"Bang! Bang!" The corpses of Liu Jing and his companion were casually flung to the ground by their ambushers, making Han Li's eyelids twitch slightly.
"Since you've come, don't bother leaving. I happen to need a few more Foundation Establishment cultivators for a blood sacrifice!" The man finished speaking with a sinister laugh, revealing teeth that gleamed white under the moonlight.
This man was none other than Emperor Yue, who had just appeared utterly terrified. But now, there was not a trace of that panicked demeanor about him. His body emanated magical fluctuations no less powerful than those of the blue-robed man—he too was a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Sensing the man's cultivation level, Han Li's expression grew even colder.
He had no idea what technique the man had just used to conceal his cultivation so thoroughly that none of the Yellow Maple Valley disciples had detected a thing. This reminded Han Li of when he had encountered the young prince and the Steward Wang, where he similarly hadn't sensed any magical energy from them. However, this time the mysterious premonition of danger hadn't appeared, making Han Li even more wary and cautious.
Han Li flicked his fingers, and the White Phosphorus Shield and the turtle-shell artifact simultaneously flew out, slowly orbiting around his body.
Beside him, Chen Qiaoqian, Song Meng, and the others watched Emperor Yue and the blue-robed man with tense expressions. They too summoned their artifacts, tightly guarding their bodies.
Seeing Han Li and his companions looking as if facing a formidable enemy, Emperor Yue and the blue-robed man exchanged a glance and then simultaneously let out cold, sinister laughs.
Then, the blue-robed man's figure flickered, and he suddenly appeared a dozen zhang away, at a spot where a pile of glistening ice fragments lay—the scattered remains of the Ice Demon, whom Han Li had torn apart with his blade techniques.
Upon reaching the pile, the blue-robed man reached out and gently grabbed the air. A blue bead shot out from the Ice Demon's remains and flew into his hand.
At the same time, the treacherous Emperor Yue also flashed to the burial site of the two Blood Servants who had been refined by the Fire Bird True Treasure. He slapped the ground hard, and a gold and a yellow bead burst through the soil, obediently flying into his hands.
"What are these?"
Upon seeing these beads and recalling the cyan bead from earlier, Han Li immediately guessed something, and his heart grew tense.
He hadn't even figured out how to achieve his objective for this trip, yet the objects had appeared right before his eyes.
These must be the "Five Elements Blood Condensation Pills" that the young prince had mentioned, related to Core Formation. But there were only four here—where was the fifth?
While Han Li was caught between surprise and joy, Emperor Yue and the blue-robed man, having obtained these beads, were equally delighted.
They each stood in their respective positions and suddenly threw their heads back in laughter. Then, amidst the laughter, they cast cold glances at Han Li and his group, making no effort to conceal the murderous intent on their faces. This made everyone on Han Li's side change expression.
"Everyone, get into the air!" After turning various thoughts over in his mind, Han Li suddenly shouted. Then, the Divine Wind Ark appeared, and he was the first to fly up.
The others were stunned for a moment, but trusting in Han Li's earlier extraordinary performance, Song Meng and "Senior Sister Xue Hong's" dual-cultivation partner instinctively flew into the sky as he had instructed. Only Chen Qiaoqian hesitated for a moment after hearing Han Li's words, but then she pulled Zhong Weiniang behind her and also rode her artifact into the air.
Emperor Yue and the blue-robed man saw this and a strange look flashed across their faces. But then they both sneered. Though they were two people with completely different appearances, Han Li got the bizarre feeling that their expressions and smiles were those of a single person, sending a chill down his spine.
"These little ones are quite clever. It seems you'll need to sacrifice yourself ahead of schedule!"
"Mine is yours, isn't it? Take it then!"
Emperor Yue and the blue-robed man exchanged a casual exchange below, but the strange content of their words sent chills down the backs of Han Li, Chen Qiaoqian, and the others.
"Junior Brother Han, what are they talking about?" Song Meng sidled up to Han Li and asked, swallowing hard.
Having witnessed so many of their fellow disciples die miserably before his eyes, even someone as combative as Song Meng had lost his initial fearlessness. He came to ask Han Li now more for peace of mind—after all, Han Li held a certain air of mystery in his heart, making him seem somewhat reliable.
Han Li gave a bitter internal laugh at this. The corner of his mouth twitched, and he was about to say something when the scene unfolding below made his face turn pale. He immediately swallowed his words. Chen Qiaoqian even let out a startled cry, making Song Meng's heart race as he quickly looked down.
He saw Emperor Yue's hand thrust deep into the blue-robed man's chest, while the blue-robed man had his arms spread wide, showing not a hint of struggle, even smiling calmly as always.
Then, dazzling blood-red light erupted from both the blue-robed man and Emperor Yue. Through Emperor Yue's arm embedded in the blue-robed man's chest, their blood-red lights became connected. Immediately after, the blood-red light on the blue-robed man began transferring to Emperor Yue's body—as if being absorbed by Emperor Yue, or perhaps as if being offered willingly. Chen Qiaoqian and the others watched with their mouths agape.
Then, the light on the blue-robed man grew weaker and weaker, his flesh and skin shriveling bit by bit, while the blood-red light on Emperor Yue grew stronger and stronger, his appearance actually becoming younger by degrees.
"What kind of evil technique is this?" Song Meng exclaimed in horror.
But at this moment, Han Li's face was incredibly grim. He had no time for his fellow disciple Song's astonishment. Instead, he took a deep breath and then abruptly swept both hands outward.
Countless fire snakes, fireballs, and other fire-element talismans surged from his hands toward Emperor Yue and the blue-robed man below, scrambling to be first. He had thrown a hundred or two hundred of them—these were all the fire-element talismans Han Li had left.
The result was that these talismans transformed in midair into an overwhelming barrage of fire-element spells. The massive waves of fire charged down with formidable momentum, their intensity even surpassing that of Liu Jing's Fire Bird True Treasure. However, it was rare in the cultivation world for anyone to throw out hundreds of talismans at once—after all, this wasn't just throwing talismans; this was throwing hundreds of spirit stones.
The sheer magnitude of this display startled Song Meng, Chen Qiaoqian, and the others. Even the dazed Zhong Weiniang blinked blankly, staring for several moments. Meanwhile, Emperor Yue below was initially shocked by the sight as well, but quickly realized these were merely low-grade spells and dismissed them with disdain.
He knew full well that with the protective blood light around his body, these spells couldn't harm him at all. Better to focus on the matter at hand. Once this was settled, killing those few would be as easy as picking something from a pocket.
Just as a heart-chilling look flashed in Emperor Yue's eyes, the sky-covering firelight engulfed him and the blue-robed man opposite him in thunderous explosions.
Sure enough, no matter how deafening the blasts or how sky-high the flames, Emperor Yue and the blue-robed man remained unharmed. The blood-red light on the blue-robed man had already transferred more than half to Emperor Yue, who now appeared to be only around thirty years old. This brought a look of delight to Emperor Yue's face!
At this moment, seeing Han Li had made his move, Chen Qiaoqian and the others also launched their artifacts downward. After all, it seemed the two were engaged in some evil technique and unable to fight back—this was naturally the time to beat a drowning dog.
But just as their artifacts left their hands, a blinding white light erupted between Emperor Yue and the blue-robed man. Then, a heaven-shaking explosion rang out, and the white light contracted before expanding, engulfing the two within.
The terrifying spiritual energy contained within the white light and the look of horror on Emperor Yue's face were clearly visible to Chen Qiaoqian and the others, filling them with both shock and joy. They all looked toward Han Li in unison, obviously realizing this move had been made by their fellow disciple before them.
But Han Li in their eyes showed no trace of joy. Instead, his expression grew even more sinister.
"Don't celebrate too early. That fellow isn't dead yet!"
Han Li glanced at them coolly and said coldly. This remark made their hearts skip a beat, and they hurriedly looked down.
Sure enough, though the smoke and dust below obscured everything, Emperor Yue's aura was still faintly perceptible. It seemed that even if he was still alive, his magical power had been significantly depleted.
After sensing this information with his divine consciousness, Song Meng and the other two perked up again. They each directed their artifacts to hover uncertainly in the sky nearby, ready to strike together and kill Emperor Yue the moment he showed himself—avenge their fellow disciples who had died miserably.
"Cough... good! ... good! Cough! I really did misjudge you. I never expected you to be the most formidable one in this group! What exactly did you hide in those talismans that could even penetrate my protective blood light?" A fit of coughing came from the smoke, but gradually the voice steadied, growing colder and fuller in breath as it spoke.
Song Meng and the others' expressions changed dramatically, and even Han Li was inwardly horrified.
"Just a Heavenly Thunder Bomb, that's all. I truly didn't expect that a Foundation Establishment cultivator could actually survive a Heavenly Thunder Bomb!" Han Li sighed and said slowly. As he spoke, he waved both hands, and over a dozen puppet beasts and puppet soldiers appeared before him in a flash of white light, each aimed at the gradually materializing figure on the ground below.
The moment that figure was revealed, Song Meng and the others' artifacts struck without hesitation. But after a burst of red light, all the artifacts simultaneously lost connection with their masters. Then, Emperor Yue emerged from the smoke, covered in blood and grime, his eyes filled with venomous hatred fixed on Han Li.