Chapter 953: Extortion

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"No interest! I never deal with dubious individuals. So forget it. For book lovers, this is the first release."

To the old man's great surprise, Han Li flatly refused without even listening. A look of astonishment appeared on his face, but then he seemed to remember something. His wrinkles smoothed out, and he chuckled softly.

"Friend, it's too early to say that. It would be best to listen first. Brother Li, it won't be too late to make a decision after you've heard me out. Otherwise, Brother Li will be at a disadvantage." The old man's words subtly carried a hint of threat.

"Disadvantageous to me! That piques my interest, then. I'll hear you out for now." Han Li said, with his hands clasped behind his back, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.

"That's a wise decision, friend," the old man chuckled. "Let me show you something first, and then we can discuss the transaction." He patted the spirit beast pouch at his waist, and a green light immediately shot out from the bag. After a brief circle, it landed on top of the old man's head, revealing a spirit beast the size of a fist.

The spirit beast resembled a snail magnified many times over. Its entire body was unusually emerald green, and it slowly swayed its translucent, slender antennae. Its movements appeared extremely sluggish.

"A crawling beast... Friend, why have you brought out this beast? Do you intend for it to spray venom at me?" Han Li's face darkened as he saw the creature.

"How could I use such a low-level spirit beast to deal with you, friend? To be frank, Brother Li, my spirit beast has undergone a slight mutation. This mutation gives it a certain perceptive ability, especially against illusions and deceptive spells. Just now, when Brother Li was confronting the cultivators from the Yinluo Sect, I happened to have a wisp of my divine sense attached to this beast. You should understand what I mean now, friend. The way you transformed that bamboo tube into a long blade could deceive others, but it couldn't escape the keen senses of this beast." The old man grabbed the crawling beast from his head, holding it lightly with a smug expression.

"Even if that's the case, what's your point, friend?" Upon hearing that this crawling beast was a mutated spirit beast with the ability to see through illusions, Han Li's heart tensed, but he showed no change in expression.

"Haha. Friend, why be so distant? I have no ill intentions. It's just that if you're willing to give me three or four treasures or a large sum of spirit stones, I'll immediately forget everything I just saw. I wouldn't dare disturb Brother Li again." Finally, a greedy expression appeared on the old man's face as he spoke, making an exorbitant demand.

"Are you extorting me?" Han Li asked, smiling instead of getting angry.

"What's wrong? Have you thought of killing me, friend? You'd better put that idea away. I am also a rogue cultivator, and I'm not afraid of your threats. Since I appeared before you alone, I naturally have full confidence in my self-preservation. I've already had a disciple follow the Yinluo Sect and the Heavenly Wave Saintess. As soon as anything happens here, my disciple will immediately reveal the matter of you transforming that object. Honestly, your troubles will be immense. Furthermore, this is Jinjing City, and countless high-level cultivators are here for the auction. Do you think it's possible to kill me to silence me in a place like this? As long as I let out a loud shout, you'll be helpless. By then, my junior disciple will bring the Yinluo Sect members over. With me holding you back here, you won't be able to escape. It'll be a dead end for you. Perhaps four or five Nascent Soul cultivators working together wouldn't be enough to kill you, but what about seven or eight? From what I know, the Yinluo Sect has more Nascent Soul elders in Jinjing than just these few. With so many people, are you still confident you can escape? It's wiser to spend money to avoid disaster." The old man took two steps back, a sly grin on his face. At the same time, he raised a hand, and a wooden shield flew out from his sleeve, transforming into a layer of yellow light that enveloped his entire body, looking extremely cautious.

Han Li frowned deeply for a moment. His gaze swept over the opponent's light barrier, and his expression became uncertain as he pondered.

"It seems if I don't give you some benefits, there will indeed be some trouble. So, what kind of treasure do you want, friend?" After a moment, Han Li's expression returned to normal, and he spoke with unusual calm.

"That's more like it. I'm only after wealth; I have no intention of fighting to the death with you. I'm not picky. Just give me a few ancient treasures, and I'll be content." Hearing this, the old man was secretly overjoyed and quickly spoke.

The opponent's blatant greed made Han Li's eyebrow twitch imperceptibly. With a gloomy expression, he reached into his storage pouch, then flipped his palm, revealing a golden and silver light mass. Within it, a faintly visible, egg-sized spherical object appeared.

"A few ancient treasures? Friend, your appetite is too big. I don't have other ancient treasures, but this Cloud Firmament Pearl was something I obtained by chance years ago. Due to my cultivation method, it's not very suitable for me. Take it and leave. Don't be too greedy, or you might overreach yourself." Han Li said irritably, shaking his wrist, sending the sphere shooting straight towards the old man.

The old man's face lit up with joy, but after a flicker in his eyes, he didn't reach out to directly catch the treasure. Instead, he tossed the crawling beast to his side, then abruptly swept his sleeve, and a dark light shot out, instantly enveloping the golden-silver sphere.

After a moment, seeing that the sphere showed no abnormalities, he cautiously pulled it through his light barrier and brought it in front of him.

"The patterns on this object are quite peculiar; it certainly doesn't look like an ordinary treasure. I wonder what its miraculous effects are."

Connecting his divine sense to the crawling beast beside him, he sensed that the sphere before him was formed, and there was no master-recognizing aura of a magic treasure within it. His suspicions immediately diminished significantly. He extended his hand, beckoning, and the sphere was drawn into his grasp. He murmured as he examined it closely.

"As for this treasure's effects, friend, it's best you try it yourself. I can guarantee that it will definitely surprise you greatly." Han Li said calmly, his arms crossed over his chest.

"That's true. But do you really think one ancient treasure is enough to send me away? Don't you think that's a bit childish, friend?" The old man said, slightly excited as he tried to inject magic power into the sphere, yet still greedily trying to extort more benefits.

Seeing this, Han Li's lips curved into a faint, almost imperceptible sneer.

"Indeed, a bit childish. How about this, then: I'll send you on your way right here?" he said, his voice suddenly filled with icy coldness.

The old man was startled by these words. Before he could react, the magic power in his body surged wildly into the sphere in his hand.

With a soft "bang," the sphere burst open. As spiritual light flickered, dozens of beetles appeared – exactly Han Li's few remaining three-colored Gold Devouring Beetles. As soon as these spirit insects appeared, they fiercely spread their wings and simultaneously lunged viciously at the old man.

At such a close distance, the old man had no time to dodge. A single bad thought flashed through his mind before the Gold Devouring Beetles plunged onto his face, biting with their dense, numerous mouths. If the old man hadn't been a Nascent Soul cultivator with a thick body-protecting spiritual light, his face would have been utterly disfigured in that instant.

These ferocious spirit insects relentlessly gnawed at his face, and his eyes were unable to see. In his shock and fury, the old man naturally clutched wildly at his face, black light flickering from his hands, trying to tear off these strange insects. At the same time, he took a breath, about to let out a sky-piercing roar to attract other cultivators.

But just then, an icy cold snort, chilling to the bone, echoed in his ears. Although the sound wasn't loud, as soon as it reached him, a sudden, splitting pain erupted in his divine sense. The old man's body twitched, and he involuntarily let out a cry of agony, the roar on the tip of his tongue abruptly silenced.

The old man was greatly horrified. Just as he was about to desperately shoot backward into the air, the excruciating pain in his divine sense suddenly vanished the next moment. The beetles clinging stubbornly to his face all spread their wings and flew high, and his eyes suddenly brightened; he could see again.

But at the same time, a several-foot-long golden sword, wreathed in purple flames, appeared before the old man and chopped down directly at him.

"Ah!" the old man roared in immense terror. He had no time to release a magic treasure or cast an escape spell to evade. He could only wildly inject all his spiritual power into the light barrier in front of him, hoping to block this one attack first.

Overwhelmed by shock and fury, he realized at this moment that the fellow in front of him, who claimed to be an overseas rogue cultivator, had intended to kill him from the very beginning, with no thought of accepting money to avoid disaster. Besides his rage, he couldn't help but deeply regret provoking this person. Fortunately, his yellow wooden shield was a hard-won ancient treasure with astonishing defensive power. Even if the opponent was a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator, it should be no problem to block one blow.

The instant these thoughts flashed through the old man's mind, with a soft "thwack," the yellow light barrier and the golden sword met, and the barrier was cut into two halves as easily as tofu.

The golden sword's downward momentum did not stop. With a flash of blinding golden light, the old man's body suddenly split into two halves and fell to either side. At the same time, a black infant, about an inch tall, stood frozen in terror at a distance, directly sealed within a mass of purple ice, unable to move a single inch.

After a brief circle, the golden sword casually struck, instantly slicing the ownerless crawling beast into a bloody mist. Then, it flew once more above the purple ice.

With a clap of thunder, several thick golden arcs shot out from the sword, forming a delicate web of lightning that enveloped the Nascent Soul.

A continuous rumble sounded, and both the purple ice and the Nascent Soul within it vanished into nothingness amidst the golden light.

Only then did Han Li's expression relax, but his movements didn't cease in the slightest. He grabbed at the old man's corpse, and the storage pouch at his waist flew into his hand. Simultaneously, two fist-sized crimson fireballs shot out from the sleeve of his other arm, incinerating the bodies of the old man and the crawling beast into oblivion.

Immediately after, Han Li unhesitatingly soared into the air. After a few flashes of green light, he vanished like a ghost in the sky.

Just fifteen minutes later, five streaks of colorful light suddenly appeared above the location. After a single hover, these streaks of light descended to the ground, revealing five people, both male and female.

It was Lin Yinping, Ge Tianhao, and two other individuals, along with a young man with an unfamiliar face who was a Core Formation cultivator.

"This is indeed the spot. My master's aura disappeared right here," the young man said with an uneasy expression, holding a spiritual compass in his hand.

"There are indeed some residual spiritual energy fluctuations here, and indeed, the aura of that fellow surnamed Li is present. There are also some bloodstains here. It seems your master has been silenced." Ge Tianhao's gaze swept the vicinity, then settled on a small crimson spot on the ground, and he spoke grimly.

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