"How is it, do you know me?" Han Li's eyes flashed with unusual light. "No, I've mistaken you for someone else. How could a junior ever recognize a senior?" The black-robed elder, caught off guard by Han Li's icy gaze, shivered and stammered, quickly denying the claim. "Mistaken!" Han Li remained silent, stroking his chin. He then shifted his gaze away from the elder and glanced briefly at the others, as though truly believing the elder's words. The gray-robed man looked at the elder with some bewilderment, though he too felt astonished. Now that they were in peril, he could only focus on making the best impression with Han Li, hoping to gain a favorable impression and then make a swift exit. But Han Li didn't wait for him to speak again. Instead, he slowly said: "Since you, as cultivators from Gui Ling Sect, have managed to locate my trail, then you may as well consider yourselves unfortunate. Your lives are now mine." As soon as these words left his lips, Han Li's expression grew noticeably colder. With a sweeping motion of his sleeve, dozens of shimmering green sword beams surged forth from the folds of his robe. The swordlight emanating from his sleeves swayed with the wind, multiplying into no less than thirty or forty streams, sweeping forth in a vast, overwhelming wave toward the several opponents. Upon hearing Han Li's voice, the gray-robed cultivator grew cold with alarm, and as he witnessed Han Li's astonishing display of power, his face turned pale and lifeless. Naturally unwilling to remain passive, he spun around instantly, countless black qi surging forth to envelop his form. Then, a golden and a silver spear, launched from within the black qi, transformed into two strange, serpentine creatures of gold and silver, standing before the protective aura. At the same time, the gray-robed cultivator desperately accelerated his flight technique, dissolving into a black vapor and retreating swiftly, completely disregarding the fate of the several cultivators in black robes. The ghostly sect's disciples were stunned—besides the elder, all others were swiftly severed by the sweeping, vibrant green sword energy, falling lifeless with no chance to resist. As the elder was trembling with fear, Han Li followed up with a swift flick, sending a slender thread of jade-green silk embedded in the sword's aura, which instantly pierced his body, causing him to roll and collapse to the ground. Han Li then turned his gaze away from the elder and fixed it on the gray-robed cultivator who had fled over a hundred paces away, a cold smile playing at the corner of his lips. With a graceful gesture, he lightly pointed at the scattered beams of swordlight, and within moments, a hundred strands of green light converged into a massive jade-green sword. Then, with a soft exhalation, he uttered the word "go." The great sword emitted a deep, resonant hum, then shook slightly, transforming into a streak of jade-green light stretching ten zhang in length, surging forward with an astonishing speed, reaching the black mist in an instant and bursting forth with a brilliant, dazzling glow. The gray-robed cultivator screamed in agony; whether it was the golden and silver serpents formed by his flying spears or the protective black aura generated by his cultivation techniques, all were instantly vaporized in the single blow from the great sword. Even the gray-robed cultivator himself was transformed into Han Li then calmly recalled his法宝, settling his gaze upon the unconscious elder once more. After a brief thought, he raised one hand without hesitation—within a flash, the frail figure was drawn to his palm, and with a shimmer of emerald light, he firmly pressed his other hand against the elder's head. It took nearly a full cup of tea's worth of time before Han Li ignited the flame in his hands, and the elder gradually turned to ash, vanishing into thin air. "It seems to be a discarded disciple from the Héhuān Sect. Dong Xuan'er! I didn't expect her to have achieved the Dan stage. Yet, I wonder why she sent someone to find me—this is truly rather unusual." Floating in midair with both hands behind his back, Han Li displayed a touch of surprise. The origin of the black-robed elder was indeed quite complex. Originally a disciple of the Héhuān Sect, he had committed a serious offense and violated the sect's rules, fearing that his spirit would be extracted and refined. To escape detection, he had changed his identity and quietly settled under the Gui Ling Sect, where he has remained hidden ever since. Han Li naturally did not need to know these details. To Li Han's surprise, the elder had previously served under Dong Xuan'er, who had already achieved Jin Dan stage, and had dispatched him and several other Héhuān Sect disciples to tirelessly search for him across the lands. Even sending the elder and his companions on risky missions into the Nine Kingdoms Alliance to secretly track down Li Han's whereabouts. At that time, Li Han had already reached the Luan Xing Sea, so the matter naturally faded into obscurity. The elder had, at that time, seen Li Han's portrait, and thus was now astonished to recognize him. Li Han now felt deeply puzzled. He wasn't self-absorbed enough to believe that Dong Xuan'er truly liked him and would thus persistently send people to seek him out—there must be some underlying reason or secret. Unfortunately, the black-robed elder held a modest position and had no knowledge of this matter. After pondering for a while, Li Han still couldn't figure out the reason behind Dong Xuan'er's efforts to find him. He then shook his head and set the matter aside. No matter what the original purpose was when Dong Xuan'er sent someone to seek him out, after so many years had passed, their connection had likely long since faded. And now, as a Yuan婴 stage cultivator, he had no need to give it any further consideration. Thinking this, Han arranged the bodies of the Gui Ling Sect cultivators slightly, glanced once toward the original sect's direction in Huang Feng Valley, and then departed from the Tai Yue Mountains. Unaware of this, at the very moment when Han eliminated the forces of Hong, within a hidden meditation chamber deep inside the old site of Yan Yue Sect, a thin, pale, and strangely elegant cultivator in a soot-colored robe suddenly frowned, sighed deeply, and after feeling around in his robe, produced a bone plaque that was dull and dim in appearance. The soot-colored robe cultivator held the plaque in his hands, and after a while, narrowed his eyes slightly, his face briefly revealing a shade of cold intensity. A few moments later, he stood up and stepped out of the meditation chamber. After traversing a long corridor, the gray-robed monk entered a grand hall and sat silently upon the stone chair at its center. Then, with a flash of white light, a small bronze bell appeared in his hands at an unknown moment. A deep, resonant chime rang out, its sound echoing steadily and far beyond the hall. He then folded the bell away and sat motionless, remaining silent. But shortly thereafter, three Jin-Dan stage cultivators hurried out from several side doors of the hall—two men and one woman—standing solemnly before the elder, each displaying deep reverence. "Just now, the luminous glow on your sixth brother’s vital tablet went out. It appears he has been struck down by someone. Though I do not yet know the details, no disciple of my Shu-Hun Sect shall die without a clear cause. You must find the murderer, capture him alive, and bring him before me. I shall then see who this divine figure is!" The so-called robe monk spoke calmly, as though assigning a trivial matter. "Understood, Master. Our three disciples will proceed immediately." The three male and female monks were initially startled, but soon bowed and answered in unison. "Well, I hope when we meet again next time, the murderer will already be detained in the Confined Immortal Prison." The so-called robe monk—Master Su, the True Soul Master of the Gui Ling Sect—nodded and then rose silently to leave the hall. Inside, only the three Ju Dan-level disciples of the Su Soul Sect remained. "Five sister, send a transmission scroll to the Tai Yue branch immediately to see if they've heard of the incident involving Brother Liu. If not, have them dispatch personnel to track down the murderer's whereabouts. Brother Que! You have good relations with the other branch masters. See if they can send someone to investigate whether any unfamiliar senior cultivators have recently appeared in Yue State. As for us, we will also send our capable disciples to investigate the last known location of Brother Liu, looking for any clues." As soon as news arrived, we would all go together and capture that person. After all, he was able to kill the sixth disciple—his cultivation level must be quite high—so we had better proceed with caution." Among the three, the sturdy cultivator dressed in black robes thought for a moment and then spoke clearly and logically. The other two were a woman in her thirties with a graceful demeanor, and a young scholar in a red robe whose body exuded a steady aura of cold energy. Upon hearing this, the woman smiled gently and agreed. The scholar, however, furrowed his brows slightly, showing a moment of hesitation, and only nodded after a while. "Xue-disciple, I know you and the sixth disciple have a strained relationship—perhaps even some friction. But this matter has been personally assigned by our master. If we fail, you’ll surely understand the consequences. Don’t forget the penalties the second disciple and the seventh disciple received when their tasks went poorly." The black-robed man seemed somewhat concerned, his eyes fixed steadily on the scholar, speaking coldly. "How could that be! Though we have had our disagreements, But he is now dead, and this matter was specifically entrusted by the master. How could I not give it my full attention? Brother San, please rest assured." Upon hearing this, the scholar named Qu turned pale, forced a smile, and chuckled awkwardly. "You understand the situation now. Let us proceed separately." The man in black said, slightly easing his tone. Thus, the two men and one woman left the hall and went about their respective tasks. Several days later, the cultivators of Gui Ling Sect indeed followed the trail left by those who had vanished and discovered where Han Li had slain several of them. After thorough investigation, Han Li's original abode came to light. Upon receiving the news, the three disciples of Fei Huan Sect personally led a group of students to the Tai Yue Mountain Range. They arrived at Han Li's former abode and stood before the large depression left behind where Han Li had once removed the spiritual eye spring. The three exchanged glances, each one at a loss. Meanwhile, at a distant location elsewhere. Huan Yunzhi and the Liu-family woman also brought their several disciples from the Yu Ling Sect, appearing on a rugged mountain range, swiftly traversing the area and entering the territory of the Yue State. (The fever has finally subsided somewhat; I feel much better now. It seems I truly need to spend fewer nights awake. Otherwise, my body would simply give out.)