Chapter 339: Dark Hand, Twisted Soul

Volume ThreeA Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality, Volume Three

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"I don't want anyone from Spirit Beast Mountain to know what happened tonight. You can keep quiet, can't you?" Han Li suddenly looked up and said coldly to the Five-Color Sect Master.

The old man's heart tightened. He then adopted a humble expression and repeatedly said he wouldn't dare.

Han Li stared silently at the Five-Color Sect Master for a moment, waiting until the man broke out in a cold sweat before he finally smiled. Then, with a flicker of his body, he vanished without a trace.

Just as the old man was in a state of shock, he felt a hand gently pat his shoulder. His body immediately stiffened, and he slowly turned his head.

Sure enough, Han Li was standing casually behind him.

"Does the Immortal Master have any other instructions? This humble old man will certainly follow them," the Five-Color Sect Master said with a forced, uneasy smile.

"Nothing, I just wanted to say hello," Han Li said with his usual expression.

"Say hello?"

The old man was stunned, not quite understanding Han Li's intention. But then, realizing something, his face changed drastically as he quickly channeled his energy to check his body. Finding nothing unusual, he finally relaxed.

At this point, Han Li, without another word, summoned his Divine Wind Boat and, with a flash, stood upon the magical artifact.

After a deep glance at the old man and the young man, Han Li let out a cold chuckle and, transforming into a streak of white light, soared into the sky.

He left behind the old man and his son, completely bewildered, and Mo Yuzhu, whose expression was complex.

Han Li stood against the wind on the magical artifact, a faint, unintentional sneer appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Although the Five-Color Sect Master had vehemently claimed he wouldn't dare let anyone from Spirit Beast Mountain know about Han Li's presence, Han Li had detected a hint of insincerity in his expression.

Given this, Han Li naturally wouldn't allow such a cunning individual to secretly harbor resentment towards him, even if the person was merely a mortal.

Therefore, when he had approached from behind and stealthily patted the man, he had secretly tampered with it, embedding a "Heart-Drilling Worm" into his body.

This worm was very peculiar. Its body was as fine as a strand of hair, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, and could only be sensed with divine sense. Once it entered the human body through the skin, it would cling to the blood vessels and slowly wriggle its way toward the heart.

After one or two years, the afflicted person would gradually develop symptoms of heart pain and insomnia, which would progressively worsen. After a few more months, the person would die from a heart attack, appearing no different from someone who died of a normal myocardial infarction. Even high-ranking cultivators unaware of the situation would find no abnormalities upon examination.

After such a long time, they naturally wouldn't connect the death to Han Li's palm strike from that night, making it very easy to disassociate him from the incident.

This sinister and bizarre worm was something Han Li had obtained from a demonic cultivator he had killed. Initially, he didn't know what it was, but after having it appraised, he learned of its origins and purpose. It had now proven perfectly useful on the Five-Color Sect Master.

This way, he wouldn't have to appear as a villain in front of Mo Yuzhu, and it could also be considered an indirect fulfillment of his promise to Mo Fengwu. Han Li thought to himself, feeling a bit pleased.

Furthermore, even if the other party were to truly inform 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, so it was unlikely that the people from Spirit Beast Mountain would cause him trouble over such a minor matter. As for the Five-Color Sect Master's remaining son, he seemed like a decent person; Han Li hoped Mo Yuzhu and he would be happy together in the future.

Thinking this, Han Li steered his Divine Wind Boat straight towards the west of Jianyuan City.

He still needed to quickly resolve the anomaly with Qu Hun. Although he didn't know what exactly had happened to Qu Hun, he absolutely couldn't just leave him unattended.

Over a hundred miles west of Jianyuan City lay a vast expanse of high mountains and dense forests. It was said that venomous snakes and fierce beasts roamed there, which was why few people ventured in or out of the area. This was probably also why the mutated Qu Hun had come to this place.

Han Li stood high in the sky, calmly gazing at the dark, blurred mountain ranges below, not uttering a word.

After a long moment, he reached into his storage pouch, and the "Soul-Guiding Bell" appeared in his hand.

Han Li held it flat on his palm and slowly injected spiritual energy. A short while later, the Soul-Guiding Bell emitted a faint white glow and floated into the air.

"Go!"

With his other hand, Han Li formed a spell incantation and swiftly threw it towards the small bell, lightly speaking the word.

The Soul-Guiding Bell then trembled, let out a clear chime, and rapidly flew in a certain direction.

Seeing this, Han Li's face showed a faint smile as he followed closely on his Divine Wind Boat.

Relying on the trace of Qu Hun's essence blood, which had been mixed into the bell during its refinement, he could easily use it to locate Qu Hun's hiding place.

However, the bell couldn't be too far from Qu Hun. If they were separated by more than a thousand miles, it would be useless. But judging by the bell's current reaction, Qu Hun was indeed hiding nearby, which naturally delighted Han Li.

The small bell flew straight for twenty to thirty miles before suddenly descending at an angle. Seeing this, Han Li knew he had found his target. He immediately accelerated, caught the small bell in his hand, and then a layer of green light suddenly appeared, completely enveloping the bell's white glow.

From Sun Ergou's words, Han Li already knew that the mutated Qu Hun could sense the presence of the Soul-Guiding Bell. Naturally, he had to conceal the bell's aura to prevent startling his target away.

Landing silently on the small hilltop, Han Li's eyes began to scan the surroundings.

Although the night was very dark, as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Han Li could still vaguely discern things. Therefore, he headed straight for the spot where the small bell had originally descended: a large pile of scattered rocks at the mountaintop.

Han Li moved without a sound, as stealthy as a ghost. Thus, when he finally saw Qu Hun, Qu Hun remained completely unaware, sitting cross-legged on a large boulder, seemingly cultivating with his eyes closed.

Hiding behind a rock, Han Li observed Qu Hun secretly and was utterly astonished.

This was because he sensed the presence of spiritual energy on Qu Hun, a spiritual energy fluctuation that clearly belonged to someone at the fifth or sixth level of the Qi Condensation stage. How could Han Li not be utterly astounded?

Han Li remembered very clearly that Zhang Tie had been completely unable to cultivate the "Evergreen Arts" back then, implying he should not have had a spiritual root.

"Wait! Being unable to cultivate the Evergreen Arts doesn't mean Zhang Tie has no spiritual root; it just means he doesn't have a wood-attribute spiritual root. Could it be that Qu Hun actually possesses a spiritual root of another attribute?" Han Li pondered, suddenly enlightened.

"If that's the case, such coincidences really exist in the world! Two individuals, one in ten thousand among mortals, both possessing spiritual roots, were actually taken in as disciples by Doctor Mo at the same time."

Han Li found this somewhat unbelievable, but then he reconsidered:

"In that case, it's truly a pity. Just because of different spiritual root attributes, Zhang Tie and I ended up with entirely different fates. If the attribute I lacked had happened to be wood, my fate would have likely been..." Han Li felt a shiver of lingering fear as he thought this.

"But 'Qu Hun'..."

Han Li seemed to recall something, as he subtly furrowed his brow, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes. Yet, he still showed no intention of revealing himself, merely observing the cultivating Qu Hun in silence with a cold gaze.

After the time it takes to eat a meal, Qu Hun opened his eyes, then slowly stood up and stretched his limbs.

His eyes were remarkably agile, indeed giving the impression that he had truly gained sentience.

However, Han Li felt no joy upon seeing this. Instead, his face darkened, and his expression subtly betrayed a hint of murderous intent.

"Today's progress is good! It seems in another three or four months, I won't have to fear that mortal with the artifact that restrains this body," Qu Hun muttered to himself, looking up at the sky, seemingly pleased.

Just as "Qu Hun" showed a delighted expression, a cold voice came from the side.

"It seems you're quite satisfied with this body!"

"Who's there?"

Qu Hun's expression changed drastically. He quickly looked towards the source of the voice, his face filled with vigilance.

At that moment, Han Li emerged from behind the rock with an expressionless face, his demeanor radiating coldness.

"Who are you?"

"Huh, you're a Foundation Establishment cultivator!"

Upon seeing Han Li, Qu Hun first demanded to know who he was, but then, realizing he couldn't discern Han Li's cultivation level, a look of fear involuntarily appeared on his face.

"That's exactly what I wanted to ask you. Who exactly are you, and why have you taken possession of this body? You should know that this body belonged to my friend, and I personally entrusted it to my subordinate for safekeeping. You've occupied it for so many years without a word, shouldn't you give me an explanation?" Han Li said calmly.

"This body is yours?" Qu Hun looked half-skeptical, his eyes darting about, clearly concocting some scheme.

Seeing this, Han Li let out a cold laugh, then suddenly raised his hand, revealing the "Soul-Guiding Bell" enveloped in green light.

"What are you going to do?" As soon as Qu Hun saw Han Li's action, he leaped back several yards like a startled rabbit, his face full of vigilance.

Although he had previously sensed the Soul-Guiding Bell's presence, he didn't know its specific form or that it was an artifact specifically designed to restrain this body. He merely subconsciously thought Han Li intended to attack.