Chapter 160: Gan Jiuzhen

Han Li closed his eyes slightly, formed hand seals with both hands, and began to regulate his breathing with his eyes shut.

However, after only a moment, his eyes suddenly snapped open, a flicker of vigilance flashing within them. He reached out and swept his hand in front of him, putting away the small bottle and hiding it in his bosom.

He stood up, withdrew his released spiritual sense, and concealed all his aura. With a flicker of his form, he hid behind a nearby tamarisk tree.

A moment later, a light figure flitted overhead, speeding off into the distance, silent and without even a trace of spiritual power fluctuation, as if an ordinary mortal were passing by.

"Eh, why her?"

A flash of blue light flickered in Han Li's eyes as he swept his gaze over the red-clad figure, a hint of confusion appearing in his expression.

That figure was none other than the woman in the red dress who had previously teleported with him from the Black Wind Sea and later joined this team.

Seeing that she was not heading toward him, Han Li initially decided not to stir up trouble. But noticing that her flying speed was not fast and she seemed to be deliberately concealing her aura, which appeared somewhat furtive, he couldn't help but feel a trace of wariness.

"So late at night, what is this woman doing alone?"

After a moment of deliberation, he turned his wrist, and between his two fingers suddenly appeared a purple, hazy Taiyi Purification Talisman.

Immediately, a purple light lit up from his fingertips, and his form gradually became blurry, completely concealed.

Even with the talisman masking his aura, Han Li did not follow too closely. He merely trailed far behind, maintaining a distance of about several hundred zhang from the red-clad woman.

The latter was naturally completely unaware of this, continuing to fly forward without pause. After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, she flew straight out of the oasis.

Han Li followed all the way to the edge of the oasis. Seeing that she seemed to have no ill intentions and was merely leaving the caravan alone, he finally relaxed a little.

He paused slightly, hovering in midair, intending to return to the lakeside.

But just then, his brow suddenly twitched. He saw that in the night sky over a thousand zhang ahead, a brilliant light suddenly flared, and three massive shadows materialized out of thin air, blocking the red-clad woman's path.

Han Li's gaze focused, and he saw that the three massive shadows were actually three white snow toads, each as large as a small mountain.

Every snow toad was crystal clear like jade, with thick frost and snow covering its limbs and cheeks, and its belly was a patch of bright ice crystals, especially conspicuous in the night.

Han Li was somewhat surprised. With such enormous bodies, he wondered how they had concealed themselves earlier; even with his powerful spiritual sense, he had failed to detect them in advance.

"Gulu... Gulu..."

Accompanied by a series of low croaks, the three snow toads' huge mouths occasionally opened, revealing half of a deep purple tongue from which strands of chilling cold air emerged.

On the head of the middle snow toad stood two figures side by side.

One had fair skin and a delicate face, wearing a tight-fitting robe, with no curves on the chest, making it hard to tell if it was male or female at a glance. The other beside him was obese, with a face full of fleshy features, looking ugly.

"Gan Jiuzhen, do you still remember us brothers?"

The delicate-faced one pinched a lotus gesture, pointed a finger at the red-clad woman from afar, and shouted in a shrill voice, which carried an indescribable feminine tone.

"Nameless rats neither male nor female, worthy of my remembrance?" The red-clad woman frowned and snorted coldly, her tone laced with undisguised disgust.

"You..." The feminine man pointed a finger at the red-clad woman, his cheeks flushed red, as if he was too angry to speak.

"It doesn't matter if you don't know our names; just know that today is your death anniversary." The obese ugly man suddenly spoke, his voice deep.

The red-clad woman named Gan Jiuzhen seemed to find these two too long-winded. A trace of disdain flickered across her face beneath the red veil, and without another word, she made the first move.

With a flick of her wrist, a red bracelet on her slender wrist suddenly flowed with crimson light, as if it had come alive.

"Roar..."

Accompanied by a soaring dragon's cry, the red bracelet blazed with a skyward flame, directly twisting and deforming into a hundred-zhang-long flame dragon that charged out from the night sky, lunging fiercely at the two.

The feminine man's expression changed slightly. He moved his lips and bent down to gently pat the snow toad beneath him.

"Gu gu gu"

A series of low croaks sounded continuously as the three massive snow toads simultaneously opened their mouths and spat out violently.

"Hua la la"

Vast crystalline ice pillars continuously gushed from their mouths, piling up layer upon layer into a massive iceberg that pressed toward the fire dragon.

With a thunderous "Boom!"

The fire dragon slammed heavily onto the iceberg.

Sparks of fire scattered in all directions, and large swaths of ice crystals burst apart, turning into countless crystalline powders that rained down through the air. The long flame dragon could no longer maintain its original form, transforming into a sea of fire that clashed against the iceberg.

For a moment, flames shot into the sky, ice shards flew about, and a vast expanse of white steam rose from the point of impact, obscuring half the sky.

Han Li watched from afar for a moment, ultimately deciding that it was better to avoid trouble than to invite it. He turned his body, intending to leave.

But just as he turned around, he felt a sudden, intense fluctuation of spiritual power coming from ahead.

His heart tightened, and he instinctively crossed his arms to shield himself.

Immediately after, he was struck by a violent impact. Under the force of an invisible power, he was sent hurtling toward the woman in the red dress, and his form, previously concealed by the Taiyi Purification Talisman, reappeared.

Midair, he swept his gaze around and saw that in the void before him, a shimmering light flickered, and three massive figures emerged once more. They were three white snow toads, almost identical to the one that had blocked the red-dressed woman, Gan Jiuzhen.

A sense of foreboding rose in his heart. As he pondered, a flash of green light flickered across his body, and he steadied himself not far from the woman in red.

"Hehe, since you've brought a helper, why hide and skulk? If not for one of my treasures being a golden-eyed variant, I truly wouldn't have noticed," the effeminate man said with a charming smile.

Only then did Han Li notice that the snow toad beneath the two of them was indeed somewhat different from the others. Beneath a layer of white film covering its eyes, its pupils faintly showed a hint of gold.

"I am merely passing through by chance and have no intention of meddling in your affairs," Han Li said calmly, glancing at the two.

Gan Jiuzhen, however, flicked her wrist. The sea of fire that had been locked in a stalemate with the iceberg suddenly contracted, re-forming into a fire dragon that flew back, circling warily around her.

She turned her head slightly, her gaze fixed on Han Li with a hint of suspicion that quickly turned into wariness, but she remained silent throughout.

"Whether you're passing through or a helper, since you've entered the Six-Toad Molten Fire Formation, don't think about leaving. Die together! The road to the Yellow Springs is lonely—you two can keep each other company!" the bloated, ugly man said with a sinister laugh.

As soon as he spoke, the six snow toads surrounding Han Li and the woman simultaneously emitted a white light, and the void in the surrounding night sky fluctuated violently.

The next moment, a massive silver-white crystal wall materialized out of thin air, trapping Han Li and the woman in red at its center.

As soon as the crystal wall appeared, Han Li felt the temperature around him plummet, and a bone-piercing chill continuously assailed him.

At the same time, a crackling sound echoed through the surrounding void, and hexagonal snowflakes began to form, as if even the air was freezing.

Seeing this, Han Li's expression darkened, and he silently urged the spell in his heart.

A flash of green light radiated from his body, and immortal spiritual power immediately flowed out from his dantian, transforming into a warm force that covered his entire body like a layer of cotton clothing, resisting the biting cold.

However, he soon found that this measure was completely futile.

That strange cold current actually contained traces of law power, which could easily penetrate his layer of immortal spiritual power outer garment, and although the True Extremity Membrane on his body could defend against heavy external blows, it was of little effect against this.

Just as Han Li sensed a wisp of cold penetrating through his skin and seeping toward his dantian, and was about to summon the Essence Fire Bird to resist, a layer of crimson flame suddenly lit up on his body, driving the cold away.

He shifted his gaze and saw that the woman in the red skirt not far away was bathed in flames, and a line of fire extended from her wrist, connecting to him.

And the aura that this woman had originally concealed was now no longer hidden, having reached the level of mid-stage True Immortal!

"Fellow Daoist Liu Shi, whether you happened to pass by here unintentionally or deliberately followed me, I now ask you one question: are you willing to join forces with me?" At this moment, Gan Jiuzhen's voice suddenly sounded in Han Li's ear.

"So it seems this Six Toads Ice-Melting Array is really troublesome?" Han Li frowned slightly and replied via voice transmission.

"An ice-attribute formation capable of melting true fire—do you think it's troublesome or not?" Gan Jiuzhen answered coldly.

While Han Li hesitated, he noticed that the crimson flame enveloping him was gradually shrinking, and the burning force emanating from it was also weakening.

"The two of them set up this array specifically to target me. I may not be able to hold out for long. Once they break through, the cold air will enter my body, block my meridians, and freeze my dantian, and then we'll be like fish on a chopping block."

Gan Jiuzhen spoke as she vigorously urged her immortal spiritual power, strengthening the flames on herself and Han Li. Her voice remained as calm as ever, as if she were talking about something very ordinary.

"Alright, I'll join forces with you." Han Li replied upon hearing this.

No sooner had the two formed an alliance than the effeminate man's chanting sounded again from the other side.

"Croak..."

The six snow toads opened their mouths simultaneously and suddenly let out a very piercing, sharp screech.

Their long tongues trembled continuously in their throats, and streams of silver-white cold air immediately gushed out, forming two walls of mist that pushed in from both sides, merging into the layer of crystal walls.

In the night, a loud cracking sound arose. The layer of silver-white crystal walls grew thicker and thicker, constantly pressing inward, squeezing the space of Han Li and the woman, causing the air temperature inside to plummet sharply. The ground was already a vast expanse of white.

Han Li could even see with his naked eye wisps of cold air approaching, continuously devouring the crimson flame on his body, and strands of bone-piercing chill began to seep into him.

"Fellow Daoist Liu, if I go all out to help you resist the cold, do you have a way to break this Ice-Melting Array?" Gan Jiuzhen asked via voice transmission while urging her hand seals to resist the cold.