Wuxie out of the Han Clan's settlement.

"There's one more thing that I need your help with, Senior Han. Please send word to the Dragon Emperor Academy's upper echelons to go to the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy tomorrow morning," Liu Wuxie said.

Since the Dragon Emperor Academy also traced its lineage to the Heavenly Dragon Sect, he naturally had to inform them about the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain now that he had returned.

"I have already informed them," Han Shanzi replied, nodding. He had sent a message to the two academies two hours earlier.

Bidding farewell to Han Shanzi, Liu Wuxie ripped through space and vanished. He needed only five minutes to appear above the Liu Clan. When he looked down at the familiar scenery, he restrained his aura and slowly descended from the sky, walking toward the Liu Clan step by step.

The Liu Clan still did not know he had returned, as the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy had not yet notified them.

In just over a year, the Liu Clan had grown innumerable times stronger than before. With the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy's support and their cooperation with the Heavenly Dao Society, the Liu Clan's overall strength now rivaled that of the academy itself.

Outside the main gates, two servants were sweeping fallen leaves from the ground to keep the Liu Clan's entrance spotless. At that moment, Liu Wuxie's heart tangled with complicated emotions.

Inside the Liu Clan, Xu Lingxue and the other three women had gathered together. They had pushed their cultivation to its peak and could no longer make any progress.

"My eyelids have been twitching nonstop these past few days. Is something going to happen?" Xu Lingxue asked, rubbing her eyes.

"It's probably because you're missing Big Brother Liu again," Chen Ruoyan said. She had matured dramatically over the past year.

Murong Yi and Jian Xing'er sat together, gazing off into the distance. After Liu Wuxie left, the four of them had gone into seclusion, and that had been the only way to ease their longing for him. Now that their cultivation had reached its limit, even seclusion could no longer calm their hearts.

"My heart has been pounding in the past few days, and something is definitely going to happen," Murong Yi said. Only she and Xu Lingxue had shared physical intimacy with Liu Wuxie, and a faint connection had formed between them.

When Liu Wuxie drew near the Liu Clan's entrance, the two servants looked in his direction. Their faces froze, and they became too emotional to speak. After all, Liu Wuxie's appearance had barely changed over the past year.

"Y-Y-You!" The two servants were too emotional to speak properly, and their words stuck in their throats. They immediately threw their brooms aside and sprinted madly into the Liu Clan.

Liu Wuxie only responded with a wry smile to their reaction. He picked up the discarded brooms and carefully set them aside before walking into the Liu Clan. As he drew closer to the clan grounds, his heart gradually calmed, and his footsteps slowed.

The two servants scrambled and tumbled through the Liu Clan's corridors, knocking over countless flowerpots along the way.

"P-Patriarch!" the two servants stuttered as they knelt before the main hall.

A year ago, after Liu Wuxie left, Liu Xiucheng had passed the patriarch's position to his eldest son, Liu Dashan. At the same time, he himself went on to live a carefree, wandering life.

"Why are you two in such a panic?" Liu Dashan asked, now carrying the steady composure of a patriarch.

"T-The young master has returned," said the servant on the left. The Liu Clan had only one young master: Liu Wuxie.

"What?!" Liu Dashan shot to his feet as soon as he heard that Liu Wuxie had returned.