Chapter 1078: Confession

After Han Li and the others left, only Lei Yuce and Su Qianxi and a few others remained on the spot.

For some reason, as Jin Liu watched Han Li's figure disappear at the horizon, he felt a slight relief in his heart, as if the nerves that had been taut had suddenly relaxed a bit.

Toward this man he could never see through, no matter how he appeared on the surface, his inner vigilance and caution had never been set aside.

Lan Yuanzi and his sister exchanged glances and also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Although they had originally been ordered to pursue and kill Han Li, after this encounter they found that this opponent was more troublesome than they had imagined. If they had a choice, they would rather not have met him.

"Now, which way should we go?" Su Qianxi glanced at the remaining few and asked.

"Wait a moment, Fairy Su."

Lei Yuce said, turning his wrist, and a metal disc engraved with many runes and scales appeared in his palm. Holding it with one hand, he formed a hand seal with the other and pressed on the disc.

After a moment, a blurry light lit up on the disc, and within it, a flame the size of a fingertip rose, as if pulled by some invisible force, slightly deviating to one side.

Seeing this, everyone including Su Qianxi was slightly startled, while Jin Liu's eyes brightened a little.

After gazing in the direction of the flame for a moment, Lei Yuce flipped his hand, put away the disc, and pointed in the direction the flame had shifted, saying:

"We go this way."

"Brother Lei, what is that thing?" Su Qianxi frowned.

Lei Yuce hesitated for a moment, then explained:

"A small treasure that can establish a slight connection with the Lamp of Time. Following the direction it points will surely not be wrong."

"So, the direction Brother Shi took must be wrong?" Su Qianxi glanced at the direction Lei Yuce intended to go, which was quite different from Han Li's, and asked.

"Remember the fork in the road when we first entered the secret realm?" Lei Yuce changed the subject and asked.

"You mean... all roads lead to the same destination?" Su Qianxi countered.

"I don't know whether Brother Shi's path is right or wrong. Perhaps our final destinations will still be the same." Lei Yuce nodded and said.

Su Qianxi looked at Lei Yuce, nodded thoughtfully.

"Time is of the essence. Since we have a direction, let's set off now." Wen Zhong reminded.

...

In the golden desert, aside from the severe interference with divine sense, the speed of flight was also greatly suppressed, making even Han Li somewhat uncomfortable.

"Brother Xiong Shan, regardless of your purpose in following me, I must warn you: don't do anything unnecessary. Han does not want to kill you again." Han Li glanced at Xiong Shan, who was close behind, and said.

"Brother Han, please don't misunderstand. This encounter is truly a twist of fate. If not for Warden Qi Mozi suddenly pulling me out, I would probably be on duty in the Immortal Prison or in seclusion at my cave dwelling. I wouldn't want to come out until I reached the late Tai Yi stage." Xiong Shan quickly explained.

"Oh? Why the late Tai Yi stage?" Han Li raised an eyebrow and asked.

"I originally thought that with the support of the Immortal Palace, I could reach the late Tai Yi stage before you, and then come to settle the old scores. But now that I've seen you, I've given up that hope. I'm afraid I'll never have the chance." Xiong Shan smiled bitterly.

"Setting aside other matters, how did you recognize my identity?" Han Li stared at Xiong Shan and asked.

"Brother Han, you must have fought with Warden Qi Mozi not long ago, right?" Xiong Shan countered.

"That's right. So, during that fight, he must have left some mark on me?" Han Li's heart stirred, and he asked.

"Brother Han is indeed exceptionally clever. After Warden Qi Mozi learned that you are skilled at changing identities with the Reincarnation Palace mask, he decided that the next time he fought you, he would leave a mark on you to track you later." Xiong Shan nodded.

"Brother Xiong, you'd better explain clearly. What kind of mark is it that even I couldn't detect?" Han Li asked in confusion.

"This mark emits no spiritual power fluctuations and cannot be tracked from a distance. Only at very close range can it be sensed through a small token." Xiong Shan said, flipping his hand to produce a jade pendant the size of a willow leaf, which he respectfully handed to Han Li.

Han Li took the jade pendant and found that it did not emit any strange light, only a wave of heat, and he understood.

"Since you've discovered my identity, shouldn't you avoid me? Why are you following me?" Han Li put away the jade pendant and asked again.

"Well... first, I think it's safer to stay by your side, and I might get some benefits you don't care about. Second, if I meet Warden Qi Mozi again, seeing me with you, I can claim I was faithfully carrying out my duties." Xiong Shan hesitated briefly, then said.

"Aren't you afraid I'll kill you again?" Han Li suddenly narrowed his eyes and said.

"You've already killed me once; all grievances should be settled. This time I haven't actively opposed you. I believe you are clear about rewards and punishments and won't kill indiscriminately. And even if I die by your hand, it's my own choice, better than dying inexplicably in this tower." Xiong Shan, with cold sweat on his back, forced himself to stay calm and said.

"Then I ask Brother Xiong to remember what you just said. If I find any abnormal behavior from you, don't blame me for being ruthless." Han Li curled his lips and sneered.

In truth, at any other time, he would never have allowed Xiong Shan to follow him like this. If the other had come up, he would have killed him on the spot without hesitation. But now, with Qi Mozi's whereabouts unknown, he decided to keep Xiong Shan for the time being to see what schemes he might have, and also to use him as bait to lure Qi Mozi out and eliminate the root of trouble.

"Brother Han, you could kill me with just a flick of your finger. I would never do anything so foolish." Xiong Shan quickly waved his hand.

As they were speaking, Jiao San and the others caught up from behind.

"Brother Han, you should explain to us clearly what you found over there." Jiao San asked directly.

"Yes! Although your choices are usually not wrong, if you let us know, we can have a better idea and support each other in case of emergencies." Hu San also chimed in.

"I just sensed a somewhat familiar yet unfamiliar aura and wanted to go check it out. You really didn't have to follow." Han Li replied noncommittally.

"Well, at least you have a direction. Maybe it's the right path." Jiao San thought for a moment and said.

Thus, under Han Li's guidance, the group flew off.

As they sped across the desert, they occasionally saw enormous golden bones buried in the sand.

But after a quick sweep with their divine sense, finding nothing noteworthy, they paid them no further attention.

"Over there..."

After flying for about two hours, Han Li saw a blurry outline at the edge of his vision, reflecting brilliant golden light. It appeared to be a rather majestic palace.

The aura he had sensed earlier was now becoming more distinct.

Hu San and Jiao San both perked up.

After flying another hundred miles, they finally saw clearly that it was a grand hall built of golden sand, adorned with huge golden curved horns used as decorations, clearly the remains of some exotic beast.

On the roof of the golden hall, a young man in a golden robe was lying along the ridge.

He had a handsome face but a lazy expression, holding a round golden skull in his hand, tossing it up and down idly.

The skull was much larger than a normal human head, apparently from some alien race, and its surface was worn smooth from being handled too much.

The young man tossed the golden skull again, caught it, then propped himself up on the ridge with his elbow, stood up, and looked toward Han Li and the others dozens of miles away. His eyes narrowed, and he couldn't help licking his lips.

At that moment, something stirred in his chest, and a palm-sized golden lizard crawled out from his collar, stood on his shoulder, and also looked in their direction.

"So it is..." Han Li's gaze sharpened, and a grave expression appeared on his face.

"Brother Han, do you know this person?" Jiao San asked.

"You could say I know him. He is the famous Golden Devourer." Han Li nodded.

"What... I can sense that his aura is at the Da Luo stage. A Golden Devourer of this level is not something ordinary Da Luo cultivators can match. This is trouble." Hu San said in surprise.

"Alas, Brother Han, I knew I shouldn't have come with you." Xiong Shan also groaned, complaining repeatedly.

Jiao San said nothing more, his eyes flickering as if calculating how to handle the situation.

Before Han Li could say anything, the young man had already flashed to a spot several hundred zhang away, hovering in midair, looking them over with great interest.

Han Li and the others tensed up, on guard.

"No need to be so nervous. I won't kill you right away..." The young man suddenly grinned and said.

With that, he took the golden lizard from his shoulder, held it high, and continued:

"Life in the prison is too boring. For nearly a million years, only this Golden Mongoose Lizard has kept me company. Since you're here, you can stay and amuse me."

As he spoke, he casually tossed the golden lizard, and a sound of piercing air followed.

The Golden Mongoose Lizard shot out like a golden shuttle, heading straight for Jiao San's face.

Without any visible movement from Jiao San, a dark red light appeared before him, forming an invisible light screen.

The Golden Mongoose Lizard plunged into the light screen like an arrow, driving the entire screen into a deep indentation, just an inch away from Jiao San's brow.

But then, ripples like water lines spread across the light screen, and suddenly it rebounded, sending a dark red light wave bouncing up, flinging the Golden Mongoose Lizard away.

At that moment, Han Li suddenly shouted, "Watch out..."