Upon entering the room, Yun Tianxiao spotted a male cultivator sitting at the room’s center. He appeared to be fiddling with something sparkling in his hand. Yun Tianxiao then swept his gaze across the room and astonis.h.i.+ngly found no sight of Yun Qin. Startled, his heart trembled as he grew vigilant.
He stared at the man and slowly said, “Who is your esteemed self and where is that girl Yun Qin?” The magic treasure in his body was already stirring restlessly inside body.
Han Li chuckled and raised his head, “Could it be that Brother Yun has already forgotten about me?”
“It’s you?!” Yun Tianxiao was greatly shocked when he clearly saw the man’s appearance. Without any further thought, he fled in a streak of light.
“Too slow!” Just after Han Li emotionlessly said this, a light pulsed from his hands.
Then with a flourish of radiance around Yun Tianxiao, five copper bands of varying colors appeared around his limbs and neck. These bands released a low hum before tightening and restraining him.
He screamed out of fright and hastily thought to release his magic treasure. However, his magic treasure didn’t move in the slightest as if it were shackled.
Yun Tianxiao was frightened out of his mind and couldn’t help but panic, loudly screaming, “Senior Swift Crane, please save me!”
But just as he shouted this, Han Li opened his mouth and spat out an azure streak of light. It revolved once around Yun Tianxiao before cleaving off his head. Then, without the slightest hesitation, Han Li s.n.a.t.c.hed the storage pouch from the corpse and recalled his Five Element Bands.
The chain of events had concluded at lightning speed. But at the same moment Yun Tianxiao’s storage pouch entered Han Li’s grasp, he heard a loud explosion from within the room.
The room’s wall had been smashed open and Daoist Swift Crane flew inside the room through the cloud of ash.
The old Daoist gloomily glanced at the beheaded corpse on the ground and turned his gaze to Han Li. With killing intent s.h.i.+ning within his eyes, he shouted, “You’re courting death!”
He then flicked his hand and a streak of blinding, scorching white light arrived in front of Han Li in an instant.
With pupils contracted and a trembling heart, Han Li wildly enlarged the Five Element Bands in his hand, covering his body in a multi-colored cylinder. At that same moment, he took a red and yellow jade scepter out with a turn of his hand.
Since this was the first time Han Li had blocked a Nascent Soul cultivator’s attack since reaching late Core Formation stage, he naturally had some interest in testing whether or not his incisive treasures could receive the attack. However, despite his calm exterior, he felt completely perturbed and uncertain.
Bang! White and rainbow light collided.
Han Li felt as if he was struck by a heavy hammer, and was sent flying before striking the wall behind him. His head was left spinning from the impact.
“Huh?!” While Han Li was still in a daze from the strike, Swift Crane let out an astonished shout.
With yet another white light appearing before his eyes, Han Li took a cold breath and resolutely waved his jade scepter. A red and yellow barrier of light appeared around his body from within the rainbow cylinder.
As a result, he was able to receive the next attack much better than the first. He only staggered a few steps away before regaining his bearings.
Han Li then steeled his heart as his mind began to stir, and a pair of silver white wings emerged from his back.
Leaving a roll of thunder behind, he instantly disappeared, dodging the next streak of white light. A moment later, he reappeared at another corner of the room.
Han Li had now identified the true form of Swift Crane’s white light. It was a small, jade hammer covered in sparkling white light and the oval head was covered in talisman characters. Although it was only the size of a palm, it released astonis.h.i.+ng spiritual Qi.
After Swift Crane’s strike had missed, his face stirred and he extended his arm. With a rustle of wind, the small hammer returned into his sleeve.
A trace of astonishment flickered from Swift Crane’s eyes as he said, “I didn’t expect that a Core Formation cultivator would be in possession of so many ancient treasures. What is your name?”
Han Li pursed his lips and was about to say something when the door of the room suddenly opened as Lady Fan excitedly entered the room.
Lady Fan gave Swift Crane a formal bow and spoke to him with an exceptionally respectful tone, “Senior Swift Crane! This is Senior Li who I specially invited in order to deal with the traitor Yun Tianxiao. I hope Senior will be at ease. I am willing to double any conditions that the traitor may have raised.”
When Swift Crane heard this, he frowned and turned his gaze to the corpse on the floor. His expressioned wavered.
Fortunately, Han Li only had to silently stand in place. However, Lady Fan appeared quite nervous as she watched Swift Crane’s expression.
Swift Crane eventually relaxed and said, “Alright, since this is an internal matter of the Exquisite Sound Sect, this old Daoist won’t meddle. But don’t forget what you just said, Lady Fan.”
Lady Fan felt her heart swell with relief as she pledged with a beaming smile, “Please be at ease, Senior. I won’t dare to break my word!”
The old Daoist nodded his head and glanced at Han Li with suspicion.
After a moment of silence, he suddenly asked, “Where did Fellow Daoist Li cultivate? Your appearance is quite unfamiliar!”
Han Li’s heart trembled and he pondered for a moment. When he opened his mouth to dispel Swift Crane’s suspicions, he was only able to utter, “Junior...” before his face pulsed with azure light and underwent a ma.s.sive change.
The wind spirit energy within his body had suddenly flared.
From its violent eruption, it was clear that Feng Xi was close by.
With fury and alarm, Han Li suppressed it with the entirety of his magic power. After forcefully suppressing the wind spirit energy, he felt cold sweat lining his body.
Han Li let out a breath of relief after saving himself from the crisis, but when he turned his gaze to Swift Crane, he saw a trace of astonishment. It then turned into a strange expression of delight.
Han Li suddenly thought of something and grasped his face. He instantly paled. The flare of Wind Spirit Energy had caused him to revert back to his original appearance.
A malevolent expression appeared on Daoist Swift Crane’s face as he shouted, “Han Li!”
Han Li let out a stream of curses in his heart. Without taking the time to think any further, he flapped his wings and suddenly disappeared with a flash of lightning, leaving only thunder behind. At that same moment, the old man flung his sleeve and disappeared in a streak of light. The only one left inside the room was Lady Fan who was left in a bewildered daze.
A flicker of silver light appeared above Twin Peaks Island, accompanied by the sudden appearance of Han Li. In the following moment, a streak of white light violently flew up from the island and quickly pursued him.
Han Li’s expression sank and he immediately imbued the Thunderstorm Wings within his body with Divine Devilbane Lightning. An instant later, he reappeared a hundred meters away. These flashes continued, each time with thunder left in his wake.
In the blink of an eye, Han Li had already been reduced to a small, black dot on the horizon.
When Swift Crane saw this, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He then came to the conclusion that the wings were certain to be a treasure from the Heavenvoid Cauldron and his heart grew wildly fervent.
With a shout, he transformed into a streak of blinding radiance and set off in hot pursuit of Han Li, tearing through the skies with booms left in his wake.
In an instant, the black and white dots could no longer been seen from the island.
In the lead, Han Li was slowly increasing the distance between him and Daoist Swift Crane with the incredible speed of the Thunderstorm Wings.
It wouldn’t take Han Li much longer until he shook off the Daoist Swift Crane with his current speed. But at that moment, the wind spirit energy flared once more within his body and continued to flare in regular intervals.
Han Li was forced to periodically stop and use his magic power to suppress the backlash of the wind spirit energy. However, this delay had given Swift Crane the opportunity to latch his spiritual sense onto Han Li, allowing him to ceaselessly pursue him.
However, this wasn’t Han Li’s biggest worry. The flares of wind spirit energy were growing increasingly violent, displaying just how close Feng Xi was to him.
Helpless and on the edge of despair, Han Li steeled his resolve and rushed towards the small island with the transportation formation. He hoped Lady Fan had truly given the order to complete the transportation formation and that they had managed to complete it by the time he arrived. So long as he was able to reach the island, he would have the opportunity to escape pursuit from Swift Crane ad Feng Xi.
Although the Thunderstorm Wings were astonis.h.i.+ngly fast, it consumed a significant amount of Divine Devilbane Lightning. As a result, after he gained enough distance from Swift Crane, he swapped the wings for his blood-red cloak.