Chapter 402: Left and Right Envoys

“Taken by force?” Han Li’s eyes flickered with an expression of disbelief.

“It seems Senior doesn’t believe my words, but this is absolutely true!” Madame Fan suddenly dropped her smile, revealing a bitter expression.

“Two months ago, our sect received a major business deal—so large that our Mystic Sound Sect wouldn’t need to take any other business for the next ten years. After gathering a large batch of goods, Sect Leader Wang led most of our experts to escort and deliver them. But on the way, they were ambushed by a group of masked cultivators. Among these people, there were five or six Core Formation cultivators, all highly skilled in dark arts, and the remaining ones were extremely adept at coordinated attacks. Our sect leader, outnumbered, died on the spot, and the storage bags containing the goods were snatched away. As for the ordinary disciples, more than half were killed or injured. If not for two elders sacrificing their cultivation to activate a secret technique and fight desperately, I’m afraid no one would have even known they were completely wiped out.” As the woman spoke, her voice grew low, her face filled with sorrow.

“Could it have been a trap set by the buyer?” Han Li blurted out almost without thinking.

“Impossible! The buyer for this deal is one of the Four Great Merchant Alliances of the Scattered Star Seas, with a long-standing excellent reputation. How could they do something like killing and robbing? Besides, with their strength, they wouldn’t ruin their reputation over something like this!” Madame Fan shook her head lightly, her face pale as she denied it, exuding a sense of fragile helplessness.

But Han Li only gave her a cold glance and said nothing more, showing no trace of sympathy or comfort.

Seeing Han Li’s indifferent demeanor, Madame Fan had no choice but to suppress her grief and continue explaining: “That small section of Golden Lightning Bamboo was originally a treasure of a certain minor sect, but that sect has fallen into extreme decline, with only one successor left. So, not long ago, they sold it to our Mystic Sound Sect. Our sect leader took it with her when delivering the goods, planning to auction it in Heavenly Star City after completing this major deal. But unexpectedly, it was also taken by those cultivators.”

“However, before our sect leader left with the goods, she made a small alteration to the batch. So, our disciples quickly tracked down the hiding place of these cultivators. But there are simply too many Core Formation cultivators among these thieves, and with our sect’s strength alone, we can’t confront them head-on. So, on this trip, besides purchasing goods, I am also tasked with inviting highly skilled experts to assist us. The two of you appear to have profound cultivation. If you are willing to help, on behalf of our sect, I can offer that section of Golden Lightning Bamboo as compensation. How about it?”

After this careful speech, the woman finally revealed her true intention. Han Li’s expression remained unchanged, but his eyes flickered as if he were weighing something.

Seeing this, Madame Fan, knowing that Han Li was considering the pros and cons, quickly added another incentive: “If Senior still finds the reward too low, our sect is also willing to gift one of our untouched female disciples to serve as your maid. How about that?”

“Not interested!” Han Li refused without a moment’s thought.

Upon hearing this, the woman’s face immediately showed disappointment.

“Has that section of Golden Lightning Bamboo been refined? Can it still continue to grow?” Han Li let out a light sigh and suddenly asked a question that took the woman by surprise.

“It hasn’t been refined. That section of Golden Lightning Bamboo was carefully cultivated by that minor sect for over a thousand years and was uprooted entirely, so it can definitely continue to be nurtured. Does Senior not wish to refine it into a magic treasure but instead leave it for future generations? But Golden Lightning Bamboo grows extremely slowly, gaining only an inch in height every thousand years. It’s truly difficult to cultivate!” The woman was slightly puzzled and asked curiously.

Hearing this, Han Li did not answer her question but instead lowered his head slightly, sinking back into thought.

Only when Elder Zhao showed signs of impatience did he finally make up his mind and say, “Besides that section of Golden Lightning Bamboo, I want to pick another item from those goods. After all, Fellow Cultivator Qu and I are both taking action.” Han Li added another condition with an unchanged expression.

“No problem, our sect can agree to this condition!” Upon hearing that Han Li agreed to help, Madame Fan immediately beamed with joy and almost without thinking accepted Han Li’s condition.

“In that case! When it’s time to set out, just send someone to my cave to notify me. I assume your sect already knows the location of my cave.” After saying this, Han Li stood up expressionlessly.

Without waiting for Madame Fan to say anything more, he cupped his hands and left gracefully with Qu Hun, not mentioning the woman’s use of charm magic on him.

Seeing Han Li leave so decisively, the man and woman of the Mystic Sound Sect exchanged surprised glances, and a complex look flashed in Madame Fan’s eyes, her expression shifting uncertainly.

Returning to his cave, Han Li did not simply wait quietly for the Mystic Sound Sect to send someone for him. Instead, he went to several other Core Formation cultivators to inquire about the Mystic Sound Sect.

Surprisingly, these people had indeed heard of the sect, and one of them had even dealt with them before.

According to them, the Mystic Sound Sect could be considered a sect or a merchant alliance—it wasn’t entirely wrong. However, this sect had always been primarily composed of female disciples, so the sect leader could only be a female disciple.

The Mystic Sound Sect’s strength in the Scattered Star Seas wasn’t particularly great. Besides the sect leader, the highest positions were the Left and Right Envoys. Of course, they usually also hired two or three Core Formation guest elders as backing. Among the many mid-tier forces, they were neither the best nor the worst!

Even so, other forces generally wouldn’t provoke this sect easily. This was because the female cultivators of the Mystic Sound Sect were all exceptionally beautiful and talented, often becoming dual cultivation partners for powerful figures in other forces, thus gaining a lot of overt and covert support.

What Han Li cared about most was that the sect’s reputation was relatively good, with few rumors of them harming other cultivators. However, the Mystic Sound Sect’s charm magic was quite famous in the Scattered Star Seas, causing many male cultivators to become infatuated with their female disciples.

After gathering this information, Han Li had a general impression of the Mystic Sound Sect. After careful consideration, he still couldn’t bear to give up on the Golden Lightning Bamboo. It seemed he really had to take action this time!

So he immediately returned to his cave and worked day and night to speed up the refinement of the third-grade puppets.

Half a month later, a message talisman flew into Han Li’s hands. After reading it, he calmly packed his things and left the cave with Qu Hun and two Bloodjade Spiders.

When they arrived at a certain city gate of Heavenly Star City, the young girl named Lian’er was waiting there anxiously. As soon as she saw Han Li and Qu Hun, she hurried over with a joyful expression and said, “Seniors! Madame asked me to take you to the gathering island, and then we’ll set out together.”

Han Li nodded upon hearing this and, without another word, spat out the Green Luminous Sword, enveloping the girl in its light as they soared into the sky.

Qu Hun followed closely, transforming into a yellow streak of light.

The girl named Lian’er seemed to be flying on a magic treasure for the first time. Curious, she looked around within Han Li’s sword light, occasionally pointing out the route. But whenever she accidentally met Han Li’s gaze, she would lower her head shyly.

In the sword light, she stood very close to Han Li, almost pressed against him. With just a slight bow of his head, Han Li could see her snow-white neck and smell the faint fragrance of a young woman, giving him a taste of a minor romantic encounter.

The girl seemed to notice this too, her cheeks blushing even more frequently, which Han Li found quite amusing, causing a faint, ambiguous smile to appear on his face.

He began to wonder if Madame Fan had sent her personal maid to guide him because she knew he was immune to charm magic and had switched to using genuine beauty as a tactic.

Thinking this, he inwardly sneered a few times and boldly took a deep breath of the girl’s scent, causing her to tremble slightly. Her small, delicate jade ears turned pink, and a hint of panic appeared on her face.

However, Han Li’s bold behavior stopped there, and he took no further action, which finally put the girl somewhat at ease, allowing her to continue guiding him calmly.

A short while later, Han Li landed on a desolate hill of a nameless small island.

On the mountaintop, several dozen feet high, besides Madame Fan and Elder Zhao, there were over a dozen people of varying heights—some sitting cross-legged cultivating, others standing and whispering.

Among them, five were Core Formation cultivators, and the rest were late Foundation Establishment cultivators. It seemed the Mystic Sound Sect had put considerable effort into gathering these people.

When Madame Fan saw that her maid had indeed brought Han Li and Qu Hun, she couldn’t help but show joy and walked over with light steps.

“Seniors, your presence is a great fortune for our sect! Let me introduce you to a few people.” she said with a flowing gaze.

She then introduced Han Li and Qu Hun to a Core Formation cultivator surnamed Meng and four Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Strangely, after introducing these people, Madame Fan did not introduce the remaining cultivators to him. Instead, she somewhat provocatively glanced toward a beautiful woman in lotus-green robes.

Following her gaze, Han Li noticed that aside from the cultivators Madame Fan had introduced, the others seemed to revolve around the green-robed woman.

This woman had eyebrows like distant mountains, phoenix eyes, a straight nose, and a sharp gaze that hinted at a commanding presence. To a man, this only made her more alluring, evoking a desire to conquer her.

When the woman noticed Madame Fan’s gaze, she coldly snorted a few times but glanced at Han Li and Qu Hun with slight surprise before turning to whisper to a middle-aged cultivator behind her, ignoring Madame Fan entirely.

“Who is that?” Han Li asked calmly.

“Zhuo Ruting, the Right Envoy of our sect,” Fan Jingmei replied with a hint of reluctance.

“Oh,” Han Li responded indifferently but couldn’t help glancing at the woman a few more times, which displeased Fan Jingmei.

Han Li wasn’t harboring any improper thoughts about Zhuo Ruting; he just felt that her demeanor and grace seemed strangely familiar, pulling him into deep thought.

Seeing this, Madame Fan’s face darkened, and she turned to speak with Qu Hun.

But Qu Hun only listened to her words expressionlessly, never uttering a single word, which frustrated her even more.