Chapter 306: Crisis

“Could it be that Fifth Sister tipped them off, so they fled in advance, or perhaps there’s some trap?” the middle-aged woman said with a worried expression.

“No, if they had truly set a trap, they would have sprung it the moment we entered, when we were completely unprepared,” Han Li shook his head and denied.

Hearing Han Li’s words, the others couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, though they still instinctively glanced around for a moment. Sure enough, nothing unusual happened.

“Senior, what should we do next? Should we retreat and try again another day?” Second Brother hesitated before speaking.

“Let’s go after Chief Wang first! If he’s not here either, we’ll cancel today’s operation and withdraw immediately,” Han Li said coldly.

Upon hearing this, the Four Friends of Mengshan exchanged glances and silently nodded in agreement.

Han Li released several incantation seals to withdraw the barrier, then took the lead in stealthily heading toward the other side of the prince’s residence. The others followed closely behind, not leaving his side.

Although Chief Wang’s residence wasn’t a pavilion like the young prince’s, it was a small courtyard exclusively for his use. When Han Li and the others approached, one of the rooms was faintly lit, as if someone inside was still awake.

Han Li raised an eyebrow. It seemed they wouldn’t come up empty-handed this time.

With that thought, Han Li gestured to the others to conceal themselves and stay alert. He immediately employed the newly learned nameless Qi-Concealing Technique, causing the spiritual energy around him to vanish without a trace, making him appear like an ordinary mortal.

Then, with a few swift movements, Han Li suddenly appeared by the wall of the lit room, pressing his ear tightly against it. Because Chief Wang had given him a strangely unsettling feeling before, Han Li refrained from recklessly using his spiritual sense to eavesdrop, fearing he might be detected.

However, after listening for only a moment, Han Li’s expression changed, and he swiftly retreated, hiding behind a large flowering tree.

This scene greatly surprised the Four Friends of Mengshan, who were watching nearby. But soon, Han Li’s voice echoed in their ears: “Be careful, the young prince is also inside. Everyone, act according to the situation!”

These words sent a chill down their spines. They held their breaths in unison, cautiously watching the door, not daring to make a sound.

With a creak, the door opened. A young man in a light green brocade robe stepped out—it was the young prince of the Xinwang Mansion. He turned back and whispered a few words to someone inside before walking into the courtyard. The door closed automatically behind him.

Shortly after, the light from the paper window flickered a few times and then went out completely, as if the person inside had settled down for the night.

Han Li watched the young prince’s every move expressionlessly. What puzzled him was that he still couldn’t detect any spiritual power from the young prince, yet the faint sense of danger he felt in his presence was undeniably real. He was likely a disciple of the Black Fiend Cult.

Perhaps because he was still within his own residence, the young prince was in no hurry to return. Instead, he stretched lazily like an ordinary person, gazed at the bright moon in the sky, and suddenly let out a sigh.

He then began pacing back and forth in the small courtyard, a worried expression on his face, as if troubled by some problem.

It seemed he wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon, much to the frustration of the Four Friends of Mengshan.

Acting now was out of the question, as Chief Wang was in the adjacent room. The slightest commotion would alert him, leading to significant trouble. The best approach was to wait for the young prince to return to his quarters and deal with them separately.

Fortunately, as cultivators, they had the patience for this. Each of them concealed themselves perfectly, leaving no room for error.

After about the time it takes to finish a meal, the young prince finally stopped pacing and left the courtyard, bringing a wave of relief to the ambushed men.

However, what happened next took them by surprise and quickly filled them with rage.

Just as the young prince stepped out of the courtyard gate, he suddenly performed an illusion-like trick, pulling out a set of clothes from nowhere and changing into them in the blink of an eye. He transformed into a blood-red masked figure—the very person who had ordered them to ambush Han Li.

Though filled with fury, the old man and the others knew the situation was critical and restrained themselves from acting recklessly. Now, they truly believed Han Li’s words and knew they had not mistaken their target.

In his new attire, the young prince emitted a faint murderous aura and a noticeable fluctuation of spiritual power, equivalent to the eleventh level of Qi Refinement. Instead of returning to his quarters, he tossed a blood-red, elongated magical tool into the air, flashed onto it, and soared into the sky.

Seeing this, a cold glint flashed in Han Li’s eyes. He immediately transmitted his voice to the other four: “Follow him. No matter where he goes, capture him on the way.”

The Four Friends of Mengshan, eager to act, immediately mounted their magical tools and pursued him.

Han Li, who stayed behind to monitor Chief Wang, deliberately waited a while longer.

Seeing no movement from inside the room, he hesitated for a moment before uneasily summoning his Divine Wind Boat and following after them.

The speed of Han Li’s Divine Wind Boat far surpassed that of the magical tools used by the Four Friends of Mengshan. In mere moments, Han Li followed their residual spiritual energy markers to a dilapidated temple outside Yuejing City.

The Four Friends of Mengshan were hovering mid-air, looking disheveled and anxious, circling uncertainly. When they saw Han Li, they rushed to greet him with relief.

“What happened?” Han Li frowned and asked calmly.

“We chased him here and were about to make our move when the little brat suddenly ducked into this broken temple, as if he’d detected us. The temple is protected by some kind of restriction—it seems to have a defensive formation. We tried to force our way in but suffered a minor setback and immediately retreated, afraid there might be other traps inside,” the dark-faced old man explained hastily, noticing Han Li’s displeasure.

“A formation?” Han Li also found this troubling.

Though not well-versed in formations himself, Han Li maintained a calm demeanor in front of the others. “Let me take a look first,” he said, activating his Sky Eye Technique to carefully observe below.

Sure enough, abnormal fluctuations of spiritual energy permeated the area around the temple. However, after getting a clear look, Han Li breathed a sigh of relief.

It was merely a simple Falling Stone Formation, one of the most basic earth-attribute formations. While it might pose a challenge to rogue cultivators or those at the Qi Refinement stage, to Han Li, even without knowing the specific method to break it, a formation of this level could easily be dismantled with brute force.

With that in mind, Han Li reached into his storage bag without a word and flung both hands outward. Instantly, four towering beast-like puppets appeared before him. The dark-faced old man and the others, who had suffered from Han Li’s puppet techniques before, instinctively stepped back.

Ignoring their startled expressions, Han Li manipulated the puppet beasts to open their mouths simultaneously, firing several thick beams of light directly at the temple.

Just as the beams were about to strike, a thin, massive semicircular light shield emerged above the temple, emitting a faint yellow glow and enveloping the entire structure.

The beams hit the shield, causing it to tremble like rippling waves as it stubbornly resisted the assault.

At that moment, Han Li didn’t hesitate. With a flick of his wrist, he released a pair of “Black Dragon Claws,” which instantly expanded to over ten feet in size and slammed fiercely into the light shield.

A crisp shattering sound echoed as the shield, unable to withstand the relentless barrage of powerful attacks, finally collapsed. The Falling Stone Formation had been completely destroyed.

Witnessing this, the Four Friends of Mengshan gasped in astonishment. Breaking a formation through brute force alone was no small feat—it meant Han Li’s offensive power had to be several times greater than the formation’s defensive capabilities. Otherwise, ordinary attacks would have been easily neutralized by the formation’s clever restrictions. Having just suffered a setback against this very formation, they had initially overestimated its strength.

“Let’s go down. We can’t let that guy escape!” Han Li said with a frosty expression.

By now, the Four Friends of Mengshan were completely convinced of Han Li’s prowess and immediately obeyed, charging downward.

But just then, a mocking laugh came from behind Han Li and the others: “Looking for me? This temple is just a temporary outpost of our cult. There’s no one here now!”

The voice startled the Four Friends of Mengshan, who were midway in their descent, nearly causing them to fall from their magical tools. They turned around in panic, their faces instantly draining of color.

Several dozen feet above them stood the young prince they had been pursuing, along with another similarly dressed, gaunt man. Surrounding them were over a dozen black-clad, masked individuals—undoubtedly peripheral disciples of the Black Fiend Cult, controlled just as the Four Friends of Mengshan had once been.

But what drew the most attention was the bald, eyebrowless, muscular man standing behind the young prince.

Dressed in the same blood-red robes but with his face uncovered, the man glared at them with murderous intent, exuding a bloodthirsty, ferocious aura. He was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, just like Han Li!

At this sight, the Four Friends of Mengshan felt as though they were facing certain death.