Chapter 526: Revenge

"What's going on?" Han Li raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Earlier they wouldn't let me come along. I was worried, so I had Nian Yu follow them. He's already a Great Vehicle level great demon now. I thought it would be foolproof, but now... Brother and the others have likely run into trouble..." Meng Qianqian's face was extremely grim as she murmured.

A flash of light flickered in Han Li's eyes. He communicated with the cyan great bird through divine sense for a moment, then said:

"Yun Gui and the others are trapped in a forbidden area of the Mengchi Kingdom's imperial palace. Nian Yu escaped to bring you the news."

"Lord Li, please allow Qianqian to go rescue my brother immediately." Meng Qianqian's expression eased slightly, and she promptly said.

"Why not ask me to help you save them?" Han Li asked, somewhat surprised.

"Though Qianqian is dull, she knows that the reason you are leaving the Northern Cold Immortal Domain is most likely due to the great upheaval about to occur. I am already extremely grateful that you came specifically to see us, and I dare not delay your journey." Meng Qianqian quickly said.

"Nian Yu, with his Great Vehicle cultivation, was severely injured, which shows that the opponent's cultivation is far above yours. How can you save them by going? Besides, Mengchi Kingdom is not close to here. Can they hold out until you arrive?" Han Li nodded inwardly and asked.

"This..." Meng Qianqian was at a loss for words.

"Let's go. It won't take long." Han Li said calmly.

"Uncle, I'll take care of this injured big bird." Before Meng Qianqian could reply, Jin Tong had already approached, patting her chest and grinning, a bit of red oil still on the corner of her mouth.

The cyan great bird Nian Yu saw Jin Tong and immediately felt all its feathers stand on end. It struggled to get up on its own, but due to its severe injuries, it fell down several times.

"Jin Tong, can you handle it?" Han Li glanced at Jin Tong and said.

"Of course! I've been studying various texts from the bracelet these days!" Jin Tong's little face puffed up, and she shouted angrily.

"I didn't know you could read. I thought you only knew how to eat." Han Li raised an eyebrow slightly and shook his head.

"Uncle, don't underestimate me. I've found that I vaguely know some of the things in those texts. This is probably talent." Jin Tong's face changed, and she quickly exclaimed.

"Then let me see how you take care of Nian Yu." Han Li asked.

"This is too simple." Jin Tong said with a bit of pride. Somehow, a pill had already appeared in her hand, and with a gentle wave, it entered the great bird's mouth.

Nian Yu swallowed it in one gulp, still looking at Jin Tong with great wariness.

Jin Tong curled her lips disdainfully: "So delicate, useless. Not like my Xiao Bai. Xiao Bai, where are you? Slacking off again!"

As she spoke, she turned her gaze to a white jade Pixiu pendant hanging from Han Li's waist.

"Bothering me again..." The pendant trembled with light, and a reluctant voice came from it.

"Ungrateful! I just called you to eat something good, and you put on airs!" Jin Tong's little eyebrows shot up as she said.

"I'm not interested in mortal food." The white jade Pixiu buzzed.

"Then don't regret it!" Jin Tong said angrily.

The pendant just shook a few times in response.

With Jin Tong's interruption, the atmosphere immediately relaxed.

Han Li flipped his hand and took out several pills of various colors, instructing Meng Qianqian to feed them to Nian Yu.

"I already know the location. You stay here and recover from your injuries." Han Li said to the cyan great bird, then waved his hand, and a jade-green flying chariot appeared suspended in midair.

Then, with a sweep of his sleeves, he brought Meng Qianqian and Jin Tong onto the flying chariot, which shot toward the high night sky like a streak of light, disappearing into the heavens.

...

Southern part of Guyun Continent, Mengchi Kingdom.

The capital, Haoyun City, had its city gates tightly shut for days. The citizens were confined to their homes and not allowed to go out freely.

It was the dead of night. The city streets were eerily quiet, with few lights lit in the houses on either side. If not for the occasional fully armored soldiers seen in some street corners and alleys, this capital city might have been mistaken for a ghost town.

Unlike the deathly stillness of the outer city, the imperial palace in the south of Haoyun City was brightly lit, with patrols of armed imperial guards everywhere. The imperial garden behind the Yangxin Hall was surrounded layer upon layer, completely sealed off.

Hundreds of these guards exuded faint fluctuations of aura, all of them cultivators.

The leader was a white-bearded old man in a purple brocade robe, tall and slender, with an air of immortality. He was a mid-stage Deity Transformation cultivator.

This man was Xu Shou, the ancestor of the Xu family, the cultivation clan that now secretly controlled the Mengchi Kingdom.

At this moment, his white brows were tightly furrowed, and his expression was very unpleasant.

Half a month ago, the descendants of the original Sun royal family of Mengchi Kingdom had suddenly returned, colluding with the Yun family. Some former court officials had conspired with them from within, catching them off guard.

By the time he emerged from his urgent seclusion, half of the Xu family's cultivators were dead or injured. Worse, the puppet emperor they supported, that worthless Gao who indulged in wine and women all day, had been frightened day after day, developed a heart condition, and was scared to death.

After stabilizing the family situation with lightning speed, he personally came to fight the Sun descendants.

Unexpectedly, they joined forces with a junior from the Yun family. With unknown opportunities, their cultivation techniques were of a higher grade than his, and they had an endless array of magical treasures. Although his cultivation level was firmly superior, he could not overcome them.

What shocked him even more was that the two had brought a Great Vehicle level bird beast, which nearly killed him with one strike. If not for the timely arrival of his backer, he would have been dead by now.

"Ancestor, these rebels have been hiding in this dry well for two days. We have been extracting the spiritual energy from it using the formation granted by our benefactor. In at most two more hours, we can break the restriction here." A middle-aged man with a black mole on his face bowed to the old man and said respectfully.

"The Yun family operated in Mengchi Kingdom for many years. This restriction must have consumed enormous resources to build. Do not be careless; beware of any hidden tricks. This time, we must eradicate them root and branch, and not let a single one escape." Xu Shou's face darkened as he slowly instructed.

"If the benefactor hadn't insisted on chasing that demon beast, breaking this restriction would be as easy as lifting a finger..." The middle-aged man said casually.

Xu Shou was about to reprimand him for speaking recklessly about the benefactor when his expression suddenly changed, and he looked up into the night sky.

A yellow streak of light crossed the night sky and landed at the edge of the dry well.

"Greetings, Benefactor..." Xu Shou recognized the newcomer and immediately bowed deeply.

The others knelt directly on the ground, not daring to raise their heads.

At the edge of the dry well, a young man in a yellow robe with an ordinary appearance glanced at the middle-aged man kneeling at Xu Shou's feet. A fierce look flashed across his face, and with a casual wave, he severed the man's head.

Blood sprayed everywhere, splattering all over Xu Shou, but his body only tensed, not daring to move.

Expressionless, the young man drew the middle-aged man's Nascent Soul into his hand, gently rubbed it, and turned it into powder.

Earlier, he had gone after that cyan strange bird, only to find that although the beast was only at the Great Vehicle level, its escape speed was faster than that of a late Great Vehicle cultivator. He had exhausted his strength but failed to capture it, putting him in a foul mood.

The middle-aged man's careless words gave him an excuse to kill him and vent his anger.

"How is it?" the young man asked casually.

"Reporting to the Benefactor, it should be broken in about two hours." Xu Shou quickly replied.

"No more waiting. I need to return to the sect after cleaning up this mess. From now on, the tribute your Xu family sends to Shiji Hall must be doubled." The young man said calmly.

Xu Shou's heart sank upon hearing this.

Originally, the Xu family had seized Mengchi Kingdom for the Huayang sand mine within its borders. Most of the harvest was already offered to this young man from Shiji Hall.

Now, with the demand doubled, where would they have any profit left?

"What, is there a problem?" The young man raised an eyebrow when Xu Shou didn't answer.

"No, no... We will follow the Benefactor's decree." Xu Shou's body trembled as he quickly replied.

The young man ignored him. With a wave of his hand, five yellow talismans appeared on his five fingers.

After chanting a spell, the five talismans burst into flames with a "whoosh."

He casually waved, and five flames of different colors shot out, falling toward the well mouth.

A yellow light then lit up at the well mouth, and a yellow formation arranged around it activated, working together with the five flames to strike the well opening.

With a loud "boom!"

A dim golden light screen emerged inside the well, flashed once, and then shattered directly.

Immediately after, seven or eight streaks of multicolored light burst out from the well, shooting into the sky like fireworks, scattering in all directions.

But before they could disperse, a huge five-colored silk umbrella descended from above, spinning rapidly. An invisible suction force swept out, pressing all the lights back to the ground. As the light faded, cultivators appeared scattered around the dry well.

The Xu family cultivators, who had been waiting, immediately surrounded them, weapons in hand, grinning maliciously at the group.

Near the well, stood a young man in a green robe with a crescent-shaped jade pendant at his waist, looking somewhat simple and honest. He was supporting a man of similar age, burly as an iron tower.

These two were none other than Meng Yungui and Sun Buzheng.

The others scattered around were Meng Xiong and the rest, all severely injured as well.