The man with the upturned eyebrows and the golden-robed fatty were naturally taken aback by Han Li’s actions. After exchanging a few words via voice transmission, they immediately stopped speaking and moved to another corner, sitting cross-legged as well.
Their reasoning was quite simple. Since they had no confidence in capturing Han Li, and the latter showed no immediate intention of barging into the light gate, they decided to adopt a wait-and-see approach, leaving this troublesome matter for their elders to handle. This way, they could avoid inviting unnecessary trouble and truly getting burned.
Thus, the entire space fell into complete silence. The three either closed their eyes to rest or silently stared at the light gate.
Little did the man with the upturned eyebrows and his companion know that Han Li was inwardly sighing in frustration at this moment.
His earlier claims about sound transmission talismans and restrictions were nothing but empty words.
Originally, his plan had been to take advantage of the situation if these people were indeed here to retrieve treasures, relying on the power of the Taiyi Transformation Talisman to fish in troubled waters unnoticed. If any of them possessed extraordinary cultivation or abilities, he would simply monitor them covertly.
However, he never expected that as soon as he approached this place, he would be swept up by the strange radiance, inexplicably drawn into this space, and even the concealment ability of his talisman was unexpectedly dispelled.
Thus, he had no choice but to confront these cultivators directly.
Fortunately, he had already considered several methods to make them hesitate. Left with no alternative, he had to reveal one of them in advance to intimidate the man with the upturned eyebrows and the golden-robed fatty.
Of course, this wasn’t because Han Li believed he couldn’t defeat these two.
Although the man with the upturned eyebrows was at the mid-Nascent Soul stage and the golden-robed fatty at the late-Nascent Soul stage, with his current heaven-defying abilities and arsenal of techniques, he was at least eighty percent confident he could kill both of them on the spot if he went all out.
Killing them would be simple, but the consequences of acting rashly would likely earn him the enmity of the two Void Refinement-stage cultivators inside the light gate.
Although he had no goodwill toward these intruders, he had no desire to make two powerful enemies either.
Moreover, even if he could easily kill the man with the upturned eyebrows and the golden-robed fatty, being trapped in this mysterious space and potentially unable to leave in time—only to be caught by the two Void Refinement cultivators upon their exit—would spell disaster for him.
Given this, it was better to first search covertly for a way out. Once he secured a safe retreat, he could decide his next steps at leisure.
Having settled on this plan, Han Li closed his eyes but sent out strands of his powerful spiritual sense in all directions.
Naturally, the golden-robed fatty and his companion couldn’t fail to notice Han Li’s brazen probing. However, far from stopping him, they inwardly sneered.
As soon as one of Han Li’s spiritual sense strands touched the seven-colored radiance on a barrier wall, it vanished without a trace, as if swallowed by mud. Instead, a powerful suction force emerged, shaking even the spiritual sense within Han Li’s body and nearly pulling it out entirely.
Startled, Han Li quickly circulated the Great Development Art to neutralize the suction. Nonetheless, he opened his eyes and stared at the radiant barrier walls, his expression flickering between gloom and uncertainty.
He couldn’t help but notice the faint traces of schadenfreude on the faces of the man with the upturned eyebrows and the golden-robed fatty.
It seemed these two were well aware of the peculiarities of the spatial barriers here and had deliberately let him walk into a trap.
Though inwardly annoyed, Han Li maintained a calm exterior and began considering other strategies.
It was a pity that the replica spatial treasure, the “Red Soul Banner,” he had crafted earlier had been destroyed by spatial storms at the spatial node. Otherwise, it would have been highly effective in breaking through spatial barriers.
Aside from the Red Soul Banner, the Annihilation Eye was also highly effective at tearing through space. However, given the mysterious nature of this place, it was uncertain whether the Annihilation Eye could achieve the desired effect in a single strike.
Han Li’s thoughts raced like lightning. Moments later, he formulated another plan.
If spiritual sense couldn’t penetrate the barriers, he would try the Brightsight Spirit Eyes to see if they could reveal an exit.
He immediately channeled spiritual power into his eyes, causing blue light to flash deep within his pupils…
A full day and night passed. Han Li, seated in a corner of the space, had closed his eyes again, appearing to be in deep meditation.
It seemed his earlier probing had failed to yield a safe escape route.
Meanwhile, the seven light clusters in the air remained unchanged, with no activity from the light gates.
The man with the upturned eyebrows and the golden-robed fatty, however, were now staring fixedly at the sky, their expressions growing increasingly grim. Of course, they occasionally cast wary glances toward Han Li.
“Such a long time has passed, and the two seniors still haven’t emerged. Could they have encountered trouble inside?” Han Li’s eyes remained closed, but he suddenly spoke these words.
“Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Han. If anything had happened to our masters, we would have received word. What’s the matter? After waiting two days, have you grown impatient?” The man with the upturned eyebrows was startled by Han Li’s sudden words but responded defiantly.
“As long as the two seniors are safe, I can wait a little longer—”
Han Li smiled and was about to say more when the seven milky-white light clusters suddenly emitted a buzzing sound, releasing astonishing spiritual pressure and glowing brightly.
This development shocked not only the man with the upturned eyebrows and the golden-robed fatty but also caused Han Li to open his eyes and narrow them as he looked upward.
But this was only the beginning of the anomaly!
As the buzzing grew louder, the seven light clusters expanded wildly while rotating. In the blink of an eye, they swelled from the size of human heads to the size of wagon wheels, pulsating and flickering erratically.
Around the seven light clusters, ripples of spatial distortion suddenly appeared, sweeping directly over the central light gate.
In an instant, the light gate twisted violently as if crushed by an invisible force.
“Not good!” The golden-robed fatty’s face paled as he shouted, leaping to his feet.
The man with the upturned eyebrows was equally horrified.
Han Li’s expression also darkened.
At this moment, not only were the light clusters in the air undergoing these changes, but the ground and the surrounding barrier walls were also trembling slightly. The seven-colored radiance even showed signs of dispersing and dissolving.
This was unmistakably a sign that the entire space was on the verge of collapse.
With his life at stake, Han Li wasted no time. He stood up and touched his head, causing layers of grayish light to emerge from the back of his skull.
With a flip of his hand, three golden orbs appeared in his palm—the three Thunder Pattern Orbs he had recently refined.
Meanwhile, the man with the upturned eyebrows and the golden-robed fatty had also summoned several treasures. However, having witnessed the mysteries of this space, they had little confidence in breaking through the spatial barriers to escape, and their faces were filled with panic.
Han Li naturally paid no heed to their plight. Taking a deep breath, he prepared to activate the Annihilation Eye between his brows, combining it with the power of the Magnetic Divine Light and the Thunder Pattern Orbs to tear through space and escape.
But just then, a deafening roar erupted from the light gate in the air.
Startled, Han Li paused his actions.
The next moment, a dazzling green light and a golden streak shot out from the light gate amid the seven-colored radiance.
The two streaks of light circled the air like rainbows before dissipating, revealing a small emerald flood dragon and a golden figure about a foot tall.
The emerald flood dragon had one of its horns broken and was missing several scales, while the golden figure’s hair was disheveled, and a large portion of its golden robe was torn away.
Both appeared utterly disheveled.
“Run! This isn’t the resting place of Thousand Treasures Sage at all—it’s a prison for a ‘Jade Bone Demon.’ We triggered an ancient restriction, and the demon has broken free. The space is about to collapse! Huh? Who are you?” The golden figure shouted frantically before noticing Han Li, who was enveloped in a gray halo, and stared in astonishment.
“Grandfather, he’s that Han kid, he—” The golden-robed fatty, overjoyed at their appearance, quickly transmitted a few words to the emerald flood dragon and the golden figure, briefly explaining Han Li’s background.
“The owner of this spiritual land!” The emerald flood dragon’s eyes flashed with a fierce glint, and a hint of killing intent surfaced.
“Brother Ming, what are you thinking? We’re barely escaping with our lives—this is no time for distractions! If our avatars perish here, it’ll be a total loss. Besides, don’t forget he’s an ascended cultivator. I have no interest in provoking those lunatics.” Though equally surprised, the golden figure immediately transmitted his thoughts to the flood dragon.
“Fine. Let’s work together to escape first. As long as we don’t act directly, even if Zhao Wugui and the others come knocking, I won’t fear them. Once the space collapses, let this brat and the Jade Bone Demon perish together. It’s a pity we’re only avatars here—otherwise, we wouldn’t have to fear this demon. Let’s go.” After a brief hesitation, the emerald flood dragon suppressed its murderous intent and spoke sensibly.
“Good. Hurry—this space won’t hold much longer!”
Relieved, the golden figure had no intention of letting his tribulation-division soul perish here. He formed hand seals and chanted incantations, causing the wooden sword on his back to tremble and rise into the air, transforming into a massive glowing sword over ten feet long.
Meanwhile, the emerald flood dragon let out a draconic roar, its body twisting amid wind and thunder as it transformed into a colossal green flood dragon over a hundred feet long. A single twisted green horn adorned its head, crackling with purple lightning, exuding an awe-inspiring aura.
Though Han Li didn’t know what they had discussed, the sight of the giant sword and the flood dragon’s terrifying display sent a chill down his spine.
By now, the radiant light on the spatial barriers had completely dissipated, and the barrier surfaces were vibrating intensely, twisted to their limits.
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