Chapter 802: Traitor?

Han Li's mind stirred, and he couldn't help but glance at Shi Chuankong.

Shi Chuankong's gaze flickered slightly, but he still maintained a calm expression, drinking and chatting with the dark-faced old man about business matters.

Han Li withdrew his gaze without changing expression and began discussing cultivation issues with the fleshy mountain-like man.

This fleshy mountain man's cultivation technique leaned toward body refinement, sharing many similarities with the Vast Spirit True Demon Art, and the two enjoyed a pleasant conversation.

Time passed bit by bit again, and before long, half a day had gone by. Outside, the sky had turned dark, but the Third Prince's men still hadn't appeared.

Seeing this, the group lost their desire to continue conversing.

“Third Brother governs his subordinates very strictly; the men he sent would never be so inconsiderate. It seems something has gone wrong,” Shi Chuankong said with a frown.

Han Li glanced at Shi Chuankong but said nothing.

“Young Master, could there be a problem on the road?” Old Qi asked with a slight furrow of his brow.

“Old Qi, send a message to Third Brother about this and ask if he knows what’s going on,” Shi Chuankong said, his eyes flickering.

“Your Highness, the last time this old servant contacted the Third Prince, he seemed busy with something and might take a while to respond,” Old Qi said hesitantly.

“Oh, is that so? Regardless, ask him first,” Shi Chuankong said, a look of surprise flashing across his face before he continued.

“Yes,” Old Qi replied, then quickly walked out.

After Old Qi left, Shi Chuankong leaned back in his chair and fell into thought again, his brows tightly knit and his expression quite solemn.

Seeing Shi Chuankong like this, Han Li and the others refrained from speaking and fell silent.

Time slowly passed again. A quarter of an hour later, footsteps sounded from outside, and Old Qi returned.

“How is it?” Shi Chuankong immediately stood up.

“Reporting to Your Highness, there’s still no reply,” Old Qi shook his head.

Shi Chuankong slowly sat back down, his expression growing even darker.

The eyes of those around him all turned to Shi Chuankong, clearly waiting for his decision.

“Let’s wait another half day. If Third Brother’s men still haven’t arrived by then, we won’t wait any longer,” Shi Chuankong said after a brief pause, then glanced at Old Qi.

Old Qi clearly understood the meaning in Shi Chuankong’s eyes and turned to leave again.

Han Li glanced at Old Qi’s retreating back, then lowered his gaze.

The hall fell silent once more, and due to the unexpected turn of events, a tense atmosphere gradually set in.

And as time passed, this tension grew heavier.

The dark-faced old man and his two companions also began to show signs of nervousness, occasionally exchanging glances. Only Shi Chuankong and Han Li remained expressionless.

Half a day passed quickly, but outside, there was still no movement.

Shi Chuankong’s eyes flickered, and he suddenly stood up.

Seeing this, Han Li and the others also rose to their feet.

“Everyone, please follow me,” Shi Chuankong said, then turned and walked outside.

Seeing this, Han Li and the others followed suit.

The group soon arrived at a hall deep within the mansion. This hall was cylindrical, resembling a circular altar, entirely black, with almost no visible traces of brickwork, as if it had been carved from a single massive black crystal.

The circular hall occupied about an acre of land and stood over ten zhang high, towering above the surrounding buildings.

Old Qi was standing at the closed entrance of the hall. When he saw them approaching, he immediately came forward.

“Is everything ready?” Shi Chuankong asked.

“Rest assured, Young Master, everything is prepared,” Old Qi nodded immediately, then formed a hand seal and waved.

A black light shot out from his hand and vanished into the hall door.

A layer of black light appeared on the door, flickered briefly, and then the door opened to both sides, revealing the interior.

Inside was a circular hall, completely empty, making the space seem exceptionally vast.

On the surrounding walls, at regular intervals, were embedded white jade stones the size of a human head, emitting bright white light that illuminated the entire hall as if it were daylight.

In the center of the hall floor was a silver spell formation about seven or eight zhang in diameter, covered entirely with silver array patterns. Embedded within it were nearly a hundred black crystals, each emitting astonishing demonic energy. It was clearly a teleportation array.

Around the formation sat eight gray-robed demons, all of considerable cultivation, at the Golden Immortal level. When they saw Shi Chuankong enter, they all stood up and bowed respectfully.

“Fellow Daoist Shi, where does this teleportation array lead?” Han Li’s gaze shifted as he asked.

“This array leads to Chuyu City, a million li away. Given the changed circumstances, Third Brother’s men have likely been delayed. Continuing to wait here will only put us at a greater disadvantage. It’s better to go to Chuyu City first and then decide what to do,” Shi Chuankong said.

"That's fine too." Han Li nodded.

"Elder Qi, activate the formation." Shi Chuankong said to Elder Qi beside him.

Elder Qi acknowledged, stepped forward, and a silver light flashed in his hand as a silver token appeared, which he was about to raise.

But at that moment, his movement suddenly paused.

"Elder Qi? What's wrong?" Shi Chuankong asked in slight surprise.

Han Li's gaze also flickered as he looked over.

Elder Qi did not turn back; he crouched down, pulled a black crystal from the ground formation, examined it briefly, and put it away.

At the same time, a silver light flashed in his other hand, and another black crystal appeared, which he inserted into the spot.

"This old servant suddenly noticed that this piece of demonic yuan stone in the formation seemed somewhat impure; it's better to replace it." Elder Qi turned back and smiled at Shi Chuankong, then stepped back, forming hand seals and waving his hands.

The silver token immediately shot up, emitting a bright silver light.

The eight nearby Golden Immortal demons also each offered a silver token, emitting dazzling silver light that connected with Elder Qi's token.

The ground formation then also emitted a dazzling silver light, humming as it activated.

"Let's go." Shi Chuankong paid no attention and said to Han Li, stepping forward to enter the teleportation formation.

At that moment, a black light suddenly flashed from Elder Qi's hand, swiftly stabbing into Shi Chuankong's lower back.

Amid Shi Chuankong's shocked and furious expression, the black light easily pierced his protective light, then like a black snake, it struck a purple jade pendant at his waist, which suddenly burst apart, instantly transforming into a purple light shield that blocked the black light.

"Elder Qi, you..." Shi Chuankong finally reacted, roaring as he dodged aside like lightning.

A cracking sound was heard, and the purple light shield was finally pierced by the black light, which grazed past Shi Chuankong's body.

With a "pfft" sound!

A deep wound was cut into Shi Chuankong's waist, blood gushing out like a fountain.

The moment Elder Qi's black light flashed, the void beside Han Li shimmered, and a dark golden sharp giant claw, a pink slender sword, and a pitch-black round wheel appeared out of thin air, striking at his body like lightning.

With a "pfft" sound, the three demonic weapons simultaneously pierced into his body.

A blur of figures appeared, and the black-faced old man, the fleshy mountain man, and the red-dressed young woman instantly surrounded Han Li, their originally peaceful faces now filled with icy killing intent.

But at that moment, Han Li's figure suddenly dissipated, revealing it to be an afterimage.

The expressions of the three all changed.

On the other side, blood gushed from Shi Chuankong's waist, the skin around the wound quickly turned pitch black and spread rapidly, his entire body grew numb, and his dodging figure became unsteady.

"Die!" Elder Qi pursued closely, his face ferocious as he growled, his hand grabbing out like lightning.

The void above Shi Chuankong shimmered, and three cyan vortexes appeared out of thin air. With a bang, countless sharp cyan lights shot out from them, raining down on Shi Chuankong.

The eight Golden Immortal demons around the formation also roared and leaped forward.

Amid a series of "hissing" sharp sounds, various colored treasures flew out from these people, striking at Shi Chuankong like lightning.

"Elder Qi... you..." Shi Chuankong was full of grief and indignation, desperately urging his Nascent Soul within, surging out large amounts of purple-black light that condensed into a several-zhang-sized purple-black shield above his head.

The shield's surface was covered with layers of exquisite patterns, with countless gorgeous purple runes faintly visible.

As soon as the shield formed, the rain of cyan light and the demonic weapons of the Golden Immortals arrived with a roar, striking the purple-black shield, causing dazzling light and intense fluctuations, and a series of earth-shattering explosions.

The shield immediately trembled violently, countless cracks appearing on its surface, then it exploded with a bang.

At the moment the purple-black shield exploded, Shi Chuankong was heavily struck, his body slamming hard onto the ground.

Before he could turn over and stand up, countless fierce attacks fell like lightning, threatening to engulf his body.

At that moment, a blurry golden light flickered, and Shi Chuankong's figure suddenly disappeared out of thin air.

Elder Qi and the others' attacks struck empty, all hitting the ground, causing a series of rumbling explosions, leaving huge craters in the ground.

The residual waves of various colored treasures struck the nearby hall, causing it to tremble violently, cracks appearing on all four walls, but a layer of bright black light emerged on the walls, stubbornly resisting the surrounding impacts and maintaining the entire hall.

At that moment, a blurry golden light appeared out of thin air, stabbing into a wall.

With a "pfft" sound, the black restriction was easily pierced like paper, and the wall behind was also pierced through, creating a large hole.

A blurry golden shadow flashed, flying out from within.

At that moment, the black restriction on the entire hall suddenly brightened, emitting a piercing hum, then collapsed and disappeared with a bang.

Without the support of the restriction, the hall could no longer withstand such intense impact, instantly collapsing, burying everyone else inside.

In the void several hundred zhang outside the hall, a golden shadow flickered, and Han Li's figure appeared, golden light flickering on his body, and a rapidly spinning golden wheel could faintly be seen within him.

He held a person in his hand, who was Shi Chuankong.