Chapter 162: Bestowing a Talisman

In an instant, the crystal walls surrounding them, under the influence of a violent and rampaging force, shook with a thunderous roar, emitting ear-splitting booms.

The six giant snow toads, standing like mountains around them, trembled all over. Though their bodies did not move, black blood oozed from their six enormous eyes, and their aura rapidly declined.

Before the tremor subsided, several dragon roars suddenly echoed within the crystal walls.

Then, amidst the lingering black light, a dazzling blaze of flames abruptly appeared. Three hundred-zhang fire dragons, formed from blood-colored flames, charged out, their mouths churning with flames as they rushed toward the crystal walls covered in black veins.

With a heavy crash,

the black crystal walls shook violently, and black smoke billowed from their surface, which instantly began to melt away.

A loud sizzling sound filled the night sky as the three blood-colored fire dragons eroded a large hole in the black crystal walls, piercing through. They twisted and intertwined, transforming into a surging river of blood flames that cascaded down toward the effeminate man and his companion.

The bloated man had already flown back to the top of the golden-eyed snow toad. Seeing the grand formation broken, their expressions changed drastically as they quickly formed hand seals together.

The next moment, the six snow toads simultaneously opened their mouths and spewed vast amounts of black frigid air, which coalesced into an ice wall in midair to meet the river of blood flames.

Han Li had already slipped out from the edge of the crystal walls, his clothes tattered and looking somewhat disheveled. However, he had only suffered some internal shock to his organs and was otherwise unharmed.

He looked up at the blazing river of blood flames, a complex expression flickering in his eyes.

The river of blood flames contained not only pure fire-attribute law power but also a blood law power, whose aura was subtly similar to that of the late Red Moon Island master.

He turned his gaze and saw that Gan Jiuzhen's clothes were also torn in many places, revealing large patches of fair, jade-like skin. The red veil on her face was gone, and her cold, stunningly beautiful face showed a hint of pallor.

There was no trace of tenderness in her eyes, only fierce killing intent. The square jade pendant in her hand shone brightly, its runes flickering unsteadily, but the blood-red color on it had faded considerably.

Han Li was now almost certain that this woman was none other than Jiao San.

After he left Red Moon Island, Jiao San had said she had some loose ends to tie up, which likely included looting any treasures left by Gongshu Hong.

Puff, puff, puff—

Sounds rang out continuously in the high sky as large swaths of black mist rose from the point where ice and fire met, covering half the sky like dark clouds.

The effeminate man and his companion had long lost their earlier relaxed demeanor.

Their cultivation levels were originally lower than Gan Jiuzhen's, and their greatest reliance, the Six Toads Fusion Flame Formation, had been suddenly broken. They exchanged glances, both seeing a hint of retreat in each other's eyes.

The three snow toads on the other side had also been summoned back, but even with all six beasts spewing frigid air together, they could barely withstand the erosion of the cascading blood flames.

Seeing this, Gan Jiuzhen snorted coldly and spat out a mouthful of essence blood, making her face even paler.

She pointed quickly, and the essence blood twisted and transformed into a miniature dragon, which flashed and vanished into the jade pendant in her hand.

Then, another dragon roar sounded.

The pendant glowed even brighter with blood light, and a fourth crimson fire dragon soared out, charging into the river of blood flames, causing the rolling flames to surge even more fiercely than before.

In contrast, the pendant's color faded even further.

As a brilliant red light blazed in the sky, it transformed into a sea of rolling flames, spreading a palpitation-inducing aura.

The effeminate man and his companion felt their hearts suddenly race, and the blood in their veins seemed to surge uncontrollably.

Startled, they quickly diverted some of their immortal spiritual power to stabilize their minds. Without their support, the six snow toads' frigid breath weakened.

Taking advantage of this shift, the even more formidable rolling blood flames immediately pressed down, engulfing the snow toads and the two men in an instant.

Two screams then came from within the blood flames.

Occasionally, flashes of treasure light flickered in the flames, but they vanished after a single glimmer.

Han Li, meanwhile, had just put away his nine white flying swords. Then, with a sweep of his hand, strands of immortal spiritual power coiled from his fingertips as he leisurely began collecting the heavy water dust scattered from the exploded Heavy Water Pattern Thunder.

After a moment, there was finally no more movement from within the blood flames.

Gan Jiuzhen formed a strange hand seal with one hand and beckoned forward. The rolling blood flames immediately transformed into four fire dragons, soaring up and flying back into the jade pendant in her hand, where they vanished.

In the air, only two mutilated corpses remained, falling helplessly to the ground.

As for the snow toads, though they were exotic beasts, their bodies were not as tough as an immortal's, and they were completely incinerated, leaving no trace.

Gan Jiuzhen flipped her hand and took out several pills, swallowing them. Then, she reached out and beckoned from afar, causing two storage bracelets to fly up and land in her hand.

Without even looking, she tossed one of them to Han Li.

Han Li did not hesitate and raised his hand to catch it.

"Daoist Liu, ever since you made your move earlier, I've had a doubt. Have we met somewhere before this journey?" Gan Jiuzhen looked at Han Li with a hint of scrutiny as she asked.

"A daoist of such celestial beauty—if I had seen you before, I would surely remember it vividly. Yet I recall no prior acquaintance with you," Han Li replied calmly, his expression unchanged.

Upon hearing this, Gan Jiuzhen's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, clearly not believing Han Li's words much.

However, she did not press further and said slowly:

"Regardless, you have done me a favor today. And I, Gan Jiuzhen, hate being indebted to others more than anything in this life. This Green Wind Immortal Binding Talisman is my thanks."

With that, she flicked her wrist, and a purple talisman flew out from her sleeve, drifting toward Han Li.

Han Li raised his hand and caught the talisman. Glancing at it, he saw that it was densely covered with mysterious silver patterns—clearly a high-grade talisman inscribed with Silver Tadpole script.

Its spiritual power was abundant and vivid on the paper, seeming even higher in rank than the Taiyi Purification Talisman and the Primordial Armor Talisman.

"Then I thank you, Daoist Gan." Han Li cupped his hands slightly and put away the talisman, intending to study it carefully when he had time.

"I can overlook your earlier tailing, but if there's a next time, don't blame me for being ruthless." With these words, the woman in the red dress turned and left without further ado.

Han Li watched her figure disappear into the distance, a wry smile on his face. Then, without lingering, he flickered and sped back the way he came.

Before long, he returned to where the flying boat was.

The battle site was far away, and no one on the flying boat had noticed anything. The two Integration Stage guardians from the Chengquan Merchant Guild were still seated cross-legged on the front deck, one on each side.

Han Li's form flickered, turning into a wisp of nothingness, and silently returned to his cabin on the boat.

A night passed in the blink of an eye.

At the first light of dawn the next day, the flying boat set off.

It wasn't long before the man surnamed Kou discovered the disappearance of the woman in the red dress, Gan Jiuzhen.

Apart from Han Li, no one else on the boat knew what had happened that night. Naturally, Han Li did not speak of it, feigning ignorance.

Although the man surnamed Kou was somewhat puzzled, he had no recourse. After all, they hadn't reached their destination, and he hadn't paid the remuneration yet. In the end, he had gotten her to escort them for a considerable distance for free, so it wasn't a loss.

Unlike the Lost Burial Forest, this Black Rock Gobi was desolate beyond compare, with not a single living creature in sight.

The white flying boat accelerated to its maximum speed, not even deploying the white mist concealment barrier, channeling all its spiritual power into speed.

The flying boat transformed into a white streak, hurtling forward with incredible speed.

Although there were no signs of beast attacks in the vicinity, Han Li, at the request of the man surnamed Kou, joined the other two Integration Stage guardians in keeping watch around the boat.

Half a day passed quickly, and the flying boat gradually entered the depths of the Black Rock Gobi.

Han Li stood at one side of the boat, looking down.

Just moments ago, he had clearly sensed the gravity from the ground below strengthening.

The white flying boat was also affected; its white light flickered as it resisted the pull of gravity, and its speed decreased somewhat.

After a moment's thought, Han Li spread his vast divine sense, penetrating hundreds of feet into the ground.

"Quite rich mineral deposits, including a good amount of Magnetic Meta-iron ore. No wonder it generates such strong gravitational force..." he murmured in surprise.

Beyond that, within a hundred feet underground, he detected no lurking dark beasts, unless they were hiding deeper.

With a thought, Han Li extended his divine sense further downward.

The next moment, a flicker of surprise passed through his eyes.

Due to the underground mineral veins, the deeper he went, the more chaotic underground energies and gravity intertwined, blocking his divine sense from penetrating further.

Seeing this, he did not force the probe but instead spread his divine sense outward.

"Eh!"

Soon after, Han Li abruptly looked up ahead, letting out a soft exclamation.

After a brief deliberation, however, he did not raise an alarm, but his eyes began to flicker with blue light.

A moment later, one of the Integration Stage guardians on the other side of the boat stirred and suddenly stood up.

In his divine sense, some black lizards had appeared ahead.

Having been here many times before, this man was somewhat familiar with the Black Rock Gobi and immediately recognized them as a common type of dark beast in the area, called 'Blackback Iron Lizards.' Their bodies were harder than steel, but they were not very powerful; the ones ahead were only around the Core Formation stage.

The only concern was that these iron lizards were gregarious beasts, often numbering in the hundreds of millions. Encountering them carelessly would be very troublesome.

And as far as he knew, these iron lizards should not be active during the day.