Han Li reckoned that there would be four Core Formation cultivators present on the last day at most. It was almost impossible for a Nascent Soul cultivator to just so happen to be nearby, this wasn’t the outer seas after all. In such a vast expanse of ocean, one would typically only find a few Core Formation cultivators at most, and at his current cultivation Han Li had nothing to fear from them. Although he didn’t wish to attract any attention, if those cultivators were unwilling to back down, he would have no choice but to act ruthlessly. Having come to that conclusion, Han Li’s face became expressionless, and he closed his eyes once more.
The three Foundation Establishment cultivators had already returned to where they had set off from, leaving Old Man Zhao quite baffled.
The old man probingly asked, “What happened? You three Fellow Daoists have already explored the island?”
A trace of fear appeared in the woman’s eyes and she shook her head, “We were too late. Another cultivator has already placed down restrictions near the area of the heavenly omen. The cultivator controls a few high level puppets, and spoke with a domineering tone. I reckon he was a Core Formation cultivator.”
The old man paused for a moment before saying, “A Core Formation cultivator? It seems there is more to this heavenly omen than meets the eye. It doesn’t seem to have been naturally formed. Could it be that a treasure has truly appeared?”
The white-clothed man stroked the flute in his hand and said, “Who knows? But it could be said that we were the first to arrive on the island. I suppose that the Core Formation cultivator was already on the island before the heavenly omen had occurred, and placed down spell formations beforehand. There appears to be a mystery there.”
Old Man Zhao muttered to himself for a moment and asked, “What did that Core Formation cultivator look like? Perhaps we might discover his ident.i.ty from his appearance.”
The Mei siblings and the white-clothed man looked at each other in dismay.
The old man furrowed his brow and revealed a trace of doubt, “What? Did you not catch sight of his appearance?”
When the white-clothed man saw the old man’s expression, he recalled the matter from before and his face grew sullen. He said with obvious annoyance, “Humph! If Brother Zhao doubts our words, then he can go look for himself and see whether or not that Senior will treat you leniently. I don’t believe he will!”
The old man chuckled and replied, “Fellow Daoist misunderstands, it was but an impulsive question. Since the island already has a Core Formation Senior on it, then there is no place here for people of our cultivation, regardless of whether or not any treasures truly emerge.”
The man surnamed Mei curled his lips and indignantly said, “That might not be true! Even if he is a Core Formation cultivator, if we were to join hands with a dozen fellow Foundation Establishment Daoists, perhaps we may be able to match him.”
The white-clothed man shook his head and said, “Brother Mei must be joking. Not to mention that we don’t have that many Foundation Establishment cultivators, we don’t even know if there is truly a treasure on that island or how valuable that treasure could be. Who would be willing to blindly offend a Core Formation cultivator over potentially nothing?”
When the siblings heard his words, they grimaced and opened their mouths, but they couldn’t think of anything to refute him with. As a result, they could only sigh and silently close their mouths.
The woman surnamed Mei turned to her side and gently said, “Elder brother, since there is too much uncertainty, we should leave! There is little point in involving ourselves any further!”
Her brother was clearly hesitating due to the uncertainty. Although he knew that a Core Formation cultivator had taken action and that it would be impossible to acquire any gains, it also wasn’t common to come across a rare treasure appearing in the world. As such, he was reluctant to leave. After all, to vagrant cultivators like him and his sister, this was a very rare opportunity.
“Leave? In your dreams! No one is leaving until I give them permission!” Before the brother could finish his thoughts, a cold voice suddenly arrived from varying directions.
The Mei siblings and the white-clothed man were shocked and immediately grabbed onto their storage pouches as they vigilantly looked all around. However, they were unable to find a single trace of the speaker.
With his spiritual sense continuously sweeping his surroundings, the man surnamed Mei asked the old man in a chilling tone, “Fellow Daoist Zhao, what is going on?”
The old man bitterly smiled in a helpless manner and said, “Don’t ask me, I’m not allowed to leave either.”
When the other three heard this, they instantly pondered over whether or not to believe the old man. However, their musings were interrupted by a flash of yellow light light thirty meters away, that revealed a white silhouette. White Qi was wrapped around the figure, and it appeared blurry like a mirage.
When the three saw this, they were immediately frightened, and reflexively released their magic tools in front of them as they vigilantly watch the silhouette.
The white figure spoke with an icy voice and an irritated tone, “Humph! Could it be that you Juniors wish to attack me?”
Although the woman surnamed Mei was incapable of seeing the true appearance of the white silhouette, from his spiritual Qi fluctuations, she recognized him to be a Core Formation cultivator. Her face paled and she tactfully explained, “We don’t dare to. It was only that we don’t know how we offended Senior and why he won’t allow us siblings to depart.”
“Offend me? No, I merely don"t wish to allow any word of this to spread outside. And until I figure out whether or not a treasure has emerged on the island, no one is allowed to move even a step. Otherwise, I’ll end you immediately.” The white silhouette spoke with tremendous arrogance.
When the three heard this, they were shocked.
The white clothed man took a deep breath and slowly asked, “Since that is the case, then how about Senior go and take a look?”
The white silhouette snorted and said, “Relax, I’ll leave right now, but before that, give me a detailed explanation of what you saw on the island.”
When the three heard this, they couldn’t help but glance at one another. The woman frowned and calmly said, “Actually, we don’t have much to say. We fled after many puppets were unleashed on us. At the time...” The woman then gave an detailed narration of what had occurred on the island.
After a moment of silence, the white silhouette chuckled and said, “Controlling that many high grade puppets is beyond what a Foundation Establishment cultivator is capable of. It seems you three are somewhat intelligent. Had you delayed, you would’ve surely died!”
Soon after, the white silhouette blurred and streaked towards the small island.
The others grew elated at having seen a potential opportunity for escape. However, they heard the silhouette’s voice slowly speak from a distance, “I’ve already told you once, if you dare to leave before I have returned, don’t blame me if I head off to kill you. I am not a forgiving person!” His words gradually grew softer as he grew more distant.
With the white light now so far away, they had originally planned on slipping away. But after some consideration of the consequences, no one dared to leave and provoke the Core Formation cultivator.
At nearly the same time, Han Li opened his eyes and wore a sullen expression.
Han Li muttered in a seemingly irritated voice, “I thought that he’d come tomorrow. I didn’t expect him to be the impatient sort.”
Han Li’s expression then stirred, and he glanced in another direction with a pensive expression.
He turned his head to the sky and sighed, “There is yet another one. It seems I’ll have to deal with them one at a time. It’s impossible for me to just scare Core Formation cultivators away.” With that said, Han Li patted the spirit beast pouch at his waist and released a large cloud of buzzing, black-tainted Gold Devouring Beetles. After revolving once around his head, they condensed into a huge tri-colored lance.
“Since you’re courting death, don’t blame me for killing you!” Han Li stared at the lance for a moment and shouted, “Go!” The lance then immediately trembled and shot off without a trace. As Han Li gazed in direction of the huge lance, a trace of murderous intent appeared within his eyes.
The white silhouette approached the small island and stopped at its edge as the white Qi then disappeared to reveal a middle-aged cultivator that appeared bloodlessly pale.
He took a look up above at the heavenly omen in the sky and a strange expression flickered within his eyes. He then wrapped his body in white Qi once more and blurred his appearance before disappearing in a blur.
The white silhouette had used a concealed movement technique, wanting to sneak into the island and investigate. At that moment, over ten streaks of red light flew over from the other side of the island while escorting a gorgeous flying chariot.
The flying chariot was twenty-seven meters long and was manufactured from an unknown type of fragrant wood. It was layered with talisman characters and s.h.i.+ned with a white light.
The carriage was being pulled by three azure demon birds. These ferocious birds were three meters long, with six eyes, and four wings. They flew at an extremely quick speed and pulled the chariot to the small island in the blink of an eye.