Chapter 945: Joining Forces Again

"Don't think you can escape!"

The surprise on Han Li's face vanished in a flash. His figure flickered and disappeared from where he stood, reappearing in front of the armored man the next moment.

Chains of divine thought coiled around his arm, turning into a blur that plunged into the armored man's chest.

Severely wounded, the armored man's reactions had slowed considerably. Han Li's strike hit home, and the man went rigid.

Han Li withdrew his hand, now clutching a white talisman that was a size larger. He immediately cast a divine thought seal to bind it and put it away.

His heart was filled with elation. The armored man's strength far surpassed that of the other Tiankui generals, rivaling that of a Taiyi realm existence. The benefits of acquiring such a Tiankui general for his own use went without saying.

At that moment, the remaining two Tiankui generals charged over like lightning. Their light swords turned into two streaks of cold light, swiftly crossing to slash at Han Li as he sealed the Tiankui talisman from the armored man.

Han Li's figure was instantly cut in two, but then it dissipated—clearly an afterimage.

The next moment, two crisp sounds rang out almost simultaneously. Two hands pierced through the chests of the two Tiankui generals, each clutching a Tiankui talisman, which they immediately sealed with a spell.

The bodies of the two Tiankui generals burst apart, scattering into countless white lights.

Han Li's expression was impassive as he put away the two Tiankui talismans in his hand.

"Brother Li, you are truly unfathomable. To subdue all these Tiankui generals so easily is admirable," Shi Chuankong said, walking over with heartfelt admiration.

"You flatter me. It's just that my secret technique happens to be able to counter these talisman spirits," Han Li said with a faint smile, then crouched down to examine the five stone pillars.

From what had just happened, it seemed the five stone pillars had the effect of condensing star power, which was why the five Tiankui talismans had been placed here to nurture.

He rummaged through the rubble left by the shattered pillars and soon retrieved five white rods, about a foot long and as thick as an arm.

Each rod was densely inscribed with star runes, the same kind unique to the Scales of Accumulated Emptiness, and they appeared to form a set of star arrays.

"This is..." Han Li's eyes lit up slightly as he examined them.

He had already gained some understanding of the star restrictions here in the Scales of Accumulated Emptiness. Though the star array inscribed on these five rods was extremely complex, he could still barely comprehend it.

This set of star arrays was indeed a star-gathering formation, and it was far more profound than the star-gathering formation he had learned from the Jingyuan Temple.

Han Li eagerly studied the star restrictions on the five rods while taking out a jade slip to imprint the array inscribed on them.

This jade slip was something he had prepared before entering the Great Ruins, precisely for this situation.

Unfortunately, in his haste to prevent the Tiankui generals from growing stronger, he had struck too hard. Now the rods were damaged in many places, causing many runes to be erased beyond recovery.

But even incomplete, this star array would be of immeasurable help to him.

Han Li quickly finished recording the incomplete array and continued forward with Shi Chuankong.

They encountered no further attacks ahead and soon reached the end of the passage, before a black staircase of several hundred steps.

At the bottom of the stairs was an exit emitting white light, through which they could vaguely see a vast, empty hall.

Rumbling collisions came from ahead, mixed with shouts, as if people were fighting inside.

"Brother Shi, wait here for a moment. I'll go investigate," Han Li transmitted to Shi Chuankong.

"Alright, be careful," Shi Chuankong said, knowing that his own concealment technique was not good enough to avoid detection at close range, so he said no more.

Han Li activated the Myriad Apertures Void-Silence Art, silently approached the exit, and peered outside.

The hall inside the entrance was enormous. The previous hall had been large enough, but this one was more than a hundred times more spacious.

The floor and walls of the hall were a deep cyan, giving a sense of profundity.

On both sides of the hall stood two rows of tall stone pillars supporting the dome. The two rows stretched straight ahead, far into the distance, where Han Li, straining his eyes, could barely make out a tightly shut cyan stone door at the far end.

Apart from these, the hall was empty, appearing quite vast.

In this open space, two groups were engaged in fierce combat.

One side consisted of over a dozen red humanoid puppets and three Tiankui generals.

The other side was four people, all of whom Han Li recognized: Chen Yang, Xuan Yuan Xing, Sun Tu, and Fang Chan.

Han Li raised an eyebrow slightly at this.

Those red puppets were seven or eight zhang tall, extremely sturdy and imposing, like giant spirits. Their hands were empty, bearing no weapons, but every move they made unleashed immense force, causing the void to ripple.

The red puppets seemed adept at coordinated attacks. Standing side by side, they swung their limbs, weaving their immense strength into a surging torrent that spanned the hall, blocking Chen Yang and his group.

As for the Tiankui generals, each possessed strength comparable to the armored man from before. Their bodies could shift between solid and ethereal, completely unaffected by the puppets' torrent of force. They moved like lightning, their long halberds turning into streaks of white light as they relentlessly attacked Chen Yang's group.

Chen Yang and the others clearly wanted to reach the cyan stone door deep in the hall, but they were blocked by these puppets and talisman spirits. Several attempts to break through had failed, and they could not advance a single step.

The puppets were manageable, but the main problem was the Tiankui generals, who were tangible in attack and intangible in defense, causing the group considerable trouble.

Among the four, only Sun Tu's bone sword, covered in black patterns and emitting black light, posed any threat to these Tiankui generals.

The black patterns on the bone sword flickered from time to time, emitting ripples of black waves that echoed through the hall.

These black ripples had no effect on Chen Yang's group or the puppets, but the three Tiankui generals immediately slowed down upon contact, as if trapped in a quagmire, unable to display their lightning-fast speed as they had against Han Li. Otherwise, Chen Yang's group would have already been wounded by their halberds.

Within the battle circle, the three Tiankui generals swiftly swung their halberds in the air, producing a flurry of white halberd shadows that interwove into a large net, rapidly descending upon the four.

Sun Tu let out a low shout. The patterns on his bone sword blazed with light as he swung it, producing a sword cry like metal striking stone.

A massive black sword beam shot through the air, slashing into the net of halberd shadows.

The net of halberd shadows was torn apart, and the black sword beam also shattered. The three Tiankui generals and Sun Tu each recoiled backward.

Han Li's gaze shifted to the black bone sword in Sun Tu's hand, his eyes moving slightly.

As the black patterns on the bone sword flickered, they emitted a peculiar sealing force fluctuation, which was why they could counter the attacks of these Tiankui generals.

"Brother Li, and Brother Shi, since you are here, please show yourselves. Hiding and spying is not the act of an honorable man," Sun Tu suddenly turned and looked toward the entrance, speaking calmly.

Chen Yang and the others showed no surprise at these words, continuing to fend off the puppets' attacks in an orderly manner, as if they had already known.

Han Li was slightly startled. He believed the Myriad Apertures Void-Silence Art was extremely subtle and had not leaked any aura, and Shi Chuankong was still hiding in the passage hundreds of zhang away. The range of divine sense exploration here was very limited. How had Sun Tu and the others discovered them?

As he pondered, he gestured slightly to Shi Chuankong, who flew over from the top of the stairs. The two walked into the hall together. Since they had been discovered, hiding was pointless, and he had originally planned to reveal himself anyway.

"Brother Sun Tu, your skills are remarkable to have detected us. May I ask where we revealed our traces? I'd like to learn from you," Han Li said with a smile.

The puppets and talisman spirits were startled by the appearance of Han Li and the other, pausing in their actions.

"Heh, just a small trick, not worth mentioning. Since Qingyang City and Baiyan City have already formed an alliance, now that you two are here, how about we join forces?" Sun Tu said with a smile.

"Brother Li, what I said to you before still stands. The Great Ruins are fraught with danger, and the two of you are too few. Why not join us? You must have also noticed that this altar is extraordinary and must contain valuable treasures. Let's first kill these puppets and talisman spirits, then divide the treasures equally among us," Chen Yang added.

Xuan Yuan Xing looked at Han Li and the other, a strange glint in his eyes.

Fang Chan looked behind the two, as if searching for something, but seeing nothing, a hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes.

Shi Chuankong also recognized the strength of these red puppets and Tiankui generals, feeling inwardly alarmed. He was quite tempted by Sun Tu and Chen Yang's proposal to join forces.

But he did not speak, instead looking at Han Li, clearly leaving the decision to him.

"Since both city lords are so kind, how could I, Li, be so ungrateful?" Han Li's mind raced, and soon he broke into a smile.

As they spoke, the red puppets and Tiankui generals charged again.

"Good! Then let's act together and first eliminate these troublesome puppets and talisman spirits. Everyone, don't hold back. Go all out. Any delay might lead to complications," Chen Yang shouted with joy.

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and three earthen-yellow short spears appeared in his palm, inscribed with several strange lightning-like patterns.

With a flash of white lightning on the surface of the three short spears, they transformed into three yellow streaks.

The yellow streaks seemed inconspicuous but were extremely sharp. They pierced through the puppets' torrent of force in a flash and embedded themselves in three red puppets.

The next moment, three loud explosions rang out!

As soon as the yellow spears entered the puppets, dense white lightning emerged inside them, then exploded, turning into three white thunderballs about a zhang in size.

The bodies of the three red puppets were torn apart, scattering into fragments that shot in all directions.

With three puppets gone, the torrent of force, though not collapsing, weakened considerably.