Chapter 890: Each Harboring Their Own Intentions

The Nascent Soul mid-stage Human Immortal Master, whose physical body had been destroyed, managed to escape with a split portion of his Nascent Soul. However, the mature Gold Devouring Beetle, which was telepathically linked to him, had no master to command it. Han Li, who was familiar with the habits of Gold Devouring Beetles, easily captured it with his second Nascent Soul and confined it in a jade box.

Han Li had originally intended to study the differences between the mature Gold Devouring Beetle and his own at a later, more leisurely time. But now, with his cultivation greatly diminished, he had to deal with the beetle immediately. Otherwise, if the mature beetle's abilities far surpassed his expectations and it broke free from the restriction in the future, it would be a huge problem. With his current cultivation, recapturing the beetle would be highly unlikely.

Thinking this, Han Li took a deep breath. He then flipped his hand, and several formation flags of various colors appeared. With a flick of his finger, the flags shot out in all directions. A protective barrier about a *zhang* (approx. 3.3 meters) in diameter appeared out of thin air inside the carriage.

Han Li placed the jade box flat on his knees and slowly closed his eyes. Black light flickered above his head, and a black-green Nascent Soul emerged from his crown. With a rub of its hands, the dark Yin Luo Flag appeared in the Nascent Soul's grasp. This demon banner, having been refined and controlled by his second Nascent Soul from the start, was now his only magic treasure unaffected by the Five Ghost Soul-Locking restriction.

Gold Devouring Beetles are impervious to water and fire, and impenetrable by blades and spears. Han Li's only method to kill it was to extract its primordial spirit using the pure demonic energy from the Yin Luo Flag, then refine it within the flag to become a primordial yin demonic spirit to be controlled by the flag. He had already obtained the specific refining method from the Yin Luo Sect elder's divine sense that day.

This process, of course, could not be completed quickly. In fact, if the Gold Devouring Beetle's master hadn't suffered significant damage to his primordial spirit, which in turn left the beetle weakened and dying, Han Li wouldn't have dared to attempt this. He was extremely cautious when it came to mature Gold Devouring Beetles. Even so, he had set up the restriction beforehand, fearing any complications.

At this moment, the black-green Nascent Soul tossed the small banner in its hand upwards. It transformed into a demon cloud about a foot in size, floating motionlessly. The Nascent Soul then leaped into the cloud and vanished. Immediately, the demon cloud sank, enveloping the jade box on his knees. From inside the box came "squeaking" sounds of the beetle. The sound wasn't loud, but it conveyed extreme rage. The demon cloud, encasing the jade box, began to churn violently. Inside, the beetle's cries grew shrill and piercing.

But Han Li remained unmoved, his hands forming incantations, his body still. Within the restriction, he had no fear of the beetle's cries alerting the ordinary people of the Azure Heron tribe outside. He only needed to focus completely on extracting the beetle's primordial spirit. Thus, a difficult refining process began.

The people of the Azure Heron tribe outside the caravan were very interested in "Immortal Master Han," but the master had not emerged from his carriage since entering it. Naturally, they had no opportunity to see him. Their chieftain, Yinglu, had strictly forbidden the tribesmen from disturbing the Immortal Master's cultivation, which greatly frustrated the others.

Over the next ten-plus days, perhaps thanks to Immortal Master Han's good fortune, they not only found a herd of wild goats in a canyon they passed through, securing enough prey, but the caravan also remained safe and uneventful for the following half month. This made the apprehensive Yinglu heave a sigh of relief. He calculated the journey and realized that in a few more days, they would reach an extremely safe resting place. It was a temporary outpost quickly established by the Heavenly Azure Holy Temple using their magical power, specifically for tribes of all sizes arriving from distant lands to gather and rest. Once the Spirit Awakening Day concluded, this outpost would be immediately dismantled.

As Yinglu was secretly contemplating this, he suddenly heard a sound from above. He instinctively looked up and saw a dazzling white light streak across the sky, with a faint human silhouette within, but it vanished in an instant. Other young members of the Azure Heron tribe stirred excitedly upon seeing this. The old chieftain, however, frowned, feeling a sense of unease.

Based on his past experience during the Holy War, these lights were clearly escape lights of high-level Immortal Masters flying at low altitudes. Such unusual sights were generally rare. Typically, high-level Immortal Masters flew at extremely high altitudes, making it difficult for ordinary mortals on the ground to spot them. But if he wasn't mistaken, this was the fourth low-altitude escape light he had seen in the past few days. Had something major happened recently? Had some tribe's tribute been robbed?

Though puzzled, the old man felt more reassured about the journey ahead. If high-level Immortal Masters were patrolling along the way, then they should be safe for a while. Musing thus, Yinglu turned back and called out loudly to the rest of the caravan, urging them to speed up their travel.

The old man naturally didn't know that the white light that had flown overhead had been searching and flying at low altitudes within a hundred-mile radius for a long time without stopping. However, it eventually departed southward empty-handed. Not far away, another red escape light slanted in from a different direction.

The two escape lights met. Their radiance diminished, revealing a man and a woman. The man was over forty years old, dressed in light yellow leather, with an ordinary, common face. The woman was twenty-seven or twenty-eight, and quite beautiful.

"Ah, Immortal Master Xiu," the middle-aged man said with a smile, bowing his hands to the woman opposite him. "I haven't found anything on my side. How about yours? Any trace of that person?"

"Brother Li, do I look like I've found anything?" the woman in palace attire said, her expression somewhat displeased and rather cold.

"Sigh! These past few days, I've searched everywhere within a two-thousand-mile radius on that side, without a single trace. Either that person isn't here, or their concealment technique is so advanced that my cultivation level can't detect their whereabouts. Should we team up and search carefully again? We could also interrogate the tribute caravans we meet on the road." The middle-aged man said, unconcerned, even showing some eagerness.

"It seems Immortal Master Li is truly tempted by the 'Poison Dragon Pill' reward. But don't lose your life for this medicine," the woman in palace attire scoffed, speaking with significant meaning.

"What do you mean by that? Is Immortal Master Xiu not tempted?" The middle-aged man was startled, a hint of suspicion in his eyes.

"When Brother Li received the mission, what did those high-stage Nascent Soul Immortal Masters tell you?" The woman in palace attire didn't answer directly but asked indifferently.

"The masters told me that he severely injured a high-stage Immortal Master, and thus he must be captured alive. The opponent has already been severely wounded by other high-stage cultivators, so for us Core Formation stage Immortal Masters, apprehending him while he's heavily injured shouldn't be a problem," the middle-aged man hesitated for a moment before answering honestly.

"Hmph! Brother Li, you truly don't know much because you arrived later. If it were me, I would never be so eager to search for this foreign cultivator," the woman said with a hint of sarcasm at the corner of her lips.

"Since Immortal Master Xiu says so, there must be a reason. Could you please explain the situation to me?" Hearing this, the middle-aged man's expression grew serious.

The woman in palace attire was silent for a moment before sighing and saying: "Brother Li, we've known each other for many years. I should tell you the truth about this, lest you blindly lose your life. I arrived earlier and heard some precise information about this outsider from an elder. It's true that this outsider is a Nascent Soul stage cultivator and was indeed severely wounded. However, the one who struck him wasn't just any high-stage Immortal Master; it was Great Immortal Master Hu himself, the one in charge of this matter, who personally intervened to injure the opponent."

"What? Great Immortal Master Hu made the move?" The middle-aged man was greatly startled.

"Exactly. And I heard that the outsider was ambushed by the Great Immortal Master when he was already surrounded by several high-stage Immortal Masters. Before that, three high-stage Immortal Masters had already been killed by this person. It's said that his abilities are extremely vicious; his attacks either kill or gravely injure. Even so, after being severely wounded, he still used a secret art to escape right in front of the Great Immortal Master. In my opinion, this outsider is most likely a cultivator of the same rank as the Great Immortal Master. If that's the case, even if he's severely injured, it would still be effortless for him to kill two small Core Formation stage cultivators like us. I'm not risking my life for two bottles of Poison Dragon Pills!"

"Furthermore, I suspect the reason those high-stage Immortal Masters sent us to find this person is mostly because they're treating us as expendable pawns. Didn't they cast a Soul Guiding spell on each of us before we set out? Hmph! They claimed it was to find us quickly if we encountered danger. I think it's more likely they want us to 'beat the grass to startle the snake' and force the opponent to reveal himself! Then, once we fall, we'll guide them to track this person." The woman explained, her face grim.

"Hiss! Such a thing! They're treating us as cannon fodder? What should we do?" The middle-aged man gasped, deeply shocked and furious after hearing the woman's explanation.

"It's simple. Haven't we already searched once? That's enough; there's no need to do anything more detailed. This way, we can report back without taking too much risk. We'll wait to see if others can find the outsider. If someone else finds him elsewhere, even better. If there's no news, it doesn't matter. The Spirit Awakening Day is approaching. All Immortal Masters must attend the Holy Temple for worship. We'll naturally be recalled then." The woman seemed to have already thought this through, speaking without hesitation.

"We'll do as Immortal Master Xiu says. While the Poison Dragon Pill is good, I, Li, value my life more. Thank you." After a moment of hesitation, the middle-aged man immediately weighed the pros and cons and said without hesitation.

"Good! In that case, let's head to the Holy Temple outpost over there to rest for a bit. In the coming days, many tribute caravans from various tribes will gather there. Perhaps we can find what we need first! Then, every few days, we can make a show of searching around." The woman in palace attire chuckled lightly and said this.

The man naturally had no objections. Afterward, the two transformed into a red and white streak of light respectively, flying straight south.