“What, could it be…?” The older man started, exclaiming in a low voice.
“Exactly! I suffered a backlash of magical power and urgently needed the essence blood of a cultivator to suppress the true energy within my body. Aside from you, sir, the only other cultivator nearby was old Taoist Wu. I couldn’t very well come after you, could I? The situation was extremely perilous—the backlash suddenly arrived two days earlier than usual, and I almost couldn’t suppress it.” The younger man spoke with a bitter smile, clearly still shaken by the experience.
“I see. In that case, it’s hardly your fault. Still, you must explain this matter properly to the higher-ups. However, I suspect that your recent rush to master the Black Fiend Asura Art is what caused the backlash to occur prematurely. For now, refrain from practicing in the Blood Dungeon and focus on consolidating your foundation.” The older man spoke slowly after a moment of thought.
“Don’t worry! After absorbing that old Taoist’s essence blood, the backlash has completely subsided. As long as I’m more careful in the future, such an accident won’t happen again. Lately, I’ve also felt that my cultivation progress has been too rapid, so I was already considering staying away from there.” The younger man replied calmly.
“Good, as long as you’re aware. However, although the old Taoist has been eliminated, the person who planted the spiritual energy marker on him remains a significant problem! We can’t simply ignore this; we must find a way to eliminate any future troubles.”
“Mm, that’s true enough! But I originally thought that any friends old Taoist Wu associated with would surely be low-level rogue cultivators. So, after setting the trap, I only had the Meng siblings lie in ambush. Who would have thought we’d attract a big fish? Do you think it was the work of a group of low-level cultivators or the hand of a Foundation Establishment cultivator?” The younger man couldn’t help but ask the older man.
“Heh! I suspect it was most likely a Foundation Establishment cultivator. After all, no matter how many Qi Condensation cultivators there are, if those four had truly wanted to flee, capturing all of them wouldn’t have been an easy task.” The older masked man replied without hesitation.
“In that case, should we lay low for a while? Wait until the sect leader emerges from seclusion before continuing with our other plans. After all, a Foundation Establishment cultivator is not to be trifled with!” The younger man hesitated upon hearing the older man’s certainty about the identity of the one who captured the Meng siblings.
“Lay low? Why should we? You don’t know this yet, but the sect leader has just sent word. Due to his cultivation needs, he now requires some Foundation Establishment cultivators for a blood sacrifice. Since this person has delivered himself to us, we certainly can’t let him go easily. Qi Condensation cultivators are easy to capture anywhere, but a lone Foundation Establishment cultivator is a rare find!” The older man let out a cold laugh, a murderous glint in his eyes.
Hearing this, the younger masked man was momentarily stunned but then spoke with difficulty, “But right now, in the capital, aside from the sect leader’s four Blood Servants, our sect has no other Foundation Establishment experts here. They’re all managing affairs at various branch altars. We can’t possibly summon them back to the capital just for this.”
“There’s no need for such trouble! The sect leader urgently needs Foundation Establishment cultivators for his cultivation. If I report this, the sect leader will likely assign one or two Blood Servants to our command. With their help and our support, dealing with a single Foundation Establishment cultivator should be effortless. This way, we’ll have rendered great service and might even earn an opportunity to reach Foundation Establishment, just like the four Blood Servants.” The older masked man’s eyes gleamed with greed.
Hearing this, the younger man’s spirits lifted, seemingly thoroughly swayed by the older man’s words.
“Alright, I’ll go back and prepare! I’ll definitely capture this person alive.” He said fiercely.
Then, the two whispered to each other for a long while before silently leaving the hill, disappearing to who knows where.
Strangely, the two never discussed how to accurately locate Han Li within the vast capital, as if it were no issue at all.
…
Meanwhile, over a hundred miles away from the hill, Han Li landed his Divine Wind Boat on a desolate patch of land and had the four step off the magical instrument.
Though they knew nothing good awaited them, the four felt no urge to resist and obediently exited the boat.
Han Li stood before the silent group, his hands behind his back, coldly examining them. After a long while, he finally spoke, “Take off your masks. There’s no use hiding your faces now.” His voice was devoid of emotion, causing the four to tremble and exchange glances.
“Ahem, take them off.” The leader sighed helplessly.
The other three, seeing this, dejectedly removed their black masks, revealing their true faces.
Han Li examined each of them, his expression unchanged, though inwardly he sighed. It was indeed the Meng siblings.
While eavesdropping on their conversation from above, he had found their voices familiar. Combined with their cultivation levels, he had naturally thought of the Meng siblings and other cultivators he had met just two months prior. Aside from the woman in her forties, all of them were here.
Although their identities matched his speculation, Han Li felt a tremendous headache coming on.
Now, he didn’t need to think hard to realize that the young prince of Xin Mansion and Steward Wang were likely members of the group behind the disappearances of numerous cultivators. Now that they knew he had been spying on their secrets, they would probably pursue him relentlessly.
His original intention had been to avoid this trouble at all costs, yet somehow, he had still stumbled right into it. Had he known, he would never have sent the old Taoist to monitor those two. This had nothing to do with the Devil Dao; it was purely his own excessive caution.
But then again, he never expected Taoist Wu to be so useless, getting discovered after just one night of surveillance and likely losing his life in the process.
This left Han Li even more frustrated and speechless.
If Taoist Wu’s spirit in the afterlife knew Han Li was blaming him like this, he would probably feel even more wronged! He hadn’t even begun monitoring the young prince and the others when they barged into his room, inexplicably draining his essence blood. His death was truly unjust!
Although Han Li had somewhat misjudged the cause of Taoist Wu’s death and was unaware that the young prince and Steward Wang had no knowledge of Taoist Wu’s intended surveillance or that their identities had been prematurely exposed to Han Li, none of this prevented both sides from raising their guards and entering a state of outright hostility.
Han Li’s mind was heavy.
After all, the recently missing cultivators included several who had reached Foundation Establishment. The opponent he had now provoked was truly fearsome, and a single misstep could lead him down the same path as the other missing individuals.
Originally, following Han Li’s usual mindset, since this place was so dangerous, he would naturally flee far away—a wise man keeps away from danger. There was no need to fight this group to the death; it was better to put as much distance between them as possible.
What troubled him was the task of protecting the Qin family, which still rested on his shoulders. If something were to happen to the Qin family during his absence, he would have no way to explain it to Li Huayuan.
He couldn’t very well say that he felt the capital had suddenly become extremely dangerous, so he had turned tail and run?
As Han Li pondered this, his expression shifted uncertainly, greatly unsettling the four captives before him.
They had assumed that, having been brought to this deserted place, this man would surely subject them to intense interrogation. Yet, to their surprise, this young Foundation Establishment cultivator, after seeing their faces, had fallen into deep thought, his expression gradually growing peculiar. Was he contemplating some cruel method of interrogation?
With such wild speculations, the group felt a chill run down their spines, growing increasingly uneasy.
“What do you intend to do with us?” the young woman in her twenties suddenly blurted out, unable to contain herself any longer.
Hearing this, Han Li snapped out of his reverie. He glanced at the woman and coldly stated, “Do I need to be the one to deal with you? Simply handing you over to the families of the missing cultivators and informing them that you are among the masterminds behind their loved ones’ disappearances should suffice. I’m sure they will ‘take good care’ of you.”
Han Li’s expression remained impassive as he spoke, leaving the four absolutely convinced that he would carry out his threat. Their faces paled with terror.
“We’ve never kidnapped any of those cultivators, not even once! We only did a few…?”
“Silence, Fifth Sister! He’s baiting you!” the dark-faced old man suddenly barked sharply, cutting off the woman’s words. Startled, she glared fiercely at Han Li.
“Baiting you? You overestimate yourselves.” Han Li smiled faintly, a trace of mockery curling his lips.
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