Those formation flags seemed oddly familiar to
After a moment's thought, Han Li understood.
However, the incident piqued his curiosity toward that Core Formation woman. Though the group had seemingly vanished into thin air, this sort of low-level concealment technique was practically nonexistent under the scrutiny of his spiritual sense.
Without hesitation, a faint blue glow flickered within his pupils, and his gaze pierced straight through the layer of grey qi masking the woman's face.
"Hm? This woman is…" Han Li's expression immediately turned peculiar.
At that very moment, a flash of blue-yellow radiance appeared outside the Starry Sky Hall, as though some restriction had been deactivated. Footsteps echoed from behind the hall gates, and a white-robed cultivator slowly stepped out.
The man appeared to be in his forties, tall and thin, with a somewhat stern and severe bearing — a cultivator at the early Core Formation stage.
He was clearly a
A flash of yellow light, and the Core Formation man materialized of his own accord, the grey qi dissipating from his features to reveal a refined, scholarly middle-aged face.
"Brother Zhang, nothing out of the ordinary, I trust? Will my wife and I be able to use the teleportation tonight?" The man cupped his fists and spoke with exaggerated courtesy.
"Cultivator Tian, so long as you've brought enough spirit stones, sending a mere handful of people through is a trivial matter. Every one of our stationed overseers has handled this sort of thing during their shifts — do you think I'd be the one to ruin my own reputation?" The Star Palace cultivator's expression relaxed somewhat upon seeing the man reveal himself, though his tone remained blunt.
"Naturally. It isn't that I distrust you, Brother Zhang. It's simply that my daughter is gravely ill, and we must travel to the outer seas to obtain the inner core of the White Egret fish demon to save her. We really cannot afford any delay." The scholarly man smiled apologetically, then turned and gestured behind him.
With a soft puff, a cloud of yellow mist scattered, and the rest of the group appeared. The four Foundation Establishment cultivators also revealed their true faces, though the Core Formation woman and a thin, slight Qi Condensation girl remained shrouded in grey qi.
"And this must be your good wife! The name of Fairy Yue has long reached my ears." The stern-faced man barely glanced at the Foundation Establishment cultivators, his gaze sweeping several times across the Core Formation woman's face. To his credit, a rare trace of a smile surfaced.
"This time, we are indebted to you, Cultivator Zhang. This concubine is truly grateful!" The woman's voice was gentle and warm, yet carried neither servility nor arrogance.
"It's a pity that Fairy Yue refuses to show her true face — I must confess to some disappointment. Both of you, follow me." The stern man let out a chuckle, a hint of regret flashing across his face before he turned and strode back into the hall.
The scholarly man and the Core Formation woman exchanged a glance, then wasted no more time. They flanked the Qi Condensation girl between them and followed after him.
The four Foundation Establishment cultivators, who obviously served as disciples, hurried along as well.
None of these cultivators noticed that the instant the blue-yellow radiance flashed once more outside the palace and the restrictions reactivated, a faint shadow — utterly imperceptible at their level of cultivation — slipped through the gates and into the hall behind them, moving in perfect silence, as though it were nothing more than a wisp of smoke.
Winding through a labyrinth of crooked corridors, the group entered a vast hall lined with numerous teleportation formations. An elderly man with a face as smooth and delicate as a baby's was already waiting there.
The moment they walked in, a cold gleam flickered in the old man's eyes, then vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
"These are the ones? Seven people — that works out to exactly one rotation." The old man asked flatly.
"That's right. They're the cultivators leaving this time. Cultivator Tian — which outer island are you headed for?" The stern man confirmed, then turned to ask.
"Silver Shark Island. I've heard that a high-grade mineral vein was discovered there, so most cultivators heading to the outer seas have gone that way. Perhaps we'll be able to obtain the White Egret fish demon's inner core directly." The scholarly man hesitated briefly before replying, his gaze sweeping across the row of teleportation formations and settling on one clearly marked with a destination.
"Brother Huang, deactivate the restrictions on that formation. Cultivator Tian — you should pay the full amount of spirit stones now." The man surnamed Zhang addressed the scholarly man with an expressionless face.
"Of course!" Seeing the old man weave several hand seals and the white barrier of light surrounding the formation flicker and vanish, the scholarly man's heart lifted with joy. He immediately unfastened a storage pouch from his waist and tossed it over.
The stern-faced man caught the pouch and scanned it twice with his spiritual sense, then allowed a satisfied look to surface.
"The amount is correct. Take these — teleportation talismans." The man worked efficiently, tucking away the storage pouch and promptly producing seven talismans, which he handed over.
Cultivator Tian naturally accepted them and distributed one to each of the others. Then, at the stern man's gesture, he led the group in broad strides toward the formation they had their eye on.
The formation was already suffused with a faint white glow — clearly, everything was functioning normally.
"You certainly have some nerve, sneaking people out to the outer seas behind my back. Aren't you afraid the Enforcement Hall will sentence you to the Thunder Lash?" Just as the seven had barely stepped forward, a woman's melodious voice suddenly rang out. Though not loud, it struck every cultivator present like a deafening clap of thunder.