Chapter 1017: Colossal Pressure
The light barrier sensed Han Li’s approach and released a storm of silver lightning upon him.
He whistled, ordering the flood dragon to pounce forward and rupture. A net of golden lightning instantly formed and protected himself, causing each lightning bolt to disappear upon contact.
“Han Li, it’s you!”
“Elder Han?!”
When the light surrounding him faded away, Han Li became visible, provoking Old Devil Qian and the middle-aged square-faced cultivator with his appearance.
The square-faced man attracted Han Li’s attention, and he couldn't help but shoot him a glance of alarm. He wasn’t sure how he had recognized him.
Although he felt this was strange, he turned his attention back to the barrier and waved his fan, producing a phoenix cry along with a tri-colored inferno. In the blink of an eye, it burned a large hole and he slipped through it in a blur.
At that moment, he felt relieved and looked behind him.
On the other side of the barrier, he saw Grand Immortal Xu and Lin Yinping make an appearance. They had an unsightly bearing when they spotted him in return.
Han Li coldly chuckled.
With an odd tone, he said, “Since so many people have come, I’ll leave you to your own business. Keep yourselves busy.” Then with a flick of his wrist, thunder clapped and an arc of golden lightning shot out.
It made contact with the barrier and disappeared without a trace. A moment later, it struck out from the other side. Boom. The lightning struck an unremarkable stone pillar at the side of the platform.
A muffled snort sounded out in response, and the Silver-winged Nightfiend, Lion Hawk, and an ugly horned woman came into view.
“A Lion Hawk!” Grand Immortal Xu immediately recognized the beast with the most obvious characteristics and felt his heart tremble.
When Lin Yinping and the others heard him, they immediately grew alarmed and raised their guard.
“Grand Elder!” Ge Tianhao and the other two had then arrived and rejoiced upon seeing the cinque devils.
The three beasts were extremely gloomy to have been revealed, and the Nightfiend immediately recognized Han Li as the enemy that nearly took his life. He relentlessly cursed in his heart when that same person was ruining his plans. Equally so, he was puzzled on how he was able to see through their concealment.
The beasts weren’t fearful towards the cultivators, but they had been hoping that the cultivators would break through a few crucial restrictions on their behalf. Now that they were discovered, they weren’t sure what to do.
As for Grand Immortal Xu, his face fell as he found the situation difficult to deal with. When he caught sight of the other two monsters, he felt his heart quake in shock.
They were human-like, and possessed astonishing demonic Qi that was no lesser than the Lion Hawk. As he compared their strength, he inwardly cursed, not daring to take action.
Old Devil Qian and the Ye Clan Elder immediately ceased their battle upon seeing the great changes that had occurred, but the two bronze lions continued to tangle with them. Helpless, they could only keep them at bay as they vigilantly glanced at one another, slowly increasing the distance between them.
As for the others, they found themselves in an apprehensive deadlock.
Han Li paid no heed to the chaos that would ensue. He simply moved to the back in a blur. Since there was an opportunity to seize the treasure, he wasn’t about to let it go.
After making his way through an uneven path, he eventually arrived at a mountainous gate sculpted from fine jade.
The gate was quite peculiar. There were two columns of huge solitary trees lined up at their side and nothing else.
Looking past it, there lay a flawless white road that reached over three kilometers before faint glimpses of a huge palace with an imposing presence crested his sight.
“So that’s Kunwu Hall,” Han Li muttered. After a moment of hesitation, he looked around and focused his attention on the trees lined up to either side.
Each one was about a hundred meters tall. And despite their sallow and dry color, each gave an odd impression that they were brimming with life.
When he closely examined them with his spiritual sense, he wasn’t able to find anything strange. They were completely ordinary inside and out without any anomalous signatures.
Han Li unconsciously frowned and turned his attention away from them.
A short moment later, he swept his spiritual sense past the spacious gate and confirmed that there were no restrictions hidden there. Then, he set off through it, making his way towards Kunwu Hall in the distance.
But not even forty meters in, he suddenly felt an icy premonition spread throughout his body.
“Not good!” Han Li inwardly shouted. He thought to jump back, but it was already too late. He suddenly felt an enormous pressure weight down on his body and his knees buckled as he was forced to the ground.
Without another thought, he shouted and immediately covered his body in brilliant azure light, relieving him to at least straighten his back and raise himself on a single knee.
At the same moment, his body continuously trembled as cracks relentlessly sound out from his body as if his bones were on the verge of breaking.
Han Li was deeply shocked.
The protective light only blocked a small portion of the pressure. He was a bit better off than before, but it was still unbearable.
He was convinced that if he hadn’t cultivated the Brightjade Arts or swallowed the Heavenly Corpse Pearl, his bones would’ve shattered to dust, leaving him completely helpless.
A thorough examination of his surroundings left no hint of any spell formation. How was it that he fell into such a powerful restriction?
As Han Li inwardly cursed, he hastily uttered an incantation. Unable to make use of his hands, his only option was to cast techniques was by chanting.
Deafening thunder echoed through the air. In a flash of gold, a layer of lightning appeared on his body. Then, he gritted his teeth as he slowly raised himself up.
But just as he was halfway up, he felt the pressure on his body suddenly increase and was brought back down.
A variety of emotions was betrayed by his face.
...
Further down below the mountain gate, Old Devil Qian and the others had caught sight of Han Li lingering at the mountain gate in the distance, but saw nothing else.
With the temptation of treasure weighing heavy on their hearts, they no longer possessed any restraint.
“Beast, you’re courting death! I’m done with you!” Old Devil Qian furiously shouted from within the barrier.
The cinque devils then converged together into one, forming a ten-meter-tall silhouette. He then suddenly flung his arm back behind him.
In a blur, it turned into a python and leapt into the mouth of the bronze lion that flanked him from behind. Afterwards, the python separated from the silhouette’s body and turned into a giant ball of light, enveloping the lion entirely.
It attempted to release a pillar of light from its mouth, but its movements were completely restricted.
To the side, the square-faced cultivator pointed to the huge bone bracelet at his side.
It suddenly shined with brilliant light and transformed into innumerable yellow copies of itself. With the activation of a spell seal, they all blurred out from view before appearing above the bronze lion. As a result, the countless bracelets dropped down and completely restrained it, forcing it to fall to the ground.
However, he no longer focused on the puppet and sullenly turned his attention on the giant silhouette.
Old Devil Qian coldly snorted, “The Overflowing Sky Bracelet is worthy of its reputation. Rumor says it’s a replica of the ancient Shining Moon Bracelet. I’ve never had the chance to verify its power. From my observations so far, it should be no less powerful than other Divine Spirit Treasure replicas.”
The square-faced cultivator coldly laughed and glanced in the direction of the gate, “Without the treasure protecting me, I fear you would’ve already killed me. If we continue to fight, the treasure will be taken away by that youngster who just past us.”
“If Kunwu Hall’s restrictions were so easily destroyed, wouldn’t you have already entered? Besides, how can I chase him from here.” Old Devil Qian’s voice chilled, “More importantly, didn’t you call him Elder Han? Could he be a cultivator from your clan?”
The square-faced cultivator shifted his eyes and chuckled, “Hehe, I was mistaken. I actually don’t know him.”
Old Devil Qian grew silent for a moment as if trying to verify his words. Then, he coldly said, “Regardless, he is a foreigner from the Heavenly South. With all your schemes to open Kunwu Mountain’s Seal could it be you plan on having its treasure fall into the hands of a foreigner? Wouldn’t it be better to break the restriction together? Then we can contest the treasures in Kunwu Hall with whatever method we can muster.”
“Fine, I agree!”
Much to Old Devil Qian’s surprise, the square-faced man immediately agreed without any hesitation. Rather, it was the old devil who grew hesitant.