The scholar and the large man both tactfully kept silent. Some time later, Han Li began to mutter to himself in a whisper.
The two wished to hear what he had to say, but the two were blinded by a sudden surge of azure light. By the time they refocused their gaze, Han Li could no longer been seen, but his voice echoed in their ears.
“Although I am a rather capable Immortal on this continent, I also have many ferocious enemies. Do not speak of today’s matters with anyone else. So long as this matter does not spread and you do not allow the Gold Devouring Spirit Sword to be seen by outsiders, those from the Immortal world will pay you no notice and will not bother you. I will now absorb myself in the pursuit of the Great Dao and Immortality, so I won’t be involved with the affairs of the Han Clan. Take care of yourselves!”
Once that was said, Han Li’s voice came to an abrupt end, leaving behind what seemed to be echoes.
The scholar and the large man were left staring at each other in dismay.
Chapter 664: Exposed Tracks
By the time the last word was spoken, Han Li was already ten kilometers away from the Three Kilometer Valley while flying across the sky in a streak of azure light.
Although he had something of a relationship with the Han Clan members, he had always viewed his true family to be his parents and siblings. Although the scholar and the large man had treated him with great respect, Han Li felt no real intimacy towards them. After all, the distance of many generations and the vast changes to Green Ox Village and the Three Kilometer Valley caused Han Li to strongly feel as if he were an outsider.
However, this trip to his hometown had weakened the last worries he held in his heart. He was sure that with the passage of time, these worries would truly disappear and his distant ties with these descendants would truly fade away.
As such, Han Li quickly gained his bearings and set off.
Several days later, Han Li passed through the Lan Province, specifically making a detour at Jia Yuan City. Little had changed about the city apart from its inhabitants.
Not only did Sun Ergou and the Fourth Level Gang disappear, but even the Rainbow Sect had disappeared over a hundred years prior. It had been replaced with a newly emerged gang by the name of the United Heavens Union.
If he remembered correctly, the Rainbow Sect had had the backing of Spirit Beast Mountain in the past, but at the climax of the war with the Devil Dao, Spirit Beast Mountain defected to the Controlling Spirit Sect. Now that the State of Yue was under the control of the Ghost Spirit Sect, the fall of the Rainbow Sect came as no surprise.
Additionally, he had no idea if Mo Yuzhu or her daughter had met with any mishaps. It was a pity that so many years had passed as even if Han Li asked around, there would be no information to be found.
Han Li could only sigh and hurriedly depart.
As for Sun Ergou, he didn’t manage to find any information on his clan. Han Li didn’t mind this in particular since he didn't hold them in much regard. Although he had given Sun Ergou many benefits, Han Li had received little in return.
As such, Han Li left the city of Jia Yuan and thought to fly in the direction of the State of Yuan Wu. Once he passed through the State of Yuan Wu, he planned on returning to the Drifting Cloud Sect. But half a day after he departed Jia Yuan City, his expression froze and he stopped in mid air.
He turned his head and gazed into the distance. He couldn’t help but narrow his eyes.
At that moment, a party of cultivators suddenly stopped a hundred kilometers away. The two white-clothed woman hesitantly glanced at each other as their expressions grew heavy.
The old man standing behind them nervously asked, “Martial Aunts, did something happen?”
“Yes, I just felt the Spirit Nascent’s position suddenly stop. I don’t know whether or not we’ve been discovered.” The sharp-eyed, white-clothed woman surnamed Liu no longer wore her normal lazy expression which had been replaced with an incisive air.
The burly man spoke with an odd expression, “That’s impossible. Even a Nascent Soul cultivator cannot sense something at this distance. Could it be that Martial Aunt’s secret technique disturbed the Spirit Nascent and alerted him?”
The woman surnamed Liu shook her head and firmly said, “That can’t be. Our technique was something that was passed down by your Martial Ancestor. It only allows for the one-sided detection of the Wood Spirit Nascent. So long as the other party hasn’t yet reached late Nascent Soul stage, he shouldn’t be able to perceive anything strange. After all, it would be considered fearsome for Nascent Soul cultivators to see within even a fifty kilometer radius, even if their spiritual sense was exceptionally powerful. Could it be that we are chasing after a late Nascent Soul eccentric?”
The green-clothed woman amongst the four Foundation Establishment cultivators seemed to have thought of something and worriedly said, “But Martial Aunt Liu, why is it...”
Suddenly, Han Yunzhi broke her silence as she was tracing the Spirit Nascent’s location and spoke with an alarmed expression, “Not good! The Spirit Nascent’s position is moving towards us!”
“What? Its coming over in our direction? Has that cultivator truly discovered us?” The woman surnamed Liu turned pale and she hastily clutched her hands in an incantation gesture. After a short moment, the woman grimaced and spoke with certainty, “The cultivator who restricted the Spirit Nascent is indeed moving towards us at an extraordinary speed. He is certain to be a Nascent Soul cultivator.”
After muttering to herself for a moment, Han Yunzhi slowly said, “Quickly run! Fighting means certain death. I recall that a branch of the Ghost Spirit Sect is located in the nearby Lan Province. Let’s flee there. Although we do not get along well, we are still on the same side. We will draw on the support of their spell formations to fight this unknown Nascent Soul cultivator.
Besides, the Nascent Soul cultivator might not necessarily dare to brazenly attack the Ghost Spirit Sect branch. It will greatly increase our chance of escaping.”
“Martial Aunt Han speaks true. Let us quickly go, or else it will be too late!” When the large man heard that a Nascent Soul cultivator was about to arrive, he felt his mouth turn dry in alarm.
The woman surnamed Liu raised her eyebrows and coldly glanced at the large man, “Humph! Panicking and spouting unnecessary words. We will use the Spirit Joining Arts to combine our magic power into one. This way, we will increase our speed by nearly half. Let us hurry!”
The large man felt his heart drop and he didn’t dare to say any more.
Under the lead of Han Yunzhi and Cultivator Liu, the six immediately made use of the Spirit Joining Arts and flew off on their magic treasures and tools as a single streak of yellow light. With their united spiritual Qi, their speed was amazingly fast.
At that moment, Han Li immediately noticed this and his expression grew sullen as he flew forward at full speed.
Han Li didn’t entirely understand just how powerful his spiritual sense currently was. He merely knew that by utilizing the fourth layer of the Great Development Technique, his spiritual sense was able to envelop a fifty kilometer radius around himself. Past that, he wouldn’t be able to observe anything in detail. He would only have a vague observation of anything within a hundred fifty kilometers.
A moment ago, Han Li suddenly felt a sliver of strange, concealed spiritual power linger near his body that had greatly alarmed him. Ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators wouldn’t have been able to easily detect it with their spiritual sense.
Although he didn’t know exactly what this was, Han Li knew that trouble had arrived at his door. He guessed that it was more so the matter that he had casually tidied up with the Ghost Spirit Sect rather than his extermination of the Fu Clan back in the State of Yuan Wu.
As a result of this discovery, Han Li spread out his spiritual sense and discovered that a hundred kilometers behind him there was a party of several cultivators that were stealthily following him. Although it was too far away for him to cl
early see their faces, Han Li surged with killing intent and flew towards their direction without any hesitation.
As cultivators that were capable of tracking him, he absolutely couldn’t allow them to continue following him. Eradicating them would prevent future troubles. And since there were only two Core Formation cultivators in their party, it should prove to be an easy affair.
In the following instant, a dazzling thirty-meter-long streak of azure light quickly chased after a dense beam of yellow light, producing waves of clear rings from their wake.
In only a short moment, Han Li had already closed the gap by fifty kilometers. When cultivator Liu sporadically detected Han Li’s position through her techniques, she couldn’t help but grow pale in terror.
At this speed, the six wouldn’t even reach half the distance to the Ghost Spirit Sect branch before being chased down by the Nascent Soul cultivator.
With great worry, the woman turned her head to Han Yunzhi and thought to discuss further plans to flee when Han Yunzhi suddenly smiled and whispered, “Quickly, look ahead. There is a party of Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators that seem to be heading towards us.”
“Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators?”
Han Yunzhi’s soft voice roused the spirits of not only Cultivator Liu but the other four Foundation Establishment cultivators as well. Although they didn’t dare to imagine that they would have enough strength to fight a Nascent Soul cultivator, they would be able to assist them in buying more time.
As expected, they soon saw over ten black dots approach them from the distance.
Cultivator Liu felt somewhat at ease when she saw them. Nevertheless, she snuck a glance at Han Yunzhi, shaken that her Senior Martial Sister Liu had discovered the Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators far earlier than she had.
Since there was only one Wood Spirit Nascent, they were actually rivals despite their appearance as martial sisters. While they would ordinarily call each other martial sisters with great familiarity, they felt a great competitive spirit in their hearts hoping for the opportunity to fuse with the Wood Spirit Nascent. It was only natural to covet an opportunity to reach for greater heights.
At that moment, the six had arrived before the party of Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators and scattered the spiritual Qi around them to reveal their true appearances. The Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators had long discovered the Controlling Spirit Sect cultivators. Although they didn’t take any malicious actions, they each assumed a cautious attitude.
“Yi! Isn’t it Junior Martial Sisters Han and Liu from the Controlling Spirit Sect? A truly rare visit indeed for you to have arrived at the State of Yue!” A surprised voice spoke out from among the black-clothed Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators. Three Core Formation cultivators then walked out from the group, two men and one woman.
Chapter 665: Alarmed Escape
These three Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators consisted of a black-clothed man with a resolute appearance, an embroidered-robed scholar with flickering eyes, and a middle-aged woman who still retained the beauty of her youth.
When the woman surnamed Liu saw the three disciples of Master Splintered Soul, she sweetly smiled, “Senior Martial Brother Xun! So it turned out to be the disciples of Senior Splintered Soul. How timely.”
But when the three black-robed cultivators heard this, they coldly examined them and their expressions grew sullen. The woman amongst the three wore an unfriendly expression and asked, “Timely? Why have our two Junior Martial Sisters from the Controlling Spirit Sect snuck into our State of Yue? Could it be you hold our Ghost Spirit Sect in contempt?”
Cultivator Liu explained with a smile, “Senior Martial Sister misunderstands, Senior Martial Sister Han and I came to the State of Yue under orders from our Sect Ancestor. Because the matter was urgent and couldn't be delayed, we were unable to inform your esteemed sect of the matter. Moreover, we’ve only arrived in the State of Yue for a few days. We had no intentions of neglecting your sect.”
The black-clothed cultivator stared at Cultivator Liu and expressionlessly asked, “Regardless of why you’ve arrived at the State of Yue, there is only one question we wish to ask you. Did you take anything from the Tai Yue Mountains a few days ago?”
Han Yunzhi frowned and an odd expression appeared on her face, “The Tai Yue Mountains? The mountain range that originally belonged to Yellow Maple Valley?”
“Hm? Did you two Junior Martial Sisters truly pass by there?” Although the black-robed cultivator’s expression remained calm, a cold glint appeared within his eyes. The embroidered-robed scholar’s and the woman’s expressions tensed, their faces revealing traces of hostility.
When Han Yunzhi and Cultivator Liu saw this, they unconsciously exchanged glances.
The two weren’t fools. It was clear the other party revealed hostility. However, the party of Controlling Spirit Sect cultivators truly hadn’t entered the Tai Yue Mountains. They merely probed the Spirit Nascent’s position from a distance and discovered that the cultivator who captured it seemed to have stayed at the Tai Yue Mountains for half a day.
Cultivator Liu’s gaze flickered for a moment and she probingly said, “We hadn’t crossed through the Tai Yue Mountains. However, the cultivator that is fifty kilometers behind us had crossed through the Tai Yue Mountains. It did seem that person was there during that time. Could Senior Martial Brother Xun be looking for him?”
The embroidered-robed scholar boldly stared at the two woman and suddenly smiled, “Fifty kilometers behind you? Are you making this up? How did you know that person stayed at the Tai Yue Mountains? Could he be a cultivator of your sect?”
Cultivator Liu blushed and spoke with luminous eyes, “Senior Martial Brother Que must be joking. How could we dare to so brazenly lie to our Senior Martial Disciples while we are in the State of Yue? If you don’t believe me then this Junior Martial Sister will make a heavenly pledge to answer your questions. You should now know my answers to be true! We don’t know this person. As for how we know of the matter with the Tai Yue Mountains, it’s a bit complicated. Since this little sister has urgent matters to attend to, I would rather give you Senior Martial Brothers a more thorough explanation on another day.” As she spoke, she revealed a flirtatious charm that seemed to stun the scholar.
The black-clothed cultivator frowned after seeing her expression and grew doubtful. After muttering to himself for a moment, his expression relaxed and he calmly said, “Were this an ordinary matter, I would believe you without doubt. However, our Sixth Junior Martial Brother and his disciples were exterminated in the Tai Yue Mountains and not even a speck of dust remained. My master was enraged by this and assigned us to investigate any high grade cultivators that had recently entered the State of Yue. Since the movements of Junior Martial Sister’s party are rather strange, would it not be better for us to confront this cultivator together? I wish to hear this cultivator’s story. If he is truly the killer of our Sixth Junior Martial Brother, we will greatly thank you two.” The black-clothed cultivator then rigidly stared at the party of Controlling Spirit Sect cultivators.
“Confront?” Cultivator Liu’s expression grew unsightly.
“What? Are you two Junior Martial Sisters too busy to help us?” The black-clothed cultivator seemed to speak lightly of the matter but the group of Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators behind them all formed a semicircle blocking their front. It appeared that if the Controlling Spirit Sect cultivators didn’t agree, they would be attacked.
Upon seeing this, Cultivator Liu’s expression changed and she thought to say something, but suddenly, she turned her head around with fright.
It wasn’t just this woman, but all the cultivators present felt an icy spiritual sense suddenly sweep over them, enveloping them all within it.
Although the spiritual sense’s owner wasn’t yet seen, they unmistakably felt a harsh bone-chilling intent.
In furious alarm, the middle-aged woman couldn’t help but shout, “A Nascent Soul cultivator! The person you spoke of was actually a Nasce
nt Soul cultivator! You wanted to lead us to our deaths!”
“Cut the rubbish! Immediately flee! Everyone escape if you can!” Although the black-robed man surnamed Xun was also furious, he knew that now was not the time to pursue the matter. As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately flew off as a streak of black light.
In the embroidered-robed scholar’s alarm, he hesitantly said, “That person isn’t necessarily the killer of Sixth Junior Martial Brother. There is no need to fear him.”
The woman snorted and coldly said, “If Senior Martial Brother wishes to leave his life at the mercy of others, then please forgive your Junior Martial Sister for not joining you!” She then tore through the skies as a streak of red light.
The scholar’s expression grew extremely unsightly and he regretfully glanced in the direction of his fellow Ghost Spirit Sect members before flying after the other two.
When the Ghost Spirit Sect Foundation Establishment cultivators saw this they scattered, fleeing for their own lives. They were fundamentally incapable of withstanding the fearsomeness of a Nascent Soul cultivator.
With a raised brow, Cultivator Liu furiously whispered, “Those people were truly useless. Not only did they not help us, but they also wasted time for us to flee.”
“No, it is far better now. There are more people to give us cover, greatly increasing our own chances of escape. May each of our fates be safe.” Han Yunzhi revealed an extraordinarily calm expression and patted the storage pouch at her waist, summoning a large snow-white bird in the air.
Cultivator Liu and the other Controlling Spirit Sect cultivators also moved quickly. They each fled using either their magic tools or their own spirit beasts. But regardless of whatever method they used to escape, no one ran in the same direction as another. In their fear, they hoped to use their numbers to avert the gaze of death from behind them.
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