Chapter 49: Coercion

"I never expected that you, little fox spirit, would possess such a heavenly flame. Oh... I see, that Han fellow must have given it to you. No wonder that brat is so troublesome. But this is truly an unexpected delight; it seems my fortune has come! Ha ha..." The black-robed elder stared fixedly at the silver seal on Liu Le'er's left arm, clapping his hands and laughing heartily.

At that moment, Liu Le'er was bound by the black net, unable to move an inch, trussed up like a zongzi. Upon hearing the elder's words, she suddenly recalled something and cried out in shock:

"You are Qi Xuan of the Heavenly Ghost Sect!"

"Indeed, I am Qi Xuan. It seems you should know why I have come!" Qi Xuan's smile vanished, and a ferocious expression appeared on his face.

"You want to use me to lure my brother here—dream on!"

Liu Le'er shouted angrily, a hint of determination flashing across her deathly pale face.

Then, the girl's pupils suddenly lit up with an eerie green light, and at the center of her brow, tiny green specks appeared, flickering violently.

Seeing this, the elder pointed a finger, and a black light shot from his hand, instantly vanishing into Liu Le'er's brow.

The green light at Liu Le'er's brow flickered and died out. Before she could have any other thought, her vision went black and she fell unconscious.

"Hmph! It's not yet time for you to die. Once I capture that Han Li, I will burn both of you to ashes with the Earth Ghost Fire before my grandnephew's spirit tablet, so that you may never be reborn!"

Qi Xuan muttered hatefully to himself, then turned his gaze back to the girl's left arm. After a moment's thought, he flipped his hand and produced a fiery red round bottle, densely covered with all kinds of unknown runes.

He tossed the bottle into the air, where it hovered before him. Then, muttering incantations and flicking his fingers repeatedly, he seemed to be slowly activating some secret technique.

After a while, he let out a low shout and pointed a finger at the bottle.

With a "pop" sound,

all the runes on the bottle lit up, and a fiery red glow shot out from within.

Dozens of fiery red crystal threads flew out from the glow, vanishing in a flash into the silver seal on the girl's left arm, then pulled outward.

Buzz buzz buzz!

The silver seal immediately blazed with light, and under the pull of the crystal threads, tiny silver flames emerged.

Qi Xuan rejoiced inwardly and quickly formed hand seals.

The glow spouting from the bottle mouth thickened considerably, and more crystal threads emerged densely, all plunging into the silver seal.

Liu Le'er's body trembled slightly, her left arm twitched, and she let out a moan.

More and more silver flames were pulled out from the seal, vaguely forming the shape of half a silver firebird, but its aura was extremely weak, appearing drowsy.

At that moment, a blue light surged from the bottom of the seal, faintly emitting a force that tried to pull the firebird back.

Seeing this, Qi Xuan revealed a contemptuous smile, opened his mouth, and spat out a mouthful of essence blood, which merged into the round bottle.

The bottle then glowed with red light, and all the crystal threads intertwined and twisted, instantly forming two crystalline chains that, with a "click," locked around the silver firebird's neck.

The bird's body flashed with silver light, and it awakened.

Seeming to notice the chains around its neck, it let out an angry, clear cry, spread its wings, and its body blazed with silver flames as it spat a silver fire pillar from its mouth.

The crystalline chains, upon contact with the silver flames, instantly turned to nothing. The fire pillar, undiminished in speed, pierced straight through the fiery red round bottle and continued toward Qi Xuan.

Because it happened so suddenly and the fire pillar was astonishingly fast, it reached the elder in the blink of an eye.

Qi Xuan was greatly startled. Without time to think, he waved his hand and offered a small green shield to block, while his body shot backward with a series of afterimages, appearing dozens of feet away. However, his left arm, having touched a bit of the silver flame, had turned to ashes.

If the flame hadn't seemed to lack follow-up power, he would have been severely injured if not killed.

He took a deep breath, flipped his hand to produce a blood-red pill, and swallowed it. The muscles at the severed arm crazily squirmed, and new flesh grew at a visible rate.

After a few breaths, his left arm had grown back completely.

Only then did the elder, still shaken, look toward Liu Le'er.

The fiery red round bottle and the small green shield had long been devoured by the silver flames. After its attack, the silver firebird, under a flash of blue light from the girl's left arm seal, vanished back into it.

Although he had suffered a hidden loss due to being caught off guard, his gaze toward the seal grew even more fervent.

...

In a stretch of verdant, winding mountains, mist rose and spiritual energy permeated the air, with finely carved pavilions and palaces scattered everywhere.

Above a remote valley, seven or eight figures flew in from afar and landed at the valley entrance.

Among them, the leader was a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old youth in pure white robes, his handsome face full of arrogance.

As soon as he landed, he immediately said to the others, "Enter the valley at once. No matter what, we can't let it escape this time."

"Yes!"

Everyone responded in unison and immediately rushed into the valley.

However, a white-haired old woman in a gray robe did not follow the order like the others. Leaning on a strangely shaped purple staff, she came to the youth's side.

"Grandma Sun, you should go too. This Purple Cloud Marten is very cunning. Without your help, they might not succeed." The youth glanced at the old woman and said.

"Young master, the temple master ordered me to protect you. I cannot neglect my duty." The white-haired old woman shook her head.

"It's just going into the valley ahead of me to catch that Purple Cloud Marten. How is that neglecting your duty?" The youth frowned slightly.

"The temple master ordered me to stay by your side at all times. If anything happens to you, I would never be able to atone for it." The old woman still refused to obey.

A look of displeasure appeared on the youth's face. "This Gourd Valley is within the territory of our Jingyuan Temple, and it's a stone's throw from our sect. What reckless fool would dare to cause trouble here? Are they tired of living?"

"That may be so, but..."

Before she could finish, the youth interrupted impatiently, "Enough talk. If we delay any longer and the Purple Cloud Marten escapes, I will report to the ancestor and hold you responsible."

The old woman's expression turned somewhat unpleasant, but she still hesitated and did not move.

"Go now!"

Seeing this, the youth flew into a rage.

The white-haired old woman had no choice but to grit her teeth, struck the ground heavily with her purple staff, and transformed into a rainbow that shot into the valley.

The youth looked at the old woman's back, still somewhat irritated, flicked his sleeve heavily, and strode toward the valley.

But after taking only two steps, he felt something strange behind him and instinctively looked back. He only saw two deep blue lights flickering, which shook his mind, and his consciousness immediately became blurred.

In the void behind him, Han Li, dressed in a green robe, slowly revealed himself. His pupils flashed with blue light, and between his fingers he held a purple talisman.

He calmly put away the Taiyi Purification Talisman, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth as he walked up to the youth.

At this moment, the youth's eyes were vacant, his expression dull, standing motionless.

"Where is the Star-Gathering Platform of Jingyuan Temple?" Han Li asked directly.

"On the summit... of Nine Palaces Peak." The youth's lips moved as he answered.

"Oh, why isn't it on the main peak, Reverence Heaven Peak?" Han Li asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Nine Palaces Peak is the highest, with the broadest view from the top, more conducive to channeling the power of the stars. Therefore, our ancestors set up the formation there." The youth answered without hesitation.

"Who guards the Star-Gathering Platform, and what is their cultivation level?" Han Li nodded and continued asking.

"The temple arranges..." The youth's face expressionless, his mouth opening and closing, he poured out all the information about Nine Palaces Peak like beans from a sack.

As a major peak second only to Reverence Heaven Peak, Nine Palaces Peak was naturally an important site of Jingyuan Temple, where many sect elders and disciples cultivated daily.

However, the summit where the Star-Gathering Platform was located was a major forbidden area. Except for some inner sect elders and core disciples, others were not allowed to enter.

According to the youth, the Star-Gathering Platform had powerful restrictions on the outside, and an unknown number of elders guarded the inside. It was confirmed that at least one Integration Stage elder was stationed there.

After pondering for a while, Han Li pressed his fingers together and lightly touched the youth's brow, then his figure dissipated like smoke and mist.

The white-clad youth's eyes only then regained clarity. Still remembering the strangeness behind him, he hurriedly looked back, but saw nothing there—no one at all.

He shook his head in confusion, turned, and continued walking into the valley.

On the other side, Han Li's figure emerged from behind an ancient tree. He lifted his foot, about to fly up.

At that moment, a light suddenly flashed at his waist. A yellow talisman, without being summoned, flew out on its own and hovered in midair.

Seeing this talisman, Han Li frowned slightly.

With a "whoosh" sound,

a ball of flame rose in midair, and the talisman spontaneously combusted.

Flames leaped, and a blurry shadow appeared in the fire, gradually becoming clear.

In the shadow, he immediately saw a green-clad girl collapsed on a stone table, her delicate face pale, eyes tightly shut, having fainted.

Her slender wrist was firmly gripped by a withered, large hand.

The owner of that hand was dressed in a black robe, with white hair and a black beard, his figure gaunt, looking at him with a sinister expression.

"You are Qi Xuan, aren't you!" Han Li glanced at the elder, then at his robes, squinted his eyes, and suddenly asked.

"Hmph! Han, you little thief, you killed my grandnephew Hao'er two years ago, then cunningly schemed against my close friend Lu Ya. After that, you've been hiding in the Cold Flame Sect, making it hard for me to find you! Now that this little fox spirit has fallen into my hands, will you save her or not?" The elder's face flashed with murderous intent as he cackled.

"What do you want?" Han Li asked, his expression unchanged.

"Come to Ghost Peak in the Fengyin Mountains of my Heavenly Ghost Sect within a month. Remember, come alone. If I don't see you by then, don't blame me for being ruthless." Qi Xuan's voice suddenly turned cold.

As he spoke, he tightened his grip on Liu Le'er's wrist, causing the unconscious girl to frown in pain, her face growing even paler.

Seeing this, Han Li's face darkened, and he remained silent.

Accompanied by a burst of sinister laughter, the fire before him twisted and disappeared, leaving only a pile of ashes, which were blown away by the mountain wind, vanishing without a trace.