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 he'd 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 Li's 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 Shui'er.
Seeing as Han Li and Shi Kun's treasures weren't 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 wasn't powerful enough to withstand the combined attacks of the Extreme Essencefused 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 wasn't immediately vanquished.
In contrast, Han Li's trio had gained a significant advantage, but they weren't able to break through the 11th restriction with immediate effect.
If they were to be delayed until all of the previous restrictions they'd destroyed fully recovered again, then they'd be in big trouble.
Han Li and Liu Shui'er 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 Shui'er's 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 net's 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 Kun's 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 Shui'er 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 Li's 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 att
empt 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 Li's 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 Li's 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 Li's sleeve, and the entire process had been extremely quick, to the extent that by the time Liu Shui'er and Shi Kun had reacted to what he was doing, the High Zenith Azure Mountain had already been secured.
Liu Shui'er 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 didn't want this treasure.
However, they didn't 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 I'm sure there are many more precious treasures down there, so you wouldn't 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 Shui'er replied as a smile appeared on her face.
Shi Kun's expression changed a few times before a wry smile appeared on his face, and he conceded, "I'm also rather interested in that treasure, but seeing as you've obtained it first, I have nothing to say."
Chapter 1705: Mountain, Palace, Stone Staircase
"Then I'll have to thank you two for your generosity," Han Li said with a smile as he cupped his fist in a salute.
"Don't mention it, Brother Han. Now that we've 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, we'll definitely be rewarded handsomely when we return to Cloud City," Liu Shui'er 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 Shui'er 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 Li's 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 couldn't 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 Li's attention most was a mountain that was several thousand feet tall situated close to the platform.
The mountain wasn't 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 Shui'er and Shi Kun were standing there motionlessly, and both of them also seemed to be carefully appraising the purple palace in the distance.
Han Li's 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, he'd 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 he'd conjured up.
At this moment, Shi Kun turned around with a wry smile, and said, "I see you've 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 won't 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 c
ame into contact with the ground, the yellow bands of light around his body abruptly disappeared.
"Even with Fellow Daoist Shi's 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 Shui'er said without even turning her head.
She was still appraising the palace in the distance intently.
A slightly grim expression appeared on Han Li's 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 Shui'er 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 they're just restrictions like flight restrictions, then they shouldn't 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 can't make assumptions based on our own judgments," Liu Shui'er replied with a faint sigh.
"But if you just stand here and look at the palace from afar, there's no way that you'll 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, "You're right, Brother Han. There are still Jiao Chi beings not too far away from us, so we shouldn't delay for much longer here."
Liu Shui'er's expression changed slightly before she also made up her mind, and she said, "In that case, I have no objections, either. Let's 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.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 977