Chapter 1140: Discovered

"Fellow Daoist Han, this doesn't look good. We should leave here quickly." Lan Yan, seeing the situation around them, couldn't help but transmit her voice.

Han Li had placed an extremely powerful禁制 in her sea of consciousness; if Han Li were killed, she would not survive either.

Seeing all this, Han Li also immediately thought of leaving Gold Abyss City, but the next moment he recalled the closure of the cross-domain teleportation array and the probing he had sensed in front of the golden pagoda. His originally anxious and heavy heart suddenly became calm, and his thoughts became clearer than ever before.

"No need to panic. Just act as if nothing has happened." His voice sounded in Lan Yan's mind, and his face completely regained its composure. He smiled as he looked at the mission stone wall, even showing the same excitement as those around him.

Lan Yan watched the change in Han Li's expression, slightly startled, but for some reason, she felt that Han Li's words had a calming effect, and her expression unconsciously returned to calm.

Han Li walked around and examined the mission stone wall and the Immortal Execution Board, just like many of the onlookers.

Both he and Lan Yan had used the Reincarnation Palace masks to change their appearances. Even if the other party were a Da Luo existence, as long as they didn't scrutinize carefully, it would be difficult to discover their true identities.

Their change in expression had lasted only a moment before they immediately calmed down. Unless someone kept a close watch on them, it would be extremely hard to notice anything unusual.

Moreover, they had just arrived at Gold Abyss City and hadn't done anything to attract attention. That small slip should have gone unnoticed.

However, what Han Li didn't expect was that deep in the crowd of the immortal market, a pair of eyes was fixed on them—it was the round-faced middle-aged man from earlier in the golden pagoda.

"These two are indeed suspicious. That man didn't react to the probing of the Revolving Pearl, but his divine sense still showed a momentary subtle fluctuation. Though it could fool others, it cannot fool my Soul-Exploring Eye. Unfortunately, I arrived a step too late and didn't fully see their reaction to the Immortal Execution Board. Otherwise, I would have more certainty in my judgment." A peculiar dim light appeared in the round-faced middle-aged man's eyes as he stared intently at Han Li and Lan Yan.

Han Li made a round in the immortal market, greeted Lan Yan, and blended into the outgoing crowd, leaving without attracting attention.

After exiting the immortal market, the two immediately flew toward a distant exit.

A figure also walked out of the immortal market, staring at their backs—it was the round-faced middle-aged man.

"They're leaving already. It seems these two are indeed highly suspicious. Should I notify those people? No, finding just a suspect yields too little reward. Lin'er's immortal aperture is congenitally atrophied, and curing it requires a huge expenditure of immortal jade. I need to confirm this person's identity first, ensure everything is foolproof, and then report!" The round-faced middle-aged man flipped his hand and took out a purple orb. After a change of expression, he put the purple orb away, transformed into a faint shadow, and chased after Han Li and Lan Yan.

Han Li and Lan Yan soon arrived at an exit of Gold Abyss City, paid the departure fee, and quickly flew out of the city.

"Phew..." Han Li let out a silent sigh of relief, his tense heart slowly relaxing.

"Let's go!" He waved his hand, emitting a burst of green light that enveloped the two of them, and shot off into the distance.

This was Gold Abyss City. The Ink Dragon Flying Boat was obtained from She Chan's storage artifact. Although the chance of being recognized was small, he didn't dare take the risk.

With Han Li's flying speed, in the blink of an eye they had traveled millions of li, far away from the range of Gold Abyss City. Only then did he slow down his flying light and finally stop.

"Fellow Daoist Han, this place isn't entirely safe yet. Why have we stopped?" Lan Yan asked curiously.

"Of course we'll continue, but there are some matters to deal with before we go." Han Li smiled slightly.

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly turned and pounced toward a low hill behind them, grabbing at the air.

With a loud "boom!"

Ripples appeared above the hill, and a golden giant palm the size of a small mountain materialized, grabbing the hill.

The hill instantly crumbled like tofu, and the ground was torn open into a huge pit hundreds of zhang wide.

At that moment, a black human figure shot out from the deep pit, fleeing in panic into the distance. It was the round-faced middle-aged man.

This man's aura was now fully exposed; he was also at the Taiyi stage, but only early Taiyi.

"Still trying to run! You've been following us for so long, and you think I didn't notice?" Han Li snorted coldly and moved his arm.

The golden giant palm blurred and disappeared, then instantly reappeared in front of the black figure. Its fingers closed like lightning, grabbing the black figure in its palm, and squeezed hard.

With a bang, the round-faced middle-aged man's body exploded, but instead of blood and flesh flying everywhere, it turned into hundreds of black lights shooting in all directions, all at extremely high speed.

Han Li raised an eyebrow. He couldn't sense the man's true body; it seemed the man had truly transformed into countless entities hidden within each black light.

But he didn't panic. He formed a hand seal with one hand.

A golden light flashed, and the True Word Wheel appeared behind him. Golden ripples rapidly expanded, instantly covering an area of a thousand zhang around, enveloping all the black lights.

Trapped by the golden ripples, all the black lights came to a halt, motionless.

Over a decade had passed, and his time law had fully recovered, even seeming to have grown slightly stronger.

Han Li flicked his sleeve, and countless golden lightning bolts shot out, forming a cage of lightning that enveloped all the black light.

"Perish!" A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he made a hand seal and pointed into the void.

The lightning cage suddenly blazed with light, then exploded with a roar, like a sun bursting, instantly annihilating all the black light.

A faint, miserable scream came from within the lightning, only to be immediately drowned out.

Having done this, Han Li breathed a sigh of relief.

That person's law should be something like the Law of Shadow, inherently restrained by his Lightning Law, and with the True Word Wheel, the other party could not have escaped.

Han Li made a hand seal and withdrew the True Word Wheel, and the surrounding golden ripples and golden lightning soon dissipated as well.

"Fellow Daoist Han, who was that person? Could he be a spy from the Heavenly Court who has discovered us?" Lan Yan, having just come to her senses, asked with admiration mixed with some panic.

"Most likely, but it doesn't matter. He won't be leaking our information anymore," Han Li said with a faint smile.

He could sense that the round-faced middle-aged man was not a clone or the like, but a living cultivator.

Having killed him with lightning speed, their information should not have been leaked.

But to be cautious, they still needed to leave this place quickly.

"That's good," Lan Yan said, relieved.

Han Li waved his hand and summoned the Ink Dragon Flying Boat, lifting both of them onto it, and shot off into the distance with incredible speed, vanishing without a trace.

At that very moment, in a secluded courtyard within Gold Abyss City, a green-haired maiden stood quietly, admiring a flower bed before her. She was none other than the Wondrous Dharma Celestial Venerable.

Just then, footsteps approached from outside, and a green-skirted maiden entered.

"Holy Envoy, a message has arrived," the maiden said in a low voice.

"Oh, have you finally found news of that Han Li? I hope it's not another false report," the Wondrous Dharma Celestial Venerable said without turning around, still gently sniffing a pink flower in her hand, her tone indifferent.

"This message was personally brought by an agent planted in the Heavenly Court. They say there is even footage of the battle, so it should be genuine. However, he insists on delivering it to you in person," the green-skirted maiden said.

"Oh? Then let him come in," the Wondrous Dharma Celestial Venerable said, tossing aside the flower and turning around with a calm expression.

The green-skirted maiden acknowledged and quickly walked out, soon returning with a black-robed figure—the round-faced middle-aged man. His face was unusually pale, appearing severely depleted of vitality, yet his expression was quite excited.

"Greetings, Wondrous Dharma Celestial Venerable," the round-faced middle-aged man said, bowing respectfully.

"You have news of Han Li?" the Wondrous Dharma Celestial Venerable asked, glancing at him indifferently.

"Yes," the round-faced middle-aged man said. He steadied himself and recounted in detail how he had noticed Han Li's anomaly in the Golden Tower, followed him to the Immortal Inn, tracked him out of the city, and engaged him in battle.

"This is the footage of our battle," the round-faced middle-aged man said, producing a black orb from his hand. Within the orb, light flickered, showing the scene of his fight with Han Li.

"The True Word Wheel! The Law of Lightning! Yes, though his appearance is different, he is definitely Han Li," the Wondrous Dharma Celestial Venerable said, her eyes lighting up as she watched the images in the orb, speaking with certainty.

Seeing the Wondrous Dharma Celestial Venerable's reaction, the round-faced middle-aged man breathed a sigh of relief.

To verify Han Li's identity, he had paid an exceptionally heavy price; it would have been a huge loss if he had been mistaken.

"Where is this person now?" the Wondrous Dharma Celestial Venerable asked, standing up abruptly.

"I used the Soul Splitting Art to leave a clone here, while my true body fought this person at this location outside Gold Abyss City. He should believe he has completely killed me and preserved his secret, so he won't resort to extreme measures to escape. Moreover, less than half a quarter-hour has passed since our battle ended. With your abilities, even if he tries some trick to flee, he shouldn't be able to escape your grasp," the round-faced middle-aged man said, taking out a map of the area around Gold Abyss City and marking the spot where he had fought Han Li.

"Good. You are meticulous and have considered all aspects carefully. Green Stamen, take him away and reward him generously," the Wondrous Dharma Celestial Venerable said, a hint of satisfaction appearing on her face as she spoke to the green-skirted maiden.

Overjoyed, the round-faced middle-aged man thanked the Wondrous Dharma Celestial Venerable and followed the green-skirted maiden out of the small courtyard.

A green shadow flickered beside the Wondrous Dharma Celestial Venerable, and two maidservants, around sixteen years old with delicate features, materialized.

Both wore green gauze skirts and had identical faces—they were twin sisters.

"Holy Envoy, since we have obtained information on Han Li, to prevent leaks, should we..." one of the maidservants said, making a cutting gesture across her neck with a cold glare.

"No need. This man is just a petty figure driven by greed. Detain him here for two days and then release him. If people learn that we break our word and even kill to silence, who would be willing to work for our Nine Essence Temple in the future?" the Wondrous Dharma Celestial Venerable said calmly.

"Your foresight is profound, Holy Envoy," the green-clad maidservant replied.

"There's no need to dwell on such trivial matters. What's important now is that we finally have news of Han Li. Capturing him is the top priority," the Wondrous Dharma Celestial Venerable said, waving her jade hand. A blue light enveloped the two of them, and they shot off into the distance.