The draped-haired cultivator indifferently grunted and nodded his head as if he were disinclined to speak any further.
Seeing this, the fat man and the bald man couldn’t help but glance at each other. The bald man opened his mouth wide and said with a muffled voice, “Brother Han, us two brothers only formed a party together to go pay our respects to the Fu Clan Ancestor, but in the past several days we've realized that while you are also a vagrant cultivator, your cultivation is extraordinary. Where might you have cultivated previously? We’ve never heard of your esteemed name before.”
After the large bald man finished speaking, the eyes of the fat cultivator glinted as he stared at the cultivator surnamed Han.
The draped-haired cultivator’s face remained unchanged. He merely indifferently replied, “I was once a cultivator of the State of Yue, and I’ve only arrived in the State of Yuan Wu recently. It isn’t odd that you Fellow Daoists haven’t heard of me.”
The fat cultivator blinked and asked, “The State of Yue? Isn’t that the territory of the Ghost Spirit Sect? Why did Brother Han not try his luck with the Ghost Spirit Sect instead of coming to our State of Yuan Wu?”
The draped-haired cultivator calmly replied, "I did try, but had no success there. Given that the Ghost Spirit Sect is the sole power in the state of Yue, it doesn't tolerate the existence of outside cultivators. As such, I came to the State of Yuan Wu to try my luck. However, I didn’t expect to come across the Fu Clan Ancestor’s birth celebration as soon as I arrived. I couldn’t possibly allow such a rare opportunity to pass me by.”
“So it was like that. It must’ve been difficult for Brother Han.” The fat man chuckled and asked nothing else. Instead, he began to chat about a few of the rumors circulating throughout the cultivation world.
Once the wine and food were finished. The draped-haired cultivator bid his farewell and decided to rest in a neighboring room.
Once the draped-haired cultivator left the room, the fat cultivator’s beaming smile instantly disappeared, only to be replaced with a sinister expression. He suddenly took out a talisman from his robes and formed an incantation. Then with a flash of light, the talisman dissolved and enveloped the room in a soft light.
This talisman was a soundproofing talisman!
Once the talisman was in full effect, the large bald man asked, “Brother Luo, do you believe that youngster is truly a vagrant cultivator?”
The fat cultivator sneered and stroked the fat underneath his chin. He sinisterly said, “Of course not, he is most likely a disciple of a small sect!”
Chapter 649: Harboring Sinister Designs
The short and stout cultivator explained with a proud expression, “Did you not see his magic tool when we were traveling together? That was clearly a top grade magic tool. Not to mention the many storage pouches at his waist. They were all bulging and there were even a few spirit beast pouches there. How could a vagrant cultivator possess so many items? It's clear that this cultivator came from a small sect. If he came from a large sect, he would’ve been too arrogant to travel with the likes of us. Additionally, he didn’t take out an invitation card to enter Purple Road Mountain. Hehe! After all, given how powerful the Devil Dao are, small sect cultivators wouldn’t dare to act so openly. All of them would sneakily act as vagrant cultivators for fear that they would attract the Devil Dao’s ire and subject calamity upon their clan for generations to come. That is why we’ve never heard of him despite his strong cultivation and magic tools.”
With eyes filled with avarice, the bald man rubbed his hands in eagerness, “From what Brother Luo has said, that does seem to be the case and we can boldly attack him without worry. Although he is somewhat wary of us, he definitely wouldn’t have thought that we were concealing our true cultivation. It should be quite easy for us two mid Foundation Establishment cultivators to kill an early Foundation Establishment cultivator. That youngster is bringing about his own doom to come across the Dual Fiends Peng Yi.”
The fat man licked his lips and sinisterly said, “Of course, but in order to smoothly succeed, we'll need to lower his guard as much as possible. It will take much less effort if we launch a sneak attack. Let’s wait two days prior to the Fu Clan Ancestor’s birth celebration to attack.”
“Yes, let’s do as Brother Luo says. Even if neither of us makes it into a sect of clan, we’ll still make quite a bit of profit!” The bald man seemed quite confident in the fat man and he wore a grin on his face.
The fat man chuckled and said, “Hehe, of course. If such an easy mark comes knocking on your door, how could the Dual Fiends Peng Yi return empty handed?”
While the two chatted without restraint about killing the draped-haired man, the man in question sat down expressionlessly in the other room. However, he was able to easily hear their words as if the soundproofing barrier didn’t exist.
Han Li opened his eyes with a cold glint and softly said, “Since you’ve taken the initiative to court death, don’t blame me for being ruthless.” He then closed his eyes once more and continued to refine Qi.
To tell the truth, Han Li had arrived in the State of Yuan Wu two months prior. He had passed through many countries affiliated with the Righteous and Devil Dao along the way, but as a Nascent Soul cultivator, he was able to stealthily pass through with his cultivation and appearance concealed.
After Han Li arrived in the State of Yuan Wu, Han Li didn’t immediately take action. Instead, he gathered information on the Fu Clan from the local market cities and vagrant cultivators. As a result, Han Li found rather displeasing information about the Fu Clan.
This wasn’t because the three Fu Clan Core Formation cultivators were troublesome to kill, but that the Fu Clan had many of their disciples located in the Devilflame Sect. Even with his vast abilities, he couldn’t directly contend against the Devilflame Sect itself.
And if he didn’t kill the entirety of the Fu Clan at once, the Fu Clan could one day rise to prominence once more, leaving his promise with Xin Ruyin unfulfilled! Just as Han Li was making a plan for action, rumors of the Fu Clan Ancestor’s birth celebration spread throughout the State of Yuan Wu. When Han Li heard this, he rejoiced.
Since the Fu Clan Lord took the initiative to call upon his clan disciples to pay their respects to him, the Fu Clan disciples of the Devilflame Sect should also be returning to the Fu Clan castle. This was an ideal opportunity to deal with the entire Fu Clan in a single blow.
However, given Fu Clan’s current power, not anyone could participate in the celebration. One must either be a cultivator from a clan or be a member of the Devil Dao. As for vagrant cultivators, they had to be at the Foundation Establishment stage in order to enter the castle.
After Han Li acquired the finer details, he patiently waited a month to pass by. As for the Dual Fiends Peng Yi, they immediately chatted with him along the road when they saw that Han Li possessed an unordinary magic tool. When they heard that Han Li was also heading to the Fu Clan Castle, they happily raised an invitation to travel together.
Han Li could tell the two harbored sinister designs at first glance, but he had nothing to fear from the two, given his current cultivation. Instead, he casually agreed to travel with them with plans to use their identities to allow him to enter the Fu Clan without suspicion.
But he didn’t expect that only cultivators with invitations would be allowed inside the Purple Road Mountains. Vagrant cultivators could only enter the castle on the day of the celebration.
This was to Han Li’s surprise, but it didn’t matter. After all, that day should be when all the Fu Clan disciples and members should gather together. If he were to act any earlier, he would scare a few away.
As of current, he was staying at an inn and hadn’t yet planned on how he should deal with the Dual Fiends Peng Yi. Since the two were incapable of staying patient, Han Li wasn’t going to be merciful.
In the following days, Han Li and the Dual Fiends Peng Yi took a few trips nearby and would return to the inn
at night to cultivate. The time of the Fu Clan celebration drew near.
In these few days, The two spoke quite effectively with Han Li and even addressed him as “Brother Han” as if they were good friends for many years. Around that time, many vagrant cultivators began to gather at the small city. While a majority of vagrant cultivators were accustomed to the outdoors, a few cultivators were more fond of mortal comforts and stayed at the two inns of the city.
As a result, Han Li came across several other cultivators at the same inn. When these cultivators came across Han Li and two cultivators at his side, their expressions vastly changed and they steered clear of the three, doing their utmost to avoid talking to them. Han Li wasn't sure whether or not he should laugh or cry. It seemed the two at his side held a rather notorious reputation among vagrant cultivators.
When the Dual Fiends Peng Yi saw this, they feared that Han Li would grow suspicious and fabricated a story that the two didn’t get along with other cultivators. As a result, the two alternated keeping watch of Han Li, preventing him to speaking with anybody else.
When Han Li heard them, he was completely indifferent. This made the fat man grow somewhat suspicious, but his greed got the best of him and caused him to cast his suspicious aside.
Two days later, the two cultivators suddenly urged Han Li to visit a nearby scenic spot with them. They said that the scene was fascinating and was too good to miss.
After Han Li heard them, he knew that the two finally planned to attack. With a curt agreement, he followed the two with a smile and the three headed out from the inn towards this ‘scenic spot’.
Because there were far too many cultivators nearby, the two decided to bring Han Li out fifty kilometers from the city to a small remote mountain.
Once they all landed, the fat man began to speak with a beaming smile, “Brother Han, take a look! There is a small valley past this mountain. There are pure flowing streams and flowers of countless sorts. It is absolutely...” Despite the plain surroundings, he managed to continue his fanciful words about how impressive the scenery was.
When Han Li heard this, he continued to derisively laugh in his mind. There truly was a hidden valley past this mountain. But apart from the passable scenery, there was also the spiritual fluctuations of a hidden restriction. It was very faint, but he was able to detect it with his spiritual sense. It appeared the two were quite experienced at killing others as they placed down a rather simple spell formation.
If Han Li truly were an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, he would find it difficult to survive if he were to enter the formation and suddenly be attacked by the two.
When Han Li finished listening to the fat cultivator, he casually swept his gaze around and mysterious smiled at the two, “This scenery here is not bad and there is no one here. But from how I see it, there is no purpose in going to the valley. Right here should be fine, what do you two think? No one would be disturbed if you were to kill someone here and get rid of their remains. It would surely go unnoticed.”
When the fat cultivator heard Han Li, his expression changed and he flusteredly spoke as if he were truly surprised, “Brother Han, what do you mean? Could it be you’ve misunderstood something?”
However, his chubby hands had already moved to his storage pouch. As for the large bald man, a savage expression appeared on his face and he silently moved to Han Li’s side with his hands tightly clenched.
Han Li held their petty maneuvers in little regard and remained in place with a serene expression.
When the fat cultivator saw this, he grew anxious and faintly felt a sense of foreboding. However, it was far too late to back down and merely moved to attack simultaneously with the bald man.
Chapter 650: Demon Nascent
In the same moment the two men moved to attack Han Li, a chuckle suddenly broke out.
“Hehe! How interesting. I didn’t think I’d wake up from my nap to see murder and plunder. But for two Foundation Establishment cultivators to attack a Nascent Soul cultivator? Could I be dreaming?”
These words were said by the soft, sharp voice of a young girl.
Once Han Li heard this, his expression changed. As for the fat and the bald cultivators, they were thunderstruck and immediately turned deathly pale.
“A Nascent Soul cultivator!?” The fat cultivator shrieked and stared at Han Li as if he were looking at a ghost.
The bald man was greatly frightened as well, but he appeared to have thought of something and hastily shouted, “That’s impossible! His colleague must be attempting to scare us off.”
Although he had attempted to rouse himself, he still took two steps back while continuously glancing around for the young girl. His courage greatly recovered when he found no one.
At the moment, Han Li was far more alarmed than the “Dual Fiends Peng Yi”.
For some unknown reason, he felt his body break into an indescribable shiver as the Nascent Soul that had been deep asleep in his Dantian awoke in a panic. A trace of dread had even appeared on its face. But what was most astonishing to Han Li was that after sweeping every inch of a five kilometer radius with his spiritual sense, he was incapable of finding the source of the voice. But from the sound of it, the owner should clearly be nearby. Despite using the Great Development Technique alongside his Nascent Soul cultivation, he was unable to discover the speaker. Could it be this person possessed deep and profound abilities?
Han Li’s throat dried up at the thought.
The fat cultivator regained a bit of color in his face as if he had been roused by the bald man’s words. He calmly glanced around and said, “Who’s there? Who is it that is deceiving us? You dare to trick the Dual Fiends Peng Yi?” His body was covered in the glow of a yellow light barrier as a small black shield appeared in front of him.
The girlish voice boldly said, “Hehe! If you could see this old woman, I’d kill myself out of shame. However, the spiritual sense of this Nascent Soul cultivator is quite strong. If it were even just slightly stronger, perhaps you’d be able to find me.”
Han Li’s expression grew sullen and he did his utmost to sweep his spiritual sense over everything in his surroundings. Even with his exceptional spiritual sense, he was unable to find even a trace of another cultivator. He felt that this was far too strange.
“Hm, I am a tad hungry. How about I make a meal out of you three? Tch tch, it’s been a while since I’ve had a taste of a cultivator’s Nascent Soul. I long to experience it once more!” The girl’s tone was completely free of malice, a stark contrast to the meaning of the words being said.
Han Li snorted and ceased concealing his cultivation while his expression remained unchanged. With a flash of azure light, an astonishing pressure began to emit from his body and many azure lights flew out from his mouth. These were the seventy-two Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords.
“He... He truly is a Nascent Soul cultivator! Senior, please spare our lives, us juniors had eyes but were blind to your magnificence. We didn’t mean to offend Senior- Second Brother, what are you doing!? Don’t run! We don’t stand a chance before Senior Han!”
The fat cultivator couldn’t help but feel completely awed after the emergence of Han Li’s true cultivation and immediately kowtowed before him as he pleaded for his life. As for the bald man, he did the opposite, and slapped a golden talisman onto his body that caused him to shoot into the sky in a streak of golden light.
“Do you truly believe you’ll be able to run away with a Goldspeed Talisman?” A derisive expression appeared on Han Li’s face. He pointed his finger and a flying sword loudly rang out before disappearing with a flash. Immediately thereafter, it reappeared at the side of the golden streak of light, displaying tremendous speed.
In a flash of azure light, the bald man miserably screamed and the golden streak dissolved into specks light, by which then the man's body had already vanished.
“Tch tch, what a shame. A Foundation Establishment cultivator’s soul also has a fine taste. I only had
them several times before I woke up.” The girlish voice grumbled with slight annoyance.
When Han Li finished dealing with the bald man, he ignored the fat cultivator trembling before him and turned his gaze to a small tree nearby. With blue light flickering within his eyes, he said, “There is no need for your esteemed self to act so mysteriously. Are you not also a mere Nascent Soul cultivator? For you to speak so boldly, it seems you want me to personally drag you out.”
The girlish voice paused for a moment before coldly continuing, “How did you discover me? My Light Transmutation Technique isn’t something that a Nascent Soul cultivator can see through.”
“Regardless of my method to discover you, will you not reveal your true form? Or would you rather I chop down that tree of yours?” Han Li’s voice remained calm, but his heart was filled with trepidation. He had only found the source of the voice by a fluke.
In his panic, he had unconsciously swept his surroundings using the ability granted to him by the Brightsight Water. As a result, he found a small tree nearby that was somewhat unlike the others. With a resolved heart, he confronted it, no longer wishing to be deceived.
“A mere Nascent Soul cultivator? Your tone is also quite bold. I wonder how your Nascent Soul will taste once I swallow it.” As the girl’s tone grew sullen, the small tree flashed with green light, shrinking to reveal a person only half a foot tall.
This small person had an exquisite face and long hair. However, its body was composed of green light and completely bare. It seemed this small silhouette was the source of the girlish voice.
“A Nascent Soul! No, that’s not right.” After further examination, Han Li appeared hesitant.
The small silhouette looked at Han Li and slowly said, “A Nascent Soul? Hehe, you aren’t wrong. But you are quite out of luck to be the first Nascent Soul cultivator I’ve seen since awakening, or maybe my luck is just good!”
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