At this point, the two men fell silent with grim expressions and accelerated their flight artifacts, speeding directly down the mountain.
Han Li did not follow them immediately, as doing so would have been too conspicuous. Instead, he covertly attached a trace of his spiritual sense to the slender man and coldly watched them fly some distance away before leisurely revealing himself and following from afar.
Compared to Han Li, their speed was quite slow. It took them over an hour to reach the fourth level of the Sacred Mountain, where they entered an extremely ordinary-looking residence side by side.
A short while later, Han Li appeared above the courtyard.
The surroundings appeared relatively tranquil. Aside from a few similarly styled courtyards in the distance, there was also a small patch of lush green bamboo groves, lending the area an air of elegance.
Han Li gazed at the courtyard, a glint of sharpness flashing in his eyes. Though the residence seemed unremarkable, a small “Flowing Water Array” had been set up outside. While it wouldn’t be effective against any intruders truly determined to break in, it could at least serve as an early warning.
However, this formation would be utterly useless not only against Han Li but even against an ordinary Core Formation cultivator with some knowledge of formations. Han Li was completely confident he could slip in undetected without triggering the restrictions inside—and that was exactly what he did.
He formed a hand seal, and his figure blurred before vanishing abruptly amid a flash of cyan light. Soon after, Han Li, concealed from sight, appeared silently within the courtyard. At this moment, he had suppressed all fluctuations of his spiritual power. Not even a Foundation Establishment cultivator, let alone a Core Formation one, would have any chance of detecting him.
This caution was due to Han Li’s fear that there might indeed be a Core Formation cultivator present. Otherwise, an ordinary concealment technique would have sufficed.
Han Li stood motionless in the center of the courtyard, but his spiritual sense slowly spread out from him, enveloping the entire residence. A strange expression flickered across his face as he turned to stare at a side room on the left.
He clearly sensed that all the other rooms were empty, except for this small side room, which contained seven cultivators.
The slender man and the dark-faced middle-aged man were among them. Of the seven, two were women—one quite attractive, the other an ordinary-looking young woman. However, the one with the highest cultivation level was a man in brocade robes with piercing eyes and a hooked nose.
Aside from his somewhat unpleasant nose, his features were rather dignified and imposing. He appeared to be at the late Foundation Establishment stage, having already entered the False Core realm, and was fully prepared to begin forming his Golden Core.
The rest were mostly at the early or mid Foundation Establishment stage.
This was to be expected, as such cultivation levels were the minimum requirement for venturing to the Outer Star Seas.
However, it was unclear what these people had just discussed. Everyone wore gloomy, silent expressions, and the entire room was deathly quiet, with no one speaking.
Han Li was in no hurry and stood quietly waiting. He believed their subsequent conversation would provide him with some useful information, after which he could decide on his next move.
Sure enough, after the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the middle-aged woman spoke up impatiently: “Brother Yi, Fellow Daoist Huang has already brought back word. The other party is demanding five thousand spirit stones per person to allow us passage to the Outer Star Seas. Should we complete the Star Palace’s mission and leave openly, or should we pay the spirit stones privately and sneak through? Brother Yi, you must make a decision. Once the war breaks out, even if they want to let us go, it might be too late.” Her voice carried a tone of irritation.
“Madam Liu, from the sound of it, you seem quite willing to pay these spirit stones. But have you considered that while you may be wealthy enough not to care about this amount, my wife and I would exhaust all our resources and still not be able to come up with the sum? Do you intend to go alone?” A pale-faced cultivator sitting beside the young woman spoke with a dark expression and an unfriendly tone.
Hearing this, the middle-aged woman showed displeasure and retorted discontentedly, “When did I say I would go alone? I was merely asking Brother Yi for his opinion. Fellow Daoist Yi has rich experience and is the highest cultivator among us. Surely he can analyze the pros and cons of this situation for us.”
“Enough, both of you. Fellow Daoist Liu will not leave alone. The Outer Star Seas are no place for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to venture solo. Only by working together can we hope to survive there. With some luck, hunting a few spiritual beasts and refining some pills could greatly advance our cultivation. So, we must go to the Outer Star Seas. However, we don’t need to complete any missions or kill any fellow cultivators. In a great war, even Core Formation cultivators cannot guarantee their survival, let alone us lower-level cultivators. Besides, I’m somewhat worried that the higher-ups of Star Palace might go back on their word,” the brocade-robed man finally spoke coldly.
“Impossible! The Star Palace has never broken its promises before. Fellow Daoist Yi, aren’t you overthinking this?” The speaker was a robust young man who, despite his youth, gave off a mature vibe.
“While it’s unlikely, it’s not impossible. This isn’t an era where Star Palace holds absolute power. If Star Palace feels this war is too dangerous, they’re capable of anything—going back on their word wouldn’t be surprising. These major powers, hmph!” The brocade-robed man’s face twitched, and he snorted disdainfully, as if he understood these factions all too well.
Hearing this, the room fell silent again as everyone sank into contemplation.
“So, the safest approach, in my opinion, is to spend some spirit stones to ensure our survival. If we get involved in the war, it’s entirely possible we’ll all be wiped out. Even if some manage to survive by luck and reach the Outer Star Seas, they’ll be isolated and unable to protect themselves, which would also mean certain death,” the man continued slowly.
“But so many spirit stones…”
“If you lose your life, what use are spirit stones? Besides, killing a few high-level demon beasts in the Outer Star Seas should be enough to cover our losses. The most important thing now is to get there first.” The dark-faced middle-aged man, looking pained, seemed about to say more but was cut off sharply by the brocade-robed man.
The dark-faced cultivator appeared quite afraid of the man and, after being rebuked, muttered a few words before falling silent.
“As for those who lack sufficient spirit stones, contribute what you can. We’ll see if the other party is willing to lower the price. If not, those among us with surplus spirit stones can lend some, to be repaid with interest once we reach the Outer Star Seas.”
The brocade-robed man clearly held exceptionally high prestige among the group. With just a few simple words, he made the decision unilaterally.
The other six exchanged glances. Though not everyone was fully convinced, they all reluctantly accepted.
Seeing their expressions, the older man showed satisfaction and turned to the slender man, saying sternly, “Fellow Daoist Zhang, I’ll trouble you to make another trip tomorrow. See if you can negotiate the spirit stone amount down. If not, agree to their terms. But we must leave the day after tomorrow without any further delays. We must depart before the war begins.”
The slender man repeatedly agreed. Afterward, the people in the room began discussing specific details in a lively manner.
Standing outside, Han Li heard everything clearly from beginning to end. A mysterious smile touched the corners of his lips before he vanished without a trace in a flash of cyan light.
The next day, when the slender man set out from the residence toward the Star Palace Hall, he was unaware that a figure had appeared high in the sky behind him.
Han Li followed him expressionlessly back to the vicinity of the Star Palace Hall, watching as the man cautiously slipped in through a side door.
Han Li rubbed his nose and waited coldly and calmly outside the hall.
After a full half-hour, the slender man emerged stealthily, a faint excitement on his face. Han Li once again tailed him back to the residence.
However, something happened that made Han Li raise his eyebrows.
Before entering the residence, the slender man’s excited expression quickly faded. After glancing around, he dramatically switched to a worried, miserable look before knocking and entering the courtyard.
Seeing this, Han Li frowned, a thoughtful expression crossing his face.
“Could it be that there’s more to this…” He stroked his chin, lost in thought.
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