Everything happened in an instant.

From the moment he opened his water palace to the moment Li Mingjin was killed, only a few dozen seconds passed.

Han Jieliu quickly put away Li Mingjin's storage bag and also took the small note that was placed on the stone platform into his pocket.

He then channeled his magic power, forcefully breaking through the restrictions and immediately neutralizing the defensive measures on Li Mingjin's storage bag.

"What a treasure!"

Han Jieliu probed with his divine sense and was first drawn to the Foundation Establishment artifact.

It was a small jade seal, light white in color, as solid as stone, with faint water ripples flowing around it.

"It's actually a treasure from the [Water Virtue] path, and it seems somewhat familiar..."

Apart from the jade seal, Han Jieliu didn't have time to look at the items inside. He only took out the jade cone and said happily.

"With some of these things, we can break the formation at the cave entrance more quickly."

Meanwhile, the Heavenly Spirit Dew, gushing forth from the white bottle atop the ceiling, radiated spiritual light and exuded Daoist charm, growing ever more powerful and almost illuminating the entire stone chamber.

If such a commotion hadn't been concealed by the array, it would have already spread outside and become known to others.

Meanwhile, Xiling Sanren, who was still fighting with the insect embryo at the cave entrance, was attracted to the Tianyi Lingkan Dew when it was first born.

Now, he witnessed Han Jieliu suddenly unleash his Water Palace and kill his disciple on the spot.

Thinking that Han Jieliu wanted to steal the spiritual object and run away, her originally calm face was filled with shock and anger.

"What's going on! Han Jieliu made an oath, how can he still make a move..."

"Damn Cheng Huan, could the Daoist who sold me this be a fake Daoist oath talisman? How can one or two of them break their oath?"

Seeing that things were changing, Xiling Sanren no longer cared that the filth and poison of the insect embryo would defile his magical artifacts and body.

So he moved his arm quickly, jabbing several bloody holes in the insect embryo, and then stepped back to escape.

The calamity let out a mournful cry, and several poisonous insects with severed bodies fell to the ground, where they were quickly devoured by other insects.

How could Xu Yiyi let Xiling Sanren off so easily? Upon seeing the scene before him, he immediately burst into laughter.

Once again, this scourge born of two and a half [infamous] paths was driven forward, entangled in the steps of the Western Ridge Hermit.

"Hahaha, old Taoist of Xiling, you've finally met your match? Even if this scourge dies today, I'll teach you a lesson you hypocrite will never forget."

Xiling Sanren snorted coldly, clearly also enraged.

From the forehead down, the entire face had become like jade, a uniform blue and white color, reflecting the light.

He put away his whisk and threw out three small white nails, aiming them at Xu Yiyi and the insect fetus.

As soon as the long nail hit the ground, several jade chains sprang up, connecting with each other, piercing through flesh and blood, pinning the insect embryo to the ground, where it wailed incessantly.

Xu Yiyi was unable to dodge in time and was restrained by a jade chain that pierced through his chest and abdomen.

Fortunately, the shamanic arts have many methods. After pulling out the jade chain, she quickly swallowed a black pill.

Her complexion finally calmed down and the bleeding stopped, but her beautiful face was filled with resentment and malice.

Xu Yiyi glanced at the wrecked creature on the ground, its fate unknown, but dared not stop Xiling Sanren any longer. He withdrew his flying needles and focused on breaking through the formation at the cave entrance.

Xiling Sanren had once again grasped his whisk and flew towards the stone platform.

He looked at Li Mingjin, who was broken into several pieces on the ground, his face not looking good, and said angrily.

"Fellow Daoist Han, you rashly killed my disciple, are you trying to break your promise and take the treasure away?"

Han Jieliu saw that the Xiling Sanren's face was now as beautiful as jade, and knew that although he had lost a lot of his magic power by fighting the insect fetus.

However, since he hasn't made his move yet, and given his profound cultivation, I'm afraid I still won't be able to defeat him.

"I know my own limitations. It would be difficult to win a direct confrontation with this Hermit of Xiling. Otherwise, I wouldn't have displayed my Water Mansion in the first place, just to bluff and intimidate him."

Han Jieliu shook his head and smiled humbly.

"Senior Xiling, do you know what is inside the treasure bottle at the top?"

Xiling Sanren had just witnessed the bottle's inability to be put into his bag and its gushing light, and now, upon closer inspection, he could smell its unique and wondrous fragrance.

His fierce aura had long since dissipated, and he secretly had some unbelievable guesses in his heart, confirming them.

"Fellow Daoist Han, this is..."

Han Jieliu nodded.

"Senior's guess is correct, this item is indeed a treasure of the Purple Mansion level."

"It is called the Heavenly Spirit Dew, which can change one's nature and has many wonders. After consuming this substance, one's cultivation will not only greatly improve, but one's chances of establishing a foundation may also increase by one or two percent."

Although Xiling Sanren could not discern the origin of this object, he was familiar with classic records and knew that Han Jieliu was born into a prominent family and was knowledgeable, so he was already largely convinced.

Looking again at the floating treasure bottle above, he was still shocked and thought to himself.

"Li Mingjin supposedly learned about this cave from an ancient book he bought. I also examined it myself, and it is indeed an ancient book with nothing unusual about it."

"That's why we allowed him to go... Could this place really be the abandoned cave of some ancient powerful cultivator, containing such a treasure?"

"If I were to obtain this item, reaching the Foundation Establishment stage would be a certainty, perhaps even..."

Before he could decide, Han Jieliu spoke first.

"Senior Xiling's cultivation is far superior, and he has a good chance of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, while I am far behind."

"The other treasure on the stage is a Foundation Establishment magic artifact, which I have already taken. How about I give this Purple Mansion Spiritual Resource to you, senior?"

Seeing that Han Jieliu had no intention of competing for such a treasure, Xiling Sanren was initially skeptical, but then he realized that he himself might not be able to do anything to this young man.

If Han Jieliu didn't intervene, and he could truly take the Purple Mansion Spirit Water, he thought it over and agreed.

"Young friend, you are cunning and unpredictable; it would be best to make a vow..."

Xiling Sanren took out the Daoist oath talisman from his bag, examined it again, and confirmed that there was nothing wrong with the talisman.

They assumed that Li Mingjin was using the oath for the first time and hadn't agreed on the oath terms, which led to a mistake and allowed Han Jieliu to take advantage of the situation.

So he spoke slowly.

"Young friend Han, this matter is of great importance. We must eliminate that Madam Xu and the worm fetus to prevent it from falling into the ears of a third party."

Han Jieliu nodded calmly.

But all he could think about was that after leaving the manor this time, he would immediately use the favor that Zheng Qingfeng had done to ask the cultivator to kill this Xiling hermit.

"The news of the jade seal in the bag, a foundation-building artifact, must not be leaked, otherwise it will attract endless covetous eyes. Fortunately, no one knows about it now that Xiling Sanren is dead."

"With Xiaowei Mountain involved, the cultivators who used Tianyi Lingkan Dew Liquid as a scheme can be drawn to Xiaowei Mountain, preventing them from discovering their own presence."

Looking back now, this was probably the best solution.

After careful consideration, Han Jieliu looked towards the cave entrance again.

Suddenly, he discovered that the formation was still in place, but Xu Yiyi had vanished without a trace. He was immediately shocked and scanned the area with his divine sense.

But Xu Yiyi had already died silently at some point, his body lying on the ground, turning into a pool of stiff blood.

The head was held in the hand of a strange young man, who looked on with amusement.

Completely unaware, the boy had appeared in the demon's palace at some point, bypassing the formation at the cave entrance.

The boy exuded demonic energy, and the ground he leaned against emitted a chilling aura, causing the damp, yin energy to condense and then settle.

The young man wore a light blue robe, his sleeves frosted over, and white steam rose from his breath.

As he walked toward the stone platform, the ice behind him slowly fell, scattering on the ground like peeled snake scales, hard and crisp.

The boy's pupils were vertical, and he stared straight at Han Jieliu, seemingly very interested in him, and spoke softly.

"Lord Beifu, you're too late."

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