Two figures passed through the Jade-Phosphor Miasma and landed on the clear ground beside the pool. One was tall, the other short, and both wore the attire of Seven Mysteries Sect outer disciples. Yet their eyes were sharp and their auras concentrated. Both were at the Qi Refinement Fourth Layer, far beyond ordinary outer disciples.
The tall disciple had a sinister face. His hawklike gaze swept over the pool's edge, immediately spotting the fresh stems left behind where several plants had been harvested. His expression darkened. "Someone got here first! The netherfrost grass has been picked!"
The short disciple twitched his nose, a trace of puzzlement flashing through his eyes. "Strange. The Jade-Phosphor Miasma is so dense. Who could have gotten in so easily? And by the looks of it, they only just left."
The tall disciple snorted coldly. "Who cares who it was! Anyone who can enter Miasma Valley must have a treasure that wards off poison or some special cultivation art. After them! We might still intercept them!" His greedy gaze turned toward where the netherfrost grass had grown. "Elder Mo urgently needs this grass to refine pills. If we bring it back, we'll receive a handsome reward!"
Hidden in the shadows, Han Li's eyes abruptly turned cold.
Elder Mo? Mo Juren!
So the netherfrost grass was something Mo Juren needed! These two disciples were sent by him! It seemed that old fox wasn't just watching me; he was secretly gathering all kinds of resources, too. This netherfrost grass must be quite important to him, or he wouldn't have sent two trusted Qi Refinement Fourth Layer disciples into such a dangerous place.
"Senior Brother, look here!" The short disciple suddenly crouched and pointed to the spot beside the pool where Han Li had picked up the small bottle. An almost imperceptible trace of moisture and an extremely faint fluctuation of spiritual power remained on the pebbles-left behind when Han Li had drawn the bottle toward him from a distance.
"There's residual spiritual power! Whoever it was just left and can't have gone far! They might be hiding nearby!" The tall disciple perked up and immediately looked around warily. His spiritual sense spread like a spiderweb, carefully probing every rock and shadow.
Han Li held his breath and focused, suppressing his aura to the utmost until he was like an inert rock. Dark attribute spiritual power had a natural advantage in concealment. Coupled with his control over his spiritual sense, which far surpassed others at his level, he would be difficult to detect unless a Foundation Establishment cultivator personally searched for him.
The two disciples searched for a while but found nothing. The short disciple grew restless. "Senior Brother, could they have already escaped in another direction?"
The tall disciple's eyes flickered. Suddenly, he gave a sinister smile. "Escaped? Miasma Valley has only one exit! If they want to leave, they'll have to take the path we came in on! We'll lie in ambush near the exit and wait for them to walk right into our net!"
"Brilliant, Senior Brother!"
Having settled their plan, the two wasted no more time. Their figures blurred as they sped toward the valley entrance, clearly intending to seize favorable ground for their ambush.
Only after their figures disappeared into the miasma did Han Li slowly emerge from the shadows. Looking in the direction they had gone, he curled his lips into a cold smile.
An ambush? The oriole waiting behind?
Unfortunately, you're the cicadas.
He had originally intended to leave without a sound, unwilling to let extra branches sprout from the matter. But now that these men belonged to Mo Juren and had set their sights on him first, they could hardly blame him for being ruthless!
Perfect. I'll use you to test my Qi Refinement Fourth Layer strength and, while I'm at it... send that old fiend Mo Juren a little "surprise"!
Rather than retrace his route, Han Li chose a steeper, more concealed path. Like an agile ape, he silently climbed the cliff on one side of the valley and looked down over the entire entrance.
Sure enough, the two disciples were hiding in thick bushes on opposite sides of the entrance. They had suppressed their auras and fixed their eyes on the valley's only passage. They thought their concealment was seamless as a heavenly robe, unaware that Han Li could see everything.
Han Li calculated the distances and angles, a plan already taking shape in his mind. Like a leopard in the dark of night, he patiently waited for the perfect moment.
Time crept by. The valley was silent, with only the miasma slowly drifting. The two disciples began to grow restless.
"Senior Brother, why haven't they come out yet? Could they have escaped through some secret passage we don't know about?" the short disciple could not help asking through voice transmission.
"Shut up! Be patient! How could this damned place have another path?" the tall disciple rebuked him quietly, though a trace of uncertainty had entered his voice.
At the very instant their vigilance slackened-
Whoosh!
A shrill whistle suddenly tore through the air!
It came not from inside the valley, but from the cliff above their heads!
An intensely condensed black finger blast shot out like a venomous snake emerging from its hole. Impossibly fast, it streaked straight toward the bushes concealing the short disciple!
"Watch out!" The tall disciple's face drained of color. He hurriedly shouted a warning while deploying a Tortoiseshell Shield in front of himself.
But it was already too late!
The short disciple had never imagined an attack would come from above. By the time he heard it cutting through the air, he had no chance to dodge!
Squelch!
The black finger blast easily pierced his protective spiritual glow and punched precisely through the center of his brow!
Shock froze on the short disciple's face. His eyes instantly dimmed, and he crumpled without so much as a groan, all signs of life gone.
[Ding! Killed one Qi Refinement Fourth Layer cultivator. Plundered eighty percent of his cultivation, a portion of his blood essence, and fragments of the cultivation art "Thick Earth Art." Cultivation increased to the peak of the Qi Refinement Fourth Layer!]
A surge of pure spiritual power instantly flooded Han Li's dantian, making his aura swell sharply! The system's notification was cold and efficient.
"Junior Brother!" The tall disciple's eyes strained as though they might split, shock and fury overwhelming him. He had not seen how the enemy had attacked at all. There had been only a streak of black light, and his companion was dead! Such methods were far too uncanny and vicious!
"You skulking rat! Get out here!" Both startled and terrified, the tall disciple drove the Tortoiseshell Shield with all his strength to protect himself. His spiritual sense frantically swept the surroundings, yet he still could not find any trace of the enemy.
A second finger blast answered him!
This time, its target was the Tortoiseshell Shield he had deployed!
Clang!
A crisp sound rang out as the black finger blast struck the shield's center. The reasonably well-made low-grade defensive artifact was pierced like paper by the fierce dark force within the blast! Its spiritual structure shattered, and the Tortoiseshell Shield's glow dimmed. Weblike cracks spread across its surface before it fell to the ground with a mournful whine.
"What?!" The tall disciple was scared nearly out of his soul. This shield was a lifesaving treasure he had paid dearly for, yet it could not withstand even one strike? Just what cultivation level had his opponent reached?
Fear instantly engulfed him. All will to fight vanished, and he turned, about to activate his movement technique and flee.
But a figure had already appeared soundlessly behind him, like a phantom.
The tall disciple felt a chill at his neck. An irresistible, terrifying force instantly sealed all the spiritual power in his body. With difficulty, he turned his head and saw a young yet utterly cold face, along with eyes as deep as an icy pool, devoid of any human emotion.
"Han... Han Li?!" He recognized the face that had recently caused such a stir throughout the sect. His eyes filled with incredulous despair. How could it be him? Hadn't he joined the sect only half a month ago? How could he possess such terrifying strength?
"Did Mo Juren send you?" Han Li's voice was calm, yet carried a deadly chill.
The tall disciple's lips trembled. He wanted to beg for mercy, but could not make a sound.
Han Li had no interest in listening to his nonsense. His fingers tightened slightly.
Crack!
The crisp sound of breaking bone rang out. The tall disciple's head slumped at a grotesque angle, and the light rapidly faded from his eyes.
[Ding! Killed one Qi Refinement Fourth Layer cultivator. Plundered eighty percent of his cultivation and a portion of his blood essence. Cultivation increased to the Qi Refinement Fifth Layer!]
Another surge of pure spiritual power poured in. Han Li's aura soared once more as he officially entered the Qi Refinement Fifth Layer! Killing two opponents at his own level had made advancing his cultivation as easy as drinking water! The Slaughter System truly was a heaven-defying weapon!
Expressionless, Han Li released his grip and let the corpse collapse. He deftly searched both bodies and found two Storage Bags. Forcing his spiritual sense through their restrictions, he found spirit stones, pills, and miscellaneous items inside, along with, just as expected, a Mission Jade Slip concerning the search for netherfrost grass and Mo Juren's Token.
"Hmph. Old fiend, are you satisfied with this return gift?"
He put away the useful items, then casually flicked out two balls of black flame onto the corpses. The flames burned silently, soon reducing both bodies and all traces to ashes. The mountain wind scattered them, as though they had never existed.
With everything done, Han Li's figure blurred and vanished into the boundless night, as though he had never appeared.
Silence returned to the valley entrance. Only the faint Jade-Phosphor Miasma continued to swirl, concealing the brief yet deadly killing intent that had just filled the air.
Meanwhile, far away in the Seven Mysteries Sect's Medicine Hall, Mo Juren was planning how to refine pills once the netherfrost grass arrived when his heart suddenly lurched for no reason, as though he had lost something important. He frowned and calculated on his fingers, yet the workings of heaven seemed shrouded in chaos.
"Strange..." he murmured, an ominous premonition quietly taking shape.
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