"Senior Han has a discerning eye, but this final step has trapped this junior for several hundred years. I don't know whether I'll ever be able to fulfill my wish in this lifetime." The Daoist let out a bitter laugh.
The other three waited obediently off to the side.
A moment later, Han Li withdrew his spiritual sense from the jade slip and spoke a location name:
"Floating Li Marsh!"
"What? How can it be that place!" The moment the green-eyed giant heard the name, he blurted out involuntarily. The Daoist and Dongguo Feng's expressions changed just as dramatically.
"What's wrong? Is there something about this place?" Han Li furrowed his brow and asked slowly.
"It's more than just something wrong! That area is where foreign spies are most likely to appear. Every year, fellow cultivators fall there — it's one of the most dangerous zones there is." The green-eyed giant spat out a heavy breath and said darkly.
"We're the only patrol team assigned to that area?" Han Li asked, somewhat surprised, though his gaze flickered as he quickly followed up.
"Not exactly. The Floating Li Marsh is vast — even if we flew nonstop, it would take half a month to make a full circuit. Ordinarily, four teams are assigned to patrol different sections." This time, Daoist Ma spoke up to explain.
"If it's not just us, then there's nothing to complain about. We'll just have to be extra careful." Han Li raised an eyebrow slightly and said evenly.
"Senior Han may not know — two years ago, the captain of the Twelfth Team, Senior Xuan Guang, was ambushed by Shadow Clan members in Floating Li Marsh and perished. Two other fellow cultivators died alongside him. And Senior Xuan Guang was already a mid-stage Deity Transformation cultivator." Dongguo Feng's eyes held a trace of fear as he added this.
"A mid-stage Deity Transformation cultivator! Something like that actually happened!" Han Li's expression finally shifted.
Just then, footsteps sounded simultaneously from the corridors on both sides, and several people emerged.
Five men and one woman — two elderly figures, a pair of middle-aged cultivators who appeared to be husband and wife, a youth who looked fifteen or sixteen, and a ruddy-faced, brawny giant.
These were clearly the other team members who had been meditating in their private chambers, though no one knew how they had all learned of the golden sword's arrival at the same time. They had come out one after another.
Upon seeing Han Li, they were naturally somewhat surprised, but after the green-eyed giant's introduction, they came over one by one to offer greetings in recognition.
Han Li, for his part, returned their courtesies with an amiable expression.
However, with a subtle sweep of his spiritual sense, he gave the youth who had introduced himself as surnamed Ying a second look.
This person, like Daoist Ma and the green-eyed giant, was at the great-circle stage of late Nascent Soul.
The weakest among them, somewhat unexpectedly, were the two elderly cultivators who carried themselves with an air of refined transcendence.
Yet when these newcomers learned that their next patrol zone was to be the Floating Li Marsh, their faces turned just as grim.
"Enough. We've been assigned to this area, and there's nothing we can do to change the orders from above. All we can do over the next few years is exercise extra caution. We depart tomorrow, so make your preparations." Han Li didn't say much more. After issuing his brief instructions, he turned and walked into one of the corridors on his own.
He found an unoccupied chamber and didn't come back out.
Han Li's utterly nonchalant attitude left all the cultivators exchanging bewildered glances.
In the end, their gazes inevitably settled on the green-eyed giant.
"Brother Zhuo, did you actually tell Senior Han about the dangers of Floating Li Marsh?" the Ying youth asked.
"Of course I did. But it seems Senior Han didn't take much of it to heart." The green-eyed giant sighed.
"Even if he did take it to heart, what of it? The orders came directly from the Elder Council. Would we dare disobey?" The wife among the married couple said helplessly.
"Naturally we wouldn't disobey. But at least he should have been made aware of the dangers, so he might exercise a bit more caution. If we truly encounter those powerful foreign races, it would take at least a Green Nether Guard to handle them on their own." Daoist Ma stroked his long beard and looked worried.
"There's no need for everyone to worry so much! Dangerous as Floating Li Marsh is, the Shadow Clan members discovered there just last year — what are the odds we'd run into other foreign races lying in wait as well? Floating Li Marsh is a first-grade danger zone, and the rewards for patrolling it this time will be considerable. Besides, we'll get a long rest period afterward. As long as we hold out these few years, they probably won't assign us to such dangerous zones again. Let's all follow Senior Han's instructions and prepare individually." The green-eyed giant mulled it over and said in a measured tone.
The others, hearing this, had no better solution and could only disperse in resignation.
Meanwhile, Han Li sat cross-legged on the meditation cushion in his chamber, hands forming seals, a faint golden glow shimmering across his body as though he had already entered deep meditation. Yet at the back of his head, faint golden halos flickered dimly and brightly in succession, lending him an air of profound mystery.
A day passed in the blink of an eye.
When Han Li opened his eyes of his own accord, stepped out of the chamber, and returned to the main hall, he found the green-eyed giant and the others already waiting there. The moment they saw him emerge, they came forward to greet him.
Han Li waved his hand dismissively and let his gaze sweep across the group, settling on a beautiful female cultivator.
She was remarkably young in appearance, looking to be in her early twenties. Her complexion was pale as jade, almost translucent, and her eyes shone like stars in the night sky.
The instant Han Li looked at her, a sudden and inexplicable sense of familiarity arose within him, as if he had seen her somewhere before.
A flicker of surprise passed through his eyes.