Chapter 1626

Seeing Han Li staring at her intently, the woman was first startled, then a hint of something appeared on her face, but when his divine sense swept over her, she was startled again.

She could detect no spiritual aura fluctuation from Han Li at all, which made her uneasy, and she immediately turned her body away.

At this moment, Han Li also finally recovered from his lapse, his expression returning to normal, and as he looked at her, he began to ponder.

This blue-robed woman so resembled the figure he had long kept hidden deep in his heart, which he had tried hard not to touch, that he was shocked and could not help but hesitate.

The appearance, voice, and smile of Chen Qiaoqian, the woman who had once expressed affection to him, gradually surfaced in his heart and expanded countless times, filling his entire mind for a moment.

This blue-robed woman, in both figure and appearance, was astonishingly similar to the Chen Qiaoqian who had long since perished in the human realm, except for her overly cold demeanor; otherwise, she was nearly identical, as if this woman had been reborn.

When Han Li had heard news of her demise back then, his expression seemed calm, but his heart was naturally filled with sorrow and a vague, indescribable emotion.

Perhaps no affection remained, but any normal man who once had a woman who liked him would naturally retain an unforgettable, complex emotion.

However, Chen Qiaoqian could not possibly have come back to life, nor could she have been reborn in the human realm. Even if that blue-robed woman resembled her closely, she was merely a woman of another race.

Han Li's thoughts raced, and he forcibly suppressed his turbulent emotions. After a brief hesitation, he continued according to his original plan, walking toward the same stone wall.

Though the blue-robed woman did not turn around, she seemed to possess some divine ability to sense what was behind her; her brows furrowed, and she moved, leaving her original spot.

Han Li, however, was not polite, striding forward a few steps and directly standing where the woman had originally stood.

Even without turning, Han Li could feel the blue-robed woman glaring at him from behind, then quickly walking toward another stone wall a short distance away.

It seemed this woman likely regarded him as a lecher who lusted after her beauty.

Han Li smiled inwardly, then collected his thoughts and focused his attention on the stone wall before him.

The silver-colored characters on the stone wall were exactly as he had expected—various names of heavenly materials and earthly treasures—but strangely, none had purchase prices marked; instead, each had a number from one to thirteen following it.

Seeing this, Han Li's heart stirred, and he immediately thought of something, then glanced toward the distance.

He saw that the jade houses surrounding the vermilion pavilions in the distance were exactly thirteen in number, and each house's roof bore a floating, gleaming golden number.

Upon seeing this, Han Li almost instantly understood the purpose of the numbers written after those materials on the stone wall, without needing to guess.

He was not in a hurry, silently examining the entire stone wall with care, then turned and walked toward the next stone wall without looking back.

With Han Li's hurried glance, he had nearly scanned most of the stone wall in the blink of an eye.

Yet his face showed no expression, as if he had not found a suitable target, and he continued his silent search.

But just then, a tremendous boom echoed from the central vermilion pavilion, followed by a furious roar erupting from within.

"What, you old monster Song, saying this thing is fake? Impossible—I went to great lengths to obtain this, even nearly perishing at the hands of a group of golden-winged giants for him."

"What's the fuss? Fake won't do, and genuine I couldn't possibly refuse. Since the item has been appraised, Fellow Daoist Qiu may leave." Another sharp voice likewise came from the pavilion, speaking bluntly.

"I've lain in my cave dwelling for seven or eight years after returning for this damned thing, and in the end it's still fake. Don't let me encounter the wretch who gave me the news again, or I'll surely drag him out and tear off his head without a word." The first speaker, with a loud voice, and in his fury, his tone unknowingly mixed with spiritual power, transmitting clearly to the outside, so that nearly everyone could hear it clearly.

But most of the people here were not natives of Yun City, and in their surprise, they naturally stared at one another.

Suddenly, the surface of the vermilion pavilion flashed red, and a towering figure three zhang tall shot straight out from the red light, swaying slightly before landing on the nearby ground.

With a boom, the ground trembled. This giant figure appeared extraordinarily heavy.

Over half the people in the square could not help but look over.

As a result, everyone drew in a breath of cold air.

From the head down, this person's body was half flesh, half metal.

The metallic half was dark gray and shiny, emitting a strange gray light, while the other half of the body had an ancient bronze complexion, as if the flesh were equally indestructible.

Looking upward, what met the eye was a ferocious face with green whiskers, not only were the nose and eyes twice the size of an ordinary person's, but the skull was actually conical, with a few sparse strands of green hair.

After Han Li's divine sense swept over this strange person, his expression changed involuntarily. He could not discern the depth of this person's cultivation at all, and it was actually on par with Qian Jizi's peak of the Unity stage.

However, Han Li did not recognize this strange person, but that does not mean the other non-human beings present did not know him.

Almost the moment this strange person landed, over a dozen people rushed out from the nearby crowd, all offering extraordinarily respectful grand salutations.

"Greetings, Elder Duan!"

"Greetings, Third Elder!"

A series of greetings issued from these people's mouths.

These figures were much taller than ordinary people, and they were all of the Stone Cocoon clan, the same as Tie Jian. And this strange person was indeed a senior elder of the Stone Cocoon clan!

"Oh, you've also come to participate in this auction? I hope you gain something. I brought back a fake item and have no mood to continue participating in this meeting." The strange person swept his gaze over those greeting him, casually waved his hand, and then, without further greeting anyone, strode out in large steps.

Wherever he passed, the crowd nearby naturally made way out of reverence.

It was also a coincidence that the large man's direction happened to pass by Han Li's side. Seeing this, Han Li likewise quietly stepped back a little, intending to let this astonishingly powerful strange person pass.

But the next moment, a scene that made Han Li's heart jump suddenly appeared.

As the strange person passed by Han Li's side, his footsteps paused, his large nose twitched once, then his face twisted with an expression of utter disbelief as he stared fixedly at Han Li.

This strange sight naturally startled the nearby others, many gazes falling on Han Li, wondering what was amiss.

"Senior, do you have any instructions for this junior?" Han Li, sensing something amiss while equally bewildered, bowed and asked with a forced smile.

"What is your name, and which race are you from?" Han Li, not understanding the other's intent, dared not give his true name, only able to reply vaguely.

"Good, very good! I am Duan Tianren of the Stone Cocoon clan. If you encounter any great trouble in Tian Yun in the future, you may simply report my name." Not knowing whether the strange person truly heard Han Li's words, his form suddenly blurred, but immediately returned to normal.

Meanwhile, Han Li's expression changed dramatically.

He could clearly feel that, in the instant the strange person's form shifted abnormally, the other raised a hand and lightly patted his shoulder. Even with his spiritual eyes and divine abilities, he could detect no trace of the other's movement, but the action was so swift that his body had no time to make any evasive motion.

Also, a strange spiritual energy passed from the other's palm, flowing along his entire arm before dissipating on its own.

"What does this mean, senior?" Han Li's face turned somewhat dark.

The earlier scene of the large man patting Han Li's shoulder was noticeable to only about ten or so of the non-human beings present; in most people's eyes, Han Li's question naturally seemed directed at the strange person's earlier words, but his expression and tone appeared somewhat odd.

Facing Han Li's changed expression, the strange person's gaze swept across Han Li's face like a blade, then hehe laughed without anger:

"Nothing much, I just noticed Fellow Daoist seems to have cultivated some body-refining technique, and quite marvelously. I merely wanted to find an opportunity to exchange a few insights with Fellow Daoist Li."

After being swept by the strange person's gaze, Han Li felt his face inexplicably ache, and he could not help but be startled.

Even if he used the black gauze combined with his newly comprehended illusion technique to conceal his true appearance, the difference in cultivation was too great; whether he had truly deceived the other, he had no confidence in his heart.

However, Han Li naturally would not believe the other's words about mere exchange, and moreover, the other's earlier pat on his shoulder—what was its true intent?

Han Li's face was gloomy, and his thoughts raced, but for a moment he could not figure out why the other party had suddenly come after him.

He had definitely never seen this strange person before.

"Little brat, don't 'mess' think about it, I'll be waiting for you at the 'Pure Fragrance Pavilion' opposite in a moment. Don't even think about sneaking off. Although I didn't move a muscle just now, that bit of time left lingering in your body is enough for me to lock onto you tightly for several hours."

After that, the big man gave no further explanation, just laughed heartily twice and turned to leave. In a moment, he had left the square and walked into the entrance.

Only Han Li, whose expression was uncertain, remained on the spot, along with several others whose expressions were similarly somewhat strange.

At this moment, Han Li's mind was unsettled, and he could not calm down at all.

When he lifted his eyes and met the many strange gazes around him, he couldn't help but mutter two complaints in his heart, then immediately turned around and actually walked toward the entrance as well.

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