Chapter 296: The Fractured Omen

Han Li saw the girl's face filled with disappointment and suddenly smiled, then spoke softly:

"Though I cannot take you as my disciple, don't lose heart! I can introduce you to another senior brother of mine, also at Foundation Establishment. But whether you succeed in becoming his disciple depends entirely on whether he finds you satisfactory."

"Really?" The girl's earlier disappointment vanished instantly, replaced by renewed energy.

Without hesitation, Han Li pulled out a transmission talisman from his person, whispered a few words to it, then handed both the talisman and a jade tablet to the girl.

"Take this talisman and jade tablet to the Hundred Herbs Garden in Huang Feng Valley and seek out an elder surnamed Ma. Whether you can become his disciple depends on your own fortune," Han Li said with a detached expression.

The girl had not expected that although Han Li refused to take her as his disciple, he still offered another opportunity—hope flared anew, and she bowed deeply to thank him. The old man likewise brightened considerably.

"Since introducing you to a master is uncertain, I'll give you both a pair of high-grade magic treasures as compensation for your ancestral scripture."

As he spoke, Han Li pulled from his storage bag a piece of emerald brocade and a blue miniature sword, then casually handed them to the old man.

The old man's face lit up with astonishment.

He had assumed that being introduced to a master was already a great favor, but he never expected Han Li would grant them additional gifts—he was deeply grateful.

The old man hurriedly thanked him repeatedly before respectfully accepting the treasures, his expression radiating unmistakable delight.

In all his years of cultivation, he had owned only one high-grade magic treasure—now he received two at once; how could he possibly be dissatisfied?

Han Li did not linger further. He casually retracted the two clusters of spiritual energy hidden within their bodies, then vanished before their reverent gazes.

Only when Han Li had truly disappeared into the distance did the old man happily hand the brocade to the girl, keeping the miniature sword for himself. He planned to set out soon to find Elder Ma in Huang Feng Valley and see if his granddaughter had the fortune to join one of the Seven Sects.

Yet the Xiao elder found it odd: why had Han Li become entangled with the Qin family? Those people were genuine mortals!

…

Leaving the Xiao elder's idle musings aside, Han Li finally returned to the Qin residence, elated.

Since he had landed directly at his quarters using his magic treasure, no one noticed his return—he appeared silently in his bedroom, unseen and unheard.

He found the newly acquired unnamed Qi-concealing incantation extremely practical and spent the night studying the ancient text.

The incantation consisted merely of minor techniques for manipulating spiritual power; under the support of his profound magic power, mastering it posed no difficulty.

In just one night, he grasped most of it.

The next morning, as Han Li began his seated Qi-refining practice and felt his recent luck had been favorable, a muffled "thud" suddenly echoed from his storage bag—as if something had shattered.

Han Li's expression darkened instantly. After a moment, he reached into his storage bag and pulled out a purple bead—identical to the magic treasure he had given the white-haired Daoist, yet its smooth, glossy surface was now cracked with several uneven fissures.

Han Li fell silent for a moment, then wordlessly stepped out of his room. After glancing around the courtyard and confirming no one was present, he released his Divine Wind Boat, which floated before him. He leapt onto it and vanished from the Qin estate without a sound.

A quarter-hour later, Han Li appeared above a small village outside Yuejing City. His expression unchanged, he scanned the area, as if searching for something.

Finally, several li from the village, atop a remote hillock, Han Li landed his magic treasure and fixed his gaze on a massive willow tree.

After a long pause, Han Li formed a hand seal and softly uttered: "Recall."

Instantly, a green light cluster emerged from the tree's deeply buried roots, enclosing a round bead—vivid purple, its surface similarly marred with multiple cracks. The shape and size of these fissures matched exactly those on the bead in Han Li's hand.

Han Li sighed, gestured with his hand, and the cracked bead flew into his palm, still wrapped in the light cluster.

The moment the bead touched his palm, the surrounding light cluster dissolved into his body, leaving only the bare, cracked bead in his grasp as he turned it idly.

After a moment of thought, Han Li flicked his finger—a fist-sized fireball shot forth, blasting a deep crater into the tree's roots. The entire willow instantly turned to ash.

Han Li stepped forward and examined the site closely—but found nothing.

"Looks like he was likely eliminated," Han Li muttered, shaking his head.

The "purple light bead" he had chosen to give the old Daoist was, in full, called the "Purple Light Sensing Bead."

When forged, this magic treasure always came in pairs. Not only could each emit a protective barrier, but if one bead was destroyed due to the barrier being breached, the other—so long as it was within a thousand li—would simultaneously crack and shatter, an astonishing phenomenon.

Such magic treasures were most commonly used by disciples of the Joyful Sect among the Six Dark Sects. Han Li had seized several pairs during border skirmishes, found them peculiar, and kept them instead of selling.

When he gave the old Daoist this treasure, he had secretly intended it as an early warning: should the old man meet misfortune, he would know immediately.

But he never imagined the old man would activate it within a single night—and the condition of the bead suggested dire consequences.

This outcome was utterly unexpected, leaving Han Li caught off guard.

Han Li stood motionless beside the crater, as if deep in thought.

After a few minutes, his expression shifted slightly. Without a word, he released his Divine Wind Boat, leapt onto it, and shot away as a streak of white light.

The desolate hillock fell silent once more—save for the occasional chirping of birds, it returned to lifeless stillness.

"Huff."

Half an hour later, a deep sigh echoed nearby.

From beneath a small tree several zhang from the crater, a figure slowly emerged—completely shrouded in black cloth, revealing only a pair of eyes gleaming with sharp, dark light, encased in a yellow aura.

But the moment the figure fully emerged, the yellow aura faded and vanished entirely.

After cautiously scanning the surroundings and sky, the figure spoke in a low voice:

"Come out—he's truly gone."

At once, the ground around them rose and sank, revealing three more figures, similarly clad in black, masked, and encased in identical yellow auras. One, slender in build, appeared to be a woman.

"Big brother, what do we do? They ordered us to capture or kill whoever came. But we let him walk away—won't we be punished?" The newly emerged tall figure asked anxiously. His voice suggested youth.

The first to emerge trembled slightly—those words struck right at his fear. The cruelty of those who gave them orders was something they all knew too well.

"It should be fine! They never said the incoming person was a Foundation Establishment cultivator. That's far beyond our capability—if we'd acted, we'd only have died." He spoke uncertainly.

"Hmph! Big brother's right. Why should we be able to hold back a Foundation Establishment cultivator? I don't believe those people are so unreasonable!" The lone woman spoke with indignation.

Hearing this, the other three exchanged glances and grimaced bitterly. Their little sister remained naively innocent—even now, her life hung by a thread; how could they expect mercy or reason from their target?

"Still, little sister isn't entirely wrong. They probably didn't expect such a big fish to show up—otherwise, they wouldn't have entrusted this task to us alone. At the very least, they should've sent a Foundation Establishment cultivator to assist." The last man, tall and thin, added.

"Yes! If we explain the situation clearly, we won't be punished too harshly!" The tall figure perked up, quickly agreeing.

But the words rang more like self-consolation than conviction.

"Still… something's odd. I feel like I've seen this young Foundation Establishment cultivator before—he looks familiar." His eyes flickered with doubt as he murmured.

This startled the other three.

Especially the woman—her eyes sparkled with curiosity, and she opened her mouth to ask for details.

But the one called "big brother" suddenly raised his hand to cut her off:

"Enough. Let's leave this place immediately. We can discuss this later."

The woman, seeing this, swallowed her words and nodded in agreement.

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