“Given the current circumstances, are you two really going to disregard everything and burn the bridge after crossing the river here?” Chen Yang asked, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, his voice low.

“That depends on you, sir. If you want to fight here, we are more than happy to oblige!” Han Li sneered, a layer of golden light appearing on his arms.

Gu Qianxun’s hand also reached her waist, white light flickering at her fingertips.

“Gentlemen, our common enemy right now is the remnants of Du Qingyang. Fighting amongst ourselves here will only benefit those people. If things escalate, and Xuan City investigates, none of us will escape.” Chen Yang’s gaze flickered, and the aura he emitted slowly retracted.

Seeing this, Han Li and Gu Qianxun also slowly retracted their surging auras.

“Regarding the Black Tribulation Insect, Chen did fail to fulfill his promise. How about this, after we eliminate Du Qingyang’s remnants, I will definitely give you both an explanation within a month. If we still can’t find a way to dispel the Black Tribulation Insect by then, you two fellow Daoists can each make another request of me. What do you say?” Chen Yang said after a moment of consideration.

Han Li and Gu Qianxun exchanged messages secretly after hearing this.

“Alright, let’s do as Fellow Daoist Chen Yang says.” Han Li said, his expression softening slightly.

They had already killed Du Qingyang and just killed that grey-robed old man, forging an irreconcilable feud with Du Qingyang’s forces. Unless they left Qingyang City immediately, their only option was to join forces with Chen Yang.

Although they hadn’t found a way to dispel the Black Tribulation Insect, obtaining two Black Tribulation Stones, which would prevent the insect from acting for a considerable period, was still a significant gain.

“Thank you both, fellow Daoists, for your generosity and understanding. Since you’ve made the difficult journey to this secret treasure vault, feel free to choose two treasures here as a small compensation from me.” Chen Yang revealed a cordial smile, as if the tense confrontation had never happened.

Seeing Chen Yang’s expression, Han Li’s pupils contracted slightly, and his wariness of him deepened.

However, he was also very tempted by Chen Yang’s proposal.

He had seen many rare treasures as he searched, and among them were several body refining techniques, which he currently needed.

“If that’s the case, then we won’t stand on ceremony.” Gu Qianxun said, her beautiful eyes flashing.

“Just take whatever you fancy. But we don’t have much time, so you two fellow Daoists will have to be quick.” Chen Yang waved his hand generously and smiled.

Since Chen Yang had said this much, Han Li and Gu Qianxun didn’t stand on ceremony and turned to find what they needed.

Han Li turned and walked to the wooden cabinet where the cultivation methods were displayed, looked at the several books, hesitated slightly, and quickly made a decision, picking up one of them.

Although he had glanced at these books, he hadn't examined them closely due to the time constraints.

"Don't choose those cultivation methods, take that black statue. The statue contains a body refining technique." At that moment, a voice suddenly rang in Han Li's mind, it was Xie Daoren's voice.

Han Li was startled by this, looked up, and saw Xie Daoren standing by the door of the secret vault, his eyes lowered, like a loyal guard, completely ignoring the three people inside, and not showing any sign of communicating with Han Li.

Seeing this, his eyes flashed, his expression contemplative, and he made no other movements, as if waiting for Xie Daoren to continue.

But after Xie Daoren transmitted this sentence, there was no further movement.

On the other side, Gu Qianxun had already chosen her items, a book and a section of golden animal bone, which appeared to be the spine of some kind of scaled beast, and was walking towards Chen Yang.

Seeing this, Han Li frowned slightly, glared at Xie Daoren in secret, gritted his teeth, put down the book in his hand, and turned to pick up the black statue.

A faint look of relief flashed in Xie Daoren's lowered eyes, then disappeared.

Han Li took the statue and looked at the other items.

Aside from body refining techniques, he didn't need anything else urgently. He didn't need various ores and materials, and other armors and weapons didn't seem to be of much use.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Han Li's mind, and he walked to a wooden cabinet next to him.

This wooden cabinet was filled with beast cores, each of which shimmered with starlight and was quite dazzling.

Since he didn't need anything else, he might as well choose a high-level beast core. Although Chen Yang had promised to provide beast cores for him to cultivate, no one could predict the future. He preferred to be self-sufficient rather than rely on other people's promises.

Moreover, the higher the level of the beast core, the more precious it was, not only because it contained more Stellar Energy, but also because high-level beast cores were of great help in opening Mysterious Apertures. Han Li still vividly remembered the role that Earth-rank beast core had played in opening his Xuanqiao acupoint.

Du Qingyang seemed to have arranged these beast cores in order of level, from left to right, for easy distinction.

So he went straight to the innermost end of the wooden cabinet, where a white jade box was placed, engraved with crisscrossing patterns, faintly exuding a restrictive aura.

Han Li gently opened the jade box, and dazzling white light burst out from inside, revealing a fist-sized white beast core.

Strands of dazzling white light bloomed from within the beast core, bright and dazzling, almost impossible to look at directly, each white light emitting a terrifying Stellar Energy fluctuation.

Han Li looked at the white beast core, a look of amazement on his face.

He was now very familiar with beast cores. This white beast core was far more powerful than the one Gu Qianxun had given him, exceeding the scope of an Earth-rank beast core.

Han Li smiled slightly, closed the jade box, picked up the item, and walked to Chen Yang's side.

“Fellow Daoist Chen, I’ll choose these two items. Is that alright?” He raised the jade box and statue in his hands.

"Of course, no problem, but Fellow Daoist Li seems to have chosen a Heaven-rank beast core. The higher the rank of the beast core, the more difficult it is to refine. Moreover, because the Stellar Energy contained in a Heaven-rank beast core is too powerful, one can easily suffer a backlash if one is not careful. Fellow Daoist Li must be careful when using it." Chen Yang glanced at the two items in Han Li's hand, not paying much attention to the black statue, but when he saw the white jade box, a look of pain flashed in his eyes, and he said awkwardly.

"Thank you for the reminder, Fellow Daoist Chen Yang." Han Li smiled slightly and said.

Chen Yang glanced at the white jade box again, then forcibly looked away.

“Let's go, there's not much time left.”

As Chen Yang spoke, he picked up the black jade box containing the Black Tribulation Insects and walked out first, with Xie Daoren following closely behind.

Seeing Chen Yang take the black jade box, Han Li and Gu Qianxun exchanged glances, a hint of surprise flashing on their faces, then followed.

The group quickly left the treasure vault and, led by Chen Yang, soon arrived at a side hall within the City Lord's Mansion.

Han Li and Gu Qianxun followed Chen Yang and Xie Daoren all the way to a side hall in the City Lord's Mansion.

Entering the hall, Chen Yang’s expression turned slightly solemn, and he said:

“Please wait here in this side hall for a moment. The main hall where Du Qingyang held his meetings is separated from here by a wall. Later, I will find a way to summon his remaining confidants there. If things go smoothly, there will be no need for you two to take action. If things don’t go smoothly, I will need your help.”

“City Lord Chen Yang, we are now in the same boat, sharing both glory and disgrace. Naturally, we should advance and retreat together.” Gu Qianxun nodded and said with a smile.

“Fellow Daoist Gu is right, rest assured.” Han Li also said.

Chen Yang nodded slightly, having received the promises of the two, and left with Xie Daoren.

After they left, only Han Li and Gu Qianxun were left in the spacious side hall.

“Fellow Daoist Li, let’s sit down and rest for a moment. Given Fellow Daoist Chen Yang’s scheming and methods, I don’t think you and I will need to take action.” Gu Qianxun came to a stone table in the hall and sat down, beckoning Han Li to come over.

Han Li frowned slightly, stepped forward, and sat down opposite her.

“How much do you know about Chen Yang?” Han Li asked after a moment of consideration.

“This person is far from as simple as he appears. His methods and temperament are top-notch. Anyone who dares to underestimate him will end up even worse than Du Qingyang.” Gu Qianxun slowly said.

Han Li didn’t speak upon hearing this, but pondered silently.

“Fellow Daoist Li, after much deliberation, there is one thing I have decided to be honest with you about.” Gu Qianxun said after a slight hesitation.

“Are you referring to the time I was attacked by the Soul-Devouring Insect? Was Scarredface acting on your orders?” Han Li asked, his eyes flashing slightly.

“You already knew?” A look of surprise flashed across Gu Qianxun’s face as she asked.

“I only guessed it after experiencing this series of events. After all, neither Du Qingyang nor Chen Yang had a reason to kill me. And you seem to have no reason on the surface, but in reality, there is a very hidden reason.” Han Li said slowly.

“It seems you’re smarter than I thought. Tell me, what is the hidden reason?” Gu Qianxun said with a faint smile.

“You have a blood feud with Du Qingyang. His strength already far surpasses yours, so you were afraid that he would absorb my True Spirit bloodline and his strength would increase again, making revenge even more difficult. So you wanted to kill me in advance, right?” Han Li said expressionlessly.

“That’s right. Although I already had a plan with Chen Yang at the time, it wasn’t to use your bloodline for backlash, but another hidden sneak attack. However, since the Soul-Devouring Insect failed to kill you, I began to look at you in a new light. Later, when Chen Yang learned that Du Qingyang was about to use the Garuda Blood Array to absorb your True Spirit bloodline, I adjusted the original plan and included you in the new plan.” Gu Qianxun nodded and said.

“Compared to this, I’m more curious as to why you’re revealing this to me?” Han Li looked at Gu Qianxun, revealing a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.

“Since we are going to cooperate, it is best to be honest with each other. After all, Chen Yang is definitely not easier to deal with than Du Qingyang. If you and I still harbor suspicions, we will die at his hands sooner or later.” Gu Qianxun sighed and said leisurely.