As soon as the burly man entered the void with the help of the talisman, he suddenly felt an immense force silently strike his back. Despite the golden flowers behind him desperately gathering to block the attack, the force still landed squarely on him.
With a thunderous “boom,” he was forcefully knocked back into his original space.
At the same time, a sweet taste rose in his throat, and he spat out a mouthful of black blood.
Just then, a peal of thunder echoed from behind him.
Golden Flower Venerable turned his head in shock and fear.
About a hundred feet away, Han Li emerged from a silver glow, slowly retracting a faintly shimmering green fist while sneering coldly at him.
The bald man’s heart turned cold. Only now did he truly realize that his opponent was definitely not an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator—he was at least mid-stage or higher. Moreover, whether it was his treasures, spirit beasts, or divine abilities, Han Li far surpassed him.
With this realization, Golden Flower Venerable no longer dared to continue fighting Han Li. Abandoning all thoughts of resistance, he abruptly threw the golden talisman in his hand into the air. A golden light enveloped his body as he transformed into a golden streak, fleeing through the sky.
He didn’t spare a single glance for the alluring woman below.
Han Li’s lips twitched. He had intended to give chase immediately, but the golden talisman the man had thrown suddenly burst apart with a “puff,” transforming into a vast expanse of golden light.
This golden light shattered into countless fragments, which then condensed and morphed into thousands of thumb-sized golden wasps, swarming toward Han Li like a tidal wave.
A deafening buzz filled the air!
Han Li was slightly surprised but remained composed. He opened his mouth, and a small cauldron wrapped in green light shot out.
The cauldron spun once in front of him before instantly expanding to several zhang in size. Han Li slapped it with one hand.
With a “boom,” blue flames erupted from the surface of the cauldron, engulfing it entirely.
Then, with a rumbling sound, the lid of the cauldron slowly opened, revealing a gap about a foot wide.
A stream of green light shot out from the gap, expanding in the wind to form a green chain over ten zhang long. With a flash of green light in the sky, the chain swept across half the heavens, instantly capturing all the golden wasps. Then, with a single loop, it retracted into the cauldron, carrying countless specks of golden light.
The Void Sky Cauldron had effortlessly captured the entire swarm of golden wasps.
However, in that brief delay, the golden streak transformed by Golden Flower Venerable had already reached a distance of fifty or sixty zhang. For an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, such speed was astonishing.
Seeing this, Han Li’s lips curled into a mocking smile. Instead of immediately pursuing, he first swept his gaze around.
His brows furrowed slightly, and he let out a cold snort.
In the brief moment he had been engaged in the dazzling battle with Golden Flower Venerable, the gray-robed elder and the blue-robed youth had stealthily retreated over a hundred zhang away and were now preparing to flee.
From the moment Han Li and Golden Flower Venerable had appeared, these two had abandoned all thoughts of obtaining treasures. Their only concern was escaping the perilous situation unscathed.
Golden Flower Venerable was clearly here to silence them on behalf of the alluring woman. And after a few exchanges with Han Li, it was evident that even a Nascent Soul cultivator was not safe.
When Golden Flower Venerable carelessly mentioned the Void Sky Cauldron, the two finally understood.
Though they were only Core Formation cultivators, as disciples of Barbarian Beard, they were well aware of the legend of the Void Sky Cauldron. The bounty on its wielder by the Anti-Star Alliance had never been revoked.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, they dared not stay any longer. As soon as Han Li and the bald man began fighting, they quietly retreated.
Now, under Han Li’s icy gaze, their hearts pounded wildly. Without hesitation, they activated their escape lights and fled in opposite directions.
As for the alluring woman, when Golden Flower Venerable abandoned her and fled, she panicked and immediately transformed into a streak of red light, darting away.
The low-level cultivators—Foundation Establishment and Qi Condensation—by the distant lakeshore were too weak and too far away to discern what was happening at the lake’s center. But seeing their masters and grandmasters fleeing in disarray, they exchanged fearful glances before scattering in panic.
Observing this, a shadow passed over Han Li’s face. He suddenly grabbed his waist and tossed a spirit beast pouch into the air.
A hissing sound came from the pouch, followed by a burst of white mist containing over a dozen snow-white centipedes. Each was half a foot long, with transparent wings on their backs, appearing fierce and menacing as they circled above Han Li’s head.
Without a word, Han Li pointed toward the three fleeing figures in the distance.
Instantly, the eighteen Six-Winged Frost Centipedes split into three groups, transforming into three blizzards as they chased after the three Core Formation cultivators, their speed clearly surpassing their targets.
The alluring woman and the other two, glancing back, were horrified and pushed their remaining strength to the limit, increasing their speed slightly.
In the blink of an eye, the three and the centipedes vanished into the distance in a frenzied pursuit.
As for the low-level cultivators, Han Li couldn’t be bothered.
Given their slow speed and low status, even if they wanted to report the events here, it would take days—by which time, Han Li would be millions of miles away.
However, he glanced at the distant golden streak of Golden Flower Venerable, a flash of killing intent in his eyes. With a light flap of his Wind and Thunder Wings, he vanished in a silver arc.
Though Golden Flower Venerable was already over a hundred zhang away, Han Li closed the distance by twenty zhang with each teleportation. After six or seven flashes, he appeared ghostlike above the bald man.
Without hesitation, he raised a hand, releasing a vast expanse of purple flames that formed a giant hand, menacingly grasping downward.
“Ah!”
Golden Flower Venerable, never expecting Han Li to teleport so effortlessly, was horrified to find himself caught so quickly. As the purple hand descended, his face twisted in terror.
In desperation, he spat out a golden flying blade to slash at the hand while frantically forming hand seals to evade.
But the hand formed from Purple Apex Flames was not something an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator could easily break. Even late-stage Great Cultivators and tenth-grade demon beasts feared Han Li’s unique extreme-cold flames.
The golden blade struck the hand, only for a flash of purple light to instantly coat it in frost. The blade lost control and plummeted.
Under the bald man’s bloodless gaze, the purple hand’s fingers splayed eerily, like a giant fan, seizing his fleeing body.
A scream rang out as the purple flames surged several feet higher, encasing Golden Flower Venerable in purple ice.
Seeing this, Han Li wasted no time. With a thought, the giant hand clenched tightly.
With a crisp “pop,” the ice statue shattered into countless pieces. A golden flash—the man’s Nascent Soul—tried to escape, but Han Li was prepared. The purple flames surged, trapping the Nascent Soul.
It lasted only moments before flickering and vanishing.
Han Li flicked his sleeve, recalling the purple flames as a fiery serpent that disappeared into his robe.
He smiled faintly, then reached down and grabbed the air, summoning the bald man’s floating storage pouch to his hand.
Tucking it into his sleeve, he looked toward the other directions.
The elder and the others, along with the eighteen centipedes, were long gone, having chased far into the distance.
Han Li wasn’t worried. He retrieved the now-miniature Soul Shaker Beast, closed his eyes, and sat cross-legged, releasing his divine sense to scan the surroundings.
The area was now eerily silent, save for the faint sea breeze.
After sitting for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Han Li’s lips curled into a faint smile as he reopened his eyes.
Almost simultaneously, a white blizzard streaked back from the horizon, arriving above him in moments. The blizzard dispersed, revealing six ferocious snow-white centipedes.
Now, each centipede was over a zhang long, with two bearing faint sword marks on their white shells—evidence of a fierce battle.
With a low chant, Han Li sent a spell into the air. The centipedes shrank back to their original size under a white glow before flying into the spirit beast pouch he produced.
Soon after, the other two groups returned—one unharmed, the other missing a few legs on one centipede.
But these spirit insects were naturally resilient, capable of regenerating lost limbs. The injuries would heal in time.
After collecting them, Han Li glanced at the lake’s center. His body glowed green as he transformed into a streak of light, plunging into the water.
The so-called Demon Lake wasn’t very deep. After descending about two hundred zhang, Han Li glimpsed the lakebed.
Yet the water here was strangely emerald-green. Even with his spirit eye technique, he could only see clearly within a dozen zhang. Beyond that, everything blurred. His divine sense was completely blocked—this lake naturally isolated spiritual perception.
But Han Li already had the precise location from Barbarian Beard. After a brief search, he found his target—an ordinary-looking pile of underwater rocks.
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