Han Li was somewhat uncertain about Xuan Gu’s intentions. His gaze shifted and suddenly fell upon the Bloodjade Spider not far away.
At this moment, the spiritual beast’s red glow had become increasingly dazzling. Although its body trembled slightly, it continued to slowly retract the silk. The milky-white spider silk now reflected a layer of eerie blue light, shimmering with a cold and sinister aura that felt rather peculiar. However, whenever the blue light approached the red glow enveloping the Bloodjade Spider along the silk, it erupted into sparkling white spots and was immediately repelled, unable to get within half an inch of the spider’s body.
Han Li frowned. There was no need to ask—this strange light was undoubtedly closely related to the Dry Blue Ice Flame. No wonder none of those old monsters stepped forward to assist the treasure-retrieving spiritual beast; they were likely deeply wary of this blue light!
Just as this thought crossed his mind, a thunderous boom echoed from the sky, mingled with Man Huzi’s furious shouts and wild laughter. His attention was drawn back to the center of the battle.
At this moment, Man Huzi’s body had swelled to a massive three or four zhang in height. The upper half of his robe had vanished, revealing densely packed scales on his chest that glittered like golden armor, too brilliant to look at directly. Even more bizarrely, several silvery light bands hovered and swirled around his enormous body.
These light bands were dreamlike and elusive, yet they perfectly blocked the purple fire dragons transformed from Wan Tianming’s Heavenly Luo Art, preventing them from getting even half a step closer. Although Man Huzi boasted that his Tuo Tian Devil Art was the best in the Chaotic Star Seas, he would never be foolish enough to use it to directly resist Wan Tianming’s true fire.
Moreover, Man Huzi now wore a pair of dark, dull iron gloves covered in inch-long spikes, their design fierce and terrifying. Swinging these gloves, he clashed with a purple giant sword that moved like a swimming dragon. With each punch, a massive golden hand shot out from the gloves, forcefully striking the giant sword several zhang away.
Meanwhile, Wan Tianming, who controlled the giant sword from mid-air, wore a fierce expression as he summoned two more purple flame dragons to dance across the sky, attempting to find a weakness in the silvery light bands and trap his formidable enemy.
On the other side, Tian Wuzi and Qing Yi the Hermit clearly prioritized their own safety. The two stood far apart—one continuously urging his Green Thorn Bird and personal treasures to assault the opponent, while the other relied on his Li Turtle and a gleaming white short ruler to defend flawlessly. Their battle was measured and composed, almost as if they were engaged in a sparring match!
The most intense battle, however, seemed to be between Patriarch Ji Yin and the dark, emaciated elder. Within the large area of their conflict, ghostly wails and phoenix cries intertwined, while green shadows and black mist swirled into a massive vortex. Occasionally, a few Heavenly Capital Demon Corpse figures flickered into view, or several thick green vines burst out from the vortex, thrashing wildly—a clear sign of an exceptionally fierce struggle!
As for the mutated Three-Eyed Spirit Leopard, which the Devil Dao faction highly valued, it was locked in a relentless pursuit with the white Cold Flood Dragon.
The Cold Flood Dragon was clearly at a disadvantage, forced into erratic flight by the leopard’s mutated yellow light. The white cold energy it spat out turned into ordinary stone fragments upon contact with the yellow light, utterly unable to approach the leopard. Still, it managed to barely entangle the mutated Three-Eyed Leopard, preventing it from attacking the three righteous path cultivators. It seemed the Cold Flood Dragon could hold on a little longer on its own.
Watching this, Han Li felt a strange sensation.
These people were fighting with great fervor, treasures flying everywhere and secret techniques unleashed wildly. Yet, it didn’t feel like a life-and-death struggle to him—more like a martial arts competition. Is this how Nascent Soul cultivators fight?
Suddenly, as if remembering something, he glanced at Xuan Gu again.
Xuan Gu’s wooden face now held a hint of a cold smile, but he immediately sensed Han Li’s gaze. His expression stiffened before returning to its usual impassive state.
A chill ran down Han Li’s spine, and he felt as if he had grasped something. But before he could ponder further, a fierce explosive sound erupted from the Void Heaven Cauldron at the cave entrance, followed by a piercing grating noise.
Startled, Han Li quickly turned to look toward the cave entrance, cautiously adopting a defensive stance.
The blue light in the altar shook violently, and then a dragon’s roar echoed as a streak of fire shot out from the cave. After rapidly circling above the altar, the light transformed into a double-headed flaming giant wolf hovering mid-air. The wolf, engulfed in raging flames, immediately kicked off with its limbs to flee upon seeing the crowd.
Both the righteous and devil path factions, previously locked in combat, paused in unison at this sight. The Confucian-robed elder, who was closest, immediately slapped the top of his head, and a large cyan hand shot out, sweeping toward the fire wolf.
“Wishful thinking! This treasure belongs to our sect!” Wan Tianming exclaimed anxiously upon seeing this. His body spun rapidly, splitting into two identical clones. Purple flames surged around both Wan Tianmings, and two purple beams merged into one, chasing after the large hand.
Man Huzi and the others also came to their senses and urgently activated their techniques, shooting toward the same target. Multicolored lights instantly converged on a single focal point.
The others were clearly a step behind Qing Yi居士 and Wan Tianming. The large hand, which had started first, was especially swift. In the blink of an eye, the cyan hand was above the fire wolf, reaching down to grab it.
Just as everyone thought the Confucian-robed elder had succeeded, the fire wolf swung both its heads simultaneously, and red and yellow light shields materialized around its body. The cyan hand failed to grasp it, rebounding with a dull thud.
The Confucian-robed elder was first surprised but then delighted. As the cyan light intensified and the hand prepared to grab again, the purple beam caught up in an instant. Seeing that it was still a step behind the cyan hand and unable to prevent its success, the purple beam changed targets, transforming into a purple fire dragon that bit fiercely at the large hand.
The Confucian-robed elder, manipulating the hand from a distance, inwardly cursed Wan Tianming for his despicable move! Although this Mysterious Transformation Hand, formed directly from his split consciousness, was incredibly convenient and powerful, he dared not let it take a direct hit from the Heavenly Luo True Art’s fire dragon. Even if he obtained the treasure, damaging his split consciousness would be a heavy loss—a trade-off he was unwilling to make! Reluctantly, the cyan hand abruptly halted its descent and instead turned to confront the purple fire dragon.
Cyan light and purple flames exploded.
In that momentary delay, Man Huzi, Tian Wuzi, and the others caught up. Surrounding the fire wolf, they simultaneously attacked their nearest opponents.
This time, their strikes were far more fierce and vicious than before. A variety of secret techniques and spells emerged endlessly, and for a moment, the group became entangled, with no one able to free a hand to deal with the fire wolf.
The fire wolf, quite intelligent and seemingly aware of the Nascent Soul old monsters’ power, suddenly sank and fled downward—straight toward where Xuan Gu, Han Li, and the others stood.
Han Li, who had been watching somewhat dumbfounded, now understood most of what was happening.
This double-headed fire wolf was undoubtedly a treasure transformed from within the Void Heaven Cauldron. He just didn’t know how it had managed to break out of the cauldron and escape before the cauldron itself was retrieved. Although he didn’t know what kind of treasure it was or its abilities, its sentient transformation, ability to withstand the cyan hand’s strike, and autonomous movement clearly indicated its extreme rarity.
Now, this treasure was charging straight toward them, the Core Formation cultivators. Almost without thinking, Han Li slapped his storage pouch, and a white mist suddenly appeared in his hand. He reached into the mist and pulled out an antique-looking flower basket.
Before Han Li could cast any spells, two black energy pythons shot out from below nearby, instantly coiling around the fire wolf. They wrapped around it several times and abruptly tightened.
Cursing inwardly, Han Li glanced sideways and saw Wu Chou with a smug expression, hand-sealing a spell. The black pythons were clearly formed from his Mysterious Yin Great Art.
A trace of annoyance flashed across Han Li’s face. He hesitated, wondering if he should try to seize the treasure. After all, it hadn’t been claimed yet. But if he provoked the protective Patriarch Ji Yin, who might attack him immediately after retrieving the treasure, it would be highly unfavorable—a case of gaining little at great cost.
Various thoughts raced through Han Li’s mind, but before he could weigh the pros and cons, Xuan Gu unhesitatingly made his move.
A cold glint flashed in Xuan Gu’s eyes as he silently opened his mouth and spat out a green light. Instantly, the green light intensified, transforming into a massive emerald net that enveloped both the black pythons and the fire wolf.
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