Chapter 920: Killing Intent

**A Mortal's Journey to Immortality**

He lifted the brick with one hand and examined it closely. With his other hand, he extended a finger, a green light flickering at its tip, and lightly tapped the brick's surface.

Immediately, a layer of white spiritual light rippled outwards like waves.

A smile appeared on Han Li's face, and he nodded.

According to Feng Zhen, this green brick was no ordinary item. It was a magic tool, similar to a storage pouch. However, it required a specific set of incantations to open; if one tried to force it open with brute strength, the contents inside would instantly turn to ashes.

Naturally, Han Li had obtained the incantation from Feng Zhen before his death. Immediately, a low chanting sound emanated from him. He opened his mouth, and a cluster of green light, flickering with runes, sprayed out, accurately striking the green brick and enveloping it.

Then, he formed a hand seal with one hand and quickly tapped each of the brick's four corners with his finger. With a soft 'bang', a dark, circular hole appeared on the brick's surface.

Han Li did not rashly reach inside. Instead, he patted the bottom of the green brick. Instantly, a shimmering aura appeared, and two items flew out of the hole on their own.

One was a jade slip several inches in size, the other a neat stack of documents, bundled like ledgers.

With a single grab, he effortlessly caught both items in his hand.

After putting away the green brick, Han Li didn't even glance at the stack of documents. He first grasped the jade slip and immersed his spiritual sense into it.

Not long after, Han Li's expression turned strange, his face darkening.

“What’s wrong? Is the location of the Feng family’s secret cave not inside?” Grand Immortal Dayan asked, seeing Han Li’s expression.

“No, the location of the secret cave is indeed inside, and it’s clearly marked,” Han Li said slowly, exhaling a long breath after withdrawing his spiritual sense from the jade slip. His brow, however, remained furrowed.

“Then why do you look troubled? Is there some danger within the secret cave?” This person, worthy of being called a monster who had lived for nearly ten thousand years, immediately guessed part of the truth after a moment’s thought.

“We might encounter some trouble,” Han Li sighed lightly, a hint of helplessness on his face. “The Feng family’s secret cave is actually built deep within the Snow Mound Mountain Range.”

“Why did the Feng family build the secret cave there? Don’t they know that this mountain range is peculiar and cultivators frequently go missing there?” Grand Immortal Dayan also looked surprised.

“Who knows?” Han Li grimaced. “Perhaps the Feng family ancestor who chose this location thought that the more perilous the place, the safer it would be.” He could only guess.

“Since the Feng family has always used this secret cave, it suggests the place shouldn’t be dangerous. Why worry too much?” Grand Immortal Dayan said leisurely.

“I hope so! We’ve already got the map; we can’t just give up because of some unknown risk,” Han Li said with a self-deprecating bitter smile. “If all goes well, I should be able to find the secret cave in about a day.”

He then put away the jade slip, picked up the stack of documents, and flipped through them slightly, letting out a soft exclamation.

“Oh! These are documents proving the Feng family’s secular assets! And there’s quite a lot, enough to make them incredibly wealthy in one region,” Han Li said, a look of surprise on his face.

“What’s so strange about that?” Grand Immortal Dayan seemed to have some understanding of this, pointing out to Han Li. “There’s a difference between the prominent families of the Great Jin and the immortal cultivation families of Tiannan. The former consider secular matters to be ordinary, and they don’t find it shameful to associate with high officials and wealthy magnates. In fact, rogue cultivators often voluntarily seek refuge with them. Although the Great Jin’s territory is vast, its mortal population is far denser than Tiannan’s, occupying most of the Great Jin’s land. Therefore, many spirit herb and spirit stone resources are not found in desolate, uninhabited places, but are directly controlled by the imperial court. Tiannan, however, is different. The mortal world there occupies very little territory; most of it is wilderness. Tiannan cultivators naturally don’t need to interact much with mortals.”

“So, the Great Jin’s secular monarchy controls so many cultivation resources? Will other sects allow that?” Han Li asked, somewhat disbelieving.

“Heh heh. What if they don’t allow it?” Grand Immortal Dayan chuckled. “The Great Jin isn’t like Tiannan, with its multitude of nations. From ancient times to the present, it has always been a powerful imperial court unifying the mortal world. No matter how strong cultivators are, they can’t openly harm mortals. Otherwise, even if the secular world doesn’t react, other sectarian forces will seize the opportunity to make an issue of it. The current Great Imperial Court is actually the product of a compromise among several major forces in the cultivation world. If I recall correctly, these major forces seem to have an agreement that no sect shall openly pressure the secular court or force it to do anything. In fact, to uphold the secular court’s authority, they even specifically allow the government to directly recruit some rogue cultivators. The imperial family can also cultivate a certain number of court cultivators. Of course, the ranks and numbers of these cultivators are carefully watched by those major sects, ensuring they don’t become excessively powerful.”

“Underhandedly, to acquire more cultivation resources and manpower from the mortal world, the various major forces employ their own unique methods. They befriend certain royal families and influential court officials, especially powerful regional governors, who almost invariably have the backing of sects, whether large or small, operating behind the scenes. To avoid being caught by other forces, these matters are mostly handled by the prominent families under their command. This is how, gradually, cultivation families have acquired considerable assets in the mortal world, which has long been a common practice in the Great Jin. However, the fact that these items are kept so carefully here suggests they are contractual documents related to cultivation resources. These are crucial for a prominent family’s continued existence.” Grand Immortal Dayan explained everything he knew, one by one.

Han Li listened to these words, feeling greatly surprised, and rubbed his chin.

“Since these documents are so important, why were they placed here? Did the Feng family head foresee something before his demise and deliberately leave them as a contingency plan?” Han Li could only speculate.

“Perhaps. But these matters don’t concern us. There’s no need to ponder their strangeness. Let’s quickly find the Feng family’s secret cave and see if there are any Buddhist cultivation techniques that can remove the malevolent energy from your body!” Grand Immortal Dayan said nonchalantly.

“You’re right, Senior!” Han Li smiled, then casually placed the stack of documents into a jade box and put it away.

After determining the direction, he soared into the sky on his magic tool, flying directly towards the Snow Mound Mountain Range.

At this moment, in an underground tomb within the Snow Mound Mountain Range, two figures shrouded in green mist knelt motionless before three stone coffins.

Suddenly, two flashes of green light shot out from the middle stone coffin, fleetingly entering the heads of the two figures.

“Go! Kill that person and retrieve the treasure,” a chilling male voice emanated from the stone coffin.

Without a word, the two figures instantly transformed into two streaks of green light. After circling once in the tomb chamber, they shot out and disappeared.

“Good. I have already sent the appearance of the person who took the Vajra into the avatars, along with a trace of my son’s residual aura in the Vajra Bell. As long as that person doesn’t immediately flee from Guanning Prefecture, he won’t be able to escape.”

“Th-thank… thank you… Father!” a few joyful, stammering sounds came from another stone coffin to the side.

“Hmph! This time, it’s overlooked. Next time, don’t act on your own initiative!” the man in the middle stone coffin snorted.

“Yes!… Next time… it won’t happen again!” The stammering voice seemed somewhat fearful.

No more words came from the middle stone coffin. However, after a period of silence, there was a loud 'bang'. The lid of the middle stone coffin flew several yards away, and a lean, crowned figure abruptly sat up from within the coffin.

“Your Majesty, what are you doing?” a sweet female voice asked in surprise from another stone coffin.

“The time is nigh. Today is the day of the earth vein’s Yin energy eruption. Leaving the tomb chamber temporarily won’t significantly reduce my cultivation. It’s perfect to go assist General Ge and deal with those troublesome individuals from the other prominent family. After I leave, activate all the tomb chamber’s restrictions and prevent outsiders from intruding,” the man said, his eyes bloodshot and his expression blank.

“Yes, Your Majesty! Please be careful, Your Majesty,” the woman hesitated for a moment before cautioning.

“Don’t worry, my dear concubine. I will return to the tomb chamber in at most two days and one night. After that, I won’t venture out easily again,” the man nodded. Then, with an odd flash of his figure, he moved outside the stone coffin.

His figure flickered a few times, then became blurry. After that, his entire being transformed into a cloud of gray mist and suddenly dissipated on the spot. It was unclear how he had left the tomb chamber.

Shortly after, a deep sigh from the woman echoed in the quiet tomb chamber.

When Han Li saw the Snow Mound Mountain Range again, the sky was already faintly lit. Without much thought, he plunged into the mountains, flying on his magic tool at a low altitude.

Fearing he might attract trouble, Han Li completely reined in his aura, extending his spiritual sense only a few miles outwards to remain vigilant of any abnormalities nearby.

The Feng family’s secret cave was not located in the center of the mountain range, but in a hidden spot closer to the periphery.

A day later, after Han Li searched around the mountain range, he finally discovered a massive waterfall, hundreds of feet high, at the base of an inconspicuous peak.

Looking at the silver river cascading from the sky, Han Li floated in mid-air on his magic tool. He formed a water-repelling hand seal, then raised both hands. Two flashes of green light appeared and vanished into the waterfall.

A muffled sound emanated, and a large hole, about ten feet in diameter, appeared on the silver river.

Han Li unhesitatingly propelled his magic tool, and he himself flew directly into the hole and immediately disappeared. The waterfall returned to its original state.

Naturally, Han Li was unaware that at the very moment he entered the hole, two green figures, thousands of miles away from the waterfall, suddenly lost their target. They circled aimlessly on the spot, and in their fury, black fangs protruded from their mouths as they periodically let out low roars, like two ferocious beasts.

What the two figures didn’t realize was that a few miles behind them, two other uninvited guests, whose figures were well-hidden, were coldly staring at their backs, whispering to each other.