"Fellow Daoist?"

"Fellow Daoist?"

In a daze, there was a deep voice calling out continually.

The first moment Han Yu opened his eyes, he saw a red-brown face with thick eyebrows and big eyes, looking rugged, tensely staring at him from a foot away.

He found himself sprawled on the ground in a large character shape, having created a shallow pit, feeling indescribably uncomfortable.

For the first time, his entire skeleton felt like it was about to fall apart, with lingering soreness and numb pain in every joint.

After straining to lift his hand a little, he could vaguely see residual currents of electricity flickering by.

How many lightning strikes have I suffered?

"Three and a half strikes!"

Glass spoke with annoyance in the Sea of Consciousness.

Earlier, when the first tribulation lightning struck, Han Yu kneeled on the spot, with a smack, embedding into the ground from the sky.

The tribulation lightning, seeing he was not dead, struck again, the scene was miserable. Even though he had lost consciousness, he still flailed about like an eel in a hot pan.

By the time the third tribulation lightning struck, Han Yu was emitting electrical arcs all over, with hair standing up like a porcupine's quills.

He wasn't moving, yet he wasn't dead either.

And what about the other half-strike?

"The other half was because your damn Ping redirected it into the Sea of Consciousness, I took half of it for you."

Glass screamed with a darkened expression.

Turns out when the fourth tribulation lightning came, the Ping in the Sea of Consciousness suddenly inverted, and the lightning that should have struck Han Yu was forcibly intercepted halfway into the Sea of Consciousness.

Han Yu endured half of it himself, while the other half struck the Artifact Spirit's unprepared face...

"And then, is that all?"

Supporting his dizzy head, Han Yu slowly got up, feeling the strength returning to his limbs, and the crackling sound of electrical currents gradually faded away.

"This time the tribulation lightning targeted that grudge. It seems the grudge was washed away by the tribulation lightning, so it didn't kill you."

The Artifact Spirit guessed, but it's likely quite accurate.

But what exactly was that grudge Black Robe had, that it was so terrifying?

It could even summon tribulation lightning.

"I can only sense that it was a thought filled with resentment against everything, hating all things in the world, heaven and earth, extremely pure and pure enough to anger the heavens, summoning tribulation lightning."

Glass rubbed the slightly blackened back of his head and spoke casually.

Black Robe really has a lot of secrets.

With corpse refining and conjuring such dangerous things.

Next time, if encountered again, I'll just end him, can't let him use such terrifying things again.

While Han Yu was contemplating how to obliterate Black Robe's Sea of Consciousness, the middle-aged man of forty cautiously approached.

Earlier, when confronting Black Robe, he saw Han Yu casually absorbing the opponent's fire series divine technique, which was enough to shatter his worldview.

Later, seeing Black Robe fleeing with his head in his hands left him utterly dumbfounded.

At such an age, to push a Divine Gaze Realm cultivator to such a sorry state, it's simply absurd.

Until the tribulation lightning appeared and watching Han Yu withstand four tribulation lightnings without dying, he was already numb.

This is beyond reason, he doesn't seem human.

Seeing Han Yu standing up now, he carefully approached.

"Are you okay?"

Han Yu shook his head until he finally regained clarity, nodding slightly when the man approached.

"I'm fine, it was quite painful."

The man's cheek twitched slightly, silently cursing internally.

Is pain the issue? That was life-threatening...

But he quickly spoke up nonetheless.

"I am Sikong Du..."

——

A shadowy figure staggered down from the sky, the charred body passing through the dense forest, at the edge of which stood a small mountain, not large, barely a mile in circumference.

Black Robe stumbled to a rocky outcrop, raising a hand to slap the stone wall, causing ripples to appear all around; upon looking again, an entrance had emerged.

Pale-faced, he slowly walked into the narrow passage, and after a dozen steps, the surroundings suddenly opened up.

The space within the cave was spacious, about sixty or seventy feet in length and width, nearly the size of an average house courtyard.

The surrounding rock walls showed signs of artificial chiseling, at the end of which rested an armored figure against the stone wall, its face ashen with no sign of life and eyes tightly shut.

Apart from this, the other three walls were leaned against by rows of figures, about thirty in total, all devoid of life, dressed not as ordinary people but seemingly as cultivators.

Black Robe clutched his chest and slowly sat down on the ground, then gritted his teeth to tear open the tattered cloth on his chest, revealing a mass of bloodied flesh inside.

To think the opponent's Fire Lotus had such power, if it weren't for his own divine power fire technique which offered some resistance, such power would likely have killed him on the spot.

However, it's not just that; the wounds like this are almost all over his body.

Though he managed to escape, it was by sheer will and last struggle, and these wounds could barely be called heavy injuries.

Recovery would require quite some time.

Moreover, he couldn't stay here anymore, having failed to kill the pursuing man; this matter might soon be exposed.

What he was doing couldn't be hidden, though an additional ten days or half a month would yield more results.

Thinking this, he prepared to align the True Essence that was already running amok in his body, when at that moment, a sharp voice abruptly came in.

"Even Black Robe has such a pathetic moment?"

With a chuckling voice, a white figure emerged, still enshrouded, with features hidden.

The person wore a white robe, a hood covering the face, similar in style.

After strolling in lightly, White Robe seemed to be sizing up Black Robe, then spoke in a startled tone.

"Who made you so miserable? You nearly lost half your life!"

The features of the Black Robe twisted into a scowl, speaking with thinly veiled anger.

"What does this have to do with you? We serve different roles, you have no authority over me."

The White Robe paused, and after a moment of silence, suddenly let out a light laugh.

"Looks like you've suffered quite a bit! You're this angry."

The Black Robe, no longer wanting to engage, sat cross-legged and began to adjust his chaotic True Essence. The White Robe also remained silent, pacing within the cave a few times before suddenly forming a seal. The armored figure by the wall suddenly moved and leapt out.

"What do you want to do?"

The Black Robe was startled, almost losing control of the True Essence he just stabilized.

The White Robe waved a hand, bringing the armor beside him. Watching as he gently stroked the body, occasionally making sounds of admiration.

The sight sent chills down the Black Robe's spine.

At this moment, the White Robe finally spoke slowly.

"You've made such a big mistake that you definitely can't stay here. After returning, you'll probably face punishment as well."

"You might as well lend me this thing to play with, and I'll plead on your behalf to those above."

The Black Robe's features twisted, his expression unreadable. After a long silence, he nodded.

"It's settled then, but this is my hard work. Don't break it."

The Black Robe said, still uneasy.

"Don't worry, it's more durable than you."

The White Robe once again laughed softly, making the Black Robe uncomfortable with goosebumps all over...

——

What!

Guardian of Huaizhou Prefecture?

"A court cultivator?"

Han Yu curiously examined Sikong Du, his expression odd as he spoke.

It's not that Han Yu had sharp eyes. If it were a cultivator from a sect, you might not be able to tell which sect they belonged to.

But a court cultivator always carries a certain rigid aura, no, not rigid, but rather a composed demeanor in their speech and behavior, always giving off a solemn feeling.

Sikong Du was taken aback, once again cupping his fists as he spoke.

"Good eyesight, I hail from the Inspectorate of Ascension Tower."

Upon hearing this, Han Yu's expression became even more peculiar.

He had just set up a court cultivator this morning and now encountered another one. Life truly is full of surprises.

However, what Sikong Du said did catch Han Yu's attention.

According to Sikong Du, the events began in Huaizhou Prefecture a month ago, during which many cultivators disappeared without trace. This wasn't supposed to be under the Guardian Mansion's jurisdiction.

After all, external cultivators have their sects, and anyway, aren't all cultivators people who come and go as they please?

If your sect doesn't tether them, what's the point of blaming the Guardian Mansion when they go missing?

So initially, Sikong Du didn't care.

But later, over twenty cases occurred in succession, in each case the missing cultivator had just left their sect and then vanished without a trace.

A few days of no news is understandable, but people disappearing into thin air is unusual.

Those sects searched all over Huaizhou Prefecture but couldn't find their own people, and eventually turned to the Guardian Mansion.

The reason was sound, as the disappearances happened in Huaizhou Prefecture, and everyone was a native of Huaizhou Prefecture, including the cultivators' origins, thus the Guardian Mansion should be responsible.

Considering themselves as belonging to Huaizhou Prefecture? At that time, Sikong Du was furious, his face turning livid.

However, the sects were not wrong. The continuous disappearances of so many cultivators already disrupted the order of Huaizhou Prefecture, so he was indeed obliged to intervene.

Compiling all the disappearance records, he noticed something.

The missing cultivators generally had cultivation above the Other Shore Realm; none were below the Other Shore Realm.

This was unusual. A couple would be understandable, but there were already over thirty.

Evidently, this was intentionally selective; the disappearances were certainly manmade.

He selected a few plain-looking Other Shore Guards from the Government Office, who daily disguised as ordinary cultivators to leave and return to the city, patrolling for four days like this.

Finally, the Black Robe surfaced, attacking when one of the guards was traveling.

Fortunately, the guard was always ready with a Mo Family signal mechanism, triggering it immediately upon the opponent's approach.

By the time Sikong Du arrived, the guard had been killed, and the Black Robe was about to flee with the body, leading to a fierce battle...

What happened afterward was just as Han Yu had seen.

The Corpse Refining Sect had escalated to such a level?

They went from refining corpses of mortals to targeting cultivators now.

Since it was a court cultivator, Han Yu didn't withhold any intelligence, instead, he disclosed the entirety of the Shuzhou Prefecture incident to him.

The more Sikong Du listened, the more alarmed he became. There had been earlier reports from the court about the Corpse Refining Sect, urging all state prefectures to investigate whether people under their jurisdiction had gone missing.

At that time, Huaizhou Prefecture had conducted a lengthy and tedious self-investigation, fortunately, it hadn't affected here.

Just never expected they weren't targeting the common people but the cultivators.

This matter was too significant, and for the Corpse Refining Sect to do such things, their plans were no small feat, maybe the Corpse Refining Lineage was staging a comeback.

"I need to return immediately to communicate this to the court, even notify the major sects. This isn't a minor issue; it can't be delayed."

Sikong Du said anxiously, then turned to Han Yu.

"Fellow Daoist, if you're not opposed, how about being my guest in Huaizhou City?"

Han Yu was taken aback, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Isn't that inappropriate?"

Considering the possibility of chaos if he went to Huaizhou City.

Sikong Du, however, was magnanimous, waving his hand and speaking boldly.

"You saved me. What's the issue? I must entertain you well."

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