Chapter 796: Waiting at Ease for an Exhausted Enemy

At first, Han Li did not understand why Patriarch Mi Luo had gone to such great lengths to split the Great Five Elements Illusion World Technique apart. Only later did he realize that the patriarch likely intended to leave a dual legacy—one overt and one covert—for his disciples, beyond the sutra pillar that recorded the technique.

If not for this, this treasured scripture of the True Word Sect would have completely vanished by now.

Thinking of this, he could not help shaking his head and letting out a soft sigh.

Now, after spending over two months, he had reorganized the five techniques according to the脉络 indicated in the *Sumeru Resonance Scripture*, integrating them into a brand-new nine-layer *Great Five Elements Illusion World Technique*.

However, the five techniques were fused together, and many details still required deliberation, but on the whole, it was complete.

Since Han Li had already cultivated several of these techniques, his current level roughly corresponded to the third layer of the *Great Five Elements Illusion World Technique*. Once he could fully condense the True Word Wheel, Time Vase, Illusion Dust Sand, Severing Time Flowing Fire, and Eastern Yi Divine Wood, he would directly ascend to the sixth layer.

At that time, his cultivation realm would truly be at the mid-Tai Yi stage.

Because this technique was something he had re-integrated based on the *Sumeru Resonance Scripture*, he was still unclear about what divine abilities and transformations it would yield upon completion, only having a vague guess in his mind.

Naturally, the divine abilities that could be cultivated from the original five techniques would all be retained without exception.

However, cultivation would bring many additional troubles, requiring constant switching between the five techniques. The operation of technique formulas and immortal spiritual power would greatly increase the difficulty of cultivation.

But whenever he thought of the divine abilities this technique might evolve into later—a result he felt had a high probability of occurring—he itched with impatience, wishing he could immediately find a quiet and safe place to go into secluded cultivation.

Yet under the current circumstances, that was naturally impossible.

Han Li slightly narrowed his eyes and lightly waved his hand. A silver light door moved from outside the courtyard to before him.

He stepped through and returned to the attic of Qingxiao Courtyard, where he saw the Crab Immortal sitting cross-legged in meditation outside the light door.

“Brother Li, a few days ago, Brother Shi came to visit. He said that if you came out of seclusion, he invited you to meet with him,” the Crab Immortal said, opening his eyes and slowly standing up.

Han Li first nodded, then asked, “During this time, have you remembered anything more about your former master’s last wishes?”

“No. Only the words ‘Accumulated Scale Void Realm’ still surface in my mind from time to time, impossible to dispel,” the Crab Immortal said, shaking his head.

“I appreciate your efforts during this time,” Han Li said, slightly bowing to the Crab Immortal.

The latter silently returned the bow, then turned and stepped into the silver light door.

After closing the Flower Branch Cave Heaven, Han Li left the attic, exited the small courtyard surrounded by green bamboo, and made his way toward Youhe Courtyard.

Youhe Courtyard was built on an island in the middle of a lake. The surrounding area was a small lake with a wide water surface, covered with lush lotus leaves, shrouded in mist and rippling waves.

Han Li walked along the covered bridge across the lake. As he neared the island, he saw Shi Chuankong already coming to greet him from the island.

“Brother Li, I’ve been waiting for you,” Shi Chuankong said as soon as he saw him.

“Brother Shi, did you rent out this entire island? You’ve even set up sensing formations in the lake. The moment I stepped onto the covered bridge, you sensed it, didn’t you?” Han Li asked with a slight frown.

“The formations are only on the island. In the lake, I just released a few dozen Guanlan fish. As soon as you stepped onto the bridge, the fluctuations from your body were detected by these little creatures. I left marks on them, so naturally I could sense it,” Shi Chuankong explained.

“With so many measures in place, has something gone wrong?” Han Li asked, looking around as he followed Shi Chuankong toward the island.

The entire island was hidden among dense trees. Normally, there should have been many birds chirping, but now the island was eerily silent, clearly because the numerous formations had scared away all the birds.

“A few days ago, I went to the Traveler’s Lodge and received a message from my third brother,” Shi Chuankong said with a furrowed brow.

“What did the letter say?” Han Li asked.

“One good piece of news, one bad. The good news is that my third brother has already sent people to meet us. The bad news is that my eldest brother has likely received word as well,” Shi Chuankong said with a bitter smile.

“According to what you said earlier, if the Black Weasel King has been sending false messages, he should have bought us at least five or six months. Counting the days, it’s about time. Since your eldest brother already knows, our location may have been exposed. Now it’s a race to see whether the assassins or the reinforcements arrive first,” Han Li said thoughtfully.

“That’s what I think too, which is why I was eager to meet you and discuss a countermeasure,” Shi Chuankong nodded.

“Given the scale of this Cloud Mountain Inn, there should be someone backing it to prevent outsiders from causing trouble. As guests, they ought to offer us protection,” Han Li said after a moment’s deliberation.

"What I fear is that whoever comes means trouble, and even Cloudwind Isle can't protect us. But leaving here is even more unsafe, so we might as well stay put and wait at our ease for the exhausted enemy." Shi Chuankong sighed and said.

"To be on the safe side, we need to make some other preparations." Han Li said after a long, thoughtful silence.

"I'd be glad to hear the details..." Shi Chuankong's expression turned slightly serious as he spoke.

The two sat facing each other, discussing in detail until dusk, when Han Li finally rose and returned to the Green Bamboo Courtyard.

In the following days, Shi Chuankong shuttled back and forth between the city's shops and the inn, while Han Li, aside from meditating at night, spent most of his time on the small island where the Lotus Courtyard was located.

...

Time flew by, and another half month passed.

One night, Han Li was sitting quietly in the attic of the Green Bamboo Courtyard, regulating his breathing.

Suddenly, his brows twitched, and sensing something, he shot out, hovering above the bamboo forest, gazing into the distance toward the small island in the center of the lake.

At that moment, two streaks of light, one cyan and one purple, shot past from afar. As they neared the small island, they suddenly split left and right. The cyan streak descended toward the island, while the purple one headed straight for Han Li.

The newcomer moved extremely fast, almost instantly hovering in front of Han Li.

She wore a purple water-dress, its fabric slightly transparent and gauzy, perfectly accentuating her lithe and graceful figure, giving her a naturally seductive, boneless charm. With her stunning beauty and flowing ribbons, she looked like a celestial fairy.

The woman's bright eyes moved slightly as she looked Han Li up and down. A flicker of disgust passed through the depths of her eyes, but she concealed her expression well. If Han Li's insight weren't far beyond ordinary, he wouldn't have noticed the subtle change.

"May I ask how to address you, fellow Daoist?" The purple-clad woman smiled gently and greeted him with a curtsy.

"I originally thought we'd be fighting to the death upon meeting. Your arrival, fairy, has left me somewhat at a loss." Han Li smiled faintly and said.

"My master only wants the one on the island. As for you, fellow Daoist, he has developed a fondness for your talent. If you stand by and do not interfere with what happens on the island, waiting quietly for Sister Qinglian to finish her business, my master will bestow upon you a great fortune." The purple-clad woman said with a gentle smile.

"So it seems that I, Li, have turned misfortune into fortune." Han Li's smile seemed to deepen a little.

"Once this matter is settled, Fellow Daoist Li, why not return with us to Yeyang City? At that time..." The woman in purple smiled faintly, but before she could finish, her expression suddenly changed.

A thunderous boom was heard!

A dazzling white light lit up on the small island in the distance, and a silver runic formation a thousand zhang high rose from the island, enveloping the entire island and the surrounding waters, from which emanated intense spatial fluctuations.

Immediately after, a series of violent explosions sounded, flames shot into the sky over the entire island, stirring up white waves in the surrounding waters and rising clouds of white steam. Even the ground beneath Han Li trembled violently, and the entire bamboo forest shook incessantly.

Amid the rumbling, the entire island sank into the lakebed along with the silver runic formation.

The woman in purple's expression changed, and she turned her gaze to Han Li, about to shout in anger, when a golden light flashed before her, and a huge golden wheel of time suddenly appeared beside Han Li's figure.

Where the golden light shone, the flow of time suddenly slowed. The woman in purple felt her divine sense sluggish, as if floating in a void, with everything around her becoming slow.

Seeing this, a crystalline light flickered between Han Li's brows.

Several translucent chains shot out from between his brows, with black runes faintly visible, and directly pierced into the head of the woman in purple.

In the next instant, a square cage of chains was woven in her sea of consciousness, within which was imprisoned a small purple-hazed soul figure, constantly changing form, trying to break free.

But no matter how it struggled, the divine sense cage remained as stable as a mountain, showing no signs of collapse.

Han Li's gaze narrowed slightly. Seeing the woman in purple suspended high in the air, as if immersed in water, her body motionless, he then put away the Wheel of True Words and casually waved his hand forward.

A silver light flashed, and the door to the Flower Branch Space opened, from which Shi Chuankong stepped out.

"Big Brother is truly willing to send his trusted beautiful agent to kill me. If not for Brother Li's help in planning, I would surely have fallen into the hands of these Purple and Green Twin Beauties this time," Shi Chuankong said, his expression changing slightly as he looked at the woman in purple.

"What? From your tone, it seems you are quite wary of these two?" Han Li's gaze flickered as he asked.

"If not for the advance preparations, using a strand of my divided soul as bait to set up the formation on the island, and your active appearance, inadvertently splitting them apart, we would never have succeeded so easily. Regardless, we should deal with her first to avoid future trouble," Shi Chuankong said with a frown.

"She is now imprisoned by me in her divine soul and cannot resist. You may act as you wish," Han Li nodded and said.

Shi Chuankong was about to act when a sudden change occurred!