The Wind Rises; Borrowing a Head Overseas

Chapter 572: The Wind Rises; Borrowing a Head Overseas

"Heh! That woman took the young master's cultivation manuals back then. It's no surprise she has such tricks. Once I break this formation, I'll have to trouble you fellow Daoists." A flash of anger crossed the old man's face, but he quickly recovered his composure.

"Don't worry. Even if she had three heads and six arms, she won't be flying away this time." The skull-headed man chuckled, his face full of indifference.

Hearing this, the old man felt there would be no problem. He hesitated no longer. He rubbed his hands together, and a dazzling yellow light suddenly rose from his palms.

"Break!" the old man shouted softly. The yellow light in his hand transformed into a startling rainbow, shooting straight toward the surface of the stone mountain.

A rumbling sound echoed. The stone mountain before them, which had been as still as a calm lake, suddenly had a boulder thrown into it. The previously motionless scene rippled with white light. The view then changed, and a lush, green mountain, dense with spiritual energy and beautiful scenery, abruptly appeared.

"This is?" The skull-headed man and the rough man stared at the sudden change, their mouths wide open in shock.

"Heh heh, this is our sect's secret formation, the 'Spirit Binding Formation.' It is one of the rare formations in the world capable of concealing spiritual energy. That demoness's cultivation is insufficient, so she can only hide part of the energy. If our sect's founder had personally set up this formation, hiding all of it without a trace escaping would have been a simple matter." The old man surnamed Ding glanced at the two of them, speaking with some pride.

Han Li was also astonished by this. After hearing the old man's explanation, his heart stirred. If he could get his hands on the method for setting up this Spirit Binding Formation, his future cave dwelling would be much safer.

At that moment, with the illusion before them gone, a stone door radiating a faint green glow appeared halfway up the mountain. This was clearly the location of Yuan Yao's cave dwelling.

"Let's make our move," the old man said, a vicious glint flashing in his eyes.

The skull-headed man nodded. Opening his mouth, he spat out a strange black blade, half sabre, half sword, very peculiar. The rough man let out a low growl, and from his hand flew a gleaming, cold battle axe, startling Han Li beside him. It was very rare to see such a giant weapon used as a magical treasure.

"And you, Fellow Daoist...?" The old man had also spat out his own white flying sword, but seeing Han Li make no move, he couldn't help but feel puzzled.

Han Li gave a faint smile and was about to say something to brush it off when the stone door suddenly opened by itself. A beam of green light flew out from within.

Seeing this, the old man forgot what he was about to say and, together with the others, instantly looked over.

After circling once, the green light converged not far from the door, revealing a peerlessly beautiful woman dressed in black robes and skirt, with skin like snow.

The woman smiled charmingly, her eyes sparkling. Every flicker of an eyebrow and every smile was full of allure.

It was Yuan Yao, whom Han Li had parted ways with in the Void Heaven Palace.

In the years since they had last met, not only had her appearance not changed, but she had gained an even more captivating charm.

However, after sweeping her gaze over the group, when her eyes fell on the Green Sun Sect old man, her beautiful face changed drastically, instantly covered with a layer of frost, turning as cold as ice.

"Do a few fellow Daoists have some business to discuss at my humble dwelling?" As if knowing that her charm technique was useless against these cultivators, Yuan Yao spoke coldly, her expression unpleasant, and she directly ignored the old man.

Hearing this, the old man surnamed Ding was furious inside. But he was also a calculating man and did not show his anger on the surface. Instead, he let out a sinister laugh and said:

"Demoness! It's useless to pretend ignorance now. You secretly murdered our sect's young master and took our sect's treasure. Do you think you can escape today?"

Yuan Yao did not speak at this. Instead, her bright eyes shifted slightly, carefully examining the cultivation levels of each of her opponents.

Her heart sank. The old man and the rough man were manageable. They were only at the early Core Formation stage, similar to herself. But the skeleton-like man in black and the ordinary-looking man in green robes beside him were at mid-Core Formation and late Core Formation respectively, not opponents she could easily handle.

If these four joined forces, even with several powerful protective treasures and a couple of secret techniques she had cultivated over the years, her chances of survival were slim.

At this point, the skull-headed man and the rough man were also momentarily stunned by Yuan Yao's stunning beauty, but then they exchanged a look of regret.

If she hadn't offended the Three Yang Old Devil of the Green Sun Sect, she would have been the perfect dual cultivation partner. It was truly a pity!

Facing this danger, Yuan Yao instead appeared even more composed.

She let out a cold laugh. With a flip of her delicate hand, a white array plate appeared between her jade fingers. As she gently stroked it, a white light radiated out.

A thick green-yellow mist immediately rolled out, enveloping the entire small mountain. Seeing this, the old man let out a low shout. The flying sword in front of him vanished in a flash, slashing urgently toward Yuan Yao.

But Yuan Yao gave a light laugh and, without another word, her form blurred as she retreated into the thick mist.

"Hmph! A mere illusion array, and you dare to flaunt it!" The old man frowned, but then, with a dismissive expression, he formed a hand seal and pointed at his flying sword.

With a clear hum, the flying sword danced wildly in the air, instantly transforming into a giant wheel of light several zhang in diameter. It rolled unceremoniously into the mist, dispelling everything in its path.

In the blink of an eye, the thick mist before the door was cleared away by the old man's sword light, revealing the stone door once more.

Seeing this, the rough man hesitated no longer. Pointing at his artifact, the battle axe swelled several times in size and smashed heavily toward the stone door.

Yellow light and green radiance interwove, and sounds of explosions rang out incessantly.

Just as the skull-headed man beside Han Li was about to command his strange blade to join the attack, he suddenly let out a surprised gasp.

"Not good! The demoness has fled through the back mountain. After her!" he said urgently, then, without hesitation, transformed into a streak of black light and shot straight toward the back mountain.

Hearing this, a strange glint flashed in Han Li's eyes, but his expression remained calm as he stood still.

The rough man seemed to have great faith in the skull-headed man's words. Hearing this, he immediately stopped his attack on the stone door and flew off in pursuit.

Seeing this, the old man looked half-convinced. After a moment's hesitation, he asked Han Li doubtfully:

"Fellow Daoist, is what he said true or false? This old man didn't sense a thing."

Among the group, Han Li had the highest cultivation, so the old man naturally thought Han Li's words were the most trustworthy.

Hearing the question, Han Li's expression remained unchanged, but a strange, peculiar gleam flashed in his eyes.

"That fellow Daoist was right. The woman did escape through an exit in the back mountain. But right now, she's been intercepted by those two and is in the middle of a fight," Han Li said unhurriedly, clasping his hands behind his back and glancing toward the back mountain.

"Excellent! If we two go to help, we can surely capture that demoness alive." Hearing this, the old man was overjoyed.

"Indeed, if we go, she'll be caught for sure. But before we go, I, Han, would like to borrow something from you, Fellow Daoist," Han Li said slowly, turning his face to look at the old man a few zhang away with a strange expression.

"Borrow something? What would you like to borrow, Fellow Daoist?" The old man surnamed Ding was momentarily stunned, asking in confusion.

"I'd like to borrow your head!" Han Li rubbed his nose, a hint of mockery curling at the corner of his mouth.

Before the old man could react, Han Li opened his mouth and spat out a dazzling green light. It instantly circled the old man's head, and the well-separated head rolled off by itself.

Immediately after, Han Li waved his hand. A beam of green light shot out, catching the head and pulling it back into his hand without a single drop of blood staining it.

Only then did he squint and look at the head wrapped in green light. Because the strike was so fast, the head still bore a look of shock and bewilderment.

"Don't blame me. Since you saw me at the teleportation formation, you can only blame your bad luck." Han Li let out a soft sigh, muttering to himself.

When Ke Yu and the Green Sun Sect guide disciple saw this, they were terrified out of their wits. They hurriedly tried to flee on their artifacts, but Han Li casually flicked two sword beams, piercing their hearts instantly.

After collecting the old man's storage pouch, Han Li lifted his head and looked toward the back mountain, a strange expression on his face.

"Tsk tsk! That girl Yuan Yao has really improved her cultivation!" Han Li said in surprise. Then, grabbing the head, he transformed into a streak of green rainbow and flew off.

High in the sky above the back of the green mountain, the skull-headed man and the rough man were exchanging blows with a strange red hammer artifact while forming hand seals, sending various spells pounding toward the enemy opposite them.

Yuan Yao, meanwhile, was shrouded in a cloud of black mist, from which hundreds of streaks of green demon fire shot out, exchanging volleys with the spells of her two opponents. However, as she fought, she was constantly retreating, trying to escape.

But the skull-headed man and the other seemed to have extensive combat experience. Their well-timed attacks always managed to keep Yuan Yao from breaking away.

Just then, all three of them saw the streak of light carrying Han Li flying over. The rough man and the skull-headed man were overjoyed.

Once Han Li's light converged and he revealed himself near the battle, the rough man immediately called out to him with some dissatisfaction:

"Fellow Daoist, strike quickly! If the three of us attack together, we can surely capture her. But where is Fellow Daoist Ding of the Green Sun Sect? This is his sect's affair; why is he dawdling?"

"You needn't wait for him, my friends. Fellow Daoist Ding is right here!" With a flat expression, Han Li raised his hand and hurled the head he had been hiding behind him straight at the rough man.