A Battle of Attrition, an Ominous Fog, and a Storm of Greed

If an ordinary late-Core Formation cultivator were trapped by this golden flame, they would, as Wen Tianren had said, be utterly unable to hold on for even a short while.

But Han Li was different.

He looked at the golden flame surrounding him, furrowed his brow slightly, then patted his storage pouch. A small bottle appeared in his hand.

Looking at the bottle, Han Li could not help but sigh softly.

The ten-thousand-year spirit liquid he had just obtained... it seemed it would not be long before he had to sacrifice it.

It was ironic. If he had not obtained this liquid from Yuan Yao, the current situation would likely be a death sentence. But at the same time, if he had not wanted that liquid, he would never have encountered this disciple of the Six Paths Sect and fallen into this trap.

The thought left Han Li with a strange, almost comical feeling.

On the surface, he seemed to be at a disadvantage. But with half a bottle of ten-thousand-year spirit liquid in his possession, he was in fact quite confident. He had nothing to fear.

On the contrary, whether it was the golden light trapping him or the roaring golden flame, Wen Tianren could not possibly maintain them without paying a price. If his opponent wanted to fight a war of attrition, that would actually be Han Li’s chance to turn the tables.

This time, his opponent had truly sealed his own fate.

With this thought, a cold smile flickered across Han Li’s face. He sat down cross-legged within his light barrier, preparing to formally exhaust the Six Paths Sect disciple’s stamina, then strike back with a decisive blow.

And so, a strange scene unfolded. The sky, which had been filled with thunder and lightning, fell into complete silence. Wen Tianren and Han Li, one above and the other below, sat quietly in their hand-seals. Only the several-zhang-tall golden flame continued to burn, soundless and steady.

The stunningly beautiful young woman, Zi Ling, watched this scene, her bright eyes flickering with thought. She sighed softly to herself.

In her eyes, now that Han Li was trapped by Wen Tianren’s divine flame and could not escape, his defeat was certain. Although his silver light barrier could still protect him for the moment, it was only a matter of time before he was overcome.

For now, this woman stood at a distance, a complex expression on her face, with no intention of stepping forward. It seemed she would not involve herself until the battle was completely decided.

Meanwhile, tens of li away from the island, the siblings Mei and the old man surnamed Zhao, along with the group of lower-level cultivators, could not see the battle between Han Li and Wen Tianren due to the distance.

But they could faintly sense the residual light and the sound of explosions carried over from afar.

The result was a dramatic change in their expressions.

They had mistakenly assumed that a white figure was fighting the Core Formation cultivator on the island, so of course, they dared not leave. Now that all sounds and signs of battle had vanished, the cultivators looked at each other in confusion, unsure if a victor had been decided or if some other accident had occurred. Still, they dared not leave easily and could only steel themselves to remain where they were.

On the opposite side of the island, the team of beautiful female cultivators accompanying the beast-drawn carriage—whom the first group had not yet discovered—were also whispering to each other with worried expressions.

Though they were nominally Wen Tianren’s personal maids, their status was effectively that of concubines, all having received his favor.

If something happened to Wen Tianren, the fate that awaited these maids upon their return was terrifying to imagine.

However, because Wen Tianren had given the order to forbid them from following when he flew over with Zi Ling, the maids, despite their unease, did not dare to act rashly and enter the island on their own.

And so, time passed, little by little.

From day to night. From night, slowly, to dawn. Over half a day passed in silence.

The island remained quiet, as if the previous day’s battle had never happened.

This made the two groups of cultivators, separated from each other, grow increasingly restless and suspicious.

Soon, other cultivators began to arrive.

After the omens of the previous day, cultivators from nearby small islands had mostly learned that a rare treasure was appearing here. Naturally, they all rushed over. Most were at the Foundation Establishment stage, but a few were reckless Qi Condensation cultivators.

These people flew in from all directions. After arriving near the island and quickly surveying the area, they either encountered the old man’s group or saw the female cultivators near the beast-drawn carriage.

Those who met the old man’s group had the easier time. The old man surnamed Zhao and the Mei siblings had wide social circles, and they engaged in some conversation. The old man’s group, for their part, did not deceive them and honestly explained the situation.

When the later arrivals heard that Core Formation cultivators had already entered the island and had not yet returned, they muttered to themselves in hesitation. They gathered around the old man’s group, none foolish enough to recklessly charge into the island.

On the other side, any cultivator who approached the female cultivators by the beast-drawn carriage, hoping to strike up a conversation, was immediately and rudely shown the banner of the Starfall Alliance by the leading maid. This frightened the cultivators, who paled and immediately turned back.

Since the Starfall Alliance was involved, there was no profit to be had, and they had no desire to invite trouble.

After some time, Core Formation cultivators finally arrived by flight, two of them traveling together. One was the vice island master of the nearby Bright Emperor Island.

They approached from the direction of Wen Tianren’s maids and, naturally, went forward to question them with curious expressions.

Because the two were Core Formation cultivators, the maids did not dare to be too disrespectful. The leading maid gave a vague account of Wen Tianren’s identity.

The two Core Formation experts were startled by this information.

Although Bright Emperor Island was a neutral territory, they had no intention of provoking the Six Paths Saint, the foremost figure of the demonic path, or the overwhelming power of the Starfall Alliance.

They immediately stammered out a flimsy excuse and swiftly turned back the way they had come.

Ridiculous! Even if there really was a treasure on this island, with a disciple of the Six Paths Sect involved, they had no chance at all. And if something had happened to that young master and they were implicated, it would be a disaster.

As a result, although a few cultivators were frightened away by the name of the Starfall Alliance, between thirty and forty later arrivals gathered from other directions. However, no more high-level Core Formation cultivators arrived in time.

These cultivators all harbored their own secret schemes. They were unwilling to risk entering the island, but they were also unwilling to leave empty-handed. Most were hoping to fish in troubled waters.

The Yin clouds above the island had already expanded in their slow rotation to cover the entire island, plunging it into a dark, sunless environment.

Just then, a beam of green light suddenly shot out from a corner of the island, piercing straight into the Yin clouds.

Instantly, the sky, which had been roiling and turbulent, fell calm. All the Yin clouds began to sink slowly, pressing downward until they stopped at an altitude of just over a hundred zhang. The oppressive sight gave a terrifying feeling, like the calm before a great storm.

This shift in the omens sent a chill through the cultivators near the island.

But some of the more quick-witted among them secretly rejoiced.

They believed that the green light was clearly a sign of a treasure’s radiance, a signal that the artifact was about to emerge.

Unable to suppress their greed any longer, this group of cultivators quickly conferred among themselves and organized a squad of over a dozen people, preparing to fly into the island for a look.

In their view, with so many Foundation Establishment cultivators working together, even a Core Formation cultivator could not easily do anything to them.

The remaining cultivators were more cautious. They simply watched these actions with cold eyes.

Since someone was willing to act as a pathfinder, they were happy to wait and see how things played out.

Besides, they did not believe that, with Core Formation cultivators already having the advantage inside, this group would actually be able to achieve anything.

At the same time, on the other side of the island, Wen Tianren’s team of maids could no longer wait. Clustered around their beast-drawn carriage, they also began to fly toward the island.

None of these people knew that, in the deep sea over a hundred li from the island, a strange black light flickered. Then, a slender black rift appeared there.

From this rift, an immense amount of pitch-black mist began to pour out.

The mist was only a few zhang in size at first, but it rapidly expanded. In the space of a few moments, it had grown to over a li in size, and it continued to grow without pause.

Within the dark, gloomy mist, not only could the sounds of ghostly wailing and wolfish howling be heard, but strange black lightning also danced and flickered ceaselessly within it.

Even stranger was the fact that fish, shrimp, and other creatures near the mist were being drawn into it as if by some invisible force, like moths diving into a flame.

In an instant, all living things in the nearby waters were swept clean.

But the black mist seemed unsatisfied. It continued to expand its area with all its might.

Two li. Three li…

It not only rose above the surface of the sea, but soon, the entire surrounding sea area was dominated by this black mist. The endless, terrifying black mist was enough to make one’s scalp tingle and heart pound with fear.

Viewed from high above, its spreading range soon approached the island where Yuan Yao had performed her Soul Reunion Art.

But none of the cultivators on the island, including Han Li, had any knowledge of this!