“Little sister?” Han Li stared uncertainly at the young woman before him. Her appearance and words instantly stirred something deep within him that had been buried for many years.
“Fourth Brother, how did I get here? Didn’t I die from a serious illness many years ago? I’m so scared!” The white figure trembled slightly as she stood up, her pale face moving closer to Han Li with the extremely fearful demeanor of a delicate beauty.
A strange glint appeared in Han Li’s eyes.
Just as the young woman who resembled his little sister was about to throw herself onto him after two more steps,
Han Li’s eyes flashed coldly. He raised his hand, and a small green sword silently shot from his palm, piercing through the young woman’s forehead in an instant.
The white figure let out a miserable scream before transforming into a black smoke and vanishing without a trace.
“Even if she transformed to look exactly like my little sister, we were separated since childhood. Not to mention my current appearance—she probably barely remembers what I looked like when we parted. How could she recognize me as her Fourth Brother at first glance?” Han Li gazed in the direction where the black smoke had disappeared, a trace of loneliness in his eyes as he murmured to himself.
As he spoke, he raised his wrist and glanced at the four Brahmana beads on it.
Although he sounded confident, if the Brahmana beads hadn’t suddenly grown scorching hot as the white figure approached, extinguishing the last trace of hesitation in his heart, he might not have acted so decisively. Even as his flying sword pierced through her, Han Li couldn’t help but tremble inwardly.
After all, even knowing she was just an illusion or some ghostly transformation, he still wanted to gaze a little longer at his little sister’s face.
With a sense of inexplicable sorrow, Han Li continued alone into the darkness. Before a massive structure, more than ten people sat cross-legged, motionless in front of the tower.
The tower soared into the clouds, immense beyond measure, constructed entirely from massive blue stones.
From a distance, the tower appeared to have five levels, growing narrower toward the top, with each level separated by an astonishing interval of at least a hundred zhang. Even the blue stone gate at the very bottom stood fifty to sixty zhang high, emanating an overwhelming grandeur!
The entire tower was enveloped in a faint white light barrier. The people before it, small as ants, sat with bowed heads and closed eyes, meditating. In the center of their circle, a white teleportation formation stood quietly.
Among them were both righteous and demonic path Nascent Soul cultivators like Ji Yin and Wan Tianming, alongside Wu Chou, Xuan Gu, and another late Core Formation cultivator. The only ones absent were still Han Li, Yuan Yao, the two Star Palace Elders, and another late Core Formation cultivator.
Ji Yin’s expression was calm, seemingly unhurried and unperturbed, yet inwardly he felt somewhat anxious. After all, based on the average cultivator’s speed in clearing stages, Han Li should have arrived here as early as Wu Chou.
He couldn’t help but feel restless.
Just then, a white light flashed within the formation, and a figure appeared there.
Man Huzi, Ji Yin, and the others simultaneously opened their eyes to look, but disappointment flickered across their faces. It was the black-cloaked, veiled Yuan Yao.
Being stared at by so many Nascent Soul old monsters at once, her heart skipped a beat, but she feigned composure and silently stepped out of the formation.
Coincidentally, just as she stepped down, the teleportation formation flashed again. Han Li’s figure appeared out of thin air.
Ji Yin’s eyebrow twitched, and a faint, inadvertent smile flashed across his face. Man Huzi and the scholar-robed elder also exchanged a knowing glance, both seeing relief in each other’s eyes.
As soon as Han Li appeared and saw Yuan Yao before him, he was also taken aback.
But after giving her a faint smile, he automatically walked toward Patriarch Ji Yin, gave a slight bow, and stood behind him.
Patriarch Ji Yin seemed extremely pleased with Han Li’s “respect for his master and adherence to the path,” nodding to him before saying nothing more.
As expected, he didn’t bring up the matter of returning the Brahmana bead bracelet.
Not only him, but Man Huzi also didn’t choose this moment to ask for the treasure armor back. It seemed that during this period, they had all selectively forgotten about the treasures they had lent Han Li.
Though Han Li had arrived, the cultivators remained seated motionless, as if still waiting for something.
It was only then that Han Li noticed the colossal tower before him, and he was truly astonished.
“So this is the Inner Palace. It’s not quite what I imagined,” Han Li muttered inwardly.
Seizing the opportunity, he stole a glance at Xuan Gu.
The latter was sitting obediently in a spot toward the back, meditating with closed eyes, seemingly completely unaware of Han Li’s gaze.
“Kid, stop looking. Be careful my rebellious disciple notices. Don’t worry! I’ve long since planned how to deal with Ji Yin. It’s a sure thing. However, this must wait until after you retrieve the treasure with the Bloodjade Spider. Until then, just play along! Remember, don’t casually send me voice transmissions, lest you give us away!” Xuan Gu’s voice suddenly sounded in Han Li’s ear without warning.
First, he offered reassurance, then followed with a warning.
Han Li listened clearly without changing expression, then calmly shifted his gaze away.
“Only after retrieving the treasure? What does that mean? Could it be that this old demon also has his eyes on the treasures inside the Void Heaven Cauldron?”
A wave of doubt and unease washed over Han Li!
With the Inner Palace about to open, he was truly worried about what would happen after retrieving the treasure. Whether he succeeded in retrieving the Void Heaven Cauldron or not, his situation seemed rather precarious.
Just as Han Li was anxiously pondering, a cold voice came from opposite him. “The time for the Inner Palace to open is almost here, and the two Star Palace fellows still haven’t arrived. It seems they won’t be muddying the waters this time. Brother Man, what do you think?” Wan Tianming, seated between two other righteous path cultivators, opened his bright, gleaming eyes, fixed on Man Huzi as he spoke slowly, an astonishing aura emanating from him.
“Heh! What, are you getting impatient, Old Man Wan? Let’s wait a bit longer. After all, those Star Palace guys are cunning. They might be deliberately stalling until the last moment to make us fight first,” Man Huzi said with a scornful laugh, stroking his beard lazily.
Upon hearing this, Wan Tianming showed a thoughtful expression but then nodded and closed his eyes again, seemingly accepting Man Huzi’s words.
After waiting for over another hour, a violent tremor suddenly came from the ground.
The massive stone gate of the Inner Palace slowly rose, revealing a blue stone passage inside.
From a distance, the passage appeared extremely tall and broad.
As the Inner Palace gate fully opened, the teleportation formation in the center, which had been glowing with a faint white light, dimmed and went dark.
“Haha, good! Good! It seems the Star Palace guys really aren’t coming to cause trouble. In that case, Wan Tianming! How about you and I have a good match? The loser doesn’t enter the Inner Palace. What do you say?” Man Huzi unexpectedly jumped up before the other could speak again, baring his white teeth with a fervent, combative expression.
“No, I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to fight you, Brother Man.”
To everyone’s surprise, Wan Tianming firmly and clearly refused upon hearing Man Huzi’s words.
“Changed your mind? Are you righteous path cultivators planning to surrender without a fight, admitting defeat automatically?” Man Huzi was first stunned, then immediately sneered with a fierce grin.
“Withdraw? Of course not! However, for a treasure that hasn’t even been retrieved yet, fighting now would be rather ridiculous! How about we agree that both sides take turns retrieving the treasure? Before that, let’s exercise restraint. This way, we avoid conflict. After all, our enemy now is Star Palace, not each other. No matter how confident we are, there’s a ninety percent chance we won’t be able to retrieve the treasure. In that case, this fight is even more unnecessary.” Wan Tianming shook his head and spoke unhurriedly.
Ji Yin, Man Huzi, and the others were slightly taken aback. They couldn’t help but exchange glances and began conversing via voice transmission.
Wan Tianming, Tian Wuzi, and the others seemed to have discussed this beforehand and were in no hurry, quietly waiting for the demonic path’s response.
After a while, Ji Yin spoke with a gloomy expression, “You make it sound good, but which side retrieves the treasure first, and which goes after? If we succeed in retrieving the treasure, how can we trust you not to snatch it? Are we supposed to rely solely on your silver tongue?”
Wan Tianming laughed upon hearing this. “Ji Yin, what you said is nonsense. If you retrieve the treasure, of course we’ll try to seize it by force. Likewise, if the treasure falls into our hands, you can also try to snatch it. Then we’ll settle it based on our abilities. That’s much better than fighting now and wasting time!” Wan Tianming said without hesitation.
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