"Where would you like to go? Allow me to escort you a little way." Before these four masked figures had even managed to pull out their flight artifacts to depart, the voice was cold and piercing, instantly startling them all. At the same moment, each of them raised protective spells and scattered in different directions, only then daring to look up. High above, some fifty paces in the air, Han Li stood gracefully on the Divine Wind Boat, his robes flowing gently, gazing at them with a calm yet icy intensity. Their hearts sank simultaneously, each one realizing in unison: How had this man returned here without our noticing? "Disperse!" the eldest leader declared without hesitation. He launched himself backward first, simultaneously summoning a disc-shaped artifact from his cloak, stepping onto it and soaring skyward. The other three followed, each choosing a different direction and scattering in all directions. All of them were well aware that, with their current capabilities, they simply couldn't stand a chance against a Foundation Stage cultivator. It would be wiser to flee immediately, as their chances of survival would then be significantly greater. The young woman, whose party had the weakest magical reserves, naturally kept glancing back at the sky toward Han Li even while riding their vehicle. To her surprise, Han Li remained motionless on the small boat, showing no intention of getting up to pursue them. This left her momentarily stunned, yet filled with quiet relief—she now felt confident that they could escape unharmed. Just then, a piercing, almost agonizing cry suddenly erupted from directly in front of her. Startled, she swiftly turned to see a brilliant, arrow-shaped crimson beam rushing toward her from the opposite direction, charging straight at her with great force. As she was still in shock, she raised her hand just in time to hurl the ice spear scroll she had been holding. When the crystalline ice spear made contact with the red glow, a burst of white mist erupted—but it failed to dampen the red radiance at all, allowing the arrow's light to strike the protective water-based shield. Instantly, red and blue lights flashed all around her. Her body shuddered, and she was forcibly pushed back several paces. Fortunately, the shield remained intact, which brought her great relief. At this moment, she turned her gaze forward, her heart pounding with both astonishment and alarm—could it be that the Foundation-stage cultivator had allies concealed around her? As she finally identified the figures attacking ahead, the masked woman's eyes widened in disbelief. The black cloth covering her face revealed a look of utter amazement. Before her stood two puppet figures dressed as soldiers, floating in mid-air, clad in iron armor. One of them held a large bow, drawing an identical red glow-shaped arrow that was slowly being pulled back. The other carried a thick, broad-bladed sword radiating a golden light, advancing steadily toward her. Though astonished that two lifeless figures had launched such human-like attacks upon her, the woman also knew that unless she immediately destroyed these two dolls, she would never be able to escape successfully. With this thought in mind, she bit her jade teeth and drew forth a glowing blue flying dagger from her storage pouch. This item had been the result of all her savings, acquired from another at a high level of magical artifact—normally, she had never used it, but now, with her escape at stake, she could no longer afford to delay. "Go," she murmured, and the dagger instantly transformed into a streak of blue light, shooting toward the doll approaching her. The blue dagger reached the doll's head in moments, plunging straight into it with unwavering determination. Yet, just as she had expected, a soft "clink" sounded, and the doll moved with surprising speed, raising its long blade to deflect the dagger with a single stroke, sending it flying. Then, it continued its steady advance toward her. The masked woman's face paled as she pointed her hand, sending a spell object flying several zhang away. The flying dagger immediately looped around, slicing through the back of the puppet and piercing it from behind. Yet to her astonishment, the puppet, as though it had eyes growing from its back, struck her spell object with a single blow, sending it flying. Now truly alarmed, she reached for a new strategy. But just as she began to act, a sharp cry rang out again, and the archer puppet launched an arrow toward her. With no choice, the masked woman darted to the side to avoid the arrow. Yet the crimson glow seemed to follow her movements as if guided by an unseen hand, perfectly tracking her motion. Once again, she was caught off guard and had to absorb the impact, retreating several steps. At that moment, the long-sword-wielding puppet finally reached her, raising the blade and forcefully striking her shield. How could she allow this? With determination, she swiftly stepped back to evade the attack. Thus, under the combined assault of the two dolls—one close, one distant—the masked woman, though possessing refined martial prowess, was forced to retreat repeatedly, with no chance of escape. As she directed her flying knives, barely holding her ground against the dolls' attacks, her body drenched in sweat from the relentless pressure, suddenly the nearer doll leapt back, stepping out of her immediate reach. At the same time, the archer lowered her large bow, ceasing her offensive. Indeed, without realizing it, she had been gradually forced back to her original position. Her three brothers, each with vacant eyes, seemed to have been bound by some spell. The masked woman glanced up at Han Li floating above, sighed, and then threw her flying dagger onto the ground, no longer putting up any resistance. Seeing this, Han Li raised his hand without hesitation, and a number of green glimmers shot into the masked woman's body, causing her to feel as though foreign objects were entering her, her true energy momentarily stiffened and unable to flow smoothly. After completing these actions, Han Li did not immediately ask any questions of the four. Instead, he extended his hand and gently pulled them all up, bringing them into the divine wind boat beneath his seat. This was no place to linger—should any superior arrive, things would quickly become complicated. Choosing a direction far from Yuejing City, Han Li carried the four of them, transforming into a streak of white light, and truly took off. Not long after Han Li had departed, two more figures appeared on this small hill, dressed similarly to the four who had been taken by Han Li—only their garments were a deep, blood-like crimson, which made the sight quite uncomfortable. The two scanned the surroundings and then stood before the large depression where Han Li had struck. After a moment of quiet contemplation, one of them suddenly sighed and spoke: "Looks like the Five Friends of Meng have failed!" His voice was somewhat weathered, suggesting he was quite elderly. "Hmph. No such thing! Not only did they fail—they may have even been captured by someone else! There's not a single trace of blood here, which means that person must have subdued the four of them effortlessly." The other spoke with a tone of disdain. He appeared younger, perhaps only in his twenties. "This is rather troublesome now!" The Five Friends of Mengshan are far from being mere wine-and-meal-drinkers. If that were the case, they would have been sacrificed outright back then—there would have been no need to spare their lives. I suspect either they faced too many Qi-Stage cultivators, overwhelmed by numbers, or some Foundation-Stage cultivators intervened. The first person expressed some disagreement, his tone revealing a hint of concern. "You're afraid they'll leak information, aren't you? After all, they're only newly recruited peripheral cultivators, with no access to our core secrets. Moreover, before assigning them tasks, I've already placed subtle controls on each of them—by the time they're ready to speak, they'll have at most half a day left to live." The young man chuckled, speaking with complete indifference. "Ah, that makes sense. With only half a day, I'm confident they won't reveal a single thing. After all, they'll still be under the blood curse binding them, and by the time they realize something's amiss, they'll likely be unable to speak at all. The elder exhaled a long breath and spoke slowly. But then, his tone shifted, growing colder: "Still, what exactly happened? Didn't we all agree that Wu, the old Taoist, would serve as your puppet master, and that you would gradually make your presence known in the immortal realm? That way, our sect could carry out the 'golden cicada shedding its shell' strategy—ensuring our core disciples each have a visible identity within the realm. Yet how did you suddenly burst into the old Taoist's chamber and drain his vital essence? You surely shouldn't have needed his mere share of spiritual power!"