After the hood was ruthlessly yanked off, Lu Li first took several deep breaths-the oppressive feeling of being locked in a pitch-black room was truly unbearable. Then, as his gaze shifted and he saw that delicate, black-clad young woman, a sense of foreboding abruptly surged within him.
He recognized the girl at a glance; she was the one who had fought with Wu De outside the North Gazing Valley market.
He thought to himself, this is really big trouble. Who would have thought they were actually part of the same group.
Yue also saw Lu Li and couldn't help but reveal a trace of astonishment. She immediately walked over to Lu Li and curiously looked him up and down, an action that instantly drew a lot of strange looks.
Ge Qiu, of course, knew why Yue was looking at Lu Li like that. He folded his arms across his chest, his expression peculiar, and didn't say a word.
Only after staring at him for several breaths did Yue exclaim in surprise, "It's you!"
"Ahem, Miss, long time no see," Lu Li said with a bitter smile.
"You guys struck too heavily last time! Senior Brother He had to lie in bed for more than two months to recover," Yue said indignantly, puffing up her cheeks.
This kid actually has a grudge with this girl?
Upon hearing this, Li Xiuyun and Ding Yiming standing nearby immediately shifted half a step away, terrified of being associated with Lu Li.
"About last time... it was actually a misunderstanding. I thought you were here to rob us, so..." Lu Li said helplessly.
"Robbers?" Yue was slightly taken aback. After a moment's thought, she felt there was a bit of logic to it and nodded. "So that's what it was. Then it really was your misunderstanding. Senior Brother He just wanted to ask you a few things."
By now, Lu Li had long guessed that Senior Brother He was probably the one who had entrusted someone to find the Yin Soul grounds. However, Senior Brother He's cultivation was only at the fourth layer; he was most likely just following orders.
There had to be a greater force behind this affair pulling the strings. One could even say that this mysterious Sect was the true mastermind.
Thinking this, Lu Li simply kept his mouth shut.
Seeing Lu Li remain silent, Yue spoke again, "Actually, Senior Brother He is a pretty good person. When you have time, I'll take you to meet him. I believe Senior Brother He won't hold it against you. What do you say?"
Just as Ge Qiu thought, they were all fish on the chopping block now. Lu Li was thinking about how to escape from this place. He thought that if he could coax some information out of Senior Brother He, maybe there would be a slim chance of survival. Thus, he nodded and said, "I will follow your arrangements, Miss."
"Good." Yue smiled happily upon hearing this and looked at Ge Qiu. "You guys go ahead with your business. I'll find him after you're done."
This girl seems a bit naive, doesn't she?
Yue's every move was vastly different from these cold, predatory men in black, which made Lu Li start scheming again in his heart.
Seeing that Yue seemed to have no intention of pursuing the matter, Ge Qiu couldn't help but stare at Lu Li. He frowned in thought for a moment before saying, "Kid, come with me."
After saying that, he turned to the remaining four pill refiners and eight black-clad guards. "Wait here for my return."
Then, he motioned for Lu Li to follow him toward the main hall directly north of the square.
At the entrance of the Yin Corpse Hall, Ge Qiu paused briefly to look inside. Finding that Mo Shang was not there, he questioned Guard Liu before leading Lu Li along the stone corridor in front of the hall toward the right.
Not far along, he stopped before a spacious cave dwelling sealed by a carved stone door on the right. The words 'Mo Yun Residence' were carved above it. Ge Qiu walked straight to the right side of the stone door, gently twisted a protruding black knob on the doorframe, then retreated back in front of the door and quietly waited.
At this moment, Ge Qiu's face was utterly expressionless, a stark contrast to the smiling, ingratiating persona he had worn on the square.
And Lu Li's heart grew heavier and heavier, feeling that something terrible lay in wait for him.
They waited a good portion of a quarter-hour before the stone door before them slowly rumbled open to both sides. A strange old man wearing a black hooded cloak stood at the doorway like a ghost.
When Lu Li saw that face devoid of blood, covered in nothing but withered skin over bone, his pupils constricted sharply. This person's appearance was truly terrifying.
"Greetings, Grand Elder." Ge Qiu's respectful voice interrupted Lu Li's thoughts.
"What is it."
"Reporting to the Grand Elder, the pill refiners have all been brought back. However... this person is somewhat special." As Ge Qiu spoke, he looked at Lu Li beside him. Although Yue had no intention of pursuing the matter, the order had ultimately been issued by the Grand Elder. This matter still required the Grand Elder's decision.
Only then did Mo Shang look at Lu Li. The moment he saw him, Mo Shang's eyes narrowed sharply. In the next instant, he was already standing directly in front of Lu Li. This sudden movement not only startled Lu Li but even made Ge Qiu beside him retreat two steps in fright.
"Kid, you've truly made this old man search hard for you, haven't you?" Mo Shang looked at Lu Li with a playful yet icy gaze, his voice freezing to the extreme.
"Grand Elder, what matter do you have with me?" Lu Li appeared calm on the surface, but his hairs were standing on end, his heart hanging by a thread.
"Heh heh, what matter?" Upon hearing this, Mo Shang instead withdrew his icy aura. He took out a pitch-black medicine bottle, poured out four black pills, and handed them to Ge Qiu. "First, take those four to the Pill Workshop. I still have questions for this kid."
Ge Qiu took the pills, nodded in acknowledgment, cast a glance at Lu Li, and then departed.
Mo Shang also turned and walked back into the stone chamber, casually saying, "Put away your little tricks and follow this old man."
Lu Li took a deep breath, stored away the Talisman hidden in his hand, and slowly followed Mo Shang inside.
The moment he entered the room, the stone door rumbled shut. The dim stone chamber, illuminated by an emerald night pearl, appeared exceptionally eerie. Mo Shang stood in the center of the main hall, turned around, and stared at Lu Li. "Do you know why this old man is looking for you?"
Seeing that the other party didn't intend to kill him immediately, Lu Li quickly lowered his head and said, "I beg Senior to clarify. I truly don't know where I have offended you."
This wasn't false; he genuinely didn't know where he had offended this old monster.
If it was about the incident outside the North Gazing Valley market, that was just normal conflict in the Cultivation world. Besides, they hadn't harmed the lives of Yue and Senior Brother He, so such a mighty figure shouldn't hold such a grudge.
"Hmph, then let this old man show you something." As he spoke, he reached out and summoned a small bronze coffin onto his palm. Then he tossed it forward. The small coffin rapidly enlarged and soon transformed into a normal-sized greenish bronze coffin.
This... is this the legendary Magical Artifact?
Lu Li's pupils constricted. In the Cultivation world, ordinary Mystic Tools couldn't freely change size. In his view, this bronze coffin was at least Magical Artifact level. As for anything above that, he didn't dare to think about it.
Right at that moment, the coffin lid slowly slid open.
A man wearing cloud-patterned robes, with a greenish complexion, slowly stood up from the coffin. He stiffly turned around and stared blankly at Lu Li.
"This... it's him!"
When Lu Li saw this person, the tangled threads in his mind instantly straightened out.
This person was precisely that man named Zhang Yu whom he had encountered when rescuing Lei Xiaoman at the Roaming Dragon Stronghold.
Based on what he had seen and heard at the time, combined with Wu De's later explanation, he could easily deduce that the one who had issued the bounty for his capture in the Thunderfire Mountains must have been this strange old man.
And he had actually stumbled right into the other party's lair by mistake. This was truly a stroke of terrible luck...