Chapter 1256: Almost There

"Just as I thought—these golden tentacles can only devour spiritual power and cannot effectively withstand physical attacks." Han Li was delighted at the sight.

Those white air blades were formed by the finger wind he struck with immense force, containing not a trace of spiritual power, making it very difficult for the golden tentacles to block them.

The other three showed surprise on their faces.

Jiao San quickly withdrew her gaze and waved both hands.

With a "whoosh," a purple orb shot out from her sleeve.

The orb's surface flickered with purple light, rapidly expanding with a clattering sound, turning into a millstone-sized object that struck the wall.

With a "smack," the purple orb burst open, turning into a purple viscous substance that stuck to the wall without falling, spreading over an area about ten feet wide.

Jiao San's expression was solemn as she quickly formed hand seals, sending streams of spells into the purple liquid.

The purple liquid writhed as if alive, emitting bursts of purple light.

The golden light on the liquid wall immediately vanished, completely merging into the purple liquid and being devoured by it.

Han Li's heart stirred at this.

Clearly, this purple liquid also had some effect of devouring spiritual power.

The purple liquid devoured the spiritual power attached to the wall, rapidly expanding and spreading in all directions, but its center revealed a patch of wall surface.

This exposed wall surface no longer had any trace of spiritual power. The originally golden wall was now stained a light purple, with faint cracks appearing.

"That's the Ten Thousand Poison Dao Ancestor's Poison-Absorbing Orb!" exclaimed Purebright True Man from afar, his face changing color.

"Haha, did you think we would enter the Nine Yuan Temple without any preparations?" Lu Chuanfeng laughed heartily.

Yangjunzi and Leijun True Man's expressions darkened. The two exchanged a glance, and the former flickered and lunged toward Jiao San and the others.

"Stop!" Lu Chuanfeng roared, his whole body blazing with blue light as he swung both arms outward.

From each palm shot a thick beam of blue light, flying to the left and right.

With a dull "crack," the entire hall was filled with intense cold.

A thick, enormous blue ice wall materialized out of thin air, splitting the hall in two.

The Reincarnation Hall members were on one side of the ice wall, while Purebright True Man, the other two, Chi Meng, and Huo Yuan were isolated on the other side.

Lu Chuanfeng's face was as pale as paper, as if this technique had consumed a great deal of his vitality.

Unable to stop, Yangjunzi slammed heavily into the blue ice wall with a loud "bang."

The blue ice wall didn't even tremble, nor did it leave a single mark, appearing extremely sturdy.

Seeing this, Purebright True Man and Leijun True Man quickly formed hand seals, urging the golden light in the hall to envelop the blue ice wall and devour its spiritual power.

But the blue ice wall was clearly no ordinary ice wall. Though the blue light on its surface was dissipating, it did so slowly.

The ice wall contained an extremely dense Ice Law power, making it impassable even by teleportation. The three Nine Yuan Temple members were trapped on the other side.

Shi Kongmo and Lu Chuanfeng did not linger and turned to fly toward Jiao San and the others.

Jiao San, while urging the purple liquid, raised her hand and waved.

A golden light flashed before her, and a golden nail-shaped immortal artifact appeared, pointed at one end and blunt at the other.

The golden nail's surface flickered with light as it rapidly expanded, becoming about ten feet long and as thick as a millstone.

"Go!" Jiao San formed a hand seal and urged it. The nail blazed with golden light, turning into a golden shadow that shot out and struck the empty space in the middle of the purple liquid.

With a soft "pop," the nail embedded half a foot into the wall and stopped.

This palace was also built from Heavenly Absolute Gold Rock, integrated with the entire Nine Yuan Palace. The purple liquid could only devour the spiritual power on the wall's surface and was powerless against the deeper parts.

At that moment, a figure flickered, and Wu Yang appeared behind the golden nail. With a shout, he punched the tail end of the nail.

Lu Chuanfeng flew over and took over from Wu Yang in fending off the golden tentacles.

With a loud crash, the golden nail's surface flashed wildly, sinking another half foot deeper, but still failed to penetrate the wall.

"Impossible!" Wu Yang's eyes widened, as if unable to believe what he saw.

"Move aside!" A sharp shout rang out, and a surge of immense force sent Wu Yang flying.

A figure flickered, and Han Li appeared behind the golden nail.

His whole body blazed with starlight, all 1,700-plus acupoints shining brightly. His body swelled, and a tremendous force erupted from him, stirring up a violent storm in the nearby void.

Seeing this, Chi Meng's pretty face showed a hint of surprise.

Beside her, Huo Yuan also let out a soft exclamation.

This was not the first time they had witnessed such a scene.

"Chang Qi! No, he's Han Li!" Chi Meng's expression changed as she exclaimed.

Huo Yuan beside her remained calm, but Purebright True Man's face changed upon hearing this, and he turned sharply to look at Han Li.

Han Li ignored the others, let out a low growl, and gathered all the starlight into his right hand before throwing a punch.

A brilliant star shadow flashed, and his fist struck the tail end of the golden nail with tremendous force.

With a thunderous roar!

The golden nail suddenly sank deep into the wall, piercing through it completely.

Han Li let out another shout and followed up with his other fist, striking the tail end of the golden nail again.

With another thunderous roar!

The golden nail was sent flying by his punch, blasting a hole in the wall large enough for a person to pass through.

However, Han Li was also sent flying by the recoil, staggering back more than ten steps before steadying himself.

…

At that moment, in a room deep within the Nine Yuan Palace.

The room was not large, and its furnishings were very simple, with only some bamboo chairs and tables, giving a plain feeling—it looked like a bedroom.

A figure flickered, and an old man in gray robes appeared out of thin air.

He had a gaunt, thin face, was not tall, and wore no Nine Yuan Temple robe, only a coarse linen garment. His figure was slightly stooped, looking like an old man responsible for sweeping.

The only peculiar thing was his bright, sharp eyes, like those of an eagle.

"Oh? They managed to break through the wall of Mingjun Hall." The gray-robed man's brow twitched, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

"It's almost dark. They've caused enough trouble..." He looked up at the sky and said indifferently.

As his voice faded, the gray-robed man flickered and vanished from the spot.

…

Inside the hall.

"Quick, go!"

Seeing the wall breached, Jiao San instantly transformed into a dark red light and shot outward, not even bothering to retrieve the purple liquid on the wall.

Wu Yang, Lu Chuanfeng, and Shi Kongmo dared not linger either and followed closely behind.

The black-clad girl, standing farther from the hole, was about to follow Wu Yang and the others and fly out.

But at that moment, the void beside her flickered, and a dozen crystalline chains shot out—the divine sense chains. With a clatter, they instantly bound the girl.

Not far away, Han Li formed hand seals, and a layer of crystalline light appeared on his brow, from which streams of divine sense chains shot out.

"What are you doing?" the black-clad girl shouted angrily.

Seeing this, Jiao San and the others' expressions changed, and they tried to stop, their bodies glowing with various colors.

But they had been flying outward at full speed and couldn't stop in time, let alone rescue her.

"Wan'er, I'm sorry. I don't know what happened to you that made you forget me, but I can't let you leave with these people again!" Han Li said apologetically, then quickly formed a hand seal and pointed.

Several divine sense chains shot out, flashing into the black-clad girl's mind, forming a divine sense cage that trapped her soul.

The black-clad girl's eyes immediately became dazed, and she stopped struggling.

Seeing this, Han Li was about to wave his hand and put the black-clad girl into the Flower Branch Space.

But at that moment, a brilliant crystalline light burst from the black-clad girl, forming a surging wave of light that rapidly spread in all directions.

The divine sense power binding the black-clad girl shattered inch by inch upon contact with the crystalline light, and the divine sense cage in her mind also broke instantly.

Han Li's expression changed at the sight, but before he could react, the surging wave of light reached him.

A mountain-like force surged over, and he was utterly powerless, sent flying like a straw in the wind, blood gushing from his mouth.

The black-clad girl regained her freedom, and her expression returned to normal.

The dazzling crystalline light on her body flashed once and then completely faded away.

"Rushuang, are you all right?" Jiao San and Wu Yang, having stabilized themselves, flew to the black-clad girl's side and asked with concern.

But both couldn't help showing surprise, as if astonished by what had just happened to the girl.

"I'm fine." The black-clad girl shook her head.

"Good, then let's go!" Wu Yang grabbed the black-clad girl and shot outward.

Jiao San glanced at Han Li, who had been sent flying, hesitating for a moment.

But then she looked at the golden tentacles rushing toward them from all sides and, stamping her foot, followed closely.

Purebright True Man and the others were frantic but, blocked by the blue ice wall, were powerless to stop them.

"Do you think you can leave after stealing from my Nine Yuan Temple?" At that moment, a slightly aged voice rang out. Though not loud, it carried an indescribable authority, echoing through the hall.

As the voice fell, a golden light appeared in the hall out of thin air, then spread, instantly filling the entire hall and enveloping everyone.

Jiao San, Wu Yang, Shi Kongmo, Purebright True Man—everyone in the hall was instantly frozen in place, like flies in amber.

Han Li, trapped by the golden light, was also instantly immobilized, his heart filled with shock.

Though his injuries from the crystalline light were not severe, he immediately tried to struggle using all his Time Law power and physical strength.

But the next moment, he felt an immense, unimaginable binding force emanating from the golden light. No matter how hard he struggled, none of his power could move an inch.

The same was true for Jiao San and the others in the distance. Only the black light on Shi Kongmo flickered faintly, but he too was immobilized, a rare look of seriousness appearing on his face for the first time.