Han Li's expression changed slightly upon sensing this before giving a cold harrumph as he began to withdraw his own spiritual sense.
The man and woman in the city immediately seized this opportunity to launch a counterattack with their spiritual sense, and in the blink of an eye, three bursts of powerful spiritual sense had appeared above Han Li, with three slightly weaker bursts trailing along in hot pursuit.
Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly upon seeing this, and he let loose another cold harrumph.
His voice wasn't very loud, but it immediately triggered a burst of violent energy fluctuations, forcing the man and the woman to make a hurried retreat with their spiritual sense.
At this moment, a cold look appeared in Han Li's eyes, and instead of taking advantage of this opportunity to withdraw his spiritual sense back into his own body, he manifested a giant translucent blade with his spiritual sense before lashing out at the man's spiritual sense.
An agonized howl rang out from within the stone city as the man's spiritual sense was sliced in half, and around 10% of it dissipated into nothingness.
Only after Han Li had severely wounded the man's spiritual sense did the woman return to her senses, and she let loose an infuriated cry as she manifested her spiritual sense into a giant hand that was swatted violently toward the translucent blade.
However, it was already too late.
The giant blade disintegrated into specks of translucent light, following which a massive wave of spiritual sense returned to Han Li's body.
Immediately thereafter, his Thunderstorm Wings appeared on his back amid a loud thunderclap, and with a single flap of his wings, he transformed into an azure and white thread of light that quickly disappeared into the distance.
An enraged harrumph rang out within the city, and the giant spider projection reappeared with a tall green-robed woman standing atop its head. The woman had her gaze directed toward the direction that Han Li had just disappeared in with a furious expression, but she didn't immediately give chase.
Spatial fluctuations erupted nearby, and a black-robed elderly man with a dark expression appeared beside her. His face was slightly pale, and his eyes were filled with resentment and indignation as he asked, "Should we go after him? He'll get away if we don't give chase right away, Fairy Luo."
"Let him go for now. His spiritual sense is far superior than ours, so he's most likely quite powerful in other aspects as well. Before we find out his origins, it would be best not to act rashly. After all, he may have companions that are lurking somewhere," the woman replied with a shake of her head.
The black-robed man's expression eased slightly as he mused, "You're right. Having said that, hasn't this fragmented realm already been sealed? Where did that man come from? Could it be that he also unintentionally fell into this realm through a spatial rift like I did?"
"This realm has indeed been sealed, but there are still several ways to access it; it's just that all of those methods require luck or the expenditure of a huge price. Otherwise, our Asura Spider Race wouldn't have been able to reside here so securely," the woman said.
"If that man really had unintentionally arrived in this realm, then it wouldn't be an issue, but if he did so intentionally, then there could be some trouble," the black-robed man said with a dark expression.
"Let's go back and discuss this matter carefully first," the woman said.
"That's a good idea. We'll be more equipped to ascertain that man's intentions once we ask Bi Zhu when that man's spiritual sense was planted on her," the black-robed man agreed.
Thus, the giant spider projection faded, and the two of them also vanished in a flash.
Moments later, the green-robed woman and black-robed man sat down on the main seats inside a giant hall at the center of the stone city.
There were three middle-aged figures standing before them, one of whom was a woman, while the other two were men.
The auras emanating from their bodies seemed to be no lesser than that of normal Grand Ascension Stage beings, and behind them stood 17 or 18 other figures that were giving off Spatial Tempering Stage auras.
One of them was none other than the young woman that had drawn Han Li here from the lava lake.
One of the two middle-aged men extended a salute before asking, "Who was it that had just attacked our city? Were they targeting our Asura Spider Race?"
"That's hard to say for now. Bi Zhu, didn't you sense anything when that man planted his spiritual sense onto your body? Do you recall when he did this?" the green-robed woman asked as she turned to the young woman.
Bi Zhu's expression changed drastically upon hearing this, and she hurriedly stepped forward before kneeling and laying her head onto the ground as she replied, "If Senior Yi hadn't pointed it out, I would still be completely oblivious to the spiritual sense mark, and I have no idea when it was planted on me."
"You couldn't sense anything at all? Have a good think before you answer. Even if you didn't notice at the time, you should be able to think of something with the benefit of foresight," the green-robed woman harrumphed coldly.
"Yes, I'll do my best," Bi Zhu replied in a slightly fearful manner before immediately falling into deep thought.
Everyone else directed their attention toward her, and after a while, her eyes abruptly lit up.
"Did you finally think of something?" the green-robed woman asked as her expression eased slightly.
"Yes, I did. I recalled that I felt a very minor sense of discomfort as I was emerging from the Celestial Flame Pond where the Space Fish beings are residing. However, the feeling was completely negligible, and if I hadn't thought back carefully, I wouldn't have recalled it at all," Bi Zhu replied.
"What? The spiritual sense mark was planted at the Celestial Flame Pond?" Both the green-robed woman and black-robed man's expressions changed drastically upon hearing this, as if this were a taboo topic.
Everyone else exchanged a few puzzled glances upon seeing this, and the woman among the trio of middle-aged figures hesitated momentarily before asking, "Is it an issue that Bi Zhu was tracked from the territory of the Space Fish beings? Those beings are merely good live prey for us, are they not? Surely there's no need to be so alarmed."
"Hmph, you don't know anything. If those Space Fish beings really were nothing more than food, then why would we allow them to live in the precious Celestial Flame Pond? In terms of flavor and reproductive ability, there are several other types of beings that would make better live prey," the green-robed woman harrumphed in response.
The middle-aged woman was still rather confused, but she didn't dare to ask any further questions at the sight of the green-robed woman's dark expression.
At this moment, the black-robed man suddenly said with tightly-furrowed brows, "Seeing as this matter concerns the Space Fish beings, I believe it's necessary for us to take some safety precautions, Fairy Luo."
"I'm well aware of that. Bi Zhu, give us a detailed recount of everything that happened in the Celestial Flame Pond," the green-robed woman instructed in a cold voice.
Bi Zhu's heart jolted upon hearing this, and she immediately did as she was told. "Yes! At the time, it was right around noon when I arrived at the Celestial Flame Pond…"
After hearing Bi Zhu's recount, the green-robed woman and black-robed man exchanged a glance, and they could see their own concern mirrored in one another's eyes.
"You can all go now; I have something I wish to discuss alone with Fellow Daoist Yi," the green-robed woman instructed.
"As you wish!"
No one dared to offer any objections, and they quickly left the hall, leaving only the green-robed woman and black-robed man in the room.
The green-robed woman was silent for a while before asking, "What do you think about this, Fellow Daoist Yi? Could it be that that man is pursuing the same thing as us? Otherwise, the precious resources in the Small Asura Realm alone wouldn't be enough to attract such a powerful being."
"I doubt it. That thing is something that we only figured out from a moment of inspiration after pondering the matter for many years; how could someone else be aware of it? I think it's a coincidence," the elderly man replied with a calm expression.
"I was thinking the same thing. However, that doesn't mean that that man isn't here to target our Asura Spider Race. After all, Asura Spiders are extremely sought-after for beings from other realms," the green-robed woman replied in a cautious manner.
"That is indeed a possibility. However, if he really is here to come after your Asura Spider Race, then he definitely isn't alone; he should have a few allies," the black-robed man said.
"That's a good point, Fellow Daoist Yi. It's quite difficult to ascertain that man's intentions with the limited information that we have, but if we can find out whether he has allies in this realm, we'll be able to roughly guess his intentions."
The green-robed woman then flipped a hand over to produce a formation plate before speaking into it. "Summon Wu Ying and Wan Feng to come and see me."
Shortly thereafter, a gust of fierce wind and a ball of yellow light swept into the hall and arrived before the green-robed woman and black-robed man.
