Junior Brother Han is truly extraordinary. You found the flaw so quickly? Liu Jing praised him, then asked with a pleasant expression.
Han Li smiled slightly and suddenly handed over the crystal ball he was holding. "Senior Brother, use this Purple Light Sphere to look in this direction, and you'll understand." Han Li pointed in the direction he had been gazing at.
Liu Jing heard this and curiously took the magical artifact, looking carefully through the crystal ball.
As he looked, Han Li showed a surprised expression. After a moment, he returned the crystal ball to Han Li and lowered his head in thought.
After a while, he finally looked up and said to the others who were waiting anxiously:
"What Junior Brother Han said is correct. The spiritual energy fluctuations in this direction are somehow different from other places—they seem much thinner. It looks like the opponent hastily set up the formation and revealed a flaw that shouldn't have been there." Liu Jing's voice grew louder as he spoke, clearly filled with confidence.
"Then Senior Brother Liu means..." Chen Qiaoqian's martial sister couldn't help but ask.
"Concentrate all magical artifacts and attack this weak point together. I believe we can break this formation without expending too much magical energy," Liu Jing said firmly.
"Then let's do it quickly!" Song Meng heard this and immediately raised his hand impatiently, releasing the Blue Silk Sword, which hovered above his head.
The others showed eager expressions upon hearing Liu Jing's words.
Liu Jing saw this and didn't hesitate anymore, immediately saying:
"Good! Let's strike together. We must break this formation and teach them a lesson."
As these words were spoken, over a dozen magical artifacts emitted dazzling light and flew out from their bodies, shooting straight toward the flaw.
...
At this moment, standing outside and directing the sect members in setting up various encirclement formations, the Ice Demon was also extremely anxious.
Since the Black Fiend Sect Master had requested the Four Great Blood Servants to be on high alert within the palace recently, each shift of blood servants should have been two people.
But Ye She, who was supposed to guard the gate with him, had just achieved great merit and claimed he was about to enter the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment. So he had secretly gone to the Blood Prison to practice. Not wanting to offend this rising star among the Four Great Blood Servants, the Ice Demon had simply turned a blind eye and tacitly allowed it.
But this momentary negligence had led to so many powerful enemies invading now. And at the main gate, only he could deal with them.
However, fortunately, he was quick-witted!
First, he used the Four Symbols Formation to trap the enemies, then without hesitation sent people to call the other three from the Blood Prison and Rear Hall to come quickly.
He knew very well that with these Qi Condensation stage sect members currently available, they couldn't possibly be opponents for so many powerful enemies. But fortunately, this Four Symbols Formation had trapped several of them inside, and it could at least buy some time!
With just a little time buffer, the other three colleagues should be able to arrive in time.
When the Four Great Blood Servants joined forces, he, the Ice Demon, wouldn't fear anyone.
Just as he was thinking this, a thunderous rumbling sound came from within the Four Symbols Formation.
As this sound reached them, the thick white mist permeating the formation began to boil violently, looking as if the formation was about to break and the people inside would emerge at any moment.
"What's going on? The Four Symbols Formation can't possibly be unable to hold up this quickly. Something must have gone wrong!" Upon seeing this scene, the Ice Demon's aged face hidden within the cold aura turned somewhat green.
"Ice Lord, the enemies attacked too quickly earlier, and several disciples who specialized in maintaining the formation have already died. So the current personnel managing the Four Symbols Formation are insufficient—the enemy may have found a flaw," a nearby Black Fiend Sect member explained cautiously upon seeing this.
Hearing this, the Ice Demon was extremely alarmed and furious. He was about to open his mouth to shout a few reprimands when a gentle voice came from behind.
"Ice Demon, what happened? You've even activated the Four Symbols Formation, but it seems you still can't trap them."
Upon hearing this voice, the Ice Demon immediately relaxed.
"Qingwen, you've finally arrived! That's great!" The Ice Demon's voice was filled with unconcealed joy as he quickly turned around.
He saw two people standing about five or six zhang behind him—they had appeared at some unknown time.
One was in his thirties, with regular features, a pale face without a beard, wearing a blue Taoist robe, looking solemnly at the abnormalities in the Four Symbols Formation. The other was tall and large with a big bald head—it was Iron Luo, who had previously clashed with Han Li.
"Who are the invaders? Where's that kid Ye She?" Iron Luo rubbed his bald head, a bloodthirsty expression appearing on his face.
"Ye She is currently..."
Before the Ice Demon could finish his sentence, a tremendous "boom" sounded, and the thick mist within the Four Symbols Formation vanished in the explosion. Before the palace gate that had been shrouded in white mist, the figures of Han Li and the others appeared.
After seeing the cultivation levels and numbers of the invaders, Qingwen's expression changed slightly, and Iron Luo was even more shocked.
"Haha! You evil cultivators, did you really think a broken formation could trap people from our Yellow Maple Valley? Simply wishful thinking!" Upon finding himself standing before the Cold Palace again, Song Meng couldn't help but shout excitedly.
"Yellow Maple Valley?"
Qingwen and the two others were somewhat surprised, but after thinking about it, they felt it was quite normal. Besides the seven major sects, who else could send so many Foundation Establishment cultivators to the State of Yue?
"Why are you trespassing into the imperial palace at night? Aren't you afraid of violating the prohibitions?" Without waiting for Liu Jing and the others to speak, Qingwen questioned calmly.
Being well-versed in the seven major sects' prohibitions, he hoped to use this to make Liu Jing and the others hesitate.
Liu Jing snorted coldly and hadn't yet spoken when a cry of surprise came from the opposite side.
"It's you! Aren't you from the Thousand Bamboo Sect? How are you mixed in with Yellow Maple Valley cultivators?" The bald giant Iron Luo's gaze swept over and spotted Han Li standing at the back of the crowd, asking loudly in astonishment, his words full of suspicion.
This question stunned both friend and foe alike. Every gaze "whooshed" and concentrated on Han Li.
Only now did the Taoist Qingwen clearly see Han Li's face. His face twitched, and an expression of disbelief appeared in his eyes.
"When did I ever say I was from the Thousand Bamboo Sect!" Han Li looked coldly at the bald giant, then turned his gaze to the Taoist Qingwen.
That this old acquaintance from the Tainan Conference, who had once earnestly invited him to travel together, would appear here truly exceeded Han Li's expectations.
But precisely because of this, all the mysteries from back then—the other party's vigorous recruitment of low-level cultivators to travel together, and the subsequent mysterious tracking and assassination attempts by the yellow-robed men—were all resolved.
Having understood the whole situation, Han Li was naturally extremely angry and harbored intense killing intent toward this Taoist Qingwen.
"Nonsense! If you're not from the Thousand Bamboo Sect, how would you know puppet techniques?" The bald giant persisted in his questioning.
"What techniques Junior Brother Han knows, do we need to tell you? Everyone, attack! These people are deliberately stalling for time—we can't let them have their way." Liu Jing's face darkened as he suddenly said sternly.
After speaking, he raised his hand, and a sheet of silver light shot straight toward the Ice Demon at the front.
The people on the Yellow Maple Valley side suddenly realized the truth, cursed inwardly at the opponent's cunning, and without politeness unleashed their magical artifacts, immediately engaging in a chaotic battle.
Han Li had long been eyeing the Taoist Qingwen, so as soon as the fight began, he and Chen Qiaoqian's martial brother Wang immediately formed a pincer attack and surrounded the opponent.
Without a word, Han Li patted the storage pouch at his waist. Instantly, over ten dazzling three-colored lights of gold, dark, and red shot skyward. After a brief hover above Han Li's head, they emitted a rumbling sound as they charged straight at the opponent.
Han Li had not the slightest intention of exchanging a few words or catching up with the other party.
Qingwen and martial brother Wang on the other side both changed their expressions simultaneously upon seeing the enormous momentum of Han Li's attack.
Martial brother Wang showed an expression of pleasant surprise, inwardly marveling that Han Li truly lived up to his reputation. As an expert who had killed numerous Foundation Establishment cultivators, he was indeed extraordinary.
While the Taoist Qingwen wore a grave expression, a faint green aura enveloped his body. Seeing Han Li strike so ruthlessly, he knew Han Li harbored killing intent against him, and of course wouldn't just stand there waiting to die.
So he too wasted no words. Before the magical artifacts struck, he suddenly extended his hand.
Five green pearl-shaped magical artifacts flew from his hand, instantly floating around him in a pentagonal arrangement.
Then, with a flash of green light, a hazy green glow surrounded the Taoist Qingwen, and a pentagonal prism barrier appeared out of thin air, tightly protecting him within.
A burst of multicolored lights shot in all directions as Han Li's Golden Fork simultaneously struck the green prism. After emitting a dazzling flash, the peculiar barrier remained completely unscathed.
"Han Li, this Green Wood True Shield of mine can only be broken by Core Formation cultivators. Foundation Establishment cultivators can't damage it in the slightest—you should give up!" Qingwen suddenly said with a smile, looking as though he were very familiar with Han Li.