Chapter 350: City Lockdown

After leaving the Heavenly Star Tower, Han Li followed the other cultivators along the White Stone Square toward a nearby street, quickly merging into the surrounding crowd.

Black Wind City was the most prosperous place in the Black Wind Sea, and this area could be considered the most bustling part of the city. He still had some recollection of the shops and buildings along the streets.

It was largely the same as before, except that at a few of the busiest intersections, several extremely luxurious and grand shops had appeared. These shops were doing very brisk business, with numerous cultivators coming and going, seemingly without pause.

Han Li casually walked into a nearby street.

Most of the shops on this street were material stores. He glanced back at the Heavenly Star Tower, then stepped into a shop.

The shop was not large, and there were few customers inside. A shop assistant saw Han Li enter and immediately greeted him warmly.

"Honored guest, what materials do you require?"

Han Li chatted idly with the shop assistant, but his peripheral vision was constantly fixed on the Heavenly Star Tower square.

A full half-hour passed, yet there was still no movement in the square.

Han Li frowned slightly.

Just then, in a secluded corner of the square, a blur of figures appeared as a group of cultivators materialized.

Among them was the hunchbacked old woman, and the ones behind her were precisely the group of white-robed cultivators. The sword-browed middle-aged man was among them, walking at the very back of the group.

The group did not linger there. They immediately took flight and sped off in one direction, disappearing into the distant sky in the blink of an eye.

Han Li's mind stirred, and he thought to himself, "Just as I suspected."

If he remembered correctly, that direction led to the Island Lord's Mansion.

He casually bought a few materials, then left the shop and looked in the direction the group had flown, a hint of hesitation in his eyes.

Then Han Li shook his head and turned to walk in another direction.

No matter what relationship these people had with the Black Wind Island Lord or what they were plotting, it should have nothing to do with him. As such, it was best not to invite trouble.

Han Li walked along the street, passing through several lanes. When his figure emerged from a quiet alley, his appearance and build had changed again, taking on the form of a sallow-faced, burly man.

The Wuchang Alliance mask could easily alter one's appearance. Along the way, he had basically changed his looks and attire at every place he passed, just in case.

In the time that followed, he wandered around Black Wind City, replenishing everything he still lacked.

Perhaps because the Black Wind Sea had more frequent contact with the outside world than before, the city was indeed much more prosperous than in the past. Various rare spiritual materials, elixirs, and other items that were once uncommon had begun to appear in the shops.

Half a day later, Han Li finally soared into the air, transforming into a cyan rainbow and flying into the distance.

After a moment, he landed in the square before the Island Lord's Mansion.

At first glance, there wasn't much change here either, except that the Island Lord's Mansion was now shrouded in layers of restrictions, with multicolored lights flickering. Some cultivators were patrolling nearby, indicating much tighter security than before.

Han Li did not linger on the spot. He strolled into the nearby Talisman and Letter Hall, which handled task assignments.

The hall was crowded with many cultivators, far more than before. The task stone wall still stood there, densely covered with various tasks, also more numerous than before.

The content of the tasks had changed considerably compared to before, with many new tasks for defense and garrison, all aimed at countering Green Feather Island.

There were even tasks that were outright bounties, hunting down Green Feather Island cultivators, with corresponding rewards for each kill.

Han Li quickly scanned the stone wall, reading through all the tasks.

No information related to him appeared on the stone wall, nor was there any mention of the Candle Dragon Dao.

Seeing this, Han Li still could not be completely at ease.

He wandered around the hall a couple of times, found a few cultivators who were looking at tasks, and made some discreet inquiries. Only after confirming that there were indeed no signs of the Immortal Palace pursuing him did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

However, before leaving, to avoid drawing attention, he casually accepted a task to collect materials from a certain type of demon beast.

After leaving the Talisman and Letter Hall, Han Li glanced back toward the Island Lord's Mansion, then transformed into a cyan light and flew toward the city gate.

But just as he was halfway there, a sudden change occurred!

A dull rumbling sound suddenly came from all directions of the island, mixed with a loud whooshing noise.

Han Li's expression changed slightly. He quickly halted his遁光 and looked around.

Around Black Wind City, numerous blue light pillars rose into the sky, like a fence enclosing the entire city.

Powerful fluctuations of energy emanated from the light pillars, causing the void itself to tremble.

Rings of watery light radiated from the blue pillars. These originally straight pillars quickly bent and converged toward the center, merging together, and the gaps between the pillars also connected.

In a short moment, a thick blue light screen emerged, enveloping the entire city.

Countless wave-like lights flowed on the screen, layer upon layer, clearly indicating a highly sophisticated formation.

Han Li frowned. After a moment's thought, he urged his遁光 forward and soon reached the city gate.

A crowd had gathered there, with various voices intermingling, creating a noisy commotion.

Han Li quietly landed at the edge of the crowd and merged in.

At that moment, several cultivators at the very front of the crowd were speaking to the city guard, who wore black robes:

"What's going on? Why was the city defense formation suddenly activated?"

"We have urgent matters and need to leave the city immediately. Could you fellow Daoists make an exception?"

"Everyone, Island Lord Lu ordered the activation of the city defense formation because we received intelligence that Green Feather Island intends to launch a sneak attack on Black Wind City. To be safe, the formation was activated. Once the threat is eliminated, the formation will be lifted immediately." The guard captain addressed the crowd with a bow.

Han Li stood to the side, somewhat surprised by this.

Although he had learned that the conflict between Black Wind Island and Green Feather Island had become increasingly intense, he hadn't expected it to reach the point of activating the city defense formation.

Moreover, judging by the reactions of those around him, they didn't seem overly surprised by the guard captain's explanation.

"Fellow Daoist, is the city defense formation here often activated?" Han Li pondered briefly, then asked a red-robed old man beside him.

The red-robed old man looked at Han Li with some surprise and said, "Sir, are you not a cultivator of Black Wind City?"

"I just arrived at Black Wind Island via teleportation and am not familiar with many things here. I would appreciate your guidance." Han Li chuckled lightly and spoke very politely.

"Oh, that explains it. The conflict between Black Wind Island and Green Feather Island has grown fiercer over the years. Although Black Wind City is the stronghold of Black Wind Island, it's not exactly safe. Indeed, the city defense formation has been activated many times in recent years." The red-robed old man nodded first, then said.

"I see. How is the battle going? Which side has the upper hand?" Han Li paused briefly before continuing.

"Black Wind Island was originally stronger overall than Green Feather Island, but Green Feather Island has recruited many outlying islands in recent years, greatly increasing its strength, and can now stand up to Black Wind Island. Alas, who knows when this conflict will end." The red-robed old man sighed.

Han Li nodded slowly, his eyes flickering as if lost in thought.

As the crowd buzzed with discussion, a dark-faced middle-aged man with cultivation at the Mahayana stage stepped forward and asked loudly, "May I ask, sir, when will the formation be lifted? Surely you can't keep so many of us waiting indefinitely."

"So it's Clan Leader Tai. I'm not entirely sure of the specifics. Perhaps two or three days... or it might take ten days to half a month. If anyone has special circumstances requiring urgent departure from Black Wind City, you may go to the Island Lord's Mansion to request an exit permit from Island Lord Lu. We will not stop you." The guard captain gave the man a second look and said.

The dark-faced middle-aged man frowned upon hearing this, but ultimately said nothing more.

Although the crowd was still reluctant, they clearly did not dare to offend the people from the Island Lord's Mansion. As for going to the mansion to apply for an exit permit, naturally no one was truly desperate enough to do so.

After more discussion, the cultivators gathered at the city gate soon dispersed.

Han Li frowned slightly and sighed inwardly.

It seemed his luck was not good. If he had set off just a little earlier, he might have already left the city smoothly.

He took a couple of glances at the blue light screen in the sky, bid farewell to the red-robed old man beside him, and turned back along the way he had come.

The activation of the city defense formation caused some commotion in the city, but it soon subsided. After all, this situation had occurred many times before. Though everyone grumbled a bit, they soon went about their own business.

Before long, Han Li found an inn in a secluded part of Black Wind City and settled in, keeping his door closed.

Time passed bit by bit, and night soon fell.

In the secret chamber, Han Li, who had been sitting cross-legged, suddenly opened his eyes and stood up. With a wave of his hand, a dozen streaks of cyan light shot out, landing in various parts of the room and setting up a restriction.

Then, forming hand seals, golden lightning emerged around him, spreading outward and quickly coalescing into a golden lightning array.

"Teleport!"

He made a hand seal and waved, causing the lightning array to flash brightly. His figure blurred and instantly vanished from the array.

A few residual golden lightning sparks flickered in the room for a few moments before completely disappearing.

Meanwhile, deep underground in the Island Lord's Mansion, in a secret chamber.

The light here was dim, with black light surging up and down like waves.

In the center of the chamber was a large blue jade platform, above which floated densely packed blue formation flags, numbering at least ten thousand.

Dazzling blue light radiated from these flags, coalescing into a hemispherical blue light screen that covered the blue jade platform below.

On the blue jade platform was a relief of a city. Upon closer inspection, it was unmistakably Black Wind City.