Several miles from the Yellow Maple Valley Market, the short, plump young man who had argued with the stall owner was pacing anxiously. Beside him lay four cultivators, all of whom had already breathed their last.
"Strange. I clearly arranged to meet Liu Qing here. Why hasn't he shown up yet?"
"Could Liu Qing have realized this was a trap and decided not to come?"
A fat man with a brutish face suddenly stepped out. At the sight of him, the short, plump young man hurriedly said with respect, "Senior Xu, I'm ashamed to admit it, but a moment of carelessness back then let Liu Qing steal the Token and escape from the Liu family, destroying our future in one fell swoop. Otherwise, how could our family have fallen to this state?"
The brutish-looking fat man was actually a Foundation Establishment cultivator. He said in a low voice, "Naturally. If you could offer that Token to our Heavenly Star Sect now, you would immediately receive a wealth of cultivation resources in exchange. Leaving everything else aside, giving your Liu family a few more Foundation Establishment cultivators would be no problem at all. Then your family would have a foothold of its own, instead of being looked down on as it is now."
The short, plump young man let out a long sigh. After all this waiting, Liu Qing still hadn't come; clearly, he would not be coming at all. Little did he know that the Liu Qing he was waiting for had already been killed by Lin He.
The short, plump young man glanced at the four cultivators lying on the ground and said, visibly pained, "Liu Qing didn't come, but we did lure in these four unlucky fools, so the trip wasn't entirely wasted. Senior Xu, you killed all four of them, so their spoils should belong to you."
Senior Xu snorted coldly. "Naturally. I couldn't come all this way with you for nothing, could I? Oh, and remember: if Liu Qing contacts you, notify me immediately."
"Of course, of course. It's only thanks to your blessings that our Liu family is still standing, Senior Xu. This junior knows what to do."
Senior Xu nodded, gathered the four men's Storage Bags, and hurled four fireballs to destroy the bodies and erase the traces. Then he took out a flying sword artifact and carried the short, plump young man away toward the Yuanwu Kingdom.
Meanwhile, Lin He piloted the Flying Spirit Boat, following Han Li at an unhurried pace. Han Li was cautious indeed. As soon as he left the Market, he flew out of the Taiyue Mountain Range and traveled for a full three or four days before turning toward Yellow Maple Valley.
By then, night had fallen. Han Li entered a secluded cave to rest, intending to resume his journey to Yellow Maple Valley the next day. Seeing this, Lin He privately speculated,
Han Li must have gained something on this trip, or he wouldn't need to be so cautious. But things like the Heavenly Thunder Seed and Talisman Treasures shouldn't be so easy to come across. Most likely, he only traded for a few top-grade artifacts and some high-grade talismans.
The main players had yet to appear, but Lin He remained quite patient. He used the Qi-Concealing Technique to suppress his aura and keep Han Li from detecting him. After all, both of them were at the eleventh level of Qi Condensation, with no great gap between their cultivation levels.
Before he knew it, the night had entered its latter half. Lin He suddenly heard movement. It was Senior Brother Lu and Senior Sister Chen. Senior Sister Chen had been immobilized by Senior Brother Lu's spell and could not move. She could only watch helplessly as he brought her outside the cave.
"Junior Sister, why look at me like that? I don't actually want to kill you, either. Unfortunately, that girl from the Dong family is terribly spoiled and willful. She insists that I sever all ties with you before she'll have anything to do with me."
Hearing this, Senior Sister Chen stared at Senior Brother Lu with venomous hatred. The depth of that hatred sent a chill through even him, and he said,
"I knew you would be furious, Junior Sister. That's exactly why I have to kill you. You're the precious daughter of the Chen Family. If you used their influence to take revenge on me, I couldn't withstand it. Still, before you die, I'll fulfill the wish you've held all this time. Here, swallow this pill."
Junior Sister Chen had no way to resist as a pill was stuffed into her mouth. Seemingly waiting for its effects to take hold, Senior Brother Lu made no further move against her. Instead, he removed Senior Sister Chen's Storage Bag and rummaged through it for a while. At last, he found the Foundation Establishment Pill and burst into wild laughter.
"Excellent! I knew you would keep this Foundation Establishment Pill until you had fully mastered your basic cultivation method. Leaving it to your senior brother now won't be a waste, either. With these two Foundation Establishment Pills to help me, my chances of reaching Foundation Establishment will be even greater."
After speaking, Senior Brother Lu noticed that Senior Sister Chen's gaze was no longer venomous, but hazy instead. He immediately knew the pill had taken effect. He chuckled lewdly, lust blazing in his eyes, and even began preparing to undo his belt.
Lin He instinctively glanced toward the cave. Han Li, who was hiding inside, had remained silent all along, showing no intention of playing the hero and rescuing the beauty. Only when he heard there were two Foundation Establishment Pills did his aura waver slightly. Clearly, he was tempted.
So that's it. This must have been when Senior Brother Lu detected him.
Sure enough, Senior Brother Lu's show of impatient lust was actually meant to lull his opponent into dropping his guard. He had already stealthily released an Azure Rope, ready to bind his foe. Fortunately, Han Li reacted quickly enough to thwart him. However, this also exposed Han Li, and he entered a fierce battle with Senior Brother Lu.
After exchanging blows for a while, the two settled into a battle of attrition. Senior Brother Lu activated the Azure Flood Dragon Banner, transforming it into an azure flood dragon. Han Li, meanwhile, had actually picked up a shield-shaped top-grade artifact at the Yellow Maple Valley Market. Under its protection, he began activating the Little Sword Talisman Treasure to contend with the azure flood dragon.
Both sides brought their means to bear. Han Li even took out a medium-grade spirit stone to replenish his magical power, then went so far as to swallow spirit herbs raw to restore it. Under this succession of measures, Senior Brother Lu finally succumbed to despair and was slain by the gray sword light.
Han Li was overjoyed. The two Foundation Establishment Pills were almost in his grasp. Yet just as he was about to collect the fruits of victory, five enormous fireballs suddenly flew out, hurtling straight toward him.
Han Li jumped in fright. He had never expected a fourth person to be present. By then, his magical power was almost exhausted, and the Little Sword Talisman Treasure had been used up as well. He hurriedly used Shrouding Smoke Steps to dodge, then fled at a sprint without looking back.
In his depleted condition, he had no choice but to run. As for Senior Sister Chen, he could barely look after himself, much less her.
Han Li's decisiveness surprised Lin He somewhat, and he could not help nodding. Then he paid Han Li no further attention and walked over to Senior Brother Lu instead. He put the two Foundation Establishment Pills, the Azure Flood Dragon Banner, the Azure Rope, and the other artifacts into his Storage Bag. As for the other Storage Bag, he naturally could not take it with him. With a casual blast, he made a pit and buried it deep inside, cremating Senior Brother Lu's corpse along the way.
Once he had finished, Lin He sensed a fragrant breeze rushing toward him from behind. Immediately afterward, a naked body coiled around him like a water snake, leaving him no way to break free. Lin He felt something strange stirring in his body. He merely murmured a sentence before abandoning his resistance and giving himself over to it completely.
"Senior Sister Chen, no!"