"Don't worry too much! What happened,?" Han Li opened his eyes, a slight surprise flashing across his face as he spoke. Though the Universal Treasures Assembly brought together humans and immortals, it was indeed rare to witness something unexpected happening in full view of everyone. "Master, my brother and I had already found the senior immortal from the immortal clan that Master was seeking. However, on our way back, as we passed through a quiet, secluded area, we suddenly encountered an elderly woman. She merely glanced at our spirit-essence disciple for a moment, and then suddenly summoned a strange wind that whisked my brother away mid-air." Hai Da, who had never seen Han Li so composed, found himself calmer and quickly spoke with respectful clarity. "What did this woman look like? Any distinguishing features?" Han Li was genuinely surprised now, his eyes flashing with a cold gleam as he asked. "The woman was tall and slender, an elderly woman with extraordinarily long hair. Oh, and she had a large, prominent green spot on her forehead. She exuded a deep, gloomy aura—very intimidating indeed." By the way, this woman struck me a solid palm as she was leaving, knocking me senseless on the spot. After being rescued by a group of passing cultivators, my disciple was able to come and seek help from the master. "She struck you a palm? Come closer and let me examine you," said Han Li, who, upon hearing this, felt a sudden spark of interest and gestured to the sea prince. "Yes, sir!" Hearing this, the sea prince was startled but immediately stepped forward without hesitation. "Indeed! What a cunning move!" After carefully scanning the sea prince's body with his spiritual awareness, Han Li's face immediately turned stern. Then, he raised his arm and grasped one of the sea prince's arms firmly. A shimmering green light burst from his fingers and surged into the sea prince's body. A short while later, a thin black thread was forcibly drawn out from within the sea prince's body and wrapped in a sphere of green light. As soon as this black silk detached itself from the Sea Master's body, it immediately began writhing vigorously within the green light—turning out to be an unknown strange insect. The Sea Master, witnessing this, naturally grew pale, both astonished and furious. "What on earth is this? Has the woman struck me with poison?" "Hmph. Who else could it be? This insect is known as the Heart-Attached Silk—a relatively rare type of mythical creature. When it first hatches, it is as thick as a pair of chopsticks; however, once caught and cultivated by a master of pestilence, it gradually thins out, eventually becoming so fine that it can no longer be seen with the naked eye—only then does it achieve full mastery. When used to attack an opponent, it is colorless and formless, thus utterly unpredictable. Once it penetrates the body, it inevitably severs the vital core of the host's heart at the moments of morning and evening (zi and wu), causing the person to collapse and die instantly. Afterward, the cause of death is often difficult to trace. Though this particular Heart-Attached Silk has not yet reached full cultivation, it has already consumed the life and dedication of its owner "It really is quite generous for someone of your mid-tier Body-Forging level!" Han Li coldly snorted, explaining a few points to Hai the Young. "What's this woman thinking? If she truly intends to eliminate me, why doesn't she simply kill me right away—why all this unnecessary fuss?" Hai the Young stared at the black silk worms glowing in the azure light, his face pale as he gulped down several mouthfuls of water, yet still couldn't help asking, "When she was about to strike you, did you say anything?" After a brief silence, Han Li suddenly asked, without any clear reason, "What did you say...? Oh, I remember—I shouted, 'We're residents of Yingxian Palace!' Is it because of that that she hesitated to act immediately?" Hai the Young blinked, looking genuinely surprised. "That must be it! But she wasn't certain whether your statement was true, so she used this very silk worm currently attached to your heart to test it." Should the creature remain undetected and unresolved past noon, you would inevitably perish from a direct heart wound. If you indeed held any connection to a fully consolidated cultivator, you would likely be unable to conceal your presence from their watchful eyes. Once expelled, she would naturally grow vigilant. As for why she had not yet taken decisive action, it was due to her caution toward the enforcement cultivators attending the Ten-Thousand-Treasures Assembly. They were no mere figures in the background—while private disputes might go unremarked, any direct assault carried out in full view of the assembly would certainly not go unnoticed or unchallenged by them. Han Li gazed at the black silken creature shimmering within the azure light, speaking softly. Hai Dashi, having heard this, finally fully grasped the situation. At that very moment, the black silk within the azure glow suddenly trembled, its surface radiance shifting and flowing, then forcefully breaking through the radiating light. Han Li's lips moved slightly, and with a gesture of his palm, he summoned an invisible, immense force to envelop the creature. With a sudden "whoosh," the black silk seemed to be shot back like arrows fired from a crossbow. Han Li, maintaining his composed expression, simply rubbed his hands together, and a stream of silver flame instantly rose and swirled in midair. In an instant, the heart-attached silk was reduced to ash within the flame. Though the creature had some experience, it could not withstand this intense heat. Almost at the same moment the black silk vanished, deep within the mountain body of a small mountain outside Jiuxian Mountain, an elderly woman with gray-white hair and long, jet-black nails suddenly awoke from her meditative posture, her face pale as she gasped out a clutch of fresh, bright red blood, as though her vital energy had been significantly weakened. "Madam, are you all right?" asked an older man with thick, dark brows, seated beside her, visibly alarmed. "Don't be so慌! It's merely that my heart-attached silk has been extinguished. As long as I meditate for two days, I'll be fine," the woman said firmly, gritting her teeth. "That's good." Though the elder clearly knew in his heart that the heart-thread, nurtured by the woman for a thousand years, could not simply vanish without a struggle, he was silenced under the elder woman’s sharp gaze, as if a mouse before a cat. "It seems the young man's words are indeed true. They must have some connection with that ancient being from Yingxian Palace." As the elder remained silent, the woman began speaking to herself, her expression shifting constantly between gloom and agitation. "Why don't we let go of this young man? After all, he's a cultivator at the Consolidated Stage—should we provoke him, we may face serious consequences." The elder with the black brows murmured. "Let go? Of course not! With our ages, we have only one son, named Ming. If we use the secret technique taught by that man to transfer the inherited artifact into Ming's body, not only will his chronic illness be cured by the inherited spiritual energy, but we will also gain the entire suite of inherited techniques at once." I have examined the inherited jade pearl within that young man's body—the seal upon its surface is remarkably intricate, clearly indicating that this inherited cultivation technique is no ordinary affair. Once he secures this name, his journey ahead will surely surpass ours in reach and significance. Should we miss this opportunity, where else shall we find two peers of the same stage who possess such inherited treasures? The old woman's face twisted with intensity, speaking fiercely. "Yet, the senior compound-stage monster behind him—we, two cultivators at the Liangxi level, simply cannot hope to handle him." The elder with the black brows still appeared deeply uneasy. "Hmph. This young man is merely a Foundation-stage cultivator, with an unremarkable spiritual root. It's likely tied to that compound-stage monster, but surely not deeply connected. As long as we find a powerful ally of our own, this old monster will hardly take it seriously enough to trouble us over a mere Foundation-stage youngster. At worst, we can simply make a further sacrifice, offering adequate compensation to the other party." "The old woman seemed to have thought this through long before, speaking calmly. 'What the lady means is to go up and—'" The man with the dark brows instantly realized what was going on, asking with some surprise. "Exactly! Don't forget—I am also from the Long family. My paternal grandfather is the patriarch of the Long family. We will be leaving immediately and staying at the Yingxian Palace, where the Long family now resides, for a while." The lady said. "But according to the Long family's customs, once a woman marries out, she is no longer considered part of the Long family. Otherwise, why has the father-in-law neglected us these years? Sir, I think we should just let this matter drop." The elder, clearly more composed, smiled gently and offered his advice. "Indeed. Our Long family women are not known for being able to awaken the true dragon blood, so they naturally receive less attention. Yet you must not forget—our daughter still carries the Long family's bloodline, and we personally confirmed the presence of true dragon blood within her during our last examination." Although it has grown thinner, as long as I inform my elder brother of this matter, he won't remain indifferent." The woman bit her lip and said, "Madam, didn't we agree that we wouldn't reveal the truth about the true dragon blood within Ming'er to the Leng family? You've changed your mind again!" Upon hearing this from the elderly woman, the man with black brows frowned slightly, his expression growing somewhat displeased. "I understand my husband's desire to establish Ming'er's lineage within your Li family and his wish for Ming'er to return to the Leng family. But hasn't the situation changed now? If we don't adopt this course of action, Ming'er's lifespan will barely exceed a few hundred years. Will you truly be so unyielding?" The woman remained silent for a while before speaking coldly. "I...," the elder man moved his lips several times, but ultimately said nothing more. "Well, this matter is far from hopeless. Regarding the young man, let's not mention it to my elder brother yet." If the senior immortal hadn't come to visit, it would mean this young man was truly insignificant, and then after the Universal Treasures Assembly concluded, we could quietly depart from the Long family—perhaps even without needing to leave our side. Seeing the elder's crestfallen expression, the old woman felt a touch of compassion and offered a few words of reassurance. "Madam, why deceive me? Once Ming has awakened the true dragon blood, how could you possibly hide that from your brother's eyes?" the elder shook his head. Upon hearing this, the old woman's face flushed slightly, and for a moment, she found herself at a loss for words. "Very well, then, everything shall proceed as Madam has suggested. For Ming's future, we shall return to the Long family. With the true dragon blood flowing in his veins, Ming will indeed be far stronger in the Long family than with you." After a brief pause, the elder suddenly bit his lip firmly. "Your decision is absolutely correct." As far as I know, it isn't very common among this generation of Long family members to awaken the true dragon blood. After the distinguished name passes on, it will certainly be highly esteemed." The old woman naturally couldn't have been more delighted.