Chapter 1055: Each Man for Himself
It didn't take long before everyone arrived in front of the valley, and that was where they drew to a halt.
There were even more Fire Age Fireflies nesting beneath the valley than on the surface, so they couldn't advance any further beyond this point.
"I'm very grateful that all of you have chosen to stay, but this is as far as I can take all of you. From this point onward, all of you will have to fend for yourselves," Su Anqian said as she stowed her yellow flag away.
All those who had chosen to stay were confident in their ability to deal with the Fire Age Fireflies on their own, so they calmly accepted this arrangement.
"Good luck, everyone."
The three Heavenly Water Sect cultivators began to chant an incantation together, and they transformed into three blue shadows that flew out of the ground before flying rapidly into the valley.
Valley Master Fu flipped a hand over to produce an azure talisman that he adhered to his own body, and countless azure runes instantly appeared around him, following which his body turned semi-transparent as he flew out behind the Heavenly Water Sect trio.
Meanwhile, a thick layer of yellow stone armor appeared over the body of the bearded man, and as soon as he was encased in this suit of armor, his aura completely faded away, making him resemble an inanimate stone statue.
Instead of flying up to the surface, he continued to advance into the valley while remaining underground.
The remaining seven or eight itinerant Golden Immortals seemed to be a group of acquaintances, and they formed a circle together, following which a golden-haired young man swept a sleeve through the air to release a golden wooden plaque.
The plaque was over a hundred feet in size, and it was radiating bright golden light that gave off bursts of time law power fluctuations.
All of the Golden Immortals placed their hands onto the wooden plaque, and the golden light radiating from it instantly swelled up to encompass them all.
The plaque then began to revolve rapidly on the spot, and all of a sudden, it vanished into the thin air along with the group of Golden Immortals, then transformed into a golden shadow that flew deeper into the valley.
That plaque was crafted from Divine Sun Wood!
Divine Sun Wood came from the Divine Sun Tree, which contained time law powers just like the Twin Birth Tree, and they were extremely rare, so Han Li certainly wasn't expecting to see such a thing here.
Following everyone's departure, Han Li also promptly set off, trailing along behind the group of itinerant Golden Immortals as an indistinct golden shadow.
Even though everyone had concealed their own auras, there were so many Fire Age Fireflies in the valley that it was inevitable for them to run into some.
Those Fire Age Fireflies were instantly alerted to their presence and began swarming them from all directions.
These Fire Age Fireflies were truly extremely difficult to deal with, and in particular, their flames of time were able to rapidly wear down any defenses that were raised to try and keep them at bay.
"How did you get in here so quickly, Fellow Daoist Shi?"
Jin Liu and the other Heavenly Water Sect cultivator, a handsome young man, were both also very surprised to see Han Li in the cave before them.
However, they had no time to wait for a response from Han Li as they were forced to contend with the Fire Age Fireflies that had swarmed out of the holes that dotted the walls of the cave.
At the same time, another cocoon of Fire Age Fireflies bulged violently over a thousand feet away from the entrance of the cave, then exploded as a rapidly revolving azure tornado emerged, forcing back all of the nearby Fire Age Fireflies.
The tornado resembled a living creature that made a beeline straight for the cave, and Valley Master Fu flew out of the tornado before rushing into the cave.
Immediately thereafter, a rift appeared in another cocoon of Fire Age Fireflies beside him, and a burst of piercing golden light erupted out from within before also flying into the cave, containing the group of itinerant Golden Immortals.
They possessed the lowliest cultivation bases out of everyone, and at this moment, their complexions were already deathly pale from excessive immortal spiritual power expenditure.
As soon as they flew into the cave, a burst of blue light flashed over its entrance, and the cave was completely sealed shut by a thick layer of blue ice.
At this moment, there was a fist-sized blue bead hovering above Su Anqian's head, giving off astonishing glacial qi and law power fluctuations.
The Fire Age Fireflies outside were furious to see Han Li and the others in the cave, and they screeched loudly as they blasted forth plumes of flames of time, while countless Fire Age Fireflies flew through the air collectively like a flying battering ram before crashing repeatedly into the blue ice barrier.
The blue ice barrier was trembling violently while rapidly melting away, and it looked as if it could shatter at any moment.
Su Anqian gritted her teeth as she made a hand seal upon seeing this, and the blue bead above her head immediately flew into the ice barrier in a flash.
A layer of translucent blue light appeared over the ice barrier, instantly stabilizing it, but the flames of time were simply too much to ward off, and the ice was still rapidly melting away.
A concerned look appeared on Su Anqian's face upon seeing this, but there was nothing more that she could do.
Right at this moment, Han Li suddenly appeared in front of the blue ice barrier, then pressed a palm against it, releasing a burst of radiant golden light into the ice.
A layer of golden light instantly appeared over the ice barrier's surface, and it immediately became far less susceptible to the effects of the flames of time.
"You're using time law powers!" Su Anqian exclaimed upon seeing this, and everyone else also turned to Han Li with incredulous expressions.
Han Li's expression remained unchanged, but he heaved a resigned internal sigh.
He didn't want to expose his own powers, but the top priority at the moment was to keep out the Fire Age Fireflies, so he had no choice in the matter.
Of course, he wasn't going to explain to anyone how he had mastered the laws of time or how he had managed to enter the cave before everyone else.