Related to the Demonic path?"
The old Daoist, upon hearing that Han Li was a cultivator of Yellow Maple Valley, did not show much surprise — this was something he had long suspected. Foundation Establishment cultivators outside the seven sects were exceedingly rare. However, when he heard that the disciple he was about to take in and Steward Wang might have ties to the Demonic path, his face turned pale at once.
After all, the reputation of the Demonic path in the Kingdom of Yue's cultivation world was virtually synonymous with bloodshed and cruelty. As a mere Qi Condensation stage cultivator, the old Daoist naturally wanted to keep far, far away from it.
"Senior must be mistaken! I personally examined the young prince's body — there is truly not a shred of magical power within him." After the initial shock, the old Daoist thought it over carefully and found it somewhat hard to believe.
He had been in contact with this young prince for some time now, and he simply could not see anything about the man that resembled the rumored Demonic path cultivators.
Han Li heard the old Daoist's words but did not waste any breath on idle talk. His expression calm and unhurried, he said simply:
"Whether these two are truly members of the Demonic path — once you keep a close watch on them yourself, you will naturally discover their unusual aspects. There is no need for me to explain anything. I am not asking you to take any adverse action against them; just keep a light eye on them, nothing more. And whatever you do, do not attempt any probing. If they ever learn that you know their true identities, I fear your life will be in grave danger!"
Han Li delivered this final warning to the old Daoist.
The doubt in the white-haired old Daoist's eyes vanished the moment he heard these words, replaced by a look of pure terror.
After a brief moment of hesitation, he opened his mouth and said, somewhat timidly:
"But what if these two discover that I'm spying on them? My magical power is feeble — I truly fear I might ruin your important affairs, Senior!"
Han Li frowned slightly upon hearing this.
This old Daoist seemed to have been frightened out of his wits and was on the verge of backing out. That simply would not do. It seemed he would need to offer a few more incentives.
With this thought, Han Li reached into his storage pouch, pulled out an object, and gently set it down on the table.
"Watching these two does carry a certain amount of risk. Here, I have a suitable high-grade magical artifact. Consider it a gift for your self-defense. Once this matter is concluded, this artifact will officially become yours." Han Li pointed at the faintly glowing purple pearl on the table and said evenly to the old Daoist.
"A high-grade magical artifact!" The old Daoist's spirits soared the moment he heard these words.
How pathetic — he was perpetually strapped for cash. Forget a high-grade magical artifact; he could not even afford a mid-grade one!
"This is the Purple Light Pearl. Once infused with magical power, it can immediately project a light shield to cover your entire body. I believe very few ordinary Qi Condensation stage cultivators could break through this defense. It should be more than enough to handle most dangers you might face." Han Li spoke slowly, his expression unchanged.
"A defensive artifact?" After hearing the detailed explanation, the old Daoist's eyes blazed with fervent desire once more.
Defensive artifacts were the rarest and most precious of all artifact types. If the old Daoist had to save up spirit stones on his own to buy this high-grade defensive artifact, he reckoned he would never manage it even if he lived out his entire life.
"Very well. This old Daoist will do his utmost." The white-haired old Daoist's face shifted between light and shadow for a good while before he finally gritted his teeth and agreed.
It seemed the saying "birds die for food, men die for wealth" held true in the cultivation world just as well!
Seeing that the old Daoist had agreed to take on this tremendous risk, Han Li let a smile cross his face. Yet in his heart, he could not help but feel a twinge of emotion.
"I am placing a spiritual mark inside your body for the time being. That way, if something goes wrong, I will be able to locate you immediately — and perhaps even save your life. Additionally, once this matter is concluded, I will give you a bottle of Yellow Dragon Pills as compensation." Han Li placed a wisp of spiritual energy as a mark into the old Daoist's body using the same technique, then spoke with a mixture of carrots and sticks.
The old Daoist, upon seeing Han Li's action, was briefly startled but then pretended not to understand the true intention behind it, repeatedly expressing his gratitude.
Seeing that the old Daoist was so perceptive, Han Li could not help but smile. Then he rose to take his leave. Under the old Daoist's respectful send-off, he departed from the Prince's residence without a sound.
He had no intention of returning to the Qin residence immediately. Instead, he casually found a teahouse, went in, and settled down to sip tea in quiet contemplation, reviewing everything that had happened recently and checking whether there were any spots where he had acted improperly or overlooked something.
Regularly reflecting on his past actions and checking for oversights — this was a habit Han Li had cultivated over time. Only by continuously reducing his weaknesses and compensating for his shortcomings could he have remained safe and unharmed thus far in the peril-laden cultivation world.
And so, Han Li sat in the teahouse for the better part of the day. It was only when the sky had gradually grown dark that he finally left, drawing curious glances from the waiter.
A customer who had ordered a single cup of tea and proceeded to drink it for most of the day — the waiter had never seen anything like it. He later could not stop boasting about the story to others, and without Han Li ever knowing, he became something of a laughingstock among the common folk. This was an embarrassment Han Li had never remotely anticipated.
The appointed time with the Elder Xiao had not yet arrived, but Han Li did not intend to show up only in the dead of night.
He would not be so punctual. It was better to arrive early, in case the other party tried any tricks.
After walking for a while, Han Li suddenly furrowed his brow.
He sensed that the spiritual marks of the Elder Xiao and his granddaughter were not in the Eastern District where they should have been — they were in the opposite direction, in the Western District. This made Han Li feel a flash of irritation.
With a cold snort, and seizing a moment when no one was nearby, he tossed the Divine Wind Boat into the air. His entire body transformed into a streak of white light and shot off at tremendous speed toward the direction he had sensed.
Truth be told, the art of tracking someone through spiritual energy sensing was a very common technique among Foundation Establishment cultivators. Most people could only sense within a radius of a few dozen li at most. But Han Li, who had cultivated the Great Development Technique, could faintly track over a range of more than a hundred li — truly astonishing.
This only made Han Li yearn all the more eagerly to cultivate the Great Development Technique to its second level!
Moments later, Han Li stood on the Divine Wind Boat, gazing coldly down at an unremarkable small courtyard some dozens of zhang below. Within the courtyard stood three modest, slightly worn houses.
Standing on the jade-white boat, Han Li did not rashly descend. He remained silent and still, as though contemplating something.
Finally, Han Li tapped his foot lightly, and the small boat plummeted from the sky like a falling star.
But when it was still five or six zhang above the ground, the artifact suddenly froze in place. Han Li's body moved, and he leaped gracefully from the artifact, landing silently in the small courtyard. At the same time, he waved his right hand through the air, and the boat shrank instantly, flying into his palm.
The entire process flowed as smoothly and cleanly as drifting clouds and running water, without producing a single sound.
Then, like a phantom, Han Li appeared before the central house. Without the slightest haste, he released his spiritual sense to probe the movements inside.
He had already clearly sensed that two clusters of spiritual energy resonating faintly with his own were undeniably in this very house.
Sure enough, the moment his spiritual sense slipped inside, he clearly heard a young girl's voice.
"Grandfather, won't what we're doing anger that person? If he really comes looking for us, will the excuse we prepared actually work?" The girl's voice was full of worry. It seemed the powerful impression Han Li had left on her ran deep indeed.
"Hmph! You silly girl. Just because someone claims they can find us with a mere trace of spiritual energy, you think they really can? Your grandfather has eaten more salt than you have eaten rice. Blowing things out of proportion and deliberately trying to frighten people — your grandfather has seen it all! I don't believe for a moment that what the man said is true. And even if there really is some sensing technique, at such a great distance, a Foundation Establishment cultivator could never detect us. If we had stayed at our home in the Eastern District, we really might have been found." The old man gave a cold snout and lectured the girl.
"If that's the case, why didn't we just leave the capital of Yue overnight instead of merely moving to the Western District?" The girl still argued, somewhat unconvinced.
"What do you know? What I said above is nothing but your grandfather's speculation! Whether it's actually true or not remains ambiguous. If my guess is correct, then naturally we grandfather and granddaughter can avoid this man's coercion and go somewhere else to live in peace. But the other party is a Foundation Establishment cultivator after all — who knows if he really has such a far-reaching tracking technique. If we had fled beyond the capital of Yue and were cornered by him, there would be no way to talk our way out of it. But here in the Western District, it's different — we can always find some excuse to cover things up." The old man seemed to dote on the girl enormously and could only give her a detailed explanation.
"Hee hee, Grandfather, you're really sly! But I get the feeling this person isn't the type to do something despicable. Is it really necessary to hide from him? If you ask me, why don't we just use that Dao text to make a proper deal with him? We might even come away with quite a few benefits. That Dao text is far too profound for us anyway — it's no use to us." The girl laughed softly and said dismissively.
"Hmph, the world is full of peril — it's not as rosy as you imagine! In theory, yes, everyone dealing openly and fairly with nothing to dodge from the other party. But have you ever considered that fair trades only exist when both parties are roughly equal in status and strength? When one side is strong and the other is weak, where is the fairness?"
"Moreover, that Dao text may be a worthless chicken rib to us, but in this man's hands it could very well become a treasure. And how many times has your grandfather seen someone acquire a treasure and then immediately kill the witnesses to silence them? How can I trust this person? After all, our cultivation is far too different from his — eliminating us would not cost him the slightest effort." The old man's voice grew somber as he spoke, clearly helpless before the reality that their lives hung in another's hands.
"Grandfather, don't be so disheartened! Didn't you say that even though that person looks so young, he might actually be some ancient monster who has lived for who knows how many years?" Seeing his mood, the girl hastily offered comfort.
But just at that moment, from outside the house came the cold voice of the very person they feared most.
"What's this? Do I really look that much like an ancient monster?"
As grandfather and granddaughter's faces drained of color, the tightly shut door swung open silently, and Han Li walked in without a shred of hurry.
Once inside, Han Li sat down without ceremony in the seat of honor, then regarded the two of them with an utterly calm expression, saying nothing.