The Might of Ancient Treasures

Chapter 512: Waves Stir Overseas, The Might of Ancient Treasures

Upon hearing these words, Han Li fell silent. His expression shifted, darkening and brightening by turns, as if weighing something carefully.

The two Star Palace cultivators, seeing Han Li like this, exchanged a tacit glance and then watched him with even greater vigilance.

“Very well! Since I have nothing pressing to attend to, I suppose I can accompany the two of you for a while.” Han Li’s face broke into a smile, and he spoke in a calm, unhurried tone.

Hearing this, the Confucian scholar and the burly man visibly relaxed, their stiff expressions loosening. The Confucian-robed elder even allowed a flicker of smug satisfaction to cross his face, opening his mouth as if to say something more.

But at that moment, Han Li struck.

His right hand, previously hidden in his sleeve, shot out. Six streaks of azure light flew silently toward the burly man. At the same time, his left hand flipped over, and five copper rings of different colors suddenly appeared in his palm, emitting a low, rumbling hum.

“You dare to attack?” The Confucian scholar reacted swiftly. The moment he saw Han Li move, he opened his mouth and spat out a square-inch-sized magical treasure.

It was flat and pitch-black, an oddly-shaped treasure resembling an inkstone.

The muscular man was also quick to react. He flung his hand outward, sending a white jade seal flying. The treasure swelled several times in size, surrounded by layers of white light, as it shot toward the six azure beams.

“Be careful! Those copper rings are ancient treasures!”

By this time, the Confucian scholar had gotten a clear look at the rings in Han Li’s hand and called out in alarm.

The burly man was momentarily stunned, but before he could react, the six incoming streaks of azure light let out a clear cry. After a blur, they transformed into twelve identical sword beams.

Six of the beams instantly merged into a single massive azure sword, which slammed fiercely into the white-light-shrouded seal.

The other six changed direction, arcing around to strike from the side.

The burly man’s heart filled with alarm. Without time to think, he frantically formed a hand seal. A brilliant blue light blazed forth, and several clearly visible runes floated out from his body. These runes shimmered with azure light, swelling to the size of a bucket as they formed a pale blue barrier around the man.

He intended to use this to endure the attack of Han Li’s Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords.

Since the burly man had engaged, the Confucian scholar naturally did not stand idly by.

After issuing his warning, he wasted no time in pointing at the inkstone treasure floating before his chest.

The inkstone began to spin rapidly.

A cloud of inky black mist sprayed out from it, spreading several zhang in an instant, while the scent of ink and brush filled the surrounding air.

Without hesitation, the Confucian scholar urged his magic technique. The black mist rapidly condensed, in the blink of an eye forming several dozen pitch-black strange birds.

Each of these birds was about half a foot long. With a series of eerie cries and crimson light flickering in their eyes, they shot toward Han Li.

Han Li, however, seemed completely unconcerned with the attack. After shaking the copper rings a few times, they vanished in a flash of multicolored light.

Then, with a flip of his palm, an ancient-styled basket appeared in his hand.

Seeing that his opponent was disregarding his attack, the Confucian scholar was not angered but secretly delighted.

This ‘Illusion Inkstone’ of his was a treasure he had painstakingly refined using an ancient technique, sparing no effort until he had finally succeeded by sheer luck.

He had spent nearly his entire life’s savings on it, but he did not regret it in the slightest.

Ever since this Illusion Inkstone treasure had been successfully refined, he had rarely encountered a worthy opponent among cultivators of the same rank. He could even contend with mid-Core Formation cultivators.

As long as the cultivator he faced did not possess a cultivation level far surpassing his own, anyone caught within the Illusion Ink Mist’s encirclement would immediately fall into an illusion from which they could not escape.

Seeing the strange birds shooting arrow-like toward Han Li, a cruel grin spread across his face. He formed a hand seal, preparing to make the birds explode.

But at that moment, a faint buzzing sound rang out beside his ear. The next instant, five copper rings appeared simultaneously around his neck and limbs. With a sudden tightening, he felt the mana throughout his body instantly disperse, becoming impossible to gather.

This shocked the Confucian scholar to the core.

He had naturally been on high alert against the strangely vanishing ancient treasure of the copper rings. But for it to appear on his body without any warning whatsoever was far beyond his expectations.

For a moment, fear gripped his soul as he frantically ran through various escape plans in his mind.

At that same moment, a thunderous crash came from the other side as azure light and white qi became entangled. The massive azure sword finally collided with the seal.

The brilliant white qi easily overpowered the azure light. The great sword lasted only a moment before shattering inch by inch.

At the same time, the other six azure rainbows struck the strange runic barrier with uncanny timing.

A series of muffled thuds rang out in succession.

The runes flashed with blue light before holding firm against the six azure beams, preventing them from breaking through the barrier.

Han Li let out a soft exclamation of surprise. He had not expected this.

It seemed that without the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning, the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords, having been cultivated for such a short time, did not possess much power.

But before he could think further, the black strange birds had already reached him.

Although the Confucian scholar’s magical power was no longer supporting them, the inkstone treasure was still connected to his divine sense, and it continued to drive the birds to attack.

Han Li gave a cold snort. The basket in his hand blazed with radiant light, and a vast stretch of white light surged out from it, sweeping up every last one of the approaching strange birds within its glow.

Witnessing this, the Confucian scholar’s face drained of all color.

“Impossible! You have another ancient treasure! Who exactly are you?” His expression was filled with disbelief.

It was already a stroke of incredible luck for an ordinary cultivator to possess a single ancient treasure. After all, whenever an ancient treasure emerged into the world, it usually ended up in the hands of Nascent Soul cultivators.

For an ordinary Core Formation cultivator to own an ancient treasure was an exceedingly difficult feat.

And yet, Han Li had produced two completely different treasures—the copper rings and the basket—one after another. How could this not fill the Confucian scholar with terror?

But Han Li had no intention of answering him. Instead, he simply tossed the basket straight out.

A flash of white light, and the basket enveloped the oncoming seal as well, trapping it within the white radiance, where it tumbled and struggled, unable to break free.

Without further hesitation, Han Li’s ten fingers flicked repeatedly. A dozen streaks of azure sword qi shot out with deadly precision, their target being the Confucian scholar, now locked in place by the Five Elements Ring.

“No–” The Confucian scholar only had time to let out a single cry before his body was pierced by over a dozen gaping holes. His form shook a few times before he collapsed, dead on the spot.

Pitifully, he had not even been able to display a fraction of his magical techniques. The Five Elements Ring had sealed his true essence, leaving him utterly helpless despite his full arsenal of skills.

Han Li beckoned with his hand, and the Five Elements Ring once again transformed into a streak of multicolored light, autonomously leaving the corpse and flying back into his grasp.

Only then did he turn his gaze, now cold, toward the other side.

The burly man was sweating profusely, desperately gesturing with his hand seals in an attempt to retrieve his seal. But it was impossible to succeed anytime soon. Meanwhile, the six azure beams outside were relentlessly pounding against his runic barrier.

Now that the burly man had witnessed the Confucian scholar’s death so easily, his heart was filled with shock.

When he saw Han Li’s attention shift to him, a chill ran through his entire body.

With a sudden gritting of his teeth, he transformed into a streak of blue light and fled. He had completely abandoned his natal treasure, which was connected to his primordial spirit.

This man was decisively ruthless!

Han Li’s eyes narrowed. The copper rings vanished from his hand once more.

The next moment, amidst a flash of five-colored light, they eerily appeared above the fleeing burly man.

Then, before the man’s disbelieving eyes, the five copper rings materialized around his torso, disregarding his runic barrier entirely.

The blue streak of light came to an abrupt halt. The burly man flipped over and fell straight down.

A flicker of cold light flashed in Han Li’s eyes. A streak of azure light descended from above, circling the man several times before cleaving him into several pieces.

With that, both Core Formation cultivators of the Rebel Alliance had fallen to Han Li.

Han Li then easily retrieved the storage pouches from the two corpses. After briefly scanning their contents with his spiritual sense, he unhurriedly put them away.

He did not hesitate to also claim the seal trapped in the basket and the inkstone treasure floating unattended in the air.

“Friend, you have been hiding there and watching for quite some time. Shouldn’t you come out and get some fresh air?” Han Li stood with his hands behind his back in midair, lowering his head to speak calmly to the sea surface below.

Though his voice was not loud, it carried across several li of the surrounding water.

A gust of wind suddenly swept by, but everything remained silent.

Seeing this, Han Li let out a light sigh.

“Is sir hiding in the sea below? Do you really want me to drag you out myself?” Han Li’s expression darkened slightly, his tone turning somewhat unfriendly.

“Please hold, Daoist. I will come out now.” It seemed that, having been pinpointed, the hidden figure finally could not hold out any longer and spoke up.

(Alright, it looks like there’s only one chapter today. I’ll continue writing for everyone tomorrow. Everyone, get some rest early! After staying up for several nights in a row, I need to adjust my schedule as well.)