Chapter 1082: Heavy Criminal

Seeing that Lei Yuce and Su Qianxi at the bottom of the pit were both motionless, Wen Zhong shouted and charged down first.

Jin Liu also shot down swiftly, pulling Lei Yuce away from Su Qianxi before Wen Zhong could take over the nearly collapsing man.

“Are you all right?” Jin Liu asked, supporting Su Qianxi by the shoulders when he noticed her strange expression.

Su Qianxi shrugged off his hands and turned to look at Lei Yuce.

Lei Yuce, held by Jin Liu, had already been fed a pill, but his chest still heaved violently.

Sensing Su Qianxi’s gaze, he looked back and shook his head gently with a soft expression, indicating he was fine.

Su Qianxi felt a slight stir in her heart and looked away, knowing that if not for protecting her, Lei Yuce would never have been so severely injured.

Lei Yuce, not disappointed, smiled habitually and sat up with Wen Zhong’s help, forming hand seals and closing his eyes to regulate his breath.

As soon as he activated his technique, residual purple lightning and golden light burst from his wounds with a crackling sound, twisting his face in pain, yet he made no sound.

Lan Yuanzi and his sister watched, a glint of approval flashing in their eyes.

A flicker of pity passed through Su Qianxi’s eyes. She approached Lei Yuce, turned her wrist, and produced a small water-blue porcelain bottle, handing it to him, saying:

“This is a Water-One Pill from our Tianshui Sect. Its healing effect isn’t top-notch, but it’s quite effective in restoring vitality. Use it with other pills, and you should recover somewhat faster.”

“Thank you, Fairy Su…” Lei Yuce took the bottle with both hands, surprised and delighted.

He immediately took out a pill, swallowed it, and closed his eyes again to regulate his breath.

“I didn’t expect our all-or-nothing gamble to fall short. What should we do now?” Jin Liu’s gaze fell on Su Qianxi, a trace of displeasure flashing in his eyes as he asked.

“Hmph!” Wen Zhong snorted but said nothing.

Lan Yan, hearing this, also showed dissatisfaction and was about to rebuke, but Lan Yuanzi stopped her.

After his encounter with Han Li, Lan Yuanzi had become much more low-key. He shook his head, signaling Lan Yan not to interfere.

The latter frowned but ultimately held back.

Just then, they all sensed something and looked up into the distance, seeing Han Li and four or five figures flying toward them from the high sky.

Han Li, seeing the devastated ground from afar, frowned slightly.

When they landed, Lei Yuce opened his eyes, his gaze falling on Qu Lin, his expression shifting slightly.

“Didn’t you take another path? Why are you here too?” Jin Liu frowned and asked.

“Heh, since when did the Age Tower become your private property, Brother Jin? Do you have to control where we go?” Hu San retorted, somewhat displeased.

“You…” Jin Liu was at a loss for words.

“Brother Shi, who is this?” Lei Yuce asked, looking at Qu Lin.

“This is Brother Qu Lin, who was imprisoned on the sixth floor of the Age Tower for many years. He has now reached an agreement with me to help us pass through this tower,” Han Li introduced briefly.

“Brother Shi, forgive my bluntness, but those imprisoned in this tower are no good people. Making any agreement with them is like courting a tiger for its skin. Please think twice,” Lei Yuce transmitted, not answering directly.

“Thank you for your kindness, Brother Lei. I know what I’m doing,” Han Li said, puzzled as to why Lei Yuce would warn him, but he did not elaborate.

“Isn’t this the Nine-Dragon Locking Spirit Restriction Array?” Jiao San suddenly stepped forward and said.

“Are you familiar with this array, friend?” Lei Yuce’s eyes flickered as he asked.

“The Dragon Scale Cords have been tampered with. It’s tricky…” Jiao San examined it carefully and said.

“Indeed. To find a way to break it would take at least two more days. But I was heavily injured by the array’s backlash when I tried earlier, so it will take even longer,” Lei Yuce shook his head and sighed.

Han Li’s gaze fell on the array. After a careful examination, he had a plan.

If he were to break it, it would take only half a day.

But before he could speak, Qu Lin stepped forward and directly pressed on the runes on the stone archway.

“What are you doing? Don’t touch anything!” Lei Yuce’s expression changed, and he shouted.

But his injuries were severe, and he could only shout, unable to stop him.

“What’s all the noise? Can’t you see? Breaking the array,” Qu Lin said flatly, not stopping his movements.

“I just figured out which Dragon Scale Cords were moved. Your random pressing will only create more variables. Stop messing around!” Lei Yuce roared angrily.

Wen Zhong, seeing this, made a move to stop him.

Jin Liu stood by, waiting to see the array backlash, ready to pull Su Qianxi away.

Han Li’s eyes flickered, but he did not intervene.

Then Qu Lin pressed another rune, and the stone archway glowed red. The nine dark-gold chains binding the light screen rattled and retracted in all directions.

The Nine-Dragon Locking Spirit Restriction Array, which had given them so much trouble, was thus undone.

Everyone was astonished.

“You modified this Nine-Dragon Locking Spirit Restriction Array, didn’t you?” Han Li’s eyes flickered as he transmitted.

“Yes. Back then, I thought if I reached the seventh floor, I might have a chance to leave, so I opened it. But when I got to the seventh floor, I ran into that old madman imprisoned there. He nearly beat me to death, and I barely escaped. After that, I re-locked the array and reinforced it with many modifications,” Qu Lin replied without concealment.

“Can this restriction be traversed both ways?” Han Li asked doubtfully.

“Fortunately, I was cautious back then. After reaching the seventh floor, I first set up a Mixed Yuan Nine-Palace Array on that side, leaving myself an escape route,” Qu Lin transmitted back.

“Brother Qu is proficient in arrays and has already unlocked the restriction for us. Let’s not waste time and pass through quickly,” Han Li said to the others after hearing this.

Lei Yuce wanted to ask more, but seeing Han Li say this, he remained silent.

Seeing that Jin Liu and Lei Yuce showed no intention of entering immediately, Han Li exchanged glances with Jiao San and the others, a flicker of hesitation in his eyes, and they did not move either.

“Since you won’t go, I’ll go first,” Qu Lin sneered, then passed through the dark red light screen in the stone archway and disappeared.

Han Li’s eyes flickered. He covered himself with protective light and walked toward the dark red light screen.

But just then, a sudden change occurred!

As Han Li stepped forward, a yellow halo suddenly lit up beneath his foot, and a earthen-yellow vortex emerged, emitting a powerful pulling force.

The vortex appeared so suddenly, with almost no prior sign, that Han Li, caught off guard, stepped right into it. He was sucked in, with half his body submerged.

The moment he fell into the vortex, Han Li activated the Heavenly Fiend Town Prison Art. His stellar energy erupted, and with two booming sounds beneath his feet, as if treading on air, he shot upward.

But just as he emerged from the vortex, a mud-like substance surged out, wrapped around his ankle, and pulled him back into the vortex.

The moment the mud touched his ankle, Han Li felt a strange force. His entire foot went numb. Glancing down, he saw that his foot and boot had turned to stone, a gray-white color.

His heart tightened. He swept his other foot at the mud, the tip of his foot blazing with golden light, countless golden lightning bolts surging out like an electric blade, cutting through the mud.

Han Li retreated over a hundred zhang, landing at the edge of the charred pit, and looked toward the vortex.

The mud fell back into the vortex, the ground shone brightly, and a yellow figure slowly rose, transforming into a woman in a wide yellow robe with an extremely ugly face.

“Elder She Chan! Why are you here…” Lan Yuanzi and his sister exclaimed in surprise.

“Hmph! Why am I here? You two useless fools have chased him for so long without catching him. If I hadn’t come, how would you explain to the sect?” The yellow-robed ugly woman glanced at them, anger in her eyes.

“Elder, there are reasons for this. We…” Lan Yuanzi frowned, hesitating.

Jiao San and Hu San exchanged glances, their expressions unchanged, neither making a move.

Lei Yuce, Su Qianxi, and the others changed expressions, clearly having heard of the name “She Chan.”

As for Xiong Shan, he frowned deeply, lost in thought.

Han Li stared at She Chan, trying to move his petrified left foot. It had regained sensation but still felt sluggish and heavy, as if blood flow was blocked.

“Everyone present, listen up. I want to tell you that this man is named Han Li, a heavy criminal of the Reincarnation Palace wanted by the Celestial Court for years. He has committed countless crimes in various immortal domains. The recent shocking murder of Jin Yuan Immortal Palace Master Dongfang Bai was his doing. If you help me capture him today, you will earn merit, a favor for yourselves and your sects. What do you think?” She Chan swept her gaze over the crowd and asked.

Lei Yuce and the others were stunned, shock flashing in their eyes, frozen in place.

Clearly, the words that came out of She Chan’s mouth were too shocking.