A Preemptive Strike

Chapter 712: A Preemptive Strike

The fact that his protective light barrier could not block the seemingly fragile blue flame clearly caught the cultivator surnamed You off guard.

The result was that he did not even have a chance to dodge. The exceptionally thin streak of blue flame flickered and struck his neck.

Crackle! Blue ice appeared instantly, and in the span of a single breath, his entire body was transformed into a glittering blue ice statue.

This was simply the cultivator You’s misfortune.

Drawing on his previous experience fighting the Dharma Warrior surnamed Mu, Han Li had deliberately directed this wisp of Dry Azure Ice Flame to strike the other man’s neck. The head was frozen first, and only then did the body follow. The man had no opportunity to react or cast any spells.

This approach succeeded in a single blow.

But just as Han Li turned his opponent into an ice statue with the Dry Azure Ice Flame, the blue electric arcs shot from the gourd arrived in front of him with lightning speed.

Before they could truly touch him, a loud clap of thunder rang out. A faint golden electric net suddenly emerged around Han Li’s body.

Golden light flashed, and the blue arcs were absorbed into the net in an instant, vanishing without a trace.

Without any hesitation, Han Li’s body leaned forward slightly, and he raised his hand to snatch the blue gourd.

From the moment he activated the Wind Lightning Wings to freezing the cultivator You and seizing the treasure, the entire process was completed in an instant.

Wang Chan, standing nearby, had only just finished releasing his protective blood energy. He had originally intended to rush forward and assist the cultivator You, but after taking two steps, he witnessed the man’s instantaneous defeat.

His eyes were filled with shock.

When Han Li turned his head and looked at him coldly, Wang Chan did not think twice. His body shot backward, quickly joining Yan Ruyan at her side, and shouted with a hint of fear:

“Cast together! Use the Blood Spirit Grand Art to trap him!” As he spoke, he roughly grabbed one of Yan Ruyan’s jade-like hands. A rapid incantation rose loudly from his mouth, and the blood mist immediately swelled.

Though Yan Ruyan did not struggle, a trace of disgust flashed deep in her eyes. After a brief hesitation, her cherry-red lips also uttered a melodious spell. The blood mist around her body merged seamlessly with Wang Chan’s, forming a purple-tinged cloud of fog.

Their figures disappeared within the purple mist. From within came faint, mournful wails, as if some kind of monster lurked inside.

Seeing this, Han Li’s face remained expressionless, but the corners of his mouth lifted into a mocking sneer.

“Excellent! I didn’t expect Fellow Daoist Han to possess such heaven-defying divine abilities! If the two of us join forces, we might actually have a chance against them!” came a delighted, surprised voice from the other side, belonging to Nanlong Hou.

Hearing this, Han Li swept a glance in that direction.

Nanlong Hou and the others had not yet started fighting. Wang Tiangu and the white-robed elder were staring at Han Li in stunned disbelief, their faces full of shock.

Nanlong Hou, however, revealed a mixture of surprise and joy. Han Li’s recent performance had given him renewed hope of escaping with his life.

“Fellow Daoist, if you are willing to join hands with me, I will gladly give you another jade box!” Nanlong Hou did not hesitate to bribe him.

“Join hands? Heh…” Han Li let out a cold laugh without saying more, but he had no such intention in his heart.

He was well aware that his easy victory over a Nascent Soul cultivator of the same rank was entirely due to the fact that the cultivator You did not know the power of the Dry Azure Ice Flame, and had fallen for it so easily.

If the fight had been conducted with other means, even if Han Li could win, it would not have been a quick matter.

Moreover, the enemy still had three early-stage and one mid-stage cultivators. If Nanlong Hou himself were uninjured, there might be a chance to fight. But now that he was heavily wounded, joining him would only drag Han Li into the mire.

Even that jade box was not worth the risk!

However, before leaving, he had to make sure they started fighting among themselves, so that their attention would be on Nanlong Hou.

Otherwise, if they changed their minds, escaping would not be so easy.

With this in mind, Han Li stopped paying attention to anyone else. The wings behind his back flapped, and with a thunderous crack, his figure vanished from the spot.

“Not good! He’s trying to flee! Stop him! Don’t let him take the jade box!” Elder Yun shouted without thinking as soon as he saw this.

But having just witnessed Han Li’s shocking act of practically one-shotting a cultivator of the same rank, the old woman and the dark-faced man pretended not to hear, showing no intention of making a move.

Even Wang Tiangu wore a hesitant expression, momentarily unable to decide.

After all, if Han Li truly got away, dealing with the remaining Nanlong Hou would be almost certain victory. The two jade boxes could be secured steadily. But if they forcibly tried to stop Han Li, given the bizarre divine abilities he had displayed, he was no ordinary cultivator of the same rank. Even Elder Yun fighting him one-on-one might not guarantee victory. There were too many variables.

And yet, the treasure in the box Han Li had taken could well be the secret of the Fallen Devil Valley that Nanlong Hou had gone to such lengths to obtain.

For a moment, even the scheming Wang Tiangu found himself in a dilemma.

Seeing this, Elder Yun understood the thoughts of the others. But he, too, was somewhat daunted by Han Li’s Dry Azure Ice Flame. Moreover, if he left to confront Han Li, Nanlong Hou, though heavily injured, might still break through the combined obstruction of Wang Tiangu and the three early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators using secret arts.

This hesitation made him uncertain whether to intervene.

In a flash of lightning, Han Li’s figure appeared at the stairway entrance. He smiled at Wang Tiangu and the others in a sinister manner, then pointed at the black mountain peak.

The small black mountain trembled for a moment, then vanished from its spot and suddenly appeared above Wang Tiangu and his companions, pressing down ruthlessly.

Elder Yun and Wang Tiangu were furious that Han Li would pull such a move.

But given the power of that mountain, even Elder Yun dared not take it head-on alone. Helplessly, the several figures flickered and shot backward to avoid the mountain’s range.

This, however, finally gave Nanlong Hou an opportunity to act. His eyes lit up as he transformed into a streak of dazzling golden light, charging straight at the old woman. The old woman was startled, and a yellow light flashed before her: a small earthen-yellow shield appeared in front of her.

Gold and yellow light clashed together. Nanlong Hou’s body emitted a brilliant golden radiance, and he tried to charge through in one go.

But the others, without time to think, urged their magic treasures to attack together, forcibly blocking him.

However, Nanlong Hou seemed to be using some secret art, for the golden light around him grew thicker and denser until he looked like a golden humanoid. At the same time, he produced several ancient treasures of great power and engaged them in a chaotic melee, not losing any ground.

Startled, Wang Tiangu and the others were momentarily unable to pay attention to Han Li’s actions.

Seeing this, Han Li felt satisfied. He pointed again at the black mountain peak. With a whoosh, it shrank to the size of a few inches and flew back into his hand.

Then he glanced at the rolling purple blood mist. A vicious glint flashed in his eyes.

Blue light flickered in his pupils as he briefly peered into the mist. Without any hesitation, he raised a single hand. His entire arm swelled, covered in black light, and then a dark-red light blade shot out from his palm, slicing through the blood mist.

It was the Yin Fiend Slash secret art!

As a miserable scream was heard from within the blood mist, Han Li vanished in a flash of lightning.

His Yin Fiend Slash strike, even if it had not killed Wang Chan on the spot, had certainly wounded him heavily.

It was a pity that he would have liked to take the opportunity to obliterate Wang Chan completely. But he knew that once he struck, Wang Tiangu would certainly not stand idly by. Then he would have to be drawn into a direct conflict with Wang Tiangu’s group, greatly increasing the danger.

Besides, a mere late Core Formation cultivator like Wang Chan could be dealt with at any time; there was no need to take that risk now.

Thus, after the strike, he did not even bother to check the result before using his lightning遁 to escape.

Han Li’s figure reappeared at the main entrance of the pavilion’s first floor. Immediately, he transformed into a green rainbow and flew toward the exit of the great hall. Midway, a streak of white light shot out from a corner and flew into Han Li’s sleeve, revealing its true form: a pure white little fox.

“Master, I…” Silvermoon opened her mouth, seeming excited to say something.

“Say nothing now. Wait until we are out of immediate danger.” Han Li interrupted her coldly as he flew straight out the main gate, his expression grim.

Earlier, when breaking through the Supreme Miao Divine Restriction, Han Li had deliberately used a dazzling spiritual light to disrupt the others’ perception, then forcibly opened a tiny gap in the restriction and sent Silvermoon inside in an instant.

Only then did he deliberately slow down and slowly actually break the restriction.

Otherwise, why would he have bothered spending so much effort on such a tedious task just for the privilege of choosing first?

Now, seeing how overjoyed Silvermoon was, it seemed her harvest inside the pavilion had been considerable.

With this preemptive advantage, it was also one of the reasons Han Li unhesitatingly refused to join forces with Nanlong Hou and extracted himself from danger first.