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The place appeared to be a Buddhist Temple.

The area wasnt small. There was even a small gate to either side, each a passage to a different area.

Han Li quickly swept his gaze past the large hall and eventually looked at the two rows of wooden cabinets.

The wooden cabinets were white as snow and faintly released threads of icy Qi. They were made from the snow wood famous throughout the spirit realm.

The wood was an ideal material to refine ice attributed treasures, but here it was being used as the material for a common cabinet. This was so extravagant, it left Han Li speechless.

The cabinets had a dozen various-colored tools laid on top of them. From a distance, he could see scepters, alms bowls, small bells, and other items.

Han Li narrowed his eyes and his spiritual senses swept past the objects. After a brief moment of shock, delight beamed from his face.

The tools possessed astonishing spiritual Qi, every one of them a top-grade half-finished treasure. If the original master refined them fully, they would be considered common spirit treasures at the very least, if not Divine Spirit Treasures.

Most importantly, from the outer appearance of the treasures, he knew they were obscure treasures of extraordinary abilities.

Even if he spent the effort to truly refine them completely, their effectiveness would still be as powerful as treasures refined by their original master. In this case, they could be considered top-grade treasures of the spirit realm.

Han Li shook his sleeve and suddenly, a wave of azure mist flew out and swept over the area, sweeping up every last treasure.

After acquiring so many powerful treasures, Han Li felt delighted.

After looking past the hall once more, he slowly lowered his head and looked at one of the mats several times. Suddenly, he let out a yelp as if he discovered something.

He immediately swiped his hand out the ground. Woosh. The mat silently entered his grasp. Not only did he find it flexible as water and numbing to the touch, but he sensed a wave of spiritual Qi suddenly blow past him.

This is… Han Lis eye flickered. freewebnove.com

The mat was clearly refined from some sort of spirit grass. It survived an unknown number of years yet it was still brimming with spiritual Qi.

His expression stirred as if he had discovered something. Suddenly, he placed the mat underneath his nose and took a sniff, catching a faintly fishy scent.

Han Lis face turned off and he flipped his other hand. In an azure flash, a meter-long sword appeared in his hand.

He flung it at the mat and shook his wrist, chopping at it with a streak of swordlight.

An astonishing scene occurred. The swordlight sliced atop the mat with seemingly unstoppable force and entered several inches deep before being firmly deflected.

Yellow light roamed across the surface of the light and restored the cut damage from the sword. The grass alone had blocked the strike from the Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword.

Han Li flipped the mat several times and muttered, This must be the legendary Cloth Armor Grass! It is a truly fantastical item. The grass by itself is capable of blocking the strikes of blade-type magic treasures. If turned into armor, itll be a top-grade defense. It is a pity that its deeply vulnerable to fire-attributed attack. This is truly an Immortals residence. They used such a vastly important material as a mere mat.

Since hes discovered the mats value, he naturally wouldnt leave it there.

He promptly stretched out a pitch-black palm from his sleeve and he casually grasped towards the ground. A grey wave of light soon rolled across it.

As grey light flickered, hundreds of mats silently vanished from the ground, sweeping the entire hall clear.

When his spiritual sense swept through the storage pouch and saw the mats neatly arranged, he nodded with satisfaction. Since the grass has long been extinct in the spirit realm, the mats alone made the trip worth it.

With that thought, Han Li let out a long sigh and took a deep breath. For some reason, he felt the scent of the sandalwood seemed to have grown denser.

Sandalwood!

He suddenly turned his head and his eyes lit up as he quickly looked at the incense burner at the corner of the room.

The incense stick in the burner was burned halfway and its color was a faint yellow. It was unknown how long it was placed there.

Han Lis brow stirred and he took large strides towards the corner. But before he arrived, he had already looked at the incense burner with his spiritual sense and immediately frowned.

Surprisingly, the incense burner was made out of common bronze. It couldnt be considered a magic tool.

Han Li blinked and he already walked in front of the incense burner. He then lowered his head and looked at the remaining third of the burning incense stick. A rich scent was leaking from the stick.

The stick appeared to be more than meets the eye. From its appearance, it was no different from a common incense stick. But since it was able to retain a dense fragrance after so much time had passed, it must be extraordinary.

Han Li looked at it for a long while and his face turned grim.

He raised his hand and reached out to extinguish the burning incense, but before he touched it, spiritual light flashed and a layer of azure light wrapped around his fingers.

With extreme care, he put out the tip of the burning incense and nothing happened.

However, Han Lis expression still remained odd. He sternly looked at the incense several more times and took a long sniff before wearing a pensive face.

Suddenly, he flicked his finger and red light flashed. A rice-sized star shot out from his fingertips and struck the end of the incense stick.

As the light faded away, the incense wasnt reignited.

Han Li narrowed his eyes, faintly betraying a trace of excitement. He flicked his finger again and a crimson fireball shot out from the tip of his finger. It floated motionlessly in the air.

When the fireball struck the end of the incense stick, he stared in silence.

As a result, the scorching flames hadnt burned the incense stick in the slightest.

As expected, its the Serene Blackice Incense! It wards off ones inner demons when breaking through to the Body Integration stage!

When Han Li saw this, he wore a face of delight.

He promptly flipped his hand and a pure-white jade box appeared in his hand. He carefully put the stick into his hand.

Afterwards, his body shifted as he looked for the other half-burned incense stick at the other corners of the hall. With that said, he summoned a jade box in his hand with a flicker and it completely vanished.

Afterwards, Han Li took another look throughout the hall. It was a pity there were many things there to begin with. Apart from the shrine and the withered spirit fruits offered to the shrine, there was nothing else.

With that, he eventually took a look at the shrine.

Purple light shimmered from the shrine and it appeared three meters tall. It contained the statue of a god as if it had been carved from top-grade jade.

The god statue wore green robes and held a snow-white horsetail whisk in one hand and a purple gourd in the other. He had a long beard and mustache trailing down his chin, giving him a faintly Immortal aura.

However, Han Li simply looked at the god statue for a short moment more, and he couldnt help but betray his shock.

He suddenly discovered that no matter how long he stared at the statues face, he could only see a haze of glimmering green light in front of it. He hadnt been able to perceive the statues true appearance.

Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes and blue light soon shined from them. He then forcefully peered at the god statues face.

It did have an effect. He gradually saw through green light mist covering the statues face and saw it thin out.

His mood lit up and his gaze grew focused, wanting to look at the god statues face.

But before he could see the finger details, a heavenly sound and a Buddhist chant rang through his mind. As his ears rang, his entire spiritual sense was thrown into disarray.

Han Lis eyes turned black and he staggered to the ground. He took a seat, nearly dazed.

Fortunately, his spiritual sense was comparable to Body Integration-grade cultivators. After hastily circulating the Great Development Arts through his body, he eventually regained clarity of mind and stood back up.

After straightening himself, he took another look at the god statue with bewilderment.

The god statue was so strange, even given his current cultivation stage, he wasnt able to see its true appearance. The statue itself was a grand treasure of immeasurable power.

Since it was enshrined, the statue mustve been modeled after an important figure even in the True Immortal Realm.

The god statue was an immensely profound object. Even a few vastly powerful individuals in the spirit realm, drew the support of god statues to manifest the primal soul or soul fragment from a deity an unfathomable distance away.

Even though it had never been heard of for an immortal of the True Immortal Realm to use such a method to descend into the Spirit Realm, taking this god statue would definitely be unwise if it really were modeled after an important figure of the True Immortal Realm.

Han Lis expression wavered for a long while before he eventually took a deep breath. After forcefully suppressing his desires, he looked away from the shrine and to a door at the side.

His body stirred and he walked over without any further hesitation. And with a mental command, the huge ape puppet followed after him.

Soon, all that was left in the hall was the lone shrine.

At that moment, Han Li already walked through a passage and arrived in front of a dozen side rooms. The rooms didnt appear very large and there all appeared identical.

Han Li quickly looked at them and had the huge ape puppet open the doors to the rooms one by one. When he saw that nothing happened, he began to flicker and enter each of the rooms.

Han Lis expression changed slightly upon seeing this, and he immediately vanished on the spot as a blurry shadow.

In the next instant, he reappeared directly in front of the door of light before disappearing into it. The giant ape puppet also hurriedly followed along.

Almost as soon as the puppet entered the door of light, the black and blue ball of light that was hovering in mid-air abruptly exploded.

The giant net that had encompassed the entire plaza also shattered without any warning before dissipating as specks of spiritual light.

In the next instant, white light flashed erratically from the door of light, and the surrounding space blurred before it also vanished. frewebnoel.o

Thus, the plaza was restored to its original appearance, but Han Li and the giant ape puppet were nowhere to be seen, it was as if theyd never even entered the palace in the first place.

Meanwhile, Shi Kun was only just over 100 steps away from reaching the summit, and he could already catch a glimpse of the entrance of the palace.

Liu Shuier was a few hundred steps behind him, and the two of them seemed to have calmed down now that Han Li had already entered the palace ahead of them.

…

Han Li reopened his eyes and immediately appraised his surroundings.

After emerging from the door of light, he found himself situated directly in front of the main palace.

The gate of the main palace was rather mundane-looking, with only a few simple patterns engraved onto its surface. However, there was a giant plaque that was around 70 to 80 feet in length hanging above the gate, and there were a few ancient golden characters inscribed on its surface. Han Li focused his gaze on the plaque, and his heart stirred slightly in response to what he saw.

Even though he couldnt read this ancient text, it struck him as being rather similar to beveled silver text, so it was most likely golden seal text.

Unfortunately, there were extremely few beings in the Spirit Realm that understood golden seal text, so he hadnt been able to learn it from anywhere. Otherwise, perhaps hed be able to glean some useful information from this plaque.

With that in mind, Han Li cast his gaze toward the gate in front of him before issuing another instruction to the giant ape puppet beside him using his spiritual sense.

The puppet immediately stepped forward at his behest, making its way up the stairs, then pressing its hands against the gates of the main palace to try and push it open, just as it had done with the previous palace gate.

However, things didnt progress as smoothly on this occasion.

As soon as the giant ape puppets hands came into contact with the mundane-looking gate, a string of dull thunderclaps suddenly rang out. Immediately thereafter, a devastating aura that threatened to annihilate heaven and earth erupted from the gate

Even though Han Li was over 100 feet away from the gate, he was still quite alarmed by this sudden development, and he immediately conjured up a set of azure and white lightning robes around his body.

His upper body then twisted around, and even though his lower body remained completely still, he was somehow able to slide toward the side in a wraith-like manner.

Almost at the exact same moment, a burst of dazzling purple light flashed from the gate of the main palace. Arcs of purple lightning then erupted from its surface, hurtling forth several tens of purple lightning snakes.

The giant ape puppet was inundated by this purple lightning in a flash, and was instantly reduced to nothingness.

However, the arcs of purple lightning showed no signs of stopping there. After destroying the giant ape puppet, they changed directions and surged directly toward Han Li as if they had a mind of their own.

Han Lis expression changed drastically upon seeing this. If there were no flight restrictions in place, hed naturally be able to unleash his movement techniques to evade this lightning. However, seeing as he was unable to rise up into the air, there was no way for him to dodge this attack no matter how agile he was.

In this dire situation, Han Li hurriedly raised a hand to summon a small crystalline shield.

The small shield then expanded to around 10 feet in size amid a flash of spiritual light, following which a burst of black Qi erupted from Han Lis body. A suit of sinister-looking devilish armor quickly emerged beneath the layer of azure and white lightning around his body, and it was none other than the repaired Heavenly Devilish Armor.

Purple lightning flashed, and all of the purple snakes struck the giant shield with immense power.

This crystalline shield was able to refract light-based attacks, and it had saved Han Li on many occasions.

However, the situation on this occasion turned out to be vastly different.

These purple arcs of lightning were clearly different from normal lightning as the giant crystalline shield was only able to refract about a third of the arcs of lightning, while the majority of the barrage continued onward to strike the shield.

Purple lightning exploded, and the giant shield was immediately inundated by a terrifying scorching aura.

An incredible scene then ensued.

The crystalline shield quickly began to melt in the face of the arcs of purple lightning, and it was reduced to a puddle of translucent liquid that dripped down onto the ground below.

Han Li was quite stunned to see this, and he immediately made a hand seal, upon which the lightning robe around his body erupted forth as an azure and white net of lightning that intertwined with the purple lightning.

The arcs of lightning formed by the lighting robe were manifested from the tribulation lightning that Han Li had collected, so they were naturally far more powerful than normal lightning.

However, they were no match for the arcs of purple lightning. As soon as the two clashed, the azure and white arcs of lightning instantly shrank before vanishing as if they had been devoured by the arcs of purple lightning, thereby fueling the purple snakes rather than nullifying their powers.

Han Lis face paled upon seeing this, and he hurriedly swept both sleeves through the air, unleashing thick bolts of golden lightning that surged forth amid rumbling thunderclaps. However, he was already too late, and the purple snakes suddenly combined to form several bolts of purple lightning with diameters comparable to that of large bowls before viciously striking Han Lis Heavenly Devilish Armor.

An earth-shattering boom erupted as Han Li stumbled back while his entire body was enveloped by golden lightning. He immediately let loose a low cry of fury as his suit of devilish armor swelled in size while the patterns on its surface also emerged as if theyd sprung to life, forming countless black runes that clashed with the arcs of purple lightning

Contrary to their appearance, these mundane-looking runes were extremely powerful, and as soon as they clashed with the arcs of purple lightning, both exploded into gusts of scorching black and purple winds that revolved around Han Li in a frenzy.

When Han Li finally manage to arrest his momentum and steady himself, not only had the purple arcs of lighting disappeared, the gusts of scorching winds around him had also abruptly vanished.

Han Li heaved a long sigh of relief and looked down at his suit of Heavenly Devilish Armor with a hint of lingering fear in his eyes. That surprise attack wouldnt have been able to kill him, but without this suit of devilish armor, severe injuries wouldve been unavoidable.

Even though hed managed to survive that ordeal unscathed, he was still left in quite a disheveled state.

Han Li heaved a faint sigh as he looked down at the puddle of translucent liquid on the ground with a wistful expression. The crystalline shield had clearly been completely and utterly destroyed, so there was no way for him to possibly repair it.

After that, Han Li cast his gaze toward the gate of the main palace in a calm manner, and a hesitant look appeared in his eyes.

For such a powerful restriction to have been placed on this gate clearly indicated that there had to be treasures in there that the true immortal owner of this place held in very high regard. Even if he could break such a fearsome restriction, it would definitely take him a long time to do so, and if Shi Kun and Liu Shuier were to get here during that time, all of his efforts could potentially benefit them instead. As such, it simply wasnt worth it for him to persist with this main palace.

Having made up his mind, Han Li immediately turned away without any hesitation and strode along a nearby path toward the closest side palace.

Even if restrictions had also been set up on these side palaces, they definitely wouldnt be as fearsome as the one on the main palace, so there was a good chance that hed be able to break them in a short time.

As he traveled rapidly toward a side palace, he swept a sleeve through the air, and a ball of azure light flew out from within as he summoned another giant ape puppet.

Having learned his lesson from last time, Han Li summoned this puppet very close to the ground so it wasnt as heavily affected by the flight restriction.

Thus, the second puppet made a smooth landing before passing Han Li as it rushed toward the side palace.

Han Li followed along behind it in an expressionless manner, and no further mishaps occurred along the way as the two of them arrived safely before the side palace.

Aside from the fact that this side palace was only around a third of the size of the main palace, the two were completely identical in appearance. It simply seemed to be a scaled-down version of the main palace, and there was also a plaque above the gate with golden seal text inscribed upon it.

Han Lis eyelids twitched involuntarily at the sight of the mundane-looking gate, and after a brief pause, he retreated until he was around 400 feet away from the gate before finally drawing to a halt.

After that, he raised a hand to produce several talismans, all of which he quickly plastered onto his own body. Several layers of protective spiritual light of different colors instantly appeared in quick succession.

Immediately thereafter, Han Li made a hand seal with each of his hands, and golden lightning began to flash within both of his sleeves.

After adopting all of these defensive measures, Han Li transmitted an instruction to the puppet using his spiritual sense with a grim expression on his face.

The giant ape puppet immediately stepped forward, raising its arms before pressing its hands against the gate before it.

Han Li looked on with bated breath, only for the gate to be slowly pushed open without a hitch.

It seemed that no restrictions had been placed on this gate.

Han Li was naturally ecstatic to see this, but as a safety precaution, he urged the puppet to make its way into the side palace first.

Thus, the giant ape puppet walked into the palace and no mishaps occurred. Only then did Han Li heave a faint sigh of relief as the protective layers of spiritual light around his body vanished in a flash. At the same time, he quickly clenched his fists, and the golden lightning in his sleeves also disappeared in a soundless manner.

After that, he quickly made his way into the side palace.

After arriving in the side palace, the giant ape puppet was already standing beside the entrance in a completely motionless manner.

Han Li quickly cast his gaze around the palace, and a hint of surprise appeared on his face in response to what he saw.

At the center of the palace was a giant table that was as pristine white as jade, and a shimmering purple shrine stood on the table, within which was a blurry and indistinct deity statue.

Across from the statue were hundreds of yellow futons, and on top of that, there was an azure incense burner positioned at each of the four corners of the palace.

The faint scent of sandalwood wafted throughout the entire room.

Only after the suction force from the current step had been weakened to a certain degree did he take another step, only to be forced to pause again before continuing onward. Thus, the final dozen or so steps took Han Li close to 10 minutes to scale.

As soon as he set foot onto the mountain summit, the suction force from the stone steps completely vanished, and his body became light as a feather, making him feel as if he could fly even without using any magic power.

After heaving a sigh of relief, the blurry suit of golden armor around his body vanished in a flash.

He turned back to find that Shi Kun was still several hundred steps away, looking up at Han Li with a dejected expression while panting heavily.

As for Liu Shuier, she was still more than 2,000 steps away, and from Han Lis perspective, she was only a small black dot in the distance.

The only consolation for them was that even though Han Li had scaled the stone steps first, the purple palace was extremely massive and potentially contained some powerful restrictions as well, so they didnt have to worry about him taking all of the treasures in there.

A faint smile appeared on Han Lis face as he turned around before casting his gaze toward the purple palace.

Several hundred feet away from him, there stood a massive gate that was over 200 feet tall.

The gate was tightly shut, and there were several tens of large stones of different colors embedded onto its surface. Around these stones were a series of complex patterns, and the stones seemed to have been placed in a certain sequence.

After taking a careful glance at the palace gate, he was shocked to discover that all of the fist-sized stones embedded onto the palace gate were top-grade spirit stones that were clearly even purer than the top-grade spirit stones in the Spirit Realm.

Han Li clicked his tongue with wonder as he shifted his gaze over to the purple wall beside the gate.

The walls had been constructed from an unidentifiable material, and they only stood around 50 to 60 feet tall. However, they were emanating a strange light, and there were silver runes of different sizes carved onto their surfaces.

Han Li was immediately able to identify those runes as beveled silver text.

So this place really was constructed by a true immortal! Han Li seemed to be quite calm on the outside, but there was a scorching look in his eyes as he appraised the palace.

He possessed several extraordinary treasures and had encountered all types of miraculous opportunities during his cultivation journey, but the thought of being able to explore a palace left behind by a true immortal still filled him with irrepressible excitement.

It was no wonder that Cai Liuying and Duan Tianren were convinced that there were pills in there that could help them break through their holy race bottlenecks.

Considering how unfathomably powerful true immortals were, it was naturally a simple task for them to refine pills that could be immensely beneficial to beings of a lower realm.

Han Li took a deep breath to calm himself down before casting his gaze up toward the purple palace walls again.

All of a sudden, he raised a hand and pointed a finger upward, upon which an arc of golden lightning shot forth amid a resounding thunderclap, hurtling toward the air above the palace walls.

A peculiar turn of events immediately unfolded.

There seemed to be nothing but empty air above the palace walls, but as soon as the golden arc of lightning struck the empty space, a burst of delightful heavenly music suddenly rang out, following which purple light flashed, and the golden lightning vanished like a sandcastle in the rising tide.

Han Lis brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this, and even after immediately activating his Brightsight Spirit Eyes, he was still unable to identify what was so special about that purple light.

He then tried to use his spiritual sense to assess the situation, only for it to be repelled by a burst of invisible force as soon as it reached close to the palace walls, thereby making it impossible for him to detect what lay within those walls.

After heaving a faint sigh, Han Li gave up on trying to cross over the palace walls and cast his gaze toward the gate again.

Compared to braving the mysterious restriction on the palace walls, it was clearly a much safer option to try and enter through the gate.

However, even though he couldnt sense anything amiss just by looking at the palace gate, he naturally wasnt going to try and open it on his own.

After a brief pause, Han Li patted the storage bracelet on his wrist, upon which a ball of azure light immediately few forth from within before thudding heavily onto the ground.

This was a giant ape puppet that was around 20 feet tall, and it lay sprawled on the ground, having clearly been impacted quite heavily by the flight restriction.

Han Li raised an eyebrow upon seeing this, then made a hand seal before pointing at the puppet in a nonchalant manner.

The giant ape puppet slowly got up at his behest, then turned around expressionlessly before making its way toward the palace gate.

Meanwhile, Han Li stood still on the spot, appraising the puppet intently through narrowed eyes.

After arriving before the palace gate, the giant ape puppet raised its hands without any hesitation before pressing them against the massive gate.

Azure light flashed erratically around the puppets body, following which the gate was slowly pushed open.

Han Li was quite surprised to see this, and he was both elated, but also in disbelief.

How could the palace gate have been opened so easily?

With that in mind, he forcibly repressed the confusion and impatience in his heart as he hurriedly cast his gaze beyond the entrance.

Thus, he was greeted by the sight of a plaza that was entirely paved with azure tiles and fenced by translucent white jade structures.

On the other end of the plaza was a tall main palace that was also purple in color.

From afar, Han Li could also see that there were also three side palaces near the main palace, each of which was only around a third of the size of the main palace. These side palaces were situated in a triangular formation with the main palace at the center.

Aside from that, there were also some short buildings and pavilions behind the main palace, and this place seemed to span quite a vast area.

After a brief hesitation, he transmitted an instruction to the puppet using his spiritual sense, upon which it made its way into the palace through the main gate.

Han Li also slowly followed along behind it.

After a while, he found himself on the other side of the city gate, and he quickly arrived at one corner of the plaza.

The plaza appeared to be around 5,000 to 6,000 feet in size, and the giant ape puppet continued onward at Han Lis behest, preparing to pass directly through the plaza en route to the main palace up ahead.

Han Li continued to trail along behind the puppet, maintaining a distance of around 200 feet from it in case any unforeseen mishaps occurred.

However, a peculiar expression soon appeared on Han Lis face.

This was only a plaza that was several thousand feet in size, yet even after walking for so long, the puppet still hadnt even made it to the center of the plaza.

This is an illusionary formation! Han Lis eyes narrowed as he instructed the puppet to stop, then turned around to cast his gaze behind him.

In his mind, he had already walked for around 3,000 to 4,000 feet, yet he appeared to be only just over 100 feet away from the corner of the plaza that hed started from.

Han Li was slightly alarmed to see this, and blue light immediately flashed through his eyes as he cast his gaze around the entire plaza.

However, even after using his spirit eye ability, he was unable to detect anything amiss.

Han Lis expression changed slightly upon seeing this.

This was the first time that his spirit eye ability had ever failed to see through an illusionary formation, but taking into consideration the fact that this restriction had most likely been set up by a true immortal, this development wasnt actually all that surprising.

Even so, Han Li wasnt intending to give up just like that.

After taking a deep breath, he began to circulate all of the magic power within his entire body, then directed it toward his glabella.

A ball of black Qi immediately materialized in front of his glabella, following which a third demonic eye appeared in a flash.

This was none other than the Law Destruction Eye that Han Li had already nurtured for several centuries.

Han Li had possessed this third eye ever since he was back in the human world, and after so many years had passed, it had developed some uncanny abilities.

Even though this eyes forte lay in spatial abilities, it also possessed some abilities that could specifically target illusionary techniques and other types of restrictions, but the effects of those abilities naturally werent as potent as those of his Brightsight Spirit Eyes.

After arriving at the Thunder Continent, Han Li had unintentionally discovered while cultivating in seclusion that his Brightsight Spirit Eyes and Law Destruction Eye could be combined to unleash a new ability, one that was far superior to any of the abilities that either one of his spirit eyes possessed.

Even though this ability was quite powerful, it required a considerable about of magic power expenditure to be unleashed, and this was the first time Han Li had ever used it in a practical setting.

However, thinking back to the scenes that unfolded the last time hed trialed this ability, he was quite confident that it would be able to break through the illusionary formation that he was in.

As such, he immediately began to chant something, and the blue light in his eyes gradually became more and more pronounced. At the same time, black light began to swirl within his Law Destruction Eye, making it appear as if there was a shimmering black gem lodged on his forehead.

All of a sudden, two streaks of blue light and a pillar of black light shot forth from his three spirit eyes in unison, and they combined as one to form a black and blue ball of light.

This was a translucent fist-sized ball of light with a blue exterior and a black center, making it appear as if it was a massive eyeball.

Break!

Han Li immediately swept a sleeve toward the ball of light, and a burst of azure light surged forth from within before vanishing into the ball of light in a flash.

Spiritual light flashed from the surface of the ball of light, following which black and blue runes of different sizes emerged before rapidly revolving through the air.

All of a sudden, countless threads of black and blue light shot forth from the ball of light, flying away in all directions.

These threads of light were extremely thin and traveled at astonishing speeds, spreading over the entire plaza in the blink of an eye before forming a massive black and blue net that encompassed the entirety of the plaza beneath it.

In the next instant, dull thumps rang out from all over the plaza as balls of light of different colors exploded beneath the massive net.

A burst of spatial fluctuations then erupted into the heavens as the space beneath the net twisted and warped. Immediately thereafter, the center of the plaza blurred before a door of white light emerged.

It was quite clear that shed also identified her situation, which was why she appeared to be so enraged.

Even though the three of them hadnt agreed on this in advance, it was quite clear that whoever reached the palace first would be able to get to the treasures in there first.

As such, it was very likely that Shi Kun and Han Li wouldve taken all of the treasures in the palace by the time she arrived.

However, Liu Shuier wasnt completely powerless in a situation like this.

After a brief pause for contemplation, she flipped a hand over to produce several talismans of different colors.

One was yellow, another was silver, and the final one was crimson.

Three spluttering sounds rang out in quick succession as she plastered these talismans to herself. Three balls of light of different colors then erupted from the talismans before vanishing into her body in a flash.

Immediately thereafter, yellow, silver, and red spiritual light emerged around her body, releasing astonishing spiritual pressure in the process.

It appeared that these three talismans were all capable of enhancing ones physical body, and after applying them to herself, Liu Shuier continued to scale the steps without any further delay.

Han Li witnessed this from above, but displayed no reaction in response.

Assistance talismans were very interesting, but they were next to completely useless to high-grade cultivators like them.

Cultivators who focused on cultivating their magic power naturally wouldnt be interested in talismans that could enhance their physical bodies, and they wouldnt use such talismans in battle, either.

As for beings who specialized in cultivating their bodies, these talismans were also largely superfluous.

After all, body refinement cultivators had already tapped into much of the latent potential of their physical bodies, so talismans of that nature wouldnt provide significant enhancements.

For body refinement cultivators, even the rarest high-grade assistance talismans would only be able to enhance their bodies by 10% to 20% at the very most.

As such, regardless of how many assistance talismans a normal cultivator were to use, their bodies would still be far inferior in power compared to body refinement cultivators.

Han Li was quite adept in the art of talismans himself, so he was naturally well aware of this. As such, he didnt think much of what Liu Shuier was doing and merely continued to scale the steps in an unhurried manner.

Thus, the three of them continued onward, gradually opening up distance between one another as they approached the mountain summit.

Initially, as the restrictive power from the stone steps became more and more pronounced, Liu Shuer and Shi Kun simply forced themselves to continue onward, despite knowing that theyd be able to expend a lot less effort if they were to pause momentarily on each step.

However, Han Lis condition was vastly different compared to that of his two companions.

Shi Kun was still leading the way, striding up the stone steps at a steady pace, but he was clearly breathing more heavily and sweat was beginning appear on his forehead.

Han Li was situated in the middle, and his skin was beginning to take on a faint golden hue, but his expression remained completely unchanged, displaying no signs of strain whatsoever.

As for Liu Shuier, the layer of white light over her face made it impossible for anyone to glean her expression, but she was slowing down at a noticeable rate. After scaling up around a third of the staircase, her body would shudder with each successive step that she took, and the three-colored spiritual light around her also fluctuated erratically in brightness, looking as if they could be snuffed out at any moment.

It was quite clear that even with the enhancements of her talismans, she wasnt going to be able to keep this up for much longer. Liu Shuier was clearly well aware of this herself, and a resigned look had already surfaced in her eyes. After scaling an additional 200 to 300 steps, she heaved a faint sigh and finally drew to a halt.

Han Li didnt turn back to look at her, but he could detect this through the use of his spiritual sense. His expression changed slightly in response, but he showed no sign of stopping at all. After that, Shi Kun and Han Li continued to scale up over 1,000 steps, upon which they finally arrived at the halfway mark of the entire mountain path.

Sweat was already pouring down Shi Kuns face, and with each successive step he took, the ground beneath him tremored slightly while the yellow light around his body flashed erratically, clearly indicating that this was becoming quite difficult for him.

Throughout this process, hed also been using his spiritual sense to inspect Han Li.

At this moment, aside from the fact that the golden light around his body was glowing more brightly than before, his expression and pace remained completely identical to when hed first set foot on this path, as if he werent being affected by the restriction underfoot at all.

Shi Kun was quite stunned to see this, and it began to occur to him that Han Li was most likely also a high-grade body refinement cultivator, and that his body could be even more powerful than his own!

After resting for a while, Liu Shuier took some pills to replenish her energy before also continuing onward.

Shi Kun was desperate to maintain his advantage, but he could feel his legs growing heavier and heavier. Even the joints within his body were creaking and groaning, clearly indicating that he was under immense physical strain.

Thus, Shi Kun began to slow down significantly while Han Li maintained an even pace. After about 10 minutes, Han Li was finally able to catch up.

He turned to Shi Kun, who was sweating profusely, and gave him a faint smile before passing him by without slowing down even in the slightest. After a few more steps, Han Li was able to easily open up a gap between himself and Shi Kun.

Shi Kun gritted his teeth upon seeing this, and he finally stopped as he looked up at Han Lis profile with an indecisive look on his face.

Thus, Han Li scaled up over 100 more steps without suffering any decrease in speed, and Shi Kuns expression had darkened significantly at this point.

He looked up at the purple palace on the mountain, then used his spiritual sense to inspect Liu Shuier, who was slowly catching up, and his eyelids twitched as he abruptly flipped a hand over to produce a small crimson vial.

The entire vial was of a vibrant translucent red color, and there were several inch-long miniature talismans plastered to its surface, giving it a rather mysterious appearance.

Shi Kun exhaled toward the vial in his hand, expelling a burst of yellow light that removed the talismans plastered to the vial.

A dull thump immediately rang out as these talismans vanished into thin air as balls of flames of different colors.

As soon as the talismans were removed, the lid of the vial immediately flew off on its own. A streak of crimson light then shot forth from within, and a crimson pill could be seen within the streak of light.

Shi Kun was prepared for this in advance, and he immediately inhaled with all his might, creating a burst of suction force that drew the pill into his mouth, then down his throat and into his stomach.

The pill dissolved almost instantaneously, forming a burst of scorching heat that traveled directly into his dantian and meridians.

Even though Han Li was quickly progressing onward up ahead, he had naturally noticed what Shi Kun was doing, and his heart stirred slightly in response.

After taking the pill, an unnatural flush appeared on Shi Kuns face, following which the rest of his grey skin also became as red as blood. At the same time, his entire body began to emanate scorching heat like a furnace, and the yellow spiritual light around him had also been tinged with hints of red. Immediately thereafter, he let loose a low cry, and thick veins suddenly began to bulge on his forehead while his neck thickened by more than twofold. His body then swelled drastically to around 40 to 50 feet tall.

Following his dramatic increase in size, Shi Kun stepped forward without any hesitation, scaling two steps with a single strike.

As such, Shi Kun was traveling slightly faster than even when hed first begun scaling the mountain path, and he was slowly closing the gap between himself and Han Li. Han Lis expression changed slightly upon seeing this.

Shi Kun had clearly used some kind of secret technique that was harming his body in exchange for a temporary sharp boost in power. Otherwise, he wouldnt have waited for so long before employing this method.

With that in mind, Han Li immediately took a deep breath before making a hand seal with one hand. The golden light around his body instantly brightened significantly, and golden scales surfaced over his skin.

After that, Han Li laid a hand on the back of his own head, following which a burst of golden light erupted from behind him to form a golden projection with three heads and six arms.

As soon as the golden projection emerged, it descended toward Han Li, vanishing into his body amid a flash of golden light.

All of a sudden, a slightly blurry suit of armor that was constructed from golden light appeared around Han Lis body.

As a result, Han Li was able to accelerate even further, thereby maintaining the advantage he had over Shi Kun.

Shi Kun and Liu Shuier were both naturally stunned to see this. Both of them had pulled out all the stops, and they could only barely maintain their current speed.

However, after that golden suit of armor had appeared over Han Lis body, he was able to scale the steps at an incredible speed. He wasnt literally running up the steps, but he seemed to be drifting lightly from step to step without being affected by the restriction at all.

Shi Kun was struck by a pressing sense of urgency upon seeing this, but he could only look on as Han Li continued to widen the gap between them.

After a while, Han Li had stretched his lead over Shi Kun to close to 500 steps, by which point Shi Kun was no longer able to maintain his current speed and was forced to slow down again.

However, on this occasion, not only was he sweating profusely, bursts of white mist were rising up from his body as if hed truly transformed into a living furnace, creating quite an astonishing sight to behold.

At the same time, Han Li was also finally beginning to slow down slightly, indicating that he was also struggling in the face of the immense suction force erupting from the stone steps.

At this moment, Han Li was only around 200 to 300 steps away from the summit, but he was quite frustrated to discover that the incremental increase in suction force with each successive step taken was far more than what it had been in the past.

Even though he possessed a fearsome body that was even more powerful than that of the average holy race being, he was also beginning to struggle.

After scaling up over 100 more steps, he had already slowed down to a figurative crawl, and he had to steady himself at every step before making the next one.

At this point, Shi Kun and Liu Shuier had already stopped, and they could only look on as Han Li approached the mountain summit. freewebnvel.com

Finally, after reaching the final dozen or so steps, the enormous suction force had become unbearable even to Han Li, and the golden suit of armor around his body was trembling uncontrollably, looking as if it could shatter at any moment.

As such, Han Li was forced to stop for the first time with the summit virtually within reach.

Then Ill have to thank you two for your generosity, Han Li said with a smile as he cupped his fist in a salute.

Dont mention it, Brother Han. Now that weve broken this restriction, we should enter these ruins and find the treasures that Master and Senior Duan require as quickly as possible. After we secure these treasures, well definitely be rewarded handsomely when we return to Cloud City, Liu Shuier said as a serious look appeared on her face.

After that, she stowed away her grey flag before flying into the hole down below as a streak of blue light.

Shi Kun also hurriedly followed along as a ball of yellow light.

In contrast, Han Li inspected his surroundings through narrowed eyes, and only after ascertaining that nothing was amiss in the nearby area did he also slowly descend toward the hole.

At this point, Liu Shuier and Shi Kun had already sped on ahead.

Just as Han Li flew into the massive hole behind them, vibrant balls of light suddenly appeared in the surrounding area before sweeping toward him.

Han Li was naturally quite alarmed to see this, and he immediately conjured up a layer of protective azure light to shield himself.

However, those vibrant balls of light then faltered before transforming into runes of different sizes, and they revolved around Han Li before forming a small five-colored light formation.

Han Li found himself situated at the very center of the formation, and a faint buzzing sound rang out as bursts of spatial fluctuations erupted around him.

As opposed to becoming even more alarmed by this development, Han Lis expression eased slightly instead, and he clasped his hands behind his back, displaying no intention to shatter this light formation.

In the next instant, bright five-colored spiritual light erupted, and Han Li was struck by a rush of dizziness while his surroundings blurred, and he abruptly vanished on the spot.

In the next instant, Han Li opened his eyes to find that he was situated on a tall platform.

The entire platform had been paved with gigantic blocks of blue stone, and there were some patterns on its surface, but it certainly couldnt be classified as intricate or beautiful. Instead, it gave off a simple and primitive air.

Directly underfoot was a teleportation formation with a radius that was no more than 20 feet, and close to the formation was a stone staircase that led down from the platform.

Han Li only took a quick glance at the teleportation formation and the stone platform before casting his gaze toward the surrounding area.

At this moment, he seemed to be situated within an alternate space. There was a bright sun up above, and the sky was of a bright blue color without a single cloud in sight. There were all types of exotic plants and flowers growing in the area, and an occasional gentle breeze would blow past, carrying the fragrance of these plants toward Han Li.

However, the thing that attracted Han Lis attention most was a mountain that was several thousand feet tall situated close to the platform.

The mountain wasnt very tall, but it spread for close to 10 kilometers, and its terrain was quite remarkable. The entire mountain was of a completely bland white color, and it consisted entirely of sheer faces that were almost completely vertical. At the summit of the mountain was a massive purple palace that covered almost the entire peak.

Han Li focused his gaze toward that direction and appraised the palace for a long while before turning his attention to the ground at the foot of the stone staircase.

Liu Shuier and Shi Kun were standing there motionlessly, and both of them also seemed to be carefully appraising the purple palace in the distance.

Han Lis expression changed slightly, and his body swayed as he prepared to fly down from the stone platform.

However, he only managed to get several feet off the ground before he was abruptly forced back down onto the platform, landing in the formation with a resounding dull thump that made the entire platform tremor slightly.

It was as if his body had suddenly become extremely heavy.

Han Li raised an arm and swung it through the air a few times in an experimental manner, only to find that it was just as light as normal.

A hint of surprise flashed through his eyes, but a thought then immediately occurred to him, and azure light flashed around his body as he slowly rose up into the air again.

However, hed only flown around a foot into the air before a burst of enormous power crashed down onto his body without any warning.

Han Li wobbled slightly before righting himself, but his expression changed slightly in response to this situation.

After that, he continued to slowly rise upward, using his immensely powerful body to combat the enormous force weighing down on him. Upon reaching around two feet off the ground, his body shuddered again, and the azure light around him also began to flash erratically.

Han Li furrowed his brows slightly upon seeing this, following which blue light flashed through his eyes as he inspected his own body.

Through the use of his spirit eye ability, he was able to discover that bands of faint yellow light had wound themselves around his body, completely disregarding the protective layer of azure light hed conjured up.

At this moment, Shi Kun turned around with a wry smile, and said, I see youve also noticed this, Brother Han, the flight restriction here is a little different from normal restrictions. For every successive foot that we rise up into the air, the power of the restriction will be doubled. I can only fly to about seven or eight feet before being forced to come back down.

The power of the restriction increases by twofold for each successive foot of height? This restriction sure is quite powerful, even a holy race being most likely wont be able to fly more than several tens of feet off the ground, Han Li said in a slow voice before slowly descending onto the ground again.

In the instant that his feet came into contact with the ground, the yellow bands of light around his body abruptly disappeared.

Even with Fellow Daoist Shis immensely powerful body, he can only rise up into the air for seven to eight feet, for normal upper race beings like me, I can probably only handle three to four feet at most, Liu Shuier said without even turning her head.

She was still appraising the palace in the distance intently.

A slightly grim expression appeared on Han Lis face upon hearing this, but after a brief moment of contemplation, he emerged from the formation, then descended down the stone stairs.

Looks like that palace on the mountain is where the treasures should be. What are we still waiting for? Han Li asked in a calm manner.

There are other restrictions here that we need to be wary of, Liu Shuier said as she finally turned around to appraise Han Li in a solemn manner.

The fact that there are other restrictions present further verifies that there are precious treasures to be found here. However, if theyre just restrictions like flight restrictions, then they shouldnt be too dangerous, Han Li said with a smile.

That would normally be true, but seeing as the owner of this place could be a true immortal, we cant make assumptions based on our own judgments, Liu Shuier replied with a faint sigh.

But if you just stand here and look at the palace from afar, theres no way that youll be able to secure the treasures in there. In that case, why did we take so many risks to come here in the first place? Han Li reasoned in a calm manner.

Shi Kun seemed to have also failed to identify any potential hazards, and he nodded in agreement as he said, Youre right, Brother Han. There are still Jiao Chi beings not too far away from us, so we shouldnt delay for much longer here.

Liu Shuiers expression changed slightly before she also made up her mind, and she said, In that case, I have no objections, either. Lets go.

Shi Kun suddenly swept a sleeve through the air upon hearing this, and a black object flew out from within. However, it thudded heavily to the ground as soon as it left his sleeve, revealing itself to be a metallic black giant wolf puppet.

The restrictions here are even effective against treasures? Liu Shuier exclaimed as her expression darkened slightly.

In that case, if they were to encounter any unforeseen perils, theyd only be able to protect themselves using their own magic power and secret techniques.

A cautious look also appeared on Han Lis face upon seeing this.

In contrast, Shi Kun merely chuckled before leading the way as he strode toward the mountain.

Seeing as treasures were unable to be used here, his powerful body naturally became a particularly valuable asset.

Han Li also gave a faint smile before following along behind Shi Kun.

Liu Shuier could only follow suit after a brief hesitation.

There was a path that was almost completely straight leading directly to the summit of the mountain.

The entire path consisted of steps paved with white stone slabs that were around 10 feet wide each, and from afar, it was as if there were a giant white python sprawled over the mountain, creating a rather startling spectacle to behold.

Han Lis trio naturally didnt dare to travel through flight, but their bodies were far more powerful than that of normal beings, so they didnt fear the prospect of having to take this path, either.

Thus, the three of them strode onto the stone steps, heading up toward the mountain summit.

However, a peculiar look immediately appeared on Shi Kuns face as soon as he strode onto the first step.

He continued to scale the steps, but he was gradually slowing down in the process, clearly not able to scale the steps as swiftly as he could in the beginning.

Han Li had naturally noticed this as he walked along behind Shi Kun, and as soon as he set foot on the first stone step, he understood why Shi Kun was slowing down.

A burst of suction force had erupted from the stone step, making his legs feel as if they were filled with lead.

After scaling a few more steps, he immediately discovered at the suction force from each successive step was slightly more pronounced than that of the previous step.

The slightly incremental increase was almost unnoticeable over just a few steps, but there were over 10,000 steps leading up to the summit, and that was quite a harrowing thought to consider.

Thankfully, it seemed that as long as one were to stand still on a step, the enormous suction force emanating from it would gradually weaken, and if one were to stand on a step for a long enough time, all of the suction force would gradually disappear.

Han Li was quite intrigued by this, but he didnt pay much attention to this detail.

After cultivating the Provenance True Devil Arts, his body was more powerful than even most normal holy race beings.

These stone steps were slightly peculiar, but he was confident that hed be able to make it to the mountain summit without pause.

As for whether Shi Kun could also do the same, that would depend on whether hed been holding back in displaying the powers of his body.

As for Liu Shuier, there was most likely no way for her to make it to the summit without pausing in between if she were to rely on the power of her body alone.

With that in mind, Han Li took a glance back at Liu Shuier after scaling a dozen or so steps.

Thus, he discovered that she was still situated on the first stone step, seemingly in deep thought about something. However, it was quite apparent from the expression on her face that she was feeling very frustrated and angry.

The silver runes on the surface of the mountain were projected outward before rapidly forming several black holes around the mountain, each of which had a diameter of around 10 feet.

Grey light swirled inside those black holes as bursts of enormous suction force erupted from within.

All of the nearby grains of sand were swept up by the grey light, reverting back to their original form before surging into the black holes in a frenzy.

Thus, a vast expanse of empty space appeared around the mountain.

Meanwhile, the ancient characters on the giant badge flashed before unleashing a thick pillar of grey light.

The badge acted as a hilt while the pillar of Divine Essencefused Light formed a blade, and the two combined to create a massive sword of grey light that was around 70 to 80 feet in length.

The sword swept through the air, causing the nearby space to warp and twist, and destroying all of the fist-sized grains of sand in the surrounding area.

There were millions of these yellow grains of sand surging through the air, yet most of them were drawn away by the Extreme Essencefused Mountain while the rest were destroyed by the grey light sword.

Thus, the 10th restriction was finally broken, thereby revealing the final restriction. This was a giant piece of artwork formed by an azure light barrier.

The artwork depicted lush mountains and scenic forests with countless beasts and birds residing within them.

At the same time, spiritual light suddenly flashed from the tallest mountain in the artwork, and balls of spiritual light began to explode all over the image.

Bird projections of all colors sprang to life within the azure light, and some of them flapped their wings while others raised their head and let loose long cries. All of them then erupted from the artwork as if they were actual living creatures.

Some of the birds opened their beaks to blast forth balls of crimson flames, some flapped their wings to unleash white blades of wind, and some summoned arcs of silver lightning around their talons amid rumbling thunderclaps.

Attacks of different forms erupted like floodwaters through a shattered dam, and at the same time, the light flashing from the azure mountain transformed into projections that were untraceable to the naked eye before hurling toward the black mountain and the grey sword of light.

The amount of High Zenith Azure Light imbued within this layer of the restriction was far more than that in all of the previous layers combined!

As these projections struck the Extreme Essencefused Mountain and the grey light sword, the grey light emanating from the two treasures dimmed significantly as if they were being overwhelmed.

However, as opposed to being disheartened by this, Han Li was elated as he exclaimed, That really is a High Zenith Azure Mountain!

Han Li was almost immediately able to identify that the mountain within the artwork was the treasure that hed been searching for.

However, the mountain had clearly been refined into this artwork as its main material, and its powers seemed to have been significantly enhanced by the entire artwork.

Just as he was thinking this, Shi Kun let loose a loud cry, and his grey light sword began to glow brightly again as it slashed through the air.

All of the oncoming fireballs, blades of wind, and arcs of lightning were immediately vanquished before a devastating streak of sword Qi crashed into the flock of birds that had emerged from the artwork.

Hundreds of bird projections were destroyed at once, but even more of them transformed into five-colored balls of fire that hurtled toward the light sword in a frenzy.

Resounding booms rang out in rapid succession as the initial barrage of five-colored fireballs were snuffed out by the grey light emanating from the giant sword, but as more and more fireballs flocked toward it, the massive sword was finally forced to revert back to its badge form, which was then swept up by the flames amid an anguished wail, then sent plummeting into the artwork down below.

Meanwhile, the rest of the five-colored flames continued to surge toward the black mountain up above.

Han Lis heart stirred upon seeing this, and he immediately made a hand seal before pointing a finger at the Extreme Essencefused Mountain.

A dull sound akin to the toll of a giant bell rang out from within the mountain, and it began to swell drastically once again amid a flash of silver light.

In the blink of an eye, it had expanded to several thousand feet in size, and countless silver runes had appeared over its surface, sending waves of grey light crashing downward with devastating might.

The giant grey sword that Shi Kun had unleashed was extremely powerful, but the amount of Divine Essencefused Light contained within it was completely incomparable to that of the Extreme Essencefused Mountain.

Thus, as the giant mountain began to descend from above, all of the five-colored flames sweeping up toward it were instantly snuffed out by the waves of grey light before they could even make contact with the mountain.

The massive mountain then continued to plummet downward, yet just as it was about to strike the artwork down below, a long cry rang out from the azure mountain, following which all of the other features on the piece of artwork, regardless of whether they were beasts or plants, transformed into azure spiritual light that surged into the mountain in a frenzy.

The mountain took on an extremely vibrant green hue as a result, and it slowly began to emerge from the artwork. At the same time, the entire mountain shuddered, and the azure light emanating from it manifested into a series of green threads.

The High Zenith Azure Light within the mountain had finally been revealed in its truest form, and the green threads intertwined to form layers of green nets that surged directly upward.

The grey waves and green net clashed in an instant, and a sharp screeching sound akin to that of metal grating on metal immediately rang out. The two mountains both shuddered at once, and an impasse ensued.

Han Li narrowed his eyes while rapidly circulating the spiritual power within his body upon seeing this, planning to inject the Extreme Essencefused Mountain with more power in order to enhance it.

However, right at this moment, a string of loud thunderclaps suddenly erupted high up in the air, following which bolts of grey light that were as thick as large bowls crashed down viciously onto the green net.

The giant net formed by the High Zenith Azure Light immediately began to tremor violently as a result.

Han Li was quite elated to see this, and he looked around to find that the bolts of grey lightning were erupting from the flag in front of Liu Shuier.

Seeing as Han Li and Shi Kuns treasures werent able to easily break through the final restriction, she had finally unleashed her own treasures to lend them her assistance.

However, the azure mountain really was immensely powerful, it was quite clear that the High Zenith Azure Light it was releasing wasnt powerful enough to withstand the combined attacks of the Extreme Essececfused Mountain and the bolts of grey lightning, but green threads were pouring forth relentlessly from the mountain, constantly replenishing the areas of the net that had been damaged.

As such, even though the green net was firmly on the back foot, it wasnt immediately vanquished.

In contrast, Han Lis trio had gained a significant advantage, but they werent able to break through the 11th restriction with immediate effect.

If they were to be delayed until all of the previous restrictions theyd destroyed fully recovered again, then theyd be in big trouble.

Han Li and Liu Shuier were naturally both aware of this, so they were injecting their power into their respective treasures with all their might.

However, even in the face of the devastating waves of light and bolts of grey lighting, the green net displayed extraordinary resilience, constantly bringing itself back from the brink of destruction

Han Li and Liu Shuiers expressions both changed slightly upon seeing this.

Thankfully, right at this moment, Shi Kun suddenly sprang into action again.

He took a deep breath, and his body immediately swelled to several tens of feet tall. He slammed his fists together in front of his chest, upon which brilliant grey light erupted from his body.

Immediately thereafter, he swung his arms through the air, and countless fist projections were conjured up around him all of which then came crashing down violently as balls of grey light.

These balls of Divine Essencefused Light proved to be the final straw that broke the green nets back.

The green net was already struggling to hold itself together in the face of the Extreme Essencefused Mountain and the barrage of grey lightning, and with the addition of Shi Kuns attacks, it was finally shattered into specks of spiritual light amid a dull thump.

Thus, grey waves of light, bolts of lightning, and balls of light all struck the azure mountain at once.

The entire artwork flashed with azure light before shattering amid a rapid string of successive explosions, then also vanishing on the spot.

The final restriction had been destroyed!

After the artwork was destroyed, a gaping hole with a radius in excess of 100 feet was left in its wake. The hole hovered motionlessly in mid-air, and its edges were emanating faint white light.

This was clearly an entrance leading to somewhere.

Shi Kun and Liu Shuier were both staring intently at the hole with scorching looks in their eyes, but Han Li had cast his gaze elsewhere.

His attention was focused on none other than the small azure mountain that was hovering above the hole.

Without the enhancement of the artwork it had been attached to, the High Zenith Azure Mountain had been reduced to only around 10 feet tall, and the azure light shimmering around it had also become extremely faint, making it appear as if it were about to collapse at any moment.

Han Lis expression changed slightly as he suddenly raised an arm to point at the Extreme Essencefused Mountain down below.

The black mountain swayed before suddenly vanishing on the spot at his behest.

In the next instant, spatial fluctuations erupted in the air above the small azure mountain, following which the enormous Extreme Essencefused Mountain reappeared.

Grey light then swept forth from the underside of the mountain, completely enshrouding the small azure mountain down below.

The High Zenith Azure Mountain let loose an anguished wail as azure light flashed feebly around it in a desperate attempt to keep the Divine Essencefused Light at bay.

However, the small mountain had clearly already been severely debilitated, so it was no match for the power of Han Lis Extreme Essencefused Mountain.

A series of silver runes abruptly emerged within the grey light, and they revolved around the azure mountain before adhering to it like glue.

Following a final resigned wail, the High Zenith Azure Mountain was forcibly drawn to the underside of the Extreme Essencefused Mountain by the countless runes around it. In the end, it was drawn into the Extreme Essencefused Mountain and vanished in a flash of azure light.

A hint of elation appeared on Han Lis face, and he waved a hand through the air, upon which the Extreme Essencefused Mountain rapidly shrank down to its miniature form amid a flash of grey light.

The miniature black mountain then vanished up Han Lis sleeve, and the entire process had been extremely quick, to the extent that by the time Liu Shuier and Shi Kun had reacted to what he was doing, the High Zenith Azure Mountain had already been secured.

Liu Shuier and Shi Kun both faltered slightly upon seeing this before exchanging a glance with one another.

The two of them had naturally also identified the High Zenith Azure Mountain, and it was naturally impossible to say that they didnt want this treasure.

However, they didnt expect Han Li to act so quickly, taking the mountain without any hesitation almost as soon as the final restriction was broken.

Peculiar looks appeared on both of their faces in response to this situation.

This mountain is quite useful to me, and Im sure there are many more precious treasures down there, so you wouldnt mind me taking this, would you? Han Li asked with a smile.

Hehe, if that treasure is useful to you, then feel free to take it, I have no objections, Liu Shuier replied as a smile appeared on her face.

Shi Kuns expression changed a few times before a wry smile appeared on his face, and he conceded, Im also rather interested in that treasure, but seeing as youve obtained it first, I have nothing to say.

After that, there was nothing more that had to be said, and Liu Shuier patted her storage bracelet, upon which an extremely vibrant small umbrella appeared in her hand amid a flash of five-colored light.

The umbrella was only around half a foot in length, yet it was very colorful and eye-catching.

Shi Kun seemed to have recognized this treasure, and his expression changed slightly at the sight of it.

Liu Shuier tossed the umbrella up into the air in a solemn manner, and the treasure immediately flew up into the air as a ball of five-colored spiritual light, vanishing out of sight after just a few flashes.

Moments later, a vast expanse of five-colored light descended from above, encompassing the surrounding area in a radius of close to 10 kilometers.

Within the light, runes of different sizes began to appear before vanishing again after flashing erratically a few times.

Immediately thereafter, the entire expanse of light gradually blurred before disappearing into nothingness.

Han Li narrowed his eyes as he swept his spiritual sense outward, only for it to be repelled by a burst of invisible power as soon as it traveled to the border where the five-colored light had just vanished.

Thus, this entire space had been restricted by that small umbrella.

However, that was not the end.

Spiritual light flashed, and a dozen or so shimmering golden formation flags flew forth from within Liu Shuiers body. Each and every one of those flags was extremely intricate in design with many runes inscribed on their surfaces.

After being hurled up into the air, they all disappeared into the surrounding space as streaks of golden light, following which a dozen or so pillars of golden light erupted into the heavens, then also vanished in a flash.

A burst of extremely faint fluctuations was left in the wake of these golden pillars. Only after doing all that did the expression on Liu Shuiers face ease slightly, and she smiled as she explained, This umbrella is a treasure given to me by my master, and it can conceal the spiritual pressure fluctuations that are sure to appear when we break this restriction. On top of that, the Golden Spirit Restricting Formation set up by those formation flags are a purely defensive formation that can even withstand the attacks of an early-holy race being for a while.

In that case, let me set up some things as well, Shi Kun chuckled before opening his mouth to expel a dozen or so balls of grey light.

Within each ball of grey light was a grey ring, and there were a total of 13 such rings. All of them revolved around Shi Kun, emitting a faint buzzing sound before vanishing into thin air.

Yin Soul Bonded Rings! I didnt think Senior Duan wouldve entrusted you with such a precious treasure, Brother Shi, Liu Shuier exclaimed as he pupils contracted drastically.

These rings have no effect other than to harm the souls of living beings, and if one were to be caught off guard, they could be severely wound by these rings even as a holy race being, so they complement your restriction perfectly, Fairy Liu, Shi Kun said in a calm manner.

Liu Shuier quickly recomposed herself as she said, With these measures in place, even if the Jiao Chi beings really do try to ruin our plans, well be able to keep them at bay for a while.

At this moment, Han Li stroked his chin, and said, Seeing as weve completed all of our preparations, lets begin breaking this restriction right away. For some reason, I cant shake the feeling that the longer this takes, the riskier everything becomes.

Hehe, I certainly agree with you on that, Brother Han. Lets begin, Fairy Liu, Shi Kun chuckled in response.

Seeing as both of you are ready, Im naturally also prepared to proceed, Liu Shuier said with a smile.

Thus, she raised a hand, and a small grey flag suddenly appeared in her grasp.

Upon closer inspection, one would discover that there was faint Divine Essencefused Light emanating from the flag.

Liu Shuier tossed the small flag in front of her, then made a hand seal as she began to chant something.

A grey wheel of light abruptly emerged behind her, and the rune at the center of the wheel began to slowly rotate.

The small grey flag immediately began to tremble in response while emitting a low buzzing sound, as if it were resonating with the grey wheel.

Seeing as Liu Shuier had activated her Divine Essencefused Light, Han Li and Shi Kun glanced at one another before also following suit.

Grey light erupted from Shi Kuns body as he rustled a sleeve to produce a badge-like treasure.

The badge was also grey in colors, and the ancient characters for essence and light were inscribed onto each of its two sides.

The badge rotated on the spot before swelling drastically to around 10 feet in size.

Shi Kun then immediately extended a hand, pressing it onto the back of the badge while spreading open his fingers.

Spiritual light flashed from his five fingers, and brilliant grey light instantly erupted from the badge, and the two ancient characters on it began to glow extremely brightly.

As for Shi Kun himself, grey Divine Essencefused Light was surging around his body, creating quite an astonishing spectacle to behold.

Meanwhile, Han Li had already extended his inky-black hand out of his sleeve, and he curled his fingers inward slightly, upon which a miniature mountain that was around a foot tall appeared directly over the center of his palm.

This was none other than his Extreme Essencefused Mountain.

The mountain flew forth at Han Lis behest, then expanded to over 100 feet in size in a flash.

At the same time, the silver runes on the surface of the mountain lit up, sending halos of grey light proliferating outward in all directions.

Almost at the exact same moment, the grey wheel behind Liu Shuier shuddered before releasing a pillar of grey light that struck the grey flag shed summoned earlier.

The small grey flag immediately unfurled, and countless runes appeared on its surface as an even thicker pillar of light erupted from it.

The giant badge in front of Shi Kun was releasing clumps of grey threads, while Han Li stood in mid-air in an expressionless manner, making a hand seal with one hand while pointing a finger at the black mountain before him with his other hand.

The Extreme Essencefused Mountain rotated on the spot, and waves of grey light began to surge forth from its underside.

The three types of Divine Essencefused Light instantly combined as one to form a giant rune that was over 100 feet in size.

The massive rune descended at Liu Shuiers behest, vanishing into the white light down below in a flash, upon which a resounding dull thud rang out.

White and grey light intertwined briefly, following which the ball of white light was torn apart by the grey rune with ease before vanishing as specks of spiritual light.

However, another barrier of azure light then immediately appeared to take its place.

The giant rune continued descending without pause, striking this new barrier of azure light with tremendous force.

On this occasion, the azure light barrier abruptly vanished as if had been instantly devoured.

Thus, the rune descended once again, only for a massive net comprised of countless crimson threads to suddenly appear beneath it.

Prior to even making contact with this restriction, the red net flashed with spiritual light before releasing crimson clouds that drifted directly upward.

The massive rune plunged into the red clouds, and a string of rumbling thunderclaps rang out in quick succession.

Bright grey light began to emanate from the huge rune, and the red clouds were eradicated in the end after churning violently for a short while.

As a result, all of the crimson threads quickly dissipated like snow melting under the scorching sun.

The rune then continued to plummet toward the fourth restriction.

The grey rune had only dulled slightly compared to its initial form, and Han Li was rather surprised that the first few restrictions were broken so easily.

The High Zenith Azure Light that everyone had been most wary of didnt even appear to oppose the giant grey rune as it had encountered the bane of its existence in the form of Divine Essencefused Light.

This was why they had been able to break through the first few restrictions so easily.

In what seemed like the mere blink of an eye, the huge grey rune had crashed through nine restrictions of different forms.

However, at this point, the rune seemed to have finally expended almost all of its power, and following a low wail of anguish, countless thin cracks appeared over its surface, as if it werent going to shatter at any moment.

What are you waiting for? Prepare for the final strike! Liu Shuier let loose a loud cry as the grey wheel of light behind her flew forth, disappearing into the cracked rune as a thick pillar of grey light. гeewenvel.com

All of the cracks on the rune were instantly sealed as a result, and it began to radiate brilliant grey light again as it continued to descend in an unstoppable manner.

Han Li and Shi Kun also sprang into action at this moment.

The former pointed a finger at the black mountain before him, sending it plummeting downward with devastating force, while the latter gently laid a hand onto his giant badge, upon which the treasure hurtled downward like a massive arrow.

The two of them descended from above as two giant balls of grey light, plummeting rapidly like a pair of grey shooting stars.

The 10th restriction was comprised of a layer of yellow sand, and the grey rune faltered as soon as it came into contact with this restriction.

Through the use of his spirit eye ability, Han Li could see that the High Zenith Azure Light, which had been repressed by the Divine Essencefused Light earlier, was beginning to surface in the nearby area again.

It had finally begun to display its power again after the giant rune formed by the Divine Essencefused Light had been severely weakened.

Countless thin barely visible projections slashed through the air, and the giant rune shattered into countless pieces mid a dull thump.

Grey light surged forth in all directions as a result, forcibly blasting away most of the transparent projections formed by the High Zenith Azure Light.

Right at this moment, the giant badge and the black mountain also arrived.

What remained of the High Zenith Azure Light attempted to keep the two treasures at bay, but it was swept away with ease before the two treasures struck the sand barrier down below.

The entire film of sand tremored violently, following which each and every constituent grain of sand swelled to the size of a human fist before surging upward in a frenzy, desperately trying to destroy the giant badge and the black mountain again.

These yellow grains of sand were clearly no ordinary treasures themselves. Otherwise, there was no way that theyd be able to withstand such an enormous impact.

However, both Han Lis Extreme Essencefused Mountain and Shi Kuns grey badge were also exceptional treasures that contained Divine Essencefused Light, and even though the grey light around the two treasures was being compressed by the grains of sand, the light only became brighter and more dazzling.

These grains of sand were certainly nothing to scoff at, but they were unable to force their way into the grey light even by a single inch.

Right at this moment, the silver runes on the Extreme Essencefused Mountain and the ancient characters on the grey badge flashed in unison, and only then did they begin to display their true power.

My master didnt elaborate on that before this trip, but thats most likely the case, Liu Shuier replied with a nod.

Thats great! I didnt think that Id be able to witness the vastly renowned High Zenith Azure Light during this trip. Even if I dont obtain any other treasures, this journey will have been a worthwhile one, Han Li said with a faint smile.

Meanwhile, Liu Shuier looked down at the ball of white light, and a contemplative look appeared on her face.

All of a sudden, she flipped a hand over to produce a crimson blade before hurling it through the air.

The blade transformed into a streak of crimson light as it sped downward, reaching the white light in a flash.

However, just as it appeared that the crimson blade was about to pierce through the white light, it abruptly shuddered before separating into seven or eight segments amid an anguished wail.

It was as if several extraordinarily sharp weapons had struck it at the same time, thereby slicing through it with ease.

The segments of the blade then continued to plummet downward, only to be sliced into more and more pieces before finally vanishing as specks of crimson light.

The smile on Han Lis face faded upon seeing this, and a slightly solemn look appeared in his eyes. He was unable to detect the form of the High Zenith Azure Light using his spiritual sense, but thankfully, hed activated his Brightsight Spirit Eyes in advance, and in the instant that the crimson blade was reduced to specks of light, he managed to catch a brief glimpse of several tens of thin projections striking it from all directions.

Those thin projections were clearly the true form of the High Zenith Azure Light.

Liu Shuier seemed to have also caught sight of those projections somehow, and she heaved a faint sigh as she mused, This High Zenith Azure Light really is quite extraordinary.

At this moment, Han Li raised an eyebrow before sweeping a sleeve through the air, and a streak of azure light shot forth from within before hurtling downward.

This was an azure flying sword that was around a foot in length.

The sword descended at an astonishing speed, and after a single flash, it was only just over 100 feet away from the white light.

Meanwhile, blue light flashed through Han Lis eyes, and he looked on with an intense unblinking gaze.

All of a sudden, several tens of thin projections appeared out of thin air before striking the flying sword in a flash.

A sharp screeching sound rang out as azure light flashed erratically around the flying sword, and it managed to continue downward despite the attacks from the surrounding projections.

However, in the instant before it came into contact with the white light, countless thin projections emerged all around the flying sword before hurtling toward it in unison.

The Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword was finally unable to withstand the barrage of attacks any longer, and it shattered into specks of azure light amid a low cry.

Han Lis expression changed slightly upon seeing this, and he immediately made a grabbing motion, upon which the specks of azure light converged before him to form a complete flying sword again.

A peculiar light flashed through Liu Shuiers eyes in response to this, while Han Li shook his head and stowed his flying sword away.

He had other treasures with far superior defensive properties compared to his Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords, but if those were to be destroyed, there would be no way to recover them, so he naturally wasnt going to take that risk.

However, even though Han Li was doing his best to maintain a calm expression, he was filled with excitement internally.

The High Zenith Azure Light most likely stemmed from a High Zenith Azure Mountain, which was one of the main materials required to refine the Integrated Five Extremes Mountain.

Even though there were other treasures aside from High Zenith Azure Mountains that possessed High Zenith Azure Light, Han Li was convinced that the treasure beneath this restriction was most likely a High Zenith Azure Mountain.

There was a good chance that this restriction was left behind by a true immortal, and it had been able to maintain itself since ancient times. As such, it seemed plausible that only a High Zenith Azure Mountain could provide such a limitless source of High Zenith Azure Light.

If he were to obtain this mountain, hed be able to refine it into a second extreme mountain alongside his Divine Essencefused Mountain.

As these thoughts were running through his mind, Han Li turned to Liu Shuier, and said, As expected, this High Zenith Azure Light restriction is not something that the two of us can break. Well have to wait for Fellow Daoist Shi to get here before we make a concerted attempt to break this restriction together.

My thoughts exactly, Brother Han. Lets find a place nearby to settle and meditate so we can recover to our peak condition, Liu Shuier agreed with a nod of her head.

Thus, after a brief discussion, the two of them rose up into the air before flying toward a certain direction.

A short while later, their duo descended somewhere around 500 kilometers away from the ball of white light.

The winds were still quite fierce here, but Liu Shuier had already summoned a yellow bead that was producing a yellow light barrier around them, which was keeping the wind and sand at bay.

Thus, Han Li and Liu Shuier found themselves in a dilapidated hall, most of which had already collapsed, leaving only a small portion of the building still intact.

Half a month later, a burst of light flashed in the distance, and a streak of yellow light came flying toward them.

After just a few flashes, the streak of light appeared in the air above Han Li and Liu Shuier before revealing a tall and broad humanoid figure.

It was none other than Shi Kun.

However, his face was slightly pale, and his eyes were also rather dull, seemingly indicating that he was far from his peak condition.

After appearing in the air over this area, Shi Kun didnt immediately make his descent. Instead, he inspected his surroundings in a cautious manner, and only after ascertaining that there were no potential hazards nearby did he flip his hand over to produce a formation plate.

He carefully inspected the formation plate for a short while before descending as a streak of yellow light.

The grains of sand intermingled with the gusts of fierce winds scraped against the layer of protective spiritual light around his body, creating a sound that was akin to metal grating on metal, but the layer of light remained completely unscathed.

When Shi Kun descended in front of the ruined hall, Han Li and Liu Shuier were also waiting at the entrance.

Liu Shuier was quite surprised to see the sorry state that Shi Kun was in, and she immediately asked, Brother Shi, you dont look very well at all. Did you encounter some trouble on your way here?

Shi Kuns expression eased slightly at the sight of Han Li and Liu Shuier, but a wry smile then appeared on his face as he replied, I certainly did, I almost lost my life along the way.

His body swayed, and he abruptly appeared before Han Li and Liu Shuier, upon which Han Li asked, Could it be that you were unable to shake off the insects that were pursuing you?

He recalled quite clearly that Shi Kun had been pursued by a group of Silver Swarm Insects, and from personal experience, he knew that it was very difficult to get away from these insects unless they were killed.

Those insects were indeed quite troublesome to deal with, but I know a secret technique that allowed me to escape from them relatively easily. However, after that, I encountered a group of Snow Roar beings, and I only managed to barely escape from them after being hunted for over a month, Shi Kun spat through gritted teeth.

Snow Roar beings? The Snow Roar Race is a race of freaks! Theyre only allowed to cultivate ice-attribute abilities, and they think ice-attribute abilities are the origin of all abilities and cultivation arts. On top of that, they have a vendetta against every being that cultivates abilities of any other attribute, its extremely unfortunate that you ran into them, Brother Shi, Liu Shuier exclaimed with a shocked look on her face.

Thats them, alright. Theyre only a medium-sized race, and all of them are absolutely inexplicable, but when it comes to individual powers, theyre not inferior to beings from major races like the Sea Monarch Race and the Jiao Chi Race. In the past, these beings mostly resided in the northernmost region of the Thunder Continent, and due to how rural their territory is, its very rare for them to obtain Vast Glacial Badges and enter the Vast Glacial Realm. I cant believe I was unlucky to run into those freaks! Shi Kun said in a hateful manner.

Han Li had also read about the Snow Roar Race in the past, so he was naturally also aware of their extremist tendencies. As such, he could only exchange a glance with Liu Shuier and lament Shi Kuns misfortune.

In his current state, he clearly wasnt in any condition to help Han Li and Liu Shuier break the Holy Zenith Azure Light formation, so they had no choice but to afford him some time to rest and recover.

Thus, six days passed by in a flash.

During this time, Han Lis puppet and Liu Shuiers spirit beast hadnt noticed anything amiss in their surveillance of the Jiao Chi beings.

It was as if they were content to simply camp under their illusionary technique.

Han Li and the others didnt have any idea what those Jiao Chi beings were up to, but this was certainly a welcome sight for them. All they could hope for was that things would continue like this, and that theyd be able to break through the restriction without any trouble before sneaking away from this place.

Thus, on this day, the three of them rose up into the air before flying toward the restriction in a stealthy manner.

Moments later, Han Lis trio appeared above the white ball of light again. As soon as they arrived, the three of them split up, arranging themselves in a huge triangular formation in the air above the restriction.

Im sure all of you have already memorized the procedure required to break this restriction. The restriction consists primarily of High Zenith Azure Light, and its split up into three major levels, which are in turn comprised of 11 minor layers. We have to break through all of those layers at once. Otherwise, if were stalled during the process, the layers of the restriction that weve already broken will immediately repair themselves again, which would make all of our prior efforts go to waste. Back before Senior Duan had become a holy race being, he was able to rely on his astonishingly powerful body and defensive prowess to break through the first seven layers of the restriction on his own. As such, we should definitely be able to break through all 11 layers with our combined powers, especially considering our Divine Essencefused Light is effective in nullifying High Zenith Azure Light. However, we still need to be very careful here, and it would be unwise to take things lightly, Liu Shuier said as she appraised Han Li and Shi Kun with a serious look on her face.

Han Li smiled upon hearing this, and he said, Both Fellow Daoist Shi and I expended a lot of effort to get here, so well definitely be giving this everything we have. Im sure youre both aware of the agreement I made with the two seniors, right?

Rest assured, Brother Han, aside from the few treasures that my master and Senior Cai require, our abilities will determine what other treasures we can obtain from these ruins, and we definitely wont try to take the treasures you obtain away from you, Shi Kun chucked as he nodded in response.

Han Li nodded with a pleased expression upon hearing this.

Perhaps it was merely a coincidence or perhaps the golden-horned young man really did sense something, but as soon as Liu Shuiers voice trailed off, he suddenly looked up, then raised a hand to summon a black bowl that hovered in mid-air.

Immediately thereafter, the young man began to chant something before flicking his 10 fingers toward the bowl in rapid succession, casting a series of incantation seals of different colors that vanished into the treasure in a flash.

A long ringing sound erupted from the bowl in response, and black light began to emanate from it as it swelled drastically in size.

In the blink of an eye, it had expanded to over 100 feet, and it was hovering in mid-air like a house. The lid on the treasure was then lifted, and boundless inky-black Qi poured forth from within, spreading in all directions in a frenzy.

It was as if night had suddenly descended, obscuring the entire sky, making it impossible for Han Li and Liu Shuier to see anything using the Projection Crystal aside from a vast expanse of darkness.

Their expressions both changed slightly in unison, yet before either of them had a chance to say anything, black light flashed from the crystal, and everything returned to normal.

The image on the crystal appeared to be identical compared to what it had been, yet all of the Jiao Chi beings had abruptly vanished.

Liu Shuier pointed a finger at the crystal, and spiritual light flashed as the image on the surface of the treasure changed into that of the ground down below.

However, even from that perspective, they were still greeted by nothing but the sight of yellow sand without a single Jiao Chi being to be seen.

It looks like theyve unleashed an illusionary technique to conceal themselves. We wont be able to see anything unless I force the Projection Crystal to project the scenes inside the restriction, but doing so would blow our cover for sure, so its not really worth it, Liu Shuer sighed in a resigned manner.

She then swept a sleeve over the crystal, and the image on it vanished like an illusion amid a flash of spiritual light. In the end, it reverted back to the appearance of a normal white crystal before being stowed away up her sleeve.

So be it. These Jiao Chi beings are clearly quite cautious, and it would be unwise for us to alert them to our presence. From the looks of it, their target seems to be in this nearby area. I wonder if what theyre doing will affect us, Han Li murmured to himself in a contemplative manner.

Liu Shuiers heart stirred slightly upon hearing this, and she said, That is indeed a valid concern. Do you have any good ideas, Brother Han?

These Jiao Chi beings significantly outnumber us, and all of them seem to be quite powerful, so I dont really have any good ideas to offer. All we can do is set up a few more formations to mask the fluctuations when we break the restriction of the restricted ruins. On top of that, even though the Jiao Chi beings have set up an illusionary technique to conceal what theyre doing, that doesnt stop us from deploying some puppets or spirit beasts to the nearby area to keep an eye on them. That way, if something does happen, well be alerted and can adopt measures to prepare ourselves, Han Li replied after a brief pause.

Liu Shuier was also silent for a moment before nodding in a resigned manner. Looks like thats all we can do.

Seeing as thats the case, why dont we begin setting things up right away? This is not a place we should stay at for much longer, so lets head to the restricted ruins now, Han Li immediately suggested.

Of course. Im just concerned about Fellow Daoist Shi. Hopefully, nothing has happened to him on the way here, Liu Shuier replied with a concerned nod.

The two of us were able to make it here unscathed, so Im sure Brother Shi would be more than capable of doing the same. Besides, two months have only just passed since we split up, perhaps Fellow Daoist Shi merely took a slightly longer route, in which case it would only be normal for him to be late by a few days, Han Li said in a confident manner.

I hope thats the case. Liu Shuier could only heave a faint sigh in response.

At this moment, Han Li suddenly rustled a sleeve, and a white shadow shot forth from within before revealing itself to be a completely expressionless white-robed woman amid a flash of white light.

It was none other than his sentient puppet, Doll.

Go and keep an eye on those Jiao Chi beings. Dont engage them in battle, just observe them from afar, Han Li instructed.

Doll bowed slightly upon hearing this before rising up into the air. However, just as she was about to depart, a thought suddenly occurred to Han Li, and he said, Hold on, take these two things with you. Your top priority is to not be discovered.

Han Li flipped a hand over as he spoke, and a black veil suddenly appeared in his grasp along with a purple talisman.

The latter was none other than a High Zenith Invisibility Talisman.

Doll remained completely expressionless upon hearing this, but it made a grabbing motion to draw the two items into its grasp in an obedient manner, then flew away as a streak of white light.

You seem to cherish that puppet a lot, Brother Han. But then again, thats no surprise, even Im very envious that you possess a sentient puppet of such a high caliber, Liu Shui sai with an amused smile.

Hehe, surely you jest, Fairy Liu. With your wealth, Im sure its not a difficult task to purchase a sentient puppet. Come to think of it, these types of puppets are kind of gimmicky and most of the time, theyre not even as useful as a spirit beast of the same power level. Even this puppet of mine was a present from someone else, Han Li replied with a faint smile.

Seeing as Han Li clearly didnt want to speak too much about his sentient puppet, Liu Shuier changed the subject, and said, Thats true. Just the amount of top-grade spirit stones required to use such puppets poses quite a headache. Seeing as youve deployed a sentient puppet, Ill also send out a spirit beast to keep an eye on those Jiao Chi beings as well.

Thus, she patted a certain item hanging from her waist, and a burst of five-colored light suddenly erupted forth before vanishing into thin air in a flash.

Even through the use of his spirit eye ability, Han Li could only catch a very brief glimpse of what appeared to be a small winged mink with five-colored light emanating from its body.

Han Li was quite startled by this small beasts incredible speed, and he couldnt help but cast a meaningful glance toward Liu Shuier.

However, she merely disregarded Han Lis reaction and rose to her feet as she said, Lets go and wait for Fellow Daoist Shi near the restricted ruins.

Han Li naturally had no objections to this, and thus, both of them rose up into the air before flying away from the Jiao Chi beings as streaks of light.

Along the way, the scenery down below remained completely the same with nothing but yellow sand stretching as far as the eyes could see in all directions.

Han Li had arrived at this place a few days in advance, and hed taken the opportunity to inspect the ruins here for himself.

During the process, hed discovered that these ruins stretched for over 1,000,000 kilometers, and there were many places in those ruins where restrictions still existed, so it appeared to be quite a dangerous place.

Thankfully, Han Li had been warned by Cai Liuying and the others about this place prior to entering the Vast Glacial realm, so he knew to stay far away from those areas. Otherwise, he wouldve definitely triggered traps in those ruins such as the Lightning Bird puppet from earlier.

As for the restricted ruins that Cai Liuying and Duan Tianren were referring to, that appeared to be situated in one of the perilous places in this area.

After flying for several tens of thousands of kilometers, the two of them finally stopped, and Han Li narrowed his eyes as he cast his gaze downward.

There, he discovered a ball of white light that with a diameter of around 1,000 feet slowly rotating within the wind and sand down below. Despite the fierce winds blowing around it, the ball of light remained completely unmoved, and as soon as the gusts of sandy winds came into contact with this light, they would disappear in a flash as if theyd been devoured.

What was even more unsettling was that there were piles of beastly bones littered all around the ball of light, most of which had been buried by the surrounding yellow sands already. However, among the bones that were protruding from the sand, some had already been blackened by age, so theyd clearly been there for an extremely long time, while others were pristine and new, clearly belonging to beasts that had only died here relatively recently.

At this moment, Liu Shuier was holding a palm-sized formation plate and was staring at it with rapt focus.

After a while, Liu Shuier exhaled, and confirmed, This is the place, this is the restricted ruins that master and Senior Duan were referring to.

Han Li glanced at the bones littered down below in a calm manner as he replied, It looks like this place is indeed quite perilous, but seeing as the two seniors expended so much effort to gather the three of us, there has to be a good chance that well be able to break this restriction.

Liu Shuier clearly knew a lot more about this restriction than Han Li did, and she said, I certainly hope so. According to my master, this restriction was formed by High Zenith Azure Light, which ranked alongside Divine Essencefused Light in ancient times, and it can only be broken using Divine Essencefused Light. As such, the three of us should be able to break this restriction with our combined powers.

A hint of elation flashed through Han Lis eyes upon hearing this, and he exclaimed, High Zenith Azure Light!

Liu Shuier had naturally noticed Han Lis reaction, and she asked, Are you interested in this light, Brother Han?

Han Lis expression instantly reverted back to normal as he replied, I possess the Divine Essencefused Light, so Im naturally quite interested in the lights that rank alongside it. From what Ive heard, this High Zenith Azure Light is extremely lethal and can conjure up devastating invisible sword Qi that can kill unsuspecting enemies in an instant. I wonder if this light really is as extraordinary as the rumors proclaim it to be.

Looks like youve done quite a lot of research into this High Zenith Azure Light, Brother Han. According to my master, this light is indeed quite fearsome, but its not as lethal as the legends suggest. However, restrictions created using this light are extremely difficult to break through. Otherwise, my master wouldve most definitely tried to force her way into the restriction and obtain the treasures in there, even though doing so would incur a massive risk. On top of that, High Zenith Azure Light cant be acquired, and can only be naturally formed by the power of heaven and earth. As such, beings who have cultivated this light are far rarer than even those who possess the Divine Essencefused Light. In fact, its said that no one has been successfully able to cultivate this light since ancient times, Liu Shuier explained.

In that case, there must be an extremely powerful treasure that can emit High Zenith Azure Light under that restriction! Han Li immediately deduced.

It was quite clear that the arcs of lightning were quite powerful, as exemplified by the fact that they remained completely unmoved by the scorching azure flames.

Meanwhile, the giant talon projection was stalled in mid-air for a moment before being shattered by the massive silver disk that it had clashed with.

Without any further obstacles standing in its way, the giant disk sped directly toward the puppets head, sending spatial fluctuations surging through the air in its wake, as if it were threatening to slice through space itself.

The Lightning Bird puppet opened its mouth to expel a bolt of azure lightning that was as thick as a water tank in response, and it transformed into an azure lightning wyrm that struck the disk with tremendous force.

Silver light and azure lightning intertwined, and an anguished wail immediately rang out from the silver disk as several cracks began to appear on its surface.

Immediately thereafter, it separated into six disks again, each of which plummeted toward one of the short foreign beings.

The arcs of lightning around the puppets body then swelled once again, and a resounding boom rang out as it vanished on the spot amid a flash of lightning.

In the next instant, lightning flashed in the air above the three carriages, and the Lightning Bird puppet abruptly reappeared before flapping its wings violently, swooping downward with devastating might.

The six foreign beings were naturally startled to see this, but they all remained quite calm as they raised an arm each in unison, then quickly pressed their hands onto the azure-armored puppets before them.

Crimson light flashed through the three puppets eyes, and a ball of azure light erupted from their bodies as they swelled drastically in size.

In the blink of an eye, their visors had slipped off their faces, and theyd transformed into three massive demonic ghostly beings that were over 100 feet tall each.

Six massive ghostly claws swiped through the air in unison, sending a dozen or so black claw projections hurtling directly toward the Lightning Bird puppet.

The demonic ghosts then abruptly grabbed onto the silver spears on their backs, which had expanded in size along with them, before thrusting the spears into the air.

The silver spears transformed into 10 silver pillars of light that vanished in a flash, and immediately thereafter, the sounds of howling winds and resounding thunderclaps rang out in the nearby area.

The Lightning Bird puppet remained completely expressionless upon seeing this, and it opened its mouth to blast forth a bolt of azure lightning again before pressing its single talons downward to exert an immense invisible force.

All six short foreign beings withdrew their arms in unison at this moment, and they all began to chant something, upon which their bodies also swelled to several times their original size.

Immediately thereafter, a dozen or so treasures of different forms flew out of their bodies in rapid succession to join the attack.

Explosions rang out in the air in rapid successions, and dazzling lights of all colors flashed, making it difficult for one to directly appraise the battle.

This battle lasted a full two hours, and when everything finally drew to a conclusion, the half of the Lightning Bird puppet that remained plummeted from the sky before vanishing into the ruins down below.

The three carriages up above and the three azure-armored puppets, which had reverted back to their original sizes, were also heavily damaged. One of the puppets even had a large hole on its chest that passed directly through where a normal beings heart wouldve been situated.

If the same injury had been inflicted on a living being, they wouldve perished for sure unless they had some kind of miracle pill that could bring them back from the brink of death.

As for the six foreign beings themselves, they were also in quite a sorry state.

Not only had most of their treasures been ruined, the suits of armor they were wearing had also been completely charred black. On top of that, there were many large dents and cracks on the surfaces of the armor, giving them the appearance of useless scrap metal.

In contrast, the six water buffalo beasts remained completely unscathed, but all of them were also panting heavily with sweat pouring down their bodies.

All in all, the six foreign beings had secured the final victory against the Lightning Bird puppet, but they had also paid a heavy price in the process.

After striking down the puppet, the six foreign beings were quite elated, and they prepared to swoop down in their carriages again.

Right at this moment, a cold voice rang out from within a nearby cloud.

Thank you for sparing me the effort of getting rid of this puppet, fellow Daoists of the Black Dwarf Race. As soon as the voice trailed off, brilliant light erupted from within the cloud, following which a dozen or so humanoid beings in different attire appeared.

They were led by a yellow-robed man who appeared to be in his twenties with three extremely eye-catching short golden horns on his forehead.

Behind him were a dozen or so male and female beings of all different ages, and they also had horns on their heads, but the numbers, shapes, and colors of these horns differed from being to being.

The expressions on the faces of the six Black Dwarf beings immediately darkened significantly at the sight of these horned beings. One of them exclaimed in an unpleasant raspy voice, Jiao Chi beings! Why are you here? Were you following us in secret this entire time?

Were we following you? Do you think youre worthy of being followed by us? Seeing as youve also come to this place, then you can stay here forever. Everyone, send them on their way, the golden-horned young man chuckled coldly.

The dozen or so Jiao Chi beings immediately responded in an affirmative manner before sweeping forward to surround the six Black Dwarf beings.

The Black Dwarf beings expressions changed drastically upon seeing this, and their leader immediately yelled, Run!

The powers of wind and fire erupted from beneath the hooves of the six water buffalo beasts, and they abruptly sprang forward as the three carriages sped into the distance as balls of azure light.

Arcs of lightning could be seen shimmering indistinctly within the azure light, and the carriages were traveling at an astonishing speed.

However, the Jiao Chi beings were also certainly not to be scoffed at.

All of them either shot forth as streaks of spiritual light or made hand seals and vanished on the spot.

There were also a few who swept their sleeves through the air to summon spirit beasts or flying treasures and set off in pursuit at incredible speeds.

Meanwhile, the golden-horned young man merely stood still in mid-air with his hands clasped behind his back, seemingly extremely confident in the abilities of his companions.

And it was no wonder that he was so confident, the Black Dwarf Race was a relatively large race on the Thunder Continent, but they werent proficient in flight or movement techniques, so they had to rely on all types of flying carriages to make up for this weakness.

Under normal circumstances, this wasnt exactly a glaring fallacy, but having just endured an arduous battle, this weakness naturally became a fatal one for them in the face of the pursuit of these Jiao Chi beings.

The events that unfolded next were just as the golden-horned young man had expected. The three flying carriages were only able to fly for just over 10,000 feet before several balls of spiritual light emerged up ahead, following which several humanoid figures appeared.

These were none other than the Jiao Chi beings who were proficient in instantaneous teleportation techniques.

As soon as they emerged, they raised their hands in unison, and a vast expanse of scorching lightning flames were sent crashing down toward the three carriages.

The six water buffalo beasts were quite fierce and powerful, but even they couldnt help but stop in their tracks as they blasted azure flames out of their mouths to oppose the oncoming attacks.

During this momentary delay, the rest of the Jiao Chi beings caught up before surrounding the three carriages.

Swords, axes, staves… Treasures of all different types flew out from the bodies of these Jiao Chi beings before transforming into swathes of light that descended from above.

The six Black Dwarf beings in the carriages were all plunged into despair upon seeing this, but even so, they still werent willing to give up without a fight.

As such, all of them let loose loud cries as they laid their hands onto the heavily damaged azure-armored puppets, transforming them giant demonic ghosts once again. At the same time, all of them made hand seals in unison, and they also swelled drastically in size while the wheels on their backs also flew forth to combat the oncoming attacks.

In their desperation, the six Black Dwarf beings were able to hold their own against the Jiao Chi beings, and it appeared that they were quite evenly matched.

However, both sides knew that this was only a futile struggle. As soon as the Black Dwarf beings exhausted all of their magic power, they would immediately be overwhelmed and slain by their opponents.

However, unbeknownst to all of them, there was someone situated in a dilapidated pavilion several hundred kilometers away, inspecting them through the use of a strange treasure.

This treasure was a translucent white crystal with an image playing out on its surface, and the image was none other than that of the battle between the Jiao Chi beings and the Black Dwarf beings.

However, the perspective was slightly distant, as if the observer were surveying the battle from several kilometers away.

There were two people seated with their legs crossed in front of the crystal, one of which wore a calm expression while the other had a bewildered look in their eyes.

The latter was none other than Liu Shuier and she turned to her companion as she said in a barely audible voice, How could this be? Why are these Jiao Chi beings here as well?

Her companion was an azure-robed young man with a set of ordinary facial features. He was naturally none other than Han Li, and even though he wore a calm expression, he was also staring intently at the image on the crystal.

Upon hearing Liu Shuiers question, his lips twitched slightly, and he replied, Theres no need to be overly concerned, Fellow Daoist Liu. This is an extremely vast set of ruins, so theres no way that wed coincidentally be searching for the same target. On top of that, our current location is still tens of thousands of kilometers away from the restricted ruins, if those people really were pursuing the same target as us, why would they be battling those Black Dwarf beings? However, their presence does mean that well have to proceed with more caution so that we dont get discovered by them.

After a brief pause for contemplation, Liu Shuier said, Youre right, Brother Han, Im feeling a lot more reassured now. Why dont we switch to another hiding spot thats further away from those Jiao Chi beings? After that, we can wait for Fellow Daoist Shi to join us, and well be able to combine our powers to access the restricted ruins.

Thats a good idea. However, before that, we should ascertain the target of these Jiao Chi beings. That would normally be quite a difficult task, but Senior Cai has even lent you the vastly renowned Projection Crystal of the Crystal Race, so well be able to see everything that those Jiao Chi beings are doing even from so far away, Han Li said in a slow voice as he stroked his chin and appraised the crystal.

This Projection Crystal is indeed extremely stealthy and even holy race beings would struggle to detect it, but it can only project some normal images. If those Jiao Chi beings were to use some kind of restrictions to conceal what they were up to, then we wouldnt be able to see anything, Liu Shuier replied with furrowed brows.