However, Han Li coldly laughed. After retrieving his other magic tools, he tossed out the White Scales Shield, forcefully blocking the opponents’ attacks and easily returning to the great formation. The Heavenly Fiend Sect’s cultivators could only bitterly watch and stop their footsteps outside of the formation.
Seeing that more than half of his unit was stuck outside the formation, unable to escape, Xuan Yue began to fight even more fiercely, knowing in his heart that the situation was not good. But just as he wanted to go assist the other cultivators, Lu Tianmeng instantly pulled him back the moment he began to move.
“It’s already too late! The Azure Sun Devil Fire has already been summoned!” Lu Tianmeng said with an ashen expression, shaking his head.
Upon hearing this, Han Li finally noticed that between the flags of the red-robed flag bearers, azure flames had already shot out. Ten or so flame columns shot into the air, converging into a giant azure fireball tens of meters in diameter, gently floating in midair and swaying imposingly; it was incredibly eye-catching.
“This?”
After being startled, Xuan Yue was about to say something. However, the following movements from those red-robed cultivators immediately caused his expression to become extremely ugly.
Those red-robed individuals pointed the tips of the flags at the Seven Great Sects cultivators who had been entangled outside of the formation. Instantly, the huge fireball became ten or so smaller fireballs about a meter wide with a “pu”, shooting directly towards these cultivators.
The speed of those azure fireballs was incredibly frightening. In the time it took to blink, they had already aggressively flown in front of the cultivators from the Seven Great Sects.
Naturally, these people had long discovered the transformation of the large fireball; they all instinctively used various kinds of magic tools to receive the attacks of the azure fireballs. An extremely low number of them used a few talismans to execute Daoist magic in an attempt shoot them down.
Unfortunately, because these azure flames were the so-called “Azure Sun Devil Flames”, they were extremely frightening!
Regardless of whether it was the magic tools or the Daoist magics, as soon as they encountered the azure fireball, they were like moths in a flame, silently melting away completely.
Seeing this unbelievable scene, the faces of those cultivators became as deathly pale as snow!
Before they could think carefully about it, ten or so fireballs simultaneously slammed into them. The protective barriers and similar magic spells were all completely destroyed upon contact. Furthermore, their bodies instantly became reduced to nothing under the demonic fire, not even leaving a single trace behind.
After seeing this massacre, how could the remaining cultivators who had not been hit dare to hesitate at all! Either they had been gravely wounded by the Heavenly Fiend Sect cultivators or they simply dropped the tangled-up magic tools, directly fleeing towards the great formation.
However, two or three people panicked, and they immediately died under their opponents’ magic tools.
In this way, the Seven Great Sects cultivators defending the spirit stone mine had suffered the deaths of nearly ten Qi Condensation disciples and one Foundation Establishment cultivator. As soon as they brushed against the enemy, their losses were very great!
However, the Azure Sun Devil Flame’s might was not limited to this!
Under the guidance of the red-robed cultivators, those azure fireballs became one entity once again, directly becoming a sea of flames that rushed towards the Four Fiend Formation.
At this moment, the expressions on the faces of the ones hiding inside the formation drastically changed, and a fear spread through all of the cultivators.
Seeing this, Xuan Yue wrinkled his brow and directly asked asked Lu Tianmeng, "Senior Martial Brother Lu, what’s going on with these azure flames? How can Foundation Establishment cultivators release such frightening True Fire? This great formation’s restriction ability should be able to block the attack of the flames, right?"
Lu Tianmeng couldn’t help but begin to bitterly laugh after hearing the other person’s string of questions. However, upon seeing that all the other cultivators were attentively watching him, he could only helplessly explain:
“To tell the truth to you all, when I, Lu, was battling in the warfront, I only occasionally witnessed this Azure Sun Devil Flame’s fearfulness! As for whether or not it can break the Four Fiend Formation, I have no way of guessing! Only, I heard afterwards from a senior that this kind of demonic fire cannot be carelessly released; not only are these Wild Flame cultivators required to cultivate in this kind of Azure Sun Devil Flame technique, every time they release it they pay a price in lowering their own cultivation bases. That’s why it’s so difficult to defend against!”
These words from Lu Tianmeng caused Xuan Yue and the other cultivators to glance at each other, revealing dispirited expressions!
At this time, the fierce azure flames finally slammed into the four-colored restrictions of the great formation; a low rumbling sound, like an explosion, sounded out, immediately attracting the attention of all the cultivators present.
They saw that the azure waves incessantly slammed against the four-colored light barrier, wave after wave, causing the light barrier to ripple nonstop. However, in the end it blocked these frightening demonic flames, causing the Seven Sects cultivators in the formation to let out a sigh of relief.
However, Han Li and the others did not relax for long before they were on edge once again.
That was because as time went on, the four-colored light barrier was already slowly dimming under the repeated onslaught of the vicious azure flames; clearly, this was a sign that the great formation was about to shatter. And although those red-clothed people were also drenched with sweat, waving their large flags, they definitely had no problem in holding out for a while.
All of the cultivators inside the formation now began to furiously rack their brains on ways to retreat and get out of there!
Based on the circumstances of the other spirit stone mines that had been ambushed, although the Seven Sects cultivators who fell into the hands of the Devil Dao were not immediately killed, they would be immediately escorted to the enemy. It was unknown what the Devil Dao were planning to do with their hostages.
However, the hatred built up between the Seven Sects and the Six Devil Dao Sects after their consecutive battles could be likened to a deep sea! How could either side treat their hostages well? This concern was especially made worse since the opponent often practiced the inhumane method of extracting one’s soul; this caused the Seven Sects cultivators to feel even more uneasy!
Thus, unless there was no other way out, no one would bring up the matter of surrender.
“I know of a tunnel directly leading to a location around ten miles away. That should be enough for us to escape alive!” The elder Yu Xing, who had been standing guard here for ten or so years, suddenly said with a peaceful expression.
Like a large boulder creating huge waves, these words instantly shocked Xuan Yue and the other cultivators, then exciting them immediately afterwards.
“Martial Brother Yu, is this really true?”
“Great, now we can finally escape!”
“We’re saved!”
……
The Seven Sects cultivators who were originally panicking had suddenly became much more lively and were unable to contain their joy.
Han Li was also rather happy. After all, he truly had no way to deal with those Azure Sun Devil Flames. Even if he were to go all out, he wouldn’t know where to start.
Xuan Yue and Lu Tianmeng restrained the excitement in their hearts and, after confirming again the veracity of the tunnel from Yu Xing’s mouth, hesitated for a moment before issuing the order to retreat!
As for the spirit stone mine, they wouldn’t have to worry about it; at most, the opponents would destroy the tunnel entrance, halting the production of spirit stones. Th
e Devil Dao cultivators wouldn’t even take a few spirit stones from the mine. Even the mortals who worked the mines wouldn’t normally be injured in the battle.
Thus, all they needed to do was make themselves scarce and slip away.
Under Yu Xing’s lead, Han Li and the other fifty or so cultivators guarding the mine entered a certain underground tunnel in the spirit stone mine. However, just when they entered the underground tunnel, everyone felt the entire canyon tremble for a moment.
“The Four Fiend Formation has been broken through!” Xuan Yue shouted expressionlessly.
Instantly, the cultivators sped up their footsteps even more.
……
The inside of the tunnel was lit up by the many moonlight stones in the cultivators' hands. One could tell from the potholed walls of the tunnel that it was man-made, causing all of the cultivators to feel somewhat shocked.
Based on Yu Xing’s brief overview, this tunnel was originally an extremely long spirit stone vein. It had been carved out by the miners as they progressed along the vein, harvesting the spirit stones. It eventually led to another exit.
Thankfully, this tunnel existed and Yu Xing remembered it. Otherwise, they really would have had nowhere to escape today!
These words caused the other cultivators to repeatedly nod their heads in agreement.
But just at this moment, the tunnel suddenly began to shake violently. After a few loud rumbles, it began to slowly fall apart.
Countless clumps of dirt and huge stones rained on the frightened cultivators, directly burying them. The entire underground world became pitch black once again.
……
After many hours, at a certain stone wall in a naturally-occurring underground cave, a large hole suddenly opened up with a “huala”. Next, a lizard-like puppet beast rushed out of the hole, stretching its head to size up its surroundings. It then jumped back into the hole.
After the time it takes to cook a meal, the lizard mechanical beast jumped out again from the stone wall, only this time a person crawled out as well, closely following behind. This was none other than Han Li, who had encountered the collapse yet managed to survive the disaster.
Han Li stood up, and glanced at the surroundings, his face revealing a joyful expression. He had just received a new lease on life!
Chapter 268: White Spider
Han Li was currently in a stalactite cave open from all sides. Although he did not know how big it truly was, it absolutely couldn’t have been small.
After Han Li took a look in every direction with a moonlight stone in hand, he had come to that conclusion.
In the split second when the tunnel collapsed into dirt and falling stones, Han Li quickly flew and activated his protective barrier. As a result, although he was deeply buried underneath the earth from the series of tremors, he still had the leeway to take deep breaths and move slowly.
However, the earth tremors were too great, and Han Li no longer knew where he was, incapable of identifying his direction. He had no choice but to release several lizard puppet beasts he had on hand and have them simultaneously dig in different directions, hoping to find a way out.
At this moment, he felt great regret for not having previously learned the Earth Evasion Technique. If he had, he could just smoothly shuttle through the earth. Now, he could only have his puppet beasts move forward as he slowly crawled.
As for using magic tools to open a path, Han Li completely rejected it as soon as he thought of it.
Under the current circumstances, negligently squandering magic power was not wise, especially without knowing a clear route. Furthermore, using magic tools while underneath the earth was truly far too dangerous! With a single mistake, he would be caught in another collapse.
As such, Han Li first controlled several puppets and scouted everything within a certain range once through before choosing the mostly likely route to escape from. Like this, after many hours of dull crawling, he eventually arrived at this mysterious stalactite cave. This caused Han Li’s completely taut heart to thoroughly relax.
The feeling of surviving a calamity was truly wonderful!
Han Li turned his head to look at the hole he just crawled out of. He was certain there were others who had also managed to preserve their life while trapped underneath the collapsed tunnel, but whether or not they were able to find a path to life was hard to say!
Because they were trapped in an airtight area, even if they were Foundation Establishment cultivators, they wouldn’t last for very long. Qi Condensation disciples were even less likely to survive!
However, while Han Li was rejoicing in his fortune, he felt a bit puzzled.
How could it be that soon after they entered the tunnel, the tunnel would collapse from an earthquake? Could it be the Devil Dao had arranged ghosts to cause this? Han Li felt that this guess was most likely true.
……
On the surface, the Devil Dao cultivators had just greatly damaged the spirit stone mine’s opening, using magic tools to completely smash the cave within to pieces.
High up above the spirit stone mine, yellow-robed old man was facing the red-robed young woman, regretfully saying,
“Junior Martial Sister Lian, you are treating this small problem greatly! Just to get a few stray dogs, you used an earth-shaking talisman, an extremely rare mid-grade talisman!”
“Humph! To run away from me, Lian Feihua, how could it be so easy! Although rooting out this spirit stone mine happened to be just an insignificant mission, to truly let them run away so easily makes me feel ill at ease!” The red-robed young woman slanted her mouth, saying this without concern.
When the yellow-robed man heard this, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Using this to justify wasting a rare talisman, it was truly too ridiculous! But even so, she was the Devil Flame Sect Master’s only daughter! Sigh, he was only a Heavenly Fiend Sect Enforcer. He should just mind his own business.
With this thought, the old man shut his mouth and kept quiet.
Not long after, the spirit stone mine was completely destroyed by the Devil Dao cultivators. They flew away, eventually flying off into the horizon.
After a day, a huge Seven Sects medicine cultivation yard hidden rather far from this place was raided by the same group! They stole all the medicinal herbs that could be used and cleanly set the saplings ablaze with Azure Sun Devil Fire!
This matter immediately seized the hearts of the Seven Sects’ upper echelon. Compared to the spirit stone mine Han Li had guarded, it was insignificant. By using only a bit of time, the mine would be restored. However, the plundered and burned spiritual herbs needed several tens of years to grow again.
The Seven Sects’ upper echelon furiously dispatched experts to pursue and kill them. But who would have thought that the enemy would meet with reinforcements or that the Seven Sects would suffer a small loss from the ambush?
With such continuous losses, the Seven Sects naturally wouldn’t submit to humiliation! After recovering a bit of strength, they took the initiative to begin a second wave of large-scale battles, once more opening another prelude.
……
Underground, Han Li wrinkled his brow. He finally identified the direction of the wind within the cave. He had his puppet beasts find the path forward as he crawled after them.
After passing through several tens of caverns, the stalactite caves became larger and larger. The largest cavern could fit over a hundred people without problem. The further he moved, the stronger the wind flow, which caused Han Li to be a bit more at ease. After all, with wind, there would be an opening to the surface.
Just as Han Li entered a new cavern, he ran into six or seven people. They were Yuan Le, Lu Tianfeng, and other cultivators. Unexpectedly, Zhong Wu was there as well.
When they saw Han Li alongside two puppet beasts, they blankly stared with surprise.
But soon after, as Xuan Ye smiled and thought of saying something, a mournful scream came from the other d
irection, causing everyone’s expression to change, revealing fright.
Without inquiring anything from Han Li, Xuan Ye and Lu Tianmeng looked at each other and immediately followed the scream with hastened steps. No one dared to be negligent, applying all sorts of defensive magic techniques and magic tools as a precaution.
When Han Li saw this, he hesitated for a moment. In the end, he took out his white scale shield and slowly followed. However, he didn’t use a defensive magic technique. This way, he would be able to use both the Imperial Flight Technique and soft body movements. He always believed that in narrow quarters, speed was more important than defense.
After they passed through three or four large caverns, they arrived at a huge stalactite cave and suddenly saw a frightful scene before them.
At the center of the cavern, a sparkling crystal white spider over ten meters large was using its huge sharp teeth to bite at a badly mutilated corpse. The corpse was wearing white clothes, clearly revealing its former identity as a Masked Moon Sect disciple who had managed to flee from being buried alive. Near the corpse, there were three or four thoroughly worn-out magic tools.
But what was most noticeable was the huge spirit stone vein behind the spider. Surrounding it was an extremely ancient hexagonal transportation formation. To the side of the transportation formation, there was a rainbow-colored skeleton sitting cross-legged in meditation, levitating a meter into the air. Its hand was grasping a lustrous blue command medallion that was radiating faintly.
“What is this?”
After a Qi Condensation cultivator swallowed his spit, he dryly asked. No one knew if he was asking about this monstrous spider, the transportation formation, or the skeleton with the command medallion. Naturally, no one answered.
Perhaps it was because this person’s voice had alarmed the spider, but the monster suddenly stopped gnawing. It raised its head and glared at the party that had invaded its cavern with an ice cold gaze.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 143