A chilling coldness slowly welled up from the depths of his heart, quickly spreading throughout Han Li’s entire body, jolting him awake from his unconscious state.
As soon as he woke, Han Li felt an immense heaviness in his head, accompanied by a dull ache. Every part of his body felt weak and limp, as if he had just recovered from a severe illness. He struggled to open his eyes, but his eyelids were too heavy to move even slightly.
In his dazed state, Han Li recalled everything that had happened before he lost consciousness.
A shiver ran down his spine, and his mind sharpened slightly. He hurriedly began checking his physical condition.
“Huh?” It seemed his body hadn’t been taken over. Though he couldn’t open his eyes, the uncomfortable sensations throughout his body told him clearly that he was back in control.
“Could it be that Doctor Mo’s ritual failed?” Struck by this unexpected delight, Han Li thought of the only plausible explanation.
Suppressing his excitement, Han Li patiently waited until he regained some strength before forcing his eyes open a crack to see his surroundings.
The first thing he saw was an extremely aged, gaunt, and haggard face with white hair—it was Doctor Mo’s elderly visage, though he looked a decade older than before, now appearing as an ancient, withered old man.
His eyes were wide open, fixed on Han Li with a look of terror.
Startled, Han Li tensed his muscles immediately, casting aside all feelings of weakness. His first thought was to strike first and gain the upper hand.
After his last experience, Han Li was determined never to let himself be controlled by anyone again.
But then he noticed something unusual—the other party’s expression was frozen, motionless, with no sound of breathing, as if he had been dead for some time.
Frowning, Han Li remained cautious and did not let his guard down. He focused intently on the other’s face, searching for any signs of deception.
After observing closely for a full quarter of an hour, Han Li had to admit that the other party indeed did not seem alive.
Hesitating for a moment, he cautiously approached, reaching out to grasp the other’s wrist while placing his other hand under the nose to check for breath. After a while, there was no movement.
Only then did Han Li finally relax, feeling an immense weight lifted from the depths of his heart.
Even now, he could hardly believe that his great enemy—the cunning, ruthless Doctor Mo—had died so silently, so inexplicably, and so easily.
He touched his forehead; the so-called “Spirit Stabilizing Talisman” had vanished without a trace, nowhere to be found. This puzzled Han Li. It was only later, after learning talisman magic, that he realized the yellow talisman had likely turned to ash after its spiritual energy was exhausted, which was why he couldn’t find it.
With his mind at ease, Han Li began scanning the area around Doctor Mo’s corpse, searching for clues about his sudden death.
The oil lamps and candles around were still lit, indicating he hadn’t been unconscious for too long. The several pieces of cyan jade nearby had turned dull and gray, as if their quality had drastically deteriorated, becoming entirely unremarkable.
His gaze shifted to a corner of the stone room, where something trying to evade his line of sight caught his attention.
Han Li was familiar with this object—it was the green light sphere he had fought in his dream, the enemy that had escaped after being devoured by a third.
Now it was desperately squeezing itself into the corner, seemingly terrified of Han Li and trying to hide.
At first, Han Li was surprised, but then he thoughtfully cupped his chin with one hand and pondered for a moment.
After a short while, Han Li stood up and walked toward the light sphere.
Stopping when he was about half a zhang away, he slowly spoke, “I think we should get acquainted. You must be Yu Zitong, right?”
The green light sphere trembled, its glow flickering unsteadily. Upon hearing Han Li speak its name, it dimmed for a moment before brightening again.
“You figured it out. You truly are Mo Juren’s disciple, just as troublesome and hard to deal with as he was,” the light sphere spoke in human language, seemingly resigned to its fate. Its accent matched that of the young man from before.
It did not attempt to deny it, directly admitting to Han Li’s guess.
“Then shouldn’t you give me some explanation? Tell me the whole story,” Han Li said, his tone calm and unhurried, showing no anger even though he knew the other was one of the masterminds behind the plot against him.
But Yu Zitong, seeing Han Li’s composed demeanor, felt an inexplicable chill, as if a great disaster were looming.
In the recent spiritual battle, he had experienced firsthand how fearsome this fierce star was, having part of his soul devoured alive and losing most of his spiritual power. Now, with only residual energy left, he could barely perform a few minor illusions, with no offensive capabilities whatsoever. Facing Han Li in person, defenseless, he felt an indescribable fear.
“What do you want to know?”
He knew that Han Li had just narrowly escaped death and was likely emotionally unstable and highly dangerous. Though Han Li appeared calm on the surface, beneath might lie seething rage, like a volcano ready to erupt.
Now that he had been discovered, the best course of action was to cooperate and not test the other’s patience. He had no intention of meeting his end due to Han Li’s impulsiveness.
“First, tell me who you are. Then, explain how you and Doctor Mo met and what your original plan was. Tell me everything in detail. I have plenty of time to listen slowly,” Han Li said expressionlessly, as if wearing a mask, revealing no emotion.
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