Chapter 879: Each with Their Own Thoughts

The Nascent Soul cultivator from the mid-stage, whose body was destroyed that day, had some residual soul fragments cling to his fractured Nascent Soul and barely escaped, but the mature metal-eating insect bound to his spiritual core—left unguided without its master—was easily captured by Han Li, who understood the insect's habits, using his Second Nascent Soul and sealed inside a jade box.

He had originally intended to study the differences between the mature metal-eating insect and his own when he had spare time, but now that his cultivation base had plummeted, he must deal with this insect immediately; otherwise, if its abilities far exceeded his expectations and it broke free later, the consequences would be catastrophic.

With his current cultivation level, it was no longer possible for him to capture this insect again.

Thinking of this, Han Li took a deep breath, suddenly flipped his palm, and several colorful array flags appeared in his hand.

With a flick of his fingers, the flags shot out in all directions, and a barrier shield with a diameter of about a zhang materialized inside the carriage.

Han Li placed the jade box flat on his knees and slowly closed his eyes.

A black-green Nascent Soul appeared above his crown, its hands rubbing together, and the jet-black Yin Luo Flag materialized in its grasp.

This demonic banner, originally entrusted to the Second Nascent Soul for cultivation and control, had now become his only magic treasure unaffected by the Five Ghosts Locking Spirit ** restriction.

The metal-eating insect was impervious to fire and water, immune to blades and spears; his only way to destroy it was to extract its spiritual core using the pure demonic qi within the Yin Luo Banner, then imprison and refine it within the banner to become an Yin Demon Head under his command.

The specific refinement method had long ago been obtained from the spiritual sense of the Yin Luo Sect elder.

This process, of course, could not be completed in a short time.

In fact, had the mature metal-eating insect's master not suffered massive spiritual damage that left the insect on the brink of death, he would never have dared to attempt this.

His wariness toward the mature metal-eating insect was far from slight.

Yet precisely because of this, he had first set up the barrier, fearing any mishap.

At that moment, the black-green Nascent Soul tossed the small banner upward, transforming it into a foot-sized demonic cloud that hovered motionless; the Nascent Soul leapt into the cloud and vanished. Immediately, the demonic cloud sank downward, enveloping the jade box on his knees.

From within the box, a high-pitched "zhi-zhi" insect chirping emerged—soft, yet furious.

The demonic cloud, enveloping the jade box, began to churn violently; the insect's cries inside grew piercing and shrill.

But Han Li remained unmoved, his hands forming incantation seals, his body utterly still.

Within the barrier, he had no fear the insect's cries would alert the outside Canglu tribe's mortals—he only needed to focus entirely on extracting its spiritual core.

Thus began a difficult refinement.

The Canglu tribe members outside the carriage were deeply intrigued by this "Cold Immortal Master," but since entering the vehicle, he had not emerged again; naturally, they could not see him.

Chief Yinglu strictly forbade his followers from disturbing the Immortal Master's cultivation, leaving the others deeply frustrated.

In the following dozen days, whether due to the Cold Immortal Master's blessings or not, the caravan not only found a herd of wild sheep in the canyon they passed through and secured sufficient game, but also remained completely unharmed for the next half month.

This greatly eased Yinglu's anxieties.

He calculated the journey: in a few more days, they would reach an extremely safe resting place—a temporary encampment hastily erected by the Tianlan Holy Temple through magical means, specifically for distant tribes gathering to rest.

As soon as the Spirit Awakening Day ended, this encampment would be immediately dismantled.

As Yinglu was silently pondering this, a sound suddenly seemed to come from above; he instinctively looked up and saw a blinding white streak slicing through the sky, faintly containing a human silhouette—but it vanished in an instant.

The other young members of the Canglu tribe stirred in excitement upon seeing this.

But the elder frowned slightly, murmuring inwardly.

Based on his past Holy War experience, these streaks were clearly the flight trails of high-stage Immortal Masters flying at low altitudes; such phenomena were rarely seen, as ordinary high-stage Immortal Masters typically flew far above, making them nearly impossible for mortals on the ground to detect.

Yet if he remembered correctly, since a few days ago, this was already the fourth low-altitude flight trail he had seen; had something major happened? Had someone stolen a tribe's tribute?

Though puzzled, the elder felt more at ease about the remainder of the journey.

With these high-stage Immortal Masters patrolling overhead, the caravan should remain safe for now.

Thinking thus, Yinglu turned and loudly urged the rest of the caravan to increase their pace.

The elder naturally did not know that the white streak overhead had been flying back and forth across a hundred-li radius at low altitude for a long time without pause, yet ultimately found nothing and headed south; soon after, another red flight trail shot in from a different direction.

The two flight trails met.

The light faded, revealing two figures: a man and a woman.

The man was in his forties, dressed in light yellow leather armor, his face ordinary and unremarkable; the woman was around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, clad in emerald palace robes, possessing a certain degree of beauty.

"So it's Immortal Master Xiu! I've found nothing on my end. What about you? Any trace of that person?" The middle-aged man bowed first with a smile.

"Brother Li, do I look like I've found anything?" The woman in palace robes replied coldly, her expression unamused.

"Bah! These past few days, I've scoured every inch of a two-thousand-li radius on that side and found not a single trace. Either the man isn't here, or his concealment technique is extraordinarily refined—I can't detect his whereabouts with my current cultivation. Should we join forces and search again thoroughly? We could also question the several tribute caravans we encountered along the way."

"It seems Immortal Master Li is truly tempted by the reward—the Poisonous Dragon Pill. But don't let your desire for this medicine cost you your life," the woman sneered, her tone heavy with implication.

"What do you mean? Are you not tempted?" The middle-aged man blinked, startled.

"When you received your mission, what did the Nascent Soul high-stage Immortal Masters tell you?" The woman did not answer directly, but asked calmly.

"The senior masters told me an outsider Nascent Soul cultivator had infiltrated our Tianlan Grasslands and severely wounded a high-stage Immortal Master, so we were ordered to capture him alive. He had already been gravely injured by other high-stage masters; us, as Core Formation cultivators, should have no trouble subduing a wounded one." The middle-aged man hesitated, then spoke honestly.

"Hmph! Brother Li, you clearly arrived late and know little. Had I been told, I would never have been so eager to hunt this outsider cultivator." The woman's lips curled in cold mockery.

"If you say so, you must have your reasons. Could you explain them to me?" The middle-aged man's expression turned serious.

The woman in palace robes fell silent for a moment, then sighed.

"Brother Li and I have known each other for many years. I should tell you the truth, lest you walk blindly into death. I arrived earlier and heard some definite news from an elder: this outsider is indeed a Nascent Soul cultivator, and he was indeed gravely wounded—but the one who struck him was not a high-stage Immortal Master, but Master Hu himself, who personally injured him."

"What? Master Hu struck him?" The middle-aged man was stunned.

"Correct. I also heard that this outsider was surrounded by several high-stage Immortal Masters when Master Hu ambushed him. Before that, this man had already slain three high-stage Immortal Masters in succession. He is said to be ruthlessly powerful—every strike results in death or grievous injury. Even after being gravely wounded, he still used a secret technique and escaped right before Master Hu's eyes. In my view, this outsider is almost certainly a cultivator of Master Hu's own level. Even if severely injured, he could still effortlessly annihilate two Core Formation cultivators like us. For two bottles of Poisonous Dragon Pills, I won't risk my life!"

"Moreover, I suspect the high-stage Immortal Masters assigned us to find him precisely because they intend to use us as expendables. Didn't they each cast a Soul-Guiding Spell on us before we departed? Hmph! They claim it's to locate us if we're in danger—but I think they're using us to flush the man out. Once we perish, they'll use our deaths as a trail to track him."

"Good heavens! They're using us as cannon fodder? What should we do?" The middle-aged man gasped, shocked and furious.

"It's simple. We've already searched once—that's enough. No need for further detail. This way, we can report completion without taking undue risk. Just wait to see if anyone else finds the outsider. If another group discovers him, all the better. If no one finds him, it doesn't matter. When Spirit Awakening Day arrives, all Immortal Masters must visit the Holy Temple. We'll be recalled then."

"I'll follow Immortal Master Xiu's advice. Though the Poisonous Dragon Pills are tempting, I value my life more." The middle-aged man weighed the pros and cons, then declared without hesitation.

"Good. Then let's head to the Holy Temple encampment nearby to rest. These past few days, many tribal tribute caravans will gather there. Perhaps we can even find what we need. Then, every few days, we'll make a show of searching the area." The woman smiled lightly.

The man had no objections.

Soon after, the two transformed again into red and white streaks, flying straight south.

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