Chapter 1786: Three versus Three

Shi Lun and his two companions had grim expressions as they silently stared toward the large tree.

Suddenly, a flash of cyan spiritual light appeared behind the tree, revealing three unfamiliar cultivators.

One was a handsome man in his thirties, dressed in a yellow Confucian robe. Another was a young Taoist, around seventeen or eighteen years old, carrying a black wooden sword on his back. The last was an unremarkable-looking youth in a cyan robe, holding a silver talisman in one hand and gripping the small figure of a girl—none other than Bai Guo’er.

These were naturally Han Li and his two companions.

By coincidence, after a long journey, the three of them had just arrived in this area.

Since they were already near Nine Immortals Mountain and had been traveling nonstop for some time, they decided to rest here for the night before visiting a market the next day.

However, before they could settle down, Shi Lun and his group arrived at this remote spot and, right before their eyes, staged a scene of murder and robbery.

Such incidents were commonplace in the Spirit Realm, but Shi Lun had not only gone back on his word but also resorted to threatening a young girl—an act far too despicable.

Hai Dashao and his companion, both righteous at heart, could not stand by and watch, leading to their covert rescue attempt.

Of course, they also felt reassured knowing they had the unfathomable “Brother Han” backing them.

At worst, they wouldn’t be in mortal danger.

When the two indignantly leaped out, Han Li could only sigh and follow.

“Who are you, daring to interfere in our business?” Shi Lun, seeing that two were only at the Foundation Establishment stage while the third was a mere mortal, relaxed slightly and resumed his threatening tone.

“Qi Lingzi, your ‘Peach for Plum Talisman’ is quite interesting—replacing the girl with a dummy puppet. But why didn’t you use it when we were in danger before? Were you holding back even when your life was at stake?” Hai Dashao rolled his eyes at Qi Lingzi, half-jokingly accusing him.

“Bah! What do you mean ‘holding back’? Do you think this talisman is easy to refine or use? I nearly bankrupted myself making just this one, only to realize my cultivation wasn’t strong enough to activate it. If Brother Han hadn’t used it just now, we wouldn’t have saved the girl!” Qi Lingzi protested indignantly, nearly jumping in frustration.

“So that’s how it was!” Hai Dashao blinked in surprise.

The two bantered back and forth, completely ignoring Shi Lun’s question, making his face darken further.

The other two black-robed cultivators also glared with hostility.

Meanwhile, Han Li casually placed the girl on the ground beside him, his expression faintly amused.

Bai Guo’er, still shaken from her near-death experience, stared blankly at Han Li and the others, unsure what to do.

“Kill these three meddlers!” Shi Lun finally spat out with murderous intent.

From his experience, though the opponents had increased by three, the only one worth noting was the silent late-stage Foundation Establishment youth.

The other two—one at early Foundation Establishment and a mere mortal—plus the middle-aged man, who was only mid-stage Foundation Establishment, were no match for his group, all of whom were peak late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Moreover, Shi Lun had a trump card that even Core Formation cultivators would find threatening, giving him full confidence in defeating them.

The only issue was ensuring none escaped—though that seemed unlikely if they fled in different directions.

This was why he had initially tried to talk rather than attack immediately.

But Shi Lun was no stranger to robbery and murder. Seeing persuasion futile, he abandoned all pretense and decided to act.

Even if one or two escaped, they could simply leave Nine Immortals Mountain and lay low for a while.

What high-level cultivator would bother hunting them down over such a trivial matter?

The moment he shouted “Attack!”, the stack of black flags in his hand shot out as streaks of black light—not toward Han Li’s group, but at the middle-aged man.

The other two black-robed cultivators also attacked, their silver halberds and black spiked shield transforming into silver streaks and a dark cloud, all converging on the middle-aged man.

The trio, accustomed to fighting together, coordinated perfectly without needing to communicate.

Their strategy was clear: eliminate the middle-aged man first, then deal with Han Li’s group.

The middle-aged man paled but reacted swiftly, releasing his yellow short sword to form a defensive screen around himself.

With a flick of his sleeve, he scattered a cloud of yellow sand that transformed into sparkling motes, enveloping him just as the attacks landed.

The sword screen shattered instantly under the combined assault, but the yellow sand held firm, blocking the follow-up strikes.

Shi Lun and his companions were momentarily surprised but quickly prepared for another attack.

However, Hai Dashao suddenly stomped the ground, launching himself like an arrow toward one of the black-robed cultivators controlling the silver halberds.

Golden gloves materialized on his hands as he unleashed a barrage of golden fist shadows, raining down with overwhelming force.

The sheer pressure alone forced the black-robed cultivator to abandon his attack on the middle-aged man and recall his halberds for defense.

A deafening clash erupted as gold and silver intertwined, obscuring both figures.

But amid Hai Dashao’s laughter, the golden fists flared brilliantly, pushing back the silver light relentlessly.

“A body-refining cultivator!” The other black-robed cultivator’s expression changed as he redirected his black spiked shield to assist his companion.

But Qi Lingzi sighed dramatically from a distance, muttering, “Two against one? How shameless. As a dignified temple master, I really shouldn’t stoop to this, but for Hai Dashao’s sake, I’ll make an exception.”

With that, he slapped a blue talisman onto himself, vanishing in a flash of azure light.

A similar glow reappeared above the second black-robed cultivator, who immediately smashed it with his shield, dispersing it like water.

But Qi Lingzi was already behind him, firing a volley of blue ice spikes.

Though most were blocked by a black tiger-head apparition, a few struck true, drawing blood.

“You little brat, I’ll kill you!” Enraged, the cultivator summoned several black ghost heads spewing yellow poison flames, forcing Qi Lingzi to frantically defend with his wooden sword.

Despite being outmatched in cultivation, Qi Lingzi’s evasive techniques—flashing in and out like a fish in water—kept him just out of reach.

Shi Lun’s face darkened further. Though confident his companions would eventually prevail, he couldn’t afford to wait.

With a grimace, he produced a blood-red pouch emitting a faint buzzing sound.

But just then, a cold voice spoke from behind him:

“Oh? Spirit insects? And quite high-grade at that. For a Foundation Establishment cultivator to possess such treasures, you must be somewhat capable.”