Chapter 1092: The Second Altar

Han Li stood above the sea, sweeping his gaze around.

High above, thick leaden clouds gathered, pressing down almost entirely. A great howling arose all around as enormous storms surged in from every direction, churning up countless water spouts tens of thousands of feet high. They collided and merged, converging toward Han Li at the storm's center.

Though Han Li knew this was merely an illusion, the suffocating pressure around him and the icy touch of the crashing waves were far too real, making even him feel a pang of fear.

"Boom, rumble..."

As a series of deafening roars echoed one after another, seven or eight water spouts around him finally crashed together, forming a colossal water spout that swallowed Han Li whole.

His body tumbled and tossed in the chaotic currents, battered by waves of crushing force. He felt intense pain all over, and even his consciousness began to waver.

With a thought from Han Li, thunder roared around him. A golden light burst forth like a blazing sun, expanding in all directions. Countless golden lightning threads surged out, instantly tearing apart the massive water spout.

His figure plummeted straight down, falling directly into the seawater.

Han Li's heart stirred sharply; he sensed something was wrong.

The seawater around him seemed to have no buoyancy at all. Even as he exerted his immortal power to resist, he continued sinking deeper and deeper toward the seabed.

This deep, dark sea appeared bottomless, devoid of any floating fish or life—only Han Li's solitary figure, sinking endlessly downward, as if without end...

While Han Li was trapped in the illusion, the others were in a similar plight, though the scenes they encountered were not entirely the same.

For instance, Jiao San was now trapped in a blood-red river. The river's fierce aura was so intense it was terrifying. There were no living creatures in the river either, only wisps of ghostly figures like smoke, rising and falling, swaying unsteadily like aquatic plants.

As Jiao San's figure was swept along by the blood-red river, these plant-like ghosts would cling to her, winding around her body. With layer upon layer of smoky ghostly shadows entwining, her body seemed to grow heavier and heavier, sinking continuously toward the riverbed.

Lei Yuce and the others were also standing frozen in place, as if struck by a paralysis spell. Their faces were twisted and contorted, all trapped in illusions, unable to extricate themselves.

Just then, on the arms of Lan Yuanzi and Lan Yan, who were also standing still, a water-mark pattern emerged. A blue light lit up on each, shooting up above their heads and converging together.

The two beams of light collided and merged, immediately shining like a blazing sun in the sky. Within them rippled dense fluctuations of water-attribute laws, radiating a layer of blue light that formed a water-blue light screen, enveloping their bodies.

As soon as the light screen closed, Lan Yuanzi and his sister Lan Yan both let out muffled groans and opened their eyes.

"What a formidable water-element illusion array..." Lan Yan said, pressing a hand to her chest as she bent over, panting.

"I didn't expect the Ren-Gui Water Spirit Talisman that Master planted in us back then to work here today. It's as if we've received Master's blessing..." Lan Yuanzi took a deep breath and said.

"It's also thanks to the two of us being here together, triggering the talisman fusion technique. Otherwise, relying on a single talisman's power alone, it might not have been enough to wake either of us from this illusion array," Lan Yan said with lingering fear.

"Alright, there's no time to lose. Let's first go check out that main hall," Lan Yuanzi said, his gaze sharpening.

"And them..." Lan Yan glanced at the others still standing frozen.

"Whether they can break the array depends on their own abilities," Lan Yuanzi shook his head and said.

With that, the two, shielded by the light screen, quickly crossed the misty square and arrived before the multi-eaved main hall.

Lan Yuanzi approached the hall's door. After a brief inspection, he found no further restrictions on the door. He placed his palm on it and pushed it open.

The door slowly swung inward, and a dense wave of water-attribute law fluctuations rushed toward them, bringing a refreshing comfort to the siblings, as if a spring breeze caressed their faces.

As soon as they stepped into the hall, they saw a water-blue altar standing inside. Its style and size were identical to the golden altar they had seen earlier.

On this blue altar, there were two damaged spots, one on the left and one on the right. Above them floated a palm-sized blue cloth pouch, which seemed to be made of silk. In the middle was embroidered a pattern of waves, its surface gleaming with the unique luster of satin. From it, waves of immensely powerful water-attribute law fluctuations rolled forth.

Beside the blue cloth pouch, just like on the golden altar, a cluster of golden flame also floated.

The two exchanged a glance and took a few steps closer to the altar. Immediately, a rumbling sound reached their ears.

Lan Yuanzi quickly pulled Lan Yan to a halt and listened carefully. He realized that the dull, powerful sound was actually coming from the blue cloth pouch on the altar.

The sound resembled the roar of rivers surging or floodgates releasing water, enough to make one's heart tremble.

Seeing this, Lan Yuanzi's eyes lit up. He exchanged a look with Lan Yan, and a joyful expression appeared on both their faces.

"Wait here a moment, little sister. I'll go collect this treasure." A strange glint flashed in Lan Yuanzi's eyes as he released Lan Yan's hand and said with a beaming smile.

"Brother, don't be hasty. If you take this treasure, what if, as Lei Yuce said earlier, that peerless demon lord is released?" Lan Yan's eyes showed a flicker of hesitation as she spoke.

"Don't worry. Setting aside how much truth there is in Lei Yuce's words, even if the demon lord is released, there will be others to deal with him. At worst, once we get this item, we'll leave immediately and return to the Nine Elemental Temple. Then everything will have nothing to do with us." Lan Yuanzi patted her hand and said softly.

"But..." Lan Yan was still clearly worried and spoke again.

Before she could finish, Lan Yuanzi interrupted: "Think about it. First we failed to capture Han Li, then we made an enemy of She Chan. If we return to the sect without any achievements this time, what will we face?"

Hearing this, Lan Yan's expression shifted slightly, and she fell silent.

"Not only will we be punished, but our master will likely be implicated as well... However, if we can bring this treasure back to the sect, we might be able to mitigate some of our guilt, or at least not implicate our master." Lan Yuanzi added.

"Then I'll listen to you, brother. Be careful." After hearing this, Lan Yan's expression finally relaxed, and she said.

Lan Yuanzi smiled and nodded, then turned and walked toward the altar.

After taking two steps, he stopped and turned back to Lan Yan, saying:

"The restrictions on that earlier altar were too strong. The power of the formation within this blue cloth pouch is no weaker. The commotion will likely be considerable. Keep your distance from me and be careful."

"Brother, if that's the case, don't act alone. How about we try that fusion secret technique? If something goes wrong, even if we can't get the treasure, we can at least protect ourselves." Lan Yan seemed to think of something and quickly said.

Lan Yuanzi frowned slightly, looking hesitant.

Seeing this, Lan Yan did not urge him, but kept scanning the surroundings with her eyes.

"That might be for the best. Otherwise, with my strength alone, I'm not very confident." After pondering for a moment, Lan Yuanzi nodded and said.

Hearing this, Lan Yan withdrew her gaze, smiled, and went with Lan Yuanzi to the front of the altar.

After examining the altar for a while, Lan Yuanzi raised his hand and waved, and many formation flags and plates for setting up arrays appeared before him. He began to arrange them around the altar.

...

Inside the illusion array, the faces of Han Li and the others were filled with pain, and none of them could break out of the array.

At this moment, Han Li was still sinking in the deep sea. No matter how he operated the Spirit Refining Art, he could not wake up and escape.

"Could it be that this illusion array is not based on divine sense anomalies, but constructed through the laws of water attribute?" This conjecture arose in his mind, but for the moment, he still did not know how to break the situation.

The sea area he was in seemed like a bottomless abyss. No matter how he sank, he never reached the bottom.

Han Li even had the illusion that he had fallen into a void where time and space did not exist. Unless he could break the situation, he would keep sinking like this, endlessly.

...

About a quarter of an hour later.

In front of the blue altar in the multi-eaved main hall, a circular formation surrounding the altar had taken shape.

After inspecting the formation in several places, Lan Yuanzi nodded to Lan Yan.

The latter then turned her wrist, and light flashed before her. A sky-blue oil-paper umbrella opened up.

On the umbrella's surface was a vivid painting of a pond full of koi fish. The pond was emerald green, the koi bright red, and the surface seemed to have flowing water, looking lifelike.

Lan Yan gently turned the umbrella handle, and the oil-paper umbrella spun around. The painted pond seemed to be stirred, ripples forming on its surface, but the koi beneath appeared unaffected, still motionless.

She raised her delicate hand lightly, and the oil-paper umbrella flew high, spreading open like a canopy above the altar.

"Let's begin." Lan Yuanzi called softly.

Both of them simultaneously formed hand seals, and layers of water-blue light screens spread out around them, transforming into two domains—one large and one small—that interlocked, enveloping them and the altar together.

Then, as their lips moved continuously, chanting sounds arose. The formation flags arranged around them began to unfurl, and the talisman patterns on them shone brightly, releasing waves of intense water-attribute fluctuations.

As soon as these fluctuations arose, the formation plates on the ground also lit up. Pillars of water-blue light rose from them, surrounding the entire altar.