Since Han Li had spoken thus, although the old man was still full of doubts, he had no choice but to return for the time being.
Not long after, the second brother returned with a grim expression, having indeed failed to catch up with Fifth Sister. Fortunately, Han Li had already given his word beforehand, so the group did not need to worry about incurring Senior Han’s wrath.
Meanwhile, in an extremely secluded alley of Yuejing City, a slender figure stumbled hurriedly toward the southern district. Under the faint moonlight, a closer look revealed it to be the panicked young woman, Fifth Sister.
As she ran, she kept glancing back over her shoulder, her expression fearful as if expecting someone to appear suddenly.
Although most of her spiritual power had been restricted by Han Li, her divine sense as a cultivator remained intact. After confirming that no one was following her, she finally felt somewhat relieved.
This was all thanks to the concealment talisman the young man had slipped her when he let her go, allowing her to escape to this point.
Shortly after her escape, she had spotted the tall, lean figure of her second brother passing overhead. Fortunately, she had quick reflexes and used the talisman in time, narrowly avoiding detection.
By now, her second brother had either chased in another direction or returned to the Qin residence. Feeling emboldened, she dashed recklessly through the alley.
Her destination was a secret stronghold of the Black Fiend Cult in the southern district. She believed that reporting Han Li’s whereabouts and detailed information to her superiors would earn her significant merit. With this, she would be one step closer to her dream of reaching Foundation Establishment.
Back in the day, she and several other promising outer disciples of the Black Fiend Cult had witnessed the mysterious cult leader’s divine ability to enable Qi Refinement cultivators to establish their foundations. They had immediately pledged their loyalty to the cult, hoping that one day, with enough contributions, they would receive the leader’s grace and advance to Foundation Establishment.
As far as she knew, most of the outer disciples who willingly served the Black Fiend Cult shared this goal. Thus, she never considered her choice a mistake.
After all, given her innate talent, her cultivation had essentially reached its limit. If she wished to advance further or even establish her foundation, she had no other options.
As for her sworn siblings, although she felt some regret, she had chosen this path and could only sever all ties. Whether they were captured and subjected to blood sacrifice or controlled again would be up to her superiors. She had no intention of pleading for them anymore; from now on, she would live solely for herself.
As these fierce thoughts raced through her mind, she indulged in dreams of Foundation Establishment, her steps growing lighter with anticipation.
Catching sight of the southern district’s entrance in the distance, her heart leaped with joy, and she quickened her pace. But suddenly, she felt a wet sensation under her nose. Puzzled, she wiped it with her hand and glanced down, her body shuddering as horror and fear washed over her.
Five pale fingers were now stained with sticky, dark-red liquid.
“What is this?” Panicked, Fifth Sister hurriedly used her sleeve to wipe the black blood under her nose, but it gushed out uncontrollably, as if a floodgate had opened. In the blink of an eye, black blood began streaming from her eyes and ears as well.
The young woman felt her strength draining away. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed straight to the ground. Her body was icy cold, with no warmth left in her heart. She tried to cry for help, but her throat was parched and hoarse, unable to produce a single sound.
Gradually, her consciousness faded, and before long, she sank into eternal darkness.
The next morning, passersby would curiously notice a inexplicable pool of black, filthy blood on the ground, forcing them to detour around it and sparking quite a bit of speculation.
At the moment of the young woman’s death, Han Li was in his room, inspecting all his magical tools and talismans in preparation for departure.
After tidying up, Han Li gazed out the window at the crescent moon, a trace of loneliness flickering across his face. He murmured softly to himself, “It should be about time. The poison must have taken effect.” With a light sigh, he left the room and headed toward the Clear Tone Courtyard.
Han Li’s suspicions about Fifth Sister had arisen when he was detoxifying the Mengshan Five. Although she was also poisoned, her condition was much milder than the other three, and the poison likely wouldn’t have been fatal even if it had taken effect.
In contrast, the blood curse on her had taken considerable effort for Han Li to remove, indicating that the young woman had been under its influence for quite some time. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have left such deep traces in her divine sense.
Wary, Han Li had deliberately placed a small restriction on her while removing the blood curse, as a precaution.
The function of this restriction was simple: it temporarily gathered the residual effects of the two antidotes she had taken into a specific part of her body, ready to suddenly transform into a deadly poison when triggered. These two pills were called “Impermanence Pills,” which could serve as either supreme antidotes or, through specific methods, be converted into poison. They were among the spoils of war Han Li had kept.
Tonight, after secretly summoning the Mengshan Five and having them witness the woman’s betrayal firsthand, Han Li captured her and used his spiritual power to tap her a few times.
These taps not only restricted most of her spiritual power but also activated the latent restriction. If Han Li did not undo it within a short time, the woman would die silently and without a trace, just as described.
Han Li’s decision to kill her was ambiguous, partly out of consideration for the Mengshan Five’s feelings, but he absolutely could not allow her to reveal the connection between the Qin residence and them. That was his bottom line.
Activating the restriction immediately was merely a cautious defensive measure on Han Li’s part, but it had unexpectedly proven useful. This was why he remained so calm and unflustered when faced with the black-faced old man’s report.
Had the woman stayed captive in the Qin residence, Han Li would have suppressed the restriction’s activation.
But now that she had escaped, regardless of whether the Mengshan Five had let her go willingly, her disappearance ensured that no information would be leaked to the Black Fiend Cult. Moreover, he had done the Mengshan Five a great favor, which should greatly aid in winning them over.
When Han Li arrived at the Clear Tone Courtyard, the black-faced old man and the others, though in low spirits, had made all the necessary preparations and were quietly awaiting Han Li’s arrival.
“Let’s go!” Han Li said succinctly as soon as he entered the room.
…
Under the cover of night, the Prince of Xin’s mansion loomed like a colossal monster, intimidating any petty thieves who might have designs on it.
But tonight, Han Li and the others, using concealment spells, stealthily infiltrated the mansion.
The Prince of Xin’s mansion had been in an uproar all day due to the mysterious disappearance of the immortal Wu. However, deep into the night, aside from some guards and sentries, everyone else had long since retired to bed, now sound asleep.
Once inside, Han Li immediately found a night guard, used a mind-control technique to extract information about Chief Steward Wang and the young prince’s whereabouts, and then knocked him unconscious with a single palm strike.
He then turned to the other four and said, “Of these two, the young prince has the lowest cultivation. We’ll start with him and deal with Chief Steward Wang last.”
The Mengshan Four were already astonished to learn that members of the Black Fiend Cult were actually in the Prince of Xin’s mansion. Hearing Han Li’s words, they naturally had no objections and nodded in agreement. To cultivators like them, the young prince’s status as a royal relative was far less concerning than his identity as a core disciple of the Black Fiend Cult.
Next, the group silently approached the young prince’s residence, a three-story pavilion.
There were several guards nearby. To prevent them from causing trouble during the impending conflict, the Mengshan Four, without waiting for Han Li to act, swiftly subdued them.
Watching their skilled movements, Han Li nodded inwardly, thinking that having such subordinates might not be so bad after all.
From the guards, they learned that the young prince resided on the top floor. Han Li did not allow the others to go upstairs but instead instructed them to lay ambushes around the pavilion. If the young prince proved too slippery and escaped Han Li’s grasp, they could intercept him and buy Han Li some time.
To avoid alerting Chief Steward Wang, who lived on the other end of the mansion, Han Li did not hesitate to expend spiritual power to cast a large soundproof barrier, enveloping an area of several dozen square yards centered around the pavilion.
Then, Han Li floated lightly up to the third floor and slipped into the attic.
While the Mengshan Four watched the third floor of the pavilion with bated breath, not even blinking, a figure swiftly emerged from within.
Startled at first, they relaxed when they saw it was Han Li, though they were also puzzled. Had Senior Han succeeded so quickly? But where was the young prince?
Han Li descended from upstairs with a dark expression. Seeing the four gathered around, he frowned and said, “There’s no one upstairs, just a puppet transformed by illusion magic. It seems he must have gone out on business.”
His words left the others exchanging bewildered glances, unsure what to do next.
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