“That hasn’t happened yet.” Bai Ling sighed, her shoulders slumping. “But the progress is too slow. The Sect Leader is losing patience. I received a message recently… I have five years at most.”

“If I cannot obtain the Yin Yang Demonic Art by then…” She trailed off, a shadow crossing her eyes.

Han Lie didn’t need her to finish the sentence. If she failed, her family would pay the price.

Five years.

Han Lie’s eyes darkened. The Sun Moon Sect is truly rotten to the core. Though, for a demonic sect that refined living souls and practiced forbidden arts, threatening a disciple’s family was practically standard operating procedure. It explained why a genius with a near-ninth-grade spirit vein like Bai Ling would submit to being a spy.

“Five years is not tomorrow. Do not panic,” Han Lie said, his voice steadying her fraying nerves. “I will speak to the Sect Leader about this later.”

“Old Man Han…” Bai Ling grabbed his sleeve, her beautiful eyes glistening with desperate hope. “I am entrusting my family to you.”

“Relax. With the Sect Leader’s strength, protecting a few mortals is as easy as blowing off dust.”

Han Lie spoke with confidence he didn’t entirely feel, but he knew Ye Qingxuan was the only viable shield against a behemoth like the Sun Moon Sect. He was just a Golden Core cultivator; she was a calamity-grade powerhouse.

Han Lie spent a few more days in the Violet Cloud Palace before returning to his humble wooden hut.

He had barely stepped through the door when Xiao Zi began wailing. The cat demon hadn’t tasted a single Spirit Stone in ten days and was making sure the entire sect knew about her starvation.

A mischievous idea sprouted in Han Lie’s mind.

He retrieved a small, ornate wooden box from his storage ring. The moment he cracked the lid, a beam of golden light shot out, filling the room with a rich, intoxicating medicinal fragrance.

Xiao Zi’s eyes snapped open, glowing like lanterns. Drool practically waterfalling from her mouth, she launched herself at the box like a starving tiger.

“Mine!”

Han Lie sidestepped casually. Xiao Zi hit the floor with a soft thud.

“Aowu! What is this? Torture? You show me the goods but won’t let me eat? What kind of monster are you, meow!” Xiao Zi arched her back, fur standing on end, hissing in protest.

“You can have it,” Han Lie said, swirling the pill box temptingly. “On one condition.”

“What condition?” Xiao Zi asked, her eyes glued to the pill.

Han Lie grinned, the expression of a wolf eyeing a lamb. “Transform into a catgirl. Do that, and the pill is yours.”

Xiao Zi’s expression shifted from hunger to pure disgust. “Pervert! You are still thinking about that?”

“Heh, you only just realized?” Han Lie puffed out his chest, completely shameless. “Well? Transform or starve.”

“I… I can’t transform right now, you idiot!” Xiao Zi puffed out her cheeks, looking like an angry bun. “Hell Nine-Tailed Cats need to reach the Nascent Soul Stage to take human form! You think I enjoy being a cat all day?”

“Tch. Should have said so earlier.” Han Lie snapped the box shut, looking disappointed. “Wasted my performance.”

However, her words sparked a thought. Nascent Soul to transform?

Most demon beasts could assume human form at the Golden Core stage. Su Mei, the Fox Demon, was likely at the Golden Core stage when she infiltrated the sect, yet she had a perfect human form. If Xiao Zi required the Nascent Soul stage, it implied her bloodline was far superior—ancient and terrifying.

“You… you are infuriating, meow!” Xiao Zi bared her fangs.

“Alright, alright. Don’t pop a vein.” Han Lie patted her head. “Since you can’t transform, I’ll go buy you a different snack. Deal?”

“I want the expensive ones, meow!” Xiao Zi immediately switched tactics, rubbing her head against his leg and purring loudly.

“Fine. The Sect Leader just gave me a raise, so the budget is open.”

Han Lie, ever susceptible to soft tactics, ruffled her fur and turned to leave. “Wait here. I’ll be back.”

He stepped out of the hut, intending to head to the market.

BOOM.

The moment he left the protective array of the Violet Heaven Palace, the air itself seemed to freeze. An overwhelming, suffocating killing intent locked onto him from the void.

Han Lie’s scalp went numb. Every hair on his body stood straight up. This wasn’t a warning; it was an execution.

Above him, space shattered like glass. A withered, massive hand made of spiritual energy reached out from the void, descending toward him with the weight of a mountain.

I’m dead.

The thought flashed through his mind, cold and absolute. The pressure stripped him of the ability to move, let alone fight back.

“Aiya…”

Just as the hand was about to crush him into meat paste, a lazy, feminine sigh echoed through the air.

The world blurred.

The crushing pressure vanished instantly. Han Lie blinked, finding himself not flattened on the ground, but standing in an elegant, antique room that smelled of sandalwood and high-grade tea.

Across from him sat an old man with a face like dried bark—Old Ghost Black Sha, the Hall Master of the Overlord Hall.

And lounging on the main seat, legs crossed with elegant nonchalance, was Grand Elder Chi Lian. She wore a crimson dress that seemed to flow like blood, her eyes dancing with amusement as she looked between the two men.

Old Ghost Black Sha looked stunned, his hand still half-raised as if swiping at a fly that had suddenly teleported. When he saw Chi Lian, his face paled, and he scrambled to his feet.

“Greetings, Grand Elder!”

Han Lie exhaled a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Saved.

“This old servant greets the Grand Elder,” Han Lie said, bowing deeply.

“Sit,” Chi Lian commanded softly. She swirled the tea in her cup, not looking up. “Hall Master Black Sha… do explain. Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut? Attacking a junior with such fervor… it’s unbecoming.”

Old Ghost Black Sha gritted his teeth, the veins on his forehead bulging. He hadn’t expected the elusive Grand Elder to intervene for a mere servant.

“Reporting to the Grand Elder,” Black Sha said, his voice trembling with suppressed rage. “This brat killed a disciple of my hall. I was merely seeking justice.”

“Justice?” Chi Lian raised an eyebrow. “You mean Cai Zhen and Yun Xia? Didn’t Hall Master Su Mei already settle that matter? Besides, there was no proof.”

“Not them!” Black Sha roared, losing his composure. “He killed my personal disciple! Ye Lang! My successor!”

He pointed a shaking finger at Han Lie. “He killed Ye Lang! If I sit idly by, how can I face the six thousand disciples of the Overlord Hall? I intended to make him bleed on this very spot to pay for his crime!”

Chi Lian turned her gaze to Han Lie, a silent invitation to speak.

Han Lie straightened his back. He looked the furious Hall Master in the eye, his expression calm and cutting.

“I killed Ye Lang. That is true.”

“But…” Han Lie took a step forward. “He tried to kill me first. Was I supposed to stretch out my neck and thank him for the blade?”

“You sent him to kill me, Hall Master. He failed. And now you cry foul?” Han Lie’s voice dripped with disdain. “And now, in front of the Grand Elder, you dare to scream about making me bleed? You are simply lawless!”

With Chi Lian present, Han Lie had no need to cower. He knew his worth. The Pure Yang Sacred Body was a strategic asset, and Chi Lian was here to protect that asset.

“You…!” Black Sha surged forward, spiritual energy flaring.

CRACK.

An invisible force slammed down, pinning Black Sha into his chair. The wood groaned under the pressure. Chi Lian hadn’t moved a muscle.

“Good, very good!” Black Sha wheezed against the pressure. “You say I sent him? Don’t make me laugh! You are a mere mid-stage Golden Core. Why would I send a Perfection-stage disciple to kill you?”

“You hold a grudge, nothing more! You found Ye Lang, ambushed him, and killed him to spite me!”

“Ha!” Han Lie laughed out loud. “Hall Master, listen to yourself. You admit that I, a mere mid-stage cultivator, killed your perfect disciple?”

Han Lie leaned in. “As for proof… Princess Qin Lianyi of the Great Qin Dynasty can testify. She was there. Or is the word of a Royal Princess insufficient for you?”

Black Sha’s face turned the color of liver. “Verify it then! I fear nothing!”

“Enough.”

Chi Lian placed her cup down. The sound was soft, but it silenced the room instantly.

“I have heard enough.” She looked at Black Sha, her eyes cold. “Hall Master, you can lie to the world, but do not attempt to lie to me. I know your nature better than you do.”

“I do not need verification. I know you sent the boy. It is exactly the sort of petty, vindictive move you would make.”

“Han Lie defended himself. That is the end of it.”

She leaned forward, her presence filling the room like a rising tide. “Disciples fighting disciples… I can ignore that. It is the way of the world. But you?”

“A Hall Master, waiting in ambush to crush a junior? Have you no shame left on that old face of yours?”

“If every dispute ends with a Hall Master stepping in, the Heavenly Void Sect will be nothing but a slaughterhouse by next week. Is that what you want?”

“Grand Elder, I…” Black Sha stammered, his face flushing with humiliation. He was being dressed down like a child.

“I will decide your punishment,” Chi Lian cut him off.

“Hall Master Black Sha, for your unauthorized action against a sect disciple and breaking the rules of seniority… I sentence you to ten years of confinement in the Ice Wind Cave.”

“The matter ends here. If I hear you bringing up Cai Zhen, Yun Xia, or Ye Lang again… the punishment will not be mere confinement.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Do you understand?”

Black Sha slumped in his chair, defeated. The killing intent evaporated, replaced by the bitter taste of resignation.

“Understood… Grand Elder.”

Chi Lian waved her hand. “Go.”

Black Sha rose stiffly, shot one last venomous look at Han Lie, and vanished.

Once he was gone, Han Lie turned to Chi Lian and bowed deeply, his voice solemn.

“Thank you, Grand Elder, for upholding justice for this old servant.”