"There's no need to rush, Fellow Daoist Luo. Now that we've located the target, the task must naturally be completed. However, it would be inconvenient to make a move within the town itself. There's no hurry — we can strike once they leave. In the meantime, let the Tracking Shadow Insects keep an eye on them." The middle-aged Taoist spoke in a placating tone, then flicked a finger lightly.
A whoosh!
A speck of green light shot forth from his fingertip, flickered once, and vanished into the surrounding air.
"Fine, I'll listen to Brother Leng. I'm just wondering whether this target truly has Devil Lord-level cultivation. If so, it would be the perfect chance to test a great supernatural art I've recently comprehended." The big man let out an odd laugh and obediently settled back into his seat.
"Brother Luo, you really shouldn't underestimate this target. The fact that someone is willing to pay such a hefty sum to have us, elders of the Beast Sovereign Hall, make a move tells you this target is no ordinary person. Don't let carelessness make a fool of yourself — that would be quite embarrassing." The middle-aged Taoist chuckled lightly as he spoke.
The big man heard this and gave a mirthless grin, his face full of nonchalance, clearly not taking his companion's words to heart.
Seeing this, the middle-aged Taoist could only smile wryly and shake his head. His gaze drifted once more toward the black flying vessel that had come to a steady halt above the plaza.
The vessel suddenly erupted with a burst of dazzling black radiance, blurred once, and then vanished without a trace.
In its former position, hovering at low altitude, a man and a woman had appeared — two individuals who looked remarkably young.
The middle-aged Taoist's eyes flashed with a faint violet glow. He studied the pair for a moment, and his brow furrowed slightly, revealing a trace of doubt.
"Interesting. One of them is deliberately concealing their cultivation, and the other... I can't gauge their cultivation level at all. This trip was certainly worth making!" The big man, having also gotten a clear look at the two who descended from the vessel, murmured in surprise, the relaxed expression on his face vanishing in an instant.
"These two are no ordinary people. It seems we'll have to go with the second plan." The middle-aged Taoist considered for a moment, then spoke.
"That woman is nothing special — she's using a spell to mask her cultivation, but in our eyes it's plain to see. Just an ordinary Devil Lord. It's the man who seems unfathomably deep. Let me test his true cultivation first!" The thick-browed big man's eyes darted about, still looking eager to give it a try.
"Mm, that works. I'll handle the woman first. But be careful not to push things too far — we don't want an actual fire fight breaking out." After a brief pause, the middle-aged Taoist surprisingly did not object.
The big man nodded, a cruel glint flashing across his face.
The pair in the plaza were, of course, none other than Han Li and the feathered-robe young woman, who had parted ways with Patriarch Long and the others at the edge of the Phantom Howl Desert.
At that moment, Han Li seemed to sense something and swept his gaze toward the tavern, a thoughtful expression flickering across his face.
The other floors appeared normal enough — he could clearly make out over a dozen demonkind conversing and drinking inside. But the floor where the middle-aged Taoist and his companion sat was shrouded by extremely sophisticated restrictive seals. Han Li's spirit-eye and spiritual sense were both unable to penetrate for the time being.
His gaze flickered, and his expression darkened slightly.
"What is it, Brother Han? Did you notice something?" The feathered-robe young woman caught Han Li's change in demeanor and asked curiously.
"Someone seems to be paying particular attention to us, and they don't appear to be weak." Han Li withdrew his gaze and replied slowly.
"Oh? Could there really be a Devil Lord in this little town?" The young woman was taken aback.
That was understandable — for a town of this size, the appearance of a Demon Lord among the demonkind was indeed quite unlikely.
"Perhaps. If they really are after us, there will be clues to follow eventually." Han Li's expression returned to calm as he answered.
"Now that Brother Han mentions it, I do feel a faint sense of unease creeping in. Could someone really be targeting us?" The young woman pondered for a moment, then followed Han Li's earlier line of sight and cast two glances toward the tavern herself.
Once she found her spiritual sense blocked by the restrictive seals on that floor, the light in her eyes cooled as well.
"Forget it — we don't even know if they're really after us. Let's hurry and stock up on Azure Demon Crystals in town. This flying vessel has decent speed, but its consumption of this type of crystal is far too high." Han Li said calmly.
"You're right. Once we've bought enough crystals, we'll leave immediately. I'm almost embarrassed to admit it — this is the first time I've used this demonic tool, and I never expected it to consume so much of the material. No wonder the demonkin who sold it to me quoted such a low price. This tool really isn't very practical!" The young woman said with a frown.
Han Li shook his head and said nothing more. He didn't have a better flying-type demonic tool than the one the young woman held; otherwise, stopping in this town at all would not have been necessary.
Without further hesitation, the two of them headed toward a street near the plaza that was lined with shops.
After about the time it took to eat a meal, they had purchased a sufficient quantity of Azure Demon Crystals from a relatively large establishment. The moment they stepped out of the shop, they released the flying vessel and immediately drove it skyward.
At the same time, in the restricted floor of the tavern — at the table near the window, two wine cups and a wine pot remained exactly as before, but the big man and the Taoist who had been seated there had vanished without a trace.