Chapter 674: Concerns

“This gourd, could it be…”

The Blaze Immortal on the other side was slightly startled when he saw the emerald green gourd, a strange glint flashing in his eyes.

The tall, thin man quickly swept his gaze around while simultaneously urging his hand seals with both hands.

The five fingers of the mountain-sized cyan giant hand suddenly tightened, the runes on it brightening as a powerful law force erupted.

With a crisp “bang,” the protective green light around the emerald green gourd was crushed.

After letting out a mournful cry, the emerald green gourd finally stopped trembling and struggling.

A flicker of joy flashed in the tall, thin man’s eyes before vanishing. With a single hand gesture, the cyan giant hand grabbed the now motionless emerald green gourd and flew back.

Just as the giant hand was a few zhang away from the tall, thin man, the void behind him rippled, and a figure silently emerged—none other than Han Li.

As soon as he appeared, without a word, he waved both hands.

With two thunderous roars, two streaks of cyan light shot from his hands, swelling in the wind, and in an instant transformed into two giant cyan swords that slashed down toward the tall, thin man’s head.

Dazzling cyan sword light burst from the giant swords, their momentum vast and overwhelming, as if about to split the entire sky.

The tall, thin man’s expression remained calm; only the corners of his mouth twitched disdainfully, as if he had long anticipated Han Li’s appearance. He formed a hand seal with one hand.

The cyan jade bead above his head, having left the glow of the emerald green gourd, regained its brightness. As he formed the seal, the bead emitted countless beams of cyan light, which then condensed into two thick, pillar-sized cyan crystal beams that struck the two giant cyan swords.

Two earth-shattering bangs followed, causing the nearby void to tremble violently!

The two giant cyan swords shrank by nearly half, their surface cyan sword light dimmed, and they flew back as if their spiritual nature had been severely damaged.

Han Li’s face turned pale, as if he had also suffered considerable damage, and he staggered backward.

“Trying to ambush me? Looking for death!”

The tall, thin man glanced at Han Li and sneered, then turned his gaze back to the emerald green gourd held by the cyan giant hand before him.

In his view, a mere late-stage Golden Immortal trying to rescue someone from him was nothing but wishful thinking. Still, he had to thank this man for delivering such a先天灵宝.

As he pondered, the man formed a seal and waved his hand, and the cyan giant hand brought the emerald green gourd flying down before him.

At that moment, a sudden change occurred!

The emerald green gourd, which had been motionless in the giant hand, suddenly trembled violently, emitting a dazzling green light, and from within came a thunderous rumble.

The tall, thin man’s expression changed drastically, but before he could react, a golden light flashed at the gourd’s mouth, and a blinding golden beam shot out, striking the cyan bamboo slip before him.

A thunderous roar!

The cyan bamboo slip trembled violently, and a dazzling golden light bloomed on its surface.

The seemingly indestructible immortal artifact was now as fragile as tofu, easily pierced by the golden light.

The tall, thin man behind the bamboo slip artifact was also pierced through, a large hole torn in his chest and abdomen, his body nearly cut in two. Yet not a single drop of blood flowed from the wound; it was smooth and charred.

This happened in the blink of an eye, and with the close distance, the Blaze Immortal nearby was greatly startled, his face turning pale, but he made no other move.

The tall, thin man spat out a large mouthful of blood, his face full of shock and anger.

Had he not shifted his body at the critical moment, he would have been pierced through the dantian and killed.

Despite his fear, he reacted quickly. With both hands forming seals, he spat out a ball of cyan flame, which spread with a “puff,” enveloping his entire body. He transformed into a cyan fireball and shot into the distance.

He didn’t even bother to retrieve the other immortal artifacts except for the cyan jade bead.

But at that moment, the void near the tall, thin man flickered, and several crystalline chains appeared without warning. In a flash, they plunged into his mind, his protective light shield unable to block them in the slightest.

His entire body suddenly froze, his expression instantly凝固, as if struck by a paralysis spell.

However, his body continued to fly forward, albeit at a greatly reduced speed.

With a “crackle,” lightning flashed in front of the tall, thin man, and Han Li’s figure emerged.

The pallor on his face had completely disappeared, and his disordered aura had returned to normal. Without a word, he punched out, and a cyan fist shadow materialized, striking the tall, thin man’s head.

With a “bang”!

The tall, thin man’s head was crushed like a watermelon by the cyan fist shadow, revealing a crystalline cage that contained a cyan soul.

Seeing this, Han Li raised his hand and flicked his finger, sending a golden lightning bolt from his fingertip into the soul cage.

The golden lightning flared, and the soul within the cage was reduced to nothingness.

The soul cage then flickered, turning into several crystalline chains that flew back into his mind.

He waved his hand, and a patch of cyan light appeared, wrapping around the tall, thin man’s remains and the nearby immortal artifacts, then stowing them into the Flower Branch Space.

“Tsk, tsk, Fellow Daoist Han, with your strength, why use such trickery to deal with a mid-stage Taiyi cultivator?” Mo Guang’s voice sounded in Han Li’s mind, quite dismissive.

Han Li ignored Mo Guang. If he used the law of time, he could indeed kill the tall, thin man easily, but he didn’t want to reveal too much in front of the Blaze Immortal for now.

As he thought, he raised his hand to recall the Profound Heaven Gourd, the two Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords, and the golden lock, which flew over. He put them away with a wave of his sleeve, then turned around.

“Fellow Daoist Li, I owe you my life again. I truly don’t know how to thank you.” The Blaze Immortal flew over and landed before him, speaking gratefully.

“Fellow Daoist Blaze, there’s no need for such courtesy. We’ve already agreed to cooperate. But I didn’t expect to meet you here. I wonder where Fellow Daoists Hu and Shi are now?” Han Li waved his hand and said.

“Alas, I didn’t expect to be separated from you in that void turbulence. After being teleported here, it was relatively calm at first, but not long ago, I ran into this Celestial Court Inspection Envoy. If not for your timely arrival, Fellow Daoist Li, I would have perished here today.” The Blaze Immortal sighed and said with hatred.

“In recent days, I’ve also encountered some outsiders. Not only the Celestial Court, but also some forces from other factions have entered this True Word Sect relic.” Han Li’s eyes flickered as he spoke.

“What! Does Fellow Daoist Li recognize those people?” The Blaze Immortal was surprised and immediately pressed for details.

“I can barely identify them. Among them are members of the Yi Pao Society and demons from the Demon Domain.” Han Li said.

“The Yi Pao Society! How do they know the location of the relic entrance? And the Demon Domain…” The Blaze Immortal frowned, muttering to himself, then fell silent.

“Fellow Daoist Blaze…” Han Li waited for a moment, but the Blaze Immortal remained lost in thought, so he called out.

“Sorry, I was lost in thought. After the True Word Sect was destroyed by the Celestial Court, our sect’s Patriarch Milo used his great神通 to move the entire True Word Sect into the spatial turbulence. Apart from me, no one should know the entrance to the True Word Sect relic. I wonder how those people found this place. Could it be that we’ve been followed all along without realizing it?” The Blaze Immortal seemed to think of something and said uncertainly.

“Those people have already entered here. It’s useless to dwell on why they came. There are indeed many treasures in this True Word Sect relic. Let’s first explore and enhance our ability to protect ourselves as much as possible.” Han Li’s eyes flickered as he said.

“That’s true.” The Blaze Immortal nodded.

“The disturbance here was considerable. Although it’s unlikely to be noticed, to be safe, let’s leave this place first and then make plans.” Han Li looked around and said.

The Blaze Immortal nodded in agreement.

The two rose into the air and flew off in one direction.

“Fellow Daoist Blaze, as a disciple of the True Word Sect, you must be very familiar with everything here. I imagine you’ve gained quite a bit. By the way, I recall you came here to find the ‘Great Five Elements Illusory World Technique.’ Have you obtained it?” Han Li smiled.

“I’m ashamed to say that my luck has been poor since arriving here, and I haven’t gained much. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been pushed to such a state by that Inspection Envoy. As for the ‘Great Five Elements Illusory World Technique,’ I have no idea where it’s hidden, so how could I find it?” The Blaze Immortal smiled bitterly.

“Oh, so even you don’t know where that technique is? That’s a bit troublesome.” Han Li said with some surprise.

“If the ‘Great Five Elements Illusory World Technique’ never appears, that would be fine, but I’m worried it might fall into the hands of the Celestial Court or other forces.” The Blaze Immortal sighed with a worried expression.

Han Li looked at the Blaze Immortal’s expression and said nothing.

“Fellow Daoist Li, I am weak in strength. Now that various forces have gathered in the True Word Sect relic, if the ‘Great Five Elements Illusory World Technique’ appears and sparks a scramble, I hope you can help me seize it. If successful, I will certainly not disappoint you.” The Blaze Immortal suddenly turned to Han Li and said solemnly with a cupped fist salute.

“Fellow Daoist Blaze, I don’t know how many experts have entered this True Word Sect relic. I can’t promise you anything, but as long as it doesn’t endanger my life, I am willing to lend you a hand.” Han Li pondered for a moment and said solemnly.

“Then thank you, Fellow Daoist Li.” The Blaze Immortal was delighted and expressed his thanks.

“But what exactly is the ‘Great Five Elements Illusory World Technique’? It sounds like a cultivation technique.” Han Li asked curiously.

“Indeed, the ‘Great Five Elements Illusory World Technique’ is a technique concerning the law of time. As you may know, Fellow Daoist Li, the True Word Sect has many time law techniques, and the ‘Great Five Elements Illusory World Technique’ is the sect’s highest secret.” The Blaze Immortal hesitated slightly before speaking.

“I see. Since this technique is a treasure of the True Word Sect, it must not fall into the hands of outsiders.” Han Li nodded.

The Blaze Immortal secretly observed Han Li’s expression and, seeing no sign of greed or unusual reaction upon hearing this, felt a slight relief in his heart.