Hidden Moves and the Soul Servant

“I don’t want anyone from Spirit Beast Mountain to learn about tonight’s events. You two aren’t the type to talk too much, are you?” Han Li said coldly, suddenly turning his head toward the Five Colors Sect Leader.

The old man’s heart tightened, and his face filled with fawning humility as he repeatedly stammered that he wouldn’t dare.

Han Li stared at the Five Colors Sect Leader without speaking, waiting until the man’s face broke out in cold sweat before breaking into a faint smile. Then, with a flicker of his body, he vanished from where he stood.

Just as the old man was reeling in shock, he felt a palm lightly tap his shoulder. His body went rigid, and he slowly turned his head.

There stood Han Li, his expression indifferent.

“Is there anything else you need, Immortal Master? This old man will see it done without fail,” the Five Colors Sect Leader said with a forced smile, his heart pounding.

“Nothing. Just wanted to say goodbye,” Han Li replied with his usual composure.

“Say goodbye?”

The old man was stunned, unsure of Han Li’s intent. But then something occurred to him; his face changed color in alarm, and he hurriedly circulated his energy to check his body. Finding nothing unusual, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Han Li said nothing more. He released the Divine Wind Boat, and in a flash, he was standing on the artifact.

Giving the old man and the youth one last deep look, he let out a cold laugh. Transforming into a streak of white light, he soared into the sky and flew away.

The old man, his son, and Mo Yuzhu, whose expression was complicated, were left behind, utterly perplexed.

…

Standing in the wind upon the flying artifact, a trace of mockery involuntarily curled at the corner of Han Li’s mouth.

That Five Colors Sect Leader, though he had repeatedly sworn he wouldn’t let Spirit Beast Mountain know of his visit, Han Li could see the duplicity in his expression.

And so, Han Li naturally wouldn’t leave a man with such a deep, scheming heart to nurse a grudge against him in the shadows, even if the man was just a mortal.

Thus, the palm he had stealthily slapped on the man’s back had been accompanied by a secret maneuver, planting a “Heart-Boring Worm” inside the man’s body.

This worm was extremely peculiar. Its body was as fine as a hair, nearly invisible to the naked eye, detectable only by spiritual sense. Once it entered the human body through the skin, it would slowly crawl along the blood vessels toward the heart.

After a year or two, the afflicted person would gradually develop symptoms of heart pain and an inability to sleep at night. These symptoms would worsen over time, and a few months later, the person would die of a heart attack. It would look exactly like a normal death from myocardial infarction, with no difference at all. Even if a high-level cultivator who didn’t know the circumstances came to investigate, they would find absolutely nothing unusual.

By the time so long had passed, no one would ever connect his death to the slap Han Li had delivered that night. It was an easy way to sever all ties.

This sinister worm for assassinating people was something Han Li had obtained from a slain demonic path disciple. At first, he hadn’t known what it was, but after having someone identify it later, he learned its origin and use. Now, he had found the perfect use for it on the Five Colors Sect Leader.

This way, he didn’t have to play the villain in front of Mo Yuzhu, and it could be considered an indirect fulfillment of his promise to Mo Fengwu. A faint hint of satisfaction rose in Han Li’s heart.

And besides, even if the man really did tell Spirit Beast Mountain about tonight’s events, Han Li wouldn’t have cared. After all, he hadn’t harmed the father and son in the slightest tonight. Spirit Beast Mountain surely wouldn’t come looking for trouble over such a trivial matter. As for the remaining son of the Five Colors Sect Leader, he seemed like a decent person. He hoped Mo Yuzhu would get along well with him.

Thinking this, Han Li flew the Divine Wind Boat straight toward the western part of Jia Yuan City.

He still needed to hurry and deal with the mutation in Qu Hun. Although he didn’t know exactly what had happened to Qu Hun, he couldn’t just leave him alone and ignore the matter.

A hundred li west of Jia Yuan City lay a vast expanse of tall mountains and dense forests. It was said that there were venomous snakes and ferocious beasts haunting the mountains, so very few people ever entered this area. This was probably the reason the mutated Qu Hun had fled here.

Standing high in the sky, Han Li calmly looked down at the pitch-black mountain ranges below, not saying a word.

After a moment, he reached into his storage pouch and pulled out the “Soul Summoning Bell.”

He laid it flat on his palm and slowly infused it with spiritual power. After a short while, the Soul Summoning Bell emitted a faint white light and floated up into the air.

“Go,”

Han Li made a hand sign with his other hand and quickly cast it into the small bell, uttering the command softly.

The Soul Summoning Bell trembled, then let out a clear chime and shot off rapidly in a certain direction.

Seeing this, a faint smile appeared on Han Li’s face as he stepped on the Divine Wind Boat and followed closely behind.

Because a strand of Qu Hun’s Essence Blood had been mixed into the bell during its refinement, he could easily use it to find Qu Hun’s hiding place. Of course, the bell couldn’t be too far from Qu Hun. If they were separated by a thousand li or more, Han Li would be helpless. But judging from the bell’s current reaction, Qu Hun was indeed hiding nearby. Han Li was naturally pleased.

The small bell flew straight for over twenty li, then suddenly began to descend at an angle.

Seeing this, Han Li knew the target had been found. He immediately increased his speed, snatched the small bell into his hand, and a layer of azure light suddenly appeared, completely enveloping the bell’s white light.

From Sun Er Gou’s words, Han Li knew that the mutated Qu Hun could sense the Soul Summoning Bell, so he naturally had to conceal the bell’s aura to avoid alerting it.

Landing silently on this small mountain peak, Han Li began to look around.

Although the night was very dark, Han Li, as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, could still make out shapes vaguely. So he headed straight for the place where the small bell had originally descended—a large jumble of rocks at the top of the mountain.

Han Li walked with no sound at all, his movement as secretive as a ghost. So when he finally saw Qu Hun, Qu Hun was completely unaware. He was sitting cross-legged on a huge rock, looking for all the world like he was in a state of closed-door cultivation.

Hiding behind a boulder, Han Li secretly observed Qu Hun, a look of profound surprise on his face.

He could sense the presence of spiritual power on Qu Hun—it was the unmistakable fluctuation of Qi Condensation, at the fifth or sixth layer. How could this not shock Han Li to the core?

He remembered very clearly that the original Zhang Tie had been utterly unable to cultivate the “Eternal Spring Art,” so he must have lacked Spiritual Roots.

“Wait. Being unable to cultivate the Eternal Spring Art does not necessarily mean Zhang Tie had no Spiritual Roots. It just means he lacked wood-attribute Spiritual Roots. Could it be that Qu Hun actually has Spiritual Roots of a different attribute?” Han Li suddenly realized, his mind racing.

“If that’s the case, what a coincidence! Two individuals with Spiritual Roots, one in a million among mortals, were both taken under that Doctor Mo’s tutelage at the same time.”

Han Li found it hard to believe, but then he reconsidered:

“What a damn shame, when you think about it. Just because of a difference in Spiritual Root attributes, Zhang Tie and I ended up with such completely different fates. If the attribute I lacked happened to be wood….” Han Li’s heart shuddered with a chill at the thought.

“But how did ‘Qu Hun’ come to cultivate a basic qi-gathering technique? Could it be…?”

Han Li seemed to guess something, a slight frown creasing his brow. A glint of coldness flashed in his eyes, but he still didn’t reveal himself. He just coldly watched the cultivating Qu Hun in silence.

After about the time it takes to eat a full meal, Qu Hun opened his eyes. Then he slowly stood up and stretched his limbs and joints.

His gaze was remarkably lively; it truly looked as if he had regained consciousness.

But seeing this, Han Li showed no sign of joy. Instead, his face darkened, and a hint of ominous killing intent was revealed in his expression.

“Not bad progress today! It seems that in three or four more months, I won’t have to be afraid of that mortal who holds the artifact that restrains this body.” Qu Hun seemed very pleased, finally muttering to himself as he looked up at the sky.

Just as “Qu Hun” was wearing a joyful expression, a cold voice came from the side.

“It seems you’re quite satisfied with this body!”

“Who?”

Qu Hun’s face changed dramatically. He quickly looked toward the direction of the voice, his face full of caution and alarm.

At that moment, Han Li stepped out from behind the boulder, his expression cold and without emotion.

“Who are you?”

“Eh, you’re a Foundation Establishment cultivator!”

Qu Hun first shouted a question at Han Li, but then he realized he couldn’t discern Han Li’s cultivation level. He couldn’t help but show a look of fear.

“That’s the very question I wanted to ask you. Who the hell are you, and why have you taken over this body? This body belongs to a friend of mine, and I personally entrusted it to a subordinate. You took it over without so much as a word and have occupied it for all these years. Don’t you think you owe me an explanation?” Han Li said in an even, unaffected tone.

“This body is yours?” Qu Hun looked half-convinced, his eyes darting around rapidly, clearly plotting some scheme.

Seeing this, Han Li gave a cold laugh and suddenly raised his hand, revealing the “Soul Summoning Bell” enveloped in azure light at his palm.

“What are you doing?” At the sight of Han Li’s sudden move, Qu Hun reacted like a startled rabbit, leaping backward a few zhang in an instant, his face full of wariness.

Previously, although he had sensed the existence of the Soul Summoning Bell, he didn’t know its specific shape or that this small bell was the artifact specifically used to restrain this body. He just instinctively assumed Han Li had casually taken out some artifact to start a fight.