Chapter 879: Unconventional Means

Han Li's mind raced, and by now he had largely come to believe the contents of the mysterious paper.

This was not only because of what Poison Dragon had just said, nor merely due to Chen Yang's earlier reaction to his true spirit bloodline, but more so because of an intuitive feeling.

His intuition told him that what was written on this paper was true.

Looking back, ever since he had embarked on the path of immortal cultivation, this intuitive sense of danger had saved him countless times.

With this thought, he gently touched his chest, a grim expression spreading across his face.

If the Green Sheep City Lord was indeed plotting against him, the situation would be dire. He still had the Black Calamity Insect inside him, and unless he could remove it, escape was out of the question.

At that point, even resisting would be impossible; a single thought from the City Lord could make his life worse than death.

But to simply surrender and await death was absolutely out of the question.

Han Li paced back and forth in the room for a moment, then stopped. He flipped his hand and produced the small red bottle. After staring at it for a while, he opened his mouth and spat out a small dark green bottle—the Gourd of Time.

Instead of drinking the liquid inside the red bottle as the paper had described, he poured it all into the Gourd of Time, sealed the bottle, and swallowed it back into his stomach.

Although Han Li largely believed the words on the paper, he would never obediently drink the mysterious red liquid as instructed.

But throwing the red liquid away would be too reckless. After much deliberation, he decided it was safest to temporarily store it in the Gourd of Time.

Having done this, Han Li closed his eyes and sat quietly, continuing to ponder countermeasures.

In truth, over the years, he had not failed to consider escape and had secretly gathered quite a bit of information.

The entire Xuan Dou Arena was built in a completely sealed area within Green Sheep City. Apart from a few special zones like the Star Pool, the only connection to the outside was the entrance passage of the arena.

Although special zones like the Star Pool were also connected to the outside, they were all protected by restrictions and guarded by experts to prevent anyone from escaping through them.

Over the past few years, he had investigated these places both openly and covertly, and had long formulated a plan for how to act should the day come when he needed to flee.

But the most difficult part was not the escape route; it was how to deal with the Black Calamity Insect.

He had made extensive inquiries about this insect, but unfortunately, it was the Green Sheep City's trump card for controlling Xuan Dou Arena slaves. Information on this matter was extremely secretive, and without resorting to some unconventional means, his progress had been very limited, leaving him with nothing so far.

But now the situation was urgent, and he could no longer afford to hesitate.

Han Li suddenly opened his eyes, a fierce glint flashing within them. He rose and left the room, heading outside.

"Fellow Daoist Li."

"Brother Li."

The Xuan Dou warriors in the Ninth District greeted him as usual when they saw him.

After all, times had changed. Although Han Li's apparent cultivation level had not changed much, his strength displayed in the Xuan Dou Arena was evident to all. Coupled with his close relationship with the district's boss, Du Long, he had naturally become someone many sought to curry favor with.

Han Li nodded in response to each greeting and soon left the Ninth District, arriving at the Exchange Hall.

He wandered around the hall for a while, then seemingly casually entered the passage leading to the Fourth District.

After lingering in the Fourth District for a moment, Han Li went to the Eighth District, and then to the First District.

After making several rounds like this, when he returned to the Exchange Hall, a strange glint flickered in his eyes.

He had been wandering around just now, covertly probing the surroundings without leaving a trace.

If the Qingyang City Lord was about to make a move, he might send someone to monitor his actions.

Yet after walking around just now, he had not detected anyone following or watching him.

He breathed a sigh of relief inwardly, but also felt a hint of confusion.

Although this situation exceeded his expectations, since he had already made his decision, he had no intention of backing out halfway.

Han Li let out a soft breath, stepped into a passage, and soon arrived at a place similar to the Ninth District. He walked up to a room and knocked on the door.

After a moment, with a creak, the door slowly opened, revealing a gray-robed youth. It was the same person who had brought Han Li into the Xuan Dou Arena, named Zhu Jieshan.

"Fellow Daoist Zhu, long time no see." Han Li greeted with a smile.

"Li Feiyu? What are you doing here!" Zhu Jieshan, seeing Han Li, showed a surprised expression and frowned.

"Fellow Daoist Zhu, no need to be so wary. We are old acquaintances. It was you who led me into the Xuan Dou Arena. Remembering the kindness you showed me then, I came today specially to catch up with you and also to ask for a small favor." Han Li said with a smile, unobtrusively slipping a small cloth pouch into Zhu Jieshan's hand.

Zhu Jieshan raised an eyebrow. The pouch contained several round objects—a few Xuan-grade beast cores.

"Fellow Daoist Li is too kind. Come in." His expression softened slightly, and he stepped aside to invite Han Li into his dwelling.

The place where Zhu Jieshan lived had a layout similar to Han Li's residence, but it was much larger. Besides the chairs and furnishings, there were many other items in the room.

Everything was arranged in perfect order, clear and methodical.

Han Li swept his gaze left and right. When he turned back, Zhu Jieshan had somehow produced a set of tea utensils and brewed a pot of clear tea.

The fragrance of tea filled the air, refreshing the mind.

"The Xuan Dou Arena is lacking in resources, so there's no fine tea to offer. Please don't take offense, Fellow Daoist Li," Zhu Jieshan said with a smile.

"With such a fragrant tea, if this doesn't count as fine tea, then what we usually drink is nothing but plain water," Han Li said, lifting the teacup, blowing on it, taking a sip, and smiling.

"If Fellow Daoist Li likes it, you can take some with you when you leave. By the way, may I ask what brings you here?" Zhu Jieshan waved his hand and then asked with a smile.

"Just now, when I returned to my room after going out, I suddenly discovered that someone had sneaked in and left this envelope. Its contents alarmed me, so I came to discuss it with you, Fellow Daoist Zhu." Han Li's expression turned grave as he took out the envelope and handed it over.

Zhu Jieshan's eyes flickered at the words. He took the envelope and looked at it, his expression changing drastically.

The moment his mind was shaken, Han Li's right hand shot out like lightning. His index and middle fingers glowed with white light, like a gleaming dagger, stabbing toward Zhu Jieshan's lower abdomen dantian.

At the same time, a crystalline light flashed from between his brows, and a crystalline chain shot out like lightning, also stabbing toward Zhu Jieshan's head.

Two crisp sounds of "clang, clang" rang out.

A snow-white bone sword appeared out of nowhere in front of Zhu Jieshan's lower abdomen, intercepting Han Li's fingers.

Meanwhile, crystalline patterns emerged on Zhu Jieshan's forehead, faintly forming the shape of a talisman. Dazzling crystalline light radiated from it, forming a crystalline light shield that blocked Han Li's divine sense chain.

Seeing this, Han Li's expression darkened.

"I knew you were up to something. How dare you show off such petty tricks before me!" Zhu Jieshan said coldly, holding the bone sword.

Before his words faded, his five fingers holding the sword moved rapidly. The white bone sword in his hand suddenly emitted strands of white light. With a sharp hissing sound, it condensed into a white sword aura about ten feet long, slashing fiercely at Han Li.

"Sword aura!" Han Li's pupils contracted. In the Scale Fish Realm, demonic energy or immortal spiritual power could not be used at all. How could sword aura appear?

Though somewhat surprised in his heart, his reaction was still without any delay. His figure flickered and then vanished without a trace, causing the white sword aura to slash at empty air.

Zhu Jieshan was startled. The next moment, his expression changed drastically as he swiftly turned around. The bone sword in his hand, blazing with white light, slashed behind him, cutting through the air with a sharp sound like metal striking stone.

But before the white bone sword could strike down, a palm had already appeared before him, turning into a blade and plunging straight toward Zhu Jieshan's chest.

With a loud "bang!"

Zhu Jieshan's chest grew hot, and then his entire body was struck by a sharp, immense force. His body flew backward like a straw in a gale, crashing heavily into a nearby wall.

A huge wound had opened in his chest, blood gushing out. He also spat out a mouthful of blood, and the bone sword in his hand flew out of his grip.

"You..."

Zhu Jieshan's face was full of shock, but before he could finish his words, a figure flickered in the air above his head. Han Li's figure appeared again like a ghost, punching down.

Having lost his weapon, Zhu Jieshan barely raised his arms to block.

But he was now severely injured, his movements sluggish. Before his arms could fully rise, he took a heavy blow to the forehead.

With a muffled "boom!"

Zhu Jieshan's body crashed heavily to the ground like a meteor, spitting out another mouthful of blood. His pupils trembled, his eyes glazed over. Clearly, this punch had shaken his sea of consciousness and soul. He lay motionless on the ground, in a semi-conscious state.

However, the talisman on his forehead and the crystalline light shield it formed were unaffected, still shining brightly as before.

Han Li, still in midair, saw this and his eyes flickered. Then, a crystalline light flashed between his brows, and a semi-transparent crystalline small sword shot out, but immediately grew several times larger, transforming into a divine sense sword several feet in size.

The divine sense sword was inscribed with strange runes, emitting powerful divine sense fluctuations. It slashed heavily at the crystalline light shield on Zhu Jieshan's forehead.

With a soft "crack!"

The crystalline light shield, fragile as paper before the divine sense sword, was easily shattered. The talisman on his forehead also broke inch by inch, crumbling and disappearing.

After shattering the crystalline light shield, the divine sense sword suddenly stopped.

He formed a hand seal and pointed. The divine sense sword flashed with light and then suddenly decomposed into several crystalline chains, which plunged into Zhu Jieshan's head.

Several divine sense chains coiled around Zhu Jieshan's soul in his sea of consciousness, wrapping it layer by layer.

Zhu Jieshan's body twitched slightly, then went completely still.

After doing this, Han Li's figure flickered and appeared behind the door. He opened it a crack and looked outside.

The materials used around Zhu Jieshan's dwelling were the same as those in his own residence, impenetrable to divine sense and with good soundproofing. That was why he had dared to act so boldly.

Outside the door, all was quiet. Clearly, no one had noticed the fight just now.

Han Li felt slightly relieved. He closed the door again, turned back to Zhu Jieshan's side, formed a hand seal, and pointed at the center of his brow. A crystalline light flashed and vanished.

Zhu Jieshan's body stirred. He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze now clear.

"Li Feiyu, how dare you attack me! Aren't you afraid of dying from the black calamity worm gnawing at your heart?" As soon as he regained consciousness, Zhu Jieshan immediately roared at Han Li.