The Divine Wind Chariot's speed was extremely fast, and when driven by Han Li's Late Foundation Establishment cultivation, it was even more like an arrow, almost accompanied by a tearing sound through the air, as it arrived before the nameless small island.
When Han Li saw the reef he had been near just moments ago, his heart relaxed slightly. He raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead and was about to turn his head, when...
A bone-chilling sensation suddenly came from behind!
In shock, Han Li stamped his foot on the Divine Wind Chariot without a second thought.
Instantly, both him and the artifact swerved violently to one side, and the chariot darted away from its original position, covering a distance of over ten zhang in the blink of an eye.
Almost simultaneously, a deep yellow rainbow flashed through the spot where Han Li had just been standing. It flew forward another twenty or thirty zhang before the yellow light converged to reveal the figure of a person.
Han Li wiped a handful of sticky cold sweat, looked at this person, and gave a bitter smile.
The figure before him, with hair hanging wildly over his shoulders, was none other than Elder Gu of the Six Harmony Pavilion!
At this moment, the elder stood upon a circular, earth-yellow magical treasure, gazing at him in complete silence, his eyes utterly cold, as if Han Li were already a dead person in his sight.
And just over ten zhang behind this fearsome figure was precisely the location where Han Li had laid out his grand formation, making his heart turn to ice.
However, Han Li also knew that any words of questioning or pleading now would be utterly pointless.
The only option was to fight this "Senior" at the Core Formation stage and see if there was any chance to utilize the power of the formation to trap him.
With this thought, Han Li hardened his heart.
At his command, Qu Hun's figure flickered, already blocking in front of Han Li. Simultaneously, a thread of blood-red light emanated from his body, shrouding his entire form in a blood-colored aura that carried a faint, metallic scent.
Meanwhile, Han Li's hands flashed with light, and two more artifacts appeared in them.
At this, Elder Gu, seeing Han Li and Qu Hun take up defensive stances, a cold glint flashed in his eyes. The circular artifact beneath his feet emitted a long, resonant hum as the yellow light intensified, wrapping around him like armor, encasing him completely in its golden glow.
Then, Elder Gu suddenly spread his hands wide, but they instantly transformed into dozens of palm-sized, crescent-shaped light blades. These surged silently toward Han Li and Qu Hun.
Han Li was greatly alarmed, yet he felt a faint sense of relief.
This person's magical treasure was not a speed-type like Lei Wanhe's, and this gave him a chance to survive.
Gathering his spirits, Han Li raised both hands.
From one hand flew the turtle shell artifact, which expanded as soon as it left his grasp. From the other, a small, brilliantly shining mirror suddenly appeared. A vast expanse of azure light sprayed from the mirror's surface, shooting head-on toward the oncoming storm of light blades.
"Pfft, pfft" sounds rang out continuously. A small portion of the leading light blades, upon being bathed in the azure light, immediately became sluggish and their speed greatly diminished.
But as the subsequent crescent blades, vying to be first, flooded into the azure light, it was swiftly shredded to pieces, dissolving into countless specks of starlight.
At the same time, the mirror in Han Li's hand emitted a crisp "crack" and split cleanly in two, completely destroyed.
Throwing the broken mirror aside, Han Li felt not the slightest pang of regret over the destruction of his "Azure Condensing Mirror."
Instead, without even a glance, he slapped his storage pouch. Two streaks of black light and five streaks of white light shot out in succession from the storage pouch, hovering briefly in a half-circle above his head before arranging themselves neatly to meet the attack.
But Han Li was not yet finished. From his flanks, seven or eight more white lights flickered, and an equal number of puppet beast soldiers appeared simultaneously on both sides. They drew their bows and nocked arrows, poised and ready to strike.
By now, the storm of light blades had already struck the massive turtle shell. In the instant of contact, the artifact's surface was instantly covered with countless deep cuts. It barely held for a moment before letting out a mournful cry and being shattered into countless pieces by the myriad blades.
Having bought this precious moment, Han Li's seven or eight top-grade magical treasures arrived just in time, flying in front of Qu Hun. They spun and danced ceaselessly, weaving a screen of black and white blades.
Naturally, even these top-grade artifacts could not withstand the attack of these now-weakened light blades. The Black Dragon Seizer and the five white flying blades flashed a few times before dissolving into streaks of flowing light.
With no further obstruction, the crescent light blades pressed on relentlessly, slashing straight toward Qu Hun, who had not moved a single step from in front of Han Li since the fight began.
"Ha!"
From Qu Hun's mouth suddenly erupted an earth-shattering roar. Then, the blood-red light enveloping his body detached from his form, transforming in an instant into a colossal crimson light-dragon. With bared fangs and brandishing claws, it pounced forward.
Instantly, the crimson light and the already-weakened light blades clashed and intertwined. Joined by the attacks from the puppet soldiers at Han Li's flanks, the situation fell into a momentary stalemate.
This scene filled Han Li with immense joy, while opposite him, Elder Gu showed a flicker of surprise on his face.
But then, the pursuing Core Formation cultivator let out a disdainful snort. With a shake of his body, the yellow light around him blazed once more, and his hands rose again.
Seeing this, Han Li's heart plummeted!
He had already exhausted all his magical treasures to block this wave of attack. If this powerful opponent launched another such devastating strike, he would surely die without even a proper burial.
Just as Han Li was trembling in fear, whether it was the heavens taking pity on him, the sneering Core Formation cultivator's expression suddenly changed. A patch of unnatural blush rose to his cheeks, which then turned an unusual, ashen pallor.
Immediately after, the yellow light around him dimmed, and his body bent over in a spasm of pain.
Elder Gu was both startled and furious!
He knew full well this was due to his severe prior injuries, from which he had not properly rested and recovered, and had then recklessly expended his true essence.
However, if given just a moment, he could suppress the injury again, and eliminating Han Li would still be as easy as turning over his hand.
But right now, Han Li was beside himself with joy!
Seizing this golden opportunity, he grabbed Qu Hun without hesitation, not even caring about the seven or eight puppets or the crimson dragon locked in stalemate. He shot down toward the nameless small island below with lightning speed, flying diagonally past his hunched-over opponent.
Elder Gu was now seething with humiliation and rage!
If he truly allowed Han Li to escape from his grasp, the joke would be far too great.
In his vexation, disregarding the fact that his injuries would worsen, he gritted his teeth and forcibly gathered all the spiritual power in his body, suppressing the discomfort by force.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, he spun around. The dazzling yellow rainbow blazed forth as he shot off in pursuit of Han Li.
A distance of several dozen zhang was nothing to Han Li when he was pushing his artifact to its limit; he arrived in an instant.
But almost as his front foot stepped into the range of the formation, the yellow rainbow caught up from behind, and the two of them entered the formation virtually simultaneously.
Elder Gu was secretly delighted, thinking he could obliterate the two with a single strike, when suddenly his vision blurred, and the scene around him changed completely.
This was no longer a small island. Everywhere he looked, stretching in all directions, was an endless, vast ocean. A tremendous pressure squeezed in on him from all sides.
"A formation?" Elder Gu's expression became grave.
Although somewhat startled by the sudden appearance of a formation here, he did not feel overly panicked.
After all, judging from the fluctuations of spiritual energy in the vicinity, this was no grand or formidable formation. He was confident he could break it with ease.
With this thought, Elder Gu's face turned cold, and the yellow light around him became dazzlingly bright.
Han Li, who had laid the "Azure Water Green Armor Formation" himself, naturally had a very different experience from the Core Formation "Senior" who had followed him in. After his artifact flickered a few times, he exited the grand formation with ease.
Now, originally intending to flee far away, he turned his head, and his expression darkened.
There, inside the formation, Elder Gu had transformed into a streak of startling yellow lightning, attacking the formation's restrictions with the ferocity of a thunderbolt. It looked as if he would break free and escape in no time, which left Han Li's expression flickering between light and shadow.
From the looks of it, if he tried to flee now on his artifact, he would definitely be caught again by this menace once he broke free. After all, the difference in flying speed between a magical treasure and a common artifact was truly vast.
While Han Li hesitated for a moment, several more layers of the formation's restrictions were broken through by his opponent.
A killing glint flashed in his eyes. Cornered and desperate, Han Li stopped dithering. With a signal to Qu Hun, the two of them, taking cover behind the restrictions, slipped in silently, gradually approaching Elder Gu.
But before Han Li and his companion could truly get close, Elder Gu, who had been rampaging destructively within the formation's restrictions, seemed to sense something.
He suddenly stopped his actions, looking around with extreme vigilance, his expression dark and sinister.
Han Li frowned. However, with a flip of his palm, a small, azure-colored flag appeared in his hand—precisely the master flag that controlled this formation.
A few low, murmuring chants issued faintly from Han Li's mouth. Then, he tossed the flag, which transformed into a streak of azure light and merged into the grand formation.
Immediately, the scene before Elder Gu shifted once more. The surrounding seawater began to churn with violent waves. The pressure, already heavier than a thousand jin, suddenly intensified several-fold, causing his figure to become momentarily sluggish.