No need to ask, this little thing must be the incarnation of the “Nine-Curve Spirit Ginseng.”
Han Li stared excitedly at the white rabbit. With the Great Development Art operating at full capacity, the pure spiritual energy radiating from the rabbit was dazzlingly intense in his eyes.
Truly a marvel born of the heavens and earth! Han Li sighed inwardly but remained vigilant. He had already formed a hand seal and kept his eyes fixed firmly on the rabbit.
The rabbit below stood outside the formation, sniffing for a while. Its two fiery red eyes circled the jade box several times. Clearly, it was no longer satisfied with just sniffing from a distance and seemed to be plotting something.
Seeing how intelligent the rabbit was, Han Li grew even more cautious, a hint of tension appearing in his expression. After all, the “Nine-Curve Spirit Ginseng” was most adept at escape techniques. A single careless move could undo all his efforts.
The little creature circled around the formation, its long ears twitching incessantly. It seemed to sense the abnormal spiritual energy nearby and hesitated to enter the formation.
Han Li grew anxious! He thought the ginseng incarnation had seen through the trap and would not enter the formation. He began considering whether to forcefully activate the golden net now and capture it by force. However, his chances of success were pitifully low.
Just as Han Li was hesitating, the white rabbit flickered and, after a few leaps, disappeared into a patch of wild grass.
Witnessing this from the tree, Han Li was stunned, rooted to the spot.
But just as Han Li was momentarily dazed, a white shadow flashed from another patch of grass. The rabbit, moving at a speed that left afterimages, shot out from the grass and appeared in front of the jade box in an instant. It lowered its head, grabbed the item inside the box with its mouth, and without hesitation turned to flee.
Although Han Li was momentarily stunned by the little creature’s series of actions, he quickly regained his composure. How could he let it escape after such a simple trick?
Immediately, a streak of yellow light shot down from the tree like an arrow, striking right in the path the rabbit intended to leap back into. Startled, the rabbit twisted its body mid-air, drawing an arc as it shot toward another direction.
But it was already too late. A square yellow light barrier suddenly rose around the area, sealing it tightly. The rabbit crashed headfirst into the light wall and was bounced back.
After tumbling on the ground a few times, it shook its small head and stood up again, its eyes filled with panic. However, it then emitted a white glow from its body and suddenly transformed into a fist-sized, multicolored ball of light, immediately attempting to burrow into the ground.
But with a flash of yellow light, the ball of light was pushed back out of the ground after only sinking a few feet.
This time, it was truly desperate. The multicolored ball of light crashed around inside the light barrier like a headless fly but was invariably blocked each time. Just then, a golden light shot down from the tree, enveloping the ball of light as it leaped into the air again, catching it completely off guard.
Then, a figure flickered, and Han Li appeared on the ground. The golden light flew straight into his hand—it was the golden silk net given to him by Xuan Gu.
The white rabbit reappeared in its original form inside the net, struggling desperately. Its figure blurred and sharpened, sometimes enlarging, sometimes shrinking, but all to no avail. The golden silk net adapted to its changes, expanding or contracting accordingly, firmly restraining it.
Seeing this, Han Li smiled with delight.
He brought the golden net closer, briefly examined the rabbit, and then unceremoniously attached the net to his waist. He sat down cross-legged at the center of the formation, showing no intention of deactivating it.
Han Li now intended to wait quietly for Xuan Gu to dig up the main body of the “Nine-Curve Spirit Ginseng” and reunite with him. Before that, however, he solemnly took out the ancient treasure flower basket he had obtained from his storage bag and placed it in front of him.
Next, he released the Gold Devouring Beetles from two spirit beast bags in one breath, letting them hover above his head to form a massive cloud of gold and silver light. Only then did he close his eyes to rest, his expression calm.
With these preparations, Han Li hoped to make Xuan Gu see reason and hand over the spirit ginseng without resorting to a confrontation. He knew very well that only by showing his strength could their alliance continue. Of course, if the other party truly harbored murderous intentions, he would not hesitate to strike first.
As for the “Nine-Curve Spirit Ginseng,” whether it truly had miraculous effects for forming a Nascent Soul or not, he was determined to obtain it. After all, the reputation of this spirit creature was too great. Even if it was useless for forming a Nascent Soul, it surely had other miraculous uses.
Thinking this, Han Li unconsciously opened his eyes and glanced at the incarnation of the Nine-Curve Spirit Ginseng attached to his waist—the white rabbit.
To his surprise, the sight left him stunned. The little creature had lost all its earlier vigor, completely wilted and listless.
Han Li’s heart stirred. He knew that the main body of the spirit ginseng must have been dug up by Xuan Gu; otherwise, it wouldn’t have suddenly become like this. Immediately, he fixed his gaze on the high sky outside the forest.
After the time it takes to eat a meal, the gloomy cloud transformed by Xuan Gu finally came flying over. It hovered directly above the formation before stopping. However, he did not disperse the cloud, remaining silent as he floated in the air.
Han Li stood up expressionlessly, staring directly at the gloomy cloud without any intention of speaking first.
After a long while, Xuan Gu’s icy voice came from within the cloud. “What is the meaning of this battle-ready posture?” His voice was piercingly cold.
“Nothing much. It’s just that my cultivation is shallow, and I’m truly afraid that you might suddenly turn hostile,” Han Li replied calmly.
“Hmph! You’re overthinking it. If I didn’t want to give you the spirit creature, why would I have brought you all the way here? Don’t forget, I still need your help to deal with that rebellious disciple!” Xuan Gu spoke as if suppressing anger.
“Senior, haven’t you heard the saying ‘times have changed’? Perhaps when we first entered the Virtual Sky Palace, you truly needed my help. But now that you have other allies, I can’t be so sure,” Han Li said, his eyes sharp as blades as he stared at the other.
“What do you mean by that?” Xuan Gu’s voice grew even colder, with a hint of surprise.
“There’s no need for senior to pretend ignorance. Call out the other person. I saw him earlier when he transformed to search for the spirit ginseng. There’s no need to hide anymore!” Han Li frowned, sounding somewhat impatient.
Hearing this, Xuan Gu within the gloomy cloud fell silent. But soon after, a deep, unfamiliar man’s voice sounded from within the cloud.
“Kid, how did you discover me? I don’t believe you could see through my transformation technique!” the voice’s owner asked bluntly.
“I have no interest in answering questions from someone I don’t know. I merely ask Senior Xuan Gu once more: do you truly wish to fight me to a stalemate, only to let Ji Yin benefit?” Han Li said with a sarcastic tone.
“A stalemate? You overestimate yourself! Although killing you might require some effort, it’s a price I’m willing to pay.” As soon as he finished speaking, a yellow light shot unexpectedly from the gloomy cloud, striking the formation’s protective barrier.
The barrier’s color abruptly changed from yellow to fiery red, and the center of the formation instantly became extremely hot, as if it were a massive oven.
Seeing this, Han Li’s expression remained unchanged. He merely sighed lightly and raised a hand, sending a green spell toward the barrier. Instantly, the barrier flickered between yellow and red several times before returning to its original color. The earlier scorching heat seemed like nothing more than an illusion.
“Oh? What did you do to my formation flags?” a surprised voice came from within the cloud.
“Tamper? If anyone tampered, it would be you,” Han Li retorted, unwilling to explain.
“Hmph! Very well. How are you finding that golden silk net I gave you?” Xuan Gu changed the subject, his voice cold.
“What? Could it be…” Han Li’s expression changed dramatically. Remembering something, he immediately tried to remove the golden net from his waist and throw it far away.
But as soon as Xuan Gu’s words fell, the golden net flashed and turned pitch black. It then transformed into a cloud of extremely fine black threads, swiftly spreading over Han Li’s body and ensnaring him tightly. The net immediately constricted. The rabbit inside the net was discarded to the side without a second thought, lying motionless as if unconscious.
Suddenly trapped, even Han Li, usually calm, paled drastically.
“Kid, how does it feel to be bound by Soul Shackle Threads? Can you still use even a trace of your magic power now?” From above, Xuan Gu’s triumphant laughter echoed from within the gloomy cloud.
Hearing this, Han Li’s heart sank. He urgently tried to summon his magic power, but his face soon turned ashen.
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