Chapter 352: Identity Exposed
The other four Black Wind Island cultivators were struggling with all their might under the lightning net, but they were like insects trapped in a cobweb, unable to break free no matter how hard they tried.
A sinister grin appeared on the bald man's face as he pointed a finger forward, and four thick bolts pillars of lightning instantly erupted out of the black flag above his head before striking the four cultivators in a flash.
The protective treasures around the three Body Integration cultivators were torn apart without being able to put up any resistance, and their bodies were reduced to ashes before they even had a chance to cry out.
The middle-aged man possessed a far superior cultivation base to those three, but a pillar of lightning was still able to pierce straight through him, splitting his body into two with explosive force.
However, he was able to take advantage of this opportunity to struggle free from the lightning net, and a vast expanse of crimson light emerged to envelop the two halves of his body before speeding away in a certain direction as a ball of crimson light.
The bald man immediately switched to a different hand seal upon seeing this, and black lightning flashed over the surface of his black flag, following which it swelled drastically in size before flying away in pursuit of the ball of crimson light, intercepting it in the blink of an eye.
Immediately thereafter, the black flag wrapped itself around the ball of crimson light before releasing a vast expanse of black lightning, and an agonized howl rang out as the ball of crimson light was incinerated into ashes.
All of this had taken place in the span of just a few seconds, and the bald man made a beckoning motion, following which the black flag quickly flew back to his side, reverting back to its original size as it did so.
At the same time, he cast his gaze toward the direction that Lu Yuqing had fled in.
Lu Yuqing hadn't been able to get very far in such a short time, but the elderly man was still unable to catch up to her.
The bald man immediately sped off in that direction as an arc of black lightning, and as a Grand Ascension cultivator, there was naturally no way that Lu Yuqing could outrun a True Immoratl, so the arc of black lightning was quickly able to catch up to her.
"Did you really think you could get away from me? What a joke!"
A cold voice rang out within the black lightning, immediately following which a massive black hand that was around an acre in size and formed entirely from lightning emerged out of thin air before grabbing toward Lu Yuqing.
Even before the giant hand had fully descended upon her, she was already struck by an enormous burst of pressure that swept up gusts of fierce wind, causing her to lose control in her flight and swirl around in the air like a helpless leaf.
A panicked look appeared on her face, and the feather fan in her hand lit up as it swelled to around twice its original size, following which she swept it upward with all her might.
A thick pillar of azure wind shot forth, and it was giving off an astonishing howling sound alongside faint spatial fluctuations, allowing it to keep the giant lightning palm at bay.
"That's... a Profound Heavenly Treasure!"
The bald man reappeared in mid-air with a surprised look on his face, following which he gave a cold harrumph as he thrust his palm forward once again.
The giant black lightning palm instantly swelled further by about twofold in size, and countless black lightning runes emerged around it as it also began to emanate bursts of law power fluctuations.
The pillar of azure wind was instantly crushed, while the giant lightning palm continued to descend, and all of the air beneath it seemed to have congealed.
Lu Yuqing felt the surrounding space constrict around her, rendering her completely unable to move, and a hint of despair appeared in her eyes.
Right as the giant palm was about to descend upon her, a burst of spatial fluctuations suddenly erupted beside it, immediately following which an azure shadow flashed past in a wraith-like fashion.
The giant lightning palm was instantly stopped cold in its tracks without any warning, then exploded violently into countless arcs of lightning that quickly dissipated.
As a result, Lu Yuqing was freed, and she was both stunned and elated as she immediately flew through the air, covering a distance of tens of thousands of feet in a flash.
However, instead of fleeing the scene, she began to inspect her surroundings with wide eyes.
"Who's there?" the bald man roared in a furious voice as he also began scouring the surrounding area.
Meanwhile, an alarmed look appeared on the elderly man's face, and he hurriedly flew back to the bald man's side before releasing his spiritual sense to sweep through the air, yet neither of them were able to detect anything.
"You have to be a True Immortal to have dispelled my attack so easily, so why are you sneaking around like a cowardly rat?" the bald man goaded in a mocking voice.
"I have no intention of getting involved in the conflict between Black Wind Island and Azure Feather Island. It's just that I have some ties with this woman, so it would be much appreciated if you could let her go."
An indifferent voice reverberated through the air in response, but neither the bald man nor his companion were to ascertain where it was coming from.
"You want me to let her go? Why don't you make me?"
The bald man abruptly turned around and cast his gaze toward what appeared to have been nothing but empty air, following which an incredibly thick pillar of lightning erupted out of his black flag to strike the precise spot that he was looking at.
A vast expanse of dazzling lightning exploded with an earth-shattering boom, causing that stretch of space to shudder violently.
The lightning quickly dissipated, but there was still no one there.
An astonished look appeared on the bald man's face upon seeing this, and right at this moment, a faint sigh rang out beside his ears, followed by an authoritative declaration.
"Let there be wind!"
As soon as the voice trailed off, the bald man's surroundings instantly changed drastically, and he was suddenly transported from the sea to a vast yellow desert.
Gusts of fierce wind were howling around him, and the desert stretched as far as the eyes could see with countless tornadoes raging on the horizon.
The bald man was astonished to see this, but he then immediately realized the situation that he was in.
"This is an illusion!"
Right at this moment, a streak of azure light pierced through his dantian. It was an azure flying sword, and there was a nascent soul pinned through its tip.
The bald man looked down with wide and incredulous eyes at the sight of the flying sword protruding out of his lower abdomen, and in the next instant, the azure flying sword destroyed the nascent soul before vanishing in a flash.
The surrounding desert faded away, and the sea was revealed again.
At this point, the bald man's body was completely limp and lifeless, and a large hole had been pierced through his lower abdomen as he plunged down toward the sea like a dead weight.
Right at this moment, a streak of silver fire suddenly emerged to strike the body, immediately setting it alight and incinerating it into ashes.
The elderly man's expression changed drastically upon seeing this, and he frantically looked around with a horrified expression.
Whoever the concealed enemy was, they were able to slay a True Immortal cultivator in an instant, so he was naturally no match for them.
With that in mind, the elderly man began to tremble with fear as he fell to his knees and implored, "Please spare me, Senior..."
However, right at this moment, a streak of azure swordlight flew out of thin air, then flew in a circle around the elderly man's body at an incredible speed.
The elderly man's expression instantly stiffened, immediately following which several gashes appeared all over his body, splitting it into pieces.
At the same time, his nascent soul had also been destroyed, and the chunks of his body plummeted into the sea down below.
The streak of azure swordlight vanished once again, and peace and quiet was restored.
Lu Yuqing was relatively calm in the wake of this turn of events, and after returning to her senses, she immediately extended a curtsey as she said, "Lu Yuqing of Black Wind Island sincerely thanks you for saving her life, Senior. Would you be able to show yourself?"
Concealed within the cloud in the sky, Han Li made a beckoning motion to recover an Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword, which was carrying a pair of storage tools and a small black flag.
He flipped a hand over to stow these items away, then prepared to leave, displaying no intention of revealing himself.
All of a sudden, Lu Yuqing's ecstatic voice rang out. "Brother Liu!"
Han Li was quite alarmed to hear this, and he immediately stopped cold in his tracks before turning back to look at Lu Yuqing.
At this moment, there was a layer of rippling black light within her eyes, and she was looking directly at him.
Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this. Under the scrutiny of her strange eyes, it felt as if he were entirely laid bare to her.
If she had been a cultivator of the same caliber as him, then he wouldn't have been overly surprised, but it was very remarkable that a Grand Ascension cultivator like her possessed such an uncanny ocular ability.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Han Li decided to reveal himself, descending not far away in front of Lu Yuqing.
Lu Yuqing faltered slightly at the sight of him, and Han Li was rather puzzled by her reaction, but didn't say anything.
A slightly sulky look appeared on her face as she said, "You didn't look like this back when we last met. Are you in disguise now or were you in disguise back then? Or perhaps you've never revealed your appearance to me?"
"If you're unable to see through my disguise, then how did you recognize me?" Han Li asked as he raised an eyebrow.
Lu Yuqing hesitated momentarily, then smiled as she replied, "I was born with a pair of Illusory Ghost Eyes that can see straight through the souls of others, thereby allowing me to identify them."
Han Li's expression remained unchanged upon hearing this, but internally, he was quite surprised that such an innate ocular ability existed.
Transient Guild masks could only alter one's appearance and aura, but not one's soul, so it was no wonder that she was able to identify him, and that left Han Li with a rather difficult predicament.
He had saved Lu Yuqing as they were acquaintances, and he had thought that he could simply save her and leave without being detected or recognized, but his plans had been foiled.
However, he couldn't just kill her in order to silence her. He simply wasn't such a cold and callous individual that he could do such a cold-blooded thing to an innocent woman.
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