Just as the treasures were about to be taken, a flash of green light erupted beneath the woman’s feet, and several long green snakes suddenly shot out from the ground. With lightning speed, they coiled around her like a tightly wrapped dumpling, and the snake heads struck with terrifying swiftness, biting down mercilessly.
With a series of *thuds*, an unknown spiritual artifact on the woman’s body activated on its own, summoning a white barrier without any visible incantation. The green snakes were repelled and revealed their true forms—several verdant vines.
Now, Wood Madame found herself as shocked and furious as Han Li.
She never expected someone else to be lurking behind her. Had all her efforts—trapping Han Li and using her artifact to dispel the protective barrier on the altar—been for nothing, merely paving the way for another? Who was this ambusher, and how had they followed the Moonlight Shuttle undetected?
After all, her own stealthy infiltration had relied entirely on the silver token left behind by the Kunwu Three Elders. That token allowed temporary control over some of the hall’s restrictions, enabling her to outpace other cultivators underground with the Moonlight Shuttle.
A grating, eerie laugh suddenly echoed, and a tall green figure silently emerged from the ground nearby. Its cold, emerald eyes swept over Wood Madame, sending a chill down her spine.
But when she focused and saw the figure clearly, her expression twisted in horror. “Wood Demon! How does such a monster still exist in the human realm?”
At first glance, the green figure had limbs and a head, resembling a human, but its face and body were covered in bark-like patches, making it more akin to a walking, grotesque tree.
Hearing Wood Madame’s exclamation, the Wood Demon’s eyes flickered with mockery before it completely ignored her. Instead, it transformed into a streak of green light and lunged toward the altar, intent on seizing the treasures.
Wood Madame’s heart sank. Even if she could free herself now, she would never make it in time to stop the creature.
Yet, an unbelievable scene unfolded.
Before the Wood Demon’s green light could reach the altar, the shattered remnants of the *Three Sages Gazing at the Moon* painting—destroyed earlier by Han Li—suddenly emitted countless specks of spiritual light, releasing three radiant beams of yellow, white, and red.
The beams swirled together and, with a single sweep, hurled the green light away like a ball, sending it flying dozens of feet.
The green light dimmed, revealing the staggering form of the Wood Demon. The towering monster spun uncontrollably in place several times before barely steadying itself. When it raised its head, its emerald eyes were filled with indescribable terror.
Meanwhile, the three beams of light circled above the altar before condensing into three indistinct, foot-tall figures—vaguely resembling the Daoist, Confucian scholar, and monk from the painting. Their six lifeless eyes locked onto the distant Wood Demon, staring as if at a dead man.
“The Kunwu Three Elders!” the Wood Demon shrieked in abject horror. Without hesitation, it transformed into a green streak and shot toward the Northern Extreme Aurora, not daring to look back.
But the three small figures silently extended their hands toward the small sword, the demon-subduing staff, and the scroll on the altar.
The three treasures trembled and hummed before leaping into the air. In a flash, they transformed into purple, yellow, and red streaks of light, vanishing instantly. The next moment, they reappeared behind the Wood Demon just as it was about to plunge into the silver threads of the Northern Extreme Aurora. Converging into one, they struck with devastating force.
The Wood Demon had no chance to evade.
A deafening explosion erupted as the three-colored radiance detonated, engulfing the green light in an instant. The blinding brilliance was like a scorching sun, impossible to gaze upon directly. When the light faded, only the three floating treasures remained—the Wood Demon, body and soul, had been utterly annihilated.
Simultaneously, the lowest of the four bloodwood tablets on the altar spontaneously combusted, turning to ashes in moments.
The three treasures, having slain the monster, immediately flew back to their original positions on the altar. The three figures above them blurred and dissipated without uttering a single word.
These small figures were merely strands of divine will left behind by the Kunwu Three Elders within the painting—a final safeguard to prevent the treasures from falling into the hands of evil.
The Wood Demon, cunning and formidable, was a monster even more powerful than the Silver-Winged Night Yaksha. Yet, it had met its end in a single strike from these divine remnants—a stroke of extreme misfortune.
Wood Madame, initially shocked, now felt a surge of joy. The vines binding her, which had been as hard as iron, instantly withered into ordinary tendrils. A burst of white spiritual fire reduced them to nothing.
Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she was about to act when a muffled *thud* sounded behind her, followed immediately by a thunderous crack.
“Senior Sister, be careful!” the beautiful female cultivator cried out in alarm.
Wood Madame’s heart clenched. Without hesitation, she raised her jade-like hand and made a grasping motion toward the altar. Instantly, all the treasures trembled and rose into the air, flying toward her.
But in that same instant, a bolt of lightning split the air above the altar, and a figure materialized within the electric glow—Han Li, who had just broken free from the giant silk and used his Wind Thunder Wings to teleport here. He, too, reached out to seize the treasures.
The artifacts, already en route to Wood Madame, halted midair before reversing direction and hurtling toward Han Li.
Wood Madame, furious and alarmed, spat out several silver needles that shot toward Han Li with a piercing whistle. Simultaneously, she flicked her sleeves, releasing a wave of red mist to intercept the treasures.
Han Li’s expression darkened. He spat out a white crystalline orb—the Snow Crystal Pearl—to block the needles. With one hand, he summoned a giant azure hand above the treasures to snatch them, while his other hand produced an ancient feather fan.
Without hesitation, he swung the fan toward Wood Madame with a vicious glare.
Having been ambushed by the woman in the giant shuttle and then trapped by Wood Madame’s artifact, Han Li was seething with rage. Now, at this critical moment, he did not hold back—he unleashed the full power of the Three Flames Fan.
The silver needles were blocked by the Snow Crystal Pearl, and the azure hand was entangled by Wood Madame’s red mist, unable to descend. But as the Three Flames Fan trembled, a torrent of golden-red flames surged forth.
Wood Madame’s face paled. Having witnessed the fan’s terrifying power before, she knew she couldn’t withstand it. With no choice, she abandoned the treasures and leaped backward.
The three-colored flames missed her but exploded midair, releasing a shockwave of spiritual pressure that forced even Han Li back several steps. The treasures, caught at the edge of the blast, were freed from both Han Li’s azure hand and Wood Madame’s red mist, tumbling toward the ground.
Han Li, overjoyed, was about to act when three streaks of light shot out from the Northern Extreme Aurora—a blood-red shadow, a silver glow, and a purple mist. Each seemed to possess some bizarre movement technique, vanishing or transforming into a gust of wind.
Realizing the danger, Han Li reacted faster than them. With a thunderous crack, he teleported above the falling treasures—but only a fraction of a second ahead. The other three figures materialized almost simultaneously, attacking each other while reaching for the artifacts.
The nearest to Han Li were an unknown wooden tablet and the crimson-glowing scroll. Without hesitation, he transformed into a streak of azure light, sweeping both into his grasp. As he reached for the nearby demon-subduing staff, a barrage of blood-red beams and golden sound waves crashed down from above.
Forced to retreat, Han Li could only watch as the staff was snatched by the blood-red shadow.
The purple mist and silver glow ignored the other treasures, frantically enveloping the remaining two wooden tablets as if fearing they’d be stolen.
Han Li was momentarily stunned. Meanwhile, the blood-red shadow lunged for the jade-green seal-like artifact.
“Stop! You cannot take the Dragon Transformation Seal!” a woman’s voice cried out urgently. A milky-white jade ruler materialized above the blood-red shadow and struck down mercilessly.
The ruler was bizarre—before it even landed, Buddhist chants echoed from it, and countless white lotus flowers bloomed in the air, each the size of a bowl. Their petals shimmered with seven-colored Buddhist light, enveloping not just the blood-red shadow but also the silver glow and purple mist.
Han Li, having retreated earlier, was just outside the ruler’s range.
To his astonishment, all the white lotuses exploded at the woman’s command, merging into a colossal seven-colored lotus that unfurled petal by petal. Sacred Buddhist scriptures emerged from each petal, and the chanting grew as loud as thunder, resonating throughout the hall.
Trapped within the radiant lotus, the blood-red shadow, silver glow, and purple mist—along with the figures inside—could no longer stand steadily, swaying as if drunk. They had no chance to seize any treasures now.
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