Han Li's mouth twitched, and he cursed inwardly, but his tightly closed eyes still opened reluctantly.
Although his mana was still a bit short of being fully replenished, someone was approaching now, and he didn't dare continue sitting in meditation so openly, especially when he didn't know the background of the newcomer!
"Which senior brother is here? Please help me!"
A woman in yellow robes stumbled out from the nearby woods, running to the base of the tree where Han Li was hiding. Her face was filled with panic as she looked up and called for help loudly, seemingly certain that there must be a savior above. Behind her, not far away, a white figure was leisurely walking over, completely opposite to the woman's panic-stricken state, as if enjoying herself immensely.
Seeing all this, Han Li rolled his eyes and was quite displeased with this female disciple's behavior of bringing trouble upon herself. As for how she had found his hiding spot, he wasn't surprised.
Before all Yellow Maple Valley disciples set out, Sect Leader Zhong Ling Dao had performed a tracking spell that allowed these disciples to sense each other's positions within a certain range. Of course, this had a time limit and was only effective for ten days. It was meant to help disciples of the sect support each other and greatly increase their chances of winning.
It was said that disciples from all the other sects had been given similar spells.
A helpless Han Li glanced at the woman.
He did recognize her - she was a female disciple who had been with Junior Sister Chen. Besides having a rather provocative figure, her appearance was truly ordinary.
After coldly observing the woman's desperate pleading, Han Li didn't rashly jump down from the tree. Instead, he carefully observed the white figure following behind through the small gaps between the leaves.
Whether he decided to save her or not, he wanted to first assess the newcomer's level of cultivation. He wasn't willing to risk his own life for a woman he had never met before.
If the white figure's cultivation was ordinary, Han Li would naturally strike without mercy and eliminate her, playing the hero saving the beauty. But if her cultivation was surprisingly deep, Han Li would need to consider whether it was better to join forces with the fellow disciple below to repel the enemy, or to immediately flee!
But just in case, he still placed his hand on his storage pouch and took out the magic tool "Gold Ant Mother-Child Blade" and a defensive talisman, while deftly wrapping the nameless silk threads around his fingers.
"Tsk tsk, what an ugly run! Are all Yellow Maple Valley female disciples this useless? Running such a long distance just to seek help from other stinky men. Could that person in the tree be your lover?"
The white figure gradually approached, revealing her true appearance. She was actually a young woman in flowing white robes, with a somewhat attractive face, though her eyebrows were slightly raised, giving her a murderous look.
Although she spoke to the yellow-robed woman below the tree, her killing-intent-filled eyes kept glancing up at the tree. Obviously, she wasn't as arrogant as she claimed to be and still had some reservations about the hidden Han Li!
"Twelfth-level cultivation technique."
After easily seeing through her level, Han Li felt relieved.
However, he was still somewhat puzzled. The female fellow disciple below was also at the twelfth level of cultivation, so how had she been chased so miserably? Could the opponent have some special means or formidable magic tools?
Just as Han Li was wondering, the white-robed woman snorted coldly and suddenly flicked both her sleeves. Two beams of white light flew out from her sleeves, heading straight for the yellow-robed woman.
"Senior brother, save me! All my magic tools are destroyed, I can't defend myself!" The yellow-robed woman's face lost color, and she hastily cried out.
The moment she spoke, two golden lights shot down from the treetop, intercepting the white lights midway and engaging them in battle. It turned out Han Li had activated the "Gold Ant Mother-Child Blade" in his hand, and the two golden lights were just two of the child blades.
The yellow-rooked woman's face showed joy, and she finally calmed down.
The reason Han Li took action was partly because he felt the white-rooked woman wasn't that terrifying and he should be able to handle her, and partly because he wanted to find an ally for the road ahead, to avoid being too lonely when facing enemies. After all, a fellow disciple with twelfth-level cultivation would surely be of some use in future battles!
"So you're finally willing to act! I thought you would keep pretending to be deaf and mute forever!" The white-rooked woman said mockingly, her face showing no surprise. However, she raised her hand, and a massive ball of fire shot straight toward the treetop.
With a "boom," the upper half of the great tree was engulfed in red light and instantly turned to ashes. But there was still no sign of anyone appearing, which left the white-rooked woman stunned.
"What a powerful fireball talisman, young lady, you really are generous!" From behind the half-charred tree trunk, Han Li's figure suddenly appeared, and he said with a half-smile.
"Eleventh level?"
The white-rooked woman was first stunned, then revealed a look of contempt.
And the yellow-rooked woman, who had just relaxed a bit, immediately became panicked again, secretly groaning inside. She had thought it was some powerful senior brother from the sect, but unexpectedly it was a rookie junior brother whose cultivation was even weaker than her own.
"Just now, if you had obediently stayed aside and watched the show, perhaps I would have been in a good mood and let you go. But since you've taken action, then both of you will become a pair of lovers in death!" The white-rooked woman's eyebrows raised even more fiercely, and she spoke in a sinister tone. This made her originally somewhat graceful face become ferocious.
Han Li smiled faintly and silently directed the golden blades in their battle, while casually walking toward the woman.
"Stop! What are you doing?"
The white-rooked woman shouted alertly, raising her hand to slap a defensive spell on herself, projecting a light barrier.
At this moment, Han Li was only about twenty zhang away from her! This made him feel great regret.
After using the transparent silk threads to easily kill the disciple from Tianque Castle last time, Han Li had been very interested in this tactic. Just now in the tree, seeing that the white-rooked woman hadn't released a defensive spell, an idea had naturally come to him to recreate that scene.
But unfortunately, the opponent was extremely vigilant. She had already sensed something was wrong and patched up this loophole. Han Li couldn't help but look up and sigh - women were indeed much more cautious than men!
Since trickery wasn't working, naturally only a direct attack remained.
Disappointed, Han Li wasted no more words. After releasing his defensive spell, he held the mother blade and gently shook it. Six identical golden blades flew out from his storage pouch, fiercely pouncing toward the opponent.
Seeing that Han Li's magic tools seemed extraordinary, the yellow-rooked woman, whose heart had nearly died, came back to life. She immediately threw out a talisman, which transformed into a long fire snake and shot forward.
The white-rooked woman sneered. Her delicate hand lightly supported, and a palm-sized small mirror appeared in her hand.
She gently shone the mirror, and a beam of green light shot out, enveloping the incoming golden blades and fire snake, causing them to stop in mid-air and spin without being able to fall, as if they had been immobilized by a spell.
Han Li's eyes went wide! What kind of magic tool was this? How could it be so heaven-defying? It could actually immobilize other people's magic tools and spells - how could he fight this?
"Don't worry, junior brother. Her magic tool can only immobilize one area at a time, and can only hold for half a quarter-hour. Then it needs to be收回 and will lose effect!" The yellow-rooked woman saw Han Li's shock and immediately offered comfort.
Hearing this, Han Li felt relieved. However, the fellow disciple's next words immediately made Han Li's heart rise again.
"However, this wicked woman is a descendant of an elder of the Hidden Moon Sect. She has been given many strange magic tools. You should be more careful, junior brother!"
Han Li was speechless.
"No wonder a female disciple at the twelfth level would be defeated so miserably. It turns out the opponent is a treasure-rich woman! If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have jumped out to play the hero!" Han Li deeply regretted it, feeling that nine times out of ten, he would have to fight for his life again!