Chapter 430: Pursuers

"What kind of spirit vine is this? Protected so tightly, it must have been a precious treasure once, but unfortunately it seems to have lost its vitality many years ago, probably a failed cultivation." Lu Yuqing sighed and said.

"Hmph, this is what they call man proposes, heaven disposes. The one who came here before us didn't get it either." Cold Flame Ancestor said with some schadenfreude.

Han Li stood by without a word, his gaze wandering up and down the withered vine.

But then he seemed to notice something, staring fixedly at it, a faint blue light flickering in his eyes.

"Brother Han, what's wrong?" Lu Yuqing asked, surprised.

Han Li did not answer, instead leaping down.

Lu Yuqing quickly followed, and Cold Flame Ancestor, with a flicker of strangeness in his eyes, also followed immediately.

Han Li landed beside the vine, lifted a section of withered vine, and examined it closely, the blue light in his eyes growing brighter.

"Alas..."

He suddenly sighed, his face showing extreme chagrin, and put down the withered vine.

Cold Flame Ancestor and Lu Yuqing, full of doubt, each lifted a section of withered vine and looked carefully, their expressions shifting slightly.

On these withered vines, one could faintly see some curved patterns, resembling characters yet not, resembling paintings yet not, somewhat similar to Silver Tadpole Script and Gold Seal Script, but more profound, as if they were the embodiment of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.

These patterns were very faint; if not brought close to the eyes, they would never have been noticed.

"These are... patterns of a Xuantian Treasure!" Cold Flame Ancestor gasped, speaking slowly.

"No mistake. Such patterns imbued with the aura of the Dao only appear on legendary Xuantian Treasures born from heaven and earth. This withered vine is probably a Xuantian Spirit Vine, but the Xuantian Treasure on it was picked, causing it to wither on its own and become like this." Lu Yuqing said with a bitter smile.

Han Li pointed a finger at a spot on the withered vine.

Cold Flame Ancestor and Lu Yuqing followed his finger and saw a small break at that spot on the vine. Although it had become indistinct due to the vine's withering, it could still be seen upon closer inspection.

This break was clearly formed after something was picked.

"Indeed, we were still a step too late..." Lu Yuqing also sighed.

A Xuantian Treasure could be refined into a celestial immortal artifact, how precious it was. They had missed it by just that little margin.

Cold Flame Ancestor also showed extreme chagrin, stamping his foot in frustration.

"Forget it, it's already been taken, there's nothing we can do. It seems our luck was a bit lacking." Han Li said indifferently.

At that moment, a yellow shadow flashed at the top of the stone altar, and the two Dao soldiers flew in, holding two bulging storage pouches.

The Thunder Marsh Earth outside had mostly been collected.

Han Li reached out to take the two storage pouches, then waved his hand to put away the two Dao soldiers, about to say something more.

Just then, a sudden change occurred!

The starry prohibition above the medicine garden flickered and trembled, violently fluctuating, emitting a loud rumbling sound.

Startled, Han Li and the other two looked up.

With a loud "boom," a terrifying attack struck the starry prohibition. The prohibition, which had only recovered a little of its power, was covered with countless cracks and then shattered violently.

"Hahaha! Such a rich aura of medicinal herbs, this must be the medicine garden without a doubt." A loud laugh came from above, the voice unmistakably that of Xue Han.

Cold Flame Ancestor's face turned pale, and he immediately formed hand seals with both hands, rapidly chanting an incantation.

At the same time, a flash of light covered his body, and he instantly merged into the ground, disappearing.

Seeing this, Han Li frowned slightly and also quickly formed hand seals, rubbing his hands together.

A faint light enveloped him and Lu Yuqing, and they also vanished instantly.

The starry prohibition shattered, turning into countless streams of light that scattered.

Almost immediately after Han Li and the other two used their secret techniques to hide, a group of cultivators flew down—it was Xue Han and the other Ghost Cry Sect cultivators.

As soon as Xue Han steadied himself, he looked downward, and his smile instantly froze, his descending figure halting in midair.

The others were the same, frozen in place.

In the garden, not a single spirit herb could be seen in the various medicinal fields; even the roots had been dug up, and the spirit soil used to cultivate the herbs had been scraped off a layer. Everywhere was a mess; if not for the layout, it would be hard to recognize as a medicine garden.

"Damn it, someone beat us to it!" said a middle-aged man with a sallow complexion beside Xue Han, his voice full of hatred.

The expressions of the others were also unpleasant.

Xue Han's face was especially ugly, his brows filled with raging fury.

Seeing Xue Han's expression, the others immediately fell silent and cautious.

"Don't just stand here dumbfounded. Look around and see if anything is left." Xue Han let out a long breath, his anger slightly subsiding, and said.

The others quickly acknowledged and dispersed to search the garden.

Xue Han remained standing in midair, not moving, his gaze sweeping over the garden, his divine sense also spreading out.

Behind a large rock in a corner of the medicine garden, a blurry shadow hovered.

Within the shadow stood two indistinct figures, Han Li and Lu Yuqing.

Han Li's expression was solemn, his lips moving silently as he rapidly formed hand seals, sending out streaks of spell light.

The faint light rippled gently and slowly merged with the void.

When the divine senses of Xue Han and the others swept over this spot, they did not pause at all, clearly not detecting anything unusual.

Han Li's expression relaxed slightly, but his hands did not slacken; he continued forming seals and casting spells.

Just then, Xue Han, who was hovering in midair, suddenly narrowed his eyes and looked toward the stone altar deep in the garden, waving a hand.

A beam of black light shot out, flashed into the stone altar, and quickly emerged again, wrapping around the withered vine before coming to rest before him.

The others had been searching everywhere without finding anything, but seeing Xue Han's action, they all flew over.

"This... is the Profound Heavenly Immortal Vine!" Xue Han said, his body jolting as he looked at the withered vine.

"The Profound Heavenly Immortal Vine? Looking at the patterns on it, it's very likely! Damn it, the Profound Heavenly Treasure on it has also been taken by that thief!" a middle-aged man with a sallow complexion exclaimed in anger.

"Sir, the spirit herbs and this Profound Heavenly Treasure must have been taken by Leng Yan and his group. Fortunately, this Nether Cold Palace is not large, and judging by the situation, the person left not long ago. If we give chase quickly, we should be able to catch up," a gaunt Daoist immediately said.

"That's right!" the others chimed in.

In the shadow behind the large rock, a glint of joy flashed in Han Li's eyes.

As long as Xue Han and his men left, he could take the opportunity to escape without being noticed.

In truth, he was not truly afraid of Xue Han. With his current strength, even if he could not overpower him, he was confident he could manage to protect himself and flee. However, if it came to that, he would not be able to keep Lu Yuqing, and he was quite interested in the map she carried.

Xue Han listened to those around him, slowly raised his head, and swept his gaze across the medicine garden. Suddenly, he formed hand seals and waved a hand.

A ball of black light shot out from his hand and flew into the air.

The black light writhed like a living thing for a moment, then suddenly expanded, transforming into a large black net that covered the sky above the medicine garden.

Within the shadow, Han Li's expression darkened.

"Sir?" the gaunt Daoist said in confusion.

"Indeed, the one who took the spirit herbs and the Profound Heavenly Treasure may not have gone far, but there is also the possibility that he is still hiding here. We cannot let any possibility slip; that Profound Heavenly object must be seized!" Xue Han's eyes gleamed with fervent light.

After all, if one could obtain an immortal artifact refined from a Profound Heavenly object, their strength would greatly increase. This would give him more say within his faction, and might even allow him to rise above certain others.

"But there's no one here?" the sallow-faced middle-aged man said with a frown.

"Perhaps they've used some secret technique to conceal their tracks, making it impossible for us to detect them. The adult is right—we can't overlook any detail," the tall, thin Taoist said, glancing around.

"That is indeed possible," the sallow-faced middle-aged man said, nodding upon hearing this.

Xue Han paid no heed to the discussions around him. He sneered and began to mutter incantations.

A mass of silver light shot out from his body, revealing a pristine white miniature pagoda half a foot tall, inscribed with intricate and profound patterns.

"The Violet Star Pagoda!" the tall, thin Taoist exclaimed, his eyes lighting up.

The white pagoda rapidly enlarged, transforming in an instant to the height of a man. The patterns on it all lit up as it spun with a whirring sound.

Rings of dazzling white ripples emerged from the pagoda and spread outward in all directions.

The void immediately rippled like water, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth trembled as if resonating with the white ripples.

The white ripples quickly filled the entire medicine garden, and the place where Han Li and the other person were located was also affected by the white ripples.

The faint light around the two of them trembled violently, and they gradually emerged from the void, their figures becoming increasingly clear.

Han Li's expression changed. He chanted his incantation more urgently, forming hand seals with his hands as fast as spinning wheels.

But no matter what spell he cast, he could not stop the two figures from appearing.

At that moment, a faint light emerged in another corner of the medicine garden, followed by a dull thud. The light shattered, revealing the figure of Patriarch Cold Flame, his face full of panic.

"Cold Flame, it is indeed you." Blood Han looked at Patriarch Cold Flame, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

Patriarch Cold Flame's body trembled, a trace of despair appearing in his eyes. He suddenly glanced around, as if searching for something.

"The fate of a traitor is only death. Kill him," Blood Han said indifferently.

The Ghost Cry Sect members acknowledged and all rushed toward Patriarch Cold Flame.

The two in the lead were the tall, thin Taoist and the sallow-faced middle-aged man.

The tall, thin Taoist waved his hands, and clusters of green light shot forth, flickering with streaks of green lightning, speeding toward Patriarch Cold Flame.

The sallow-faced middle-aged man's body blazed with blood light, and he transformed into a pillar of blood light.

A huge phantom of a ghostly creature emerged within the blood light pillar, opening its maw to devour Patriarch Cold Flame.

"Bone Flame Hermit! Jingming True Man... you two traitors..." Patriarch Cold Flame's body shone with starlight as he fled backward, shouting harshly.

Before he could finish, a barrage of spiritual treasures had already arrived, engulfing his figure.