Chapter 1080: The Pact of a Single Punch

"Brother Han, a full-force strike from a Da Luo level Metal Devouring Immortal is no joke! I know you have skills, but you shouldn't be so careless." Jiao San transmitted to Han Li.

"Brother Han, he only said you must not dodge and must meet him head-on, but he didn't forbid using treasures or immortal artifacts. I can lend you my Heavenly Fox Blood-Transforming Blade. Using it to receive his punch should give you a better chance." Hu San also transmitted.

"Thank you for your kindness, but I have my own plans." Han Li smiled and replied to both.

Jiao San and Hu San exchanged puzzled glances but said nothing more to dissuade him.

"If you have any protective robes or the like, wear as many as you can. As long as you don't dodge, you can prepare anything. I won't hold back with this punch." The young man grinned, revealing two rows of gleaming white teeth.

"No need." Han Li shook his head.

Then he looked at Jiao San and the others and transmitted a message telling them to stay away from him for now.

They all retreated dozens of miles and watched from afar.

"What is Brother Han up to? Can he really take a full-force strike from this Metal Devouring Immortal?" Hu San wondered.

"I... I'm not sure. But from what I know of him, he never fights a battle he isn't confident in. Since he's agreed, let's wait and see." Jiao San shook his head.

Xiong Shan said nothing; in fact, he was the most at ease of the three. He even had a vague feeling that this Da Luo level Metal Devouring Immortal was likely to be tricked by Han Li.

Seeing that they had gone far, Han Li lightly flicked his finger, and a spherical light barrier expanded outward, covering an area of about a thousand zhang in radius.

"A Time Domain... What, trying to block my attack with time laws?" The young man raised an eyebrow.

"You may make your move." Han Li did not reply, only said calmly.

With that, he stepped back, assuming a boxing stance. Immortal spiritual power surged within him like a torrent, and both the Heavenly Fiend Prison Suppression Art and the Great Five Elements Illusion World Art began to operate simultaneously.

"Interesting..." The young man frowned slightly, intrigued.

As his words fell, a brilliant golden light burst from his body. His robes fluttered without wind, and the front of his garment rustled loudly.

At his feet, rings of golden light expanded and spread outward like ripples on a lake, reaching hundreds of miles.

"Rustle, rustle..."

Under the impact of this force, the golden sand grains in the vast desert leaped and danced as if rejoicing.

Jiao San and the others, feeling this power, changed expression and looked at Han Li with growing doubt.

Han Li, being closest to the young man, felt it most keenly. Though shaken inside, he remained calm on the surface, only urging his immortal spiritual power to circulate more urgently.

"Ready?" The young man raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile.

As he spoke, he also stepped back, drawing his fist to his waist and beginning to gather power.

Han Li still said nothing, but golden light blazed from his body as well.

Behind him, a golden wheel spun out, its surface patterns shining brightly. It flew out and merged with the surrounding void domain, rising into the air like a bright moon, casting soft rays of light in all directions.

Following that, Illusion Dust sand grains spread across the ground, blending with the golden sand until they were almost indistinguishable. But light played over them, altering the terrain as mountain ranges rose up.

Then, the Eastern Yi Divine Wood, as if touched by spring, grew into a vast primeval forest covering the mountains.

Water of Time seemed to descend from the heavens, forming a winding river that flowed through the mountains and beyond the forest.

A golden torch scattered countless golden sparks, flying backward into the sky like dense stars scattered across the night.

"This is..."

Seeing such extraordinary phenomena, the young man was slightly surprised.

But after all, he was not Qimozi; he did not know the mysteries of the Great Five Elements Illusion World Art. He only found it novel, not yet realizing that his own state was undergoing strange changes.

"Heh, what use are these bizarre illusions to me?" Though he felt the flow of time around him slowing and his movements becoming more restricted, the young man still blustered.

As he spoke, the golden light around him blazed to its peak. The power he had gathered was complete, and wind and thunder roared all over his body.

Just then, he withdrew his back foot and punched forward.

"Boom..."

A thunderous roar filled the void. A huge golden fist shadow shot out, seemingly unaffected by the time law, piercing through the void and heading straight for Han Li.

But the moment the fist shadow flew out, the young man's expression suddenly changed. He realized that the power of this punch was far weaker than he had expected.

Then his expression changed again and again as he finally understood what was happening to him.

Han Li, facing him, was not at ease either. The time crystal threads he had condensed had lost most of their power, causing him great pain. He quickly withdrew the various phenomena of the Five Elements Illusion World.

As the phenomena diminished, the speed of the incoming fist shadow increased dramatically, arriving before Han Li in an instant.

But fortunately, he had prepared for this. The Heavenly Fiend Prison Suppression Art within him had been pushed to its limit, and he also threw a punch at the golden fist shadow.

This punch did not draw on the already depleted immortal spiritual power but concentrated all his star power at the tip of his fist, striking with a single point and exploding suddenly!

With a thunderous "Boom!"

The golden fist shadow landed almost against Han Li's fist, and at that moment, his fist bloomed with a dazzling white light, like a sudden blizzard or an exploding sun.

Golden light and white light merged and exploded together, forming a chaotic vortex that swept in all directions, instantly throwing the void for a hundred miles into utter chaos.

On the ground, hundreds of chaotic air currents raised yellow sand tornadoes that connected the sky and the desert, raging like demonic dragons, emitting terrifying roars.

Han Li was slammed by the immense force hundreds of zhang deep into the golden sand. His bones cracked, and his muscles ached.

His eyes shining, he shook his arms and slammed his palms together, shooting out of the quicksand, smashing through dozens of yellow sand tornadoes, and stopping before the young man.

After a moment, all the commotion began to subside, but the desert was still filled with flying dust, making it hard to see clearly.

"I've taken your punch. What now?" Han Li spat out some blood from his chest and asked.

"How is that possible? Your domain just now..." The young man looked at his fist, his expression strange.

"Your cultivation state has temporarily regressed by a few million years. It will gradually recover." Han Li said calmly.

Though he spoke lightly, the young man was still shocked.

Indeed, when he had thrown his punch and found it weaker than expected, it was no illusion. At that moment, his cultivation had indeed been forcibly suppressed.

"Since you've taken my punch unharmed, what I said naturally stands. I won't stop you from exploring, and I can even take you to the seventh floor. And you, you must take me out of the pagoda." The young man said.

"If you hadn't thrown that punch and had directly accepted my proposal, it would have been so. But since you threw the punch, some conditions have changed." Han Li suddenly smiled and said unhurriedly.

"What do you mean? Are you going back on your word?" The young man frowned.

"Not going back on my word. The condition to take you out of the Age Pagoda remains unchanged, but I need you to do one more thing for me." Han Li said.

"What thing?" The young man suppressed his anger and asked patiently.

"Among those who entered the Age Pagoda with us, there is a Da Luo cultivator who is my mortal enemy. I want you to help me deal with him. Of course, this doesn't have to be done if he doesn't come looking for trouble. After we leave the pagoda, you'll be free and won't need to do this." Han Li saw Jiao San and the others approaching and switched to voice transmission.

"Just that?" The young man hesitated.

"Just that." Han Li nodded.

As he spoke, Jiao San and the others landed nearby, looking at the scene with strange expressions.

Earlier, when Han Li used the Five Elements Illusion World, they had sensed the dense time law power but didn't know exactly what happened. Now, seeing the situation, they understood.

"By the way, there's another thing I can tell you. While traveling through various immortal domains, I once saw two Metal Devouring Immortals at the Tai Yi stage. I think they might be of the same kind as you..."

"Where did you see them?" The young man interrupted Han Li mid-sentence.

"In the Northern Cold Immortal Domain and the Golden Source Immortal Domain. One was a half-grown child, the other a fierce woman." Han Li fabricated casually.

"If you can take me to them, even after leaving the pagoda, I can protect you. If the person you mentioned comes, I can go all out and kill him for you." The young man pondered for a moment, a strange glint in his eyes, and transmitted.

"Then it's settled." Han Li smiled.

His earlier words were a mix of truth and falsehood. He didn't expect the young man to believe everything, so he had intentionally and unintentionally triggered the soul connection between him and Gold童.

Once the young man sensed it, he naturally wouldn't bother with the truth of Han Li's words.

On the surface, their words were nothing, but secretly each had their own schemes. Han Li intended to bring him to Gold童 for devouring, while the young man also harbored the thought of following the trail to find Gold童 and devour him.

"Now, can you tell me how to address you?" Han Li smiled.

"Qu Lin." The young man replied.

"I am Han Li." Han Li gave a slight bow.

"Fellow Daoist Han, since the agreement is made, let's not delay. I'll take you to the seventh floor immediately." Qu Lin said eagerly.

"No hurry, no hurry. Let me rest a bit." Han Li waved his hand.

Qu Lin's strike had been immensely powerful. Han Li had blocked it with great difficulty; how could he be unscathed?

With that, he sat down cross-legged, took out a pill, swallowed it, and closed his eyes to meditate.