On their side, there were nine Foundation Establishment cultivators and over sixty Qi Condensation stage disciples. Though slightly weaker, they were not without the strength to fight back with the support of the Four Evil Formation.
Therefore, upon Xuan Le's call, Han Li and the other cultivators flew upward, hiding near the edge of the Four Evil Formation to silently watch the enemy's movements.
Only now did Han Li get a clear look at the appearance of the demonic cultivators who had come to attack!
Most of the enemy wore robes of red and yellow. From what he could see, they appeared to belong to two different sects.
Standing at the very front were a red-robed young woman of plain appearance and a yellow-robed old man in his sixties or seventies. There was nothing particularly stunning about the cultivation levels of these two—they were at early and late Foundation Establishment, respectively—and they were chatting with faint smiles on their faces.
"Be careful. These people are from the Demonic Flame Gate and the Sky Evil Sect," Lu Tianmeng, the only one who had experienced a few encounters with the Six Sects, warned the cultivators around him with extreme caution, clearly quite wary of these two factions.
Upon hearing this, Han Li and the others naturally heightened their vigilance and became even more cautious.
At this moment, the red-robed young woman above stopped talking. She turned her face and said a few words in a flat tone.
Han Li and the others were too far away to hear clearly. But after the young woman spoke, all the red-robed figures behind her took flight, slowly approaching the Four Evil Formation at the bottom of the gorge.
At the same time, the yellow-robed old man waved his hand without a word, and immediately, the yellow-robed cultivators on his side transformed into over a dozen streaks of yellow light, hurtling straight toward the Four Evil Formation. They intended to strike first despite starting later. This made Han Li and the others in the formation hold their breath involuntarily, and some of the more impatient ones immediately brought out their magical treasures.
These yellow-robed cultivators were not foolish enough to charge directly into the formation. Instead, they stopped about ten zhang away from the Four Evil Formation, revealing their forms. Then, various magical treasures flew from these cultivators and attacked the grand formation with overwhelming momentum.
The clash of strange lights from the magical treasures against the cyan, red, blue, and yellow restrictions of the Four Evil Formation produced bursts of explosive sounds like rolling thunder, causing the expressions of the Seven Sects' people below to change slightly.
"Half of you deal with these Sky Evil Sect people. We cannot let them break the formation. The other half, keep watch for the Demonic Flame Gate cultivators!" After a moment of thought, Xuan Le of the Dark Moon Sect spoke decisively.
Then he leaped out of the formation, the first to release a small, pure-white sword that transformed into a white rainbow, blocking a flying knife and a bead-shaped magical treasure outside the formation.
Hearing this, the cultivators who had followed Xuan Le also released their respective magical treasures and charged out of the formation to meet the bulk of the enemy's offensive. Han Li was naturally among them. He released the "Golden Light" treasure that he had already become extremely proficient with.
Because the owner of this treasure he had chosen was also only at the early Foundation Establishment stage, just like himself, the fight—though the golden and green lights danced wildly in a seemingly fierce clash—was actually under Han Li's easy control, allowing him to glance occasionally at other battle groups.
The situation seemed manageable!
Most of the cultivators who attacked on Han Li's side were only at the Qi Condensation stage. Their magical treasures were far inferior to the enemy's, and it took about five or six of them working together to barely withstand a single Foundation Establishment cultivator's attack. But thanks to the shelter of the grand formation, these cultivators could retreat into the formation at any time during moments of crisis, so no casualties had occurred for the time being. As for the other cultivators who were also at Foundation Establishment, they were naturally fighting their own yellow-robed opponents with considerable skill, just like him.
"So this is the strength of the Demonic Six Sects?"
Han Li found it somewhat strange. If this was all the enemy had, it seemed defending the spirit mine should be no problem at all!
He was just thinking this when the red-robed figures of the Demonic Flame Gate finally, after much dawdling, arrived beside the Four Evil Formation. This immediately made the cultivators below who had not yet acted—Lu Tianmeng among them—watch them with heightened alertness. Some of the younger Seven Sects cultivators even showed signs of eagerness to take action.
The red-robed figures did not immediately join the battle. Instead, they arranged themselves into a peculiar formation. Then, at the command of one among them, each person took out a large, fiery-red banner. The banners bore the image of a golden crow and a blazing sun, glowing with brilliant red light—clearly not ordinary items.
"Oh no! These people are Mad Flame Cultivators! They are going to release the Azure Yang Demonic Fire. Stop them quickly!"
Seeing the red-robed figures' unhurried manner, Lu Tianmeng had already felt a hint of foreboding. When they formed their formation and drew the large banners, he suddenly recalled the shocking scene he had personally witnessed during the great battle of the Six Sects. His face turned pale in an instant, and he shouted.
Immediately, this Spirit Beast Mountain cultivator, without a second thought, charged out of the formation and threw a leather pouch from his waist. Instantly, two flying centipedes, several feet long, shot out from the bag.
These two centipedes were covered in terrifying black-and-yellow patterns and possessed a pair of semi-transparent emerald-green wings. With a few sharp, urgent whistles from Lu Tianmeng, they charged at the red-robed figures with fierce gleams in their eyes.
The other Seven Sects cultivators who had not yet acted heard this. Although they did not know what "Mad Flame Cultivators" or "Azure Yang Demonic Fire" were, seeing their late Foundation Establishment leader turn so pale with alarm told them this was no small matter. Without hesitation, they immediately launched their attacks as well.
In particular, several Foundation Establishment cultivators followed closely behind Lu Tianmeng, their magical treasures also flying toward the red-robed figures alongside the two venomous centipedes.
At this moment, the dozen or so Demonic Flame Gate people were still holding their large banners, chanting incantations under their breath, their bodies motionless. They seemed to completely disregard the attacks bearing down on them, which greatly encouraged Lu Tianmeng and the others.
One of the two centipedes that reached above these Demonic Flame Gate cultivators first opened its massive jaws, about to spew a torrent of dark-green venom.
But just then, something shocking occurred!
Before the giant centipede's poisonous mist could leave its mouth, several slender, silver rays of light flashed across its body. Then, following the traces of those rays of light, its body suddenly split apart into pieces, falling to the ground in chunks.
Before the stunned Seven Sects cultivators could react, the same scene immediately played out on the other centipede. This made Lu Tianmeng's expression change drastically. He hurriedly halted his advance and quickly brought out a small shield, activating it to block in front of him.
The cultivators behind him were also horrified. They frantically deployed all manner of defensive magical treasures and talismans, terrified of sharing the centipedes' fate.
But something even more outrageous happened!
Some of the magical treasures that had followed right behind the centipedes were just about to attack when a cloud of fine silver threads materialized out of thin air in front of them, wrapping the treasures tightly so they could not move a single inch.
As a result, the Seven Sects cultivators who had just charged out of the formation stared at each other in bewilderment, momentarily at a loss for what to do! "Use the Spiritual Light Technique quickly! There are others in front of those red-robed people. They are using some kind of concealment art!" A Foundation Establishment cultivator who had also just lost his magical treasure cried out in alarm after a blue light flashed in his eyes.
These words caused all the other cultivators to suddenly realize. However, only Foundation Establishment cultivators could use the Spiritual Light Technique. The Qi Condensation cultivators could only watch helplessly!
Han Li was also using the Spiritual Light Technique to examine the area!
He had witnessed the entire scene earlier and was equally shaken! Now, upon using the Spiritual Light Technique under someone else's reminder to look closely, he indeed saw several faint, ghostly white human figures appear in front of those banner-wielding Demonic Flame Gate cultivators. These figures held long, slender weapons like swords in one hand, while from the other hand they released streams of silver threads to control those immobilized magical treasures.
At this moment, Lu Tianmeng and the other cultivators, having discovered the white figures, unleashed a barrage of spells and magical treasures upon them. Yet they were still completely held at bay by these white figures. No matter what magical treasures or techniques were used, they seemed to cause little harm to the white figures—they were almost like indestructible beings.
Fortunately, these white figures only knew two moves: slashing rapidly with the blades in their hands and releasing silver threads from their other hand. As long as one was careful to avoid letting them get close, there was no great danger. Otherwise, who would be attacking whom was truly anyone's guess!
"What the devil are these things?"
Han Li was greatly astonished. These figures were clearly not normal humans. Could they be some kind of refined ghosts or spirits?
He pondered absently while directing the golden blade before him with a casual hand. This absent-minded attitude finally provoked the mid-aged Sky Evil Sect cultivator opposite him!
That man, wearing a dark expression, directed his azure halberd to tangle with Han Li's golden blade while simultaneously and silently tapped his storage pouch. Immediately, a white bead that spun ceaselessly flew out.
Once this bead was released, it grew to the size of a house in the wind and smashed viciously down upon Han Li's head.
Though Han Li was somewhat distracted, such a loud commotion from the opponent was impossible to miss.
With an unhurried air, he slashed his empty hand through the air. A cyan sword glow about a zhang long shot from his palm, striking the bead directly and causing it to stumble in mid-air, temporarily preventing it from closing in.
Then, Han Li took out a pair of "Dark Dragon Claws" from his storage pouch. They immediately replaced the sword glow that was about to dissipate and blocked the opponent's bead, once again forming a stalemate. This infuriated the Sky Evil Sect cultivator opposite him, but for the moment, there was nothing he could do about it!
"Oh no!"
Lu Tianmeng's extremely anxious cry made Han Li's heart shudder. He quickly looked to one side again. He saw that the red-robed figures had stopped reciting their incantations and were simultaneously holding their large banners slanted toward the sky. Faint cyan flames were already flickering at the tips of the banners.
"So this is the Azure Yang Demonic Fire." Han Li widened his eyes, staring fixedly at those cyan tongues of flame, a growing sense of unease stirring within him.
And seeing that their opponent was on the verge of completing his spell, Lu Tianmeng's heart sank little by little! But the white figures before him were simply not something that could be broken through in a short time!