Chapter 289: Talks Break Down

"After all this, you still want to leave? Do you take me for a clay figurine?" Lin Jiu, burning with rage, was unwilling to let things go and let out a loud shout.

As his words fell, he pinched a golden immortal talisman between his fingers and shook it in the air.

With a "crackling" sound!

The immortal talisman instantly burst into a golden flame, transforming into a radiance that enveloped Lin Jiu entirely.

His figure blurred for a moment and vanished from the spot.

Han Li swept his divine sense slightly and found that the distance of instantaneous movement had reached several thousand li, firmly blocking the red-clad woman.

He glanced up at the direction in which the gaunt old man had fled, a hint of amusement flickering in his eyes.

The next moment, he recalled the Heavy Water True Wheel into his body, and a sizzling sound emanated from his body as strands of silver electric light emerged.

Then, arcs of lightning as thick as bowls shot out wildly, instantly coalescing into a lightning array about a zhang in radius, which enveloped his figure and vanished in a flash.

Over tens of thousands of li away, above the deep sea of the Thunderstorm Ocean, the gaunt old man, shrouded in a hazy glow, flew through the air while muttering curses:

"Bad luck, utterly bad luck! Why did I have to run into such tough nuts? If I hadn't left, I'd have lost my life there! Who said 'lust is a knife on the head'? Greed is clearly a knife too..."

Just then, the old man suddenly frowned, first making an abrupt stop, then darting backward a thousand zhang.

A violent rumbling sounded in the high sky ahead, and dense arcs of lightning emerged from the void, forming a circular array several zhang in diameter.

With a thunderclap, countless arcs of lightning flashed violently, and the electric light converged, revealing a figure—Han Li.

"Fellow Daoist, I have resolved to leave this place far behind and no longer meddle in this matter. Since we are both allies of the Wuchang Alliance, could you be lenient and let me depart safely?" the old man said, adopting a very humble posture.

"We have no prior enmity, so naturally I don't wish to fight to the death. However, you nearly killed my companion just now. This matter cannot simply be glossed over with a light remark. Shouldn't you leave something behind?" Han Li said with a smile, in no hurry to act.

"What do you suggest, Fellow Daoist?" the gaunt old man raised an eyebrow and asked.

"If I'm not mistaken, you have a thirty-thousand-year-old Tuling Flower on you, don't you?" Han Li asked with a smile.

Earlier, when he first encountered the three, he had sensed the aura of this item from the old man with his powerful divine sense and had already decided to obtain it, as the Tuling Flower stamen was listed in the Dao Pill formula.

Hearing this, the gaunt old man's expression changed, turning somewhat gloomy.

He did indeed have a Tuling Flower on him, and it was a living plant. Since it couldn't be placed in his storage bracelet and he had been summoned for this mission shortly after obtaining it, he had temporarily stored it in a special jade box tucked in his bosom.

But he had already placed several seals on the jade box, so it shouldn't have been detectable. How did this person know? Could his divine sense be stronger than a Golden Immortal's?

At this thought, the old man's heart tightened, but then he felt it was impossible.

During the battle, this person's aura was at most around the mid-True Immortal stage, so he couldn't possibly have such powerful divine sense. It was more likely that he had some special treasure that could sense spiritual medicines.

With this in mind, the old man released his divine sense to sweep the surroundings, confirming no one else was nearby. His imposing aura instantly swelled, and he sneered, "Want the Tuling Flower? Your appetite is too big, Fellow Daoist. Do you really think I'm a soft persimmon to be squeezed at will?"

Han Li sneered inwardly. Among the three, the highest cultivation was not the burly man nor the voluptuous woman with secret arts, but this deeply hidden, most cunning gaunt old man.

From the fact that the old man didn't attack directly upon seeing him but instead tried to lower his stance and avoid battle, one could see his survival philosophy: he cared nothing for face, only for profit.

If the other party were truly willing to give up the Tuling Flower, Han Li naturally wouldn't want to cause unnecessary bloodshed. But since talks had broken down, he quickly made a decision.

With no one else present and his strength overwhelming, returning empty-handed was not his style.

With a flicker in his eyes, he formed hand seals, and a burst of black light erupted from his back as the Heavy Water True Wheel spun and reappeared.

He swung his hands, and the Heavy Water True Wheel, radiating intense black light, flew up from behind, spinning rapidly as it roared toward the old man.

Rings of Dao patterns lit up on the wheel's surface, and wherever it passed, visible black ripples spread through the void, as if it would shatter half the sky.

Seeing this, the gaunt old man spread his hands, and a three-colored ring materialized in the air, flickering as it transformed into a hazy ring shadow that wound toward the Heavy Water True Wheel.

However, the weight of the Heavy Water True Wheel far exceeded the old man's imagination. Its immense momentum was unstoppable; as black light flowed, it tore through the three-colored ring shadow layer by layer and struck the ring's main body with a "clang."

An overwhelming force struck, and the three-colored ring shattered with a bang!

Suffering backlash, the gaunt old man's body shook violently, and a flush appeared on his face. He grabbed in the void, and a large apricot-yellow banner over two zhang long appeared in his hand.

The banner's surface depicted a vast desert with three blazing suns hanging above, exuding an intense, scorching aura.

The old man stepped forward, gripped the banner pole with both hands, and swung it fiercely. The entire banner unfurled.

"Rustle, rustle"

The banner fluttered, and a vast, yellow sandstorm rolled out, surging toward Han Li in a sky-covering manner, soon enveloping an area nearly ten thousand zhang in radius.

Han Li squinted, blue light flickering in his eyes, but he still couldn't see clearly. He felt as if he had been swallowed by a sandstorm, unable to see or sense much with his divine sense, and even lost track of the gaunt old man's location.

"Hehe, taste my Three Suns Lockdown!" Just then, the old man's voice suddenly sounded behind him.

As Han Li turned around, three blinding white circular light masses shot toward him from the front, surrounding him in a tripod formation, emitting scorching waves that continuously assaulted him.

He frowned and lifted his foot to step forward, but suddenly found his body stiff, unable to move at all.

Looking down, he saw that his lower legs had silently formed a layer of white crystals, freezing him like ice crystals.

Then, white crystals began to appear on his shoulders, chest, and arms, spreading rapidly outward.

Upon closer inspection, he found these were fine crystalline sand grains, which, under the scorching heat of the three suns, had turned into these translucent crystals. They quickly reached his neck, completely immobilizing his body.

Though startled, Han Li remained calm. Green light flowed over his body as he prepared to break free from the crystals, but his eyes flickered as he saw the gaunt old man suddenly appear beside him, holding a dark green dagger aimed at his brow.

He snorted, and golden light flared in his eyes. A powerful wave of divine sense erupted, instantly enveloping the surrounding area within a hundred li.

The gaunt old man had already rushed close, but when he saw a ring of tiny runes appear in Han Li's pupils, he sensed danger and instinctively slowed down for a moment.

"Heaven and Earth, Pure and Bright!" A resonant voice like a great bell sounded from Han Li's mouth.

The surrounding world seemed to obey an immortal's decree: the yellow sand vanished, the wind calmed, and even the dark clouds hanging in the high sky disappeared, leaving the entire sky completely tranquil.

"How can this be..."

The gaunt old man's eyes widened in shock, and he quickly retreated, putting distance between himself and Han Li.

"Heavenly fire, descend!" Han Li uttered another incantation.

A white rainbow slanted down from the high sky, landing on him and turning into a sheet of silver flame that enveloped him entirely.

"Impossible... speaking the law, even a Golden Immortal cannot do this. You... who are you? Take the flower, if you will." The old man's shock had turned to terror as he retreated rapidly, shouting urgently.

"Isn't it a bit late to say that now? Thunder, fall!" Han Li sneered and shouted again.

In the next instant, wind and clouds surged in the nine heavens. A vortex of dark clouds appeared, filled with flickering lightning and rumbling thunder.

"Crack"

A thunderclap sounded, and a bolt of blue lightning as thick as a water vat pierced the sky, crashing down toward the gaunt old man.

Greatly alarmed, the old man quickly dodged aside.

But as he barely evaded, thunderclaps rang out continuously from the sky, and thick pillars of lightning rained down, covering all his escape routes.

Overwhelmed by shock, the gaunt old man had lost all will to fight. He weaved through the lightning bolts in the sky, a golden talisman already pinched between his fingers, intending to escape with a secret talisman.

But at that moment, Han Li's figure blurred and vanished from the spot.

The next instant, he appeared behind the old man, his arm covered in golden scales, and a hand blade pierced through the old man's heart.

As the golden light in Han Li's eyes gradually faded and his divine sense withdrew, the blue lightning filling the sky dissipated, revealing the original sandstorm scene.

"It was an illusion..." The gaunt old man smiled bitterly, the light in his eyes dimming.

But then, golden light emerged from his brow, and a powerful fluctuation emanated.

The old man was ruthless; realizing he couldn't escape, he intended to self-destruct his Nascent Soul.

A cold glint flashed in Han Li's eyes. The arm inside the old man's body burst with intense silver light, accompanied by a thunderous crackle.

A silver lightning bolt shot upward, directly shattering the old man's Nascent Soul into pieces. The old man's body finally went limp and fell, showing no further signs of life.