Han Li gazed calmly at the two of them, yet he was very clear in his mind that both of them were deeply connected to the destruction of Qi Yunxiao's residence. Indeed, the younger one, who had not spoken, soon grew impatient and asked sharply, "Who are you, and what connection do you have with that young man named Qi?" Han Li merely glanced at him coldly and then turned his attention to the elder, ignoring the younger completely. It was obvious that, in terms of修为, the elder was the true authority here. The younger man, feeling deeply disrespected by Han Li, was furious—though he knew Han Li was only a Juzhi-period cultivator, his family was one of the most prominent clans in Yuanwu Kingdom, and he had never before received such treatment. Moreover, he was already deeply incensed over the matter involving Qi Yunxiao. With a determined breath, he reached for his artifact to release it. However, as soon as he moved his arm, an elder seated beside him seized it firmly. "Hold on!" "We don't yet know this man's background—should we have to act, we'll certainly want to clarify things first!" the elder said calmly. Yet, upon saying this, he glanced thoughtfully at Qu Hun standing behind Han Li, slightly puzzled. He hadn't detected any vital signs of a living person there, though he sensed a clear presence of magical energy—something that left him somewhat confused. Han Li, in turn, narrowed his eyes slightly. This elder, like himself, was a mid-stage Foundation-level cultivator, and his words clearly indicated that he saw Han Li as someone formidable, someone to be mindful of. "Did your party destroy this place?" Han Li asked calmly. "What is your relationship with Qi Yunxiao? Are you from the Qi family?" The elder didn't directly answer Han Li's question but instead posed a new one. Han Li furrowed his brows—clearly, the elder wasn't straightforward. He would have to rephrase his inquiry. "It seems neither of us is willing to answer the other's questions. How about this—each of us answers one question, and then we exchange?" "Then everyone will be wasting time," Han Li said, his eyebrows lifting. The elder blinked, then after a few moments of eye movements, readily agreed. "Since it's my suggestion, then it's your turn to ask the questions," Han Li said calmly. "Are you from the Qi family?" the elder asked promptly, not showing any courtesy. "No!" Han Li replied without hesitation. Hearing Han Li's firm answer, both the elder and the young man were taken aback, their eyes expressing doubt. "Is Qi Yunxiao alive or dead?" Han Li asked slowly. "He's still alive!" the elder hesitated before responding. As soon as the words "still alive" reached Han Li's ears, he felt reassured. "What is your relationship with Qi Yunxiao?" the elder asked seriously. "We have a business relationship," Han Li said coldly. "A business relationship?" the elder's eyes flashed with surprise. "Where is Qi Yunxiao now?" "Han Li seemed to be asking casually, but in reality, he was deeply concerned. "I can't tell you that!" the elder immediately rejected without hesitation. "Then let me ask a different question—why did you attack Qi Yunxiao?" Han Li calmly followed up without showing any anger. "He killed our family members. Shouldn't he have died?" the young man beside him sneered and interrupted. The elder furrowed his brows, his face showing a touch of displeasure, yet he said nothing. "Fu family!" Upon hearing this, Han Li immediately recalled the Qi-level cultivators who had died at his hands while saving Xin Ruyin, and a surge of determination surged within him. "Ah, that makes sense. But here you are only the two of you. What if the Qi family sends someone powerful? How will you stand against them?" Han Li appeared completely composed, asking the question with ease. "How could the Qi family be opposed to just one outsider from our Fu family? Isn't merely having these two of you enough?" The young man, hearing Han Li's words, spoke with a certain pride. "So it seems, there are only you and I here?" Han Li's voice suddenly deepened. "What do you mean by that?" the young man's face flushed with anger, eager to respond. But the elder, standing beside him, sensed something was amiss and quickly stepped in to interrupt. Yet it was too late. Han Li suddenly waved his hands, and two streaks of dark light shot through the air toward the young man. Then, with a single palm stroke on his storage pouch, several dozen beams of white light burst forth, instantly transforming into over a dozen puppet beasts and soldiers. As soon as these puppets appeared, they unleashed a barrage of light columns and arrows simultaneously. The elder, witnessing this, was struck with awe and, without hesitation, darted forward, appearing directly in front of the young man. With a single hand motion, a talisman shaped like a copper coin detached and expanded rapidly, soon reaching the size of a table, now shielding both of them. At once, a series of explosive bursts of light erupted around the copper coin, driving the incantation instrument and the elder backward with force, leaving him stunned and furious. Yet just then, the young man behind him cried out in pain, causing the elder to feel a jolt of alarm and swiftly turn to see what had happened. But before he could fully turn his head, a sudden coolness spread across his neck, and he collapsed into darkness, unconscious. During the foundational stage, disputes among cultivators were often hindered because low-tier Five-Element shields could not withstand attacks from top-tier artifacts, while higher-tier shields required too much time to activate and lacked instant-response seals—though if available, those were priced at a heavenly level. As a result, most cultivators relied primarily on defensive artifacts rather than full-body luminous shields, which they considered essentially useless, like a mere afterthought. This situation, however, provided Han Li with numerous opportunities! Half of the demonic cultivators who had fought him at the border during the initial clash perished without clear cause. Now reflecting on this, Han Li realized his approach bore a striking resemblance to the blood-servant demonic beasts of the Black Destructive Sect—both emphasized swift, decisive strikes aimed at achieving a one-hit kill. Unfortunately, this tactic was only effective when opponents were on the ground; otherwise, Han Li found himself nearly invulnerable among foundational cultivators. With this thought, he gently shook his head, deeply regretting the limitation. He took a few steps and reached the lifeless body, retrieving the storage bags from both of them. With a brief inspection using his divine awareness, he felt somewhat disappointed. Though there were a couple of top-tier artifacts, they were rather ordinary and of little use to Han Li. However, the bronze coin artifact seemed to be a rare defensive item. As he thought this, he gestured toward the restored bronze coin artifact, which instantly rose from the ground and hovered in his hands. He admired it with some delight before casually throwing two small fire balls, which completely reduced the two bodies to ashes. Then, he took with him Qu Hun and circled the area above, before ascending into the sky. This time, he headed directly toward the small mountain where Xin Ruoyin resided, hoping that her dwelling was sufficiently secluded and thus would have escaped the same fate of being poisoned. After a few hours, Han Li arrived at the unnamed small mountain where Xin Ruoyin lived. As soon as he saw the mist on the mountain still intact and undamaged, Han Li felt a great sense of relief. After thinking it over, he did not dare to descend immediately, but hovered at a high altitude halfway up the mountain. Then, he took out a communication scroll from his sleeve, spoke a few words softly, and tossed it downward. The flame formed by the scroll flickered several times in the sky below before suddenly vanishing. At the same time, thick plumes of mist surged upward, quickly engulfing Han Li completely. Han Li felt a brief flash of vision, and found himself surrounded by towering trees stretching hundreds of zhang high—so vast that he now appeared like an ant within a great forest, startled yet motionless. He knew that Xin Ruoyin, who had received the scroll, would soon bring him into the mist. Indeed, a moment later, the massive trees gradually dissolved back into mist, and then, as the mist on the opposite side surged and rolled, a passage several zhang high emerged. Han Li immediately activated the Divine Wind Boat and entered with Qu Hun. The corridor was very long; it took Han Li to fly sixty or seventy zhang before he could faintly make out the exit, and his spirit stirred with excitement. But as he approached the exit by six or seven zhang, a slightly husky female voice suddenly spoke. "Master Han, who is the person behind you? You shouldn't have brought a stranger here."