“Of course, I have no interest in other matters. This deal is settled. This place is too conspicuous; follow me to another location for the spellcasting.” A faint smile appeared on Han Li’s face. Without waiting for the other party’s agreement, he flicked his sleeve toward the young man’s face.
A burst of azure radiance swept out, enveloping Feng Yue’s head in an instant. Feng Yue immediately collapsed sideways but was caught mid-fall by the azure glow, gently floating upward. Although Han Li’s cultivation was sealed, his mastery of spiritual techniques remained impeccable, far surpassing that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
At this moment, the black cloud transformed from the Second Spirit Infant shot out from the nearby forest. With a flicker, it reverted to its infant form, floating before Han Li. One hand still gripped the triangular spike, while the other clutched the Eagle-Eyed Elder’s primordial spirit.
“No use keeping it. Destroy it,” Han Li remarked coldly after glancing at the elder’s primordial spirit.
Upon hearing this, the Second Spirit Infant grinned mischievously, and black-green flames suddenly erupted from its tiny clenched fist. The green light trembled before silently dissipating into wisps of smoke within the flames.
Simultaneously, Han Li flicked his finger, launching an egg-sized fireball at the elder’s corpse. Flames surged skyward, and the Eagle-Eyed Elder was utterly annihilated, body and spirit.
Han Li then gestured toward the ground, summoning a storage pouch and the fiery-red short sword into his hand. After clearing away other obvious traces, he took Feng Yue and soared into the sky on his artifact, heading toward the previous meditation site among the scattered rocks.
Until his cultivation was unsealed, he had no choice but to proceed with extreme caution.
That said, Han Li was currently rather frustrated. Although his spiritual sense was immensely powerful, comparable to a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, he dared not extend it too far under normal circumstances. Instead, he had to actively suppress most of it. Otherwise, if detected by a Great Immortal of the Urt or another Urt cultivator skilled in spiritual sense techniques, it would spell certain doom. Yet, if he confined his spiritual sense too narrowly, high-ranking Urt cultivators might sneak up on him unnoticed.
Back when he was nurturing the Gold Devouring Beetles in the central grasslands, his detection was partly due to carelessness. But more importantly, it was because he had restricted his spiritual sense too closely. As a result, a mid-stage Nascent Soul Urt cultivator, chasing a demon beast at speeds rivaling late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, closed the twenty-mile gap in an instant. By the time Han Li noticed, it was too late to recall the beetles and escape, leading to this unforeseen calamity.
Yet, in the vast Tianlan Grasslands, encountering a mid-stage Nascent Soul Urt cultivator skilled in flight techniques was sheer misfortune—whether for the other party or himself. Had either side known the other’s abilities, they likely wouldn’t have clashed.
Whenever Han Li reflected on this, he couldn’t help but feel a mix of amusement and exasperation.
Now, while he suffered from backlash and had his cultivation sealed, the other party had only escaped with one-seventh of their Nascent Soul, suffering severe damage to their cultivation. It might take years, if not decades, for them to recover.
…
A day later, Han Li returned to the camp as promised. Compared to the previous days, the number of tents had noticeably dwindled, indicating that some tribes had finished their preparations and departed. When Han Li arrived at the Heron Tribe’s tents, Ying Lu and the others were already ready, with carriages prepared, waiting for their Immortal Master’s return.
Delighted to see Han Li, Ying Lu hurriedly invited him aboard a carriage, then led the convoy out of the camp toward the opposite exit.
Han Li sat in his usual carriage, closing his eyes to rest briefly. However, shortly after the carriage passed through the gate, it came to an abrupt halt with a creak.
Frowning, Han Li opened his eyes but didn’t lift the curtain. Instead, he extended a sliver of spiritual sense to observe the surroundings.
Before long, several smaller convoys arrived, their leaders exchanging polite greetings with Ying Lu before merging their groups. Han Li then realized that during his absence, the Heron Tribe’s leader had allied with several smaller tribes for the journey.
Each convoy had a cultivator escort, but their cultivation levels were pitifully low. Two of them were even at the Qi Refining stage—not even qualifying as formal Immortal Masters by Urt standards. Han Li, with his sealed mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, was ironically the highest-ranking cultivator in the entire convoy.
Han Li stroked his chin and chuckled wryly. In his view, bringing these people along would only be a burden rather than an asset.
Just then, the Red Wolf Tribe’s convoy arrived in haste. As Han Li’s gaze flickered toward a particular carriage, he considered probing it with his spiritual sense. Suddenly, another faint wisp of spiritual sense swept over the convoy. Had Han Li’s spiritual sense not been far superior, he might not have noticed it at all.
His expression darkened as he hastily suppressed his aura.
Sure enough, after scanning the entire convoy, the foreign spiritual sense circled back to inspect the carriages with cultivators. It lingered around Han Li for a few moments before withdrawing, finding nothing amiss.
Han Li glared coldly in the direction of the camp.
Meanwhile, on the second-floor balcony of a stone pavilion within the camp, three Urt cultivators stood facing the convoy. The bald, eyebrowless elder at the forefront suddenly let out a soft exclamation, opening his eyes with a puzzled expression.
“Elder Ying, have you found that outsider?” the middle-aged man behind him asked nervously.
“Hmph! Relax, it’s not him. But there’s someone in the convoy who’s severely poisoned yet still alive—quite peculiar,” the elder replied, shooting the man a displeased glance.
“Uncle, Brother Li is just concerned. Of course, you wouldn’t fear that outsider. But with only you here as a Nascent Soul cultivator, and given his ferocity, even if you could hold him off, the many tribal leaders and low-ranking Immortal Masters in the camp would be caught in the crossfire. We can’t afford that responsibility,” the palace-robed woman interjected with a smile, defusing the tension.
“Don’t flatter me. If that outsider hadn’t been severely injured, even two or three of me wouldn’t be his match. But now that he’s been struck by the Great Immortal’s Capture Hand, he’s no longer a threat. I’ll remain stationed here to prevent him from slipping through. The Sacred Hall must obtain his method of breeding Gold Devouring Beetles. Not just this camp—all nearby camps will soon have high-ranking Immortal Masters like me stationed. Once the net is set, the Holy Maiden and another Great Immortal will arrive at the nearby Sacred Hall. After the Spirit Awakening Ceremony concludes, they will use sacred artifacts to summon an avatar of the Sacred Beast. With its power, they’ll swiftly locate the outsider’s hiding place. By then, he’ll have no escape,” the elder explained calmly.
“So that’s why the orders haven’t been urgent. The higher-ups were already planning this,” the woman sighed in relief.
“Hmph! Did you think your little act could fool anyone? But I don’t blame you. Even wounded, that outsider is beyond your capabilities. The same goes for other search teams with weaker members. We elders never expected you to flush him out like startled prey. His escape techniques are extraordinary—not only is he adept at earth遁, but his blood-light escape method is utterly bizarre. Even if spotted, without a Great Immortal present, capturing him is impossible. The same applies to us. Still, keep up appearances and conduct occasional searches,” the elder sneered.
“Yes!” The middle-aged man and the woman exchanged relieved glances.
“Elder Ying, since you found that poisoned person unusual, should I detain him for your inspection?” the man asked obsequiously.
“That person…” The elder stroked his beard, considering.
“No need. Either he took some miraculous pill or possesses an anti-poison treasure—nothing too mysterious. But his sect elders must be influential. Given the death aura around him, he won’t last long. If he dies here, it might cause trouble,” the elder waved dismissively.
“As you say, Elder.” The man’s flattery had backfired, leaving him embarrassed.
The elder glanced once more at the convoy, his brow furrowing imperceptibly.
Earlier, during his initial scan, he’d felt an inexplicable pressure from one cultivator in a carriage—so fleeting that by the time he scrutinized the person again, nothing seemed amiss.
This left him unsettled and uncertain.
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