This person's cultivation was merely at the Xiantian Realm, and they had clearly broken through only recently, leaving their aura somewhat unstable.
With just a single glance, Xia Changsheng was certain he had never seen this person before; he was most likely sent by Han Li.
"Wuyong, a disciple under the Master's seat, pays his respects to Family Head Xia."
Wuyong...
Xia Changsheng's mouth twitched slightly, though his expression remained unchanged as he calmly asked, "You are Han Li's disciple? What business does he have sending you here?"
"My Master has sustained severe injuries and has specially sent this disciple to invite the Senior into the estate for a meeting." The young man named Wuyong wore a somewhat urgent expression.
"Han Li is injured... What happened?"
Xia Changsheng was slightly taken aback. For the past half month or so, he had remained strictly within his estate, though he had paid attention to the widely discussed secret realm commotion in the outside world. Yet, he had heard nothing about Han Li sustaining severe injuries.
"Senior, this..."
Wuyong stammered somewhat, "The specific reasons are unknown to this disciple. I only know that the Master returned this morning heavily wounded and is likely not far from death's door."
That serious?
Xia Changsheng could not help but be greatly surprised. Who on earth had Han Li provoked? Could it be...
Some speculations formed in his mind, though Xia Changsheng dared not be certain.
"What about the old Family Head of the Hans?"
Xia Changsheng frowned and asked in a deep voice.
"The old Family Head went out together with the Master, but only the Master returned. The old Family Head has yet to come back." Wuyong did not dare to conceal anything and answered truthfully, detail by detail.
Hearing this, Xia Changsheng fell silent once more. Han Shixun and Han Li had gone out together; one had not returned, and the other was on the verge of death. It seemed this matter was far from as simple as he had imagined.
Wuyong, standing below, held his breath and stood respectfully, not daring to make a sound to disturb him.
"So be it. I might as well go and see for myself."
After a long while, Xia Changsheng ultimately decided to visit the Han Estate. From a perceptual standpoint, Han Li was not a bad person; he had no conflicts of interest or past grievances with him. Furthermore, the Han Estate and the Xia Estate were located very close to each other, leaving enough room for maneuver even if an accident occurred.
He had a faint premonition that the old Family Head of the Han Estate had likely met with disaster, and with Han Li heavily wounded and on the verge of death, the possibility of him entrusting his final affairs could not be ruled out.
As far as he knew, the Han Estate had experienced a generational fault line in recent years, leaving them in a very precarious plight. The entire Han Estate relied solely on an old Foundation Establishment Family Head to save face, followed by the current Family Head Han Li and his daughter Han Chuchu, who were both Qi Condensation Cultivators.
To be honest, for a Foundation Establishment Clan to fall to such a state was truly somewhat miserable.
They were even inferior to the Xia Estate.
Soon enough, the two men left the Xia Estate and walked toward the nearby Han Estate.
The distance was not far, and they arrived shortly.
The Han Estate.
Xia Changsheng was led all the way by Wuyong to Han Li's bedchamber rather than the main hall.
Along the way, the maids and servants they encountered all wore mournful expressions, with some even weeping softly.
Seeing this, Xia Changsheng's mood grew increasingly heavy.
"Who are you?"
Just as he was about to push the door open and enter, a man walked out from inside. This man had a lean figure and a rather handsome appearance. He stared coldly at Xia Changsheng and demanded sternly.
Xia Changsheng remained silent, simply watching quietly, while Wuyong hastily answered from the side, "Eldest Senior Brother, this is Family Head Xia from the Xia Estate. I was instructed by the Master to invite the Senior here for a meeting."
"So it is the Senior from the Xia Estate. Wang Xuan has been remiss in his manners."
The man whom Wuyong called Eldest Senior Brother immediately had his expression shift slightly, executing a complete 180-degree turn in his attitude.
Xia Changsheng merely nodded indifferently. Sensing the familiar, faint aura within the room, he took the lead and stepped inside.
The bedchamber was filled with the fragrance of medicinal herbs.
At the head of the bed burned a stick of Spirit-Awakening Incense—an extremely precious spice whose most vital function was to keep a person's spiritual consciousness clear, commonly used for those on the verge of death.
Clearly, Han Li's condition was even more severe than he had anticipated.
Aside from Han Li lying on the bed, there was also a young maiden in the room—his only daughter, Han Chuchu.
Usually sharp-tongued, she was exceptionally quiet at this moment, her expression sorrowful as she looked at her father with tear-filled eyes.
"Xia... Brother Xia."
Noticing someone entering the room, Han Li's eyelids fluttered as he spoke with difficulty. His complexion was frighteningly pale, making him look like a completely different person compared to half a month ago.
"Brother Han, what on earth happened?"
Xia Changsheng walked up to the bed and looked at Han Li on the sickbed, his expression quite solemn.
"Chuchu, you go outside and keep watch first. I have a few words to say to Brother Xia." Han Li did not answer immediately, instead speaking to his daughter.
"Alright, Father."
Han Chuchu hesitated for a moment before finally agreeing with a helpless expression. As she left, she cast one final glance at Xia Changsheng with her large, beautiful eyes, a hint of complexity lingering within them.
"Brother Xia, I never imagined that after our parting half a month ago, upon meeting again... I would be reduced to such a state." After struggling for breath for a moment, Han Li spoke with a bitter smile.
Looking at Han Li, who was already shrouded in deathly aura and merely experiencing a brief flash of clarity before death, Xia Changsheng asked in a deep voice, "What actually happened? Who wounded you to this extent?"
"Everything is a matter of fate; perhaps the heavens truly wish to destroy my Han family..."
Han Li seemed plunged into agony as he bitterly recounted the origins of the matter.
Listening to his narrative, Xia Changsheng gradually came to understand that the root cause of everything stemmed from the Dahuang Mountain secret realm.
Back during the discussion at the Li Estate, when Han Li saw that he could not be persuaded to explore the secret realm together, he had subsequently sought out the Huang family to seek an alliance.
The two families possessed comparable strengths and both faced the plight of a generational fault line, leading them to strike a deal at once.
The person sent by the Huang family had a cultivation level similar to Han Li's—also at the Late-stage Qi Condensation—and was the eldest legitimate son of the Huang family head.
Initially, after entering the secret realm, the two men had cooperated sincerely, evading one dangerous zone after another.
Yet fortune struck unawares, and they actually discovered a piece of spatial primordial stone. However, because spatial primordial stones were extremely difficult to cut, a conflict subsequently arose over its distribution. Naturally, neither of them was willing to compromise; after all, this was a spatial primordial stone. Even if it was useless to their own household, they could take this single stone to the City Lord's Estate or even the Taixuan Mountain Pavilion of Treasures to exchange for rare treasures.
For a Foundation Establishment Clan—especially those whose family pillars had little lifespan left—its value was no less than a longevity-extending pill.
Neither would compromise, sparking a conflict that ultimately attracted the attention of others who had entered the secret realm.
A massive free-for-all ensued thereafter.
"So, that spatial primordial stone ultimately fell into your hands?"
Xia Changsheng listened quietly before suddenly asking.
"Indeed."
Han Li nodded with a bitter smile, "When I first broke through to the Qi Condensation Stage and went out on travels, I learned a secret technique capable of stealing the sun and changing the day, of keeping the sea hidden from the heavens."
"So that's how it was."
Xia Changsheng finally understood into whose hands the spatial primordial stone—which had been rumored to have an unknown whereabouts—had fallen, and how it had vanished.
If he cultivated the Dao of this world, he might have taken an interest in this secret technique, but at present, he felt little to no interest.
Thus, he changed the subject and asked, "Then how was it discovered later on?"
In his view, Han Li should have understood the preciousness of the spatial primordial stone and would never have leaked the news; clearly, there was another reason.
Han Li did not hesitate either. Knowing that his remaining time was short, he slightly accelerated his speaking pace.
It turned out that after obtaining the spatial primordial stone without anyone noticing, Han Li had immediately returned to the estate and refused to go out. After discussing the matter with his father, they decided to wait—to wait until the storm passed and the timing was right before heading to the Taixuan Mountain Pavilion of Treasures to exchange it for rare supplies.
The City Lord's Estate had also been within their considerations; however, after the spatial primordial stone vanished, the several Golden Core factions in the inner city intentionally or unintentionally monitored the inner city entrances. To enter and exit safely without being detected, they would likely need to obtain assistance from An Qisheng, the commander of Liucheng. Yet An Qisheng was a newly advanced Golden Core Real Person, and it was hard to guarantee he wouldn't be tempted by such a precious item as a spatial primordial stone. Therefore, for the sake of safety, they decided to head to Taixuan Mountain.
After waiting half a month, the storm seemed to have subsided.
Early in the morning, the father and son quietly sneaked out of the city, steering a dharma treasure to rush rapidly toward Taixuan Mountain.
Pity that someone was still lying in wait for them.
Three Foundation Establishment Cultivators intercepted them halfway, severely injuring them in no time at all. Seeing that his only son was about to perish, the old Family Head of the Han family went completely berserk, risking all his strength to block the attackers and allowing Han Li to escape back to Liucheng.
As for that piece of spatial primordial stone, it naturally fell into the hands of the three Foundation Establishment Cultivators who had struck from the shadows.
"In that case, the old Family Head of the Han family..."
Xia Changsheng could not help but feel a sense of sorrow.
"My father's lifespan was already running low, and his blood and Qi were in decline. Although his cultivation was maintained at Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, his true combat strength in reality could barely reach Early Foundation Establishment. Among those three attacking Foundation Establishment Cultivators, one was at Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, while the other two were at Early Foundation Establishment. In order for me to escape back to the city, my father has already..."
Before Han Li could finish his sentence, he could no longer hold back his tears. As the saying goes, a true man sheds blood but not tears, unless he has reached a place of deep sorrow.
The room fell into a brief silence, neither of them speaking.
"If Brother Han has anything to say, please speak. As for matters of revenge, there is no need to mention them again."
After a moment of silence, Xia Changsheng sighed and said.
The three Foundation Establishment Cultivators ambushing them from the shadows clearly came prepared. Within Liucheng, aside from the few factions anchored by Golden Core Real Persons, the only ones with such strength were those top-tier Foundation Establishment forces.
Of course, one could not rule out several families joining forces, though that possibility was extremely slim.
A faction capable of casually producing three Foundation Establishment Cultivators was definitely not something his Xia Estate could afford to provoke at present.