Thus, the miniature black mountain was freed, and it flew away as a streak of azure light again before disappearing into the azure light barrier after just a few flashes. The azure threads also abruptly disappeared as if they had never even appeared in the first place. "You certainly do have some tricks up your sleeve; no wonder you have the courage to face me in direct battle!" The elderly man didn't seem to have been irked by this development, but his voice was quite heavy and grim.
Almost at the exact same moment, the lava down below parted, and the elderly man slowly emerged from within. His body was flashing with red light, and he only stopped after rising up over 100 feet into the air.
He wore a cautious look on his face as he swept his gaze around him.
"This is a sword formation!" The elderly man's expression changed as he instantly identified the situation that he was in.
However, in the instant that the elderly man revealed himself, the azure lotus flowers around him began to shimmer with brilliant light, following which countless lotus petals shot forth. As these flower petals flew through the air, they instantly transformed into azure blades of wind that surged toward the elderly man from all directions.
The elderly man's expression darkened, and the red light emanating from his body abruptly swelled to form a crimson light barrier that shielded himself within. A string of spluttering sounds rang out as the blades of wind disappeared into the red light like moths diving into a flame. However, in the next instant, they were all reduced to balls of fire that incinerated them into nothingness.
This high-grade Jiao Chi being's fire-attribute cultivation arts were clearly extremely powerful to be able to ignite and incinerate even attacks manifested from wind.
However, seeing as the elderly man had already been trapped in his sword formation, that was certainly not going to be the extent of the attacks that Han Li had prepared for him.
In the instant that the blades of wind were proven to be ineffective, brilliant azure light flashed high up in the air above, following which a series of massive azure logs that were as thick as a water tank came crashing down from above. Upon closer inspection, one would discover that the logs were extremely dense and seemingly immensely heavy. However, the elderly man merely gave a cold chuckle as he swept a sleeve upward, sending the red light around his body hurtling toward the oncoming logs.
After coming into contact with the red light, the massive azure logs were all quickly reduced to plumes of smoke and ashes.
"Save your energy, brat! If your sword formation were of some other attribute, perhaps you'd be able to cause some trouble for me, but pure wood-attribute sword formations are completely ineffective against me; I can destroy this formation with ease!"
The elderly man suddenly let loose a loud cry as he abruptly made a hand seal. The red light around his body swayed, and pillars of crimson light suddenly shot forth in all directions, striking the azure light barrier in a flash. A scorching aura immediately permeated throughout the entire space that was enshrouded under the barrier of light. A triumphant look appeared on the elderly man's face.
In his mind, his powerful fire-attribute cultivation arts would be able to destroy this wood-attribute sword formation with ease. After that, he could press his cultivation base advantage to kill this unexpectedly troublesome opponent.
A string of dull thumps rang out, and just as the elderly man had expected, massive holes were punctured into the light barrier with ease.
Just as the azure lotus flowers around him were about to dissipate, his surroundings suddenly blurred, and the azure lotus flowers abruptly disappeared along with the light barrier. In the next instant, he found himself in a completely unfamiliar place with massive trees that were several hundred feet tall all around him. "An illusionary technique!" Despite the elderly man's vast reserves of battle experience, he was truly astonished on this occasion.
Illusionary techniques weren't all that uncommon in other formations and restrictions, but they were very rare in sword formations, which predominantly pursued maximal destructive power. At the very least, this was the first time that the elderly man had seen a sword formation with an accompanying illusionary technique.
However, the elderly man quickly recomposed himself before making a hand seal, upon which red light flashed from his body, and a pillar of crimson flames rose directly up into the air. He then opened his mouth to expel a white talisman, and the talisman disappeared in a flash before forming a gust of white gale-force winds that disappeared into the pillar of flames.
Having been fanned by the fierce winds, the pillar of fire that was only around 10 feet in thickness originally rapidly swelled to over 100 feet thick, creating a very formidable sight to behold.
The elderly man was situated at the very center of the pillar of flames, and he suddenly sat down with his legs crossed. At the same time, red light flashed above his head, and a massive projection of a sinister-looking beast that was entirely covered in crimson scales appeared.
In the instant that the projection appeared, all of the world's origin Qi in the nearby area was drawn to the elderly man at once. Pea-sized balls of five-colored light began to surface from the mountains, forests, and plants within a radius of several tens of kilometers. All of them surged toward the sword formation in a frenzy, as if they had been summoned there by something.
Countless specks of light came raining down from above, only to be instantly kept out by the streaks of azure sword Qi that erupted from the sword formation.
These specks of light exploded as they clashed with the sword Qi to form clouds of five-colored mist, but there were simply far too many specks of light to contend with!
Within moments, the mist that resulted from the explosion of these specks of light had become as viscous as liquid, thereby significantly slowing down the streaks of sword Qi and making them a lot more sluggish.
Almost at the exact same moment, the elderly man unleashed a massive pillar of fire that also began to wreak havoc within the sword formation. The countless massive logs raining down from above were reduced to smoke and ashes without being able to offer up any resistance.
These logs were only projections, but they had manifested from the pure wood-attribute spiritual power within the flying swords.
Regardless of whether these logs were real or not, there was no way that they'd be able to withstand such fierce fire-attribute attacks. All of a sudden, the surroundings blurred around the elderly man, and he reappeared in the real world.
Chapter 1573: Chaotic Heavenly Pouch and the Gourd
Han Li was hidden within the sword formation, and his heart sank slightly upon seeing this.
As expected of a Body Integration Stage being; even when trapped within a sword formation, he was still able to draw upon so much of the world's origin Qi to exert pressure on the sword formation.
However, this was also due to the large disparity between their cultivation bases.
Otherwise, if Han Li were also at the Body Integration Stage, he would've been able to easily scatter the world's origin Qi gathered toward the sword formation.
After all, it was far easier to scatter the world's origin Qi than to summon it.
This was also why beings above the Spatial Tempering Stage very rarely drew upon the world's origin Qi to directly attack their opponents. Even if they were to attempt that, it would be quite an arduous process, and if the opponent were of a similar cultivation base, they could easily wrest control over some of the world's origin Qi that had been summoned.
Thus, the only scenarios during which the world's origin Qi would be summoned during battle would be if someone wanted to unleash some kind of powerful ability, or they'd run out of magic power, thereby forcing them to explore alternative power sources.
Under such circumstances, it would be best to have a helper who could unleash an ability or had mastered a certain cultivation art that could allow them to summon the world's origin Qi; that would make the world's origin Qi more difficult for
others to plunder.
However, this was, overall, an extremely inefficient and risky course of action to be taken during battle, and the elderly man was only able to do so with such reckless abandon due to the fact that Han Li's cultivation base was far inferior to his.
Thus, Han Li was naturally quite frustrated by this development.
However, Qing Yuanzi had been able to combat Body Integration Stage beings at just the Spatial Tempering Stage, so he'd naturally prepared a countermeasure against attacks from the world's origin Qi.
Han Li exhaled as he rapidly flicked his 10 fingers through the air, sending one incantation seal after another surging into the sword formation in a frenzy.
Due to the compression from the world's origin Qi from the outside and the pillar of flames from the inside, the azure light barrier was flashing erratically, and the streaks of sword Qi that were embroiled within the dense five-colored mist also disappeared in unison.
Immediately thereafter, the barrier of light swelled and shrank, following which the azure lotus flowers within suddenly spread their petals before rotating on the spot in a frenzy.
One shimmering azure vortex after another surfaced on the light barrier in the blink of an eye.
The viscous mist of the world's origin Qi was sucked into these vortexes at a rapid rate, and around a tenth of it was absorbed by the sword formation in the blink of an eye.
Thus, the wavering sword formation instantly became very stable again.
The elderly man within the sword formation was manipulating the pillar of flames to wreak havoc within the formation, and he naturally immediately sensed what was happening to the world's origin Qi outside.
His heart jolted with shock, clearly not having expected this sword formation to possess such a profound ability.
If things were to continue like this, the world's origin Qi that he'd gathered would only be working to fortify the sword formation!
In a fit of shock and rage, the elderly man immediately let loose a loud cry, and the sword formation began to tremor as all of the world's origin Qi gathered outside was dispersed by gusts of fierce winds amid a string of rumbling booms.
Even so, with the world's origin Qi that the sword formation had already absorbed, it had become far more robust and stable than before.
Thus, the world's origin Qi that he'd summoned had presented itself to his opponent on a silver platter. If word of this were to spread, he's become the laughing stock of all of his brethren!
At the height of his fury, the elderly man chuckled coldly as he laid a hand onto the top of his own head. Immediately thereafter, a streak of light shot forth from his head before forming a massive projection with a set of blurry facial features.
Before Han Li had a chance to glean the true appearance of the projection, it surged toward the elderly man before disappearing into his body.
The elderly man instantly threw his head back and let loose a long cry while his face took on a sinister and menacing appearance. His body also swelled to 60 to 70 feet tall, and the small red horn on his glabella had elongated to around half a foot in length, which crimson scales surfaced all over his body.
In the blink of an eye, the elderly man had become a fearsome devilish creature.
A sinister smile appeared on his face as he flipped both of his hands over at once.
In one hand, a faint golden flag appeared, over which a cloud of fiery mist was swirling incessantly.
Meanwhile, a strange blue pouch appeared in his other hand.
Both of them were tossed into the air without any hesitation, following which the elderly man began to chant something in a language that was completely foreign to Han Li.
The flag waved itself through the air, and bursts of faint golden flames erupted from it. At the same time, the pouch bulged before expelling a burst of blue winds.
Simultaneously, the elderly man opened his mouth to blast forth a fiery cloud that was as crimson as blood.
The three then combined with the pillar of flames that was wreaking havoc within the sword formation.
Red, blue, and golden light intertwined in an instant before forming a three-colored pillar of light. An earthshattering boom erupted within the sword formation, and Han Li knew that he couldn't stand by idly any longer.
As such, he activated one powerful illusionary technique after another within the Spring Dawn Sword Formation, but everything that was manifested as part of those illusions were instantly destroyed by the three-colored pillar of light.
The Spring Dawn Sword Formation was completely unable to withstand such an assault, and the azure light barrier immediately began to flash erratically once again.
Han Li drew a sharp breath upon seeing this.
Half of his astonishment naturally arose from the immense power of the three-colored pillar of light, but the other half could be attributed to the blue pouch that the elderly man had produced following his transformation.
That treasure was extremely familiar to him; it seemed to be a spirit treasure known as the Chaotic Heavenly Pouch, and it was listed on the Chaotic Myriad Spirit Roll. This spirit treasure was only a mid-range treasure among those on the Chaotic Myriad Spirit Roll, but it possessed a few incredible abilities that other treasures didn't possess, thereby earning it quite a reputation.
Many years ago, the treasure had once belonged to a powerful being from the human race. However, that human later perished under unforeseen circumstances, and the spirit treasure disappeared as a result. In order to recover the treasure, many high-grade cultivators had searched through the human and demon territories, all to no avail, so how had it ended up in the hands of a Jiao Chi being on the Thunder Continent?
This treasure was most definitely bad news for Han Li, and his mind raced for a way to counteract it. All of a sudden, a slightly bewildered look appeared on his face.
According to the legends, the Chaotic Heavenly Pouch definitely possessed far more powerful abilities than what was being displayed within the sword formation. Could it be that this was only a replica? Or perhaps he'd wrongly identified it when it was actually some other kind of similar treasure?
Han Li was unable to verify which notion was correct, but this was not something that he could carefully ponder under his present circumstances.
The sword formation was about to fall, and Han Li's eyes narrowed as a cold light flashed through them.
The legends about Qing Yuanzi using this sword formation to combat Body Integration Stage beings were most likely true, but this was likely due to the fact that Qing Yuanzi had also mastered the final few layers of the Azure Essence Sword Art, thereby allowing him to unleash the full power of the sword formation.
He also had a set of refined Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords, but the cultivation arts he was using weren't prepared for this sword formation, so he was unable to unleash the trump card abilities that the sword formation possessed.
This was why the sword formation appeared to be so inept in the face of the elderly man's attacks.
However, after absorbing so much of the world's origin Qi, there seemed to be a type of powerful ability that Han Li could just barely unleash with the sword formation.
Han Li's eyes flashed as a thought occurred to him.
This ability was indeed very powerful, but regardless of whether it proved to be effective or not, the sword formation itself would most likely instantly crumble following the event.
However, Han Li had no choice but to give it a try under such circumstances.
If the ability did indeed prove to be ineffective, then he'd have to use his 12 Awakening Transformations to engage his opponent in battle. In a worst-case scenario, he still had several types of talismans and his Gold Devouring Beetles as trump cards.
Thus, Han Li remained quite calm throughout this battle against this early-Body Integration Stage being.
In the next instant, Han Li began to chant something, and an incredible scene ensued within the sword formation.
The azure light barrier in the air above suddenly blurred, following which a vine-like plant emerged before plunging into the light barrier.
When it first appeared, it was only several inches in size, but it grew at a rapid rate that was discernible to the naked eye, swelling to several tens of feet in length in mere moments.
The vine then immediately began to flower and bear fruit, forming a small green gourd right before the elderly man's astonished eyes.
The gourd was only around the size of a human hand, and appeared to be completely mundane.
However, in the next instant, the azure lotus flowers within the light barrier tremored in unison, and countless inch-long sword projections shot forth before disappearing into the gourd.
Immediately thereafter, an azure sword insignia appeared on the surface of the gourd. The insignia was barely visible initially, but as vast amounts of five-colored light injected itself into the gourd along the vine, the insignia suddenly became extremely clear and began flashing with five-colored light.
The elderly man didn't know what kind of ability this was, but he was naturally quite unsettled by the scenes unfolding before his eyes.
Thus, he instantly made a grabbing motion toward the gourd, and the pillar of three-colored light within the sword formation transformed into a massive three-colored hand before flying toward the gourd with devastating might.
If the gourd were indeed only an ordinary gourd, then the fearsome three-colored hand wouldn't even have to come into contact with it before the entire vine would be reduced to nothingness.
Right in this instant, Han Li suddenly uttered the word "slash" in an indifferent manner from his vantage point in the air above.
The gourd rotated on the spot as light surged around it, following which a sword of light that was around a foot in length shot forth in a flash.
The sword was flashing erratically with five-colored spiritual light, and runes of different sizes were hovering around it.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 892