With two dull thuds, the corpses of Liu Jing and the other one were carelessly flung onto the ground by their attacker, making Han Li's eye twitch slightly.
"Since you're here, don't bother leaving. I happen to need a few Foundation Establishment cultivators for a blood sacrifice!" The man finished speaking and let out a sinister smile, revealing teeth that gleamed white and eerie under the moonlight.
This person was none other than the very Yue Emperor who had just seemed terrified out of his wits. But now, there was not a trace of panic left in him. Waves of magical power radiated from his body no weaker than the blue-robed man's — he too was a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Sensing this person's cultivation, Han Li's face grew even colder.
He had no idea what technique the man had used earlier to conceal his cultivation to the point that not a single person from the Yellow Maple Valley noticed anything. This immediately reminded Han Li of the time he had encountered the Little Prince and Manager Wang, when he similarly couldn't detect any magical power on them. Only this time, that mysterious premonition of danger hadn't appeared, which made Han Li all the more wary and cautious.
Han Li flicked his finger, and both the White Phosphorus Shield and the Turtle Shell artifact flew out, slowly orbiting around his body.
Beside him, Chen Qiaoqian and Song Meng watched the Yue Emperor and the blue-robed man with tense expressions. They too released their artifacts, keeping them close to shield their bodies.
Seeing Han Li and his group looking like they were facing a mortal enemy, the Yue Emperor and the blue-robed man exchanged a glance and simultaneously let out cold, mocking laughs.
Then the blue-robed man's figure flickered, and he suddenly appeared at a spot a dozen zhang away — where a pile of glittering ice fragments lay scattered, the shredded remains of the Ice Demon that Han Li had diced apart with his blades.
The blue-robed man reached out and gently grasped at the pile of ice shards. A blue bead shot out from the ice demon's remains and flew into his hand with a whoosh.
At the same time, the insidious Yue Emperor also flashed to the spot where the two Blood Attendants — the ones refined by the firebird treasure — had been buried. He slapped the ground hard, and two beads — one gold, one yellow — burst from the earth and obediently flew into the Yue Emperor's hand.
"What are those?"
The moment Han Li saw those beads and connected them with the cyan bead from earlier, he vaguely guessed what they were, and his heart immediately grew tense.
He had been wondering how to achieve the purpose of this trip, and now the items had simply appeared right before his eyes.
These had to be the "Five-Element Blood Condensation Pills" that the Little Prince had mentioned — the ones related to Core Formation. But there were only four here. Where was the fifth one?
While Han Li was caught between surprise and excitement, the Yue Emperor and the blue-robed man were equally overjoyed at obtaining these beads.
They each took a position and suddenly threw their heads back in laughter. Then, still laughing, they cast cold glances at Han Li and the others, making no effort to conceal the killing intent on their faces. This caused everyone on Han Li's side to involuntarily change expression.
"All of you, get airborne!" After turning various thoughts over in his mind, Han Li suddenly shouted. Then the Divine Wind Boat appeared beneath him, and he was the first to fly up into the sky.
The others were stunned for a moment, but trusting in Han Li's impressive performance up to now, Song Meng and Senior Sister "Xue Hong's" dual-cultivation partner instinctively followed Han Li's instructions and flew into the air together. Only Chen Qiaoqian hesitated for a moment at Han Li's words, but then she grabbed Zhong Weiniang behind her and also rode her artifact into the sky.
The Yue Emperor and the blue-robed man saw this and a flicker of something strange crossed their faces, but they both immediately let out cold laughs. Though they were two people with completely different appearances, they gave Han Li the eerie feeling that their expressions and smiles belonged to a single person, which sent a chill down his spine.
"These little ones are quite clever. Looks like we'll need you to sacrifice yourself a bit early!"
"Mine is yours, isn't it? Just take it!"
The Yue Emperor and the blue-robed man exchanged a casual dialogue down below, but the bizarre content of their words sent waves of cold dread down the backs of Han Li and Chen Qiaoqian and the others.
"Junior Brother Han, what are they saying?" Song Meng sidled up to Han Li and asked, swallowing hard.
After witnessing so many fellow disciples die miserably before his eyes, even someone as combative and fearless as Song Meng had lost his initial bravado. He came to ask Han Li now mostly for some comfort — after all, Han Li carried an air of mystery in his mind, which made him feel a certain sense of reliability.