"Wait a moment—has this person done something wrong, or is his identity fake?" The robust man observed the elder's expression. "His identity should be solid. Our disciples stationed at Miao Yin Monastery have already copied the portraits of the two senior monks there. This person matches the image preserved within the jade scroll exactly. Indeed, he is the monk named Han. Even if he has employed some secret technique to alter his appearance, he could not escape the keen eye of Elder Wang, stationed at the port!" The green-robed elder stroked his beard, then raised his hand, and a jade scroll glowing with a green hue appeared in his palm. He gently waved it before the robust man's eyes and then folded it back. "Now that everything seems all right, why does he look so concerned?" The robust man snorted, clearly dissatisfied. "This Han elder of Miao Yin Monastery is no ordinary figure—perhaps, in a one-on-one encounter, neither of us would be able to match him." After a thoughtful pause, the green-robed elder uttered words that left the robust man momentarily stunned. "What does that mean? Aren't we all just Qi-Condensation stage cultivators, like him?" Moreover, he's a free-standing cultivator—how can he possibly compare to us, who are regularly guided by the Sage Ancestor? The sturdy man shook his head so vigorously it seemed as though it were being drummed like a drum, clearly expressing his disbelief. Upon hearing the sturdy man's words, the elder remained calm and didn't show any irritation. Instead, he patiently explained to him in a composed manner: "Master Liu should know that while my 'Seven Dangers Technique' isn't among the top-tier cultivation methods, it is exceptionally sensitive to the amount of negative energy—or 'dangers'—present in a person's body. The intensity of negative energy in this individual, especially among those at the Condensation Stage, is something I have never witnessed before. Indeed, numerous cultivators have already perished at his hands." "What's so extraordinary about that? If he were to eliminate more lower-level cultivators, I could easily manage that too," the sturdy man replied, showing his indifference. "This is quite different. While your method does accumulate some weaker negative energy, over time, that energy tends to dissipate easily." And the aura of malice upon this person was not only thick and abundant, but also sharp and extremely cold and penetrating—this was surely the result of having slain numerous cultivators at the same or higher stage. Such malice, unless eliminated through specific esoteric Buddhist or Daoist techniques, generally remained permanent. Moreover, it seemed this person possessed some refined art of containing and suppressing his inner energy, revealing only a fraction of his malice. Even so, the intensity of his malice was truly astonishing! Ordinary cultivators facing him would find their illusions and similar magical techniques significantly weakened; if they were unprepared and directly struck by this overwhelming malice, their willpower would momentarily be overwhelmed. In such cases, they could only achieve about seven or eight out of their full potential. Should this person cultivate my "Seven Malice Technique," his progress would undoubtedly be extraordinary. The elder's eyes flashed with cold light, and he spoke with a crisp, solemn tone. At the time he uttered these words, he naturally had no knowledge that although the number of cultivators he had slain at the Jie Dan stage was modest, there had been hundreds of five-level, Jie Dan-level junior beasts—countless in number. The weight of the negative energy upon him far exceeded his expectations. "Master Cocoon, don't worry about the negative energy on his body. Do you really intend to take him as a disciple? Don't forget—he's also a cultivator at the Jiadian stage. He certainly won't join your sect." The sturdy man paused, then asked with a touch of bewilderment. "Taking him as a disciple? Of course not. I'm merely curious about the method by which he has accumulated such powerful negative energy. There must be some secret technique behind it." The elder replied calmly. Hearing this, the sturdy man lost all interest. After all, the cultivation techniques that leverage negative energy were likely limited to a few specialized methods throughout the Luoxing Sea. Since the one he was cultivating wasn't among them, he naturally found it unimpressive. However, then it struck him as though he had just remembered something, and casually added, "You mentioned that the young master has an interest in the Ziling Immortal from the Miao Yin Sect. I haven't heard of this before. Did the young master personally instruct you on this?" The sturdy man showed a hint of confusion. "Heh!" How could we possibly need the Young Master's instruction for such a matter? You surely know the cultivation technique the Young Master follows, and this Purple Spirit Maiden is renowned throughout the Luan Xing Sea as one of the most beautiful women. If we can successfully arrange this match and present her to the Young Master, we will surely reap numerous benefits. After all, the Young Master has already reached the late stage of Consolidating the Dan, and under the guidance and protection of the Saint Ancestor, I believe he will attain the Yuan Yin stage within a century! The elder smiled faintly as he spoke. Upon hearing this, the sturdy man seemed suddenly enlightened and nodded enthusiastically. "Then when should we act? It seems the Young Master is about to enter another period of seclusion." The man wiped his palms and flexed his arms with a slightly grim smile. "We need not rush. It would be best to handle this matter after the current great battle. Only then will we fully demonstrate to the Miao Yin Sect our growing strength and influence. Should they still refuse to yield, I've heard that for some time now, the Miao Yin Sect has established its headquarters within the Tianxing City." "At the right moment, we'll simply come up with some pretext of private communication with the Star Palace, and I doubt this lady will hesitate to comply." The elder spoke calmly. "Excellent! That's exactly what we'll do. The other side has only two junior Dan-stage elders—how dare they stand in the way of the wheel like an insect's arm? Truly, Cang Daojun has shown remarkable strategy!" The stout man burst into hearty laughter, clearly delighted. Upon hearing this, the elder smiled slightly, and inwardly felt a quiet sense of satisfaction: "This way, we can leverage our strength to pressure the senior named Han from the Miao Yin Sect. Once we secure his secret technique for gathering negative energies, it will be a double victory indeed!" With this thought, the elder narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression now taking on a touch of strangeness. ... Han Li, having drifted a short distance from the group of green-robed elders, swiftly reached the port sky in a matter of moments. After glancing at the busy members of the Inverse Star Alliance, he prepared to accelerate his departure. Yet at that very moment, a powerful consciousness suddenly descended from the heavens, unimpeded, and instantly enveloped Han Li within it. Han Li was suddenly startled, yet immediately maintained a calm expression, floating motionless in the air. As if he had anticipated this all along, the Inverse Star Alliance could not simply release them—merely based on a few tokens—without further scrutiny. It was likely that the senior Yuan-Ying stage master, leading the delegation, had personally used his divine awareness to probe their identities, ensuring that no Dan-Stage cultivators could disguise themselves through subtle techniques or alter their appearances to impersonate others. Han Li remained exceptionally composed, showing not a single sign of anxiety. He had never considered the need to adopt a false identity at all. For, aside from a few rare and extraordinary techniques and several extremely precious artifacts, most such façades would inevitably be detected by those with strong divine awareness. Should he attempt to change his appearance and present a false identity, the risk of being exposed would only make him appear more uneasy and potentially undermine his credibility altogether. Thus, he was willing to risk being pursued by the others, such as Jixin, and continue to handle matters under the identity of the Senior Monastic of Miaoyin Sect. He expected that when those elder beings finally arrived, he would already have reached the Outer Stellar Sea. At that point, his exposure would be complete, but it would no longer matter much. With this thought in mind, Han Li remained calm and allowed the Yuan婴-period elder to probe his consciousness at length. Indeed, the divine awareness faded just as it had when it first arrived, leaving no lingering traces. Han Li exhaled a long, steady breath and then proceeded steadily toward the outer harbor. ...Not long after leaving the harbor, Han Li immediately accelerated his flight. Though he no longer used the crimson cloak relic, he did not deliberately slow down. Half an hour later, while Han Li was making his way forward, pondering how to enter Tianxing City, he suddenly paused, his brow furrowed, and cast a slightly puzzled glance toward the nearby sea. Then, his expression darkened, and he suddenly raised his head to gaze toward the distance. Instantly, he found himself floating motionless in a gentle, pale blue glow. In a short while, two long streaks of light—one blue and one red—raced swiftly from afar toward Han Li. They arrived at his side in an instant, their radiance flashing, revealing two middle-aged cultivators. Silver robes, golden sashes! Clearly, they were orthodox cultivators from the Nixing Alliance, both at the initial stage of the Jiadian stage. One of them had a pale face, clean-shaven, resembling a scholar, while the other was of a deep, lustrous black complexion, a sturdy, robust man. As soon as they materialized, they silently stared at Han Li, their expressions cold and composed. Yet it was evident that they had already locked onto him with their spiritual awareness, as if ready to act at any moment. Han Li's expression stirred slightly, and he spoke slowly and in a low tone. "Have the two of you come to me with something? I still have a journey ahead. If there's nothing to discuss, I shall be on my way." "You cannot go! You must come with us." The tall, robust man spoke coldly, with a tone that carried clear authority. Han Li was momentarily startled, but then a flush of anger quickly appeared in his eyes. "Have I done something to offend you both? Or has the Inverse Star Alliance grown so powerful that it can simply seize people at will?" Han Li's face darkened, and a hint of frost settled upon it. "This gentleman need not be agitated," the man said. "My brother and I have been dispatched to collect the remnants of the Star Palace. A Star Palace cultivator was struck by us earlier, but managed to escape in a most unusual form of teleportation toward this very location. And it happens that you, sir, were just here at the same time." As far as we know, the Star Palace possesses several secret arts that allow it to transform its guests; moreover, we are unable to determine whether your appearance has changed. Until we locate the fleeing cultivator, we kindly ask you to cooperate a little further. The middle-aged scholar spoke with considerable courtesy, yet it was clear he intended to keep Han Li there.