Stealing the Nascent Soul

Dong Xuan’er, who had been standing together with the demonic-featured man throughout, was also caught in the man’s multicolored light. In an instant, the three of them shot backward at high speed.

The concentrated strike of a Core Formation cultivator was not something the three of them could withstand.

The sky-filling white sword beams, propelled by the masked woman, chased for about ten zhang before suddenly dispersing like clouds vanishing and mist clearing, disappearing without a trace.

At the same time, the woman standing on the magical tool swayed a few times, looking as if she might collapse at any moment.

Seeing this, the flamboyant man and the Ghost Spirit Sect’s young master were overjoyed. They simultaneously shifted from retreat to advance, charging forward.

Han Li’s expression changed slightly as he watched from below. Without hesitation, he slapped his storage pouch. Thirteen “Red Line Teleportation Needles” leaped into his hand of their own accord, and he clasped them tightly.

No matter how dangerous it was to act now, he could not stand by and watch Nan Gong Wan perish.

After all, no matter how selfish and cold he might be, he was not truly without any sense of connection or utterly devoid of feeling. Furthermore, he was confident that while he might not yet be a match for the Ghost Spirit Sect’s young master and the others, if he was determined to escape, he would have more than enough ability.

Just as Han Li raised his hand, intending to release the needles to save the masked woman, the situation in the sky took another drastic turn.

The masked woman, who had been unsteady on her flying sword, suddenly steadied herself as Wang Chan and the others closed in. A cold light flashed in her beautiful eyes.

Seeing this, Wang Chan and the flamboyant man were horrified, instantly realizing they had fallen for a ruse.

But it was too late for them to turn and flee.

The woman raised both hands, sending countless skyward sword beams flying once more, their blinding white light completely engulfing the three.

Seeing this, Han Li’s heart lightened, and he loosened his grip on the magical tools in his hands.

By now, the entire sky had been illuminated a grayish-white by the masked woman’s sword light. Within the white light, the blood mist and multicolored glow swayed precariously like small boats amidst towering waves, yet they stubbornly held on. The flamboyant man and Dong Xuan’er, in particular, were shooting cyan and red rays from their hands, which managed to offset the fierce assault of the sword beams.

Seeing this, Han Li furrowed his brow slightly. After a moment of thought, he silently vanished from his spot.

At the same time, the masked woman in the sky was growing increasingly anxious.

Although she had used a ploy to trap these two juniors of the demonic path, the intensity of her current attack was still unable to finish them off, which was completely unexpected.

Not long ago, she had fought a fierce battle against a Core Formation cultivator of the demonic path. After exhausting her magical power, she had nearly perished alongside her opponent.

Though she had since broken out of the encirclement, her injuries were severe enough to alarm even herself.

Worse still, the magical treasure closely linked to her Nascent Soul had been severely damaged in the fight and could not be used for a short time.

Moreover, with pursuers on her tail, she had no choice but to use a life-force-draining secret technique. She forcibly extracted the remaining potential within her body to stimulate a sliver of spiritual power, enabling her to flee atop her magical tool.

She had not expected that, even though she had shaken off most of the demonic path pursuers, these three possessed such peculiar demonic techniques that they could stay relentlessly on her trail.

With no other option, she had to find a way to eliminate them. Otherwise, once the secret technique’s effect wore off, even as a Core Formation cultivator, she would be at their mercy.

The reason she had chosen to stop here was that her spiritual sense had detected the presence of a cultivator in the area. She did not know who it was, but they clearly bore no trace of the demonic techniques of the Six Demonic Sects.

Furthermore, that person was at the mid Foundation Establishment stage. They were either a cultivator from one of the great immortal clans or an allied cultivator from one of the other five sects.

With the mindset that things could hardly get any worse, she had flown here. Her intention was to drag this cultivator into the conflict, hoping it might turn the tide.

What she had never expected was that this person’s spiritual sense was also quite strong. Hearing the commotion from afar, they had hidden themselves, clearly unwilling to get involved.

This left the masked woman with no choice but to face the enemy alone, grinding her teeth in frustration at this person.

But then, another unexpected development occurred.

These three demonic path cultivators were incredibly tenacious and possessed extremely powerful defensive magical tools. The techniques she was using with her remaining spiritual power were unable to eliminate them.

Moreover, the high-grade talismans and other powerful magical tools she had carried had been completely exhausted over the days of continuous battle.

Now, she felt that the very last shred of magical power within her was about to vanish. Her heart sank.

Wang Chan and the others, who had been struggling to hold on within the sword light, felt the oppressive pressure that had been weighing down on them like a mountain begin to thin. Finally, it completely dissipated.

The three of them were stunned for a moment, but then they saw the masked woman standing woodenly on her magical tool, her eyes dull and listless, her body trembling slightly in a pitiable manner.

Wang Chan and the flamboyant man exchanged a glance, delight rising in their hearts. However, having just been burned, they hesitated, not daring to act recklessly.

But at that moment, a white light shot up from below. The light was swift as lightning, reaching the masked woman in the blink of an eye. Within the white light, a figure seemed to flash, catching the masked woman around the waist. Then the white light turned and flew back along its original path toward the ground.

Seeing this, Wang Chan and the flamboyant man flew into a rage.

They would not let the fat that had come to their doorstep be snatched away by someone else. Without a second thought, they activated their escape techniques and gave chase.

Dong Xuan’er, however, did not move to pursue this time. Instead, a look of suspicion appeared on her face. The figure had looked very familiar to her, causing her to hesitate.

The distance of several tens of zhang was crossed in an instant. The white light landed in a dense forest below, and as the light converged, it revealed a nondescript young man.

The man had one arm tightly wrapped around the masked woman, looking up at the approaching Wang Chan and the other man, his face completely expressionless.

The masked woman struggled weakly in his arms, a look of shame and anger in her eyes, as if she were scolding him. The young man paid her no attention at all.

“So it’s you!”

“You!”

Upon seeing the man’s face, Wang Chan and the flamboyant man almost cried out at the same time.

Both had recognized Han Li, who had appeared out of nowhere. After exchanging a surprised glance, they wasted no time. Each activated their own techniques and charged at Han Li.

Wang Chan’s blood mist surged, instantly spreading to fill a space of twenty or thirty zhang. The air grew thick with a bloody stench, and his momentum was terrifying.

The flamboyant man let out a cold laugh. A jade flute suddenly appeared in his hand. With a slight wave, a clear, resonant sound rang out. The multicolored light around him pulsed in response, separating from his body and transforming into a pink peacock that flew straight at Han Li. The man himself followed closely behind the peacock.

Seeing the two bearing down on him with such ferocity, Han Li finally showed a trace of panic.

He stomped hard on the small boat beneath him. The boat emitted a blinding white light and began to tremble slightly, as if about to shoot away.

By this point, Wang Chan and the other man’s formidable attacks were already upon him, completely sealing off any escape route. They could even clearly see the originally struggling masked woman go still in his arms, a look of utter despair in her bright eyes.

This set their minds at ease. It seemed this female Core Formation cultivator was completely powerless to resist.

But then, the panicked Han Li’s expression suddenly changed. A strange smile appeared on his face.

Seeing this expression, the two rising stars of the demonic path felt a chill in their hearts.

In the next instant, the scene before them shifted. Han Li and the masked woman had vanished like a breeze, and in their place were two massive boulders. Startled, Wang Chan and the flamboyant man quickly stopped their charge and looked around in surprise.

What they saw caused their expressions to harden.

Surrounding them was no longer a forest. Instead, countless towering stone pillars rose up like a forest. They had been trapped within an illusion formation.

Rage boiled within Wang Chan and the flamboyant man.

Although this illusion formation was not powerful, and it would not take them long to break it, it was more than enough time for Han Li to make off with their prey. This only deepened their hatred for Han Li.

“Brother Wang, let’s break this formation quickly. Don’t forget! My junior disciple Dong is still outside! With her cultivation, she should be able to delay them for a short while.” The flamboyant man suddenly remembered something and spoke with a cold smile.

“Yes, this young master had almost forgotten about that. But that girl, I remember she was also a disciple of Yellow Maple Valley before. Will she actually stop them?” A flash of joy crossed Wang Chan’s face, but he spoke with some disbelief.

Hearing this, the flamboyant man’s expression showed a hint of uncertainty as he replied, not too confidently:

“She should do it. After all, Dong Xuan’er’s status in the Blissful Union Sect is not low, far better than being an ordinary disciple in Yellow Maple Valley. And my father has treated her well!”