A Name Shakes the Region — The Dharma Warriors Appear

Chapter 698: A Name Shakes the Region — The Dharma Warriors Appear

Where Han Li’s divine sense reached, a yellow gale swept in with overwhelming force, rising over a hundred zhang high. Where it passed, sand and stones flew, dust rolled thickly, like a fearsome dragon emerging from its lair—a murderous aura of immense power.

He felt a jolt of alarm.

But his divine sense was formidable, nearly comparable to a late-Nascent Soul cultivator. While the others could only watch from a distance, their sense halted a hundred li out, he circulated his Great Derivative Art, concentrated his spiritual sense, and pushed it directly into the wind and sand.

The moment his sense entered the gale, it became murky and dull, barely able to perceive a few dozen zhang ahead. Pushing deeper yielded the same result, as if wrapped in a thick fog.

Han Li was greatly astonished. At that moment, following the old woman’s words, the cold-faced man surnamed You also withdrew his divine sense and spoke.

“Correct. This is the Moulan Wind Spirit Art! The Dharma Warrior I fought before used this very ‘Endless Red Dust’ technique. Once this art is unleashed, it not only blocks our detection but also uses the yellow sand and gale for self-defense and trapping. It is quite troublesome. However, I have never seen it on such a terrifying scale. It appears they have expanded the spell’s range by a hundred—no, a thousand-fold. That is strange.” Nan Longhou spoke, his expression darkening.

“Moulan people?”

Upon hearing this, everyone’s expression shifted slightly.

Wang Chan and Yan Ruyan’s faces turned pale. However, given their low status and cultivation, they dared not interrupt.

“Brother Nan is correct. Only a Dharma Warrior’s Spiritual Art could make the wind-sand this terrifying. And given its power, there is no telling how many Dharma Warriors are hidden within. It would not be surprising if there were even existences on par with us inside,” the white-robed elder said gravely.

“How is this possible? For the Moulan to mobilize so many Dharma Warriors at once, what are they planning?” the old woman asked, alarmed.

“Madam Tai, when was our last truce with the Moulan?” Wang Tangu suddenly asked, his expression peculiar.

“About a hundred years ago, I believe. Brother Wang, you mean...” the old woman’s face lit up with dawning realization.

“A hundred years is about right. Enough time for the Moulan to have recuperated and gathered their strength,” Wang Tangu said flatly, a hint of mockery in his tone.

“Brother Wang speaks truly. A new round of conflict is about to begin. I wonder how many cultivators will fall this time. But what a coincidence, us running right into the Moulan vanguard.” Nan Longhou muttered, a trace of helplessness on his face.

The others felt the same—this was an incredibly unfortunate coincidence.

“There are many coincidences in this world. There is no need for excessive alarm. For now, we have two paths before us. First, we turn back immediately, avoid this Moulan vanguard, and seek another opportunity for the treasure later. After all, treasure does not sprout legs; there will be other chances. However, the Moulan offensive will not cease for several years, so it would be some time. And with the unpredictable nature of the world, gathering everyone again is far from certain,” the white-robed elder stated solemnly.

“There is no need to elaborate. The second path is obviously to attack directly, breaking through their wind formation. But the risk is too great. If there are several old monsters of our level hiding within, we would have little chance of success. Can we not find a way to avoid them?” the old woman shook her head in disagreement.

“It is too late to go around. Once the Moulan launch their offensive, it will not be just this single vanguard. Even if we detour in another direction, we would still encounter them. But we can conceal our forms and try to slip through their flank. As long as we do not charge directly into the heart of the wind formation, we should be fine. Once we are past the vanguard, we will have enough time to avoid the main body of the Dharma Warriors. We can then reach the sparsely guarded Moulan grasslands and retrieve the treasure with far less trouble,” the elder said after a moment’s consideration, his tone heavy.

After listening to the elder’s suggestion, the group conferred briefly and concluded that this was the only viable option. None of them was willing to abandon the opportunity before them and wait for years of uncertain fortune.

This was, of course, only possible because Nan Longhou and the others were all Nascent Soul cultivators. Otherwise, no matter how tempting the treasure, they would have had no choice but to retreat in disgrace.

Before proceeding, however, they each released a transmission talisman, sending it toward the nearest Nine Nations Alliance strongholds. It was their duty to warn the Alliance and prevent them from being caught off guard by a Moulan ambush.

This was their small contribution as cultivators of the Heavenly South.

Then, the nine of them restrained their cultivation auras, concealed their forms, and quietly began to drift to one side, aiming to bypass the most violent center of the sandstorm and slip past its edge.

Fearing that Wang Chan and Yan Ruyan’s cultivation was too low, Wang Tangu erected a large light shield, covering the two within it. Before Han Li’s eyes, they gradually vanished from sight.

Seeing this, a faint, cold smile touched the corner of Han Li’s mouth.

With his divine sense, how could Wang Tangu and the others’ movements truly escape his perception?

A hundred li was covered in the blink of an eye.

The gray, yellow murk of the wind and sand pressed down from afar like a demon born from the edge of the sky.

Before the sand itself arrived, towering wind pillars howled toward them one after another.

Fortunately, they had deviated from the front of the formation ahead of time, reaching the far side. Only a few wind pillars swept past them, posing no threat.

These pillars ranged from a dozen to several zhang in diameter, large enough to conceal several Dharma Warriors each.

From his concealed position, Han Li observed them clearly with his divine sense now that he was so close.

Within these pillars, he could faintly make out figures moving about—Dharma Warriors hidden within.

They were clearly unaware of Han Li’s group, riding the wind forward on their own course.

Han Li and the others watched coldly, advancing silently as well.

Just as they were about to plunge into the endless yellow sand that followed, Nan Longhou, who was in the lead, suddenly changed expression and sent a warning through voice transmission.

“Watch out! To the side!”

Han Li turned his head and was startled.

A massive wind pillar, a hundred zhang wide and so tall its top was out of sight, was howling directly toward them from a distance.

A wind pillar of such size surely contained a Dharma Warrior of immense power. Had this person detected them?

Han Li took a deep breath. The Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords within him stirred restlessly.

Though he had long heard of the Dharma Warriors, he had never seen one with his own eyes. But seeing them under these circumstances was hardly a cause for celebration.

The others were also staring at the giant wind pillar with full vigilance. Some had already retrieved their magic treasures, a faint light playing in their hands.

But the giant pillar brushed past them, seeming completely unaware of their presence.

Nan Longhou let out a quiet sigh of relief.

But in that brief moment of delay, the boundless sand-mist descending from the sky swallowed them all.

The world around them instantly dimmed, sinking into a gloomy, deep yellow that was suffocating.

“Be careful. This wind-sand is strange. Divine sense cannot penetrate far. Do not get separated,” Nan Longhou called out calmly.

Though it would have been easy for them to dispel this bit of sand-mist, doing so would expose their presence.

For now, this yellow sandstorm should pass quickly. Han Li and the others could only draw closer together, remain concealed, and advance cautiously.

But after only the time it takes to eat a meal, Han Li, surveying the monotonous, dark scenery around him, felt a growing sense that something was wrong.

Suddenly, his figure halted, floating in mid-air as he stopped his flight.

This naturally caught Nan Longhou and the others off guard. They stopped in surprise.

“Daoist Han, why have you stopped?” the old woman asked, frowning slightly with dissatisfaction.

“Do you not find something amiss here, Fellow Daoists?” Han Li said, his expression unreadable.

“What do you mean by that?” The swarthy man shimmered and appeared beside Han Li, somewhat startled.

Wang Tangu and the white-robed elder exchanged a glance, and their faces also showed signs of unease.

“To be honest, some of you may have already sensed it. We have flown a considerable distance through this sandstorm, yet we have not encountered a single Dharma Warrior. Do not tell me they have all gathered in the center of the wind-sand. Furthermore, the scenery around us has not changed at all. You all know what that means,” Han Li said, his face darkening.

“Someone is using a restriction to ambush us!” the swarthy man muttered, his expression turning grim. His eyes flashed with sharp light as he swept his gaze around.

“Daoist Han is correct. I also find this strange. It seems we have indeed been detected, and they are using a spell to deal with us. It appears we have no choice but to fight,” Nan Longhou said after a moment of silence, his voice heavy with gloom.