Chapter 140: Assassination Attempt

Unaware of the Qin family's affairs, Han Li was nonetheless ecstatic. He excitedly paced his room, continuously fiddling with the Immortal Ascension Token. The more he looked at it, the more pleasing it seemed to him.

About fifteen minutes later, Han Li finally calmed down. He suppressed his excitement and began to consider his future plans, including the feasibility of traveling to Huangfeng Valley to seek a master.

Following Han Li's restless night, the Taonan Small Gathering concluded. From the morning of the second day, many cultivators began to depart, and the valley's population quickly diminished by almost half.

By afternoon, several older, distinguished masters appeared in the plaza. After delivering some encouraging and praising words, they formally announced the end of the Taonan Gathering. Realist Qingyan was among them.

Immediately, the remaining cultivators dispersed, some in small groups and others alone. At this moment, Daoist Qingwen and several others approached Han Li, inviting him to travel with them again.

After a moment of silence, Han Li shook his head, declining Qingwen and the others' invitation. This greatly displeased Wu Jiuzhi and the Mo brothers, and even Daoist Qingwen's expression turned grim.

"Since Brother Han is unwilling to travel with us, Qingwen cannot insist," Qingwen said with a slight sigh of regret. "Please take care on your journey, brother!"

He then patted Han Li's shoulder before leaving the valley with the others.

Unbeknownst to Han Li, the moment Daoist Qingwen patted his shoulder, he secretly scattered some colorless, invisible powder from his sleeve onto Han Li's clothes. The affected area showed no unusual signs.

Just as Wu Jiuzhi and the others stepped into the thick fog at the valley's exit, Daoist Qingwen, who had subtly fallen to the rear, seized the opportunity while the others weren't looking. A sinister expression briefly crossed his face. He suddenly flicked his sleeve, sending a flash of fire diagonally into a nearby bush. His face then immediately returned to its usual righteous demeanor, as if nothing had happened.

Han Li was unaware of Daoist Qingwen's actions, but due to his usual cautious nature, he did not immediately leave Taonan Valley. Instead, he stayed another night, quietly slipping out of the valley unnoticed just as dawn broke.

As soon as he exited Taonan Valley, Han Li oriented himself and activated the Wind Control Art. With a light tap of his toes, he glided several zhang away, his robes fluttering as he steadily vanished into the distance.

Shortly after Han Li's departure, two more figures arrived in a hurry. A thumb-sized green orb of light floated ahead of them, guiding their way. After circling the spot where Han Li had just been, the orb flew in the direction Han Li had departed, with the two individuals closely following in pursuit.

Han Li traveled without pause, covering over a hundred li without a moment's rest. He only stopped upon reaching a small hill, where he sat down to eat and replenish his physical strength and spiritual power.

Unbeknownst to Han Li, his series of unusual actions led the two pursuers behind him to curse furiously.

It was no wonder, as who would begin traveling before dawn? If they hadn't tampered with Han Li beforehand, they might have lost him entirely. Even so, their original plan to set a trap and ambush him further ahead had been ruined.

What infuriated the two even more was Han Li's continuous journey of over a hundred li, which left them eating dust and nearly collapsed from exhaustion. After all, they had been cultivators for a long time, accustomed to a life of ease, and had not experienced such strenuous long-distance travel on foot in ages.

After an unknown amount of time, Han Li sat cross-legged in a hollow beneath the hill, eyes closed and motionless, seemingly in a state of deep meditation. The only sounds around him were the alternating chirps of mountain insects.

Just then, a dozen or so white lights suddenly erupted from the nearby earth, shooting directly towards Han Li.

Han Li, who had been utterly still, suddenly snapped his eyes open, a cold glint appearing within them. His body inexplicably shot into the air, then lightly landed on an open patch of ground on the other side.

As a result, the white lights naturally missed their mark, plunging with soft thuds into the earth where Han Li had been meditating. Half-embedded, they revealed their true form: over a dozen extremely sharp, crystal-clear ice cones!

Seeing this, Han Li's expression turned grim.

He extended his right hand, fingers spread, and with a series of crackling sounds, a small fireball appeared on each of his five fingertips. These fireballs were noticeably half the size of those from a standard Fireball spell.

"Sir, try my Five-Shot Volley!" Han Li said chillingly, his gaze fixed on the spot where the ice cones had emerged. He then slightly bent his fingers, flicked them, and the five fireballs shot out in a straight line.

Just as the fireballs were about to hit the ground, a yellow figure suddenly materialized out of thin air. With a quick flicker, the figure moved to another spot, precisely avoiding the fireballs' attack range.

With a "bang," Han Li's fireballs blasted a large pit into that small area. The pit emanated intense heat, and some parts showed signs of having melted from the high temperature, causing the narrowly escaped individual to break out in a cold sweat.

Han Li ignored the large pit, instead fixating on the yellow-robed man who had just leaped out—a lean man in his thirties with a cunning expression.

"Why did you ambush me?" Han Li asked with a cold voice.

Upon hearing this, the yellow-robed man's eyes darted, and he let out a few cunning laughs before speaking:

"Want to know? In your next life!"

Then, he suddenly shouted fiercely.

"Attack!"

Han Li was startled. Just as he was about to react, he suddenly heard two faint sounds of earth breaking beneath his feet. Then, a pair of large hands, glowing yellow, swiftly split left and right, firmly gripping Han Li's feet. They were like two steel shackles, making it impossible for Han Li to move an inch.

"Boy, you're dead! With your feet immobilized, how will you dodge my Ice Cone spell?" the yellow-robed man cackled triumphantly. He then raised both hands, pointing directly at Han Li, and began to chant.

Consequently, an oppressive cold radiated from his hands, and white crystals gradually condensed, slowly forming into sharp ice cones.

Han Li's expression drastically changed. He pressed his hand to his waist, and with a clang and a flash of cold light, a gleaming longsword was drawn. Without hesitation, he slashed it downwards.

*Clang!* The sword strike was like hacking at rock, sending sparks flying, but the yellow hand remained completely unharmed!

Startled and enraged, Han Li was about to devise another plan when the yellow-robed man's wild laughter echoed from across him.

"Haha! Boy, die!"

Han Li's heart sank, and he quickly looked up.

He saw about twenty sharp ice cones already rocketing towards him from the yellow-robed man's direction, completely enveloping his body and leaving him no escape.

Seeing this, Han Li's expression grew incredibly solemn. He took a deep breath and gritted his teeth. His feet remained still, but his body suddenly twisted bizarrely from side to side. Surprisingly, most of the ice cones were dodged by this contortion. Only his right shoulder and left leg could not be avoided; each was pierced by an ice cone, and blood instantly flowed from the wounds, soaking his clothes.

With a snap, Han Li threw his longsword aside. His fingers moved swiftly, quickly sealing the blood vessels near his wounds, bringing the bleeding to an abrupt halt. Meanwhile, the previously triumphant yellow-robed man stared wide-eyed, watching everything that had just happened with utter disbelief.

Han Li's expression was grim. He exerted force in his calves, and they twisted as if boneless. After a series of strange crackling sounds, both his feet suddenly shrank by more than a full size. Then, his entire body shot upwards, and his feet, like slippery fish, forcibly slipped out of the two large hands. He then shot backward through the air, stopping about a dozen zhang away, where he coldly stared at the giant hands.

"Impossible! How could you pull your feet out even with the Giant Strength Spell active?" a buzzing sound of shocked anger emanated from the earth beneath the giant hands.

Then, the two giant hands separated, and a burly figure, radiating yellow light, forcibly drilled out of the earth.