".As for the rest, I have no interest in knowing. The deal is settled. This place is rather conspicuous. Let me take you to another spot and perform the spell there." Han Li smiled slightly, and without waiting for the other's agreement, brushed his sleeve across the young man's face. A cascade of azure light surged forth, instantly enveloping Feng Yue's head. The youth tipped sideways, then rolled over and fell, yet was gently cradled by the light, floating gently upward. Though Han Li's cultivation had been sealed, his mastery of spellcraft remained flawless—far surpassing that of a foundational stage cultivator. At that moment, the cloud formed by the second immortal embryo shot forth from the forest beside them. After a brief flicker, it resumed its infant form and floated before Han Li, one hand still clutching the triangular spike, the other holding the elder's spirit. "It's of no use. Let it vanish." Han Li glanced at the elder's spirit and said matter-of-factly. The second Yuan Ying broke into a joyful smile, her tightly clenched fingers suddenly bursting forth with black-green flames. As the green glow trembled, it silently dissolved into a pale mist within the flames. At the same time, Han Li flicked his finger, sending a fire ball the size of an egg striking the remains of the elder's body. The flames surged skyward, and Elder Ying's physical and spiritual forms were completely extinguished. Then, Han Li extended his hand and waved it toward the ground, summoning a storage sack and the small crimson sword, both of which shot into his hands. After clearing away the more obvious traces, Han Li and Feng Yue ascended into the sky, heading toward the earlier meditation site amidst the scattered stones. While his cultivation had not yet been fully unlocked, he naturally had to remain cautious. Yet, to be honest, Han Li was currently rather restless. Though his consciousness was exceptionally powerful—comparable to that of a late-stage Yuan Ying cultivator—he now found himself unable to extend it far, often having to consciously restrain most of its strength. Otherwise, should the great master of the abrupt people—or any other abrupt cultivator who specializes in spiritual awareness techniques—detect him, it would truly be a dead end. However, if he merely contracts his awareness to the immediate vicinity, he still risks being approached by senior abrupt cultivators who are unfamiliar with his presence. Indeed, when he was initially cultivating the gold-devouring insects in the central grasslands, he was discovered partly due to a slight lapse in vigilance, but more significantly because of his decision to focus his awareness closely around him. As a result, a mid-stage Yuan-Ying cultivator pursued the spirit-beast at high speed, so swift that it seemed comparable even to a late-stage Yuan-Ying cultivator. Covering a distance of twenty-plus li, the pursuer arrived at his side almost instantaneously. Even upon realizing the threat, he was too late to gather the insects and retreat—thus suffering an unforeseen misfortune. Yet, among such a vast expanse of the Tianlan Grasslands, it seems remarkably fortunate that he has encountered a Yuan-Ying mid-stage cultivator particularly skilled in flight techniques. Whether this is due to the other's unfortunate luck, or simply his own misfortune, remains uncertain. It is likely that neither party would have raised a hand if they had merely gained a slight understanding of each other's abilities. Every time he thought about this, Han Li found himself both touched and amused. Though he himself now suffered from the reverse effect of his inner qi, his magical power being sealed, the other party had only managed to escape with seven-tenths of their true immortality, clearly suffering significant damage to their cultivation. It remains uncertain when they will fully recover. For some reason, Han Li found himself thinking of this again while floating in the air. After taking a deep breath and sighing, he gently descended back to the area of the scattered stones. Then the convoy set off, heading straight for the exit on the opposite side of the camp. Han Li sat quietly in the original carriage, gently closing his eyes, preparing to rest for a while. Yet he hadn't expected that, just as the carriage had stepped out of the gate, it suddenly came to a halt with a creak. Han Li furrowed his brows, opening his eyes, but didn't lift the carriage curtain—instead, he extended his awareness slightly, paying close attention to the surroundings. Soon after, several smaller convoys arrived one after another. The leaders of each convoy politely greeted Ying Lu and then joined forces with the main group. At this point, Han Li realized that, during his two-day absence, the leader of the Anguished Lu tribe had managed to unite numerous smaller tribes and set out together. Each convoy had a cultivator in charge, though their levels of cultivation were clearly inadequate. In fact, two of the leading cultivators were still at the Qi Condensation stage—according to the local people, they hadn't even yet earned the formal title of cultivator. It was unclear how these two tribes managed to bring the caravan together. After Han Li was sealed, his foundation stage cultivation had actually become the highest among the entire group. Han Li stroked his chin, shaking his head with a wry smile. In his opinion, bringing these people along not only offered no advantage but actually made the journey more burdensome. At that moment, the Red Wolf Tribe's caravan arrived in a hurry. As he observed a particular wagon in their group, Han Li's eyes flashed several times, and he nearly withdrew his awareness. Suddenly, a very subtle trace of awareness swept past the entire caravan. Had it not been for Han Li's exceptionally refined awareness, he would have likely failed to notice it. Han Li's expression changed instantly, and without hesitation, he quickly suppressed his aura. Indeed, after that trace of awareness passed through the entire caravan and returned to check for any cultivators, it finally circled around Han Li several times before drifting off without finding any. Han Li's face darkened, and he coldly glanced toward the direction where the local representatives had just emerged. Meanwhile, on the second-floor platform of a mossy stone pavilion within the settlement, three figures stood abruptly facing the convoy where Han Li and his companions were located. At the forefront, an elderly man with a bald forehead suddenly exhaled a soft "Hm!" and suddenly opened his eyes, which had been tightly closed before. A look of mild curiosity appeared on his face. "Master Eagle, have you noticed that person?" asked a middle-aged man, his face pale with concern, standing behind the elder. One of the two female and male cultivators beside him. "Hmph! Don't worry. It's not that foreigner. Rather, someone seems to have been struck by a severe toxin—so intense that the poison has enveloped their body, yet they haven't died yet. That's rather unusual." The bald elder glanced at the man, slightly displeased. "Uncle, even Brother Li is a bit worried. Of course, you won't be afraid of that foreigner. But here, there's only one Yuan婴 cultivator—yourself—and that person is so formidable. Even if you manage to withstand them, with so many small tribal chieftains and junior cultivators at the settlement being drawn into this, the The other lady in court attire hurriedly stepped in to relieve the Han man, smiling warmly. "You needn't try to uphold your dignity. Should the opponent have sustained only minor injuries, even with two or three of me, he would still be no match. But now that the opponent has been caught by the Celestial Master's Capturing Hand, there's no need to worry. For the time being, I'll remain here to ensure he doesn't slip away. The method of cultivating the golden insect on foreign bodies must be secured by the Temple. Moreover, not only will your current outpost be strengthened, but all nearby outposts will gradually see senior Celestial Masters like myself stationed there." "Once the network of defenses is fully established, the Holy Maiden and the other great Celestial Master will arrive at the nearby temple, just after the Awakening Ceremony concludes. Then, the Holy Maiden and the two great Celestial Masters will activate the sacred artifacts, summoning the divine beast's avatar, and swiftly locate the opponent's hidden whereabouts. At that point, the foreign guests will be utterly helpless, even if they try to fly away." The bearded elder spoke calmly and composedly. "Ah, so that's the situation. The several immortal masters who issued the orders have not sent anyone to follow up on our progress since giving the command." The lady in court attire sighed with relief... "Hmph! Your little tricks—how long can you keep them up? Still, it's not entirely unfair to you. Even though that person was severely wounded, you weren't up to par against the opponent. Nor were the search teams from other locations—those with lower levels of cultivation were in the same boat. We older masters never expected to use the 'disturb the hen to find the egg' strategy to locate him. After all, the foreign beings' elusiveness is truly exceptional; they master earth-transcendence techniques, and their final escape method—blood-colored transcendence—is especially strange. Even if we spot them, without the presence of a great master, we simply wouldn't be able to hold them. We're no different. But now you know the news. The surface-level duties still need to be carried out. We'll keep making occasional searches in the vicinity." The elder sneered. "Understood!" The middle-aged man and the lady in imperial robes exchanged glances, and both couldn't help but express their delight. After all, they had still been somewhat concerned about their earlier hesitant responses. But now, with the current person having clearly pointed out the anomaly, they felt completely at ease. "By the way, Master Eagle, since you've just noticed that the person who fell ill on the convoy seems a bit unusual, shall I have him stay with you for a while, so you can investigate the matter thoroughly before making any further decisions?" the man said with a touch of politeness. "That person..." The bearded elder stirred his beard, his mind momentarily engaged. "Well, he either took some special elixir or possesses a protective talisman against toxins—nothing particularly mysterious about that. But his senior teachers must have some significance. I sense a lingering deathly aura about him; I suspect he won't last several days. Should he pass away here, it might cause some complications." The elder waved his hand, giving his opinion. "Yes, we'll follow your advice." "He was trying to flatter, only to have his words land squarely on the horse's hoof, leaving the Han official somewhat embarrassed. At that moment, the bearded elder glanced again toward the convoy. Subtly, a furrow appeared between his brows. Earlier, he had a fleeting impression—perhaps just a trick of his own mind—that during his first pass through the convoy, his eyelids had briefly fluttered, and he had instantly sensed an unusual sense of pressure emanating from a cultivator aboard another carriage. But that sensation had been so brief that upon his second, more careful inspection, he found no trace of it at all. This left him puzzled and hesitated, uncertain what to make of it."