Chapter 1090: Startled Retreat

"What!" The long-bearded burly man was startled when he saw the five-clawed thunder dragon subdued in an instant.

Earlier, seeing that Han Li's strength was extraordinary and his temporal law techniques were bizarre, he had gone all out from the start: first using his domain to limit Han Li's power, then sacrificing law crystals within his body to perform a secret technique called "Lightning Pulse Reversal" to forcibly increase his casting speed, and finally mobilizing all his law crystals for a full-force strike.

He had thought that even if he couldn't kill Han Li, he could at least severely wound him, but unexpectedly, his attack was blocked.

The long-bearded man was naturally violent-tempered, and being sealed by Grand Immortal Tai Sui for so many years had made him even more extreme. Upon breaking the seal and seeing Han Li and other True Immortal Realm cultivators, he immediately transferred his hatred for Grand Immortal Tai Sui onto them and eagerly sought to kill.

But now that his strongest move couldn't harm Han Li, the raging fire in his heart subsided slightly, and he regained some calm, beginning to think of retreat.

Han Li, having restrained the five-clawed thunder dragon, also felt a slight relief and inwardly blamed himself for being too overconfident. If he had deployed his temporal domain from the start, he would never have fallen into such danger.

While thinking, his hands moved without delay. He waved his hand, and a jade-green gourd appeared before him—the Profound Heaven Gourd.

At that moment, a dull rumble sounded beside Han Li, followed by a burst of golden light—it was the golden flame from the altar.

Amid the series of sudden changes, he had almost forgotten about this flame.

Now, the golden flame seemed to resonate with the surrounding temporal domain, suddenly expanding several times and burning fiercely, completely unaffected by the Truthful Speech Wheel and the Time-Stopping Fire Realm.

A powerful temporal law fluctuation erupted from the blazing golden flame, causing the nearby temporal domain to tremble.

"This is..." Han Li looked at the golden flame in surprise, a strange glint flashing in his eyes. He formed a hand seal and waved.

Two spell seals flew from his hand, one into the golden flame and the other into the Profound Heaven Gourd.

The temporal law crystals entwined within the golden flame brightened suddenly, carrying the golden flame as a golden shadow shot toward the five-clawed thunder dragon.

Meanwhile, the emerald light around the Profound Heaven Gourd brightened, and with a "puff," it spat out a stream of emerald light that swept toward the five-clawed thunder dragon.

The emerald light from the Profound Heaven Gourd moved faster, wrapping around the five-clawed thunder dragon and pulling hard.

The five-clawed thunder dragon's body trembled, and under the emerald light, it seemed to melt, slowly softening.

However, the five-clawed thunder dragon was condensed from over a hundred law crystals of the long-bearded man, containing an immense amount of law power. Even the Profound Heaven Gourd could not absorb it quickly.

At that moment, the golden flame also shot out and struck the five-clawed thunder dragon.

With a soft "crackle," the body of the five-clawed thunder dragon, which the Profound Heaven Gourd could only slightly shake, rapidly decayed and withered upon contact with the golden flame, breaking into two pieces.

Han Li was stunned, then his face lit up with great joy.

The long-bearded man, seeing this, was greatly alarmed.

But the next moment, the golden flame suddenly flickered violently, the temporal law power within it churning fiercely. The Truthful Speech Wheel and the Time-Stopping Fire Realm were also shaken, trembling incessantly, and their restraint on the five-clawed thunder dragon suddenly loosened.

Seeing this, the long-bearded man's eyes lit up. The black lightning on his body flared, and he rolled on the spot, transforming into a giant lion beast dozens of feet long.

The giant lion was bronze-colored, looking like a copper lion, its skin covered with black lightning-shaped patterns. On its head grew two curved black horns, around which black lightning crackled.

The lightning on the two black horns of the copper lion beast suddenly brightened, like two small black suns.

The broken thunder dragon immediately brightened, rapidly shrinking into two black lightning rings, one large and one small.

The two black lightning rings erupted with intense lightning law power, not necessarily stronger than the previous five-clawed thunder dragon, but much more condensed and sharper. They broke free from the emerald light's binding and also pushed back the Truthful Speech Wheel and the Time-Stopping Fire Realm somewhat.

With a "whoosh," the two lightning rings flew out of the Truthful Speech Wheel and the Time-Stopping Fire Realm.

"Don't think you can escape!" Han Li's face darkened. He opened his mouth and spat out a green light and a golden light.

The green light flashed and vanished into the Profound Heaven Gourd. The emerald light emitted by the gourd immediately brightened, with numerous emerald crystals appearing within it.

The emerald light shot out with a "whoosh," several times faster than before, instantly catching up to the two black lightning rings and wrapping around them again.

One after another, emerald crystals emerged from the light, thirty or forty of them, entangling the two black lightning rings. The dazzling lightning on the rings dimmed, and they came to a halt.

The other golden light flashed and flew before the golden flame. Within the golden light were over twenty law crystals, which spread out with a swoosh, forming a golden net that enveloped the golden flame.

The churning of temporal law within the golden flame was mostly isolated, and the shaking of the Truthful Speech Wheel and the Time-Stopping Fire Realm began to subside.

Han Li quickly formed hand seals. The range of the Truthful Speech Wheel, which had only covered three to four hundred zhang, immediately expanded and rapidly spread toward the two black lightning rings.

Seeing this, the copper lion beast was startled again. It raised its head and roared, and the black lightning patterns on its body instantly flared, then all the light converged toward the two black horns on its head.

The two black horns became transparent in an instant, and the lightning they emitted brightened again, almost too dazzling to look at directly.

The larger black lightning ring within the emerald light brightened, gave a sudden jerk, broke free from the emerald light's binding, and vanished into the copper lion's mouth.

The smaller lightning ring struggled fiercely, but its power seemed insufficient to break free from the emerald light. It was caught by the spreading golden ripples and instantly froze again.

Then the emerald light contracted, wrapping around the black lightning ring, and with a "whoosh," it vanished into the Profound Heaven Gourd.

Seeing this, the copper lion beast's eyes turned bloodshot. It let out a thunderous roar, causing the entire cave to shake.

Han Li sneered. With a flicker, he transformed into a golden shadow and lunged toward the copper lion beast.

His temporal domain also expanded violently, enveloping the copper lion beast.

"Human brat, I'll remember you!" The copper lion beast, having experienced Han Li's temporal law several times, was already terrified. After roaring, its massive body turned into a black bolt of lightning and shot forward into the cave, disappearing in an instant.

The other demons in the cave, seeing the copper lion beast flee, lost the will to fight. They followed suit, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Han Li did not pursue. He stopped, formed hand seals, and withdrew his temporal domain along with the Truthful Speech Wheel and others.

As the temporal domain withdrew, the golden flame also stopped churning and rapidly shrank back to its original state.

However, the golden flame had shrunk by nearly half compared to its original size, and the temporal law power within it had also greatly diminished, as if attacking the five-clawed thunder dragon had consumed its strength.

Seeing this, Han Li frowned slightly.

The effect of this golden flame's ability was somewhat similar to the Fire-Year Fireflies, but far more powerful—incomparable.

However, it seemed the flame could only be used once more, which was a pity.

He sighed inwardly, formed a hand seal, and pointed. The over twenty temporal law crystals enveloping the golden flame spun around, forming a flower-shaped seal that covered the golden flame.

Then Han Li waved his sleeve, putting away the golden flower.

Lei Yuce, Lan Yuanzi, and the others also did not pursue. They were already injured and had been at a disadvantage against the dozens of Taiyi demons, barely holding on. Now, their conditions looked dire.

As soon as the demons disappeared, they quickly descended to recover.

Han Li, having just fought a series of battles and expended considerable energy, also took a pill and began to refine it.

After about half an hour, Lei Yuce and the others stood up one after another.

"We owe our lives to Fellow Daoist Han again. Otherwise, we would have all perished here today." Lei Yuce's eyes showed a trace of complexity as he cupped his hand to Han Li.

"You flatter me, Fellow Daoist Lei. But what about those demons? It seems you know something. Please tell us the truth." Han Li's eyes flickered as he spoke with meaning.

The others also looked at Lei Yuce.

But Lei Yuce did not immediately answer Han Li. Instead, he flew to where the altar had been.

The black light gate had now disappeared, leaving only a patch of rubble covering the ground.

Lei Yuce waved his hand, sending out a golden light that swept away the rubble, revealing the ground below.

On the ground was a dark-golden circular stone slab, engraved with a complex formation. At the corners of the formation stood eight golden pillars about a foot tall, connected to the ground formation.

The circular stone slab now had several cracks, and the formation on it was damaged in many places. It had stopped functioning, and all the array lines were dim.

Seeing this, Lei Yuce's expression turned heavy, as if covered with frost.

"Fellow Daoist Xiong, this situation is entirely due to your reckless actions!" Lei Yuce looked at Xiong Shan and said sternly.

"My apologies. I didn't know that pulling out this sword would release so many demons. I will be more cautious in the future." Xiong Shan cupped his hand.

Though he spoke words of apology, his expression showed no regret. Instead, his eyes revealed barely concealed joy, and he occasionally glanced at the Desolate Ancient Sword in his hand.

Around the Desolate Ancient Sword's blade, twenty or thirty golden crystals swirled, emitting golden light that continuously merged into the sword, as if refining it.

Lan Yuanzi and the others also glanced at the Desolate Ancient Sword from time to time, their faces showing envy.

Seeing this, Lei Yuce frowned but said nothing.

Xiong Shan had originally been the weakest among those present, but now with the Desolate Ancient Sword in hand, his strength had greatly increased. Apart from Han Li, no one present could be absolutely sure of dealing with him.