The Imperial Palace

Chapter 314: The Imperial Palace

With his mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation, Han Li could activate the Talisman Treasure many times faster than he could during his Qi Condensation days.

Moments later, the cyan talisman in his hand let out a crisp hum and transformed into a small cyan jade ruler, a few inches in size. It was delicate and exquisite, flowing with fluorescent light.

At the same time, the Meng Mountain Friends reached the limit of their strength. Under the demonic giant’s ferocious swipe, their White Phosphorus Shield was sent flying backward as if struck by a heavy hammer. The four of them immediately slumped down, their faces turning deathly pale.

“Senior, quickly!”

The dark-faced old man had already spotted the strange phenomenon of Han Li’s Talisman Treasure and could not help but urge him on.

Han Li had no time to acknowledge the old man. The moment he saw the demonic giant repelled by the pillar of light, he instantly began furiously pouring his spiritual power into the jade ruler.

In an instant, the small ruler floating in his hand emitted a blinding cyan light. It split from one to two, from two to four, from four to eight… and in the blink of an eye, it had transformed into hundreds of identical small rulers. Each ruler gave off a buzzing hum, hovering around Han Li and trembling incessantly.

This astonishing sight left the Meng Mountain Friends staring in stunned silence, thinking they had fallen under an illusion and almost unable to believe their eyes.

Han Li did not hesitate for a moment. With a solemn expression, he pointed at the demonic giant. Immediately, the dense mass of small rulers rushed forward like a bursting flood, surging mightily toward their target.

Although the bald giant seemed somewhat mentally confused after his demonic transformation, he appeared to realize the danger posed by Han Li’s Talisman Treasure attack. A look of fear appeared on his face. Suddenly, a red light flared, and he shot backward like a meteor, his speed no less than that of the Divine Wind Boat.

Seeing this, Han Li was taken aback. In that brief moment of hesitation, his opponent had already fled more than a hundred zhang away, leaving only a distant fleeing figure in sight.

He let out a soft sigh. He did not give chase. Instead, he pointed with his hand and recalled the jade ruler Talisman Treasure. It re-condensed into a cyan talisman, which drifted down into his palm.

It was not that he did not want to eliminate the future threat and finish the job completely. It was simply that the remaining power of this jade ruler Talisman Treasure was truly too low. If he were to chase and engage in a prolonged struggle with the opponent, Han Li was unsure if he could sustain it for that long. Since he had already secured a live prisoner, it was better to play it safe.

Seeing the formidable enemy driven off by Han Li, the Meng Mountain Friends breathed a sigh of relief and helped each other stand up.

Han Li could see that their expressions were quite poor. After a moment’s thought, he took a small medicine bottle from his storage pouch and tossed it to them.

“Take one pill each. It will be very beneficial for your injuries,” Han Li said with a faint smile.

Regardless, these people had helped in today’s battle. He had to show some appreciation, so that they would know he was not a stingy person.

As expected, a look of gratitude appeared on the faces of the Meng Mountain Friends. The dark-faced old man respectfully took the small bottle and gently poured out four pills, each the size of a dragon’s eye. They were fiery red in color, with a pungent medicinal fragrance that instantly lifted one’s spirit with just a single sniff.

The old man was an experienced individual. He immediately realized with delight that this medicine was extremely precious. After repeatedly thanking Han Li, he and the others consumed the pills.

No sooner had the pill entered their stomachs than it turned into a warm current that dispersed throughout their bodies, immediately making them feel that their injuries had greatly lightened. Their hearts were filled with even greater joy.

“Let’s go. This is no place to linger. If the Black Fiend Sect’s reinforcements arrive, it will be troublesome.” Han Li glanced at the captured Junior Prince and Steward Wang and said in a deep voice.

The Meng Mountain Friends naturally had no objections. So, after tossing the two captives into the Divine Wind Boat, Han Li led the others and sped away on the boat.

The sky above the ruined temple once again returned to calm. No one could tell that a fierce battle between cultivators had taken place there.

…

Han Li and his party returned to the Qin Estate without incident, descending directly from the air to their lodgings.

Fearing that a long delay might lead to unforeseen complications, Han Li took only a brief rest before beginning the interrogation of Junior Prince and the others that very night.

Han Li only intended to interrogate the Junior Prince himself. He handed Steward Wang over to the Meng Mountain Friends, trusting that the dark-faced old man’s seasoned experience would yield satisfactory answers.

Getting a cultivator to tell the truth might be a troublesome matter for others, but for Han Li, who had a rough understanding of hypnosis spells and was well-versed in the art of medicine, it was no problem at all. Especially when the opponent’s cultivation level was vastly inferior to his own.

Although the Junior Prince initially put on a show of absolute defiance, Han Li simply asked his question once. Seeing the other party refuse to cooperate, he unceremoniously forced an entire bottle of medicinal liquid down his throat. The result was that the man became dazed and disoriented, his consciousness sinking into a state of illusion.

Afterwards, Han Li used a common hypnosis spell, “Illusionary Color Gaze,” and smoothly seized control of his mind. From then on, whatever Han Li asked, the man obediently answered like a puppet, telling him everything.

Listening to the Junior Prince’s account, Han Li’s expression shifted continuously—from initial cold solemnity, to mid-way surprise and shock, and finally, to a face full of bewilderment and depression.

After confirming that he had extracted every secret hidden in the Junior Prince’s heart, Han Li pondered for a moment, then took a prepared black pill from his bosom. With an utterly expressionless face, he forced it into the man’s mouth. Without giving him another glance, he walked out of the room and headed toward the Qingyin Courtyard where the Meng Mountain Friends were staying.

This “Soul-Severing Pill” would let him die silently and without a sound.

Although poisoning a helpless man made him feel a bit uncomfortable, considering that the Junior Prince had used over a dozen cultivators as blood sacrifices to cultivate his demonic arts, his death was hardly undeserved.

When he arrived at the Qingyin Courtyard, the Meng Mountain Friends were just gathering with grim expressions, discussing the information they had extracted. Seeing Han Li arrive, they all rose to welcome him and ushered him to the seat of honor.

Han Li did not stand on ceremony. After sitting down, he directly asked:

“Well, what did this Steward Wang have to say?”

The Meng Mountain Friends exchanged glances. Ultimately, it was the dark-faced old man, as the leader, who stood up and replied:

“Senior may already have guessed. If the information from our side’s captive is not a lie, then matters may be somewhat complicated.”

Having said this, the old man stole a glance at Han Li, but Han Li’s expression remained unchanged, without any indication.

The old man had no choice but to weigh his words and continue reluctantly:

“From this Steward Wang, I have learned a great deal of information related to the Black Fiend Sect. But most of it is trivial. There is only one matter that is both crucial and extremely troublesome. The Black Fiend Sect’s Sect Leader is actually hiding within the Imperial Palace itself. Moreover, the current mortal Emperor of the Yue Kingdom has long been manipulated and has become his puppet. The Imperial Palace is now the Black Fiend Sect’s headquarters. The Chief Eunuch of the Imperial Palace, a eunuch named Li Poyun, is the Black Fiend Sect’s Sect Leader. It is said he is currently in secluded cultivation.”

As the dark-faced old man spoke, his brow furrowed. He felt this was truly a difficult situation to handle. After all, even if cultivators looked down on mortals, they still felt a degree of wariness towards the supreme ruler of the mortal world.

Upon hearing this, Han Li’s face showed no change in expression, but inwardly he sighed just as deeply.

It was not that he feared the Emperor. He was fully aware that the current Yue royal family was actually a joint creation of the Seven Great Sects.

But precisely because of this, there was an unwritten rule among the sects: disciples of the Seven Great Sects were strictly forbidden from setting foot within the Imperial Palace, for fear that one sect might take advantage of the situation to seize the royal family and create an imbalance among the others.

Thus, for hundreds of years, there had not been a single trace of a Seven Great Sect disciple within the imperial capital of Yue. As long as the Yue Emperor did not commit any grave offense against the Seven Great Sects, they allowed him complete freedom. It was likely this very situation that had given the Black Fiend Sect its opening.

After hearing these facts from the Junior Prince, Han Li had been weighing them over and over. Yet he still could not decide on the best course of action.

This rule had persisted for so long. Even if he were to expose the true identity of the Black Fiend Sect’s Sect Leader, who knew whether his act of entering the Imperial City would be considered a meritorious service that could atone for his transgression? It was entirely possible that, not only would he receive no reward, he might even face severe punishment.

Such an illogical, infuriating outcome had happened before within the long history of the Seven Great Sects. Rules did not care for right or wrong.

Sometimes, the authority of certain rules far outweighed the merits of a case, and they could not be violated in the slightest. This made Han Li deeply cautious.

He had no desire to be the kind of person who expended great effort only to receive no reward.

That said, he had not expected to discover the true identity of the Black Fiend Lord so easily.

Still, this was a fortuitous coincidence. He had learned from the Junior Prince that even the several Foundation Establishment hall masters of the Black Fiend Sect had never seen the Sect Leader’s face, much less knew his background.

The only two people who knew the Black Fiend Sect’s Master’s identity were these two men. This was entirely because Steward Wang and the Junior Prince had an extremely extraordinary relationship with the Black Fiend Sect Leader. One was the Sect Leader’s cousin and had saved his life. The other was his only nominal disciple and was deeply trusted. Only through such intimate relationships could they have come to know his true identity.

Otherwise, in such a vast city as the Yue Capital, it would never have been the turn of two Qi Condensation disciples like them to preside over the local sect affairs.