Countless gray threads trembled and froze within the halo before vanishing into wisps of gray mist without a sound.
The dense web of threads melted away like snow in spring under the swirling halo, dissolving into nothingness.
At that moment, the three-colored fire phoenix launched its true attack. With a flap of its wings, it transformed into a massive orb of light. The halo on its surface pulsed, expanding violently outward in an instant. In the blink of an eye, a colossal three-colored wheel of light—gold, silver, and red—appeared in the sky, its vast size enveloping the entire net. The surface of the wheel was covered in intricate runes, some as large as ten feet and others as small as a foot, all cryptic and awe-inspiring.
The dazzling phenomenon below startled both Han Li and the silver-winged nightfiend in midair, causing them to look down.
In a flash of light, the enormous wheel vanished as quickly as it had appeared, lasting only a breath. Along with it, the massive gray net spanning dozens of feet disappeared without a trace, as if it had never existed.
The silver-winged nightfiend’s wings fluttered unconsciously, its face frozen in disbelief.
The net had contained nearly all of the corpse-tainted energy it had cultivated over countless years. Now, only a few wisps remained in its desiccated body, barely enough to sustain its movements. Any further powerful attacks were impossible.
A single strike from the opponent’s fan had completely nullified its hard-earned abilities. The terrifying spiritual power contained within the three-colored wheel was such that, had it been trapped inside, survival would have been unlikely.
This was no longer a matter of the flame’s temperature—it involved the laws of heaven and earth, a power only accessible to those at the Deity Transformation stage.
Though the nightfiend had not yet advanced to the same level as a Golden Moon Corpse, its years of lingering near that realm had granted it some insight. The faint trace of heavenly power in that attack weighed heavily on its mind.
What kind of treasure was that fan? How could it be so terrifying?
Had it possessed a top-tier treasure compatible with its cultivation, it might not have feared such an attack. But ever since gaining sentience, it had been trapped within this formation, with no opportunity or materials to forge a suitable weapon.
Only after slaying intruding cultivators and using their corpses to refine its corpse-tainted avatars had it gained some mobility. The miscellaneous treasures looted from the dead were mostly worthless, with the sole exception of the Phantom Moon Mirror—its only prized possession, painstakingly refined over countless years.
Losing it to Han Li had enraged it beyond measure.
As the nightfiend’s mind raced with fear, Han Li was elated by the fan’s power. Seeing half his ice wall destroyed by the relentless golden needles, he wasted no time. With a flip of his hand, he retrieved a small vial from his storage pouch.
Uncorking it, he downed a drop of Ten-Thousand-Year Spiritual Nectar. Instantly, his meridians surged with pure spiritual energy, restoring his depleted mana.
Storing the vial, Han Li glared coldly at the distant nightfiend. Gripping the Three Flames Fan tightly, he channeled his replenished power into it, causing the fan to glow with three-colored runes.
This time, he intended to end the battle decisively.
Fortunately, the nightfiend was bound by restrictions and couldn’t flee. Otherwise, despite the fan’s might, evasion would have rendered it useless.
Seeing this, the nightfiend’s face twisted in panic. Given the attack’s range and the confined space, it had no choice but to endure.
Gritting its teeth, it pointed at the diminished golden orb above. The golden light ceased its barrage and, with a *puff*, merged into the nightfiend’s body, forming a golden barrier.
Simultaneously, it exhaled a cloud of black corpse-energy, each wisp shimmering ominously, soon engulfing the golden shield.
Han Li sneered, pouring his mana into the fan—when suddenly, the formation beneath them trembled violently. The entire array lit up, and the surrounding gray barrier vanished without warning.
Han Li froze mid-action.
Before he could react, an even greater upheaval occurred.
In the distance beyond the formation, the ground split open, erupting with blinding light. A far larger array emerged, embedded with nearly a hundred spirit stones, merging seamlessly with the original formation to create something entirely new.
Han Li’s expertise in formations allowed him to recognize it instantly—a massive teleportation array, already activated.
His heart sank.
There was no telling where it would send him. Hastily retracting his ice wall, he activated his thunder escape technique, intending to flee the teleportation range.
But he was too late.
The formation hummed, and a blinding white light erupted across a hundred-zhang radius before vanishing—taking Han Li, the silver-winged nightfiend, and everything else with it.
Unbeknownst to anyone, identical events unfolded simultaneously in three other obscure locations across the Great Jin Empire.
Besides the silver-winged nightfiend, three other unknown monsters were similarly teleported away.
The orchestrators of this were the Ye Clan cultivators gathered at a nameless lake in the Southern Border.
Yet now, chaos reigned above the lake as the clan’s high-ranking members scrambled in disarray.
“What happened? Wasn’t the concealment formation supposed to mask the unsealing phenomenon? Where is it? Did it fail, or was it never activated? With this spectacle, every cultivator within thousands of miles will see it! We’ll be swarmed—do you want the Ye Clan wiped out?!” A square-faced cultivator gripped the collar of a white-haired elder, his face livid.
Behind him, the other Ye Clan members stood grimly.
At the lake’s center, a colossal milky-white pillar of light, thirty zhang wide, shot into the heavens like a celestial pillar. Six identical beams encircled the lake in the distance, impossible to miss.
No wonder the square-faced man was furious.
“I don’t know! The concealment formation was checked yesterday, and disciples were sent to activate it this morning!” The elder, the clan’s foremost formation master, stammered in panic.
“Second Brother, release Elder Linglong! He’s dedicated himself to unsealing this formation—the fault can’t lie with him. There must be another cause!” A scholarly man in white robes, his skin like jade, spoke with chilling calm. “You there—inspect the concealment formations immediately. If they’re inactive, activate them. If damaged, repair them. If we can fix this quickly, we’ll simply eliminate every cultivator within thousands of miles.”
His words carried such authority that the square-faced man immediately released the elder. The pointed Ye Clan elders bowed. “Yes, Grand Elder!”
They scattered in all directions.
The scholarly man, youthful in appearance, was none other than the Grand Elder of the Great Jin’s foremost clan.
Turning to the white-haired elder, he asked tonelessly, “The concealment formation failed, but the unsealing itself—no issues there?”
The elder shivered. “None, Grand Elder! The Kunwu Mountain seal has been cracked, and the breach is widening. Within a year, the entire seal will collapse.”
“Good. Gather the low-ranking disciples and prepare to evacuate. They are not to return to the clan—hide in the prearranged locations. Anyone who surfaces within the year will face clan punishment.”
The elder bowed and vanished into the lake.
The other cultivators remained composed, awaiting orders.
Given the proximity of the concealment formations and the speed of Nascent Soul cultivators, the scouts returned swiftly—but their faces were dark with fury.
“Grand Elder, disaster! The formation I checked has been destroyed! The disciples stationed there are missing!”
The Grand Elder’s eyes turned icy. The others erupted into alarmed murmurs.
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