"Not good — there's another high-level cultivator approaching!" the old man cried out in alarm.
"How could another high-level cultivator come to such a remote island? Don't tell me one of your subordinates leaked something!" The stunning woman's expression changed drastically as she spoke to the gray-robed old man in alarm and anger.
"I never mentioned the purpose of this trip to any of my disciples, so how could there be any leak?" The old man hastily shook his head and said gravely.
"Don't panic. Perhaps this person is simply passing through. We'll play it by ear!" The blue-robed young man spoke calmly.
The stunning woman and the old man had no choice but to compose themselves upon hearing this.
Just then, the distant cyan streak, accompanied by a piercing whistle through the air, arrived in the blink of an eye. They could even make out the faint silhouette of a man within the light.
"What incredible speed!"
All three of their expressions changed involuntarily, a sense of foreboding settling deep in their hearts.
After a few more flickers, the cyan light arrived directly above them. The radiance retracted, revealing a young man in green robes, but his face looked no older than twenty. This caught the gray-robed old man and the others off guard.
"This is Demon Lake Island!" The young man swept his gaze across the three and asked flatly, his tone carrying an unmistakable air of command.
The three felt their hearts sink. After probing Han Li once more with their spiritual senses, they were struck with shock.
The spiritual power within this young man was far greater than the three of them combined. He was unmistakably a Nascent Soul cultivator at minimum — practically the worst-case scenario.
"This is indeed Demon Lake Island. May we ask what instructions Senior has for us? This junior and his companions would be happy to serve." The gray-robed old man suppressed the unease in his heart, hastily bowed, and asked with an ingratiating smile.
"Good. Then I haven't come to the wrong place. Hmm? And you three are here…?" The young man glanced toward the group of low-rank cultivators standing by the lakeside in a state of confusion. After a brief pause, a half-smile appeared on his face.
"This junior needed to refine several special magical artifacts and required a large amount of Jade Copper, so I brought some disciples along to salvage more of the material." The gray-robed old man's heart lurched, but he pressed on with the excuse.
The cultivator before him didn't seem to be an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator. No matter how carefully he probed with his spiritual sense, he couldn't determine the other party's exact realm. This was something he had never experienced before.
After all, he was a late-stage Core Formation cultivator. In theory, even a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator shouldn't be able to conceal their true level from his spiritual sense.
"Jade Copper? And you're using just these handful of formation arrays — designed to break seals and restrictions — to dredge up the material?"
The young man folded his arms, glanced at the few formations the low-rank cultivators had set up by the lake, then lowered his gaze to the jade-green surface of the water below. He let out a few short chuckles.
The disbelief in his laughter was plain for anyone to hear.
The gray-robed old man broke into a cold sweat. He had never imagined that the other party would also be a master of formations. Generally, formation specialists didn't possess very high cultivation, while powerful cultivators rarely wasted their time studying the Dao of formations.
Moreover, the formations he had deployed were no ordinary arrays — they were relatively rare and obscure ones. The fact that the other party could identify them at a glance meant his mastery of formations was absolutely not to be underestimated.
The stunning woman and the blue-robed young man instantly fell into meek silence, keeping their heads lowered with eyes cast down, fully deferring to the old man's lead.
But this meant he alone had to face the young man.
While cursing inwardly, the old man seethed with resentment toward the other two.
After all, there were few Nascent Soul old monsters with good tempers. With him now bearing the full weight of the conversation, the danger was self-evident.
"Senior, please don't misunderstand. This junior has a keen interest in the Dao of formations. These arrays were set up merely to test their effects." In his desperation, the old man managed to produce a reason that at least sounded plausible.
The young man's expression remained unchanged upon hearing this. He studied the three of them carefully, then suddenly uttered a sentence that sent a jolt of fright through all three.
"What is your relationship with Barbarian Beard?"
"What does Senior mean? This junior doesn't quite understand." The stunning woman raised her head, unable to help herself from speaking up.
"The cultivation techniques you practice are different, but all of you clearly carry traces of Barbarian Beard's Heaven-Supporting Demonic Art. Others might not notice, but running into me… heh heh." The young man smiled faintly.
"Senior knew our Master?" Seeing that no further deception was possible, the blue-robed young man took a deep breath and finally admitted it.
But upon hearing the young man's question, the old man and the stunning woman both showed expressions of unease.