Han Yi had never imagined that the Clan Head of the Liu Clan could be so ruthless and decisive.
But upon further reflection, reconsidering Liu Heng's character, it seemed almost inevitable. Liu Heng had risked everything by secretly contacting those twelve Robber Cultivators, proving he was a daring individual willing to gamble it all.
After fleeing back to Daofu City from the disastrous ambush against Han Yi, Liu Heng initially planned to hide. However, he suddenly realized that regardless of whether Han Yi or the Robber Cultivators emerged victorious, neither would spare him. Staying in Daofu City meant certain death.
With no other choice, his only option was to flee the city.
Without hesitation, he abandoned the Liu Clan, secretly infiltrated Luo Manor, easily killed the severely wounded Luo Zhiguang, and then, in a fit of vengeful rage, slaughtered the guards who happened to arrive. Only after venting his pent-up fury did he flee into the night.
This, Han Yi concluded, must have been what truly happened to Liu Heng.
But now that Liu Heng had fled, even appearing on Great Qian's wanted list, he had vanished without a trace into the vast sea of humanity. Even if Han Yi wanted to avenge Luo Yunzhou, he had no idea where to begin the hunt.
"Something doesn't add up," Han Yi muttered, abruptly retracting his raised foot.
"It's not right. Did Liu Heng kill Luo Zhiguang purely out of revenge? He must have known that killing a member of the Luo Clan would inevitably draw the wrath of Great Qian. No, wait. According to the Luo Clan's account, after Liu Heng assassinated Luo Zhiguang, Senior Brother Luo happened to enter the room and stumbled upon the murder. His startled cry alerted others, and Liu Heng tried to flee. Senior Brother Luo instinctively tried to stop him and was killed in the process."
"This suggests Liu Heng's motives might have been more than mere revenge. He likely targeted Luo Zhiguang specifically. After the assassination, he intended to escape undetected, but Senior Brother Luo stumbled upon the scene. To avoid drawing the attention of Great Qian's authorities, he had no choice but to quickly kill him and flee."
"Moreover, given Great Qian's immense power, Liu Heng shouldn't have been able to evade capture so easily. Six days have passed, yet they haven't found a trace of him."
"Liu Heng is in hiding, but where could he possibly be hiding so effectively that even Great Qian's forces can't find him?"
A cold glint flashed in Han Yi's eyes. "The Spirit Field."
"It all started with the Luo Clan's Spirit Field," Han Yi muttered. "Liu Heng colluded with Robber Cultivators to ambush Luo Zhiguang for the Spirit Field, and the subsequent arbitration by the three major clans was also about the Spirit Field. Could his infiltration of Luo Manor and assassination of Luo Zhiguang have been for the same reason?"
"If that's the case, there must be a deeper secret hidden within the Spirit Field, something so compelling that Liu Heng risked everything to orchestrate this scheme, culminating in his stealthy entry into Luo Manor and the brutal murder of Luo Zhiguang."
"Now that he's in hiding, the most likely place for him to be is... the Spirit Field itself?"
Han Yi's thoughts raced, instantly piecing together this hidden thread. Though it was still speculation, his desire to avenge Luo Yunzhou's death compelled him to investigate.
A murderous glint flickered in his eyes as he swept his sleeves and strode away, heading straight for the Luo Clan Spirit Field.
If Liu Heng had merely killed Luo Zhiguang and spared Luo Yunzhou, Han Yi would have stayed out of it—that would have been the Luo Clan's internal affair.
But now that Luo Yunzhou lay dead in Daofu City, murdered by Liu Heng's hand, this vengeance became his own. And since he had deduced Liu Heng's likely hiding place, intervening to avenge Luo Yunzhou's death was inevitable.
The Luo Clan's Spirit Field wasn't located outside Daofu City, but within its walls.
Though Daofu City wasn't the largest in Luofeng County, its sprawling urban area still covered over forty square kilometers.
The Luo Manor was situated in the XC district, while the Luo Clan's Spirit Field occupied a corner of the North City District, perpetually shrouded by Formation Arts.
Han Yi didn't rush in. Instead, he patiently observed the Spirit Field from outside for two full days, studying the key to activating the formation. On the third day, he seized the opportunity during a brief window when the Luo Clan opened the formation and slipped inside.
He could have confronted Luo Wuzhou, Luo Yunzhou's elder brother and the new Clan Head of the Luo Clan, directly. However, such a move would likely alert the enemy and jeopardize his mission.
After infiltrating the formation-shrouded Spirit Field, Han Yi quietly patrolled the area, meticulously searching for Liu Heng. To his surprise, he found no trace of him whatsoever.
Two days later...
Han Yi remained concealed within the Spirit Field, employing the Turtle Breath Technique to suppress his presence to the barest minimum, ensuring he remained undetected.
Could my deduction be wrong?
Is the Spirit Field not the key? Is there another hidden layer to this?
Did Liu Heng not infiltrate the Luo Clan's Spirit Field at all? Did he truly flee the city and become a Robber Cultivator?
"Two more days. If there's still no sign of him, I'll leave."
Han Yi sat cross-legged, his mind completely focused on cultivating the Turtle Breath Technique.
The moon hung high and pure, its pristine light bathing the swaying Spirit Field beneath drifting autumn clouds.
Suddenly, Han Yi's eyes snapped open, blazing with a chilling, astonishing light.
"He's here."
"Just as I suspected."
He didn't immediately rise. Instead, his divine sense surged, concealing his murderous intent.
Two hundred meters away, at the very center of the Spirit Field, a brilliant light erupted from thin air, materializing into reality.
The light expanded, transforming into a crimson-red portal of fire.
A figure staggered out of the portal, which instantly collapsed back into a single point and vanished, as if the entire scene had been an illusion.
Only the figure who had emerged from the portal remained real.
It was none other than Liu Heng, the Clan Head of the Liu Clan.
But his condition was utterly bizarre. His robes were torn, his hair disheveled, and his eyes were vacant and unfocused. Most strikingly, his face, which had once appeared to be in his early forties, was now grotesquely aged, covered in deep wrinkles like that of a man in his nineties.
He clutched a black iron token so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "No, no, no! How could this be? My Immortal Opportunity... my Foundation Establishment Immortal Opportunity!"
"Give me another chance! Just one more chance! I'll win this time, I swear I'll win!"
The bewilderment in his eyes twisted into madness. He frantically squeezed the last dregs of mana from his body, pouring it into the black token, but it remained motionless, unchanged.
Lost in his frenzy, he failed to notice a black longsword swiftly approaching, concealed by the swaying spirit field. A figure followed closely behind, sword leading, person trailing.
The killing intent closed in, erupting suddenly.
"Who's there?!" Liu Heng struggled to turn, his eyes meeting a dark, deathly gleam.
The light flashed, painting a stark black line across the moonlit landscape. As the line sliced through the air, a severed head soared skyward.
This time, Han Yi's killing intent was unwavering. Chengying decapitated its target.
Clang!
Chengying returned to its sheath at Han Yi's waist.
Han Yi stepped forward, gazing at the headless corpse in the spirit field. His composure crumbled, replaced by a complex mix of emotions—grief, remorse, and bitter satisfaction.
"Senior Brother Luo, Junior Brother has avenged you."
"Rest in peace. May you find your way."
Han Yi didn't linger. This was the Luo Clan's Spirit Field, and though his burst of power had been swift, it had inevitably drawn attention. Explaining himself to the Luo Clan would be troublesome.
He approached Liu Heng's lifeless head, its eyes wide open in death, and a sudden chill ran down his spine.
He recognized the face—it was indeed Liu Heng—but it looked as if the relentless passage of time had aged him prematurely, making him unnaturally old. A wave of dread washed over Han Yi.
Regaining his composure, he reached down and collected Liu Heng's Storage Pouch. Then he noticed the black iron fragment clutched tightly in Liu Heng's hand, piquing his curiosity. He pried it loose.
Upon closer inspection, he realized it wasn't just a fragment, but a palm-sized black iron token.
The token appeared unremarkable, its weight similar to ordinary iron. On each side was a single character: Sui and Zhu.
"Sui Zhu? Or Zhu Sui?"
"If Liu Heng clung to it so fiercely, it must be significant. Could this be the secret of the Spirit Field?"
"Considering the light gate I saw earlier, perhaps this token is the key. Do I use it here to activate the gate?"
"The bizarre transformation Liu Heng underwent must have occurred within the light gate," Han Yi mused.
He cautiously held the black token in his palm, refraining from channeling even a wisp of mana into it, fearing it might trigger some unknown reaction. He planned to study it further upon returning to the Profound Heaven Sect.
But as he tried to place the token into his storage pouch, he froze. Just like the Cosmic Pouch he once possessed, this token refused to be stored within.
"If it can't be stored, this token must be extraordinary—a true treasure," Han Yi concluded. He decided to secure the token by keeping it close to his body.
In the next instant, Han Yi's face paled.
The characters "Sui" and "Zhu" on the black token suddenly flashed with an eerie crimson light. As the light pulsed, Han Yi realized with horror that his mana was uncontrollably surging into the token.
In other words, this enigmatic token was devouring his mana.
The absorption was like a whale gulping water. In less than a breath, it had drained over eighty percent of his entire mana reserves, leaving Han Yi's soul trembling in terror.
But Han Yi was not one to hesitate. Realizing he couldn't shake off the mana-draining token, he swiftly drew his sword and prepared to sever his own hand.
A severed hand meant survival; hesitation would mean being drained dry.
Han Yi, ruthless to others but even more ruthless to himself, made his choice in an instant.
But then...
Just as his other hand grasped the Chengying Sword, the black token that had been frantically draining his mana abruptly stopped.
Instinctively, Han Yi hurled the eerie token away.
The token hovered in mid-air, its fiery red glow resurfacing. In less than a Kshana, it sketched out a luminous gate, as crimson as a flickering candle flame.
A terrifying, mysterious force seized Han Yi, pulling him inexorably toward the gate. Despite his desperate retreat, he was irresistibly dragged into the glowing portal.
The token followed him through the gate.
The portal instantly contracted into a single point, then vanished with a soft pop, as if leaping into another dimension, leaving no trace behind.
In truth, the two portal appearances had lasted less than a minute.
When the cultivators guarding the Luo Clan Spirit Field arrived, they found only a corpse lying amidst the fields. Upon closer inspection, they discovered it was Liu Heng, his head contorted in a grotesque manner. The cultivator cried out in alarm, fled the field, and hurried to report to the Luo Clan.