I'm in Yellow Maple Valley, and I have one equipment slot!

The enormous silver light, over ten feet long, gave them no chance to escape.

Suddenly, it split into several smaller streaks of silver light.

They immediately surrounded every member of the Thousand Bamboo Sect who had already flown into the air.

"Senior, spare our lives! We are..."

In shock, the group hurriedly tried to say something, but the silver light did not pause at all. It gently twisted in the middle and then emitted a few soft thunderous sounds. Those who tried to escape were turned to ashes, and the big man in yellow was not spared either.

Then all the silver light gathered together again, revealing a fat man.

The person's eyes were squeezed so narrowly that only two thin slits remained, and the skin and flesh hanging down from his chin were layered upon layered, their thickness unknown...

"Disciple Zhou Yuan thanks Master Uncle for saving me! May I ask your name, Master Uncle?"

Zhou Yuan reacted extremely quickly. When the huge silver light revealed its true form, showing an unusually obese cultivator, he immediately bowed deeply and spoke with the utmost respect.

The fat man in front of me had his eyes squeezed into two narrow slits by the fat on his cheeks, and layers of flesh hung down from his chin.

Standing there, he resembled a mountain of flesh, yet possessed the imposing and dignified air of a master.

Especially the occasional glint of light flashing through those narrow slits was so striking that one dared not look directly at them.

"Um!"

The fat man seemed quite pleased with Zhou Yuan's respect, grunting in agreement, his chin trembling slightly.

"My name is Lei Wanhe, you can just call me Senior Uncle Lei..."

His voice was loud and clear, with a unique humming resonance, as if thunder was hidden in his chest.

"So it's Senior Uncle Lei! I've long admired your reputation, Senior Uncle. It's my great honor to meet you today!" Zhou Yuan bowed again, his words carrying just the right amount of respect.

Lei Wanhe, a Core Formation cultivator from Huangfeng Valley, is renowned throughout the Yue Kingdom for his lightning-attribute cultivation techniques.

He is also said to have a rather fiery temper.

"Stop with the nonsense."

Lei Wanhe waved his hand, but his gaze suddenly shifted to a grove of trees to the side of Zhou Yuan's cave. His narrow eyes narrowed slightly, and his tone turned abruptly cold: "Who's hiding over there so suspiciously? Should I invite you out?"

Before the words were even finished, an invisible pressure swept over the area like a tidal wave.

The branches and leaves of the trees rustled without any wind.

Zhou Yuan's heart skipped a beat. Were there other people here?

He had been focusing all his mental energy on the three members of the Thousand Bamboo Sect and hadn't noticed them. Were they enemies or friends?

Could it be someone else from the Thousand Bamboo Sect?

The next moment, right where Lei Wanhe's gaze fell, a figure in blue emerged somewhat awkwardly from behind a giant tree.

With a somewhat embarrassed look on his face, the man quickly stepped forward and bowed respectfully, saying, "Disciple Han Li greets Senior Uncle Lei!"

"How come he's nearby?"

When Zhou Yuan saw the person who had arrived, his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

In the original story, Han Li found the cave dwelling of the Spirit Eye Spring, but now, he has already occupied it ahead of time.

Why is Han Li here?

Zhou Yuan's mind raced, ruling out the possibility that Han Li was following him.

Aside from the less than one in a thousand chance of a "coincidence," the most likely possibility is that Han Li also opened a cave dwelling nearby.

They happened to stumble upon this fight.

"Oh? You're also a disciple of Yellow Maple Valley?"

Lei Wanhe's gaze swept over Han Li with lightning speed, scrutinizing him. "Early Foundation Establishment stage, your aura is relatively stable... However, why did you remain hidden and stand by while the Thousand Bamboo Sect members attacked your fellow disciples' cave?"

This statement was blunt and carried a clear sense of accusation.

A barely perceptible blush appeared on Han Li's face, and he quickly explained:

"Senior Uncle Lei, please understand. This disciple did not intentionally stand by. I had just returned from the market town of Yuanwu Kingdom and was passing through this area when I sensed signs of fighting in the distance. Not knowing the situation, I dared not approach rashly."

He could only observe from afar using concealment techniques, intending to... then offer assistance if Senior Brother Zhou was outmatched.

He paused, and seeing that Lei Wanhe's expression remained unreadable, he quickly added:

"My master is Li Huayuan, and Senior Brother Zhou can testify that I had absolutely no malicious intent!"

"Senior Uncle Lei, what Junior Brother Han said is true. He is indeed a disciple of Master Li, and he comes from the same school as me."

Zhou Yuan spoke at the opportune moment.

This was to confirm Han Li's identity and prevent Lei Wanhe from investigating further and causing unnecessary complications.

"Hehe, Junior Brother Li has indeed taken on a clever disciple this time."

Lei Wanhe chuckled lightly, his meaning ambiguous. His gaze lingered on Han Li for a moment, causing Han Li's heart to tremble slightly.

However, Lei Wanhe clearly had no intention of getting too entangled in such a trivial matter; his words just now were more of a casual remark.

In the cultivation world, it's common for everyone to mind their own business and not interfere in each other's affairs, as long as it's not a case of fellow disciples killing each other.

He turned to Zhou Yuan, his tone becoming more serious: "Zhou Yuan, right? Tell me, what exactly happened? Why did these scoundrels from the Thousand Bamboo Sect attack your cave? And what about the person who escaped inside just now?"

Zhou Yuan had already prepared his answer, and replied with a solemn expression: "Reporting to Senior Uncle Lei, I have been in seclusion in this cave for the past two years. Today, I suddenly sensed that the outer illusion array was activated, and there were intense fluctuations of combat."

The disciple emerged from seclusion to investigate and discovered that one person had ventured deep into the formation, triggering the killing array, and had been... strangled. His body parts remained within the formation.

He paused, then continued, "And right after them were those three Thousand Bamboo Sect cultivators. They kept demanding that I hand over some 'traitor surnamed Lin,' their tone arrogant and without giving me a chance to explain, they drove their puppets to attack my cave's array. I was forced to fight back, and just as we were at a stalemate, my senior uncle arrived in time to relieve my predicament."

"As for those who broke into the formation and were strangled..."

Zhou Yuan showed a hint of hesitation and recollection. "I observed that the blood on the remains was dark and the smell was fishy and strange... It seems that the person had been poisoned before entering my formation, and it was not an ordinary poison."

It was precisely because of his extremely poor condition that he was so easily killed by the formation. The disciple suspects that he may have barely managed to escape to this place, and was now utterly exhausted.

After listening, Lei Wanhe's fat face showed little expression.

His narrow eyes opened and closed slightly, as if he were thinking.

He did not respond to Zhou Yuan immediately, but instead strode towards Zhou Yuan's cave: "Take me to see that corpse."

"Yes, Master Uncle, please follow me."

Zhou Yuan quickly led the way, while simultaneously casting a spell to temporarily shut down the three formations surrounding the cave: illusion, defense, and killing.

Although triple formations are rare, some Foundation Establishment disciples who are skilled in formations or have substantial wealth can achieve them within Yellow Maple Valley.

It wasn't particularly eye-catching.

Seeing this, Han Li silently followed behind the two. He also wanted to see what the so-called "Senior Brother Lin" looked like and the true nature of Zhou Yuan's cave.

The three stepped into the formation's range and soon arrived at the core area where the battle had just taken place.

The ground was still covered with crisscrossing sword marks and wind blade cuts, a scene of utter devastation.

Near the activation point of the inner killing array, there was a pool of unrecognizable dark red flesh and blood fragments mixed with tattered clothing, which was the remains of Senior Brother Lin.

The blood indeed had an ominous black color, and even though it had congealed, it still emitted a faint fishy stench and a strange smell.

Lei Wanhe walked closer, showing no disgust at the filth, and extended his fat but unusually steady fingers, making a few virtual taps on several large pieces of flesh and blood and the blood-stained soil.

Several tiny silver electric wires shot out from his fingertips and disappeared into the debris and soil.

"The 'Heart-Corroding and Bone-Eating Gu' of the Gu Poison Sect... is a variant cultivated using secret methods."

Lei Wanhe withdrew his finger, his tone calm but with a hint of understanding.

"This poison is extremely potent, specifically corroding a cultivator's true essence and internal organs. Those afflicted suffer as if ten thousand ants are gnawing at their heart, causing unbearable pain, and it is extremely difficult to remove."

It seems you were right; he was severely poisoned, and his escape here was a sign of his last strength.

He turned to Zhou Yuan, his narrow eyes revealing little emotion: "So it seems that it wasn't you who killed him intentionally, but rather that his fate was sealed, and he just happened to run into your formation, which hastened his death."

Zhou Yuan immediately showed an expression of relief mixed with the fear of having accidentally killed a fellow disciple, and bowed again:

"Even so, my activation of the killing formation ultimately led to this senior brother's death. I... I am deeply remorseful and beg my master to punish me."

"That's enough."

Lei Wanhe waved his hand, interrupting Zhou Yuan's "apology," and said, "I brought this man back to the valley back then because of his pitiful background and his feud with the Thousand Bamboo Sect. He could be used as a figurehead."

Now that he has been found by the Thousand Bamboo Sect and poisoned by this Gu, even if he doesn't die in your formation, he won't live much longer.

"You just happened to open up a cave here and set up an array, which can be considered as... freeing him from the torment of the Gu poison."

He spoke casually, as if he were talking about something trivial that had nothing to do with him. Clearly, he didn't have much affection for that "Senior Brother Lin," and it was probably just a casual decision to bring him back to the valley.

Core Formation cultivators have long lifespans and are accustomed to life and death, so the fall of a Foundation Establishment stage "idle" is indeed unlikely to cause much of a stir.