“So, Elder Cheng has already passed away.”
Han Li murmured to himself, then raised his head to gaze at the cavern ceiling, seemingly lost in thought.
The top of the cavern had apparently been breached by Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators in the past, but after over a century, no traces of repair could be seen.
The burly man surnamed Meng noticed Han Li’s distracted demeanor but dared not show any reaction, maintaining a respectful expression on his face.
Suddenly, without any warning, Han Li flicked his sleeve, sending a wave of azure light sweeping toward the man’s head.
The man was startled, but before he could even form another thought, his vision went black as he collapsed unconscious.
Han Li glanced at the unconscious man on the ground, then abruptly turned and fired several golden sword beams at the formation behind him with a flick of his fingers.
With a thunderous boom, the formation shattered under the sword light, vanishing without a trace and leaving behind a large crater in the ground.
Since the formation on the other side in the Chaotic Star Sea had already been repaired by him, there was no need for this teleportation formation to remain. Otherwise, if someone else possessed a Great Teleportation Token, they could also travel to the Chaotic Star Sea.
Han Li had no intention of sharing this shortcut with anyone and planned to keep it under his sole control. Moreover, he had already mastered the structure of this teleportation formation and could easily reconstruct it in the same location if necessary.
Given his current wealth, the astronomical cost of materials for setting up a teleportation formation—once a prohibitive expense—was no longer an issue.
After completing these tasks, Han Li reached out with one hand toward the fallen man, exerting a powerful suction force that pulled the man’s head into his grip. His eyes flashed with a sharp light as he began casting a secret technique.
After a long moment, Han Li finally released his grip, letting the man surnamed Meng drop to the ground. With an impassive expression, he muttered to himself, “Consider yourself lucky. I dislike breaking my word. Though I won’t kill you, the memory of seeing me emerge from the teleportation formation must be erased.”
In an instant, Han Li had altered the man’s memories, making him recall only that an unknown high-level cultivator had descended from the sky, killing the others, while the ancient teleportation formation had been accidentally destroyed in the aftermath.
With Han Li’s current cultivation, unless a Deity Transformation-stage cultivator intervened, no one would be able to undo the restrictions he had placed. He was utterly confident in this.
After finishing, Han Li summoned several fireballs, reducing the corpses of the Demon Flame Sect cultivators to ashes. Then, enveloped in a surge of azure light, he swept up the young girl behind him and transformed into a streak of azure light that shot upward.
With an earth-shaking boom, the cavern ceiling—repaired by the Ghost Spirit Sect—was shattered once more. The azure streak flashed and emerged above ground before circling briefly and vanishing without a trace.
As for the remaining Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators, their shock upon finding the unconscious Meng and the ensuing chaos—including the inadvertent failure of the Demon Flame Sect’s surprise attack—was of no concern to Han Li, who had long since departed toward the State of Xi.
At his current cultivation level, Han Li’s flight speed was astonishingly fast. Even without exerting full effort, his velocity was terrifying to behold.
Occasionally, other cultivators along the way would catch a glimpse of a streak of azure light flickering in the distance one moment, only for it to inexplicably appear far behind them the next, accompanied by a faint whistling sound.
These cultivators were invariably startled. Those with higher cultivation recognized they had encountered a supremely powerful senior, while those of lower cultivation grew superstitious, wondering if they had encountered some ghostly apparition in broad daylight.
After several days, Han Li crossed out of the State of Yue and entered the State of Yuan Wu.
Two days into his flight through Yuan Wu, Han Li suddenly recalled something. After a brief hesitation, he altered his course, abruptly veering toward another direction with Tian Qin’er in tow, temporarily changing his itinerary.
Near a remote mountain at the edge of Yuan Wu, a streak of dazzling azure light—over ten zhang long—flashed across the sky, arriving above the peak in the blink of an eye. As the light dissipated, Han Li and Tian Qin’er materialized in the air.
Han Li glanced down at the mountain below, a trace of nostalgia flickering across his face. He then swept the area with his spiritual sense, only to reveal a look of surprise.
This was the mountain where Xin Ruyin had once lived in seclusion. Though the surroundings appeared unchanged, the area where she had resided was now teeming with the auras of numerous cultivators—mostly at the Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment stages, with two at the Core Formation stage.
Yet, the formations and restrictions Xin Ruyin had set up still remained, shrouding the area in thick white mist that obscured all visibility.
Han Li narrowed his eyes, lost in thought.
“Master, is something wrong?” Tian Qin’er blinked and cautiously asked.
“Nothing major. It’s just that after only a few years away, this place has been occupied by uninvited guests,” Han Li replied indifferently, though the girl could sense his displeasure and wisely refrained from further questions.
However, Han Li turned to study her for a moment before unexpectedly asking, “What do you think of this mountain?”
“This mountain? The spiritual energy here is somewhat thin, but the scenery is quite pleasant,” Tian Qin’er replied hesitantly, puzzled by the question.
“I see. This was once the residence of an old acquaintance of mine,” Han Li said, a fleeting look of disappointment crossing his face before he regained his composure. He then raised a hand.
With a *whoosh*, a crimson fireball materialized in his palm.
Under Han Li’s impassive gaze, the fireball spun rapidly, expanding at an astonishing rate. Within moments, it had grown to the size of a washbasin, an awe-inspiring sight.
Han Li cast a cold glance downward and flicked his wrist, sending the fireball hurtling down like a meteor. It vanished into the mist below.
The surrounding mist churned violently as the fireball exploded within, unleashing a fiery shockwave that tore a ten-zhang-wide hole in the restrictions, rapidly expanding as the white mist dissipated.
With just a single fireball, Han Li had effortlessly dismantled the entire formation.
As the mist cleared, the structures below gradually came into view—rows upon rows of pavilions and buildings densely packed across the landscape. The bamboo cottage Xin Ruyin had once built was nowhere to be seen.
Han Li’s expression darkened.
The commotion naturally alerted all the cultivators in the area, who immediately spotted Han Li and Tian Qin’er hovering in the sky.
A dozen or so cultivators immediately took to the air on their artifacts, rushing toward Han Li.
At that moment, a clear voice rang out from a cliff below: “Which esteemed senior has graced our Hua Yu Sect? Guan Qing apologizes for the lack of welcome.” As the words faded, a streak of red light shot from the cliff, overtaking the Foundation Establishment cultivators and arriving before Han Li in an instant. The light dissipated, revealing a middle-aged scholar in Confucian robes—one of the two Core Formation cultivators Han Li had sensed.
Simultaneously, another streak of yellow light shot from the tallest pavilion below, matching the red light’s speed. It materialized into a dark-skinned, burly old man with large hands and feet—the second Core Formation cultivator.
By then, the Foundation Establishment cultivators had arrived, standing solemnly behind the two Core Formation elders, clearly deferring to their authority.
“The Hua Yu Sect? Never heard of it. A newly established sect?” Han Li remarked coolly, releasing an overwhelming spiritual pressure that forced the two men back several steps.
“An… an Nascent Soul cultivator?” the scholar stammered in shock.
“Senior… are you at the late stage?” the dark-skinned old man gasped, his face pale with disbelief after scanning Han Li’s cultivation.
His spiritual sense was sharp enough to discern Han Li’s unrestrained power, leaving him utterly terrified.
“A late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator?” The scholar, equally stunned, also swept his spiritual sense over Han Li.
Han Li stood with his hands behind his back, observing them impassively.
After confirming Han Li’s cultivation, the scholar’s expression mirrored the old man’s fear. The two exchanged glances before bowing deeply in unison.
“Junior pays respects to Senior!” the old man said with utmost deference. “Our sect is newly established. May we ask if Senior has any instructions for us? Whatever your command, our sect will spare no effort to fulfill it.”
The scholar wore an equally respectful expression. Facing a cultivator who could annihilate their entire sect with a mere gesture, they were both trembling with fear.
Han Li’s earlier destruction of their formation was hardly a reassuring sign.
The Foundation Establishment disciples behind them, witnessing their elders’ behavior and hearing the words “late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator,” grew visibly nervous, not daring to even breathe loudly.
To low-level cultivators, a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator was akin to the pinnacle of the human realm—a dream they all aspired to reach.
“If your sect is newly established, you must have a Nascent Soul elder. Where is your master?” Han Li asked coldly, scanning the group.
“Master Huang Yao Zhenren left a month ago to visit friends. The sect is currently under our management,” the old man replied nervously.
“Not here? No matter. When did you move here? What happened to the previous residents?” Han Li’s eyes flickered as he pressed further.
“Our sect relocated here seventy years ago. As for the previous occupants…” The old man hesitated, glancing at the scholar.
The scholar, equally puzzled by the question, turned and called out without looking back, “Feng Zhi! Come here. The senior has questions for you.”
At his words, all eyes among the Foundation Establishment cultivators turned to one of their own—a refined-looking elder in his sixties.
The man named Feng Zhi wore an expression of astonishment.
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