Breaking the Formation (4) – The Triad’s True Colors

Chapter 751: A Name Shakes the World – Breaking the Formation (4)

He offered the azure bead up above his head and casually struck a spell formula into it.

Instantly, the treasure radiated brilliant light. Countless azure light threads shot out, piercing through the thick mist within a hundred-zhang radius and transforming into a surging, blustery wind.

After a wild whirlwind, the dense fog was scattered, and everything within sight became clear.

The woman in green raised a delicate eyebrow. She saw a young man in a blue robe standing silently some tens of zhang away, appraising her without a trace of expression on his face.

It was Han Li, who had been waiting for some time.

A cold light flickered across her face. Her bright eyes swept the area as her spiritual sense probed the surroundings. Then she furrowed her brow and glanced upward.

There, dozens of zhang above, a radiant golden cloud floated silently in the air.

When the woman focused and recognized the true nature of the golden cloud, her expression changed dramatically.

“Gold Devourer Beetles! So you’re the cultivator who owns spirit insects.” The green-clothed woman let out a soft breath and murmured, “To think it was you as well.” Yet deep in her beautiful eyes, the icy cold intensified by another degree.

“More Moulan Dharma Warriors than I expected recognize this insect. That surprises me a little. Did one of the warriors who escaped from me tell you?” Han Li was inwardly startled, but his face remained impassive as he spoke calmly.

“You destroyed the physical body of High Diviner Mu of the Heavenly Wind Tribe, didn’t you?” the woman asked, sidestepping his question entirely.

“High Diviner Mu? The one who chased me with the Divine Wind Chariot? If that’s the man, then yes, his body was destroyed by me. If his Nascent Soul hadn’t escaped quickly enough, I would have made sure both body and soul were utterly annihilated. Do you intend to avenge him?” Han Li replied in a平和 tone, showing no anger on his face. But inwardly, his caution immediately heightened.

Since she already knows about the Dry Azure Ice Flame and the Wind Lightning Wings, a surprise attack won’t work against her. That’s troublesome.

His usual strategy against early Nascent Soul cultivators was to close the distance with the Wind Lightning Wings before they could react, then seal them in ice with the Dry Azure Ice Flame in one decisive blow.

“High Diviner Mu’s body being destroyed is merely a result of his insufficient cultivation. There’s no complaint to be made about that. However, since you can command the Gold Devourer Beetles and possess such a variety of abilities, I cannot let you leave here today.”

The green-clothed woman’s beautiful face darkened. Her hands rapidly formed a series of hand seals. White light shimmered around her, and a misty white sash-like treasure emerged from her body, fluttering in the wind.

Then she flipped her hand over, and a small, light-yellow tripod appeared in her palm.

The tripod seemed to be crafted from some unknown type of spirit wood. It was three or four inches in size, ancient and elegant in appearance, its surface engraved with obscure runes and incantations.

After Han Li’s spiritual sense briefly probed it, his expression changed slightly.

“Gold Devourer Beetles are ancient spirit insects. Once fully matured, they are nearly indestructible and can devour all things. However, they happen to be vulnerable to wooden and jade-type treasures. As it happens, I dealt with a cultivator from the Tu-Wu region who also commanded Gold Devourer Beetles. I specially sought out this ‘Yellow Spirit Tripod’ to deal with his insect-controlling arts. I never thought I would run into you, a cultivator from the Heavenly South, also wielding Gold Devourer Beetles, instead of him. Otherwise, with so many of these beetles—even if they haven’t fully matured—they would indeed be difficult to handle.” The woman spoke in an icy tone, while her delicate hand unhesitatingly brushed against the ear of the small yellow tripod.

The wooden tripod immediately blazed with spiritual light. A faint yellow light shield emerged from the tripod, enveloping her entire form.

“There are others who possess Gold Devourer Beetles?” Han Li was shocked by this revelation. His mouth twitched, and his expression grew serious.

“You don’t know yet, do you? The Gold Devourer Beetle is a mortal enemy to us Moulan people, and the sacred insect of the Tu-Wu people. Their ancestors spent endless years before finally cultivating several dozen mature ones. Only the most outstanding cultivators among the Tu-Wu have the right to inherit them. Since these insects matured, countless Dharma Warriors have been devoured by them. We Moulan have held a deep, bone-deep hatred for them.”

“Since you also possess Gold Devourer Beetles—and in such numbers—even if they haven’t matured, I will never allow you to pass them down through the ages.”

After speaking coldly, the woman offered the tripod up above her head.

The small tripod spun in the air above her for a moment. Then, with a flash of yellow light, a vast expanse of yellow, misty radiance surged out from the tripod, shooting directly toward the insect cloud on the opposite side.

Han Li was momentarily stunned by her earlier words—that mature Gold Devourer Beetles already existed in the world. But when he heard her hostile tone, he immediately pulled his mind back and set the matter aside.

Now, seeing her drive the wooden-spirit radiance of the tripod directly at his Gold Devourer Beetles, his heart sank. Then a flash of killing intent crossed his face. He rapidly pointed at the insect cloud above his head.

A loud buzzing sound rang out. The golden insect cloud scattered in all directions, splitting into countless golden flowers that shot out in every direction. In the blink of an eye, the Gold Devourer Beetles had dispersed into countless small streams, disappearing into the surrounding fog.

Thus, the yellow radiance swept through empty air.

The woman in green was momentarily startled. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she hastily swept her spiritual sense through the surrounding mist.

After a few moments, her brows shot up in anger, and her face was covered in frost.

“You’re commanding the Gold Devourer Beetles to attack the other Dharma Warriors! Do you think I’ll allow you to divide your attention like this?”

Before her voice had even faded, she pulled the white sash treasure from her body and tossed it at Han Li.

The sash radiated dazzling white light. It spun in a large arc before transforming into a massive white vulture. The vulture’s wings spanned several zhang. Its eyes were a fiery red, and its claws were jet black.

With a flap of its wings, the white vulture flashed with white light and instantly vanished from its spot. The next moment, it appeared above Han Li. Letting out a sharp cry, the demon bird dove straight down, its pair of claws aimed directly for the top of Han Li’s head.

The giant vulture’s speed startled Han Li. Without thinking, he raised a single hand.

A thunderclap rang out. Dozens of thin golden arcs shot out from his palm, forming a golden net that shot upward to meet the white vulture, enveloping it.

Seeing this, the vulture’s eyes flashed with a vicious light. It shook its wings, and the sound of air being torn carried through the air. Countless white wind blades shot out densely from its wings, meeting the incoming golden net head-on.

A booming explosion sounded as golden light and white light intertwined.

The wind blades’ power was unexpectedly significant. Although the golden net blocked most of the blades, it was ultimately sliced to pieces. Several dozen wind blades broke through the net and shot toward Han Li.

The giant vulture followed close behind the wind blades, diving down fiercely.

“Oh?” A flicker of surprise passed through Han Li’s eyes, but his face remained expressionless.

His ten fingers flicked rapidly. Over a dozen azure sword qi projectiles shot out, blocking the wind blades. Then, with a flip of his palm, a small blue shield appeared in his other hand. With a slight wave, the shield rapidly expanded several times in a flash of blue light, transforming into a giant shield several zhang wide.

The shield’s surface shimmered with blue light, watery and flowing, as if it had been condensed from liquid—a very peculiar sight.

At this moment, the azure sword qi that had shattered the wind blades unceremoniously slashed toward the giant vulture.

The white vulture was completely unafraid. It flapped its wings left and right, deflecting the azure sword qi. Then, with a sudden dive, its sharp claws slammed heavily into the blue giant shield.

Han Li let out a cold snort. He pointed at the giant shield. Radiance flared. The claws struck the shield’s surface as if hitting water, only creating ripples before being bounced away.

The giant vulture’s body involuntarily wavered.

But in that brief moment of delay, a cold light flashed in Han Li’s eyes. With a flick of his other hand, a mass of black light shot out from his sleeve. It instantly transformed into a black-red giant hand, several zhang in size, and descended with lightning speed. In one swift motion, it grabbed the body of the giant vulture firmly.

A sound like “pfft” was heard. Yin fire immediately erupted from the giant hand’s five fingers. Pitch-black flames enveloped the vulture.

The vulture let out a series of sharp, desperate cries as it struggled violently within the giant hand’s grip, its hooked beak pecking frantically.

Han Li felt slightly relieved. He raised his head to glance at the woman across from him.

She was completely ignoring the plight of the giant vulture. Instead, her expression was solemn as she softly chanted some ancient incantation.

When Han Li listened closely, the chant was profoundly obscure and difficult to understand. Stunned, he watched as the woman spread her ten fingers apart, holding them flat in a lotus-like shape. Above them, a white, misty light sphere was pulsing, vaguely resembling a lotus bud slowly blooming into form.

“What is this?” Han Li was alarmed. Although he didn’t know what she was plotting, a technique that required a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator to chant such a long incantation to activate was certainly no small matter. There was no way he would let her complete the spell so smoothly.

With this thought, Han Li’s expression darkened. He swung his large sleeve, and several dozen azure flying swords swam out like fish. They swiftly linked together, transforming into a mist of azure radiance, and swept toward the opposite side with thousands of sword beams.

At the same time, Han Li raised his hand and gently beckoned toward the giant hand that was still locked in a stalemate with the vulture.

The black-red giant hand tightened its grip, pulling the giant eagle straight down. In the blink of an eye, it was right before Han Li.

Without a second thought, Han Li opened his mouth. A wisp of the azure-blue Dry Azure Ice Flame shot out, striking the struggling vulture directly.

A crackling sound was heard.

As the ice flame touched the vulture, a layer of blue light flashed across its body, instantly freezing it into an ice sculpture—still maintaining the lifelike posture of its eyes wide open and struggling desperately.

A hint of joy flickered across Han Li’s face. He was just about to take further action when, suddenly, a heavenly, music-like chant emanated from the opposite side. A blindingly bright white light erupted there. A layer of nearly substantial white light curtain suddenly enveloped the entire area within a hundred zhang.

Seeing this, Han Li inwardly cried out in alarm. He hastily turned his head to look.

A strange scene unfolded before him.

The incantation from the green-clothed woman had stopped, but she remained in her original posture. The white light lotus in her hand had not only fully unfurled its petals but was now floating a single zhang above her head, radiating dazzling white spiritual light.

The mist of azure radiance formed by his Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords was now hovering over a dozen zhang in front of her, desperately spiraling up and down, but it seemed to be blocked by some invisible barrier, unable to approach by even a fraction.

Han Li’s pupils involuntarily constricted.