The old man surnamed Zhao seemed to recognize the two and immediately smiled before replying, “So it turned out to be the Mei siblings! This old man was travelling nearby with his sect members when he saw that an astonishing change had occurred on an island in the distance. As a result, we only just arrived here. You siblings seem to be quite experienced, do you see anything strange about the heavenly omen?”

The woman politely replied, “Brother Zhao must be joking. If you don’t know about the heavenly omen, then how are my brother and I supposed to? However, it seems to be intertwined with quite a bit of Yin Qi. I suspect that an extremely vicious and evil treasure is being brought into this world!” As for the man by her side, he merely nodded in a detached manner.

The old man didn’t mind how the man behaved. Instead, he lightly coughed and thought to say something else when the melodic sounds of a flute arrived from a distance away. A green streak of light twinkled in the distance, and streaked towards them.

The woman’s expression changed several times after hearing the flute sounds, but her face soon returned to normal.

Old man Zhao was initially stunned, but he soon thought of something and took another look at the woman with a baffled expression on his face.

As for the man by the woman’s side, a trace of anger appeared in his otherwise calm expression.

A short moment later, a green speck of light approached them, revealing a young man who was flying through the air as he held onto a flute in front of him. With his handsome appearance and fluttering white robes, he appeared confident and relaxed.

The white clothed man flew before the group of people and loudly spoke to the woman with high spirits, “I would’ve never guessed that Miss Mei had already arrived here.”

A trace of helplessness appeared on her face and she reluctantly replied, “Fellow Daoist Fu, you’ve also come.” She didn’t seem particularly happy to see him.

The woman’s elderly brother spoke with a hoarse, cold voice, “Why are you here? My little sister has already said that she is unwilling to become your Dao companion. Why do you continue to try and associate with her? Do you think that I won’t dare to drive you away just because you have a Core Formation cultivator as a master?”

“Regardless, I am sincerely enraptured with your younger sister. So long as she remains unmarried, I will always pursue her. Fellow Daoist Mei has captured my utter devotion!” The white-clothed man went into a daze as he glanced at the woman surnamed Mei.

When the woman heard this, her cheeks blushed and she turned around, no longer paying him any heed. As for her brother, he revealed a harsh expression. Combined with his monstrous, undead appearance, he appeared particularly frightful.

Still, the white-clothed man continued to stare at the woman from behind without paying any attention to anyone else.

Old man Zhao rolled his eyes and decided to alleviate the tension by changing the subject to the island. “Cough. There is no need for emotions to cloud your reason. In a short moment, I fear there were be far more Fellow Daoists so if any treasures truly appear on the island, then we had best act quickly. Otherwise, a Core Formation Senior could arrive, and we will be left helpless.”

The three were slightly shocked upon hearing that.

The white-clothed man casually took a look above him and his expression suddenly changed. “Yi! The heavenly omen has started to change.”

The old man and the Mei siblings couldn’t help but look up in shock upon hearing him.

Sure enough, the incessantly rolling black cloud had started to revolve around a center point, and the huge cloud of Yin Qi that gathered down below the island had suddenly started to expand, as if a black monster had suddenly emerged.

“What is that? Could it be that a treasure has suddenly entered this world?” The woman asked with a face pale from astonishment.

A strange expression appeared on her brother’s face as he gazed at the island and said, “Let’s go take a look regardless. Perhaps an opportunity will appear before us.”

When the woman heard her brother, she hesitantly said, “But what if it isn’t a treasure? What if it is an expert refining a top grade technique? Can we afford to provoke such an individual?”

Her brother impatiently said with a cold voice, “There is nothing in this world without risk, and there is always a level of danger associated with acquiring treasure. Additionally, if there truly is a Senior on the island, we will merely ask to be excused with some polite words.” Then without paying any further attention to the others, he stamped on the sword magic tool beneath his feet and flew in the direction of the small island.

The woman paused for a moment before rushing after him with a worried expression on her face. The white-robed man revealed some slight hesitation and looked in the direction of the old man. Seeing the the old man had yet to act, a trace of doubt appeared on his face. He frowned and asked, “Fellow Daoist Zhao doesn’t want find out what is happening? You were the first one to propose heading to the island, but you seemed to have changed your mind.”

The old man chuckled and twirled his beard as he calmly said, “This old man merely made a suggestion, I never said I’d be the one to go. Moreover, I’ve brought a group of juniors with me and I don’t want any harm to come their way. If there is truly any treasure, then you three Fellow Daoists may have it.”

“Humph! Brother Zhao’s words are quite pleasant to hear, but I suspect you merely wish for us to scout for you!” The white clothed man glared at the old man before staring in the direction of the Mei siblings and rushing after them with gritted teeth.

The old man watched as the white-clothed man flew into the distance, before faintly shaking his head and muttering, “Oh, beautiful women are truly a cause for calamity. Those emotions of yours will only bring you great trouble!”

When the disciples behind him heard this, they couldn’t help but look at each other in dismay.

As the three cultivators flew into the island and directly entered the area underneath the heavenly omen, the old man’s spirit shook as he stared at the island in nervous anticipation. However, he suddenly heard a cold voice from behind him, “Well aren’t you smart? You didn’t go to brave the danger. Well, even if there was a treasure, just how would you split it with your disciples?”

When old man Zhao heard this, his heart was greatly shaken. He and his disciples hurriedly turned around, but they couldn’t find even a trace of another person.

The old man grew fearful after spotting no one, but he hastily spoke with a hurried tone, “I don’t know which Senior has graced us with his presence, but I, the Grand Sun Sect’s Zhao Qiao, pay my respects to you.”

Without a body in sight, the cold voice fluctuated throughout the air without an obvious point of origin, “The Grand Sun Sect? Who is Bu Diankong to you?”

The old man trembled and hurriedly replied, “The Sect Master is my Senior Martial Uncle. Does Senior recognize him?”

After a moment’s pause, the voice spoke with a warmer tone, “Hehe! I’ve met him once. I had originally intended on killing you to reduce the irksome presences in the area, but since you are the disciples of my acquaintance’s sect, I will spare you! However, if you juniors are foolish enough and dare to move, don’t blame for being ruthless.”

“Of course, we absolutely won’t inconvenience Senior.” When the old man heard this, his face grew pale. However, he felt somewhat relieved and was inwardly praising his seniors for maintaining friendly relations.

At that moment, the white-clothed man had caught up to the Mei siblings and they had approached the nearby valley, but when they were about to enter, their surroundings trembled and they suddenly found themselves surrounded in a barrier of light.

The three simultaneously heard the a man’s calm voice, “Return. If you continue forward, my hand will be forced.”

The three Foundation Establishment cultivators glanced at each other with bewilderment.

The man surnamed Mei was unable to remain calm and loudly asked, “May I ask who this Fellow Daoist is and what brings him to this island?

“I will count to ten. If you are unwilling to leave, then your bodies will remain here forever! Ten, nine, eight...” Han Li ignored his question and bluntly started to count with a cold tone.

The faces of the three revealed doubt. From his tone, they couldn’t be sure if he were merely bluffing, or if he truly was a Core Formation cultivator.

During their moment of hesitation, Han Li had counted to five and more than ten huge ape puppets appeared within the light barrier with a flash. They were arranged in a semicircle and orderly approached the three cultivators.

“Not good! Quickly, leave! Those are high grade puppets. We aren’t capable of fighting them.” The woman seemed to recognize the ferocity of the puppets and her face quickly paled.

She then grabbed her brother’s arm and flew away without any further explanation. The white-clothed man also perceived the fearsomeness of the puppets and felt his breath turn cold before quickly following after them.

After seeing the three turn tail, Han Li stopped counting, and the huge ape puppets ceased their pursuit after having only chased them for about a hundred meters. After all three had flown off without turning around, the ape puppets returned to the light barrier and disappeared without a trace.

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Han Li was still sitting down cross-legged at the valley’s entrance and slowly opened his eyes, but he appeared completely solemn. In addition to a few low grade cultivators around the island, he had also noticed the presence of a Core Formation cultivator. Although the cultivator’s speed could be considered amazing, he was laid bare underneath Han Li’s spiritual sense.

He hoped that by scaring off the three of them, they would inform their fellow Foundation Establishment cultivators to flee as well. He had nothing to fear from cultivators of that grade, but he’d rather avoid a needless massacre.

However, this was only just the beginning.

He reckoned if any real troubles were to come, they would most likely arrive on the final day of the Soulrise Technique’s ritual. After all, with this much time remaining, the nearby high grade cultivators should’ve already received information.