At that moment, Han Li turned his head and addressed the handsome young man with the same courtesy: "Sixth Senior Brother has come as well! I'm sorry to trouble you over my little affairs."
Wu Xuan gave a faint "mm" without saying anything further.
Han Li smiled, showing no unusual expression on his face, but he knew perfectly well that ever since the incident with Dong Xuan'er, this sixth senior brother had not looked upon him favorably.
However, Han Li didn't particularly care about the man. A genuine villain was far easier to deal with than a hypocrite.
But he did catch a flicker of shock in the other's eyes!
After all, the last time Han Li had met him, he had still been only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment. Now, in such a short time, Han Li had advanced to the mid stage. How could this not leave Wu Xuan, who was still lingering at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, both surprised and jealous?
"Please, Senior Brothers, come in. I'll go brew a pot of fine tea first!" Han Li ushered the four of them into the room with a smile, then turned to leave.
"What's the rush for tea? We should first hear what kind of experts the Black Fiend Sect actually has! I've been itching for a real fight against cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage for ages. It's a shame that when I was at Master's side, he never let me, like Eighth Junior Brother here, freely go out and kill cultivators of the Demonic Path. Otherwise, maybe I too could have broken through in the middle of battle, just like Brother Han!" Song Meng couldn't hold back his curiosity the moment he entered the room and sat down, blurting out eagerly.
This fourth senior brother was normally cold and distant toward people, but the moment anything involving fierce combat came up, he was like a changed person — all fired up and eager.
"Nonsense! Have you ever heard of someone advancing their cultivation just by fighting and killing others? The most important thing is your own foundation. The reason Junior Brother Han's cultivation surged is because he's trained diligently day in and day out, and progress came naturally as a result!" Third Senior Brother Liu Jing's face hardened the moment he heard Song Meng's words, and he spoke in a tone of mild rebuke.
Hearing this, Han Li was quite surprised.
He hadn't expected Third Senior Brother to be so blunt. Given Song Meng's temperament, he figured the man would immediately jump up and argue back.
But to Han Li's astonishment, Song Meng simply let out a sheepish "hehe" and fell silent.
While Han Li was marveling at this internally, the Third Senior Brother turned back toward him and said in a warm tone: "We learned some things from Master before coming here, but after all this time, the situation is probably different by now! I hope Junior Brother Han can give us the details."
"Yes, I'm curious too! Who exactly are these cult members? How dare they kidnap so many cultivators — the audacity is unbelievable!"
Seventh Senior Sister Zhong Weiniang didn't look much older than Han Li. She had a fair, round face, and whenever she smiled, two shallow dimples appeared on her cheeks, giving her a charming and endearing look.
But Han Li knew in his heart that Senior Sister Zhong was a genuine cultivation prodigy. He had heard that she had successfully completed Foundation Establishment at only sixteen years of age, and was now just one step away from the mid stage. She was dearly beloved by Li Huayuan and his wife.
Han Li pondered this inwardly as he let out a long sigh and spoke slowly: "Senior Sister Zhong may not be aware, but the Black Fiend Sect kidnaps these people mostly for blood sacrifice to fuel their cultivation techniques. The few they don't sacrifice are coerced into joining their ranks under duress. They were a group of dark cultivators from the start, living in the shadows — so naturally their audacity knows no bounds. And after all these years of growth, the sect has amassed quite a number of Foundation Establishment experts. They're extremely dangerous."
"Blood sacrifice! You mean absorbing the blood essence and cultivation of other cultivators to boost their own power — that kind of demonic technique?" Wu Xuan dropped his stiff expression for once, his face showing visible alarm.
Song Meng and the others looked equally horrified.
"Eighth Junior Brother, you can't be serious — is it really that kind of blood-soaked technique?" The refined and scholarly features of Liu Jing's face were now veiled with a layer of murderous intent, faintly tinged with a sinister green glow.
Seeing this, Han Li felt a chill run through him.
He had heard long ago that while Third Senior Brother's cultivation was not the highest among Li Huayuan's disciples, he had a natural hatred for evil. Among the younger generation of the Seven Sects, he was known as the Blood-Handed Fiend — the number of cultivator scum who had perished at his hands was countless. That was probably also why even a battle maniac like Song Meng held him in such fearful respect.
"That's correct — it's exactly that sort of long-standing technique." Han Li naturally had no intention of concealing anything on behalf of the Black Fiend Sect, and he nodded firmly.
"Junior Brother Han, please tell us everything from the beginning," Third Senior Brother Liu said solemnly.