The Snare

Chapter 262: The Snare

The cultivator beside the Ghost Spirit Sect Young Lord received the order and transmitted it to the disguised Li brothers seated within the formation. But a moment later, his expression froze as he turned back to the Young Lord to report again.

“Young Lord, the two elders say that three cultivators are too far from the formation. If we activate it, we won’t be able to trap them. They request that the Young Lord think of a way to lure them closer.”

The Ghost Spirit Sect Young Lord’s eyes flickered with surprise. He furrowed his brow slightly.

This situation was somewhat unexpected. Logically, the temporary Yin Fire Formation they had set up had a fairly large confinement range. For someone to still be outside its bounds was a bit strange.

Thinking this, Ghost Spirit Sect Young Lord Wang Chan raised his head and looked ahead. Sure enough, three people were indeed outside the formation’s control range.

Two of them were a pair of Moon-Masking Sect disciples—a man and a woman—whispering intimately under a large tree at the northeastern edge of the formation, looking every bit like lovebirds trying to avoid the crowd. At the western edge, more than ten zhang from the control boundary, stood a yellow-robed young man with ordinary features, calmly observing everything on the mountain peak. It was Han Li, adhering to his principle of extreme caution.

“Those three, is it?” Wang Chan murmured to himself.

After a brief pause, he spoke a few sentences in a low voice to the Ghost Spirit Sect cultivator beside him. The man nodded repeatedly in acknowledgment.

Then, dressed in Yan Clan attire, the Ghost Spirit Sect cultivator stepped out from the earthen platform and the mist, stopping not far from the formation to call out loudly:

“All guests attending the assembly, come draw lots and register! Once the count is complete, the treasure-gathering competition will officially begin…”

This shout immediately drew the attention of the other cultivators, who instinctively began to gather closer to the formation. Even that pair of Moon-Masking Sect disciples reluctantly walked over, stepping into the formation’s confinement range.

Seeing this, the corners of Wang Chan’s mouth curled slightly behind his mask. But when his gaze shifted to Han Li’s position in the west, the faint sneer on his lips froze.

Because Han Li, whom he was watching, stood completely still, showing no intention of coming forward to draw lots. He even crossed his arms and watched the crowd amass with evident interest.

“Which sect does that man belong to?” Wang Chan asked after a long moment, his tone cold.

“Judging by his attire, he should be a cultivator from Yellow Maple Valley,” the Ghost Spirit Sect cultivator beside him replied carefully, sensing his Young Lord’s displeasure.

“Tell the two elders to proceed. That Yellow Maple Valley disciple is interesting. I wouldn’t mind stretching my limbs on him,” Wang Chan said calmly, though a faint, bloody light flickered in his eyes, as if emitting a trace of bloody aura.

“Yes, Young Lord!” The several Ghost Spirit Guards behind him shuddered and responded respectfully.

…

From a distance, Han Li stood beside a rock, seeming to smile amiably as he watched the other cultivators register. But if anyone had looked closely, they would have noticed that his smiling face was stiff and strained, and a fine sheen of sweat had broken out on his forehead.

“Those Yan Clan people are Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators!”

This was the thunderbolt-like discovery Han Li had made moments earlier.

When the Ghost Spirit Sect first appeared disguised as the Yan Clan, Han Li had no suspicion at all. He had even been about to walk over after hearing the call to register.

But when that man waved his hand to beckon the crowd, Han Li noticed with shock that the man’s fingernails were half an inch long and dark green—exactly the same as that yellow-haired Ghost Spirit Sect freak from that day!

Startled, Han Li felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, and a chill surged in his heart.

“No ordinary person would keep their nails like that… Could it be that this man is…”

After making this horrifying speculation in his mind, Han Li naturally refused to take another step forward.

While maintaining a strained smile on his face, his eyes darted around, scanning his surroundings. Everything seemed normal, with no signs of an ambush. Could it be that those nails were just a coincidence?

The thought of coincidence had barely surfaced when Han Li immediately rejected it. There weren’t that many coincidences in the world. And even if it were a coincidence, he wasn’t about to take that risk—especially when that formation looked so suspicious.

With this in mind, Han Li no longer hesitated. He reached out, and the Divine Wind Boat appeared in his hand. But before he could toss it out, a lazy voice suddenly came from above his head.

“Heh, not bad. For someone so young, you’ve got decent judgment. Saw through the ruse so quickly and were about to slip away. Don’t you want to save your fellow disciples?”

Han Li’s heart sank. Without thinking, he pushed off the ground with his toes, his body shooting backward like an arrow, covering more than ten zhang in an instant before stopping. Then he slapped his storage pouch, and a layer of red light shield enveloped him. At the same time, a layer of azure light surfaced close to his skin.

A faint sound of surprise came from the air above—whether admiration for Han Li’s quick reactions or curiosity about his technique of casting two shields simultaneously was unclear.

Hearing this, Han Li steadied himself slightly, then looked up with a grim expression.

High in the air, dozens of zhang above, a figure in a green robe wearing a silver mask stood on a massive pitchfork several zhang long, riding the wind. The pitchfork was entirely emerald-green, with a layer of black qi swirling around it, sending a chill down anyone’s spine.

Seeing this, a wave of coldness swept through Han Li, and he couldn’t help blurting out:

“Ghost Spirit Sect Young Lord?”

“Heh heh! It seems no introduction is needed. Good that you recognize me. So, will you walk into that formation yourself and live a little longer, or shall I tear your soul out right now?”

The bloodlight in Wang Chan’s eyes was far thicker than it had been on the earthen platform. His eyes were now more than half-red, with a faint, bestial gleam. Han Li’s heart churned at the sight, unsure what terrifying secret technique the man had cultivated.

But when he heard the words “that formation,” Han Li couldn’t help glancing to the side. What he saw made his face darken with fury.

At some point, a massive black light barrier had covered the entire area—over a hundred zhang in radius—centered on the giant formation. Inside the barrier was a thick, black-red miasma, making it impossible to see anything within. The barrier was utterly silent, as if there wasn’t a single person inside.

Around the light barrier stood eight green-robed cultivators, all focused intently on the scene inside the black barrier. None of them even glanced in their Young Lord’s direction.

It seemed this Young Lord’s subordinates had complete confidence in him.

After sweeping his gaze over the scene, Han Li quickly averted his eyes, not daring to be distracted any longer.

There was no doubt about it—though this Ghost Spirit Sect Young Lord appeared to be merely at mid Foundation Establishment, he was definitely an extremely dangerous opponent. One careless mistake, and Han Li would be dead.

With this in mind, Han Li opened one hand. A white light surged from his palm, expanding rapidly in the wind, transforming into a white scale shield that floated in front of him. With his other hand, he tossed the Divine Wind Boat behind him, letting it hover motionlessly in the air seven or eight zhang away.

His plan, of course, was to board the Divine Wind Boat and get the hell out of there. Only a fool would engage this Ghost Spirit Sect Young Lord in a fight.

Forget about whether he could actually beat the Young Lord of a major sect. Even if he somehow managed to deal with this one, there was still a whole crowd of helpers behind him. He didn’t have the ability to fight against such odds, and he wasn’t stupid enough to try.

So for Han Li, the best course of action was to return to Yellow Maple Valley and report the Ghost Spirit Sect’s collusion with the Yan Clan. That would be the extent of his duty. As for Dong Xuan’er and Senior Martial Brother Feng… they would have to rely on their masters to rescue them personally.

Wang Chan saw this and burst into wild laughter, carrying a hint of craziness that sent a chill down Han Li’s spine.

“Trying to run? Where do you think you’re going? Die!”

With that, the Ghost Spirit Sect Young Lord spun rapidly on his pitchfork. In an instant, a thick, blood-red mist surged out from his body, transforming into a blood-cloud dozens of zhang high, rolling ferociously toward Han Li.

Seeing this, Han Li no longer hesitated. He leaped onto the Divine Wind Boat, activating its spiritual power to the fullest. In the blink of an eye, he and the boat turned into a streak of white light, speeding away into the sky.

“Haha! You don’t know this, kid, but my Blood Spirit Grand Art’s escape technique is faster than most. You’ll never get away!”

Wang Chan’s manic laughter followed closely behind Han Li.

Though he hadn’t turned around, Han Li could feel that the voice was getting closer.

It seemed this guy’s escape technique really was faster than the Divine Wind Boat’s maximum speed. Han Li’s face turned pale.