Chapter 2166: Message

The black-armored demon from earlier was, of course, someone sent by Ziling.

Given Six Extremes' status as an ancestor, Ziling, even as just one of his many disciples, wielded considerable power in Bluefall Lake and could easily mobilize a significant number of people. Using this power to investigate the background of a mere Void Refinement stage cultivator was, naturally, an easy task. In less than a day, Ziling had people thoroughly investigate Wuyou's background and the private mining operation, uncovering everything clearly.

In fact, unauthorized private mining was not uncommon in Bluefall Lake. Wuyou's group was mining on a low-quality, inferior ore vein, and given their considerable cultivation level, other factions, even if aware of it, didn't really intervene.

"How could an inferior ore vein produce a large quantity of Demonic Gold? The real reason must be uncovered from Wuyou and his group." Han Li made a decision instantly.

So he no longer hesitated. He formed a hand seal with one hand, closed his eyes, and began to activate the spiritual sense marks he had planted on Wuyou and the others. With his current terrifying cultivation, the demons naturally couldn't detect the slightest thing when he acted upon them.

But it wasn't long before a look of surprise flashed across Han Li's face. He clearly sensed that most of the spiritual sense marks had already left Bluefall City, but two of them were just a few miles from his dwelling and were still slowly approaching.

Han Li was naturally greatly surprised. With a thought of his spiritual sense, he immediately extended it from his room and enveloped the location of the marks. A moment later, Han Li clearly saw the two individuals carrying the spiritual sense marks. It was a demonic couple from Wuyou's group. The man was in his thirties, the woman in her twenties; they seemed to be a married couple.

When Han Li's spiritual sense swept over them, the two were dismounting from a beast-drawn carriage on a nearby street. After whispering a few words to each other, they headed towards the inn where Han Li was staying. Han Li, being a person of vast experience, had a pretty good guess about the demonic couple's intentions with just a few thoughts, knowing they were indeed coming for him.

After a faint smile, he retracted his spiritual sense and quietly waited in the main hall. Sure enough, after about the time it takes for a meal, he sensed the two spiritual sense marks appear outside the entrance of his dwelling. However, these two demons seemed to hesitate, lingering outside the door for a while, showing no intention of entering immediately.

Han Li frowned, and his lips moved slightly without a sound. The next moment, a clear, cold voice suddenly echoed in the ears of the demonic couple:

"Since you're here, come in. Having made it this far, you must have made up your minds long ago."

Hearing this, the demonic couple's expressions changed. After exchanging a look, the man in his thirties still gritted his teeth and said:

"Let's go. Senior Han has spoken; we naturally can't turn back now."

The somewhat attractive woman, after a slight hesitation, could only nod with a wry smile. So the man immediately announced "Greetings" loudly from outside, then led the demonic woman inside, pushing the door open.

As soon as they entered the main door, a small hall appeared before their eyes. On a chair in the center of the hall, Han Li sat upright, observing the two without a change in expression.

"Junior couple pays respects to Senior Han!" The demonic man's heart trembled upon seeing Han Li, and he hastily bowed deeply with the woman.

"Rise," Han Li said. "I just returned from your location, and you two followed. Is there something important you wish to discuss with me?" Han Li asked, neither confirming nor denying.

"Senior's insight is sharp," the demonic man said cautiously, forcing a smile. "This junior couple indeed has something to discuss with senior."

"What is it? Speak," Han Li said plainly, his expression unchanged. "I have many matters to attend to, and not much time to waste."

Hearing Han Li's words, the demonic couple exchanged another glance, and the man, steeling himself, asked: "Senior, what you said earlier, does it still hold true?"

"Earlier words? Oh, you mean what I told Wuyou when I left," Han Li replied calmly. "If it's that matter, then it certainly holds true. So, are you two interested in making this deal with me?" Since the people before him had brought it up themselves, Han Li had no interest in playing coy with two Soul Transformation stage cultivators.

"Yes, we juniors indeed have that intention!" the demonic man replied, his eyes lighting up at Han Li's question. "Actually, regarding the detailed origin of this Demonic Gold, my wife and I know more specifics than Wuyou, because we personally supervised its excavation. As long as Senior is truly willing to pay the agreed-upon demonic stones, we can tell you everything in detail."

"Wuyou doesn't know you're here, does he?" Han Li asked plainly, his gaze flickering without directly replying.

"Senior's insight is clear," the demonic man said, puffing out his chest. "We juniors indeed followed on our own. But it's not because my wife and I wanted to do something behind others' backs; rather, it's because Wuyou and his group wronged us first. Simply because we were in charge of the specific affairs of the ore vein, they secretly conspired early on, preparing to shift all blame onto us should anything go wrong, intending to make us scapegoats. If I hadn't inadvertently overheard this, we would have remained completely unaware. And of the demonic stones Senior offered in the previous transaction, my wife and I would have received very few. Taking such a huge risk for such meager returns, we juniors are naturally unwilling."

"I, Han, will not concern myself with any grievances between you and Wuyou," Han Li said, narrowing his eyes without the slightest emotion. "As long as the information you provide satisfies me, the demonic stones I originally mentioned will not be short by even one."

"Thank you, Senior," the demonic man said, greatly delighted, "this junior is confident that what I say will not disappoint Senior."

"Good, speak," Han Li instructed.

"Yes, actually, all this Demonic Gold came from a private mine that we secretly exploited," the demonic man began to narrate. "The first piece of Demonic Gold was discovered by my sister Yao and me. However, these Demonic Golds are located in the deepest part of the ore vein, in an extremely remote location, and would be very difficult to find without someone pointing them out. We had also been secretly mining for nearly a hundred years before discovering their existence. The specific location is at..."

As Han Li listened, he occasionally interjected to ask for related details. The demonic man answered everything to the best of his ability. After he had recounted everything, Han Li lowered his head in thought for a moment, and when he raised his head again, a satisfied expression appeared on his face.

"Your answers were good; they indeed saved me a lot of trouble," Han Li said sternly, looking at the demonic man. He then flipped his hand, and a red storage bracelet full of demonic stones appeared in his palm. "Since that's the case, I will pay you the demonic stones as agreed. But let me say something first: if I find any falsehoods in what you've told me, even if you get the demonic stones, you won't live to spend them. Is there anything else you wish to add now?"

"Senior, rest assured," the demonic man said with a forced smile, a hint of fervor flashing in his eyes as he glanced at the storage bracelet in Han Li's hand. "How would this junior dare to deceive you? Every word I said earlier is true, without the slightest falsehood."

"Heh heh, I hope so," Han Li said, then flicked his wrist and directly tossed the storage bracelet over, instructing nonchalantly, "You may leave now."

"Thank you for the generous gift, Senior." The demonic man caught the storage bracelet and swept his spiritual sense inside. Upon seeing it was packed with demonic stones, he immediately bowed deeply in great delight, then quickly pulled the woman beside him, backing out of the hall.

As soon as the demonic couple left the inn and arrived at a secluded alley entrance nearby, the woman beside him could no longer hold back and spoke: "How is it? Are the demonic stones Senior Han gave truly as many as he originally said?"

"Although I haven't inspected them closely, it should be about right," the demonic man replied, barely concealing his excitement. "Given his generosity, if he truly gave them, he wouldn't try to fool us with them. Before coming, I didn't expect Senior Han would pay the demonic stones so easily, so our backup plans weren't needed."

"What do we do now? Should we follow the route Wuyou originally arranged to leave Bluefall Lake?" The woman also showed an expression of great joy, but then remembered something and asked cautiously.

"We definitely can't stay in Bluefall Lake, but we absolutely cannot take the route Wuyou arranged," the demonic man said without hesitation, clearly having thought this through beforehand. "We'll take another route. As long as we can safely leave this area, there's no need to meet up with anyone else. With this sum of demonic stones, we'll be free as birds in the sky from now on; why should I humble myself to be someone else's subordinate?"

"Alright, I'll follow your plan then," the demonic woman said, agreeing immediately after a slight hesitation. So the demonic couple immediately hailed a beast-drawn carriage and headed directly for the nearest city gate.

At the same time, Han Li was still sitting on the chair in the hall, his eyes slightly narrowed as he pondered the information he had just received. While listening to the demonic man's narration, he had imperceptibly used a mysterious secret art. Although this secret art was not like Soul Searching Art, which could directly probe all hidden content in someone's mind, it could temporarily judge the truthfulness of what a person said and was exceptionally effective. Otherwise, with his cautious nature, how could he easily believe everything the demonic man said and even pay such a sum of demonic stones outright?

As long as what the demonic man said was not false, even if the other party concealed other things, he wouldn't care much. Of course, this was also mainly because he was currently in an inn, and it was not convenient to apprehend the other party and use Soul Searching Art. Otherwise, if he alarmed other high-level demons nearby or was detected by the inn's various restrictions, it would cause considerable trouble.

"Never mind. Time is short. I won't trouble those guys for now. I'll deal with them after I return from my investigation. Without further delay, I'll set off now to check out that private mine," Han Li muttered to himself, his expression having flickered several times between light and dark before he suddenly stood up.