The Hunt Turns – Battle With a Core Formation Cultivator

The Divine Wind Boat was extremely fast. Driven by Han Li’s late Foundation Establishment cultivation, it shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, almost tearing the air with a piercing whistle. In the span of a few breaths, it arrived at the nameless islet.

When he saw the reef where he had once stayed, Han Li let out a slight sigh of relief. He raised a hand to wipe the cold sweat from his brow and began to turn his head—

At that moment, a bone-chilling sensation erupted from behind him.

Startled, Han Li stomped on the Divine Wind Boat without a second thought.

The boat, along with its rider, lurched to the side. Divine Wind Boat shot more than thirty meters from its original position.

Almost at the same instant, a deep yellow rainbow shot through the spot where Han Li had just been standing. After flying another sixty or seventy meters, the yellow light coalesced to reveal a single figure.

Han Li wiped the cold, sticky sweat from his forehead and looked at the man, a bitter smile forming on his face.

The man before him had unkempt hair that fell across his shoulders. It was none other than that elder of the Six Serenity Hall—Elder Gu.

He was standing on a round, earthy-yellow magic treasure, staring at Han Li without a word. His gaze was as cold as ice, as though Han Li was already a dead man in his eyes.

About thirty meters behind and below this murderous figure lay the exact spot where Han Li had laid down his formation. That realization chilled Han Li to the bone.

But he knew all too well that asking questions or begging for mercy now would be completely useless.

There was only one way forward: to fight it out with this Core Formation “senior” and see if he could use the formation’s power to trap him.

With that thought, Han Li steeled himself.

At his command, Qu Hun’s form flickered, positioning himself in front of Han Li. Traces of blood light seeped from his body, enveloping him in a bloody aura tinged with a faint, fishy odor.

Han Li, meanwhile, moved his hands. With a flash of light, two magic tools appeared in his grasp.

Elder Gu saw Han Li and Qu Hun preparing to put up a fight. A cold glint flashed in his eyes. The round magic treasure beneath his feet gave a long, ringing cry, its yellow light blazing to life. It wrapped around him like a suit of armor, enveloping him in a cocoon of yellow radiance.

Then Elder Gu suddenly opened both hands. Dense clusters of yellow light-spots spun out from his ten fingers, transforming in the blink of an eye into crescent-shaped light blades the size of a palm. They surged forward in a silent, endless tide toward Han Li and Qu Hun.

Though Han Li was startled, he also let out a breath of relief.

This man’s treasure—unlike Lei Wanhe’s—was not a speed-type. That gave him a chance to survive.

Gathering his spirits, Han Li raised both hands.

From one hand, a tortoise-shell magic tool flew out, expanding as it left his palm. From the other, a brightly gleaming mirror suddenly appeared. A flood of azure light sprayed from the mirror’s surface, shooting straight into the oncoming wave of blades.

A series of “put-put” sounds rang out. The first wave of light blades, struck by the azure light, immediately slowed and stalled.

But as more and more crescent blades surged into the azure light, it was shredded into fragments in the blink of an eye, dissolving into scattered motes of light.

At the same time, the mirror in Han Li’s hand let out a sharp crack—it had snapped cleanly in two. Completely destroyed.

He tossed aside the broken mirror without a trace of regret.

Without even looking, Han Li slapped his storage pouch. Two black beams and five white beams shot out in quick succession, hovered in a brief semicircle above his head, then sped forward in neat formation.

But Han Li wasn’t done. More white light flickered at his side. Seven or eight puppet soldier beasts materialized on both sides of him, drawing their bows in unison, arrows nocked and ready.

By now, the crescent blade swarm had reached the giant tortoise shell. The moment they touched, countless deep cuts appeared on the tool’s surface. It lasted only the span of a few breaths before letting out a mournful cry and being chopped into countless fragments.

That brief delay bought Han Li enough time. The seven or eight top-grade magic tools flew past him to take position in front of Qu Hun, spinning and dancing as they formed a screen of black-and-white交错 blades.

Naturally, even these top-grade tools could not withstand the onslaught of the slightly-weakened light blades. After a few flashes, the Black Dragon Snatch and the five white flying blades shattered into glowing fragments.

With nothing left to block them, the crescent blade swarm bore down without mercy on Qu Hun, who had stood motionless in front of Han Li since the fight began.

“Haaa!”

A thunderous roar burst from Qu Hun’s mouth. The blood-red light around his body erupted outward, transforming in an instant into a massive, flaming red flood dragon. It lunged forward, claws bared and fangs snapping.

Red light clashed with the now-weakened crescent blades in a furious tangle. The glowing arrows from Han Li’s puppet soldiers joined the red dragon’s assault at just the right moment. For a time, the two sides were locked in a deadlock.

Han Li was overjoyed. Elder Gu on the opposite side looked momentarily taken aback.

But then, this Core Formation cultivator let out a disdainful snort. With a flick of his body, the yellow light surrounding him flared even brighter. He raised both hands again.

Seeing this, Han Li’s heart sank.

Blocking that wave of attacks had already taken everything he had. If the man launched another assault of equal ferocity, he would have no hope of survival.

Just as Han Li’s heart trembled in dread—perhaps Heaven itself had opened its eyes—

The coldly smiling Core Formation cultivator’s expression suddenly changed. An unnatural flush of blood spread across his cheeks, then quickly turned into an eerie pallor.

The yellow light around him dimmed instantly. With a shudder, he doubled over in pain, his whole body wracked with agony.

Elder Gu was both shocked and furious.

He knew exactly what was happening. His earlier severe loss of vitality, compounded by the lack of proper rest and his reckless expenditure of true essence, had caught up with him.

But if he could have just a few more moments, he could suppress the injury again. Killing Han Li would still be effortless.

Han Li, however, was ecstatic.

Seizing the opportunity without a second thought, he grabbed Qu Hun and fled. He abandoned the seven or eight puppets and even the locked-in red dragon, flying like the wind straight toward the nameless islet below. He angled diagonally downward, passing directly beneath his stooped opponent.

Elder Gu was beside himself with rage and humiliation.

If he let Han Li escape from his grasp, it would be an utter joke.

In his fury, he no longer cared how much worse his injuries might become. Gritting his teeth, he forcefully channeled all his spiritual power, suppressing the backlash through sheer will.

Then, without a moment’s hesitation, he spun around. A dazzling yellow rainbow shot forth, tearing after Han Li.

The distance was only a few dozen meters. To Han Li, pushing his magic tool at full speed, it was an instant’s crossing.

But he had barely set foot inside the formation when the yellow rainbow caught up with him from behind. Both of them entered the array almost simultaneously.

Elder Gu was already savoring the prospect of annihilating them both in one blow when his vision suddenly twisted.

The scenery changed completely.

This was no longer an islet. All around him, as far as the eye could see, was an endless expanse of emerald sea. A crushing pressure bore down on him from every direction.

“A formation?” Elder Gu’s expression grew serious.

He was somewhat surprised that a formation had appeared in such a place, but he was not particularly alarmed. From the fluctuations emanating from the array, it didn’t seem to be anything too formidable. He was confident he could break it with ease.

With that thought, his expression hardened. The yellow light around him blazed even more brilliantly.

Han Li, naturally, had a very different experience within the Azure Water Armor Array that he himself had set. His flying tool flickered a few times, and he was through the formation without trouble.

At first, he planned to flee far away immediately. But as he turned his head, his expression darkened.

Elder Gu was already inside the formation, a brilliant yellow thunderbolt of light, smashing through the array’s restraints like a storm. It looked like he would break free at any moment. Han Li’s expression shifted between uncertainty and calculation.

At this rate, if he simply fled, there was no doubt that once the man broke free, he would be chased down again. The speed difference between a magic tool and a true treasure was simply too vast.

After a brief hesitation, a few more layers of the formation’s restraints were shattered.

A murderous glint flashed in Han Li’s eyes. Cornered and with no other choice, he no longer hesitated. With a gesture to Qu Hun, the two of them used the formation’s cover to slip in silently, inching closer to Elder Gu.

But before they could get close, the man who had been wreaking havoc on the formation’s restrictions seemed to sense something.

He suddenly stopped what he was doing, looking around with sharp, wary vigilance. His face was a mask of cold menace.

Han Li frowned.

He flipped his palm; a small azure banner appeared in his hand—the main control flag for this formation.

A few barely audible syllables of an incantation drifted from Han Li’s lips. He tossed the banner into the air, where it transformed into a beam of azure light and dissolved into the formation.

The scene before Elder Gu shifted again. The seawater around him began to surge violently. The already crushing pressure suddenly intensified severalfold, freezing his movements for a moment.