Chapter 55: Awake and Enemy Vanished

A chilling coldness slowly welled up from a hidden corner of his heart, quickly spreading throughout Han Li's body and startling him awake from his deep slumber.

The moment Han Li awoke, he felt his head incredibly heavy and throbbing faintly. Every part of his body felt limp and weak, as uncomfortable as if he had just recovered from a severe illness. He tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids were incredibly heavy, unable to move even slightly.

In his dazed state, Han Li recalled everything that had happened before he lost consciousness.

A shiver ran through him, his mind instantly clearing somewhat, and he quickly began to check his own condition.

"Huh!" It seemed his body hadn't been taken over. Although he couldn't open his eyes, the strange discomfort throughout his body unequivocally confirmed that his entire body was once again under his control.

"Could it be that Doctor Mo's ritual failed?"

Struck by this unexpected pleasant surprise, Han Li thought of the only plausible explanation.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Han Li patiently waited for some strength to return before painstakingly prying open a narrow slit through his eyelids to discern the surroundings.

The moment he opened them, he saw a face full of white hair, gaunt and haggard, extremely old. It was precisely Doctor Mo's aged face, only he appeared to have aged another decade or so, practically decrepit.

At this moment, his eyes were wide open, staring at Han Li with a look of horror.

Han Li was startled. His entire body instantly tensed, the feeling of weakness completely forgotten. His first thought was to strike preemptively, to gain the upper hand.

After the lesson from last time, Han Li would never again allow himself to be easily controlled by others, no matter what.

But then, Han Li noticed something amiss. The other party's expression was frozen, motionless, and there was no sound of breathing, as if he had been dead for a long time.

Han Li frowned, but dared not be careless, still maintaining his vigilance. He concentrated intensely, scrutinizing the other's face, hoping to find some flaw.

After a full fifteen minutes of careful observation, Han Li had to admit that the other party indeed did not seem to be alive.

Hesitating for a moment, he still cautiously approached the other person, reaching out to grasp their wrist. He placed his other hand under their nostrils, and after testing for a while, there was no movement.

Only then did Han Li truly relax, his heart becoming incredibly light. The immense burden that had weighed heavily on his heart was finally lifted.

Even now, Han Li found it somewhat unbelievable that his archenemy, Doctor Mo, that cunning and ruthless man, had died so silently, inexplicably, easily, and obscurely.

He touched his forehead. The so-called "Spirit-Calming Talisman" had vanished without a trace. He didn't know where it had gone, and its presence couldn't be detected nearby, which puzzled him. Later, after learning the art of talismans, when he recalled this incident, he understood that the yellow talisman must have turned to ash after its magical energy was exhausted, which was why he couldn't find it anywhere.

Now that his mind was relaxed, Han Li began to survey the surroundings beyond Doctor Mo's corpse, hoping to find some clue as to how the other party had met his end.

The oil lamps and candles around them were still lit, indicating that he hadn't been unconscious for too long. The few pieces of green jade not far away had turned dull gray, their quality seeming to have instantly dropped several grades, becoming unremarkable.

His gaze shifted. In a corner of the stone room, something flickering and trying its best to avoid Han Li's line of sight caught his eye.

This object was not unfamiliar to Han Li. It was precisely the enemy he had last fought with in his dream and who had escaped from his grasp: the green light mass, one-third of which had been devoured.

At this moment, it was desperately trying to burrow into the corner of the wall, seemingly terrified of Han Li and attempting to hide.

Han Li was initially a little surprised, but then thoughtfully rested his chin on one hand and lowered his head in thought for a moment.

A moment later, Han Li stood up and walked towards the light mass.

Only when he was half a zhang away from it did he stop and slowly say, "I think we should get acquainted. You must be Yu Zitong, right?"

The green light ball was trembling slightly, its light flickering unsteadily. Upon hearing Han Li call out its name, it dimmed for a while before brightening again.

"You figured it out," the light mass said, seemingly resigned, "You truly are worthy of being Mo Juren's disciple, just as troublesome and difficult to deal with as him." From the accent, it was clearly the young man.

It did not try to argue but directly admitted Han Li's conjecture.

"Then, perhaps you should give me an explanation," Han Li said, "and tell me the full story of what happened." Upon hearing that the other party was indeed one of the culprits who tried to harm him, Han Li showed no sign of anger, remaining calm and unhurried.

However, after Yu Zitong saw the other party's calm demeanor, he inexplicably felt a chill run through him, and a sense of impending disaster.

In the recent spiritual consciousness battle, he had just experienced the power of this formidable adversary, having a portion of his primordial spirit devoured alive and losing most of his magical energy. His remaining magical energy now only allowed him to cast a few minor illusions, possessing no offensive power whatsoever. Now facing a real person and without the ability to protect himself, he naturally felt an unspeakable dread.

"What do you want to know?"

He knew that the other party had just narrowly escaped death, and his emotions must be highly unstable and extremely dangerous. Although the other party appeared calm on the surface, deep down, he might be brewing with explosive rage, like a volcano before an eruption.

Now that he had been discovered, the best course of action was to cooperate and not challenge the other party's patience with words. He certainly didn't want to foolishly perish due to the other party's impulsiveness.

"First, tell me, who exactly are you? Then tell me, in detail, how you came to know Doctor Mo, and your original plan. I have all the time in the world to listen to your story." Han Li spoke impassively, as if wearing a mask, without the slightest trace of emotional fluctuation.