Chapter 618: Phantom Thief

On the originally bustling open ground before the Yulou Tower, at the red-haired giant's command, most of the crowd scattered, leaving only a dozen or so people.

These were naturally those whom the giant had pointed out earlier, mostly those who had participated in the auction of the Ten Thousand Soul Grass. For some reason, the blue-robed giant who had sold the beast bone for 350,000 immortal spirit stones was also among them, his face ashen.

Apart from him, the purple-robed cultivator behind the black-robed youth had not been pointed out, but he likewise did not leave.

Among the onlookers more than ten li away, Han Li saw this scene and his pupils slightly contracted.

"All of you, get on."

The red-haired giant did not spare these people another glance. With a wave of his large hand, a flash of green light appeared, and a white jade flying boat materialized out of thin air, landing on the ground.

On the flying boat was a crimson light cage, spinning rapidly, with streaks of red lightning dancing within it, a sight that made one's heart race.

Among the distant crowd, a flicker of surprise suddenly passed through Han Li's eyes.

Earlier, he had felt that the red-haired giant looked somewhat familiar. Now, upon closer inspection, he found that his facial features bore a faint resemblance to Gongshu Jiu, suggesting a blood relationship between the two.

"Hmph! You supervisory immortal envoys are too overbearing! We came here to attend the Yulou Tower auction. We know nothing about any renegades of the Reincarnation Hall. If you want to arrest people, go ahead. I won't accompany you any longer." Among the dozen, a bearded old man in a blue Daoist robe snorted coldly. Suddenly, a brilliant blue light burst from his body, and his late-stage Golden Immortal peak aura was no longer concealed.

A strange, chilling aura erupted abruptly, sweeping outward, causing the surrounding void to congeal and ripple with visible blue waves, as if about to freeze solid.

The light of those red formations, swept by these blue ripples, suddenly dimmed sharply.

The bearded old man let out a loud shout. The blue light on his body flared again, transforming into circles of blue rippling light imbued with the power of extreme cold laws, enveloping an area of over ten zhang around him in a hazy blue haze.

With a muffled "bang," the old man broke free from the red formation's confinement and shot into the sky.

This happened in the blink of an eye. The surrounding onlookers only saw a flash of blue light before the old man had already deployed his law domain and escaped.

"Did I say you could leave?"

As soon as the red-haired giant spoke, a tangible,狂暴 aura surged from him. The fire-dragon greatsword in his hand blazed with light, and he swung it through the void.

Above the bearded old man's head, a loud explosion sounded. A massive phantom of a fire dragon suddenly materialized.

A terrifying, scorching force mixed with rolling, fierce aura erupted from the giant fire dragon, plunging down toward the bearded old man. An intensely hot law fluctuation instantly locked onto the old man.

The blue law domain space within ten zhang of the bearded old man trembled violently. Though the old man was fast, the fire dragon phantom followed like a shadow, even faster.

In desperation, the old man opened his mouth and spat.

A dazzling blue light shot out, revealing a blue short spear immortal artifact. After a burst of light, it transformed into a blue rainbow and struck toward the fire dragon phantom.

The fire dragon phantom opened its massive mouth and spat out a ball of crimson flame. The flame grew rapidly in the wind, turning into a cloud of fire the size of a house.

With a thunderous roar, the fire cloud and the blue rainbow collided and exploded.

The crimson fire cloud swelled again, swallowing the blue short spear in an instant. Then it rolled back and shot forth, striking the bearded old man with lightning speed.

A thunderous boom!

The bearded old man was engulfed in a dazzling red light, from which came an angry scream.

The fire dragon phantom in the air shot down and vanished into the dazzling red light in a flash.

A cracking sound came from the red light, and the scream abruptly ceased.

The red light flickered a few times and then quickly dissipated, but the bearded old man had completely disappeared, as if he had never existed.

Seeing this, the remaining people all gasped in shock.

"Don't make me say it a second time," the red-haired giant said coldly.

These people trembled slightly, not daring to utter a word of dissent. They quickly boarded the green flying boat and stepped into the crimson light cage.

The distant crowd, having witnessed the exchange, erupted in murmurs, their faces filled with shock.

Han Li squinted. The red-haired giant's strength was clearly beyond his expectations. Then his gaze shifted to two other people.

They were the thin black-robed youth and the purple-robed cultivator beside him. The two had not boarded the flying boat with the others.

A cold glint flashed in the red-haired giant's eyes as he looked at them.

"I'm sorry, but although I am very interested in all kinds of flying spiritual treasures, I just don't like riding in a prison cart," the black-robed youth said, showing no tension under the giant's gaze, smiling nonchalantly.

The red-haired giant and the bamboo-pole man exchanged a glance. Then, with a blur of figures, the bamboo-pole man appeared behind the black-robed youth.

"You're the one who bid on that Myriad Soul Herb, aren't you? Reincarnation Hall, Hu San." The red-haired man said slowly.

"Hu San? Are you talking about me? I think you've mistaken me for someone else. But the name's not bad; I like it." The black-robed youth spread his hands and said with a grin.

"Hu San, or rather 'Silver Fox,' you began infiltrating the Tianhong Immortal Palace to steal secret treasures ten thousand years ago. Since then, almost every few hundred years, you've committed a major crime in some immortal domain. This time, we've finally lured you out. If you know what's good for you, surrender immediately. Hand over that secret treasure from back then, and I'll give you a quick death!" As the red-haired man spoke, the firelight on his body gradually brightened.

An even greater surge of scorching heat erupted like a volcanic explosion, instantly charring and cracking the ground nearby.

A terrifying wave of heat rushed toward them, forcing the distant onlookers to retreat further back.

"The Phantom Thief Silver Fox, so it's him." Master Jingyang murmured softly.

A flicker of surprise also crossed Han Li's face. He had indeed seen the name 'Silver Fox' on the Execution Platform in the city earlier. According to the platform's description, this man was a member of the Reincarnation Hall, specializing in stealing all kinds of precious treasures, mostly related to the immortal palaces of various domains. He would always leak word before striking, yet he had never failed, committing countless crimes.

No wonder he had been so generous with his spending earlier; clearly, it wasn't his own money, so he felt no pain.

"The secret treasure of Tianhong Immortal Palace was stolen? Oh, I think I've heard of that somewhere. At the time, Tianhong Immortal Palace's master, Situ Bowen, had acquired a Xuantian Spiritual Treasure intended as a tribute to the Heavenly Court. He held a grand celebration, gathering many Golden Immortals and even several supervising immortal envoys sent by the Heavenly Court. Yet the treasure was stolen the day before the celebration... Tsk tsk, what a pity. How embarrassing that must have been for the palace master and the envoys. But why are you coming after me? I have nothing to do with this. Are you planning to just grab someone to take the fall?" The black-robed youth smiled and said.

Having a precious treasure stolen right under the noses of so many Taiyi Jade Immortals and Golden Immortals was already a great humiliation for the Heavenly Court. When the youth vividly recounted it in public, it naturally caused an uproar among the surrounding spectators. Although everyone refrained from speaking out due to the presence of the supervising envoys, occasional snickers still arose from the crowd.

Veins bulged on the red-haired man's forehead, and murderous intent blazed in his eyes, but he did not act immediately.

"No matter how clever your tongue today, you won't escape from this Jukun City!" The bamboo-thin man's face turned cold as he spoke each word deliberately.

The red-haired man sneered and stepped forward.

The bamboo-thin man also stepped forward, closing in on the black-robed youth.

Two immense pressures emanated from the red-haired man and the bamboo-thin man, intertwining and bearing down ahead.

"What a nuisance. Why do people always come to bother me every so often? I just want a few days of peace. Is that so hard?" The black-robed youth sighed helplessly.

As the sigh faded, his figure suddenly twisted, transforming into a wisp of distorted silver thread, vanishing from the spot as if the surrounding confinement formation had no effect on him.

The purple-robed cultivator stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at the sky, paying no attention to what was happening around him, as if it had nothing to do with him.

"Trying to run? Don't even think about it!"

The red-haired man roared in anger, and the firelight on his body flared up again, rapidly spreading outward, instantly forming a thousand-zhang-wide crimson spiritual domain that enveloped several nearby buildings and most of the auction hall.

Within the crimson spirit domain, countless substantial flames roiled. Apart from the Jade Kun Pavilion, other buildings within the domain quickly melted, turning into wisps of green smoke and vanishing without a trace.

Han Li and the others watching from afar retreated further. Fortunately, they had already stood far away and were not swept into the crimson spirit domain.

But then, a hint of surprise appeared in the red-haired man's eyes.

After the black-robed youth disappeared, it was as if he had completely vanished without a trace. Neither the spirit domain nor divine sense could perceive him at all, as if he had evaporated from the mortal world.

The moment the black-robed youth's figure vanished, the bamboo pole man immediately raised his hand, formed a seal, and waved.

A beam of green light shot out from his hand and disappeared into the void.

The next moment, centered on the auction venue, a huge, azure, hazy light curtain covering dozens of miles in size emerged.

The light curtain was hemispherical, with countless tornado-like green shadows roiling atop it, emitting a rumbling roar.

Faint spatial fluctuations emanated from within the green light curtain, clearly indicating that it was imbued with spatial restrictions to prevent the black-robed youth from escaping using time-space teleportation techniques.

To capture the Silver Fox, the two had evidently made all preparations long ago.

After doing this, the bamboo pole man also looked around, sensing for the black-robed youth's trail.

“Eh!” He suddenly let out a soft exclamation.

Within the red-haired man's flame spirit domain, the purple-robed cultivator still stood with his hands behind his back, not even using his cultivation to protect his body. Yet the surrounding crimson flames, upon approaching within three feet of him, were immediately repelled by an invisible force.

“This is…” The bamboo pole man’s gaze sharpened, and he was about to probe further.

At that moment, a loud shout came. The red-haired man’s body spun swiftly, and his giant sword slashed sharply behind him.

With a crisp “ding,” the fire-dragon giant sword blocked a silver sword light.

This silver sword light was extremely slender, as thin as a cicada’s wing, emitting a very dim radiance in which faint silver runes flickered.

The red-haired man sneered, and the flames on his giant sword blazed intensely, erupting with a startling aura.

With a crisp “clang,” the black sword light snapped in response.

But at that moment, the void behind the red-haired man rippled slightly, and two identical silver sword lights materialized out of thin air, stabbing with lightning speed toward the man’s back.