Chapter 684: Lost Contact

"It hasn't been touched by the war here—what a relief!" Flame Immortal exclaimed, his face brightening as he let out a long breath.

Han Li looked at the empty void around the palace, a purple glint flickering in his eyes, and said, "The area around this hall has been tampered with. Getting in won't be easy, I'm afraid."

"Indeed, the area is surrounded by our sect's Two Extremes Microdust Array, one of the most formidable hidden killing formations of our sect. Even a Tai Yi realm cultivator would find it hard to detect, yet Fellow Daoist Li can sense its presence!" Flame Immortal said with a hint of surprise, casting another glance at Han Li's purple eyes.

"Fellow Daoist Flame seems so confident—surely you already have a way in?" Han Li asked, retracting his pupil technique.

"For an outsider, entering would be extremely difficult, but with me here, Fellow Daoist Li can rest assured," Flame Immortal said with a hearty laugh.

Then, with a flip of his hand, a silver jade plate appeared, which he tossed upward, while his other hand formed a spell seal that flashed and vanished into the plate.

Instantly, the plate's surface blazed with silver light, and with a shake, it transformed into a silver orb of light that descended, enveloping both himself and Han Li.

Flame Immortal muttered incantations under his breath, and after a moment, with a solemn expression, he pointed a finger at the hall ahead.

The silver orb immediately flew toward it, moving at a leisurely pace.

After advancing a short distance, the surrounding void suddenly hummed, and crisscrossing white rays of light emerged.

These white lights varied in length and size, covering an area about a dozen miles around the True Words Hall, tumbling and spinning endlessly, evolving into myriad transformations.

"The Two Extremes Microdust Array..." Han Li murmured to himself, his eyes flashing purple as he observed the white light outside.

These white lights were merely the most superficial changes of the formation; the deeper transformations were extremely complex. Under his Nine Nether Demon Pupils, countless white specks of light of all sizes flickered within the surrounding space, creating a dazzling spectacle.

But if one looked closely, each speck seemed to contain a tiny independent world, faintly revealing mountains, rivers, birds, beasts, azure seas, and blue skies—remarkably real and profound.

Han Li's expression shifted slightly at the sight.

This Two Extremes Microdust Array was far more profound and formidable than he had imagined.

Though these specks appeared dazzling and mysterious, they were actually interconnected. If one rashly touched them, the entire array would be triggered, unleashing its full killing power.

Despite his confident words, Flame Immortal's expression remained extremely solemn. He rapidly formed hand seals, carefully maneuvering the silver orb forward, not daring to make a single misstep.

It took a full half hour for the two to cover just half the distance.

Suddenly, the formation ahead changed again, revealing black orbs like water droplets that spun slowly, radiating ripples of black light.

As the ripples gradually expanded, the scenery ahead grew blurry, exuding a dense aura of slaughter.

"The restrictions in this latter half are even trickier. I need to focus all my attention; Fellow Daoist Li must not disturb me," Flame Immortal said, looking at the scene ahead.

"Rest assured," Han Li nodded, fully aware of the gravity of the situation.

Flame Immortal knew Han Li to be a steady man, but he had said this just in case.

He took a deep breath and was about to urge the silver orb forward.

At that moment, the black ripples ahead suddenly became violently chaotic and rapidly dissipated.

The black water-drop orbs also shrank several times and churned violently. The space ahead instantly cleared, revealing the gate of the True Words Hall.

The formation behind them underwent the same change: all white lights dimmed rapidly, and the restrictions dissolved quickly. It was unclear what had happened.

Han Li was taken aback.

Flame Immortal was also startled, but he immediately formed hand seals to propel the silver orb forward. In a few breaths, they passed through the remaining formation area and landed before the gate of the True Words Hall.

"What's going on? Why did the array suddenly become so turbulent?" Flame Immortal muttered, turning to look at the still-churning formation behind.

"The array's eye should be inside the True Words Hall. Perhaps something has changed within," Han Li said, looking toward the hall's entrance.

"What! Could someone have beaten us here?" Flame Immortal's face changed color as he also turned to look inside.

From a distance, the gate of the True Words Hall did not seem particularly imposing, but standing at the threshold, the two truly felt the grandeur of the hall.

They stood at the entrance like two tiny ants, further accentuating the hall's majestic vastness.

Looking ahead, the entrance led to a long corridor, but for some reason, the light inside was very dim.

With Han Li's eyesight, he could only see a few dozen yards from the entrance; deeper within was shrouded in gloom, giving an eerie sense of unfathomable depth.

He focused his divine sense and tried to penetrate inside, but the dark corridor was filled with an invisible force that bluntly repelled his probe.

Han Li frowned and looked at Flame Immortal with a questioning expression.

"Don't ask me, Fellow Daoist Li. This is my first time here too. As for the Two Extremes Microdust Array outside, I only happened to see its diagram before, which is how I knew the way through," Flame Immortal said, spreading his hands.

"Since we're here, there's no turning back now. Let's go," Han Li said after a moment's deliberation, then stepped through the gate.

Seeing this, Flame Immortal quickly followed suit and entered.

The passage was plunged into darkness, as if some special restriction had been placed here. No matter what Han Li and the other used for illumination, the light could only spread for a dozen zhang.

Beyond that range, everything was shrouded in darkness.

All around was dead silent, with only the sound of their footsteps echoing.

In the blink of an eye, Han Li and the other had walked for a quarter of an hour. This passage was unimaginably long, with no sign of an end in sight.

The unknown dangers ahead made them dare not speed up; they trudged forward step by step, obediently.

But the silent space and the unchanging stone walls on both sides made walking through it extremely oppressive and uncomfortable.

Before long, Hot Immortal's breathing gradually became somewhat labored.

Even Han Li began to feel a growing sense of irritation, as if he could no longer remain patient.

At that moment, a faint sound came from ahead, barely audible, like the sound of someone crying.

Han Li's eyes narrowed, and he immediately stopped, his immortal spiritual power instantly surging.

But the sound ahead suddenly vanished, as if it had been an illusion.

"Fellow Daoist Hot, did you hear..." Han Li turned to look beside him, his expression suddenly stiffening, and his voice cut off abruptly.

The Hot Immortal who had been walking beside him was now nowhere to be seen, having vanished without warning.

"Fellow Daoist Hot!" Han Li shouted, putting a bit of true force into his voice. The sound rolled and echoed, causing the nearby ground and walls to tremble violently.

But there was no response from the surroundings; the Hot Immortal seemed to have truly disappeared.

"Could I have fallen into an illusion?" Han Li's expression darkened. He immediately activated the vast divine sense power in his mind, but sensed nothing unusual; it didn't seem like he was under an illusion.

"Fellow Daoist Mo Guang, you..." He looked toward the Flower Branch Space and contacted Mo Guang with his divine sense.

Mid-sentence, Han Li's voice stopped abruptly again.

His connection with Mo Guang had also vanished. The divine sense in his mind seemed to be sealed by some mysterious force, unable to leave his mind at all.

Not only the Flower Branch Space, but he had also completely lost contact with the storage magic tools on his person.

Han Li's expression finally darkened.

This situation, though not necessarily falling into an illusion, was clearly the result of some restriction within the passage.

His eyes flickered as he glanced forward and backward. After a moment's deliberation, he suddenly quickened his pace and walked forward.

He had been in this passage for a long time; retreating now would waste all his efforts, and even if he wanted to retreat, he might not be able to get out now.

Han Li continued forward. Before he had gone far, a black light flashed ahead, followed by a sharp screech. A black light arrow shot toward him like lightning, heading straight for his chest at an astonishing speed.

Although his field of vision was only a dozen zhang, his reactions were extremely sharp. He sidestepped and easily dodged the arrow.

Whoosh!

The black arrow flashed and disappeared into the darkness behind, vanishing without a trace.

"Who's there, skulking about?" Han Li stopped, looked into the darkness ahead, and bellowed.

Boom!

The entire passage trembled violently, taking a while to slowly calm down. There was no sound from ahead.

"Playing tricks!" He snorted coldly and continued walking forward.

But as soon as he took a few steps, the sharp screech sounded again. The void ahead trembled, and another black light arrow shot out, aimed at his body, at the same speed as before.

A hint of doubt flickered in Han Li's eyes. Such arrows, no matter how many came, he could dodge them all. What was the point?

As he thought this, he moved, about to sidestep.

At that moment, an even more bizarre scene appeared!

The remaining illuminated area around him suddenly flickered and vanished, plunging him into complete darkness.

A sharp screech sounded, and Han Li grunted, quickly retreating two steps.

The sudden darkness had caught him off guard; he was a moment too slow and failed to fully dodge the second arrow. It grazed his shoulder.

That black light arrow was some kind of divine ability. Though it was only a graze, Han Li felt as if someone had stabbed his soul with a red-hot knife, causing excruciating pain.

"Damn it!"

Suppressing the irritation in his heart, Han Li quickly activated his immortal spiritual power and waved his hand, trying to emit green light to illuminate the surroundings.

But no matter how he channeled his power to emit light or used treasures for illumination, the surroundings remained pitch black. He could see nothing, perceive nothing.