Chapter 28: Alarmed

Chapter 28: Alarmed

The burly man let loose a desperate cry as he swept his hands through the air, releasing two bursts of light, one yellow and one black.

It was a pair of treasures, one of which was a black cane, while the other was a large yellow seal with countless runes flashing on its surface, and both of them hurtled directly toward the giant black mountain.

The two treasures were giving off astonishing spiritual power fluctuations, and it was clear that they were the burly man's trump cards.

He made a hand seal before letting loose a thunderous roar, and two enormous bursts of light appeared, one yellow and one black, and they were able to slow down the descent of the giant black mountain.

The burly man took advantage of this opportunity to flee back in retreat.

However, the two bursts of light only managed to resist for a brief moment. The burly man had only just managed to fly over 100 feet away when the giant mountain crushed the two bursts of light, then slammed into the ground, causing sand to erupt in all directions once again.

The burly man flew out of the sand, but he was no longer moving as quickly as before. His face was as pale as a sheet, and half of his body was drenched in blood, while his left arm was hanging limply by his side.

Even though he had reacted very quickly, the giant mountain was far too fast, and he was still grazed by it in the end, resulting in severe injuries.

The burly man threw up a large mouthful of blood as he fell onto the ground with a horrified expression. However, he then immediately gritted his teeth and flipped a hand over to produce a white talisman. Countless densely packed runes were inscribed onto the talisman's surface, and it was giving off powerful spatial fluctuations.

The burly man quickly chanted an incantation, mustering up all that remained of his magic power to try and activate the talisman.

However, right at this moment, another massive shadow appeared over his head, and yet again, he was faced with a falling mountain, this one descending at an even more alarming speed than the previous three mountains.

The burly man's expression changed drastically upon seeing this. He needed some time to activate this spatial talisman.

In his desperation, he hurriedly made a strange hand seal, and black light erupted from his body to form a black array.

All of a sudden, the five giant ghosts that had been standing in mid-air just a second ago appeared around him, forming a protective encirclement.

The eyes of the five ghosts flashed with crimson light, and they roared in unison as they swept their enormous claws through the air, unleashing a series of black claw projections that sped toward the base of the black mountain.

As soon as the claw projections struck the giant mountain, they were instantly shattered, and the downward momentum of the mountain was hampered slightly, but it was still crashing down with tremendous force.

The five ghosts roared in unison as black qi surged over their bodies, and the muscles on their bodies bulged, particularly those on their arms and legs.

They reached up with their thick, musclebound arms to resist the giant mountain with no regard for their own lives.

As soon as their arms came into contact with the giant mountain, they were instantly shattered by the enormous impact. However, the five ghosts were still roaring valiantly as they resisted the mountain with their bodies, refusing to take a single backward step.

The giant black mountain struck their bodies with ferocious might, and a sickening grinding sound rang out as blood and flesh flew in all directions.

The giant mountain was finally stopped.

The upper bodies of the five ghosts had been completely destroyed, but they were still standing with their feet buried deep in the desert sand, resembling five enormous pillars that were supporting the giant mountain.

The burly man heaved a faint sigh of relief upon seeing this, and he hurriedly injected all of his remaining magic power into the white talisman.

The talisman began to glow with white light, and he was ecstatic to see this.

However, right at this moment, a resounding boom rang out as the final mountain came crashing down, landing on the fourth mountain.

A burst of terrifying force descended from above, and what remained of the five ghosts' bodies instantly exploded into dust.

The burly man felt the air constrict around him, rendering him completely immobile.

The two giant mountains then came crashing down upon him, and his body was crushed into a pile of mincemeat before he even had a chance to cry out.

All of a sudden, a burst of golden light shot out of the sand beneath the giant mountain, then sped away rapidly into the distance.

Han Li focused his gaze on the streak of golden light to find that it was a miniature golden figure that was only around three inches tall. Its appearance was identical to that of the burly man, except its hair was completely disheveled, and it wore a horrified expression as it flew toward the northwest, clutching a silver storage bracelet tightly to its chest.

It was none other than the burly man's nascent soul!

"Go!"

Han Li made a grabbing motion, then with a casual flick of his wrist, he sent a streak of black light flying toward the burly man's nascent soul at an incredible speed.

Meanwhile, Gu Yunyue had only just managed to stabilize the spirit ark, and she just so happened to cast her gaze toward Han Li's direction. She heard a sharp screeching sound in her ear, but her eyes were unable to follow the trajectory of the streak of black light.

In the next instant, a resounding boom rang out in the distant sky, and the burly man's nascent soul exploded into a ball of golden light.

A black palm-sized object also fell out of the sky, and it was nothing more than a piece of normal iron essence.

As for the burly man's silver storage bracelet, it was drawn into Han Li's grasp with a casual wave of his hand. He then flew over to the five scattered mountains, shrinking them back down to their miniature forms and stowing them away before returning to the spirit ark.

All the while, Gu Yunyue was staring blankly at him as if she were looking at a complete stranger.

Earlier in her panicked state, she didn't get a chance to try and identify the burly man. However, thinking back to the cultivation arts and secret techniques that he had unleashed, she was able to identify him as an early-Deity Transformation Stage elder of the Heavenly Ghost Sect by the name of Lu Ya.

He was particularly adept in the art of manipulating ghosts, and it was said that over a decade ago, he was able to hold his own in battle against two Origin Realm Temple cultivators of the same cultivation base.

Despite all of his accolades, he had been slain by Han Li with ease, and this had already exceeded the boundaries of Gu Yunyue's comprehension.

It had finally become clear to her that there was no comparison whatsoever between her and Han Li, and she was utterly astonished.

After a long while, Gu Yunyue finally returned to her senses, and she asked with a wry smile, "Fellow Daoist Han, are you really only a Nascent Soul cultivator?"

The awe and veneration in her eyes were clear to see.

"I'm sure you can tell that for yourself, can't you, Fellow Daoist Gu?" Han Li replied in an ambiguous manner.

"I'm naturally able to discern the level of your magic power fluctuations, but your prowess in battle far exceeds what should be possible for a Nascent Soul cultivator! Even among all of the Deity Transformation Stage elders of our sect, I can't think of any who would be capable of slaying other Deity Transformation cultivators so easily," Gu Yunyue sighed.

"My only advantage is that I possess a physical body slightly more powerful than most, I wouldn't dare to compare myself with the powerful elders of the Cold Flame Sect," Han Li replied with a shake of his head, then spoke no further on the subject.

Instead, he directed his gaze toward Liu Le'er and Yu Menghan, who were still laying on the ground in an unconscious state, and he swept a sleeve through the air to release a burst of azure spiritual light that passed over the two.

Both of the young women slowly awakened, but as they opened their eyes, they were a little disoriented.

As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Liu Le'er quickly recalled what had just happened, and she sat bolt upright with an alarmed expression.

"Brother Rock! You..."

"Don't worry, everything's fine now. We can continue onward," Han Li said in a gentle voice, looking as if nothing had happened.

……

"Peak Master, according to the message that Martial Niece Gu just sent back, that vagrant cultivator with the Han surname definitely isn't just some ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator. Who could've thought that she would run into such an interesting character on this trip?"

Inside a conference hall within a certain mountain in the Cold Flame Sect, a burly man with a coarse and rugged appearance was speaking to a middle-aged man in a scholarly robe.

The middle-aged man was clean-shaven and was wearing an azure robe, holding an ancient azure scroll in his hands, giving him the appearance of an elegant and refined scholar.

"The fact that he was able to kill an early-Deity Transformation cultivator with the power of his physical body alone indicates that he's clearly a high-grade body cultivator," the azure-robed man replied with a nod.

"In any case, it's certainly great news that the Heavenly Ghost Sect has lost one of its Deity Transformation Stage elders. I must say, I'm very interested in this vagrant cultivator," the burly man chuckled with a hint of triumph in his eyes.

A faint smile also appeared on the azure-robed man's face upon hearing this, and he said, "In that case, I'll get you to greet him in person once he arrives. I'm sure you know what needs to be done."

"Yes," the burly man replied.