Chapter 1206: Battle at the Star Palace (2)
"You're more likely not aware of this, Senior, but Coalition Leader Wan had set up 108 Windfire Copper Pillars, then gathered a few powerful formation spell masters to set up a Heavenly Windfire Formation around the island that Heavenly Star City is situated on, and he's using the boundless powers of fire and wind to attack the Star Palace. As long as the coalition's cultivators can guard the 108 Windfire Pillars, that'll be enough to trap the entirety of Heavenly Star City."
The hook-nosed man knew that he would be punished by the coalition for revealing this information, but the cold glare that Han Li had directed at him had tipped him over the edge, and in his horror, he blurted out this information without thinking.
As soon as those words escaped from his mouth, the hook-nosed man was sorely regretting his decision. However, even a Core Formation cultivator like him was aware of this information, so it clearly wasn't very confidential. With that in mind, he was feeling slightly more relieved.
"A Heavenly Windfire Formation?" Han Li stirred slightly upon hearing this.
He hadn't ever studied this formation in detail, but many of the formation spell tomes that he had read had mentioned this formation on quite a number of occasions. It was said that in ancient times, there was a restriction formation that could draw upon the powers of fire and wind within this world, and the staggering enormity of this formation was vastly renowned. If the Starfall Coalition had managed to set up such a formation, then there really was a possibility that they could've used it to surround Heavenly Star City.
After all, with Wan Tianming guarding the formation core in person, even if the Star Palace cultivators managed to destroy a few Windfire Pillars, those pillars could be easily repaired. As long as the formation core remained intact, there was no way to truly destroy the formation.
A contemplative look appeared on Han Li's face. Meanwhile, tension was rolling off the bodies of the Starfall Coalition cultivators in almost palpable waves.
It didn't take a genius to be able to tell that Han Li was here to reinforce the Star Palace, so they were in a very perilous situation.
In contrast, the three White Water Sword Sect cultivators ensnared with the azure net were ecstatic. The elderly man hurriedly yelled, "Senior, we've come here to reinforce the Star Palace, and those people are all cultivators from the Starfall Coalition's enforcement division. They've killed countless cultivators who have pledged their allegiance to the Star Palace, and they deserve to die countless deaths for their crimes! Don't let these people live, Senior!"
All of the Starfall Coalition cultivators' faces paled upon hearing this.
The two cultivators who were standing the farthest away from Han Li glanced at one another before flipping over their hands in unison, producing a small yellow flag each. They then immediately tossed those flags into the air, upon which they transformed into two yellow clouds that enshrouded the bodies of the two cultivators.
Within the blink of an eye, the two yellow clouds had completely vanished.
In the next instant, the yellow clouds appeared over 200 feet away before quickly disappearing again.
"Teleportation?" Han Li's pupils contracted minutely as a hint of surprise appeared on his face.
However, a cold chuckle then escaped his mouth as he abruptly raised a hand, feigning a grabbing motion toward the azure net that had ensnared the three White Water Sword Sect cultivators.
The two Starfall Coalition cultivators controlling the net felt as if a resounding boom had rung out directly in their heads, and they were struck by an intense spell of dizziness.
They lost control of the All-Encompassing Net as a result, and it reverted back into a ball of azure light, allowing the three ensnared cultivators to escape while the net landed in Han Li's hand.
Han Li paid no heed to the words of gratitude extended toward him by the three rescued cultivators as white and azure light flashed behind him, materializing a pair of wings on his back. The wings flapped gently, and Han Li disappeared amid a gust of wind. It was quite clear that he had set off in pursuit of the two cultivators who had just teleported away.
The remaining Starfall Coalition cultivators were both shocked and elated to see this, and they all glanced at one another before fleeing in different directions.
Han Li was an extremely fearsome enemy, so they were certainly not going to take a gamble with their lives and hope that Han Li would spare them out of the kindness in his heart.
However, the three White Water Sword Sect cultivators were naturally unwilling to allow their enemies get away. As such, all three of them let loose enraged roars as they also set off in pursuit of the Starfall Coalition cultivators.
In the distance, two muffled thumps erupted in mid-air. Immediately thereafter, white light flashed, and two yellow clouds shot back as if they had been struck by some kind of immense force.
A gentle breeze blew past, and Han Li appeared out of thin air, appraising the two yellow clouds nearby with a cold deriding sneer on his lips.
A third inky-black eye had appeared over his glabella, and it disappeared again following a flash of black light.
The two Starfall Coalition cultivators within the yellow clouds were revealed again with bloodstained robes and extremely pale faces. They both appeared to have been severely wounded, and were in a state of shock and horror.
Ever since they had obtained these two Yellow Sand Buddhist Flags, they had managed to use them to escape from Nascent Soul cultivators on several occasions. As such, they were extremely confident in the ability of this pair of treasures. Otherwise, they wouldn't have dared to flee the scene even after witnessing Han Li's fearsome might.
However, Han Li had merely thrown two nonchalant punches through the air, and their confidence had been completely shattered. Only then did they realize that this young man was even more fearsome than they had anticipated.
Even so, the two of them certainly weren't going to give up and allow themselves to be killed.
Thus, they immediately gritted their teeth and let loose loud cries in unison as they blasted mouthfuls of blood essence into the yellow clouds.
The clouds immediately tumbled and surged before turning into a crimson color. The two cultivators then began to join their voices in a chant, clearly preparing to unleash their final trump card.
A cold light immediately appeared in Han Li's eyes as he abruptly opened his mouth. Two piercing streaks of yellow light shot forth from within, appearing in front of the crimson clouds in the blink of an eye before instantly puncturing them.
Two anguished cries rang out from within the crimson clouds before the two cultivators plummeted toward the sea down below.
Right at this moment, Han Li pointed a finger at them expressionlessly.
The two small golden swords emerged from thin air again before revolving around the two Starfall Coalition cultivators. Balls of golden light erupted, instantly enshrouding the two cultivators within, following a vast expanse of blood began to rain down from above.
Han Li didn't even afford the two a chance to unleash their secret technique before putting an end to their lives.
Only then did he wave his hand toward the two crimson clouds.
The crimson light on those clouds quickly receded, and they reverted back into yellow clouds before flying toward him.
Han Li cast two incantation seals, both of which disappeared into the clouds.
As the yellow clouds approached him, they transformed into two yellow flags again before being stowed away up his sleeve.
These two ancient treasures were quite useful for fleeing from perilous situations. Of course, they served no purpose for him, but they would be extremely valuable for his disciples.
After stowing away his two flying swords, Han Li turned his attention toward the rest of the fleeing Starfall Coalition cultivators in a calm and collected manner.
During this brief delay, all of them had fled to over 1,000 feet away, and the fast cultivator among them had already become a black dot in the distance.
Han Li heaved a faint sigh before grabbing onto a spirit beast pouch hanging from his waist and tossing it into the air.
A loud burst of buzzing rang out as a swarm of golden beetles emerged from within. The beetles split up into five smaller swarms at Han Li's behest before hurtling toward different directions as fast as lightning.
Meanwhile, Han Li flipped his palm over and the two yellow flags appeared again for his inspection.
The swarms of golden beetles and the fleeing cultivators disappeared into the distance in the blink of an eye.
Not long after that, golden light flashed in the distance again as the swarms of beetles flew back from different directions one after the other. The three White Water Sword Sect also flew toward Han Li behind the swarms of beetles, but they were looking at the swarms with horrified and traumatized expressions.
It appeared that the three of them had just witnessed the Gold Devouring Beetles devouring living people, and had been greatly shaken by that gruesome visual experience.
After Han Li stowed away the beetles into his spirit beast pouch again, the elderly man stepped forward in a respectful manner, and said, "Thank you for saving our lives, Senior. If it weren't for your intervention, the three of us would most likely be dead by now."
"There's no need to thank me; I only saved the three of you because I just so happened to be passing by anyway. Now that Heavenly Star City has been surrounded, the three of you won't even be able to access the island at your cultivations bases. You should hurry up and go back. I have no interest in carrying useless baggage while I try to break through that Heavenly Windfire Formation," Han Li replied in an aloof voice.
The three cultivators knew that Han Li was right, and wry smiles appeared on their faces. As such, after extending some further words of gratitude to Han Li, the three of them returned the way they had come.
Han Li looked on with narrowed eyes for a while as the three cultivators departed before flying toward Heavenly Star City.
A journey of several tens of thousands of feet was naturally not a very lengthy one for Han Li. Along the way, he noticed several groups of Starfall Coalition cultivators hidden beneath large rocks or under the surface of the ocean.
Even though none of them as powerful as the first group he had encountered, which had seven or eight Core Formation cultivators among their ranks, there were still two or three high-grade cultivators in each group. These people were clearly stationed here to take care of anyone who managed to escape from the Heavenly Star City.
Han Li couldn't be bothered to pay any heed to these cultivators. He simply transformed into a faint azure shadow and glided soundlessly through the air above them.
None of these Starfall Coalition cultivators were alerted to the fact that they had just brushed shoulders with death.
When Han Li was only just over 50 kilometers away from Heavenly Star City, he finally saw some flashes of red light in the distance. After drawing even closer, he discovered that the entire island had been completely enshrouded under a veil-like layer of azure and red light.
Furthermore, he could hear the sound of indistinct rumbling akin to thunderclaps coming from the direction of the island.
Han Li raised his eyebrows upon making these observations, and he quickly made a series of hand seals, following which the barely visible streak of azure light he had transformed into was completely concealed.
At the same time, Han Li decelerated significantly, approaching the island at a much more leisurely pace.
After flying for several tens of kilometers, the situation around Heavenly Star City was finally completely revealed to Han Li.
There were countless black spots visible on the surface of the ocean in the extremely far distance. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that these were spirit boats of all types of different styles and models.
Some of them were as tall as pavilions with intricate carvings running along their hulls, while some were only around 20 feet in length with very crude and simple designs. There was also great diversity in the materials that these boats were constructed from, including light green spiritual wood, pristine and flawless jade, and even some completely pitch-black iron boats that glistened under the sunlight.