"I felt like this was a very important matter, so I've kept it a secret from everyone else. Right now, Elder Lu and I are the only ones in our entire sect who know about this, and we haven't informed the cultivators staying in the other water abodes of this matter," the Comb Flow Sect Leader hurriedly replied.

"Good. In that case, I won't have to destroy the entire sect," Dongfang Bai mused with a contemplative nod.

The young man and the round-faced elderly man exchanged a bewildered glance with each other upon hearing this, wondering if they had misheard.

However, before they had a chance to ponder this remark any further, they suddenly discovered that they weren't able to move.

All they could still move were their eyeballs, and they looked down to discover that a layer of slick, green moss had appeared over their bodies, on top of which a vibrant flower was blooming.

The azure-robed young man let loose an agonized roar as the flower took on a bright red color, and droplets of dew had even appeared on its surface, giving it a particularly alluring appearance.

In contrast, the two men were completely parched, and it was as if all of the life force had been sucked out of their bodies, reducing them to a pair of dried and withered corpses in just a few seconds.

Dongfang Bai took an expressionless glance at the two sets of withered remains, then asked, "Is his aura still here, Elder Lü?"

"It is," Lü Yun replied.

"Good," Dongfang Bai replied with a nod.

Meanwhile, Tao Ji was looking at the Three River Lake with a hesitant look on his face, and for some reason, he was feeling a little uneasy.

Dongfang Bai could see the uncertainty in his eyes, and he said, "Tao Ji, if you have something to say, then spit it out."

"Judging from his past track record, Han Li is definitely not a careless person, so I think that it's very suspicious that he left behind such clear tracks for us to trace to this point," Tao Ji said.

"Why are you being so cautious, Elder Tao? Could it be that you've lost your wits after your physical body was destroyed by him last time? How could he possibly put up any resistance against Palace Master Dongfang?" Hei Dao sneered.

However, Dongfang Bai agreed with Tao Ji on this occasion.

"Elder Tao's concerns are not unwarranted. Let's proceed with caution from here."

Tao Ji hurriedly extended a respectful bow upon hearing this, while the flying boat flew into the air above the Three River Lake at Dongfang Bai's behest.

"He's down there," Lü Yun said as he pointed at a section of the lake.

"Palace Master, please wait a moment while I split open the surface of the lake and force that scoundrel to come out," Hei Dao said as he removed the fearsome blade from his back.

"There's no need for that. It would be rude of us to barge in so barbarically," Dongfang Bai said with a faint smile, following which he extended a finger forward, and a burst of azure light shot out of his fingertip before plunging into the lake in a flash.

As soon as the burst of azure light entered the water, it immediately began to descend toward Han Li's water abode like a formidable flood dragon.

The still and calm lake was instantly stirred up into a frenzy, with a massive whirlpool appearing on its surface, leading all the way down to Ill Omen Manor.

At the same time, an azure spirit domain spread through the surrounding area, encapsulating all of the churning water to contain all of the energy fluctuations within the spirit domain.

Everything remained placid and tranquil outside the spirit domain, and even if curious bystanders were to try to look in, they wouldn't be able to see into the spirit domain.

The burst of azure light crashed headfirst into a white light barrier with an earth-shattering boom, and the light barrier was instantly shattered, revealing the hill that was home to the Tranquility Sect's ancestral hall.

At this moment, Han Li was seated at a stone table with Weeping Soul in the courtyard, and the cup in his hand shuddered slightly, but none of the wine spilled out from within.

"Looks like you were right, Palace Master Dongfang has come after us in person," Han Li said with a smile, following which he downed the contents of his cup in three sips, then stowed the cup away before standing up on hsi stone chair.

The surrounding water in the lake seemed to have been restricted by some type of strange power, and a swirling vortex had appeared around the hill.

Dongfang Bai's group was hovering in mid-air above the courtyard, looking down upon Han Li and Weeping Soul.

𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"I've heard much about you, Fellow Daoist Han. It's an honor to make your acquaintance," Dongfang Bai said with a faint smile.

"The honor is all mine, Palace Master Dongfang. To think that I had a mighty palace master chasing after me like a pathetic dog for so long. To what do I owe this great honor?" Han Li chuckled.

"Insolence!" Hei Dao roared in a furious voice upon hearing this.

"Oh? Was that too rude for your liking? In that case, how do you think I should speak to a piece of scum who kills innocents without any remorse?" Han Li asked in a cold voice.

A cold look flashed through Hei Dao's eyes, and he was just about to charge at Han Li, but a stern glance from Dongfang Bai kept him in check.

Han Li's gaze then fell upon the handsome young boy beside Dongfang Bai, and a surprised look appeared on his face as he said, "I didn't think we'd meet again, Elder Tao. You've been given a second chance at life, shouldn't you cherish it a little more?"

Tao Ji's mouth immediately ran dry at the sight of Han Li's scrutiny, and he glowered intently at Han Li to disguise the fear in his heart.

"What do the lives of those ants matter to cultivators of our status, Fellow Daoist Han? I'm willing to extend an offering of peace to you. As long as you're willing to hand over that thing, I can consider letting you off the hook and even putting in a recommendation for you to join the Nine Origins Temple. What do you say?" Dongfang Bai proposed with a smile.

As soon as Han Li heard mention of the words "Nine Origins Temple", he immediately understood what "that thing" that Dongfang Bai was referring to was.

His pupils contracted slightly upon hearing this, but he made no effort to deny that the Heaven Controlling Vial was in his possession. In any case, he had no intention of letting any of these four get away. Otherwise, if word were to spread of this, then there would be no end to the trouble that he would have to deal with.

In the past, he didn't want to engage in direct conflicts with the immortal palaces, but that didn't mean that he feared them. Now that they had provoked him on multiple occasions, it was time for him to give them some comeuppance.

"I advise you not to oppose the Heavenly Court, Fellow Daoist Han. If you so wish, you could easily cultivate in peace from here onward. Given your aptitude, as long as you have access to sufficient resources, it'll only be a matter of time before you reach the Great Encompassment Stage, and..."

"Looks like not only do you like to follow me around like a dog, you like to bark like one as well. I don't know what you want from me, and I don't care to find out. The Heavenly Court may be too powerful for me to oppose, but I can certainly stomp you into the ground," Han Li interjected in a lazy voice, cutting Dongfang Bai off mid-sentence.

"It seems like you're intent on opposing the Heavenly Court. What a pity. The Heavenly Court could've certainly used a man of your talents," Dongfang Bai sighed in a forlorn manner.

As soon as his voice trailed off, Hei Dao immediately swooped down from above, leaving a trail of afterimages in his wake as he swung his mighty blade down upon the ancestral hall, conjuring up a vast expanse of dark clouds.

A blade projection that was over ten thousand feet in length erupted out of his blade, slicing through the heavens as it crashed down from above.

The dark clouds descended alongside the blade projection, and a series of giant, fearsome-looking ghostly creatures emerged from within, all of which converged toward Han Li and Weeping Soul with intense bloodlust in their eyes.

Han Li paid no heed to Hei Dao's almighty attack, instead turning to Weeping Soul with a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"My tummy has been feeling rather empty ever since I awakened, I wasn't expecting the Immortal Palace to deliver a ghostly cultivator of this caliber right to my doorstep. This is going to be a massive feast," Weeping Soul said as she eagerly licked her lips.

"Make sure to take your time and don't eat too fast," Han Li replied with a smile.

Weeping Soul nodded in response, then sprang up into the like lightning, plunging directly into the dark clouds, upon which she instantly vanished out of sight.

Dongfang Bai turned to Hei Dao with a perplexed look upon seeing this, and Hei Dao was also rooted to the spot. He had never seen someone so eagerly rush to their death before.

However, right at this moment, a horrified look suddenly appeared on his face, and Dongfang Bai also cast his gaze toward the dark clouds, sensing that something was amiss.

As it turned out, all of the fearsome ghostly creatures within the dark clouds had suddenly begun fleeing for their lives, but they weren't able to get anywhere as they were bound to Hei Dao's blade.

Immediately thereafter, a pair of strange horns emerged from the dark clouds, followed by an enormous, ape-like head with a third, bright red, demonic eye on its glabella. The creature also had three black bone spikes protruding out of its back, and its body was covered in a layer of steel-needle-like black fur, giving it an even more fearsome appearance than the ghostly creatures around it.

"That's a Xing Beast!" Dongfang Bai exclaimed, and Hei Dao had also arrived at the same realization.

Never had he anticipated that he would encounter such a natural bane to his ghostly powers, and he hurriedly attempted to return his blade to its scabbard, but Weeping Soul naturally wasn't going to give him that opportunity.

A beam of crimson light erupted out of the vertical eye on her glabella, forming a giant crimson chain that swept toward the surrounding ghostly creatures.