Han Li’s expression changed briefly before quickly returning to normal. He walked leisurely past the Six United Halls shop as if nothing had happened.
Miaohe Zhenren and another elderly man in a yellow robe merely glanced at Han Li. Though slightly surprised by the disguised gaunt elder’s considerable cultivation, they paid him no further mind and proceeded toward the city center with the four other Core Formation cultivators.
Han Li, likewise, continued forward without looking back, appearing as though he was merely passing by the Six United Halls.
At that moment, however, Miaohe Zhenren and the yellow-robed elder began conversing via sound transmission, their lips moving without any audible words.
Han Li’s back stiffened slightly as he walked away, but he quickly resumed his casual demeanor, putting more distance between himself and Miaohe Zhenren’s group.
After one final turn, Han Li entered a rather grand-looking pavilion.
A full hour later, he emerged, escorted respectfully by a shopkeeper.
Instead of leaving immediately, he entered another nearby establishment. By the time he exited the fifth shop, satisfied with his purchases, he had exchanged magic treasures, ancient treasures, and rare materials for over a hundred high-grade spirit stones.
But as he stepped out this time, he suddenly noticed several unidentified Core Formation cultivators lurking nearby. Though they pretended indifference, their eyes flickered with peculiar intent.
Han Li smirked coldly and abandoned his original plans. He swaggered down the street, exiting the market and eventually leaving the stone city on foot.
Most of the shadowing cultivators followed him out of the city gates using concealment spells, only to exchange bewildered glances.
Han Li, who had been within their spiritual sense just moments ago, had vanished without a trace under their very eyes. The area was empty, with no sign of any fleeing light.
Chaos ensued among the group.
Some had been sent by the shops, while others had noticed Han Li frequently entering and exiting multiple establishments, each time being respectfully seen off by the shopkeepers. Intrigued, they had tailed him on their own.
Though the disguised elder appeared to be a late-stage Core Formation cultivator, the lure of potential gains had emboldened them. Some had even discussed teaming up beforehand.
But now, with Han Li’s inexplicable disappearance, they could only search fruitlessly before reluctantly returning to the city in frustration.
Shortly after their departure, a flash of cyan light appeared high above where Han Li had vanished. A blurred figure solidified into view—Han Li, now restored to his true appearance.
He glanced back at the stone city, a mocking smile playing on his lips.
Had he not suddenly altered his plans and wished to avoid alerting the Nascent Soul cultivators within the city, he would never have allowed these pursuers to leave alive.
Their failure to see through his concealment was sheer luck. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have hesitated to eliminate them all with a wave of his hand.
After surveying the area from above, Han Li identified a direction and shot off as a streak of cyan light.
Moments later, the light descended into a secluded valley nestled between two small hills surrounding the city.
The place was serene, filled with birdsong and the fragrance of flowers, shrouded in thick mountain mist.
Han Li scanned the surroundings briefly before nodding in approval.
With a flick of his wrist, a set of multicolored formation flags appeared. A dozen beams of light shot out, vanishing into the surroundings.
Soon, white mist surged from the ground, blending seamlessly with the valley’s natural fog, obscuring Han Li completely.
Once the concealment formation was in place, Han Li tapped a spirit beast pouch at his waist.
A loud buzzing erupted as thousands of Gold Devouring Beetles swarmed out, forming a golden cloud before him.
Han Li sat cross-legged, murmuring an incantation as cyan spiritual light flickered around him.
With a *boom*, the insect cloud dispersed into countless golden specks, scattering in all directions.
At the same time, Han Li’s eyes snapped open, their brilliance briefly dazzling before dimming unnaturally.
This was the *Divine Sense Division* technique he had once used in the Fallen Devil Valley—a self-created ability derived from the Great Development Art. It allowed him to split most of his divine sense into thousands of fine threads, temporarily attaching them to each Gold Devouring Beetle, effectively granting him a thousand extra eyes and ears.
Though similar in concept to his earlier technique of attaching divine sense to spiritual objects, the two were fundamentally different.
The *Divine Sense Division* technique fragmented his consciousness into countless strands, using the beetles to conduct searches beyond normal divine sense range. It required direct control from his primary consciousness and had a limited operational scope.
In contrast, the other technique involved embedding independent fragments of his divine sense into spiritual objects, allowing them to act autonomously based on pre-set commands. This method could even control refined spirit beasts in combat, resembling a rudimentary form of avatar manipulation. These fragments could operate indefinitely, regardless of distance.
The *Divine Sense Division* technique was situational and rarely used, almost feeling redundant. The spiritual object attachment technique, however, was a profound ability even few late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators mastered—utterly incomparable.
Once the Gold Devouring Beetles dispersed beyond the white mist, some burrowed underground while others took to the skies, vanishing without a trace.
Seated within the formation, Han Li closed his eyes again, his face cold and expressionless.
Time passed slowly. The sun dipped below the horizon, plunging Biling Island into darkness.
The stone city, however, remained brightly lit. Moonlight stones infused with spiritual power illuminated every corner as if it were daytime, making the surrounding darkness seem even deeper. The howling sea winds sounded like hidden demons lurking in the night.
Though cultivators could see clearly at night with minimal spiritual energy expenditure, their range was far shorter than in daylight. In the Outer Star Seas, this was especially perilous. The waters teemed with demonic beasts, and even staying on the island at night risked ambush by stealthy creatures.
Most cultivators couldn’t maintain constant divine sense vigilance. As a result, more perished from nocturnal attacks than during active beast-hunting expeditions.
Thus, unless urgent or supremely confident in their abilities, cultivators fortified their defenses at night. Gathering points activated all restrictions, and those not at sea retreated indoors.
The stone city, encircled by mountains, had its eight stone towers glowing as a pale blue barrier enveloped the entire settlement, warding off potential infiltrators.
Yet on this very night, several cloaked figures quietly approached one of the city gates.
The guards—a Core Formation cultivator and several Foundation Establishment disciples—hastily opened a gap in the barrier upon recognizing the leader’s revealed face, respectfully ushering the group out.
Once beyond the city, the figures transformed into streaks of light, vanishing into the dark night.
They flew swiftly in silence until, about a hundred miles from the city, a soft *”Hm?”* came from one of the streaks. A thin white line shot out from the light, disappearing into the void behind them.
The others paused, turning to look.
A sharp *”Zing!”* echoed as a blinding golden spark erupted in the distance—the white line had struck something. A strange screech followed before a fist-sized golden object plummeted downward.
“What was that?” one cultivator exclaimed.
The attacker retrieved the white line, which resolved into a slender silver needle. “Not sure. Some kind of spirit insect—wild or tamed, I can’t say. But it survived my *White Mourning Needle*—impressively tough. Retrieve its corpse. I want to examine it,” they ordered, gesturing to two subordinates.
The two bowed and flew off into the darkness.
After a lengthy search, they returned empty-handed.
“Report, Sect Master—the insect seems alive. We found no corpse,” one said nervously.
“Alive? You think my *White Mourning Needle* is a mere sewing pin? How could it fail to kill a single insect?” the leader snapped.
“Brother Bai, it might truly be alive. I also detect no trace,” another cloaked figure interjected gravely.
Startled, the needle-wielder swept the area with divine sense—and stiffened. The golden insect was indeed gone.
Alarmed, they exchanged silent words before another cultivator summoned an emerald hammer while the first unleashed a web of white threads, encasing themselves in protective barriers.
“Which esteemed expert follows us? Show yourself instead of skulking in the shadows!” the thread-wielder roared, eyes blazing as an overwhelming aura erupted from their body.
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