“Insolence!” Old Devil Qian shouted in fury and had three of his devils blur and disappear from sight.
In a moment, they strangely warped in front of Han Li and glared at him with icy green eyes.
“Get lost!” Han Li fiercely shouted. In a clap of thunder, a dense bolt of golden lightning shot forward, twisting in the air to form a golden flood dragon.
“Divine Devilbane Lightning!” When Old Devil Qian saw this, he shouted with furious alarm.
The black Qi that the three incarnations released to block him had dissolved without resistance.
With the golden flood dragon now clearing the way, Han Li swept through and arrived at the other side of the barrier.
Chapter 1017: Colossal Pressure
The light barrier sensed Han Li’s approach and released a storm of silver lightning upon him.
He whistled, ordering the flood dragon to pounce forward and rupture. A net of golden lightning instantly formed and protected himself, causing each lightning bolt to disappear upon contact.
“Han Li, it’s you!”
“Elder Han?!”
When the light surrounding him faded away, Han Li became visible, provoking Old Devil Qian and the middle-aged square-faced cultivator with his appearance.
The square-faced man attracted Han Li’s attention, and he couldn't help but shoot him a glance of alarm. He wasn’t sure how he had recognized him.
Although he felt this was strange, he turned his attention back to the barrier and waved his fan, producing a phoenix cry along with a tri-colored inferno. In the blink of an eye, it burned a large hole and he slipped through it in a blur.
At that moment, he felt relieved and looked behind him.
On the other side of the barrier, he saw Grand Immortal Xu and Lin Yinping make an appearance. They had an unsightly bearing when they spotted him in return.
Han Li coldly chuckled.
With an odd tone, he said, “Since so many people have come, I’ll leave you to your own business. Keep yourselves busy.” Then with a flick of his wrist, thunder clapped and an arc of golden lightning shot out.
It made contact with the barrier and disappeared without a trace. A moment later, it struck out from the other side. Boom. The lightning struck an unremarkable stone pillar at the side of the platform.
A muffled snort sounded out in response, and the Silver-winged Nightfiend, Lion Hawk, and an ugly horned woman came into view.
“A Lion Hawk!” Grand Immortal Xu immediately recognized the beast with the most obvious characteristics and felt his heart tremble.
When Lin Yinping and the others heard him, they immediately grew alarmed and raised their guard.
“Grand Elder!” Ge Tianhao and the other two had then arrived and rejoiced upon seeing the cinque devils.
The three beasts were extremely gloomy to have been revealed, and the Nightfiend immediately recognized Han Li as the enemy that nearly took his life. He relentlessly cursed in his heart when that same person was ruining his plans. Equally so, he was puzzled on how he was able to see through their concealment.
The beasts weren’t fearful towards the cultivators, but they had been hoping that the cultivators would break through a few crucial restrictions on their behalf. Now that they were discovered, they weren’t sure what to do.
As for Grand Immortal Xu, his face fell as he found the situation difficult to deal with. When he caught sight of the other two monsters, he felt his heart quake in shock.
They were human-like, and possessed astonishing demonic Qi that was no lesser than the Lion Hawk. As he compared their strength, he inwardly cursed, not daring to take action.
Old Devil Qian and the Ye Clan Elder immediately ceased their battle upon seeing the great changes that had occurred, but the two bronze lions continued to tangle with them. Helpless, they could only keep them at bay as they vigilantly glanced at one another, slowly increasing the distance between them.
As for the others, they found themselves in an apprehensive deadlock.
Han Li paid no heed to the chaos that would ensue. He simply moved to the back in a blur. Since there was an opportunity to seize the treasure, he wasn’t about to let it go.
After making his way through an uneven path, he eventually arrived at a mountainous gate sculpted from fine jade.
The gate was quite peculiar. There were two columns of huge solitary trees lined up at their side and nothing else.
Looking past it, there lay a flawless white road that reached over three kilometers before faint glimpses of a huge palace with an imposing presence crested his sight.
“So that’s Kunwu Hall,” Han Li muttered. After a moment of hesitation, he looked around and focused his attention on the trees lined up to either side.
Each one was about a hundred meters tall. And despite their sallow and dry color, each gave an odd impression that they were brimming with life.
When he closely examined them with his spiritual sense, he wasn’t able to find anything strange. They were completely ordinary inside and out without any anomalous signatures.
Han Li unconsciously frowned and turned his attention away from them.
A short moment later, he swept his spiritual sense past the spacious gate and confirmed that there were no restrictions hidden there. Then, he set off through it, making his way towards Kunwu Hall in the distance.
But not even forty meters in, he suddenly felt an icy premonition spread throughout his body.
“Not good!” Han Li inwardly shouted. He thought to jump back, but it was already too late. He suddenly felt an enormous pressure weight down on his body and his knees buckled as he was forced to the ground.
Without another thought, he shouted and immediately covered his body in brilliant azure light, relieving him to at least straighten his back and raise himself on a single knee.
At the same moment, his body continuously trembled as cracks relentlessly sound out from his body as if his bones were on the verge of breaking.
Han Li was deeply shocked.
The protective light only blocked a small portion of the pressure. He was a bit better off than before, but it was still unbearable.
He was convinced that if he hadn’t cultivated the Brightjade Arts or swallowed the Heavenly Corpse Pearl, his bones would’ve shattered to dust, leaving him completely helpless.
A thorough examination of his surroundings left no hint of any spell formation. How was it that he fell into such a powerful restriction?
As Han Li inwardly cursed, he hastily uttered an incantation. Unable to make use of his hands, his only option was to cast techniques was by chanting.
Deafening thunder echoed through the air. In a flash of gold, a layer of lightning appeared on his body. Then, he gritted his teeth as he slowly raised himself up.
But just as he was halfway up, he felt the pressure on his body suddenly increase and was brought back down.
A variety of emotions was betrayed by his face.
...
Further down below the mountain gate, Old Devil Qian and the others had caught sight of Han Li lingering at the mountain gate in the distance, but saw nothing else.
With the temptation of treasure weighing heavy on their hearts, they no longer possessed any restraint.
“Beast, you’re courting death! I’m done with you!” Old Devil Qian furiously shouted from within the barrier.
The cinque devils then converged together into one, forming a ten-meter-tall silhouette. He then suddenly flung his arm back behind him.
In a blur, its arm turned into a python and leapt into the mouth of the bronze lion that flanked him from behind. Afterwards, the python separated from the silhouette’s body and turned into a giant ball of light, enveloping the lion entirely.
It attempted to release a pillar of light from its mouth, but its movements were completely restricted.
To the side, the square-faced cultivator pointed to the huge bone bracelet at his side.
It suddenly shined with brilli
ant light and transformed into innumerable yellow copies of itself. With the activation of a spell seal, they all blurred out from view before appearing above the bronze lion. As a result, the countless bracelets dropped down and completely restrained it, forcing it to fall to the ground.
However, he no longer focused on the puppet and sullenly turned his attention on the giant silhouette.
Old Devil Qian coldly snorted, “The Overflowing Sky Bracelet is worthy of its reputation. Rumor says it’s a replica of the ancient Shining Moon Bracelet. I’ve never had the chance to verify its power. From my observations so far, it should be no less powerful than other Divine Spirit Treasure replicas.”
The square-faced cultivator coldly laughed and glanced in the direction of the gate, “Without this bracelet protecting me, I fear you would’ve already killed me by now. However, if we continue to fight, the treasure will be taken away by that youngster who just passed us.”
“If Kunwu Hall’s restrictions were so easily destroyed, wouldn’t you have already entered? Besides, how can I chase him from here.” Old Devil Qian’s voice chilled, “More importantly, didn’t you call him Elder Han? Could he be a cultivator from your clan?”
The square-faced cultivator shifted his eyes and chuckled, “Hehe, I was mistaken. I actually don’t know him.”
Old Devil Qian grew silent for a moment as if trying to verify his words. Then, he coldly said, “Regardless, he is a foreigner from the Heavenly South. With all your schemes to open Kunwu Mountain’s Seal could it be you plan on having its treasure fall into the hands of a foreigner? Wouldn’t it be better to break the restriction together? Then we can contest the treasures in Kunwu Hall with whatever method we can muster.”
“Fine, I agree!”
Much to Old Devil Qian’s surprise, the square-faced man immediately agreed without any hesitation. Rather, it was the old devil who grew hesitant.
Chapter 1018: The Immortal Form Sect Elders
When Grand Immortal Xu heard their conversation, he callously looked at the two through the light barrier and resentfully said, “How about you deal with the monsters right in front of us first? The treasure will be a dream otherwise.”
Old Devil Qian coldly chuckled, “So you must be Brother Xu? I have no interest in risking mutual destruction before I even lay my eyes on the treasure. I reckon even if we were to join together, we would be hard pressed in the face of those three.”
“What does Brother Qian mean?” Although their factions always had good relations, Grand Immortal Xu’s expression sank.
The white silhouette indifferently continued, “Since they had remained hidden while Fellow Daoist Ye and I were in fierce combat, they should have an objective in mind. If they truly don’t mean us harm, it would be an optimal opportunity to take action.”
The Nightfiend’s eyes glinted green and he calmly said, “It’s good that you understand. Since we are no longer hidden, we may as well say that we are after a few items in Kunwu Hall. We have no intention of taking action until we gather them.”
The horned woman and the Lion Hawk silently stood at his side.
Like Old Devil Qian, Grand Immortal Xu also had no wish to stake his life for naught. With some thought, relaxed and he said, “The Saintess and I have no interest in the treasures ahead. We only care about some items that Youngster Han has on him, and we are fully driven to acquire them. Of course, if we find the Ghost Sifting Banner, we will return it to your sect.”
Ge Tianhao casually said, “In that case, we don’t need to fight here. Let’s first join forces and break the restriction, or there will be more coming. If we allow an outsider to acquire the treasure, it would make us a laughingstock.”
All those present were greatly experienced and lived for many years; none of them had any intention of letting someone play them for a fool. As such, they quickly came to a temporary agreement.
Although the truce was likely to collapse when they arrived inside Kunwu Hall, it was better than massacring each other before the treasure was even in sight.
“Since nobody has any objections, let’s begin.” Old Devil Qian let out a strange laugh and his white silhouette waved its sleeves, turning them into two huge pythons that charged straight towards the barrier.
The square-faced cultivator also pointed to the two flying swords revolving around him and had them slice through the air.
As for the three beasts and the party of cultivators outside the barrier, they exchanged a wary look before setting off on attacking the barrier.
With bright flashes and waves of demonic Qi, the sound of explosions filled the air around them.
An emerald-green figure concealed as a pillar in the stone forest muttered, “Tch tch, I didn’t expect that the fiery Old Devil Qian would join hands with the Silver-winged Nightfiend and the other beasts. When I encounter that old devil in the future, I will have to be careful so he doesn’t scheme against me.”
A green silhouette at the side snorted and bluntly said, “With your current cultivation, he has no need to scheme against you. If his Unbroken Cinque Devils were to charge at you, you’d have no way to avoid them.”
These two were the elders of the Immortal Form Sect.
“Senior Martial Sister, it’s not like I don’t have a method to deal with him,” the young woman spoke with a pout.
Lady Mu coldly laughed, “An early-Nascent Soul cultivator like you actually thinks they can ‘deal’ with a late-stage cultivator? Let alone you, even I wouldn’t be able to defend myself against him. Our sect’s abilities aren’t good for direct confrontations. But if I had a drop of his blood, I reckon I could gravely injure him with a curse.”
The young woman resentfully said, “Our sect’s secret techniques are no less inferior to the great ten. If it weren’t for the rules established by our previous generations, we could’ve greatly expanded and possibly developed a late-Nascent Soul cultivator. Then we would had nothing to fear from those like Old Devil Qian.”
Lady Mu sighed and said, “The founder of our sect was a descendant of the three masters of Kunwu. Originally, the sect was established near the seal to guard over it. But after tens of thousands of years, this matter had become forgotten. If it weren’t for that message we acquired from Elder Xiang, we wouldn’t have investigated the founding records of our sect and would remain ignorant on the matters of the seal. Neither would we have any reason to enter such a dangerous place.”
The young woman then mentioned, “Speaking of Old Devil Qian, I suppose we should pay more attention to that youth who uses Divine Devilbane Lightning. He has a fan of great power and forced even a late-Nascent Soul cultivator to withdraw. If it’s used inside the seal, its might should be even greater. It is without a doubt a replica of the illustrious Sevenflame Fan.”
“It definitely is a replica, but I can’t say if it is that of the Sevenflame Fan. His appearance is unfamiliar, but he possesses great power and the ability to use lightning movement. He is certainly unordinary. However, he doesn’t seem to be from the Great Jin, nor is he affiliated with the Ye Clan. No matter, we don’t need to pay him much heed. More importantly, Elder Xiang should’ve long entered the mountain,” Lady Mu puzzlingly said, “Why hasn’t he appeared to block them yet? Someone of his abilities should be able to easily restrain them.”
The young woman hesitantly said, “Perhaps Senior had other important areas to deal with, like the Devil Suppressing Pagoda. That place is of utmost importance.”
Lady Mu gloomily shook her head, “Impossible, the Devil Suppressing Pagoda might be the formation core of the mountain’s seal, but to reinforce it, he would first need to acquire the Dragon Call Crest from Kunwu Hall. Given how powerful Senior Xiang is, why wouldn’t he head here first?”
“Does Senior Martial Sister mean to say that something happened to Senior Xiang? With his cultivation, there couldn't be anyone in this world that could harm him. Could someone have trapped him?” The young woman’s face paled when she finished speaking.
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br /> Lady Mu’s expression shifted but she forced a smile, “That isn’t very likely. The first few restrictions were already destroyed. If he was trapped, he should’ve already been broken free. It must be that there actually is something that has delayed him from entering the mountain.”
“I hope that’s the case. Anyways, we’ll still have to follow behind these people and see if we can acquire the Dragon Call Crest first. Apart from that, only the Heavencrystal Stele would be able to strengthen the seal, but our ancestors hadn’t passed its location onto us. If we had it, we wouldn’t need to take the risk of following them.” The young woman finished her words with a trace of resentment.
“You should know that the Heavencrystal Stele was only planned as a backup. Its whereabouts were only passed down by a line of the Kunwu Elders’ descendants. In fear that something would happen to those possessing this information, they created another method to control the mountain’s seal. It was said that the stele was concealed in an unexpected place, and those who knew would be able to find it. With a hidden and open method prepared, the ancient cultivators had clearly put much effort into this restriction.”
The young woman frowned, “What were the three masters of Kunwu thinking? To leave behind such a great disaster for us... why hadn’t they beheaded this person instead of taking up such great effort to seal a spirit mountain from the mortal realm?”
Lady Mu hesitated for a moment and said, “The records also mentioned the reason for this. It seems the identity of this person was very special, involving a matter related to the higher realms. As a result, none of them dared to harm it and could only seal the mountain.”
“So it was like that. It is no wonder why their actions had been constrained. However, just how high is this person’s cultivation?” the young woman curiously inquired. “When Elder Xiang made mention, he appeared nervous. This is the only time we’ve seen that old eccentric restless in the long time that we’ve known him.”
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