Chapter 1049: Breaking the Ice

"There's nothing strange about it. The five elements naturally have mutual generation and restraint relationships. Metal generating water has been true since ancient times. Within this metal force field, my water-attribute domain is naturally three parts stronger. If those metal beasts remained within my domain, they would have their metal-attribute power drained, so naturally they avoid me," Lan Yuanzi said calmly.

"I see. I've learned something," Han Li nodded, saying.

"Within this metal force field, I already hold the advantage of terrain and am inherently unbeatable. Fellow Daoist Han, are you truly unwilling to surrender?" Lan Yuanzi, seeing Han Li's unperturbed demeanor, couldn't help but ask curiously.

"If you were a Da Luo realm cultivator, with this terrain advantage, you might be qualified to speak like that," Han Li sneered, saying.

With that, he stepped forward, not using any immortal spiritual power, but only his physical strength to charge ahead.

Han Li remained still, but as soon as he moved, he felt as if he had charged into a vast ocean. Rolling waves continuously crashed against him, pushing him back and preventing him from advancing.

He snorted coldly, silently activated the Heavenly Fiend Prison Suppression Art, and the profound apertures all over his body lit up one after another. A surge of star power burst forth, and his form abruptly broke through the obstruction of the water-attribute law force, instantly closing the distance between him and the Lan siblings.

"Such a powerful physique. This is absolutely not something a Tai Yi cultivator should possess," Lan Yuanzi's expression changed slightly, and he said in surprise.

"What use is a strong physique? First, take my Water Element Slash," Lan Yan, who had been holding back a bellyful of anger, snorted coldly. A water-blue遁光 rose from her body, and she charged back toward Han Li.

Her form, within Lan Yuanzi's domain, seemed completely unaffected, instantly flashing before Han Li.

She twisted her wrist, and the three crystals on the water-blue curved sickle lit up simultaneously. A powerful water-attribute law force surged forth, and the sickle's blade instantly doubled in size, arcing through the air to slash at Han Li.

"No, fall back quickly..." Lan Yuanzi suddenly remembered something and shouted in alarm.

But it was too late. Han Li's True Word Wheel reversed within him, accelerating the flow of time, making him much faster than Lan Yan.

His form brushed past the edge of Lan Yan's curved sickle, and he reached out a hand to lock onto her throat.

The latter had no room to resist and was firmly clamped by the neck.

"Hehehe..." A series of crisp laughs came from Lan Yan's throat.

Han Li immediately sensed something was wrong, but by the time he tried to let go, it was already too late.

An icy-cold sensation spread from his palm. A water-blue light surged from Lan Yan's body, instantly covering Han Li and freezing him into a crystal-blue ice sculpture.

And the "Lan Yan" he had firmly gripped also turned into an ice sculpture.

On the other side, beside Lan Yuanzi, light coalesced, and Lan Yan's figure reappeared.

"Brother, knowing he cultivates time laws, how could I really be reckless?" Lan Yan said with a clever smile.

"I didn't expect you to hide it even from me, making me worry for nothing," Lan Yuanzi sighed lightly.

"At least we've captured him. Brother, quickly seal him completely. My extreme ice crystal can only trap him for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea," Lan Yan's smile faded, and she said hurriedly.

No sooner had she spoken than a somewhat muffled voice came: "A cup of tea? Fellow Daoist Lan, aren't you overestimating yourself a bit?"

Then came a loud "bang."

Countless golden electric lights surged from Han Li's body, the blue ice crystal exploded with a roar, and his figure reappeared.

"How is this possible?" Lan Yan said in astonishment.

If an ordinary Tai Yi cultivator were sealed in this extreme ice crystal, their immortal spiritual power would be frozen and unable to circulate, making it impossible to escape. Even a Tai Yi peak cultivator would only be slightly faster, absolutely unable to do what Han Li did.

How could she know that Han Li had opened over nine hundred profound apertures? Even if his immortal spiritual power were frozen, his flesh-and-blood power and star power were enough to break through the seal.

Han Li sneered and said no more. With a twist of his wrist, he spread a pale golden domain, just enough to envelop Lan Yuanzi's domain.

The Lan siblings felt the pervasive sense of stagnation and oppression in the time domain, and their expressions couldn't help but change.

"This man is far more troublesome than we imagined. Don't have any侥幸心理. Only by using that move might we have a chance to win," Lan Yuanzi said gravely.

Lan Yan's gaze narrowed slightly, and she also nodded.

Then, she put away her curved sickle and snapped her fingers.

A slightly lighter, somewhat pale domain expanded, and as it approached Lan Yuanzi's domain, a strange attractive force arose between them, and eventually, with a flash of light, they merged.

After the two domains merged, an icy and peculiar sensation spread from within.

Han Li, standing within it, felt as if pressed by a great sea, barely able to breathe.

"Domain fusion..."

He swallowed, frowned, and said in slight surprise.

Before him, the figures of Lan Yan and Lan Yuanzi had both disappeared, replaced by a ten-zhang-tall blue ice sculpture. Its face was androgynous, somewhat resembling both Lan siblings.

While Han Li hesitated, winds howled around him, and a loud crashing sound arose.

Outside his body, four beams of cold light shot up from the ground, forming four identical blue ice sculptures.

The five ice sculptures, expressionless, all opened their mouths and let out a low shout.

As they did, the temperature around plummeted. Visible streams of white cold air surged forth from all directions toward Han Li.

A loud "crack-crack" sound came from the void, and the space began to refract crystalline light.

Han Li's gaze flickered, and a layer of white frost instantly formed on his brows.

His expression changed slightly. He raised his hand and waved, and eighteen Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords appeared before him, their surfaces crackling with golden electric light that surged forth, forming golden thunderballs about to explode.

But a whirlwind swept by, and the white cold air surged in. Han Li felt a bone-chilling cold, and he, along with the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords, was frozen in the center.

The electric threads spreading from the golden thunderballs were still clearly visible, but they too were sealed by the ice.

Han Li's heart tightened. He was surprised to find that even his sea of consciousness seemed penetrated by the cold, and his divine sense grew numb.

"Brother, we captured him through domain fusion, but we can't maintain it for long. How do we take him back to the Nine Yuan Temple?" One of the ice sculptures spoke, its voice devoid of emotion.

"The sect didn't necessarily say to bring him back alive. Finding the Heaven-Devouring Vial is the real matter. Since this man is so troublesome, let's kill him and just take his soul back," another ice sculpture replied, its voice equally cold and inhuman.

"Use the Profound Ice Soul-Slaying Sword?" Another ice sculpture asked.

"Slay!" The remaining two ice sculptures spoke simultaneously.

Then, the five ice sculptures, as if alive, all formed hand seals and began to set up a formation.

Above Han Li's head, blue light surged, revealing a circular rune. A surge of extreme cold force burst forth, and the tip of a blue ice sword thrust out halfway.

The icy cold within the entire space instantly increased a hundredfold, and an unprecedented terrifying pressure bore down from above.

"This... what grade immortal artifact?" Han Li felt this power and his heart tightened.

This sword, not even fully drawn, already had such pressure. If it were fully unleashed, even a Da Luo cultivator might not be able to withstand it. No wonder the Lan siblings had to join forces and summon it through a formation.

His immortal spiritual power was almost completely frozen, and even his star power was sluggish. Moreover, the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords were sealed, making it impossible for him to break free from the extreme cold's seal.

Inside the stone gate, the battle had already turned the world upside down, but those outside could only hear the sounds of fighting and roars, feeling the occasional powerful fluctuations, yet unable to see clearly what was happening inside.

"When do we go in?" Su Qianxi transmitted.

"No need to rush. Let's wait a bit. With such a large-scale battle, if we rush in, we might get caught up in it. Better to wait until the fighting inside stops, then go in. Either way, we won't lose," Jin Liu thought for a moment and transmitted back.

Just then, a powerful icy cold directly tore through the seal of the metal force field and leaked out of the stone gate.

Several cultivators from the Carefree Pavilion outside were too close and couldn't dodge in time. The force invaded their bodies, instantly freezing them into ice sculptures. Before those around could rescue them, they had already died.

"What's happening..." The crowd was startled and quickly moved away from the stone gate.

Su Qianxi and Jin Liu exchanged a glance, their expressions also changing.

"Fellow Daoist Jin, why hasn't there been any word from Fellow Daoist Yu and the others since they went in so long? Could something have gone wrong?" The Valley Master Fu of the Green Bamboo Valley asked, his expression shifting.

"The situation inside is unclear; I can't be sure," Jin Liu frowned, saying.

No sooner had he spoken than another boom came from within the stone gate. An indescribably scorching wave of heat surged out, forcing those at the entrance to retreat another hundred zhang.

"What in the world..."

At that moment, inside the space behind the gate, Han Li, still frozen in the center, was wrapped in silver flames that surged upward like a fiery tornado, emitting a terrifyingly scorching aura.

A sharp cry rang out. From the surging silver flames behind Han Li, a silver flame bird with seven-colored flames on its head shot into the sky, directly colliding with the Profound Yuan Soul-Slaying Ice Sword that had already fallen most of the way.

"Boom!" A loud crash!

Countless blue cold lights from the Profound Ice Soul-Slaying Sword surged out like rain-thin threads, mingling with the blazing flames, instantly stirring up a vast expanse of white mist that nearly covered the entire space.

"Essence Flame Fire... Could this be an Essence Flame Fire Bird?" One ice sculpture spoke.

"How could there be an Essence Flame Fire Bird with such power?" Another ice sculpture said.

"That damned Dongfang Bai, why didn't he mention this?" Yet another ice sculpture spoke.