Although Han Li and Mei Ning were two unfamiliar faces, the guards merely glanced at them without asking any questions. Instead, they surrounded the others who had gone out, chattering excitedly among themselves. They even asked the tall men to open the bags of fish and shrimp so they could take a look, and then let out wave after wave of amazed cries.
All of this made Han Li, who was watching coldly from the side, frown slightly.
It seemed that in this place, fish and shrimp were either extremely rare, or all food was in severe shortage.
Afterward, Han Li swept his gaze across the entire village.
The whole village was enclosed at its center by tall stone walls that were all identical. Every building inside was constructed from dark black stone, mostly crude and rough in appearance, and generally rectangular in shape.
But the most eye-catching structure was a stone platform at the very center of the village.
The platform was not large, but it towered several times higher than the surrounding houses—fully thirty to forty zhang tall. A faint purple mist emanated from its summit, covering the entire sky above the village. Whenever a bolt of blue lightning fell from the heavens toward the village, it was immediately and completely absorbed by this purple fog.
This purple mist was undoubtedly some sort of magical formation barrier. Yet Han Li did not sense the slightest bit of spiritual energy emanating from the platform. Instead, there seemed to be a cold, yin energy lingering there.
He knew that even though his spiritual sense could not leave his body, his sensitivity to spiritual energy was still extraordinarily sharp. He was absolutely certain about this.
A deep sense of unease rose in Han Li's heart.
Near the tall platform stood several grand halls, much larger than the ordinary stone houses. At their entrances, a few people were pointing and gesturing toward the lean, wiry man and his group while whispering to each other. One of them cast a sharp, penetrating glance in Han Li's direction.
Han Li's heart tightened.
This was the first person he had encountered in this place who possessed profound internal energy.
Out in the normal world, he could have crushed the man with a single finger and wouldn't have given him a second thought. But now, he needed to be on full alert.
Just then, the lean man walked over to those people and said something, then turned back and pointed at Han Li and Mei Ning a few times. Their gazes immediately swept toward Han Li.
Han Li maintained his composure, betraying no sign of fear. But Mei Ning, standing beside him, showed a trace of unease, uncertain of how they would be treated.
"You two, come over here for a moment. The village elders have some questions for you," the lean man said, beckoning to Han Li and his companion with a wave of his hand.
Han Li nodded, his expression calm, and walked over with the woman in tow.
The group turned and entered the hall behind them. Han Li followed them inside.
"Please, take a seat. Since you've come here, we all belong to the human race, and naturally we will do our best to help one another. However, this place is indeed quite different from the outside world. Could you first introduce yourselves, and then I'll explain the situation here?" Inside the hall, a slightly plump elder sitting in the central seat addressed the two with a kindly expression.
Seated on either side were several others. Among them was a pale-faced man with narrow, elongated eyes in which a hint of ruthlessness flickered—the very same person who had glanced at Han Li from outside the hall.
His eyes radiated a piercing light, but at this moment they merely swept across Han Li's face before settling on the beautiful woman behind him. He said nothing, but a strange look flashed through his gaze.
"We don't have much to say. We simply encountered a ghost fog at sea and were swept into this place. As for our former identities—what use could they possibly have here? There's no point in bringing them up!" Han Li replied with a casual smile, his tone perfectly calm.
Hearing such a vague answer, the elder chuckled.
He narrowed his eyes and looked them up and down several times, then suddenly uttered something that startled Han Li.
"You two are cultivators, aren't you? There's no need to hide that identity." After speaking, the elder's gaze fell upon the storage pouch at Han Li's waist, which bulged conspicuously.
Han Li's expression did not change, but he fell silent for a moment.
Mei Ning's pretty face turned pale, and worry crept into her heart.
"There's no need to be frightened. Cultivators who come to our village—though they aren't numerous—are not exactly rare either. Compared to ordinary people, we actually welcome those who were cultivators before joining our village. But you should already know: in this Yin Dark Land, spiritual power and magical energy are completely unusable. The only forces at your disposal are Yin Dark energy and some rudimentary martial arts," the elder explained calmly.
"Yin Dark energy?" Han Li asked, a flash of doubt crossing his face.