A Mortal’s Journey to Immortality: Wang Yu’s Rebirth as the Reincarnation Dao Ancestor - Chapter 79

Chapter 79 Manipulating Gan Rushuang

The group was carving out a passage layer by layer.

The woman at the head, with a slightly youthful face, was giving her all in every attack, wielding a large azure sword with all her might.

This woman was none other than Gan Rushuang, a Core Formation cultivator.

The large sword in her hand was a talisman.

The other three were also taking medicine, absorbing mid-grade spirit stones to recover their mana, and bombarding the rock wall above with their top-tier magic weapons.

They had been working at this slow and painstaking pace for almost three days and three nights. Those

who were too tired would immediately lie down to rest for a while.

After a short rest, they would immediately continue working.

In the face of a life-or-death matter, they could not afford to complain. Even if these past few days had been extremely difficult.

When Gan Rushuang once again fully activated her azure sword talisman and unleashed a sword aura, the same sword aura that had just broken through the ground. When the three below saw the light streaming in through the gap torn by the sword energy, their cries of joy echoed throughout the uneven passage.

“Light? We’ve made it through? We’ve made it through…”

“Really?”

“Light! Light from the outside! Waaah, we’ve finally made it through the rock wall!”

Heaven knows how they endured those three days and three nights.

Before, they were as hopeless as walking corpses. If it weren’t for Master Gan’s unwavering encouragement and the direction she gave them to persevere, they would have given up long ago.

Now, suddenly, they saw hope, glimpsed the dawn—it felt so unreal, yet so tangible.

Therefore, they were happy, they were ecstatic, they wept with joy, and they embraced each other without regard for appearances.

However, no one dared approach the unapproachable Gan Rushuang.

Having lost her natal magic weapon, she was now a powder keg ready to explode at any moment.

“Finally, we’ve made it through?”

Gan Rushuang secretly breathed a sigh of relief, the huge weight that had been hanging over her heart finally lifted.

She was equally afraid of being trapped here.

The Crimson Forbidden Land was extremely strange. Although she had cleverly infiltrated it using her self-created technique, this shortcut had its limits. And this forbidden land had never been known to have any high-level demonic beasts above level 4 throughout history—this was highly illogical. Given the abundance of spiritual herbs here and the ancient environment, high-level demonic beasts should have been easily cultivated, yet none were present. There

was only one explanation for this bizarre situation: the great formation left by the Lord of the Forbidden Land was causing trouble.

So the question arose: what would happen if she revealed her Core Formation stage cultivation?

What seemed like a peaceful scene might actually conceal immense danger.

At that point, her life or death would be uncertain.

“Fortunately, judging by the sky, it’s still daytime outside, not too late. I should make it.”

As long as she left the forbidden land before sunset…

“Grandmaster, only a few feet of rock face remain.” A handsome male disciple stepped forward respectfully, his voice trembling slightly.

“Yes, thanks to your Azure Light Sword Talisman, Junior Nephew Lin.” Gan Rushuang nodded.

Before entering, she thought she was a sure thing, so she hadn’t brought any powerful talismans or incantations. However, unexpected events occurred after she entered, making her realize her overconfidence. Fortunately, Zhao’s daughter (Duobao Nu)’s Daoist partner, this Lin family member with dual spiritual roots, had brought valuable items; otherwise, they would have been in serious trouble.

“It’s the final moment. Cheer up and leave the forbidden area first.”

“Yes, Grandmaster.”

The three responded in unison,

their voices extremely strong and resonant.

In fact, the group didn’t need to deliberately boost morale at this point, because the sword energy from the talisman had already instilled a tremendous amount of morale in them.

It allowed them to see the light in the endless darkness, to see hope in the endless oppressive atmosphere—this in itself was the greatest encouragement.

Not long after,

several more sword energies rose from the stone basin.

After the sword energy passed, a huge gap appeared, and four figures quickly and awkwardly darted out.

The three disciples saw the stone hall in the distance and felt a wave of fear. They had tried to carve a passage from there, but the top-tier magic artifacts were only a minor scratch, and the power of the talismans was effective but consumed too quickly, far less effective than carving a path through the rock wall above them.

Of course, it was also entirely due to the seemingly inexhaustible magic power of their Grandmaster Gan.

“They’re out?”

After scanning their surroundings again, they were all immediately filled with tears:

“They’re out! They’re out!”

They no longer had to wait for the judgment of the forbidden area’s grand formation in that dark and sunless swamp cave!

As for Gan Rushuang, after closing her eyes and sensing for a moment, she suddenly looked towards the northwest of the forbidden area:

“In that direction? Hmph!”

…

Han Li was completely unaware of the escape of the Hidden Moon Sect members.

He was currently having a headache over a fierce battle that had broken out near his hiding place.

The one fighting was a scarred-faced cultivator with an umbrella from Tianque Fortress: Madman Feng Yue.

The other person was an old man from Huadaowu, carrying a dragon-headed cane: Elder Li from Huadaowu…

Both were top-tier experts from their respective sects.

His hiding place wasn’t far from where the two were fighting. More precisely, he was positioned on the very edge of the area where the fighting could reach him.

The two had been locked in fierce combat for a long time, employing a variety of techniques and displaying astonishing strength.

Having watched the fight, he was also amazed by their abilities. Both used a style that blended immortal techniques with top-tier mortal martial arts, and their skill level was quite high.

Elder Li’s movement technique was the ‘Linghu Step,’ a combination of top-tier mortal lightness skills and immortal techniques, both fast and unpredictable. He had dedicated decades to studying this footwork. In terms of its unpredictable and silent movements, it even surpassed his own Luoyan Yufeng Step. That wasn’t all; he also discovered that, excluding spirit beasts, his magical weapons seemed to be slightly inferior to his opponent’s in terms of offensive methods.

Then there was Feng Yue, whose hand skills were also exceptional, especially his spear technique. He actually applied his spear skills to the Yellow Silk Umbrella, combining offense and defense, maximizing its length and power.

It feels like Feng Yue was a martial artist before becoming a cultivator. He

‘s practically another protagonist archetype.

Furthermore, thanks to the top-tier magic weapon ‘Cloud-Stepping Boots’ and some kind of light-footwork technique, he wasn’t far behind the old man from Huadaowu in terms of speed and agility.

“These Cloud-Stepping Boots look really good…”

Hidden in the shadows, Han Li’s mind was still racing.

However, considering his current wealth, he didn’t want to cause

any unnecessary trouble. It was better to avoid complications. He

could simply buy two pairs of the same Cloud-Stepping Boots and alternate wearing them.

While he was observing and commenting on the battle, outside, the fight was nearing its end.

“The old man is about to lose.”

It seemed that Old Man Li had the upper hand, after all, his magic weapon was a top-grade treasure, and his footwork was unpredictable and elusive, giving him a slight advantage in both aspects. But Han Li noticed that Feng Yue had exploited a major weakness of the old man, expanding his advantage through this weakness.

Old Man Li’s weakness was the same as when he used the Luo Yan Wind-Riding Step: insufficient stamina.

Both the Luo Yan Wind-Riding Step and the Linghu Step were explosive skills that consumed a lot of stamina. In this respect, Old Man Li was even worse than Han Li, who had cultivated the Elephant Armor Technique.

The old man had failed to defeat Feng Yue despite several bursts of power, clearly indicating a significant depletion of his stamina. If this stalemate continued, his chances of survival would be slim.

The situation on the field did indeed take a sharp turn for the worse.

“Old man, let’s see how many more times you can use that strange footwork?”

Feng Yue had somehow acquired a mid-level low-grade defensive talisman, his body constantly enveloped in a layer of talismanic aura resembling golden armor.

It was practically a tortoise shell.

While the Dragon Head Staff could break through his defenses at full power, it would take a considerable amount of time, especially since there were other protective measures behind the talisman. Furthermore, Feng Yue’s Yellow Silk Umbrella was both offensive and defensive, not to be trifled with, and he also had two sets of throwing darts providing support and various forms of interference.

This made it impossible for Old Man Li to find a way to attack.

“Feng Yue, why be so ruthless?”

Old Man Li wanted to leave, but his opponent wouldn’t give him a chance. With the Cloud-Stepping Boots, he was relentlessly pursuing him, and he couldn’t shake them off. In addition, he had already expended too much energy, and now he was increasingly exhausted.

“So this is a relentless pursuit; we’ve done this more than once before.”

From the shadows, Han Li suddenly realized.

No wonder Old Man Li’s performance was so poor.

“Feng Yue, stop! Do you really want to fight to the death? I’ve already said I’ll keep quiet about the Zhao family girl from the Hidden Moon Twins. If you continue to pester me, I’ll really spread the news everywhere!” Old Man Li was now somewhat blustering but actually weak.

“So Old Monster Li saw you kill Duobao Nu? No wonder.”

Han Li finally understood why Feng Yue was so bloodthirsty.

He immediately understood Feng Yue’s actions.

Duobao Nu had a powerful background; how could Feng Yue feel at ease if Li didn’t die? He must be afraid that after leaving the Blood Forbidden Land, news of Duobao Nu’s death would leak out, thus drawing attention to the Core Formation expert from the Hidden Moon Sect behind Duobao Nu.

This feud was unsolvable.

For his own future peace, Feng Yue could only ask Old Monster Li of the Blade Transformation Pavilion to die.

A fight to the death.

“Li, you have no chance.”

The yellow umbrella was drawn, powerful and heavy, showing no mercy.

“You madman…”

In the arena, Old Man Li was truly at his wit’s end; continuing this stalemate would surely lead to his death.

After much deliberation, he feigned an opening.

But little did he know, his trap couldn’t withstand Feng Yue’s grand scheme: Feng Yue had just cast another mid-level defensive talisman upon himself. The first was a Golden Scale Talisman, which created a halo of golden light around his body, resembling scales protecting him, making him indestructible. This time, it was a Wooden Cage Talisman. Upon being thrown to the ground, countless thick tree roots immediately sprouted, attempting to envelop the two of them in a tree-like ball for protection.

Old Man Li naturally refused and tried to retreat.

However, relying on the protection of the mid-level Golden Scale Talisman, Feng Yue, wielding his dragon-headed staff, pressed forward and grabbed the previously slippery Old Man Li.

One wrong move, and everything collapsed .

A firebird, about a foot long, flew out from the talisman with a soft cry. As it spread its wings, it instantly expanded to over ten feet in size, then flew rapidly towards the two, swallowing them both in the blink of an eye. It seemed like a mutually assured destruction tactic, but only one person was burned to ashes.

Feng Yue was completely unharmed.

“A mid-level water shield talisman? Just how many mid-level talismans did that Zhao family woman from the Hidden Moon Sect provide you?” These were Old Monster Li’s dying words, filled with resentment.

“Not many, but enough to kill you, old bastard.”

After cleaning up the battlefield, Han Li thought Feng Yue would leave.

But the fellow looked towards the large rock where he was hiding:

“You’ve been spying here for quite a while, have you seen enough?”

At first, Han Li thought Feng Yue was bluffing him.

He was quite confident in his concealment.

However, soon, a mid-level firebird talisman was activated, and the transformed firebird attacked the large rock where he was hiding:

“Come out.”

…

At this point, how could Han Li dare to harbor any more illusions?

He immediately withdrew his Concealment and Hiddenness spells, rose, and used his magic power and brute force to violently lift the massive boulder, weighing at least ten tons, from above. Then, he swiftly retreated to the side, dodging the firebird.

How had he been exposed?

Han Li was utterly bewildered just a moment ago.

The next second, the Howling Eagle, which had been observing the situation from the canopy of a nearby tree, saw him attacked and immediately took flight, letting out a long cry. Han Li instantly realized what had happened.

It wasn’t him who had been exposed; it was the Howling Eagle.

Although the Howling Eagle was hidden in the distant treetops, its gaze was fixed on this area, observing it intently. This detail wouldn’t be unusual for a newcomer to the forbidden area. But for a seasoned veteran like Feng Yue, who had repeatedly entered the forbidden area to kill and rob, the Howling Eagle’s habits were all too clear.

Whether it was wild or not, the eagle could tell at a glance.

In other words,

for an experienced person, seeing a bird-like spirit beast like the Howling Eagle focusing on a certain direction for an extended period meant that the Howling Eagle’s master was definitely in that direction. Without exception.

This is the experience of a deadbeat.

The firebird transformed from the Firebird Talisman melted the boulder and continued its pursuit, moving at great speed and bringing a strong sense of danger.

Seeing this, Han Li used the Luo Yan Wind Control Step to its fullest extent, then fled into the distance without looking back, while continuously throwing mid-to-low-grade ice and water attribute talismans behind him. He had quite a few of these talismans.

“So fast! How come he’s using the same method as that old geezer? Is this ever going to end?”

Feng Yue felt a headache coming on after seeing Han Li’s movement technique.

However, unsure if the fleeing person had overheard his conversation with Li Laoguai of Huadaowu, he still decided to kill the innocent rather than let the guilty go free.

Moreover, he noticed another thing about Han Li that displeased him:

“Wearing the attire of my Tianque Fortress? Could this person be a disciple of my Tianque Fortress? But I’ve never seen him before!”

He immediately considered another possibility:

“Heh, you bastard, you wouldn’t be impersonating a disciple of my Tianque Fortress and doing bad things behind my back, would you?”

He immediately gave chase

, clad in his Cloud-Stepping Boots. Han Li headed straight for a canyon.

After unleashing his speed, he was evenly matched with Feng Yue.

The distance between them remained constant.

“Let’s see how long you can hold out,”

the scarred man said relentlessly.

Han Li remained unhurried.

He even had the mind to ask:

“When did you discover where I was hiding?”

He wanted to learn from their experience.

On Feng Yue’s side, whether out of interest or to lull Han Li into a false sense of security, he actually responded:

“The moment your stupid bird looked at the large rock where you were hiding for the third time, I knew someone was hiding in that direction.”

“I see.”

Han Li nodded.

He’d learned his lesson.

“Actually, it wasn’t just me who discovered you; that old geezer surnamed Li discovered you too.”

“That guy from Huadaowu?”

“Yes, he discovered your presence almost at the same time as me. At the time, he wanted to drag you into this, thinking of using the aftershocks of the battle to destroy that large rock and force you to reveal yourself, but I interrupted and stopped him, preventing the aftershocks from reaching you.”

Why say so much?

Han Li raised an eyebrow: “You’ve got good intentions.”

“Heh, it’s a pity about that guy surnamed Li. Because he was worried about directly offending you by diverting the trouble, he didn’t directly reveal your whereabouts. If he had been more ruthless and forced you out earlier, the two of you working together would have caused me a lot more trouble. And now it seems that it’s fortunate that I stopped that guy surnamed Li back then, otherwise, with your skills, I would most likely be the one who died just now.”

One person faster than him was already troublesome enough.

Two people whose speed and skills were no less than his would be even more troublesome.

“That is indeed a pity. If I had known that you two had discovered me earlier, I would definitely have joined forces with old man Li to take you down first… Madman Feng Yue.” It seems that Feng Yue is a bit smug and talkative.

After rushing into the valley and running for a while, Han Li began to take something out of his storage bag.

It was a small flag.

After taking it out, he casually threw it into the woods on both sides of the mountain wall.

The small flag disappeared quickly after sinking into the soil.

Feng Yue, who was hot on his heels twenty or thirty feet behind, saw everything but had no time to stop and check the situation.

This was a calculated move.

Stopping to check would mean letting Han Li escape.

But to kill Han Li, he had to continue the pursuit without stopping.

This was a dilemma.

Either take the risk or give up.

“Did you drop array flags or something else? Kid, you’re not planning to use this secluded corner as your burial ground, are you?” Feng Yue probed.

Seeing Han Li’s youth, he couldn’t help but feel a little contempt.

“That’s right, this is the burial ground I found for you.”

Han Li, who had dropped five array flags in a row, suddenly stopped.

“Hmph, boastful.”

Feng Yue snorted coldly and also stopped. He narrowed his eyes and smiled coldly. The scar he had deliberately inflicted years ago trembled, looking quite ferocious.

Han Li simply shrugged at this.

He then slapped the ground:

“Then we’ll wait and see.”

His spiritual energy rippled outwards, and a large amount of mist instantly rose in the valley, which stretched for dozens of feet. In the blink of an eye, the mist was boiling, almost obscuring everything.

This was no ordinary formation; it was the improved version of the small-scale illusionary formation that Fairy Hong Fu had given him years ago.

Although called a small formation, it could actually be expanded to cover an area of a hundred feet, completely enveloping the entire cave dwelling area within that radius.

“Illusionary formation?”

Feng Yue was initially taken aback, then relaxed slightly.

An illusionary formation, however, posed little threat to him.

He tried to retreat the way he came, but he couldn’t get out.

“Huh? What’s going on?”

“Oh no, the fog in this formation has the ability to interfere with the five senses! Am I trapped here?”

Damn it, I was too hasty!

I didn’t expect this guy to be a formation master who knows how to use formations…

“Should I try using a mid-level Earth Escape Talisman or a Wood Escape Talisman?”

No rush.

It’s not that bad yet.

After hesitating for a moment, he patted his storage bag and took out the mid-level Water Shield Talisman and three low-level high-grade talismans.

All three were wind attribute talismans. After activating them, a gale began to sweep around him within a range of seven or eight zhang, and the three wind walls turned into three wind tornadoes arranged in a triangular shape. While dispersing the fog, they also reopened his vision.

“Huh? What’s wrong with this illusionary formation? The three wind wall talismans can’t even blow away this fog?”

Seeing this, Feng Yue’s sense of unease intensified.

Just as he was both surprised and frightened by the wonder of this formation, something crystalline was shimmering in the sky.

The next moment, hundreds of ice spikes fell straight down, covering an area of dozens of feet.

Feng Yue looked up and saw the large number of ice spikes attacking through the mist, and was suddenly startled again:

“You also have a mid-level talisman?”

He reacted quickly and immediately chose the Firebird Talisman to destroy the ice spikes attacking him.

This way, he could not only save effort but also observe his surroundings.

After scanning the surroundings, he found that Han Li’s methods were far more numerous and troublesome than he had imagined, so he immediately probed:

“Fellow Daoist, how about we stop? Neither of us can do anything to the other. Although your illusionary formation is not simple, I can indeed not do anything to you with the help of the formation. But it lacks lethality. At most, you can only delay me here for a while until the forbidden passage reopens. We don’t need to get entangled, let’s each go our own way…”

As long as the formation loosened, he believed that he still had a chance to fight back.

Maybe the young man would really hand him an opportunity?

In fact, at this moment, deep down, he no longer had much hope of fighting Han Li to the death.

He was simply doing his best and leaving the rest to fate. He

just didn’t want to miss any possibility.

But he didn’t know that someone had instead harbored murderous intent towards him!

The prey of a moment ago had now transformed into the hunter!

“You want to leave?”

Dream on.

“It’s only fair that we retaliate.”

After the Ice Rain Talisman, the three storm tornadoes had long since disappeared; it was time for some real rain.

With a flick of his sleeve, the rain began to fall, leaving Feng Yue, inside the maze, somewhat puzzled:

“This is… a beginner-level mid-tier rain spell? Kid, what are you doing? You think you can hurt me with such a basic spell?”

You’re underestimating me, Feng Yue!

“Don’t be so persistent. Even a mid-level offensive talisman couldn’t harm me, what’s a mere beginner-level talisman?”

His tone carried a hint of sarcasm.

But in action, he very cautiously opened the Yellow Silk Umbrella, hiding himself under this exquisite top-tier magic artifact.

The rain intensified, but Han Li remained silent.

The outcome was already decided.

Or rather, the choice between life and death had been made.

The result was clear from the moment Feng Yue disregarded the small illusionary array Han Li had set up and forced his way in.

A massive black shadow soared into the dark clouds above the mist.

Soon, the rain changed its nature.

The once clear rainwater now carried a hint of greenish-yellow.

The surrounding vegetation, touched by it, withered and died instantly, corroded to nothing.

Under the yellow umbrella, Feng Yue quickly sensed something amiss.

The umbrella’s drain on his magical power suddenly increased exponentially, and in the next instant, pits and craters appeared on its surface, as if it were being rapidly corroded.

“This rain…something’s wrong!”

Something was very wrong!

Even just a tiny drop of rain had caused the light barrier formed by his intermediate-level water shield talisman to tremble precariously.

What kind of rain was this?

“How does Little Six’s elixir taste?”

High in the sky, Han Li, riding on the back of the Black Dragon Little Six, looked down and murmured to himself.

Just now, Little Six had spat out a mouthful of elixir that posed a fatal threat to any being below the Core Formation stage. And this elixir was the Black Dragon’s strongest weapon. Han Li then combined the power of multiple rain talismans and gentle breeze talismans, scattering it as delicately as possible into the valley below.

Feng Yue had no information about the Black Dragon and his vision was obscured by the fog of the illusion array, so he was immediately caught in the trap.

“Escape!”

Feng Yue reached into his storage bag and took out three mid-level talismans.

These were his only means of escape.

First, he activated the Earth Escape Talisman, attempting to burrow underground. But soon, he was dumbfounded; the Earth Escape Talisman had failed.

“Trying to use Earth Escape? Then break my Mountain Earth Talisman first.” In mid-air, Han Li grinned.

Why did he choose this valley?

One reason was that the area was full of rocks and hard rock walls, making it inconvenient to use Earth Escape to infiltrate. He then added another intermediate-level Mountain Soil Talisman, hardening the soil within a several-dozen-foot radius of the valley, turning most of it into rock. Under these circumstances, if Feng Yue could still escape using Earth Escape Technique, he would have to be utterly awestruck by the talisman maker who created it.

It could be said that the Mountain Soil Talisman he obtained from the willful woman was specifically designed to counter Earth Escape Techniques.

“Wood Escape…”

Then, Feng Yue was even more dumbfounded.

Just a few breaths ago, the vegetation in the valley had been completely corroded by the super acid rain brought by the Ink Dragon’s Elixir, not even sparing the underground roots.

Without that vegetation, tree to tree, root to root, the Wood Escape Technique was also sealed off.

“Water Escape…”

This was feasible, but Feng Yue immediately stopped using the Water Escape Talisman.

No other reason than that.

There was indeed continuous torrential rain here, making Water Escape completely effective.

However, there was unclean Elixir inside.

If he dared to use Water Escape, the Elixir in the water would instantly dissolve his body.

“It’s over.”

The Ink Dragon descended from the sky, its claw striking Feng Yue’s body.

“What? A level 2 monster?”

Unfortunately, it was too late.

The light barrier formed by the water shield talisman offered some protection, but ultimately couldn’t withstand the explosive attacks of the black dragon, which were layered with talismans like the Giant Strength Talisman. The water shield talisman finally collapsed, and Feng Yue’s body was instantly slammed to the ground by a claw, turning into a pile of mud.

The diluted elixir stained his flesh and bones, instantly emitting plumes of green smoke, and within a few breaths, his flesh and blood were completely melted away.

Only a storage bag remained, which Han Li had managed to prop up with his magic:

“That was close.”

Little Six’s claw almost destroyed the storage bag along with it.

Luckily, he reacted quickly enough to save it.

… After

cleaning up the battlefield,

he put on his Cloud-Stepping Boots and jogged a short distance:

“Hey, these boots are nice, they fit perfectly.”

The Cloud-Stepping Boots were practically tailor-made for him.

Feng Yue was at most a small team leader in the transport squad.

“And this Foundation Establishment Pill…”

He got another one.

He also got a small dagger talisman and a small hammer talisman.

Then came another Azure Condensation Mirror and a large amount of wealth.

“The entire fortune of the Hidden Moon Twins is now in my hands. If that expert from the Hidden Moon Sect finds out, won’t he misunderstand something?”

He withdrew his thoughts and didn’t linger.

Such a commotion might attract other trial participants.

He planned to find a place to continue hiding and wait for the temporary passage of the forbidden area’s grand formation to open. However, halfway there, he sensed something unusual about his storage bag.

“What’s going on?”

Han Li immediately became alert.

His divine sense and magical power penetrated the bag, discovering that the Vermilion Bird Ring, which had been fixed by several sealing talismans, was trembling slightly.

Seeing this, his eyes flickered:

“Has that person from the Hidden Moon Sect finally escaped?”

This was within his expectations.

Because when he inquired about the unruly girl’s partner, he learned that the girl surnamed Gan was accompanied by the partner of the Treasure-Gathering Girl.

Those were direct disciples from another Core Formation family within the Hidden Moon Sect. While their overall strength wasn’t among the top ten in the Hidden Moon Sect’s competition, it was still in the top twenty or even the top fifteen. They were comparable to the top ten or even the top five of the other six sects.

With strength, spiritual root aptitude, and the background of being a direct descendant of a Core Formation family, they naturally possessed powerful talismanic treasures.

And these were high-powered offensive talismanic treasures.

They might even have more than one.

Therefore,

the escape of the Hidden Moon Sect survivors was only a matter of time.

In the original timeline, Nangong Wan and the original Han Li worked together, taking several hours to escape. During this time, the original Han Li activated the talismanic treasures, while Nangong Wan activated the Vermilion Bird Ring. The Golden Brick talismanic treasures did the heavy lifting.

This time, unless the Core Formation cultivators of the Hidden Moon Sect were foolish, they would personally activate high-powered offensive talismanic treasures to clear a path.

The speed would be much slower, but after three days and three nights, a passage to survival had still been opened for them.

“If only it had been a little later,”

Han Li sighed.

In this way, he could take out the Vermilion Bird Ring and demand an exorbitant price later.

Now, he

had two choices.

Either throw away the Vermilion Bird Ring, avoiding trouble, or

keep it to extort money from the other party.

Anyway, he had the Ink Dragon, so he wasn’t afraid.

After thinking for a moment, he prepared to casually throw away the Vermilion Bird Ring for safety, not wanting any unnecessary complications.

But on a small hill ahead, a beautiful figure suddenly appeared, causing Han Li’s hand, which was about to tear off the sealing talisman and throw the ring away, to freeze abruptly:

“They’ve… caught up with us?”

No.

The Vermilion Bird Ring’s earlier agitation was clearly the other party deliberately greeting him.

The other party was actually already nearby.

“Senior, Senior.”

Han Li stopped in his tracks, summoned the Ink Dragon, and tossed the Vermilion Bird Ring to the Ink Dragon to catch with its claws.

Whether it was friend or foe was unclear for the time being, and he couldn’t immediately return the other party’s natal magic weapon.

“Huh? You changed your mask?” A clear, pleasant voice came from the girl, not taking Han Li’s little action to heart.

Han Li: “…”

He really dared not use that mask anymore.

“Tsk tsk, young friend, you’re quite skilled. I just wonder how many forbidden herbs you’ve plundered with this black dragon?” Gan Rushuang’s tone suddenly changed, her face full of mockery and amusement.

Upon hearing this, Han Li’s back immediately became sweaty.

If his possession of the black dragon were exposed, then the amount of spiritual herbs he possessed would no longer be up to him.

If he produced less than he was entitled to, neither Hong Fu nor Li Huayuan would believe him, nor would they tolerate him.

This was the sect’s rule.

“Damn it.”

Han Li cursed inwardly:

Was he being manipulated?

But what could he do?

The black dragon would win in a one-on-one fight.

In the environment of the stone hall, the black dragon would surely die in a one-on-one fight.

But the problem was, they weren’t in the underground stone hall now; if the black dragon couldn’t win, it could simply run away. If he were to offend this Core Formation cultivator now, he’d be trapped in Yellow Maple Valley for life.

Moreover, while the Ink Flood Dragon itself had no weaknesses, he was the biggest one. One wrong move, and he’d become the opening, getting killed first.

He clearly remembered that this Core Formation expert, while not carrying powerful offensive talismans, carried a large number of mid-level defensive and support talismans, including many mid-to-high-grade ones. Didn’t he see that the person used mid-level talismans for travel?

Fighting was out of the question.

But how could he be so easily defeated?

And how could this woman be so certain he could secretly smuggle the spiritual herbs out of the forbidden area? Did she guess the golden treasure chest was in his possession? And know its wondrous uses?

No.

‘She’s bluffing me.’

“Senior, isn’t it inappropriate for you to repay kindness with enmity?”

These words made Gan Rushuang stiffen slightly, her face flushing with shame.

“Senior is too kind. My meager income is hardly worthy of the attention of a dignified Core Formation cultivator. But you, Senior, as a Core Formation expert, have used a special method to suppress your cultivation. Surely your gains far surpass mine? What do you say, Senior?”

You, a Core Formation cultivator, can’t possibly have less than him, a Qi Refining cultivator, can you?

“By the way, regarding the Moon Sun Pearl, the Hidden Moon Sect gained many more Core Formation cultivators through it, indirectly increasing the number of Nascent Soul elders in the sect, thus earning the reputation of being the number one sect in Yue Kingdom. Now, with your method of exploiting loopholes, Senior, I imagine the experts of the six sects would be happy for you to share this method, wouldn’t you?”

Trying to manipulate him?

Ha, who’s manipulating whom is still uncertain!

Come on!

Let’s hurt each other!

Anyway, he has nothing to lose!

Let’s see who suffers more.

The young woman coughed several times upon hearing this, truly choked quite a bit, her beautiful eyes widening in disbelief.

Since joining the Hidden Moon Sect, she had never interacted with anyone so “friendly.” When had a mere Qi Refining stage disciple dared to utter such threatening words in front of a Core Formation stage cultivator like herself?

“Fine, fine…you’re very good.”

Gan Rushuang was genuinely amused by her anger.

Her small chest trembled with rage.

Although furious, Gan Rushuang couldn’t retaliate.

On one hand, her natal magic weapon, the Vermilion Bird Ring, was suppressed in the other’s hands, and she might not gain the upper hand in a fight. On the other hand, she had been the one to threaten first, intending to gain leverage after the threat, but instead, she had been manipulated.

She wasn’t one to be a sore loser. If

she lost, she had to accept it.

Furthermore, although the masked youth from Tianque Fortress had controlled the Black Dragon to kill several of her Hidden Moon Sect disciples, it was only because the Hidden Moon Sect members had harbored malicious intentions first. Those who plot to kill will be killed—that’s a matter of course. She could only blame the Hidden Moon Sect for being less skilled. Besides, the reason she was able to retreat to the swamp and avoid being killed by the Lesser Five Elements Sumeru Forbidden Array was thanks to this boy’s reminder.

If she had been even half a breath later, she would have met

the same fate. In other words, he had saved her life, even though she was a Core Formation expert.

She couldn’t possibly repay kindness with enmity.

“What do you intend to do?”

After a moment of contemplation, Gan Rushuang asked.

“I don’t know.”

Han Li shook his head.

“Don’t know?”

What a fine “don’t know. “

The girl wrinkled her delicate nose:

the ball had been kicked back to her again; what a cunning junior.

“Hmph, how about this? I’ll give you a staggering amount of spirit stones, and you return my Vermilion Bird Ring. You’ll keep the secret of my entry into the forbidden area for my Hidden Moon Sect, and I’ll keep the secret of the treasure chest in that stone hall and the Black Dragon for you. We’ll be even then, what do you say?”

(End of Chapter)