Han Li was very familiar with the dazed, reverent look the little girl had shown just before leaving.
He remembered that same look of extreme envy he had worn the first time he saw Li Huayuan drive that giant flood dragon.
Thinking about this, Han Li found the pretty little girl rather interesting.
He gave a slight smile, then his body silently vanished from the tree. When he reappeared, he was already inside the high walls of the Prince's residence.
At this moment, Han Li was using both the "Invisibility Technique," which could deceive mortals, and the "Qi Concealing Technique," a method for hiding one's aura that only Foundation Establishment cultivators could perform.
He moved swiftly among the coming and going servants and maids like a transparent phantom, completely unnoticed.
In just a short while, Han Li infiltrated the inner quarters of the mansion, quietly hiding behind a pillar in a secluded corridor, coldly observing everything around him.
Before long, when a somewhat pretty maid passed nearby, Han Li suddenly flicked his finger. A fist-sized ball of yellow light shot from his hand, striking the maid squarely on the head. She swayed and was about to collapse backward.
But before her body actually hit the ground, Han Li had already darted out, caught her, and flown back to the pillar in the corner.
With practiced ease, Han Li propped up the maid's limp body so she was facing him, then opened his mouth and blew a puff of green spiritual energy onto her tightly closed eyelids.
Immediately, the maid's eyelids fluttered a few times, then slowly opened.
As soon as the little maid gradually regained consciousness, the first thing she saw was a pair of golden eyes staring coldly at her.
Startled, she was about to struggle and scream when those bizarre eyes suddenly flared with brilliant yellow light, piercing straight into her own eyes.
Instantly, the maid felt the world spinning around her. Everything seemed to turn golden, then her head tilted, and she lost consciousness again.
Han Li looked at the maid who had fainted once more and sighed softly. He withdrew one hand to gently wipe the sweat from his face.
Although performing this "Soul Control Technique" took only a brief moment, it had greatly drained his mental energy, even feeling somewhat exhausting. No wonder this technique was listed as one of the ten most useless techniques of the Foundation Establishment stage.
Even if the technique was successful, it only forced the target to obey the caster for a period of time, like a slave, but its restrictions were simply too numerous. Very few cultivators actually practiced this technique!
First, this technique could only be used on mortals. It was completely ineffective against other cultivators. Even if there was a vast difference in cultivation between them, as long as one circulated spiritual energy through their brain, they could easily nullify the technique's mind-clouding effect.
Second, the technique required the practitioner not only to be a Foundation Establishment cultivator but also to possess divine sense far exceeding that of ordinary people. The vast majority of Foundation Establishment cultivators were unqualified to practice this technique.
With these two restrictions, the number of cultivators interested in mastering this technique was pitifully small.
But none of this posed a problem for Han Li.
Han Li had originally been troubled by his limited knowledge of Foundation Establishment techniques. When he saw the mnemonic for this technique in the Heaven Knowledge Pavilion that day, he had recorded it out of curiosity. After returning to his cave dwelling and practicing it a little, he found it came effortlessly, as naturally as water flowing downhill, which greatly surprised him!
Now, using this technique on the little maid had indeed succeeded in one go.
Han Li first cautiously looked around, then extended a finger and gently flicked it. A small orb of milky white light welled up from his fingertip. He then tapped it onto the maid's forehead, and the light merged into her skin, disappearing without a trace.
The little maid sat up immediately, her eyes blankly staring at Han Li without speaking.
"Who is your chief steward, where did he come from, when did he join the residence, where does he usually like to go, and who outside the residence does he frequently contact?" Han Li looked at the maid and fired off a rapid string of questions.
He had chosen this particular maid because she was the one Prince Xin had sent to fetch the young master at the start of the banquet, indicating she likely held a somewhat higher status among the servants. This way, the information he obtained would be more reliable.
"Which chief steward is Master asking about?" the maid replied with a completely expressionless tone.
"Does the residence have many chief stewards?" Han Li paused slightly, a bit puzzled.
"There is Steward Wang, who oversees all matters in the residence, Steward Li, who is solely responsible for procurement, and Steward Zhai, who manages the inner household," the maid continued, her eyes still devoid of emotion.
"The one greeting guests at the mansion gates today, which steward was that?" Han Li frowned and asked quietly.
"That is the most powerful, Steward Wang."
"That's the one I'm asking about!" Han Li pressed, a hint of urgency in his voice.
He truly had no idea how long this technique could control the target's mind, so naturally, he needed to finish asking the important questions quickly. Otherwise, when this little maid woke up, he would have to go through a lot more trouble.