The Azure Sun Demon Flame

Han Li’s side had nine Foundation Establishment cultivators and over sixty Qi Condensation disciples. Although they were slightly outmatched, the Four Fiends Formation gave them a fighting chance.

At Xuan Yue’s signal, Han Li and the other cultivators flew upward, positioning themselves near the boundary of the formation as they silently watched the enemy’s movements.

Han Li could now get a clearer look at the invading demonic cultivators.

Most of them wore red and yellow robes, suggesting they belonged to two different sects.

Standing at the front were a plain-looking young woman in red and an old man in yellow robes who appeared to be in his sixties or seventies. Their cultivation levels were nothing extraordinary—the woman was at early Foundation Establishment, while the old man was at late Foundation Establishment. They were speaking to each other with faint smiles.

“Be careful. These are the Devil Flame Sect and the Heavenly Fiend Sect.” Lü Tianmeng, who had clashed with the Six Sects several times before, spoke with extreme caution to the cultivators around him. He seemed quite wary of these two factions.

Hearing this, Han Li and the others naturally became even more vigilant.

At that moment, the young woman in red stopped talking. She turned and said a few words in a flat tone.

Han Li and the others were too far away to hear clearly. But the red-robed cultivators behind her immediately flew forward, slowly advancing toward the Four Fiends Formation below.

At the same time, the old man in yellow silently waved his hand. The yellow-robed cultivators on his side instantly transformed into a dozen streaks of yellow light, shooting straight toward the Four Fiends Formation as if trying to get there first.

Those inside the formation, including Han Li, held their breath. Some of the more impatient ones had already readied their magic tools.

Of course, these yellow-robed cultivators weren’t foolish enough to charge directly into the formation. Instead, they stopped about ten zhang away, revealing their figures. Then, various magic tools flew out from their bodies, surging fiercely toward the formation.

The collision between the dazzling light of those tools and the Four Fiends Formation’s cyan, red, blue, and yellow barrier produced a series of thunderous explosions. The faces of the Seven Sect cultivators below flickered slightly.

“Half of you deal with these Heavenly Fiend Sect cultivators. Don’t let them break the formation. The other half watch the Devil Flame Sect,” Xuan Yue of the Moon-Masking Sect said decisively after a brief pause.

Then he leaped out of the formation, releasing a small white sword that transformed into a streak of white light, intercepting a flying blade and a bead-shaped magic tool outside the Four Fiends Formation.

Hearing this, the cultivators following Xuan Yue also unleashed their magic tools and charged out, taking on most of the enemy’s assault. Han Li was among them. He released the Golden Cicada Mother-Child Blades, which he had already mastered, forming a golden net that trapped a long halberd-shaped magic tool.

Because Han Li’s opponent was also at the early Foundation Establishment stage, the fight, though seemingly intense with golden light and cyan radiance tangling wildly, was actually easy for Han Li to control. He occasionally stole glances at the other battle groups.

The situation seemed manageable.

Most of the cultivators on Han Li’s side were only at Qi Condensation, and their magic tools were far inferior. It took five or six of them working together to barely hold off one Foundation Establishment cultivator’s attack. However, thanks to the formation’s protection, they could retreat into it at any moment in a crisis, so there had been no casualties yet. As for the other Foundation Establishment cultivators, they were each holding their own against a yellow-robed opponent.

“Is this the strength of the Six Demonic Sects?” Han Li found it somewhat puzzling. If this was all the enemy had, guarding the mine should be no problem.

He was still thinking this when the red-robed cultivators of the Devil Flame Sect finally approached the Four Fiends Formation at a leisurely pace. The remaining cultivators, including Lü Tianmeng, immediately watched them warily. Some of the younger Seven Sect cultivators even seemed eager to engage.

The red-robed cultivators didn’t immediately join the battle. Instead, they formed a strange formation among themselves. Then, at someone’s order, they each produced a large crimson flag. On the flags were golden crows and blazing suns, shining brightly—clearly no ordinary items.

“Not good! These are the Blazing Flame Devils! They’re about to release the Azure Sun Demon Flame! Stop them!”

Lü Tianmeng, unsettled by their unhurried movements, suddenly remembered a terrifying scene he had witnessed during the Six Sect War. His face turned pale as he shouted.

Without a second thought, the Spirit Beast Mountain cultivator rushed out of the formation, tossing a leather pouch into the air. Two several-foot-long flying centipedes emerged from the pouch.

These centipedes had black-and-yellow markings and a pair of translucent green wings. At Lü Tianmeng’s sharp whistles, they charged at the red-robed cultivators with murderous glints in their eyes.

The other Seven Sect cultivators who hadn’t yet acted didn’t know what “Blazing Flame Devils” or “Azure Sun Demon Flame” were. But seeing even this late Foundation Establishment leader so alarmed, they knew it was serious. They followed without hesitation.

Several Foundation Establishment cultivators, in particular, were close behind Lü Tianmeng. Their magic tools, along with the two venomous centipedes, reached the red-robed cultivators in an instant.

At that moment, the dozen or so Devil Flame Sect cultivators were still clutching their large flags, chanting incantations. They stood motionless, completely ignoring the incoming attack. This pleased Lü Tianmeng and the others.

One of the two centipedes, the first to arrive above the Devil Flame Sect cultivators, opened its large mouth, ready to spew a cloud of dark green venom.

But then, something shocking happened.

Before the giant centipede could release its venom, several thin silver lights flickered across its body. Following the lines of these lights, its body suddenly split into pieces, falling to the ground in chunks.

Before the stunned Seven Sect cultivators could react, the same thing happened to the other centipede.

Lü Tianmeng’s expression changed drastically. He quickly stopped and summoned a small shield, casting it in front of him.

The other cultivators behind him, in alarm, also activated various defensive magic tools and talismans, fearing they would share the centipede’s fate.

But something even more unbelievable occurred.

The magic tools that had been following the centipedes were about to attack when clusters of fine silver threads appeared out of thin air, wrapping tightly around them. The tools could no longer move an inch.

The Seven Sect cultivators who had just rushed out of the formation stared at each other in shock, momentarily at a loss.

“Use the Spirit Light Technique! There are others in front of those red-robed cultivators! They’re using some kind of invisibility technique!” a Foundation Establishment cultivator who had also lost his magic tool shouted in alarm, a blue light flashing in his eyes.

These words enlightened the others. But only Foundation Establishment cultivators could use the Spirit Light Technique. The Qi Condensation disciples could only stare helplessly.

Han Li, too, used the Spirit Light Technique to look.

He had seen everything that happened and was equally shocked. Now, following the others’ advice, he focused his spiritual sense and could indeed see several faint white figures in front of the flag-wielding Devil Flame Sect cultivators. Each of these figures held a long, thin weapon—like a sword—in one hand, and released silver threads from the other, controlling the immobilized magic tools.

By now, Lü Tianmeng and the others had discovered the white figures. They bombarded them with spells and magic tools, but the figures held them off stubbornly. No matter what technique or tool was used, the white figures seemed to take little damage, as if they had undying bodies.

Fortunately, these white figures only had two methods of attack: slashing with their weapons and releasing silver threads from their other hand. As long as one avoided getting too close, there was no major danger. Otherwise, who would be attacking whom was anyone’s guess.

“What the hell are these?” Han Li was greatly astonished. These figures were clearly not normal humans. Were they some kind of refined ghost spirits?

He pondered this while casually directing his golden blades. This absent-minded attitude finally angered his opponent, a middle-aged Heavenly Fiend Sect cultivator.

With a dark expression, the man directed his cyan halberd to tangle with Han Li’s golden blades while silently tapping his storage pouch. A white bead flew out, spinning rapidly.

As soon as the bead was released, it grew to the size of a house and came crashing down viciously at Han Li.

Although Han Li was somewhat distracted, he couldn’t miss such a large movement. He calmly raised a hand and made a chopping motion. A zhang-long cyan sword light shot out, striking the bead directly. The bead paused for a moment, unable to advance.

Then, Han Li took out a pair of Black Flood Dragons’ Grasp from his storage pouch. As the sword light was about to dissipate, the pair of hooks caught the bead, once again forming a stalemate. This infuriated the Heavenly Fiend Sect cultivator, but he could do nothing about it for now.

“Not good!”

Lü Tianmeng’s anxious shout made Han Li’s heart skip a beat. He quickly looked over again.

The red-robed cultivators had stopped chanting. They all raised their large flags diagonally toward the sky. Blue flames were faintly flickering at the tips of the flags.

“So that’s the Azure Sun Demon Flame?” Han Li’s eyes widened as he stared at the blue flames, feeling uneasy.

Lü Tianmeng, seeing that the enemy was about to complete their technique, felt his heart sink. But these white figures in front of him were not something he could break through in a short time.