Meanwhile, the other foreign cultivators preparing to enter the Cold Moon Realm were either scrutinizing the massive formation or staring unblinkingly at the Cold Moon Instrument, their expressions uniformly grave.
Though the Cold Moon Realm was indeed a mystical place for breaking through bottlenecks, many who had entered in previous cycles had perished within. Those individuals were likely no less talented or formidable than themselves.
This realization naturally left these foreign cultivators feeling uneasy as they too stepped into this realm.
Han Li stood calmly in a corner, neither examining the formation nor paying attention to the Cold Moon Instrument. Instead, he gazed upward at the blazing suns in the sky, his eyes narrowed and unmoving.
Time passed slowly, and after an indeterminate period, a sudden dragon’s roar erupted from the plaza, soaring into the heavens.
Han Li’s expression flickered, and he immediately lowered his head to scan the plaza.
The Cold Moon Instrument now glowed faintly, its surface adorned with over a dozen dragon heads that had all opened their eyes, shimmering with crimson-gold light as they raised their necks and let out resonant cries.
Everyone beneath the five-colored light barrier—whether armored guards or other foreign beings—witnessed this spectacle and fell into a hushed silence.
“The Cold Moon Realm has opened. Activate the formation and open the passage,” a cold voice suddenly rang out from the hall, icy and piercing—the unmistakable tone of the young man surnamed Weng.
At this command, the people in the plaza tensed. The foreign cultivators stationed within the formation, who had long been prepared, simultaneously activated their formation flags and plates.
Countless multicolored incantations flew from their artifacts, vanishing into the formation.
The two formations buzzed loudly, their spirit stones flashing wildly as they emitted an astonishing aura.
As if influenced by the formation’s power, the sky beneath the five-colored light barrier darkened abruptly, and vast swathes of black clouds materialized out of thin air, completely obscuring the heavens.
A fierce gale arose, and silver serpents of lightning flickered within the clouds, accompanied by thunderclaps. Black vortices of varying sizes formed abruptly, devouring and tearing at one another.
For a moment, the celestial phenomena were terrifyingly intense!
The light sphere enveloped in five-colored radiance between the formation and the sky now shattered inch by inch, revealing a gleaming gold-and-silver token within.
“Fellow Daoists Han and Yue, lead your people into the formation and activate the Cold Moon Tokens,” Qian Jizi shouted without hesitation upon seeing this.
Han Li and the woman surnamed Yue dared not delay, immediately striding toward their respective formations. The others also tensed and followed closely behind.
Meanwhile, the foreign cultivators who had been activating the formation artifacts retreated from the formation, though their incantations continued to pour from the flags and plates without pause.
As soon as Han Li stepped into the formation’s glow, he felt a tremor in his heart—his connection to the Cold Moon Token in the sky had intensified severalfold.
The already flickering token now emitted a low hum, as if rejoicing at Han Li’s arrival.
Qian Jizi had long since instructed him on how to activate the artifact.
Upon reaching the center of the formation, Han Li swiftly formed hand seals, his fingers moving like a spinning wheel as incantations shot forth, landing on the token in the sky after a few flashes.
Instantly, the Cold Moon Token erupted in gold-and-silver radiance, releasing countless runes that swirled around it, forming a runic array about ten feet in diameter, with the token at its center.
Han Li took a deep breath, ceased his hand seals, and solemnly pointed a finger toward the sky.
With a sharp *whoosh*, a cyan beam shot forth, striking the token.
The token emitted an eerie hum, and the entire runic array began to tremble. As the gold-and-silver light intensified, the array slowly rotated and released a pillar of light as thick as a water vat.
The pillar soared into the sky, vanishing into one of the black vortices without pause.
A thunderous roar echoed from above as the vortex engulfed by the light seemed stirred by some immense force, its black energy churning and expanding violently. Nearby vortices were torn apart and absorbed, further enlarging it.
In mere moments, all other vortices in the sky had vanished, leaving only two colossal entities, each over a mile wide, spewing thick black mist.
Then, with a thunderous crack, the token in the runic array transformed into a gold-and-silver lightning bolt and disappeared, only to reappear at the center of one of the vortices.
A deafening explosion followed as the gold-and-silver lightning erupted like a rising sun, forming a halo that plunged deep into the vortex.
A spatial fluctuation capable of annihilating heaven and earth surged from the black vortex.
The vortex and its black mist dissipated instantly, revealing a gold-and-silver fissure in the void—about seventy to eighty feet long—that hung motionless as if painted onto the sky.
At this moment, Han Li felt his spiritual sense being violently drained by the fissure, rapidly depleting.
His expression changed drastically, and he immediately barked, “What are you waiting for? Now! I can’t hold this for long!”
At his words, the foreign cultivators around the formation tossed their artifacts into the air, chanting incantations.
The artifacts transformed into glowing orbs that rained down into the formation, which erupted in dazzling radiance as massive runes emerged throughout.
As the chants grew louder, the runes spun faster and faster, eventually coalescing into a five-colored mist that enveloped Han Li and the others before shooting skyward into the gold-and-silver fissure.
On the other side, the woman surnamed Yue and her group similarly vanished into another fissure.
Almost as soon as the two groups disappeared, the spatial fissures vanished without a trace, and the sky returned to normal.
Qian Jizi and the others, who had observed the entire process from the hall, finally exhaled in relief.
But then, the young man surnamed Weng’s cold voice rang out again: “The Cold Moon Realm will reopen in one year. Reactivate the formation then to retrieve them. Until then, guard the formations strictly—no one is to approach without permission. Violators will be executed.”
“As you command!”
The entire plaza bowed toward the hall in unison.
The foreign cultivators who had activated the formation retreated, replaced by squads of silver-armored guards and towering puppets that sealed off the formations completely.
…
The moment Han Li entered the gold-and-silver fissure, dizziness overwhelmed him, and darkness swallowed his vision, nearly rendering him unconscious.
But moments later, a splitting headache jolted him back to clarity. He swiftly scanned his surroundings and found himself high in the sky, with nothing beneath him but endless blue waves stretching to the horizon—an unknown sea.
Shi Kun, Liu Shui’er, and the other fourteen were scattered within a few dozen feet, though most still seemed dazed, not yet recovered from the spatial crossing.
“Hahaha! We’ve finally reached the Cold Moon Realm! Here, I can break through to the Saint Stage! Fellow Daoists, I’ll take my leave to find a secluded spot for closed-door cultivation!” A gray-haired elder laughed manically after surveying the surroundings, then transformed into a silver streak and vanished into the distance.
Three others immediately followed suit, departing without a word in different directions.
The remaining ten or so stood still, their expressions varied, hesitant to act rashly.
“Fellow Daoists, while the Cold Moon Realm is ideal for breaking bottlenecks, a few months should suffice. Let’s not leave this treasure trove empty-handed. Why not join forces to seek treasures and watch each other’s backs?” proposed a triangular-headed dwarf.
“Join forces? I’d rather not ally with someone as treacherous as you, Jin. Fellow Daoists Feng and Yun, let’s go,” a plain-faced man with golden arm rings sneered before summoning two others, and the trio departed as streaks of light.
Soon, only six or seven remained.
“Fellow Daoists, let’s go,” Han Li said calmly to Shi Kun and Liu Shui’er, unfazed by the exodus.
“Of course, we stick together,” Shi Kun agreed with a laugh, while the cloaked woman nodded slightly.
Under the curious gazes of the others, the trio shot off in a chosen direction.
As for whether the remaining cultivators would cooperate or act alone, Han Li paid no further mind.
Their flight was swift, covering a thousand miles in moments. Then, Liu Shui’er spoke up: “Fellow Daoist Han, my master advised us to first find a secluded spot to practice the combined attack technique of the Magnetic Divine Light. It will improve our chances if danger arises.”
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