Chapter 387

Han Li and Qu Hun hastily flew off Xiao Cai Huan Island, but barely ten li from the island, Han Li suddenly frowned and halted the Divine Wind Boat.

"Stop hiding—come out!" Han Li said calmly, gazing ahead.

"Huh!" A voice of surprise echoed from the empty air.

Then, flashes of colored light appeared, and seven or eight Foundation Establishment cultivators revealed themselves not far ahead.

"Han Li, you and the Qu cultivator murdered the disciples of the Tail Star Island Master over the Chen Dust Pill—this has been exposed! We, the Enforcement Cultivators, have been ordered by Island Master Mu to apprehend you and deliver you to Island Master Zhan Tai for judgment. Surrender now!" One of the late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators declared arrogantly upon appearing.

Han Li and Qu Hun had concealed their cultivation bases to avoid attention, causing these cultivators to misjudge their strength and act so brazenly.

Though they were somewhat startled that Han Li had detected their ambush in advance and ruined their plan,

with their numbers and cultivation levels, subduing a Qi Refining and a Foundation Establishment cultivator was surely a trivial matter!

Thus, they paid it no mind and decided to strike directly.

Han Li calmly sized them up before speaking softly:

"Are you cultivators from Kui Star Island? You accuse me of killing other cultivators—what evidence do you have?"

Upon hearing this, the white-haired elder first froze, then sneered coldly.

"What? Even with Elder Miao of the Six-Link Hall testifying against you, you still dare to deny it? Don't cling to false hope! Island Master Mu has already issued orders: you two are deceptively cunning—upon discovery, immediately sever your cultivation bases!"

At these words, Han Li's expression shifted slightly, his face hardening with coldness.

"Sever our cultivation bases? Doesn't Island Master Mu intend to let us speak in our defense?"

"Heh! You fled and hid for years—evidence is already conclusive. What's left to argue? Everyone, move! Capture these two and claim the reward!" The white-haired elder glared and snapped at the others.

Instantly, the cultivators acted without a word, launching a barrage of magic treasures—colorful auras surged fiercely toward Han Li.

Han Li's eyelid twitched.

This was no mere attempt to subdue and sever cultivation—look at the murderous glint in their eyes; they clearly intended to kill outright.

Though he didn't know what hidden motives lay behind this, Han Li's heart turned deadly.

"Qu Hun, kill them—leave no one alive!" Han Li's voice was low but icy.

Qu Hun, who had been standing behind him, stepped forward silently. A terrifying crimson light erupted from his body, instantly transforming him into a blinding radiant orb.

After a low howl, a flash of yellow light appeared beneath Qu Hun's feet as he charged straight into the swarm of magic treasures.

After flickering several times, he vanished within the colored light of the treasures—then crimson surged violently, engulfing all the magic treasures in a blood-red aura twenty to thirty zhang wide, rendering them sluggish.

Qu Hun's form reappeared at the center of the blood aura. His expressionless hands formed a seal, and he uttered a single word: "Bind."

Instantly, the magic treasures, as if pushed by unseen force, obediently shot toward Qu Hun's side. With a flick of his sleeve, they vanished into thin air—as if absorbed.

Only then did Qu Hun turn his face, blankly, toward the Enforcement Cultivators, who were already stunned into silence by what they had witnessed.

"Golden Core! He's a Golden Core cultivator!"

Someone finally realized Qu Hun's true cultivation level—his face turned ashen.

The other cultivators panicked equally; two quick-witted ones immediately spun around and fled at full speed.

The white-haired elder's arrogance vanished entirely, replaced by utter disbelief.

Since Qu Hun had accepted Han Li's order, he would not let any of them escape.

His eyes suddenly turned blood-red. Without emotion, he glanced at the fleeing two, then raised both hands. Two crimson blood columns erupted from his palms, moving with impossible speed—vanishing in an instant, appearing behind the two cultivators who had fled dozens of zhang away.

One wore a shimmering earth-yellow armor; the other was wrapped in a blue light-chain clearly no ordinary artifact. But both barely slowed the blood columns before they—and their treasures—were obliterated into ash.

Seeing this, the other Enforcement Cultivators who had intended to flee turned pale.

The white-haired elder screamed in terror:

"Senior! It's a misunderstanding! All a misunderstanding…"

Qu Hun paid no heed to his excuses. He shook his shoulders, and the crimson aura detached from his body, soaring skyward to form a vast blood cloud above the cultivators.

Then, with a flick of his hand, he launched a purple spell. "Puff!" The blood cloud ignited like oil, instantly transforming into a sky-covering torrent of purple flames that rained down upon the cultivators below.

Below, the white-haired elder and the others wore expressions of utter despair. They desperately summoned defensive treasures and begged for mercy.

But beneath Qu Hun's icy gaze, they held out only moments before being reduced to ash, treasures and all.

Qu Hun then flashed forward, snatching up several storage bags that had fallen from the corpses.

Han Li had already retrieved the storage bags of the two cultivators killed first, collecting them from afar before flying back to Qu Hun's side.

"Let's go. If a Golden Core cultivator arrives, it'll be troublesome," Han Li murmured, scanning the surroundings.

It was as if speaking to Qu Hun—or to himself.

Qu Hun silently flashed back onto the Divine Wind Boat. Han Li immediately activated the artifact, turning it into a streak of white light as they vanished into the distance.

A quarter-hour later, two long streaks—one blue, one red—raced from the direction of Kui Star Island, arriving instantly at the site where Qu Hun had slain the Enforcement Cultivators.

The blinding light faded, revealing an elderly man with a cunning expression and a middle-aged man radiating gray mist.

"This must be the place! The spiritual energy fluctuations haven't dissipated yet—the killer must have just left!" the middle-aged man said grimly.

One of the Enforcement Cultivators on duty at Xiao Cai Huan Island had been this man's disciple.

Upon the disciple's recent death, a secret soul tablet beside him had shown signs of disturbance. The man immediately knew his disciple was dead and flew here with a friend visiting his cave—only to arrive too late.

"Yuan Island Master, I've used the Floating Cloud Tracking Technique. The attacker fled in this direction. If we pursue now, we still have a thirty percent chance of intercepting them." The old man pointed toward Han Li's escape route and spoke slowly.

"Good! The two of us will pursue—we must intercept the killer!" The middle-aged man's gray mist surged, his face twisting with fury.

"But judging from the spiritual energy clash here, the attacker is surely a Golden Core cultivator. Though only one struck, who knows if others accompanied him? Yuan Dao You, are you truly willing to risk conflict with a peer over a mere disciple?" The old man suddenly changed tone, earnestly advising the middle-aged man.

At these words, the middle-aged man first froze, then scowled.

"Are you saying my disciple died for nothing? If this spreads, won't I be branded a coward?"

"Heh. Aside from me, who else is here? The killer is a Golden Core cultivator who dared kill near Kui Star Island—he's certainly not from the Southwest Seas. He won't spread this tale. As for me, I'm no gossip. If we return pretending we arrived too late, this matter will vanish. Otherwise, risking conflict with an unknown peer over a common disciple is neither wise nor worth the danger!" The old man chuckled slyly, dismissive.

Hearing this, Yuan Island Master's anger slowly faded, replaced by thoughtful silence.

After a moment's pause, his expression calmed. He bowed to the old man.

"Thank you, Dao You Qi. I'm deeply grateful. Let's return. We'll just show more kindness to the disciple's family henceforth."

"That's the spirit! We who seek the Immortal Dao and eternal life are precious beings! Why risk ourselves lightly? Even when risking, there must be sufficient gain!" The old man clapped his hands, smirking slyly.

"Still, these Enforcement Cultivators were monitoring the cave on that island—why would a passing Golden Core cultivator slaughter them so brutally? Could it be connected to the two cultivators wanted by all three islands and the Six-Link Hall?" The middle-aged man mused, puzzled.

"Forget it. Even if it is, what's it to us? Island Master Mu has close ties with the Six-Link Hall—that's why he's so eager to hunt them down. We're merely deputy island masters—why should we waste our energy?" The old man snorted, dripping with resentment.

Hearing this, the middle-aged man smiled faintly.

After a brief idle chat in midair, the two turned and retraced their path.

WM