Suddenly, his brows furrowed. His figure blurred, and he transformed into a streak of brilliant light that shot downward toward a certain spot below.
The streak of light was as fast as lightning. After just a few flickers, it carried Han Li and abruptly appeared above a seemingly ordinary residence.
There, five cultivators in varying attire were gathered around a house shrouded in milky-white mist, whispering among themselves as they discussed something.
Han Li's ghostly appearance above the house naturally startled the others. Some immediately flipped their palms to produce treasures, while others formed hand seals in a defensive posture.
"Scram."
Han Li didn't even glance at these people, speaking a single cold sentence.
"What did you say? How dare you be so rude—"
"A-Ancestor! We'll leave at once!"
All five cultivators were at the Deity Transformation Stage. The moment they heard his words, they flew into a rage — but the instant Han Li released the overwhelming aura of the Integration Stage without any restraint, all five were terrified out of their wits. They hastily changed their tune, stumbling backward before scattering and fleeing in every direction. Not one of them dared look back as they ran, as though some malevolent ghost were nipping at their heels.
Han Li swept a cold glance over the fleeing figures. After a moment's hesitation, he ultimately chose not to do anything further. But just then, from within the house protected by a layer of restrictions, a woman's voice rang out — filled with unmistakable joy:
"Senior Han! Is it really you? What are you doing here? Qianyu will come out to greet you at once!"
No sooner had her voice faded than the white mist outside the house churned violently. A gust of fierce wind swept through, and the mist vanished into thin air. At the same time, the tightly shut door swung open, and three women stepped out. The one in the lead was tall with snow-white skin — none other than Xu Qianyu of the Xu family.
"Fellow Daoist Xu, it's been many years," Han Li said with a smile, giving a slight nod in greeting.
After parting ways with her at the Xu family all those years ago, he had never seen her again. To encounter her here during the demon tribulation was truly unexpected.
"Thank you for your help, Senior. Without you, we would not have escaped this calamity," Xu Qianyu exclaimed, her face a mixture of shock and delight. She hurriedly led the other two women forward and bowed deeply to Han Li.
"It's nothing. I just happened to pass through this area and acted out of convenience. Who were those people? Why were they besieging you — were they enemies of yours?" Han Li waved his hand and asked casually.
"Enemies? Those people simply saw that the three of us were alone and outnumbered, and their hearts turned to malice. Senior should have torn them to pieces!" said a round-faced woman following behind Xu Qianyu, her voice tinged with indignation.
"Xiaoqing, hold your tongue! That we've encountered Senior Han is already a tremendous blessing — how can you speak to him with such disrespect? Senior, Xiaoqing is my niece. She's only ever cultivated within the family and has hardly ever traveled outside. Please don't hold her words against her!" Xu Qianyu's jade-like face changed sharply, and she scolded in a stern voice.
"Ah, forgive me, Senior! I didn't mean any offense." The round-faced cultivator finally realized that the person before her was a senior of unfathomable Magical Power, and that she was far from the safety of the Xu family estate. Her earlier words had indeed been rather reckless.
"No matter. Do you take me for someone so unreasonable? If I had known earlier that those people were such despicable sorts, I might have tidied them up on the spot," Han Li replied with a mild smile, showing no offense.
"Thank you for your magnanimity, Senior. This is no place to talk — please, come inside," Xu Qianyu said with visible relief, stepping aside to reveal the entrance behind her.
"Then I won't stand on ceremony." Han Li considered briefly, then nodded his agreement.
This location was far from where the demon army was encamped, and there didn't seem to be any other demons in the vicinity, so he felt quite at ease.
The interior of the house was not particularly spacious, but every piece of furniture and every decoration exuded an air of ancient elegance, as though the place had existed for a very long time.
What caught Han Li's attention, however, were the faint fluctuations of restrictions emanating from around the house. The moment they had stepped inside, those fluctuations had vanished without a trace — even his spiritual sense could not immediately locate the source of the restrictions.