Chapter 1125: Pursuing Qimozi

"Boom, rumble..."

As the Black Heavenly Demon Ancestor clashed with the remnant soul of the Taisui, dark clouds gathered in the high sky. No lightning flashed within them, but rumbling sounds echoed forth.

In the surrounding void, gusts of wind rose from the ground, the earth trembled faintly, and the entire space of the Age Tower seemed to become unstable.

"Brother Han, the Age Lamp absolutely cannot fall into that fellow Qimozi's hands. We must retrieve it," Jiao San said to Han Li with a grave expression.

"Daoist Jiao San, Qimozi is after all a Da Luo realm cultivator, not only formidable in strength but also deep in scheming. Now that he has obtained a treasure like the Age Lamp, it's like adding wings to a tiger. Pursuing him now hardly seems wise," Han Li said, showing hesitation.

Now that he had completely shaken off the influence of the Black Heavenly Demon Ancestor's heart demon, he was no longer as fervently obsessed with the Age Lamp.

"Brother Han, you have a grudge against this Qimozi. Why retreat now?" Jiao San asked hurriedly.

"Though I have a grudge against him, the gap in our strength is too obvious. Moreover, with the Age Lamp displaced and the tower's restrictions lifted, this place is no longer safe to stay. We should leave quickly," Han Li said noncommittally.

"To be honest, Brother Han, besides the Age Lamp, Qimozi also took a key item for this mission of the Reincarnation Palace. It must be retrieved. As a member of the Reincarnation Son, you should participate," Jiao San said, glancing in Qimozi's direction with increasing anxiety.

"Daoist Jiao San, don't force me. Though this is a Reincarnation Palace mission, it's not my mission. After all, with my status, I can't get involved in missions of this level," Han Li said, unmoved.

Jiao San's expression stiffened at his words, not expecting Han Li to use her own earlier words to fend her off.

"Brother Han, if I remember correctly, there's a little one named 'Jin Tong' who has a good relationship with you, right? His situation is not too good right now," Jiao San's gaze sharpened as she suddenly switched to voice transmission.

"What do you mean by that?" Han Li asked, his expression unchanged but his heart tightening.

"It's a long story, and I can't explain it all now. In short, capturing Qimozi is also crucial for your little friend. Please don't hesitate and act quickly. This Qimozi cultivates the law of time, and without your help, it will be very troublesome," Jiao San said with urgency.

As they spoke, Hu San had already chased after Liu Zizai, since the latter's life tablet was still in Qimozi's hands.

"In that case, I'm willing to lend you a hand. But afterwards, regardless of other things, the Age Lamp belongs to me, how about that?" Han Li said.

In truth, he had an irreconcilable grudge with Qimozi and was now inclined to pursue and eliminate him to avoid future trouble. However, since Jiao San, who held a high position in the Reincarnation Palace, was asking for his help, he naturally wanted to negotiate a bit so that she would owe him a favor.

But Jiao San's sudden mention of Jin Tong was not without reason, which caught Han Li off guard and cast a shadow of worry over his heart.

"Fine, I can agree to that. But Daoist Han, don't contend for the other items on Qimozi," Jiao San nodded without much hesitation.

She understood Han Li's little scheme, as her main target was the black iron token. As long as Han Li didn't compete with her for it, everything else was negotiable.

Han Li naturally had no objection to that.

After they agreed, Jiao San's escape light flared brightly, and she took the lead in pursuing.

At that moment, a silver light flew over from the ruins of the hall—it was the Essence Flame Firebird, holding in its beak one of the five immortal artifacts that formed the Five Elements Void Annihilation Array: the fire bead.

"It seems the array is no longer functional without anyone controlling it," Han Li muttered to himself as he put away the firebird.

He glanced at the terrifying fluctuations from the battle between the Black Heavenly Demon Ancestor and the remnant soul of the Taisui Celestial Venerable, shrank his neck slightly, and was about to leave when he saw Qu Lin and Li Qima transforming into human forms, searching for something among the ruins of the hall.

He leaped over to them.

"Fellow Daoists, stop watching the show. Come help seize the lamp," Han Li said with a smile.

"Seize the lamp? What lamp? I'm busy. Go play by yourself and don't cause trouble," Li Qima said impatiently, still holding the green tobacco pipe, not even looking at Han Li.

"Daoist Qu, what about you? We agreed earlier that you'd help me deal with an enemy. He's over there now," Han Li pointed into the distance, where Jiao San and the others had already intercepted Qimozi.

"What's agreed won't change. But right now, I have something more important to do. With so many of you against him alone, it should be enough," Qu Lin said without much hesitation.

"Could it be that you two are looking for this?" Han Li suddenly said with a smile.

Qu Lin immediately turned his head to look over.

Li Qima put away his tobacco pipe, landing on all fours, and also looked toward Han Li.

As a result, he saw Han Li holding two blood-red tokens in his hand, casually waving them around.

Han Li had originally not wanted to take out these two life-bound soul tablets, especially Qu Lin's, because having them in hand would give him a trump card when Jin Tong later confronted him.

Thus, to prevent them from sensing the tokens, he had added a layer of restriction and stored them in the Flower Branch Cave Heaven. But now, to make them obediently help, he had no choice but to produce them.

"Good lad, they really are in your hands. I told you before, if you could retrieve my life-bound soul tablet, I would surely reward you heavily. Now I can fulfill that promise." Li Qima grinned broadly and laughed.

"Eh... Fellow Daoist, don't be hasty. As for a heavy reward or not, let's talk after I've dealt with Qimozi first." Han Li, however, flipped his palm and put away the two tokens, saying.

"What a sly brat, not letting the hawk go until you see the rabbit. Fine, I'll help you, old ancestor." Li Qima's horse face stiffened at the words, and he said angrily.

"Then let's kill that man first." Qu Lin frowned slightly and said.

As the two spoke, a white whirlwind swept up beside Li Qima, and his figure vanished from the spot in an instant.

Han Li and Qu Lin followed closely behind, chasing after him.

The group from the Tongtian Sword Sect had already taken advantage of the chaos to retreat several hundred li away. Dao Yin, who had been carried on Lei Yuce's back, finally woke up.

He gave a light cough, then turned his head to look behind him. He saw the sky and earth changing color, the entire space in chaos.

"What... happened?" Dao Yin asked in a trembling voice.

"Master, you're awake?" Lei Yuce was overjoyed at the words and quickly set him down.

He roughly recounted what had happened after Dao Yin fainted, which made Dao Yin frown repeatedly.

"What? The ancestor's remnant soul descended... Alas, what a sin... The divine lamp is not in our hands. Once it moves, it can no longer maintain the confinement power of the Time Tower. If the demons imprisoned in the tower escape, we will become the instigators of chaos in the Gold Origin Immortal Domain." Dao Yin sighed deeply and said.

"Sect Leader, under the current circumstances, it's already fortunate that we can protect ourselves. We really can't afford to worry about too much." An elder consoled him.

"No, the reputation of the Tongtian Sword Sect cannot be ruined on my account. A remnant of the Immortal Venerable's soul is still fighting fiercely against the Black Sky Old Demon. Even if I have to risk my old life, I must seize that divine lamp back and suppress the demons in the tower once more." Daoist True Lord Daoyin said indignantly.

"Master, the divine lamp has been displaced for some time. The demons in the tower may have already escaped. Outside the tower, disciples from various sects are still stationed and should be able to hold them off for a while. What we need to do now is to leave the Time Tower and the entire relic space as soon as possible, and try to activate the last contingency left by the Immortal Venerable." Lei Yuce urged hastily.

"You mean to destroy the Time Tower and the entire relic space together?" Hearing this, Daoyin calmed down considerably and said.

"If that is the case, wouldn't the disciples from various sects still trapped in the secret realm be buried with us?" Su Qianxi's expression changed upon hearing this. She turned to look at Lei Yuce and asked.

"If we let the demons in the tower reach the Immortal Domain, far more than these few people would die. Choosing the lesser of two evils—this is a last resort." Lei Yuce's expression was grave, and he did not look at Su Qianxi as he spoke.

"Given the current special circumstances, it has to be this way. Since those people were bewitched and recklessly tried to seize our sect's precious lamp, they deserve to die. In the end, this lamp will return to our sect and help us regain our glory!" Daoyin's face turned stern as he said.

Upon hearing this, Su Qianxi opened her mouth but ultimately said nothing more.

Having said that, their group hurried toward the edge of the seventh level. Without the restrictions, they could leave the tower from there.

After these people had left, a black rock not far from there suddenly rolled to one side, and a figure crawled out from beneath it. It was none other than Xiong Shan.

He peeled a golden talisman from between his brows, carefully put it away, and then let out a long breath of stale air.

"Those bastards from the Tongtian Sword Sect actually want to destroy the entire secret realm. I'd better leave immediately..." With that, he flipped his palm.

A flash of light appeared before him, revealing a golden longsword and a large earthen-yellow seal—the two immortal artifacts used to set up the Five Elements Annihilation Array. However, their light was somewhat dim, evidently due to excessive energy consumption.

"Good thing I had you two. Though I nearly lost my life this time, it wasn't for nothing." He gently caressed the golden longsword and the earthen-yellow seal, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth, then put them away.

Afterward, he stood up, glanced briefly at the chaotic battlefield in the distance, spat lightly, and said,

"You guys keep playing. I'm getting out of here first!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a blue streak of light flash overhead—it seemed to be that woman named Lan Yan, also fleeing into the distance.

He frowned slightly, then also rose into the air, flying away from this place of trouble.