Автор: sergey

When Grand Immortal Xu heard their conversation, he callously looked at the two through the light barrier and resentfully said, How about you deal with the monsters right in front of us first? The treasure will be a dream otherwise.

Old Devil Qian coldly chuckled, So you must be Brother Xu? I have no interest in risking mutual destruction before I even lay my eyes on the treasure. I reckon even if we were to join together, we would be hard pressed in the face of those three.

What does Brother Qian mean? Although their factions always had good relations, Grand Immortal Xus expression sank.

The white silhouette indifferently continued, Since they had remained hidden while Fellow Daoist Ye and I were in fierce combat, they should have an objective in mind. If they truly dont mean us harm, it would be an optimal opportunity to take action.

The Nightfiends eyes glinted green and he calmly said, Its good that you understand. Since we are no longer hidden, we may as well say that we are after a few items in Kunwu Hall. We have no intention of taking action until we gather them.

The horned woman and the Lion Hawk silently stood at his side.

Like Old Devil Qian, Grand Immortal Xu also had no wish to stake his life for naught. With some thought, relaxed and he said, The Saintess and I have no interest in the treasures ahead. We only care about some items that Youngster Han has on him, and we are fully driven to acquire them. Of course, if we find the Ghost Sifting Banner, we will return it to your sect.

Ge Tianhao casually said, In that case, we dont need to fight here. Lets first join forces and break the restriction, or there will be more coming. If we allow an outsider to acquire the treasure, it would make us a laughingstock.

All those present were greatly experienced and lived for many years, none of them had any intention of letting someone play them for a fool. As such, they quickly came to a temporary agreement.

Although the truce was likely to collapse when they arrived inside Kunwu Hall, it was better than massacring each other before the treasure was even in sight.

Since nobody has any objections, lets begin. Old Devil Qian let out a strange laugh and his white silhouette waved its sleeves, turning them into two huge pythons that charged straight towards the barrier.

The square-faced cultivator also pointed to the two flying swords revolving around him and had them slice through the air.

As for the three beasts and the party of cultivators outside the barrier, they exchanged a wary look before setting off on attacking the barrier.

With bright flashes and waves of demonic Qi, the sound of explosions filled the air around them.

An emerald-green figure concealed as a pillar in the stone forest muttered, Tch tch, I didnt expect that the fiery Old Devil Qian would join hands with the Silver-winged Nightfiend and the other beasts. When I encounter that old devil in the future, I will have to be careful so he doesnt scheme against me.

A green silhouette at the side snorted and bluntly said, With your current cultivation, he has no need to scheme against you. If his Unbroken Cinque Devils were to charge at you, youd have no way to avoid them.

These two were the elders of the Immortal Form Sect.

Senior Martial Sister, its not like I dont have a method to deal with him, the young woman spoke with a pout.

Lady Mu coldly laughed, An early-Nascent Soul cultivator like you actually thinks they can deal with a late-stage cultivator? Let alone you, even I wouldnt be able to defend myself against him. Our sects abilities arent good for direct confrontations. But if I had a drop of his blood, I reckon I could gravely injure him with a curse.

The young woman resentfully said, Our sects secret techniques are no less inferior to the great ten. If it werent for the rules established by our previous generations, we couldve greatly expanded and possibly developed a late-Nascent Soul cultivator. Then we would had nothing to fear from those like Old Devil Qian.

Lady Mu sighed and said, The founder of our sect was a descendant of the three masters of Kunwu. Originally, the sect was established near the seal to guard over it. But after tens of thousands of years, this matter had become forgotten. If it werent for that message we acquired from Elder Xiang, we wouldnt have investigated the founding records of our sect and would remain ignorant on the matters of the seal. Neither would we have any reason to enter such a dangerous place.

The young woman then mentioned, Speaking of Old Devil Qian, I suppose we should pay more attention to that youth who uses Divine Devilbane Lightning. He has a fan of great power and forced even a late-Nascent Soul cultivator to withdraw. If its used inside the seal, its might should be even greater. It is without a doubt a replica of the illustrious Sevenflame Fan.

It definitely is a replica, but I cant say if it is that of the Sevenflame Fan. His appearance is unfamiliar, but he possesses great power and the ability to use lightning movement. He is certainly unordinary. However, he doesnt seem to be from the Great Jin, nor is he affiliated with the Ye Clan. No matter, we dont need to pay him much heed. More importantly, Elder Xiang shouldve long entered the mountain, Lady Mu puzzlingly said, Why hasnt he appeared to block them yet? Someone of his abilities should be able to easily restrain them.

The young woman hesitantly said, Perhaps Senior had other important areas to deal with, like the Devil Suppressing Pagoda. That place is of utmost importance.

Lady Mu gloomily shook her head, Impossible, the Devil Suppressing Pagoda might be the formation core of the mountains seal, but to reinforce it, he would first need to acquire the Dragon Call Crest from Kunwu Hall. Given how powerful Senior Xiang is, why wouldnt he head here first?

Does Senior Martial Sister mean to say that something happened to Senior Xiang? With his cultivation, there couldnt be anyone in this world that could harm him. Could someone have trapped him? The young womans face paled when she finished speaking.

Lady Mus expression shifted but she forced a smile, That isnt very likely. The first few restrictions were already destroyed. If he was trapped, he shouldve already been broken free. It must be that there actually is something that has delayed him from entering the mountain.

I hope thats the case. Anyways, well still have to follow behind these people and see if we can acquire the Dragon Call Crest first. Apart from that, only the Heavencrystal Stele would be able to strengthen the seal, but our ancestors hadnt passed its location onto us. If we had it, we wouldnt need to take the risk of following them. The young woman finished her words with a trace of resentment.

You should know that the Heavencrystal Stele was only planned as a backup. Its whereabouts were only passed down by a line of the Kunwu Elders descendants. In fear that something would happen to those possessing this information, they created another method to control the mountains seal. It was said that the stele was concealed in an unexpected place, and those who knew would be able to find it. With a hidden and open method prepared, the ancient cultivators had clearly put much effort into this restriction.

The young woman frowned, What were the three masters of Kunwu thinking? To leave behind such a great disaster for us… why hadnt they beheaded this person instead of taking up such great effort to seal a spirit mountain from the moral realm?

Lady Mu hesitated for a moment and said, The records also mentioned the reason for this. It seems the identity of this person was very special, involving a matter related to the higher realms. As a result, none of them dared to harm it and could only seal the mountain.

So it was like that. It is no wonder why their actions had been constrained. However, just how high is this persons cultivation? the young woman curiously inquired. When Elder Xiang made mention, he appeared nervous. This is the only time weve seen that old eccentric restless in the long time that weve known him.

Lady Mu glanced at her, and annoyedly answered, There is no point in thinking about it when we could be killed with a twirl of its finger.

So it was like that… The young woman drew with a helpless tone.

And youve brought the Four Skies Ruler, yes? We will have to rely on it to fight for the Dragon Call Emblem.

The young woman rolled her eyes and smiled, Senior Martial Sister has reminded too many times already. How could I have forgotten our sects signature treasure? But it is a pity that your cultivation art is unsuitable with it, or itd be a better fit for you. Senior Martial Sister said that one of the two Divine Spirit Treasures used to suppress this person was the Eight Spirit Ruler, the treasure that the Four Skies Ruler is a replica of. I hope that we will be able to see it.

The Eight Spirit Ruler and the Black Wind Flag. I also… Lady Mus line of thought was interrupted when she suddenly turned her attention back to the barrier. With a stiff expression, she said, Old Devil Qian and the others had broken through. Lets hurry. The young womans heart trembled and she raised her head. She caught sight of them breaking through the light barrier and heading up the mountain gate.

The light barrier sensed Han Lis approach and released a storm of silver lightning upon him.

He whistled, ordering the flood dragon to pounce forward and rupture. A net of golden lightning instantly formed and protected himself, causing each lightning bolt to disappear upon contact.

Han Li, its you!

Elder Han?!

When the light surrounding him faded away, Han Li became visible, provoking Old Devil Qian and the middle-aged square-faced cultivator with his appearance.

The square-faced man attracted Han Lis attention, and he couldnt help but shoot him a glance of alarm. He wasnt sure how he had recognized him.

Although he felt this was strange, he turned his attention back to the barrier and waved his fan, producing a phoenix cry along with a tri-colored inferno. In the blink of an eye, it burned a large hole and he slipped through it in a blur.

At that moment, he felt relieved and looked behind him.

On the other side of the barrier, he saw Grand Immortal Xu and Lin Yinping make an appearance. They had an unsightly bearing when they spotted him in return.

Han Li coldly chuckled.

With an odd tone, he said, Since so many people have come, Ill leave you to your own business. Keep yourselves busy. Then with a flick of his wrist, thunder clapped and an arc of golden lightning shot out.

It made contact with the barrier and disappeared without a trace. A moment later, it struck out from the other side. Boom. The lightning struck an unremarkable stone pillar at the side of the platform.

A muffled snort sounded out in response, and the Silver-winged Nightfiend, Lion Hawk, and an ugly horned woman came into view.

A Lion Hawk! Grand Immortal Xu immediately recognized the beast with the most obvious characteristics and felt his heart tremble.

When Lin Yinping and the others heard him, they immediately grew alarmed and raised their guard.

Grand Elder! Ge Tianhao and the other two had then arrived and rejoiced upon seeing the cinque devils.

The three beasts were extremely gloomy to have been revealed, and the Nightfiend immediately recognized Han Li as the enemy that nearly took his life. He relentlessly cursed in his heart when that same person was ruining his plans. Equally so, he was puzzled on how he was able to see through their concealment.

The beasts werent fearful towards the cultivators, but they had been hoping that the cultivators would break through a few crucial restrictions on their behalf. Now that they were discovered, they werent sure what to do.

As for Grand Immortal Xu, his face fell as he found the situation difficult to deal with. When he caught sight of the other two monsters, he felt his heart quake in shock.

They were human-like, and possessed astonishing demonic Qi that was no lesser than the Lion Hawk. As he compared their strength, he inwardly cursed, not daring to take action.

Old Devil Qian and the Ye Clan Elder immediately ceased their battle upon seeing the great changes that had occurred, but the two bronze lions continued to tangle with them. Helpless, they could only keep them at bay as they vigilantly glanced at one another, slowly increasing the distance between them.

As for the others, they found themselves in an apprehensive deadlock.

Han Li paid no heed to the chaos that would ensue. He simply moved to the back in a blur. Since there was an opportunity to seize the treasure, he wasnt about to let it go.

After making his way through an uneven path, he eventually arrived at a mountainous gate sculpted from fine jade.

The gate was quite peculiar. There were two columns of huge solitary trees lined up at their side and nothing else.

Looking past it, there lay a flawless white road that reached over three kilometers before faint glimpses of a huge palace with an imposing presence crested his sight.

So thats Kunwu Hall, Han Li muttered. After a moment of hesitation, he looked around and focused his attention on the trees lined up to either side.

Each one was about a hundred meters tall. And despite their sallow and dry color, each gave an odd impression that they were brimming with life.

When he closely examined them with his spiritual sense, he wasnt able to find anything strange. They were completely ordinary inside and out without any anomalous signatures.

Han Li unconsciously frowned and turned his attention away from them.

A short moment later, he swept his spiritual sense past the spacious gate and confirmed that there were no restrictions hidden there. Then, he set off through it, making his way towards Kunwu Hall in the distance.

But not even forty meters in, he suddenly felt an icy premonition spread throughout his body.

Not good! Han Li inwardly shouted. He thought to jump back, but it was already too late. He suddenly felt an enormous pressure weight down on his body and his knees buckled as he was forced to the ground.

Without another thought, he shouted and immediately covered his body in brilliant azure light, relieving him to at least straighten his back and raise himself on a single knee.

At the same moment, his body continuously trembled as cracks relentlessly sound out from his body as if his bones were on the verge of breaking.

Han Li was deeply shocked.

The protective light only blocked a small portion of the pressure. He was a bit better off than before, but it was still unbearable.

He was convinced that if he hadnt cultivated the Brightjade Arts or swallowed the Heavenly Corpse Pearl, his bones wouldve shattered to dust, leaving him completely helpless.

A thorough examination of his surroundings left no hint of any spell formation. How was it that he fell into such a powerful restriction?

As Han Li inwardly cursed, he hastily uttered an incantation. Unable to make use of his hands, his only option was to cast techniques was by chanting.

Deafening thunder echoed through the air. In a flash of gold, a layer of lightning appeared on his body. Then, he gritted his teeth as he slowly raised himself up.

But just as he was halfway up, he felt the pressure on his body suddenly increase and was brought back down.

A variety of emotions was betrayed by his face.

…

Further down below the mountain gate, Old Devil Qian and the others had caught sight of Han Li lingering at the mountain gate in the distance, but saw nothing else.

With the temptation of treasure weighing heavy on their hearts, they no longer possessed any restraint.

Beast, youre courting death! Im done with you! Old Devil Qian furiously shouted from within the barrier.

The cinque devils then converged together into one, forming a ten-meter-tall silhouette. He then suddenly flung his arm back behind him.

In a blur, it turned into a python and leapt into the mouth of the bronze lion that flanked him from behind. Afterwards, the python separated from the silhouettes body and turned into a giant ball of light, enveloping the lion entirely.

It attempted to release a pillar of light from its mouth, but its movements were completely restricted.

To the side, the square-faced cultivator pointed to the huge bone bracelet at his side.

It suddenly shined with brilliant light and transformed into innumerable yellow copies of itself. With the activation of a spell seal, they all blurred out from view before appearing above the bronze lion. As a result, the countless bracelets dropped down and completely restrained it, forcing it to fall to the ground.

However, he no longer focused on the puppet and sullenly turned his attention on the giant silhouette.

Old Devil Qian coldly snorted, The Overflowing Sky Bracelet is worthy of its reputation. Rumor says its a replica of the ancient Shining Moon Bracelet. Ive never had the chance to verify its power. From my observations so far, it should be no less powerful than other Divine Spirit Treasure replicas.

The square-faced cultivator coldly laughed and glanced in the direction of the gate, Without the treasure protecting me, I fear you wouldve already killed me. If we continue to fight, the treasure will be taken away by that youngster who just past us.

If Kunwu Halls restrictions were so easily destroyed, wouldnt you have already entered? Besides, how can I chase him from here. Old Devil Qians voice chilled, More importantly, didnt you call him Elder Han? Could he be a cultivator from your clan?

The square-faced cultivator shifted his eyes and chuckled, Hehe, I was mistaken. I actually dont know him.

Old Devil Qian grew silent for a moment as if trying to verify his words. Then, he coldly said, Regardless, he is a foreigner from the Heavenly South. With all your schemes to open Kunwu Mountains Seal could it be you plan on having its treasure fall into the hands of a foreigner? Wouldnt it be better to break the restriction together? Then we can contest the treasures in Kunwu Hall with whatever method we can muster.

Fine, I agree!

Much to Old Devil Qians surprise, the square-faced man immediately agreed without any hesitation. Rather, it was the old devil who grew hesitant.

Chapter 1016: Bronze Lion

Lin Yinping followed after Grand Immortal Xu without any hesitation. As the Endless Sky Saintess, she had to rescue the holy beast incarnation no matter what.

Ge Tianhao and the other two sect elders wore unsure expressions, however.

Those belonging to the Devil Dao often lacked a sense of unity. The reason they had attacked without hesitation was because they had such a perceived advantage. But with Han Li possessing such a powerful treasure, they decided to have the others lead the way for the time being.

Although Grand Immortal Xu assured them that Han Li was only able to launch such an attack once, the opposite was just as likely. If he was able to use a technique to forcefully draw power and use the fan multiple times in succession, they would not be able to defend themselves. feewenve.com

And from what theyve just heard, it is possible that he also possesses an even more powerful cauldron, much to their apprehension. Although they wished to acquire their sects relic, they werent willing to risk their lives.

For a time, the three were hesitant on whether they should follow.

Finally, with a resolute mind, Ge Tianhao softly said, Lets go. When we encounter that Han fellow, well just provide support from the side. So long as we are quick and evade the fan, there shouldnt be a problem.

The two old black-robed men at his side paused before eventually nodding.

The three then quickly took off.

…

The stairway leading to Kunwu Hall was extremely long. Even with his unrestrained use of lightning movement, it had taken him the time to finish a meal before he could arrive. When he left the stairway, he found himself in front of a forest.

But in truth, it didnt consist of trees, but ten-meter-tall pillars of various widths. These stone pillars were carved with uncanny precision and a few talisman characters glowed on them with faint flickering light. It was clear they were part of a huge formation.

However, what shouldve been a neat and orderly display was in utter disarray. Many of the pillars had been shattered, leaving the ground littered with rubble along with variously-sized holes.

It was clear to see that someone had used brute strength to breakthrough.

Han Li coldly swept his gaze past the scene and silently entered the forest.

The are wasnt very large. With several blurs, he arrived at the edge, but only found a sloped wall in front of him.

The wall was constructed from giant boulders with a mess of stone statues carved out from it, each of them holding halberds and other magic tools.

As he examined this, he frowned, suddenly sensing something from above.

On the sloped wall three hundred meters up, he saw flashes of light and the occasional sounds of an eruption as if there was a battle.

Could it be that Old Devil Qian is fighting against the first group that were before us?

Han Li felt his heart stir and he quickly ran up using body lightening techniques. Along the way, he hid his presence and his body blurred out of sight.

He arrived in an empty area several times larger than the white jade plaza.

When he had clear sight of it, he was stunned.

A huge light barrier appeared before him where five white, two azure, and one yellow silhouette were viciously battling inside.

Those white silhouettes were Old Devil Qians cinque devils, each of them threateningly postured and spouting grey Qi from their mouths.

The yellow silhouette belonged to a middle-aged man who had a huge white bone bracelet revolving around him. Whenever grey Qi struck its surface, it would sweep it away with yellow light as if it didnt exist. He was also controlling a red-yellow flying sword with both of his hands, blocking the assault of the five cinque devils with all his strength.

As for the azure silhouettes, they belonged to two bronze lions that were three meters tall. They relentlessly pounced and tangled with the cinque devils and moved with lightning speed. Each time they opened their mouths, a bowl-thick azure beam fired that carried great destructive power.

Although the first two didnt pay much mind to the bronze lions long-range attacks, they both made a great effort to avoid having the lions draw close. But if they werent able to avoid them in time, they would temporarily abandon the fight and fiercely strike the statues instead.

However, the bronze lions seemed impervious to damage. Be it the grey Qi or sword strikes, the azure light shimmering from their bodies would resist any attack with impunity.

The barrier of white light surrounding the stage was truly odd. Its surface occasionally flickered with silver lightning, and whenever something approached, it would sound a clap of thunder before releasing a barrage of lightning bolts.

Although the cinque devils and the bone bracelet were more than capable off receiving such strikes, neither of them wanted any avoidable damage and kept clear.

As time went on, the battle within the barrier was even more intense.

When Han Li saw this, he grasped, Is this an arena?

At a glance, he saw that the middle-aged man was a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator and that the strange bone bracelet he had was the only thing keeping the cinque devils at bay. As for the two bronze lions, they appeared menacing. Despite being two unmanned puppets, they forcibly distracted such powers. If either of them were tangled, they wouldnt be able to easily escape.

As he muttered to himself, Han Li swept his eyes across the scene.

The light barrier nearly covered the entire area, and light flashed from the gaps on the sides, clearly displaying other fearsome restrictions.

As such, he had no way forward. But he could see a large mountain gate on the other side of the barrier, likely to be the entrance to Kunwu Hall.

Han Li unconsciously frowned as he sank into thought. He couldnt afford to stop there as Grand Immortal Xu and company would soon arrive.

As such, he summoned the Triflame Fan into his hand with a shake of his sleeve. He planned on using it to temporarily clear away the barrier and use lightning movement to quickly pass through. Although he was certain to be discovered, it was an acceptable risk as those present werent in a position to fight him.

He took a deep breath and was about to proceed when he suddenly turned to look at a huge stone pillar at the side with utter shock, but he ended up seeing nothing. Had he not released his spiritual sense to its fullest extent, he would have missed the faint spiritual fluctuations.

Bewildered, he activated his Brightsight Spirit Eyes and spotted a pair of red demon eyes above the stone pillar.

The Silver-winged Nightfiend! In his alarm, he instantly recognized the master of those cursed eyes and immediately channeled spiritual power into his body.

As his spirit eyes grew in strength, he eventually spotted a dark silhouette belonging to the eyes. However, the nightfiend wasnt looking at him but was rather focused on the battle in the barrier. Because of the mountains restrictions and Han Lis concealment techniques, he had yet to discover him.

However, he wasnt pleased by this at all and his expression sank.

Besides the Silver-winged Nightfiend, he spotted two others. Even with the full power of his spirit eyes, he wasnt able to clearly see them, but was able to see the outline of the Lion Hawk and an unfamiliar human-like figure.

Since the beasts are concealed together, it seemed they are allies. Could it be their aim was something in Kunwu Hall? Han Li thought.

Then, his expression stirred once more and he turned around, spotting light from the stone forest down below. It appeared Grand Immortal Xu and company were in rapid pursuit.

Under such circumstances, he could no longer afford to hesitate. Foosh. Flame burst forth from his fan and silently cut towards the barrier like a blade.

Although he had limited the power of the fan, when the flames met the barrier, a muffled explosion sounded out, followed by an eruption of blinding light.

Be it the three beasts hiding on top of the stone pillar or the cultivators fighting in the barrier, their attention was instantly captured in his direction.

Seeing that his tracks were already revealed, Han Li broke out of concealment and leaped forward, turning into an azure streak as he made his way to the other end of the barrier.

By forcibly using magic power to break free from the restrictions, he traveled immensely fast, arriving over a hundred meters away in an instant.

Insolence! Old Devil Qian shouted in fury and had three of his devils blur and disappear from sight.

In a moment, they strangely warped in front of Han Li and glared at him with icy green eyes.

Get lost! Han Li fiercely shouted. In a clap of thunder, a dense bolt of golden lightning shot forward, twisting in the air to form a golden flood dragon.

Divine Devilbane Lightning! When Old Devil Qian saw this, he shouted with furious alarm.

The black Qi that the three incarnations released to block him had dissolved without resistance.

With the golden flood dragon now clearing the way, Han Li swept through and arrived at the other side of the barrier.

Note: From now one, the Endless Sky Saintess will be more often referred by her name Lin Yinping rather than her title.

If thats the case, I would be honored to spar with Brother Xu. But right now? Han Li looked at Ge Tianhao and the others and shook his head with a mysterious smile.

Grand Immortal Xu, the white-robed youth, maintained his calm and coldly said, Oh? From Brother Hans tone, you seem quite confident. I heard you killed a Yin Sifting Sect Elder at the peak of mid-Nascent Soul stage, is that true?

When the Yin Sifting Sect Elders heard this, their expressions shifted.

Han Li pursed his lips, What more is there to be said? I did kill a Yin Sifting Sect Elder in the Heavenly South. Could it be that that Fellow Daoist Xu plans to act on behalf of their sect?

After staring at him for a while, Immortal Xu said, Your abilities mustve been unordinary to kill someone at the peak of your cultivation grade. If it werent for the vicious grievances between us, I wouldve wanted to befriend you. I heard you used a bizarre cauldron to seize the doppelganger of our holy beast and our legacy cauldron. So long as you hand over that over your culadron to me, I am willing to mend the relationship between you and our temple. Of course, if you also agree to return the Ghost Sifting Banner, I am willing to resolve any grudges there as well. What do you think?

What are you doing, Brother Xu? He…

Just as Lin Yinping was about to say something else, the white-robed youth waved his hand and interrupted her, The Saintess doesnt need to meddle in this. This is what Ive decided!

Ge Tianhao and his fellow elders glanced at each other in alarm and also kept silent.

When he heard them mention the Heavenvoid Cauldron, Han Li refused without a thought, I cant even consider handing over my cauldron. You can go ahead and attack.

Since Fellow Daoist Han rejected my kindness, do not blame me for being merciless. A trace of resignation appeared on Grand Immortal Xus face and he sullenly trembled his sleeve, suddenly producing a green jade scepter into his hand.

With a wave of the scepter, it brightly glowed with green light, and he resolutely glared at him.

Han Li formed a hand gesture in response and thunder suddenly rang out from his back, followed by the emergence of a pair of silver wings. Then with a flick of his wrist, a feather fan appeared in his hand, shining with gold, silver, and red light.

When faced against so many opponents, Han Li couldnt hold back and would have to use his most formidable treasure from the start.

Grand Immortal Xu almost immediately noticed the fan was unordinary. Its fearsome spiritual pressure alone caused his face to sink.

Ge Tianhao also saw that the fan was something grand and hastily said, Fellow Daoist Xu, lets attack simultaneously and capture him.

Afterwards, he waved to his two fellow sect elders before waiting for a reply from Grand Immortal Xu, and the three prepared themselves, releasing their own treasures: two weirdly-shaped flying swords and a bone saber that flickered with flame.

With a change of expression, Lin Yinping waved her sleeve and summoned a cloth with an embroidered silver sash of silk into her hand.

Grand Immortal Xu frowned when he saw this and silently stared at Han Lis Triflame Fan.

In the blink of an eye, the five were prepared with a joint attack.

However, Han Li wasnt about to be drawn without his own say. With a ring of thunder, he disappeared in a flash of silver and reappeared at a stairway over thirty meters away.

When they saw this, the Yin Sifting Sect Elders immediately set off as two blue streaks and a green streak, followed by a mass of silver threads that filled the air from Lin Yinping.

However, Grand Immortal Xu was already ahead of them. His robes calmly ruffled as he appeared over thirty meters ahead, no slower than Han Lis lightning movement. The jade scepter in his hand grew vague and released an unknown beast with a horses head and a serpents body in a flash of green.

Han Li sighed and his expression suddenly turned cold as he waved the fan towards them.

A regal cry soared through the sky, and a phoenix appeared from the fan in a burst of gold, silver, and red. It unfolded its wings and fiercely charged forward.

A massive explosion erupted. A bright halo of tri-colored talisman characters appeared, filling the plaza with soft light and a colossally suffocating pressure.

In the face of it, Grand Immortal Xu muttered, Not good, before waving his scepter in front of him. The strange creature immediately shot out and circled around him, producing a green barrier.

The two flying swords and the bone saber were too slow and were drawn into the halo. The dense barrage of silver threads Lin Yinping produced from her embroidered cloth immediately dissolved as well upon contact. However, the halo didnt stop there, pulling back for just a moment before violently expanding in an instant, shattering nearly half the plaza in its brilliant radiance before melting the white jade stone.

Such power and aura could only be described as world-shattering.

Han Li ignored this as he had no further intention of staying. With a flap of his wings, he shot up the stairway in several flashes of silver lightning. Along the way, he took out a small bottle and poured a drop of Myriad Spirit Milk into his mouth.

Although the Triflame Fans might was astonishing, he didnt believe that a single strike could exterminate the lot of them. He reckoned that he would catch them unprepared at most and caused them a bit of suffering. Since he was outnumbered, he planned on evading them for the time being.

Just as it so happened, the closest stairway to Han Li had been the one leading to Kunwu Hall. He did feel somewhat apprehensive by this, but there wasnt much of a choice. Although Old Devil Qian was ahead of him, so long as he drew support from the mountains restrictions and features, he should be able to shake off his pursuers.

He then quickly made his way to the top of the stairway.

…

The huge tri-colored halo only lasted for a moment before completely fading away. The group had all been driven to the edges of the plaza and were worse for wear.

Ge Tianhao, in particular, made for a sorry sight.

Although the bone saber wasnt his bonded magic treasure, he had spent much effort into refining it and was connected with his spiritual sense. As a result, his soul was wounded when the saber was disintegrated, despite managing to mostly escape the range of the halos influence.

But even so, that power still swept across him and immediately scattered his protective light, scorching his arm black.

As for his fellow sect elders, they were somewhat better off. They quickly severed their mental connection to their flying swords when they saw things had turned amiss. As such, they were completely safe from the attack apart from burnt hair and clothes.

Lin Yinping had been standing the farthest away, and her embroidered cloth hadnt suffered much damage apart from a loss of spiritual Qi. Additionally, a large black shield had appeared in front of her, completely blocking her from view.

As for the Grand Immortal Xu, he had been the closest, but the barrier his green scepter made allowed him to escape the blast unharmed.

However, the youth was wearing an unsightly expression as he looked at the mess he tightly held in his hand.

The treasure was fractured and let out a crisp ring before shattering into sparkling fragments.

The scepter was thoroughly destroyed by the tri-colored halo before it could display its true might.

Just what was that fan? Could it be a Divine Spirit Treasure? As Ge Tianhao spoke with furious alarm, he took out a salve for his wounded arm.

As for the two old black-robed men, their complexions were pale with trepidation.

Grand Immortal Xu stared at the distant stairway with a hazy expression and snorted, I fear you wouldnt be alive if it was. It should be a replica. With that treasure in his hand, it is no wonder he was so calm when facing us.

Ge Tianhao astonishedly said, That was the power of a replica?

Grand Immortal Xu asked, Whats so strange? This should be expected.

A black-robed old man said with wavering eyes, With such a powerful treasure, he will be far more troublesome than we anticipated. Should we continue our pursuit? It was clear the fans power had shaken him.

Grand Immortal Xu calmly replied, Fellow Daoist, relax. Given how powerful the fan is, it must consume a significant amount of magic power. That was why he fled. So long as we give chase before his magic power has a chance to recover, he wont be able to use it again. This is a prime opportunity to kill him. Then, he slapped a pouch at his waist, releasing the Keen Spirit Peacock in a glow of rainbow light.

He deeply sighed and coldly shouted, We go up the mountain! If he escapes, there will be no end to the trouble!

He then led the way up with the rainbow peacock closely flying after him.

Hua Tianqi quickly glanced at the Ye Clan Elders trapped in the Yin Qi before turning his eyes to the exit on the other end of the hall. With a resolute tone, he shouted, Go!

He flipped his hand, producing a small green flag. In a blur, a ball of emerald light immediately ruptured and swept the four up in its light before rushing them towards the other side of the hall.

You dare?! The large-headed eccentric furiously yelled when he saw this and immediately released countless yellow swordstreaks from his body, shredding the Yin Qi surrounding them in an attempt to break free.

After the eccentrics party managed to escape, white light suddenly shined from the exit to reveal a dense wall of sparkling crystal.

Without another thought, he raised his hand and shot a ten-meter-long swordlight towards the wall. As a result, rainbow flashed and the swordlight was engulfed.

After examining it with shock, he cried out in fury, An Elemental Sanctuary Wall!

The old man astonishedly said, Indeed. Isnt this a signature treasure of the Buddhist Sanctuary Sect? How could it fall into their hands? Ah yes, it is said they have a relationship of some sort. After all, they are both great powers in the region.

The treasure is quite famous. The Elder Devil frowned.

The eccentric stared at the wall with a pale complexion, How troublesome. From how recklessly they acted, it appears there truly is a Divine Spirit Treasure at the bottom.

The Elder Devil coldly laughed, Brother Ye doesnt need to be so anxious! It is good that they went down first. The treasure might not even be on the next floor and the monsters that are imprisoned there are sure to be even more deadly. Theyre only asking for trouble to rush ahead. Lets deal with the wall after we put this ghost monarch in order.

After some thought, the eccentric relaxed and smiled, Brother Hans words are reasonable. I was too worried over the treasure!

With that said, a cold glint flashed from his eye when he turned his attention to the ghost monarch suppressed by the silver pitchfork.

At the other side of the crystal wall, Hua Tianqi let out a long sigh. One of his fellow sect elders immediately grumbled, Senior Martial Brother Hua, that was far too dangerous. Although the Elemental Sanctuary Wall will stall for some time, I fear we caused a great offense. How will we deal with them in the future?

Hua Tianqi glanced at his fearful junior martial brother and sullenly said, You still think that we can peacefully coexist with the Ye Clan? Ye Yuesheng feigned death in the past to escape execution from the ten great sects. Let alone offending them, now that weve encountered them, they will not leave us be. And since this treasure was the obsession of our sect founder, it cant possibly be anything but a legendary Divine Spirit Treasure. What is there to fear with a bit of danger?

Another sect elder fearfully asked, If it truly is something as heaven-defying as that, we will have to brave the risk. However, Ye Yuesheng and the others will be guarding the outside. Even if we manage to acquire it, how will we leave?

Hua Tianqi chuckled, Did you think Id take the risk without a plan? Before we came, I brought the Poison Dragon Pearl. Ill swallow the pearl and have the power to contend a late-Nascent Soul cultivator for a short time. There should be no problem in getting away.

So Senior Martial Brother had made preparations. In that case, we have little to worry. The other three relaxed.

It is a pity that Junior Martial Brother Yuan isnt here. Then we wouldnt need to use the pearl to contend against them. Having suddenly recalled his Junior Martial Brother, a trace of sadness appeared on his face.

A nearby elder smiled and said, That is so, but Senior Martial Brother Hua already left a message behind. He might even be on his way as we speak. In that case, things will be much easier when we leave.

I hope that is the case, then with a stiff expression, Hua Tianqi solemnly said, Everyone, be careful. Given how difficult the ghosts on the seventh floor were, they will be even more fearsome on the eighth and ninth. However, the Devil Suppressing Pagoda is truly deserving of its name. If the Ye Clan hadnt cleared the way for us, we wouldve spent a great amount of strength.

The other three called out in acknowledgment.

Afterwards, the party made their way further down. From what they had seen earlier, they should head down to the next floor after walking for a hundred meters.

But this time, they only walked for thirty meters before their surroundings lit up, finding themselves facing a small stone room. The walls were completely bare, but there was two teleportation formations on the ground: a black one and a white one.

This is… Hua Tianqi frowned.

The others looked at each other with dismay.

They walked inside. Hua Tianqi held his hands behind his back and gave a cursory glance.

He turned his head to an old man with thick eyebrows and said, Junior Martial Brother Miao, youre skilled in ancient spell formations. Take a look and see if theyre short-range teleportation.

Understood, the old man immediately replied. He then walked in front of one of them and began to inspect it. The others curiously followed after.

A moment of silence later, the old man confirmed, It is truly a short-range teleportation formation, one that wont exceed fifty kilometers.

A cold glint flashed in Hua Tianqis eye, Then it should lead us to the eighth floor, though it is quite unordinary to use teleportation for one floor. Do these formations work both ways?

The old man rubbed his chin and doubtfully said, Of course. Normal short-range formations are bidirectional. But it is strange for there to be two. Could it be the eighth floor is divided into two?

Perhaps, but well have to take it to be sure. Lets first take the white one. The other one gives me a sense of dread. Hua Tianqi then walked to the white formation without hesitation.

When the other three looked at the black one, they felt a sense of dread and quickly made their way to the white formation, if only to get away from it.

After Hua Tianqi struck it with a spell seal, white light flashed, followed by their disappearance.

A moment later, they felt a sense of vertigo and found themselves in a land resembling paradise.

There was a blue sky with white clouds and spiritual plants of all kinds surrounding them. With each breath, they felt a wave of overwhelming spiritual Qi.

But what was most eye-catching, was a small palace regally decorated in gold and jade. It was located at the center of a giant spell formation. There were altars that surrounded it, each enshrined with a giant stone statue carrying a huge golden blade. These statues were crude and carried an indescribably savage aura, and they all faced the palace at the center.

The scene was so bizarre that Hua Tianqi found himself at a loss as of what to say.

…

Han Li was currently standing in the white jade plaza, facing a group of cultivators that were leering at him with unrelenting malice.

Perhaps staying at the Spirit Metal Hall was the right choice, he thought, or if he had delayed himself for a moment, he wouldnt of had such a warm welcome.

Just as he returned and thought to take another stairway, a group of people emerged from the trees at the side of the plaza. Rather than going up a stairway, they had concealed themselves nearby. Because spiritual sense was restricted in the area, he wasnt able to detect them and fell into their trap.

A gorgeous white-robed woman was frigidly glaring at Han Li. Through her gritted teeth, she said, Fellow Daoist Han, I didnt expect to see you here. Youve been quite hard to find.

The person standing at her side was someone he found to be familiar, a white-robed youth. As for her other three companions, they were Ge Tianhao and two black-robed old men.

They surrounded him in a half circle and blocked the way down the mountain, fearing he would escape.

Han Li sighed. He recalled the detection tool he made specifically to avoid her, but now that several years had passed, it had lost its efficacy. It wouldve been an entirely different story if they crossed paths two years ago.

I also didnt expect to find the Saintess here. It is truly a fortunate meeting. With a calm expression, he saluted the Endless Sky Saintess, Lin Yinping, and turned his head to the white-robed youth, And you must be a Grand Immortal, Im honored!

In Han Lis mind, this person was the greatest threat amongst them: a late-Nascent Soul cultivator. Although he was surrounded, most of his attention was focused on him.

Grand Immortal Xu expressionlessly examined Han Li and spoke with great deliberation, I am indeed one of the four Grand Immortals of the Soaring Tribe. Ive only seen you from a distance, and it is a pity you hadnt the mind to compare pointers with me. Would you be free to do that now?

Han Li wasnt surprised by the lack of any further spoils. It was already fortunate to have made such great gains in a remote area.

Half a day later, he finished looking through the last of the buildings and returned to the stone wall at the entrance. He gazed at the white light barrier with a trace of hesitation. rewebnovel.com

Since he finished earlier than expected, he had the opportunity to look through other locations, but that would come with its own risks.

Who knew whether there would be others that also finished early and wished to do the same?

He had nothing to fear from Old Devil Qian or even the Sacred Poison Sect Elders, but it would be greatly troublesome to encounter the forerunners that had entered the mountain. He reckoned that they would attack him on sight.

But if he were to remain here for the seal to stabilize in a few days, he could return near unimpeded. However, he wasnt entirely open to the idea.

He broke out in laughter over this line of thought.

Wouldnt the others come to Spirit Metal Hall regardless? He reckoned that after such a long period of time has passed, those who went to the important locations in Kunwu Mountain shouldve encountered the first wave of cultivators, and likely to have already engaged in combat.

In that case, wouldnt it be better to take advantage of the chaos to search other places? After all, he was able to find something as amazing as Great Yin Trueflame in the trifling Spirit Metal Hall.

With his current abilities, even if several late-Nascent Soul cultivators were to attack him at once, he should be able to escape with ease.

Having considered that, he took out his Triflame Fan without further hesitation and easily dissolved the barrier, then setting off down the stairway.

…

The large-headed eccentric and the Elder Devil, now accompanied by an old early-Nascent Soul cultivator, were currently surrounded by eight crimson ghosts inside a large hall that glowed a faint blue.

These ghosts all had a ferocious appearance and breathed out Yin Qi. They waved their hands and released pitch-black streaks towards the three from every direction. Additionally, a mist of grey Yin Qi was currently encompassing them. But no matter how violent the Yin Qi and how sharp the claw streaks may be, they werent able to pierce the barriers of light that protected them.

The three all used their own treasures to attack, but despite their efforts, it was to little effect.

Be it smashing to pieces or cutting them to halves, the ghosts immediately restored themselves after being scattered. They showed no signs of weakening as if they were undying.

At that moment, the old man clapped his hands together and raised them into the air, releasing a string of scarlet fireballs towards the fiends and disintegrating them. But just like before, the ghosts immediately condensed back together and pounced towards the light barrier.

The old man anxiously said, Seventh Uncle, Elder Han, this cant continue. They have nourished their Yin Qi for untold years. It is clear theyve already reached Yin Soul Condensation Stage. Common methods wont be able to harm them. Only great Yang treasures will have some effect.

The eccentric annoyedly snorted, Yin Soul Condensation Stage? No, they are merely the doppelgangers of a ghost monarch. If we dont kill them all at once, they will immediately reform. I have no such ability to do this. We can only attempt to find its true body.

Theyre all doppelgangers? The old man asked in surprise.

Thats right. If they were at Yin Soul Condensation, we wouldve been able to exhaust their strength by now. It appears that the ghost monarch plans on wearing us down before finishing us off, the Elder Devil calmly spoke. Then, he pointed to the small black sword and had it cleave through a ghost.

The old man stared at the surrounding grey Qi and grimaced, So it was like that. It is a pity that Fifteenth Brother lost his body to the Black Shadow Snake in the first story here. His great Yang abilities would be very useful in dealing with these ghosts.

The eccentric sighed, That was unavoidable. Who wouldve thought that there was a demon snake who could burrow into shadow? It was too late for even me to help Young Fifteenth when he was ambushed by from his own shadow. The snakes poison was so fierce that nothing we had could stop the decay of his body.

I didnt mean to complain, its just that this Devil Suppressing Pagoda is quite weird. Not only is it constructed upside down, but there are countless waves of difficult demon ghosts. Weve used up so much time, but we are only at the seventh story. Elder Han, there should be nine floors here, The old man then hesitantly asked, What other demons could be lurking down below? Can we even continue?

The eccentric snorted and annoyedly said, What dangers are you scared of? The greater the threat that is suppressed here, the greater the odds of encountering a Divine Spirit Treasures. After all, the only thing that could contain the devils that the ancient cultivators feared would be Divine Spirit Treasures. Could it be that you dont care if the clans several hundred years of ambitions end up in failure?

When the old man heard this, he conceded, Seventh Uncles criticisms are correct. I was being cowardly.

At that moment, the Elder Devil suddenly said, Ive found the ghost monarch.

Where is it? The old mans spirits were roused.

He was about to reply, but he suddenly let out a yelp of surprise. Soon after, a muffled bang sounded out from a distance. Afterwards, light flashed from the halls entrance to reveal four figures.

The Sacred Poison Sect Elders yelped as well when they saw the ghosts dancing within the Yin Qi along with the three trapped by them.

The cultivator with green marks on his face, Hua Tianqi, said, Ye Yuesheng! Youre alive? So it was the Ye Clan that broke the seal! His expression wavered when he recognized the identity of the Ye Clans Seventh Uncle.

When the three saw the Sacred Poison Sect Elders, their expressions turned unsightly. They were still occupied by the ghosts.

A gloomy expression briefly appeared on the eccentrics face and he nonchalantly said, So it was Fellow Daoist Hua. I didnt expect that the Sacred Poison Sect would be so quick to act. Why did you come to the Devil Suppressing Pagoda rather than the other areas?

Frigidly watching the eccentric easily slay one of the ghosts, Hua Tianqi chuckled and said, We want to ask you the same thing. You havent been seen for several hundreds of years. During the time you feigned death, you already ascended to late-Nascent Soul stage. If the Righteous and Devilish Dao were to know of this, I fear they wont stay still.

Hua Tianqi heard the worried voice transmission from his fellow sect elder, Senior Martial Brother Hua, could it be these people also know about the treasure?

According to the words left behind by the Sacred Poison Sects founder, there was a grand treasure kept in the Devil Suppressing Pagoda. However, the details were vague. Even so, the four decided to pursue it.

Although they rushed through the first few stories, they already discovered the presence of others, much to their surprise, they hadnt believed that the first party wouldve placed such importance on this fiend infested place. But they believed that with their numbers, they would be able to overtake them. Nevertheless, they hadnt expected a late-Nascent Soul cultivator to be among their ranks.

If it werent for the fact they were trapped by the ghosts, Hua Tianqi wouldve fled without a doubt. A group of three with a late-Nascent Soul cultivator wasnt something that his party of four could deal with.

With a sullen expression, Hua Tianqi sent a voice transmission in return, Im not sure. Perhaps he only had as much information as we do.

It appears that Fellow Daoist Hua doesnt plan on leaving. when the eccentric said this, an ominous glint appeared in his eye. Soon after, he opened his mouth, producing a silver streak that soon disappeared.

In that next moment, an eruption of argent light burst from a corner of the hall, followed by a roar.

An indistinct grey figure appeared there. It had spat out a thumb-sized grey pearl from its mouth to block the silver fork, snarling as it was being pushed back. The newly arrived remained idle with the appearance of the grey ghost monarch.

The Elder Devil then waved his sleeve and a pitch-black mirror appeared in his hand, and he quickly aimed it at the ghost monarch.

A black light shot out from it, and forcible swept up all of the ghost copies around them. Each of them let out a wailing scream as they were torn to shreds like a storm of blades.

With the ghost monarchs true body being suppressed by the silver pitchfork, the ghosts were incapable of restoring themselves. However, they added to the concentration of the surrounding Yin Qi that trapped them.

Even the incisive power of the Elder Devils mirror couldnt touch it.

Hua Tianqi finally grimaced at what he saw.

Happiness welled in Han Lis heart and he calmly asked, Silvermoon, youve awoken?

Silvermoon slowly said, I woke up as soon as Master entered the hall. Ive barely been able to after years of recuperation. I fear I wont be able to assist Master anytime soon.

Did your spiritual sense suffer any damage?

Han Li faintly felt that something was amiss from her tone and he couldnt help but frown.

With a forced chuckle, Silvermoon answered, Its nothing of the sort. Ive only recovered a portion of my memories while asleep, and feel a bit uncomfortable.

Han Li raised his brow in surprise, You recovered a portion of your memories?

Silvermoon let out a long sigh and elaborated with a sad tone, Yes. It… feels as if the memories belong to someone else entirely.

After a short silence, Han Li consoled, It is good that youve managed to remember your past. Perhaps with time, youll remember everything.

Perhaps, Silvermoon softly muttered.

Ah yes, you mentioned that this is Great Yin Trueflame, is that correct? Han Li then astonishedly looked at small scarlet firebird he had captured. The bird appeared entirely lifelike and intelligent.

Silvermoon carefully explained, There is no doubt it is a ball of Yin flame essence. If I recall correctly, this ball of trueflame should be the lowest grade of its existence, or it wouldnt have been so easily struck down by mere sword Qi. But it is fortunate that it wasnt Greatsun Essence Flame. This flame is quite a bit weaker than the Purple Apex Flames as it has recently come to life, but it does have the potential for extreme coldness. If it were the Greatsun Essence Flames, even the lowest grade would be capable of bringing out the fullest of its potential and escape. When the Great Yin Trueflame is nurtured, it will come to possess even greater power than your Purple Apex Flames. It is deserving of its title as one of the three true spirit flames in the mortal world.

And what are the three true spirit flames? Ive never heard of them before. Han Li stared at the firebird with doubt. All he could see from the flame was intelligence with no hint of its supposed greater power.

Silvermoon bitterly chuckled, Ive seen the three once before, but I cant quite remember the details. It seems my mind is still in disarray.

A bright glint flashed from Han Lis eyes and he pensively said, Since the thought had existed in your mind in the first place, it should be true. Could this Yin fire be fused with my Purple Apex Flames?

Silvermoon warned, While that should be possible, itd be better for the Great Yin Trueflame to consume the Purple Apex Flames instead. After all, it is already intelligent and it would be a waste to extinguish it. There is even a possibility of backlash.

Han Li nodded, That is reasonable to say. But before that, I will need to first refine the trueflame. Since it has a trace of intelligence, it will be more difficult to refine.

Silvermoon smiled, In addition, you should have this flame take in some Greatsun Essence Flame if given the opportunity. With the convergence of Yin and Yang, it will create unfathomable power. Its likely such power would have never existed in the mortal world before.

Han Li frowned and helplessly said, It would be amazing if I could, but I heard from Monarch Soul Divergence that it isnt something that cultivators like us can acquire.

That could be, then with some hesitation, Silvermoon skeptically suggested, But since you have the Great Yin Trueflame, you may be able to use it to capture the other as their natures mutually oppose one another.

Han Li felt his heart stir, but he shook his head and said, Lets leave the topic for later. I dont even know when Ill have an opportunity to refine the Great Yin Trueflame after all.

Silvermoon giggled, Master, how about first placing the flame underneath a restriction before storing it away? Otherwise, it could escape if youre careless.

Of course, Han Li chuckled and had the purple hand float into the air.

When it arrived above his head, he flicked an arc of lightning off his finger towards it. In the blink of an eye, the blaze wrapped in purple fire had turned into a ball of brilliant golden light.

Silvermoon chuckled at the sight of this. It was exactly the same method he had used to restrict the Celestial Ice Pearl, but with his current cultivation, it was now much more skillful.

Soon, he took out a scarlet jade box and placed it inside. Soon after, he turned his attention to the now frozen cauldron.

Han Li stroked his chin and mused, Its reasonable to say that its rather strange for the Yin flame to come from the smoldering cauldron. Could it be that it was originally a miraculously glacial item and that it was born from Yin Yang convergence?

Silvermoon said nothing, also finding this to be quite odd.

Han Lis eyes wandered and he moved towards the cauldron.

With a flick of his sleeve, a bolt of lightning struck it and wrapped it in a net of gold.

Then with claps of thunder and flashes of lightning, the net tightened and shattered the ice covering it.

Han Li calmly examined the cauldron in front of him and then slowly floated up until he was three meters above it.

Although there were restrictions preventing flight, Han Li was able to forcefully bypass them for a short time through the sheer strength of his cultivation.

The cauldrons red light had long disappeared and its interior could be clearly examined. As a result, his expression stirred and he reached out his hand.

In a gust of wind, a shining object shot out from within, circling once in the air before falling into his grasp.

It was a fist-sized crystal of some sort. It had the sensation of warm jade and was flexible when pressed.

Han Li frowned and muttered, What is this…

Master doesnt need to dwell on it. Regardless of whatever material it is, it wouldve changed into something else entirely given the millennia it spent in refinement. However, the Great Yin Trueflame is certain to be related to this item, so it cant be ordinary.

Very true, Han Li smiled, When there is spare time, Ill properly inspect it.

Soon after, light flashed from his hand and the item was placed into his storage pouch.

Afterwards, he took another appraising glance at the cauldron and made sure nothing else was inside before forming an incantation gesture and striking it with a red spell seal.

It immediately trembled massively, and its body flashed as it quickly shrunk in size.

In the blink of an eye, a small half-foot-tall cauldron appeared on the ground and released a series of clear and bright rings.

The cauldrons lid flew over of its own accord before shrinking in size and returning to its place.

With the cauldron intact, the rings grew even louder as if it was happy.

When Han Li saw the cauldrons intelligence, his eyes lit up and he swept his sleeve.

Azure mist swept the cauldron into his hand.

He brought it before his eyes for a closer look and his face soon became fervent.

He then formed an incantation gesture and slapped the top with a flash of azure light.

The small cauldron glowed a brilliant red and the lid opened to reveal countless fist-sized flamebirds, each ugly and completely scarlet.

With a mental command, these fire-breathing birds flew all around the hall, weaving back and forth with great agility.

This was the earth fire essence that the cauldron had gathered for countless years. Each one was no inferior to a true fire-attribute spirit bird.

When he saw this ability, he collected the cauldron with joy as he acquired another method to use in battle.

After all, the Triflame Fan may be superior, it consumed far too much magic power. He didnt dare to easily use it.

But just as he was about to depart, he glanced at the dozen scarlet pillars and his heart stirred, releasing his swords and cutting them all down at their base. He then gathered them all into his storage pouch.

While these fire dragon pillars werent sentient like the cauldron, they had released countless streams earth fire. The astonishing amount of fire Qi it gathered should make these magic tools into something uncommon. He was convinced that they would prove valuable even as ingredients.

Han Li looked past the hall one last time to make sure he didnt miss anything, and walked out with a smile, making his way to search through the rest of the buildings in the area.

Unfortunately, it was clear that he spent all his luck in the hall. Apart from a few common tool refinement jade slips, he found nothing else of note.

Red mist raged within the spacious hall, and a dozen pillars of flame stood within, each one with a scarlet dragon coiled around them. They all spouted streams of the red mist, completely enveloping a huge cauldron at the center.

The cauldron itself was twenty meters tall and appeared simply decorated. It was among the largest furnaces he had ever seen.

But what astonished Han Li was that the red mist scorched it red, completely erasing all trace of its original color. Even from a hundred meters away, he could feel its volcanic heat.

Ever since he entered the hall, his mouth grew as dry as sand and his skin felt as if it was being assailed by burning needles. If it werent for the protective light instantly forming a barrier around him, he wouldve suffered immensely.

However, this left him overjoyed. His gaze swept past the inferno to immediately focus on the cauldron.

It was completely still and let out pangs of thunder. From his tool refinement experience, he could tell it was in the process of refinement.

He now knew he wouldnt be returning empty-handed.

Taking a shallow breath, Han Li nimbly slid through the streams and easily made his way towards the object.

Twenty meters away, he slowed his steps and slowly skirt around it, sensing its astonishing fire-attributed spiritual power.

Regardless of whatever was inside, it was certain to have gone through some unknown changes given the number of years it spent in refinement. He was quite curious, but didnt intend on recklessly opening it.

After encircling it a dozen times, he began to pensively glance at other areas of the hall.

Given the innumerable years the pillars and cauldron had been active, there was certain an eternally active spell formation. So long as he located the controlling mechanisms and destroyed it, the flames should come to an end and allow him to take the treasure.

Because the restrictions purpose was control over the hall, it wasnt concealed in the slightest.

Paying further attention to the cauldron, he raised his hand, releasing a three-meter-long streak of gold at an unremarkable corner of the hall.

With a loud boom, the corner erupted in golden light and the pillars briefly wavered before their streams came to a halt.

When the light faded away, a three-meter-large hole came into view. A few formation plate fragments surrounded it and a small golden sword was lazily floating above. fгeewbnoel.cm

Han Li smiled and waved his hand, retrieving the flying sword into his sleeve in a shriek.

Without replenishment from the pillars, the red mist gradually disappeared.

He didnt immediately take notice of the huge cauldron and instead concentrated his attention on the ground. Blue light flashed from his eyes, and surprise on his face.

With the spell formation no longer in place, he noticed that a mass of red laid a hundred meters below. The entire hall was constructed over an immense pool of earth-fire. It was no wonder why they were able to continue such an operation for so long.

Still using his Brightsight Spirit Eyes, he turned his gaze to the cauldron and decided to first see what was inside.

He was momentarily stunned by it. Whatever was in there was an even harsher red than the pool of earth-fire below. But before he could clearly identify what it was, the cauldron suddenly began to tremble. Followed by a crackle, a layer of scarlet blaze flared around the cauldron once more.

Han Li opened his mouth in astonishment. After a moment of thought, it shifted to one of pleasant surprise.

After passing through untold years of refinement, it absorbed the essence of the earth-fire to a fearsome degree, changing what was originally an ordinary magic tool into a grand fire-attribute treasure.

Repeated exposure to elemental Qi over a long period of time was known to cause such an effect, but it was a matter of coincidence and sheer luck for this to occur.

In the past, a few sects attempted to use this method in an attempt to create some high-grade treasures, but it didnt take them long to abandon the effort.

This method didnt simply take up too much time, it would take the continuous effort of many successive generations. Even then, the odds of success would still be pathetically low. Even in the case of success, the boost in strength was negligible compared to the time and resources spent.

As for the cauldron here, he was certain this wasnt intended by the ones who placed it there. It was most likely that the cauldron was in a crucial point in its refinement process, and the cultivators in charge werent able to stop it. Lacking any better choice, they activated the spell formation to allow it to continue operations before evacuating the mountain.

They probably harbored the thought that they would be able to later return. Of course, such an event never came to be.

Han Lis eyes wandered as he pondered about the circumstances. At the same moment, the spiritual light protecting his body brightly glowed in order to better protect himself against the increased scorching temperatures.

Shortly after, he slapped his storage pouch and summoned a bundle of blue formation flags into his hand.

His figure blurred and the flags shot at various corners.

He then appeared in front of the cauldron and examined it several times before muttering an incantation, creating a barrier of blue light around him and the cauldron.

Within the ice-attribute barrier, the scorching air was greatly cooled.

In addition, he released his spirit beast pouch and summoned his dozen Six-winged Frost Centipedes.

They nimbly circled around and eventually converged together above the cauldron, gesturing threateningly as they accumulated their power.

Han Li relaxed when he saw this and slapped his hands together to cover them in a layer of purple flames before reaching out to the cauldron.

A large purple hand appeared above it and bluntly grabbed its lid.

It trembled and the inferno around it surged several times in height. In the blink of an eye, it condensed into a bird that shot towards the purple hand.

A curious boom sounded out when they made contact and scarlet-purple light flashed together. The bird blocked the hand for the time being.

When he saw this, an odd expression appeared and he gave a soft command.

When the centipedes heard this, they promptly spat out a stream of white Qi, covering the flame bird, the cauldron, and the purple hand all at once.

Meanwhile, he raised his arm to the fist made from his Purple Apex Flames and struck it with a spell seal, causing it to surge twice in size. With the surrounding glacial Qi increasing in strength, the hand was able to crush the flame bird and move on to grab the cauldron.

Masterless, it couldnt offer any further resistance. A soft bang sounded out as its lid was easily struck ten meters into the air, and red light shined from within.

Just as Han Li thought to check, he immediately heard an unpleasant screech, followed by a scarlet light bolting out from inside. It shot to the very top of the hall with immense speed, forcibly passing through two of the centipedes before they could even react.

With a thump, the scarlet light struck the top of the blue light barrier. In a mere moment of pause, itt quickly melted away an opening.

He was greatly alarmed and immediately moved to prevent the light from escaping, flicking his fingers and releasing a dozen azure swordstreaks towards it with complete precision.

They all struck true. Each wave caused the scarlet light to dim, eventually causing it to sway on the verge of collapse.

It knew matters had turned for the worse and trembled in a different direction.

But suddenly purple light flashed from behind it and a large hand grabbed it with lightning speed.

Then, it returned to Han Li with what its captive.

The cauldron seemed to have lost the power to resist. Not only did thunder stop ringing but the flames had disappeared as well. With the centipedes glacial Qi, it was turned into a block of crystalline ice.

However, Han Li was more interested in the light that his purple hand managed to catch.

He stared at the item brought before him and astonishedly muttered, Greatsun Essence Fire!

However, he also heard a sweet and familiar voice ring out through his mind, It isnt Greatsun Essence Fire, but its equally famous counterpart: Great Yin Trueflame. One of the three true spiritual flames of the mortal world!

When they saw Old Devil Qian take off, the four vagrant cultivators betrayed shock from their faces and began to apprehensively whisper amongst themselves.

Meanwhile, Han Li heard Old Man Fus voice transmission, It seems our alliance is now broken. What does Brother Han plan on doing?

Han Li glanced at the old man and muttered to himself for a moment before sending back a reply, There are many paths ahead, and I plan on going alone. So long as you dont take any of the locations with particularly impressive names, there shouldnt be any danger of meeting the others.

After a moment of silence, the old man wryly smiled, I see. However, I wouldnt dare to go alone and will be travelling with Fellow Daoist Bai. I have no hope of surviving an ambush against the Silver-winged Nightfiend or the Lion Hawk.

Old Man Fu had no complaints. After all, with so many searching for treasure, there wouldnt be enough for those who took the same path.

As Han Lis abilities were far beyond theirs, it was better for him to act alone.

As they deliberated on what to do, the large man from the vagrant cultivator called out from the side and shouted, Fellow Daoists! Were going first. The four vagrants split in two and traveled up different stairways before fading into the fog.

Soon, Old Man Fu and Bai Yaoyi finished discussions and bid Han Li a word of farewell. The two then picked a stone stairway and sped up it with body lightening techniques.

Han Li was now the sole person remaining behind.

After looking around and observing the vast emptiness, he smirked and swept his eyes towards the stone tablets.

Apart from the areas with important names such as the Devil Suppressing Pagoda and Kunwu Hall, the other paths shouldnt have been chosen.

He stood in front of the stone tablet naming the locations each stairway led and muttered, Bright Mind Pavilion, Fortune Cloud Hall, Jadehook Pond… and Spirit Metal Hall. Hmm, are all these locations related to tool refinement?

Although he knew that Kunwu Hall and Spirit Treasure Pavilion wereas likely to have important treasures, he wasnt interested in risking his life in contention with other powers.

Since hes already acquired the Nascent Cultivating Pill, itd be best to take the safest route.

With that in mind, he felt that the Spirit Metal Hall should most likely be left alone and blurred up the stone steps at the very back.

Not long after he disappeared, yellow light glowed from the center of the plaza to reveal the Silver-winged Nightfiend, the horned woman, and the Lion Hawk.

The Nightfiend turned to look at the stairways and slowly said, We can only use earth movement techniques up to here. We will activate the underground restrictions otherwise.

With her arms at her waist, the horned woman noted, The remaining spiritual Qi fluctuations here are quite strong. It appears those cultivators had recently destroyed a spell formation.

Then, the Lion Hawk let out two roars and unfolded its wings, taking to the air and flying around the stone tablets.

After a pause, the nightfiend smiled and said, So these are the places where the cultivators have went! Tch tch, Brother Lion Hawk has such a keen sense of smell.

Good, they split apart. It will be far easier to seize our restriction medallions this way, the horned woman frowned and worriedly said, However, if those who approach Kunwu Hall arent capable enough, we will have no way of getting past.

The nightfiend snorted, It is no matter. If those humans are incapable, we will secretly lend a hand. So long as we dont activate the specific restrictions aimed at us, we should be able to destroy the other ones.

The horned woman cried out, In that case, lets go see which cultivators climbed that stairway. Brother Nightfiend, you possess the greatest concealment techniques among us. Can you help hide us?

Of course, the nightfiend promptly replied.

With a flap of his wings, silver mist rushed out and wrapped around them. Then, the beasts disappeared in a bright flash.

As this all happened, a rainbow peacock appeared from the screen of white light next to the stone pavilion halfway up Kunwu Mountain.

…

Using the tip of his feet, Han Li blurred ten steps forward with each bound. After turning a few corners on the stairway, the white jade plaza soon disappeared from sight.

There were a few huge trees at the side of the steps. Since he hadnt seen such trees before, he looked at them with interest.

They had been growing from Kunwu Mountain for countless years. Even ordinary spiritual trees would become high-quality refinement materials, given enough time.

However, he wasnt about to slow down for something like that. After walking for a short while, his eyes lit up and he saw a large complex in the distance.

Joy rushed his face and he quickened his pace. In the blink of an eye, he arrived at the top before coming to a stop.

A screen of white mist blocked his front and when he looked past it, he found a twenty-meter-tall grey wall, concealing mostly everything from view, and had the name Spirit Metal Hall written in argent glory. However, he was able to see a large building crest the top of the wall.

Han Li looked to his sides and saw that the screen was actually a barrier that completely enveloped the hall.

It appeared the ancient cultivators had activated all of the mountains restrictions before they sealed it. Perhaps they intended on protecting the mountain in hopes of one day returning.

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, he waved his sleeve and released a golden streak at the gate.

With a strange buzz, the swordlight sank a half-foot into the barrier before eventually coming to a stop. Soon after, the damage began to brightly glow and mend itself.

Han Li frowned and pointed at the light barrier, having his sword immediately return. The injury was quickly healed.

Seeing that the barrier was about three meters thick, he began to ponder if the combined might of his swords would even have an effect. After all, if he couldnt dispose of the formation in a single strike, it would recover from any damage that was inflicted.

Of course, if he had the time, he could release his Gold Devouring Beetles to slowly consume the barriers spiritual power. He reckoned this would take several days but the restriction could be destroyed, an unacceptable result under the circumstances. fгeewbnoel.cm

As such, he immediately came to a decision and slapped a storage pouch, producing a fist-sized ball of light. It revolved once around him to revealing a feather fan that glowed golden, silver, and red.

As he beckoned to it, the fan released a phoenix cry and dropped into his grasp. He unfolded it, having it expand to the size of a meter in a blaze. With it now clasped, he coldly looked at the light barrier in front of him and waved.

This time, he meticulously controlled the output, preventing a flame-born phoenix from making another appearance. Instead, the fan simply released a tri-colored stream of flame towards the barrier, quickly melting it away like ice to a hot flame and creating a large opening in the blink of an eye.

As soon as he saw this, he put the fan away and quickly charged inside. With the wall now towering in front of him, he turned around and saw that the barrier soon mended the opening.

Han Li bitterly smiled. He would have to exert himself once more when leaving.

With that thought, he examined the magic power within his body. Although he had controlled the fan to use less than half its might, it still consumed a third of his magic power.

He shook his head and turned to walk around the stone wall.

The buildings he found at the front were all constructed the same: thirty-meters-tall with two floors. He casually walked into the nearest one and found that it was completely bare apart from some furniture. It appeared to be a place for rest.

Even if this room once possessed the personal items of ancient cultivators, they were all put away when they evacuated.

Although Han Li had already somewhat anticipated this, he couldnt help but sigh.

Having seen this, he didnt hold much hope for the other buildings, and as he expected, they had nothing there.

When he moved on to look through a few stone buildings that looked like warehouses, he also found that they were completely void.

All racks, tables, and chests were completely bare. There wasnt even the slightest sign of tool refinement, much to his gloom.

But when he left the last of these buildings, he found a stone hall.

The hall appeared only three hundred meters wide, but was colored a crimson red as if it were molten hot.

Spirit Change Hall, Han Li muttered the letters that hung above its gate.

Although he was only standing outside, he could feel a familiar aura radiating from within.

His heart stirred and he soon walked in with his hands behind his back.

As soon as he entered, he could hear roaring thunder and quickly turned his gaze around the hall.

In addition to the talismans and chains, there were over a thousand palm-sized mirrors surrounding this gigantic object. Each one reflected yellow beams to weave together a strange spell formation enveloping it.

All of the surrounding space was filled with endless layers of cascading restrictions, radiating the air with faint light.

The object itself had the shape of a small mountain and showed no signs of change. If it werent for the faint rise and falls of the surface, one wouldve believed it to be dead.

Contrarily, there was a whole other world right next to it.

This world was verdant and brimming with plants of all kinds, not to mention the choking spiritual Qi.

And at the very center, there was a beautiful palace a kilometer wide. From a distance, it appeared to be completely barren.

But if one looked at it from above, it would discover the palace was actually at the heart of a huge spell formation. There were eighty-one thirty-meter-tall altars erected near the palace, placed in various locations corresponding to the formation.

But most astonishing of all was a ten-meter-tall statue constructed from white jade enshrined at all of the altars.

These stone men were wearing golden armor and their hands were clasping large golden blades facing the palace. Their expressions were all solemn and lifelike.

However, the entire area was completely void of sound, as if this scene remained untouched for millennia.

…

The Sevenstar Myrtle Formation had now been fully activated and explosions sounded out. It was a crucial moment for the formations collapse.

The seven pillars of purple light reached for the sky from the vast mist surrounding the area. Faint sounds of thunder and arcs of dense lightning would occasionally fly from the pillars and strike at various parts of the restriction.

The mist had condensed to the point where it completely blocked sight, and it would occasionally cry out with soul-shaking ghostly wails.

Han Li was now enveloped in coils of twisting lightning as he calmly approached a nearby pillar. As this happened, large pythons would condense from the surrounding mist and immediately attack, but the lightning surrounding him easily scattered them.

However, he didnt appear happy at this in the slightest as the pythons continued their relentlessly assault.

Silver-white lightning would occasionally arc above his head, but he cared not for its frequency or power. Whenever it was about to strike him, he would simply redirect it to his side with the wave of his hand.

Suddenly, two nearly inaudible buzzes cleared from behind him. With a frown, he flicked his hand and two arcs of golden lightning shot out, followed by a scorched scent.

Han Li turned his head and saw two fist-sized wasps. Their bodies were burnt black and had fallen to the ground.

What was most eye-catching about them were the three-inch-long stingers that emerged from its tail.

Nevertheless, he had already killed forty of such insects with ease. At that start, he dealt with them using his nimble flying swords, but now, he resorted to Divine Devilbane Lightning.

But it wasnt as if he had so much that he could squander it, but that the huge wasps were capable of damaging his swords. Although he didnt know how venomous the wasps sting was, its green blood was extremely corrosive and damaged his swords spiritual nature upon contact.

Since he couldnt use them to kill the wasps, he tried low-grade fireball and icicle techniques to no avail. Fortunately, they had little resistance to lightning and were easily exterminated without consuming much at all.

In addition, there were also a few crimson bats that would occasionally attack. They appeared the same as an ordinary bat, but swordlight didnt have much of an effect on them. He was only able to cleave through them with the actual edge of his swords, and even then, their flesh resisted for a moment before, much to Han Lis shock.

His Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords were incredibly incisive after being infused with Auric Essence. The fact that there was even a delay before his sword could cleave through the bats were a testament to their hardiness.

But in any case, these wasps and bats were rarely seen spirit beasts in the world and were incredibly hard to train. It was clear it took some effort into nurturing them, but without anyone controlling them, not even half of their potential strength was displayed.

It seems the cultivators ahead of them were paying great costs in order to delay them.

As these thoughts appeared through his mind, he arrived about thirty meters away from the pillar of purple light and could soon destroy it.

But then, a huge purple bamboo at the entrance of the spell formation suddenly made a reappearance around the pillar. They rapidly grew all around him, engulfing him in a dense bamboo forest.

The pillar of light that was closeby had completely disappeared.

Han Li couldnt help but smile at the appearance of the illusion restrictions.

So long as he didnt encounter a top-grade illusion like earlier, it wouldnt be enough to stop him.

Blue light flashed from his eyes and the purple bamboo faded away to reveal the pillar of light that was originally there.

Then with a wave of his sleeve, eight flying swords shot out and circled in the air before letting out a clear ring. In a flash of light, a dense swordstreak cleaved through the bottom of the pillar.

With a huge explosion, the base of it disappeared.

At nearly the same time, the purple bamboo forest surrounding him had completely disappeared, exposing over four hundred meters of white jade brick floor.

Han Li took a glance at it and unconsciously raised his brow. He looked at the rest of the purple mist in the distance, seeing that only three pillars still shined. It appeared that three others had been one step ahead of him.

After a moment of thought, he took out a spirit stone and sat down, showing absolutely no interest in the other pillars.

As he recovered his magic power, he took this opportunity to properly collect what he would do when he encountered the Elder Devil.

Currently, there were many powerful cultivators gathered here with just as many monsters lurking nearby. Even with the grand puppet and Triflame Fan, he could lose his life in a single moment of carelessness.

After some thought, Han Li slapped his storage pouch and took out a rectangular brick that glowed with blue light. It was a reduced form of the crystalline slab he found in the stone stele earlier.

The item was impeccably concealed. He had examined the stele for a long while and hadnt discovered what laid inside. If it werent for the Armored Earth Dragons innate ability to find treasures, he wouldve completely missed it.

The crystal slabs body was strange enough and clearly refined from a single kind of unknown stone. Without spiritual power, it was incredibly heavy, but with, it was as light as a feather.

But what most attracted his attention was the unknown ancient characters inscribed on the surface. Despite the many records Han Li read in the past, these letters were something he had yet to encounter.

Even so, he was able to recognize from the strokes and form that they came from an age even before what was commonly known as ancient times. It was an almost prehistoric treasure.

After examining the crystal brick for a while longer, he sighed and put it away.

At that moment, there were two explosions that came from the distance. Two more had been destroyed.

As for the last one, it faded away on its own without any intervention.

After the purple mist completely disappeared, the others came into view. Old Devil Qians furious voice then sounded out, Where are those Sacred Poison Sect Elders? They actually dared slip past us!

Han Li swept his gaze around and confirmed that they had all disappeared.

The large man from the group of vagrants angrily shouted, Not only them, but that scoundrel Scatterwind disappeared as well. I knew he was planning to con us ever since he urged us to come inside!

Bai Yaoyi sighed and pointed forward, It is no wonder they shook us off. Take a look at our front.

The others looked around and discovered the dozen of staircases that all led in differing directions.

Old Man Fu frowned and said, It seems that these cultivators felt they could handle themselves and slipped away, intending to monopolize something.

Old Devil Qian rapidly calmed himself and snorted, So it was like that. Then I will be acting alone. Anyone who dares to stop me will meet with death.

Afterwards, the cinque devils blurred and revolved around the jade tablets marking the destinations of the stairs. After reading it once through, they combined together and rushed up the stairs towards Kunwu Hall.