When night fell and the surroundings became quiet, Han Li quietly slipped out of the house without saying goodbye to anyone and flew alone towards the direction of the imperial city on his flying vessel.
Standing on the Divine Wind Boat, Han Li looked at the massive black structure in front of him—the huge gate of the imperial city—and smiled faintly before flying directly past it.
To Han Li, the prohibition of the Seven Sects forbidding any disciples from entering the imperial city was nothing but a joke. He only followed regulations that were beneficial to him. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so obedient to arbitrary rules that sought to restrict his actions; that would be utterly ridiculous!
He had never been someone who blindly followed orders.
As Han Li sneered inwardly, he flew to a height of over a hundred feet above the imperial palace.
With the cover of the dark night, Han Li silently surveyed his surroundings, his gaze sweeping towards inconspicuous areas.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he flew towards a bamboo forest.
When he reached the airspace above the bamboo forest, Han Li cautiously glanced around and then converged his spiritual energy before descending slowly.
Han Li knew very well that although the disciples of the Black Demon Sect controlled the entire imperial palace, it was impossible for them to have spies everywhere. Even if there were numerous sentries, Han Li was confident that with the Great Accomplishment level of his Nameless Qi Cultivation Art, he could evade detection by the disciples of the Black Demon Sect.
Moreover, he had thoroughly investigated the usual distribution of sentries in the Black Demon Sect from the young prince. Even if there were changes now, as long as he didn't recklessly intrude into heavily guarded areas, Han Li felt quite reassured!
And this place obviously belonged to a neglected corner within the imperial palace. Not only was the bamboo forest filled with dead branches and rotten leaves emitting a faint smell of decay, but the branches and leaves were also lush and flourishing due to lack of pruning.
Seeing this small bamboo forest of about a mu in size, Han Li's face showed satisfaction.
He formed a soundproof barrier with a gesture, enveloping the entire bamboo forest, before solemnly taking out a stack of flags and a formation disk from his storage pouch. It was the improved "Inverted Five Elements Formation" given to him by Qi Yunxiao.
"With this Inverted Five Elements Formation, even the leader of the Black Demon Sect will be unable to defeat me!" Han Li muttered to himself as he looked at the formation in his hands.
Then he gathered his spirits and walked into the dark bamboo forest.
Two hours later, Han Li emerged from the forest with a tired expression. Due to time constraints, he had only set up a small part of the formation, but it should be enough. After observing his surroundings and confirming that no one had been here, he put away the soundproof barrier, released his flying vessel, and left.
Han Li's lone journey deep into the palace to set up the large formation was silent and uneventful, without alerting any disciples of the Black Demon Sect.
Under the orders of the leader of the Black Demon Sect, the Four Blood Guards were indeed very vigilant. However, as Han Li had expected, they only deployed dense sentries around the leader's secluded palace. In other areas, security was much laxer than before. This was one of the reasons why Han Li was able to come and go so smoothly.
When he returned to the Qin Residence, the sky had not yet brightened. Han Li simply didn't go to sleep and instead meditated on the bed until dawn.
By the time morning came, he casually walked out of the room like everyone else and gathered in a large hall with the others, chatting and laughing as usual, discussing the upcoming battle, without mentioning the "Inverted Five Elements Formation" at all.
