Hao Ran Zhēnzūn still felt a twinge of guilt. After founding Haoran Sect in the lower realm he made a name for himself, but the fame also laid shackles on him. The moment his strength reached ascension, he could not wait to head for the Weiling Realm. Once he arrived, he truly let himself go and became a loose cultivator.
After that, Hao Ran roamed the Spirit Region, trained in secret realms, ventured into the Beast Region, and even went to the Demon Region to compete. He could be called a man who loved bold contests and hard fights. Only the hundred years he spent in the Buddhist Region were the most tranquil of his life.
It was mainly because he had just returned from the Demon Region grievously wounded and could not run wild. He had to cultivate his body and temper his temperament, so he lingered in the Buddhist Region for over a century. When his injuries finally healed completely, the resources he had saved were also exhausted, and he returned to human territories to seek cultivation resources.
There was one thing Hao Ran Zhēnzūn understood perfectly. Every resource he obtained he used on himself, step by steady step, raising his cultivation without waste on anyone else.
As his cultivation climbed, more people drew near. Some sects saw potential in him, and clans tried to recruit him. He avoided them when he could, and when he could not, he fobbed them off. So long as he did not suffer a loss, it was fine.
Of course, he was not free from ambushes or hunts. Once, driven by enemies into the Death Desert, he was trapped for a full five hundred years. In the end he defeated the spirit-devouring vine at the desert's heart, refined its crystal core, swept up its treasures, broke through to the Unity stage, and left the desert to seek revenge on his foes.
Hao Ran Zhēnzūn prided himself on being reasonable. When he found his enemies, he stated the cause and promised to punish only the chief culprit, not implicating other members of their clan.
At that time, Hao Ran Zhēnzūn said with a dark face, "You sought to recruit this Lord into the Lei Clan. This Lord declined politely, yet declared a willingness to team with members of the Lei Clan if a suitable opportunity arose. You chose to press hard and sent people to strike at this Lord in secret, forcing this Lord into the Death Desert.
If this Lord had died, you would indeed be at peace. But this Lord returned alive. For this matter the Lei Clan will give this Lord an account, or do not blame this Lord for discourtesy.
This Lord is a loose cultivator, living alone, with no dao companion, no sect, no friends, not even joined to the Loose Cultivator Alliance. If you drive this Lord to desperation, we will fight to the bitter end and see who laughs last."
The Lei Clan Patriarch fumed, yet knew the Lei Clan held the wrong here. If they cornered such a man, it would be the Lei Clan who suffered.
On one point the other had spoken truly. He was only one man, while the Lei Clan was an entire clan with countless members weaker than Hao Ran. Unless the Lei Clan's Ancestor was certain of destroying him in a single strike, a death-feud would be formed, and thereafter the Lei Clan disciples would face endless assassinations.
The Lei Clan Patriarch could not gamble on that and finally compromised. He punished the Lei clansman who had attacked Hao Ran and offered a heavy compensation to send Hao Ran Zhēnzūn away. Afterward, the Lei Clan quietly approached Du E Zhēnzūn of the Loose Cultivator Alliance, urging him to invite Hao Ran to join.
The Patriarch's thought was simple. If Hao Ran joined the Loose Cultivator Alliance, he would be constrained and could no longer act with such abandon.
Du E Zhēnzūn of the Loose Cultivator Alliance was a man of quirks. He had once been a Buddhist powerhouse in the Buddhist Region. One day, while roaming in meditation, he discovered a thread of unfinished karma and decisively left the Buddhist Region to travel and settle that karmic tie.
Du E Zhēnzūn's karma fell upon a female cultivator, an ordinary member of the Loose Cultivator Alliance. Her cultivation was lower than his, but their meeting sparked thunder and fire. Ten years later they became dao companions and lived a thousand years together. In the end, the female cultivator perished, unable to break through the Void Refining stage.
Du E Zhēnzūn was heartbroken, but he knew their fate had run its course. When that karmic tie was settled, he directly broke through to the Mahayana stage and became one of the Alliance's pillars. Because his dao companion had belonged to the Loose Cultivator Alliance, he vowed to protect the alliance for a thousand years, fulfilling his beloved's wish.
Hao Ran rose precisely during the period when Du E Zhēnzūn was guarding the Loose Cultivator Alliance. Du E received the Lei Clan Patriarch, accepted his benefits with a wave of his sleeve, and agreed to persuade Hao Ran to join.
Du E Zhēnzūn sent a transmission talisman to Hao Ran, who was then at the Unity stage, along with a formal invitation to visit the Loose Cultivator Alliance.
Hao Ran received the post and eventually went. Du E laid out the Lei Clan's request and its causes and consequences, then slid a cup of tea over with a smiling gaze. "Hao Ran Daoyou, consider this Lord's proposal. With your current cultivation, even if you join the Loose Cultivator Alliance, you will be at the elder level. You will not be asked to move unless the matter is weighty.
Besides, the Lei Clan fears you. If this plan fails, they will hatch sharper schemes. They have not yet reacted; they only think to find a place that can bind you. If they come to believe your mere existence is too harmful to the Lei Clan and call an old monster out of seclusion to destroy you, you will be in a passive position."
Hao Ran listened and wore an expression that said it was just as he thought. He spoke with frank disdain, "That is why I find these big clans distasteful. Too many twists and turns. We cultivate to seek longevity, not to calculate and connive without end.
But since they offered this time, the Lei Clan must bleed a little, or Du E Zhēnzūn will hardly persuade me. I am a man who loves freedom."
Du E Zhēnzūn laughed heartily, had a Loose Cultivator Alliance elder personally issue Hao Ran an identity waist token, and let Hao Ran choose a mountain as his seclusion ground. He then sent word to the Lei Clan Patriarch, implying he had applied some force to keep the man within the Loose Cultivator Alliance, and that Hao Ran would have no chance to trouble the Lei Clan.
The Lei Clan Patriarch breathed a sigh of relief even as his heart ached, and he prepared more resources. One cannot ask a Mahayana Zhēnzūn to act without a show of sincerity, especially when the deed is done.
In the end, Du E and Hao Ran teamed up to fleece the Lei Clan once more. Hao Ran then put on a show of entering closed-door cultivation within the Loose Cultivator Alliance, giving the Lei Clan the illusion that he was trapped there and would not emerge.
By the time the Lei Clan realized what had happened, they had already scattered a mountain of resources. The Patriarch could only comfort himself that at least Hao Ran was confined and would not harry them, and the clan had now established some rapport with a Mahayana Zhēnzūn of the Loose Cultivator Alliance. The matter was closed.
Shortly thereafter came Lei Hongxuan's venture to the lower realm to seize a secret realm. The Lei Clan had bled heavily and urgently needed to replenish resources.
What followed was Lei Hongxuan's infighting with his companions in the Weiyu Realm. He ended up buried in the Baohua Mountain Range, a bargain for Wei Yunxi, and it spared Sheng Yuhong from being taken over.
Sometimes there is destiny in the dark. Every event has its cause.
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I just finished migrating my Xianxia Handbook to AO3. If you haven't read the Webnovel version yet, or if you read it before this announcement, I highly suggest checking it out. I've made some changes and added extra information.
If the Webnovel version felt a bit dense or "full" of narration, this AO3 version might be easier to follow since I included bullet points for clarity.
I don't plan on adding any major new content to the handbook since I think it already covers the core and most important aspects of the Xianxia genre. Future updates will probably just focus on cultivation stages and formal titles.