Chapter 415: Abrupt Battle
Han Li faltered slightly upon seeing this.
This was the very same stone slab that contained the first half of the Great Universe Origin Arts that he had obtained from Patriarch Cold Flame.
At this moment, all of the runes etched upon the stone slab were glowing with radiant starlight, and as soon as it appeared it immediately began flying toward the starry light barrier in the distance as if it were being summoned by something.
The stone slab was quite valuable to Han Li, and this was clearly an abnormal turn of events, so Han Li certainly wasn't going to just let it fly away, and he immediately reached out to grab it.
The starlight radiating from the stone slab began to sway and struggle as it attempted to force its way out of Han Li's grasp, and it was doing so with such tremendous force that even Han Li's arm was trembling incessantly.
If an average late-True Immortal cultivation had been in his place, there was a very good chance that the stone slab would've already flown out of their grasp.
With his attention diverted, there was a momentary lapse in his concealment secret technique, and as a result, he and Lu Yuqing were exposed.
"Who's there?"
Patriarch Cold Flame and Xiong Shan immediately stopped what they were doing as they spotted Han Li's duo, and as a result, the pillar of five-colored light in the sky faded into nothingness.
Lu Yuqing reflexively took a couple of steps backward at the sight of the hostile looks on the faces of Patriarch Cold Flame and Xiong Shan, and she turned to Han Li with a concerned expression.
Han Li's brows were slightly furrowed, and he did away with his concealment secret technique altogether.
Xiong Shan took a glance at Han Li's duo, then said, "If I recall correctly, the two of you entered the immortal manor with the True Flame Sect. Why are you sneaking around and following us in secret?"
"That stone slab... You're Fellow Daoist Han!" Patriarch Cold Flame exclaimed at the sight of the gray stone slab that Han Li was holding.
"Long time no see, Fellow Daoist Cold Flame," Han Li said with a faint smile.
At the same time, he made a hand seal with his free hand, and countless azure runes instantly surged out of the hand that was locked around the stone slab, forming a seal around it.
The light radiating from the stone slab instantly diminished significantly, and its struggles also ceased.
Han Li then flipped a hand over to produce several talismans, which he adhered to the stone slab in an unhurried fashion, and only then did the starlight on the stone slab completely vanish, following which he was able to stow it away.
"Fellow Daoist Han? Do you know this person, Fellow Daoist Cold Flame?" Xiong Shan asked as he turned to Patriarch Cold Flame with a suspicious expression.
"Please don't misunderstand, Fellow Daoist. I've met him on several past occasions, but I definitely wasn't expecting to run into him here," Patriarch Cold Flame hurriedly explained.
Lu Yuqing's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this.
"Even if he is an acquaintance of yours, isn't it far too rude of him to have followed us in secret all the way up to this point?" Xiong Shan asked in a cold voice.
"I just so happened to see the two of you traveling together, and it seemed that you were going somewhere, so I decided to follow you out of curiosity. I certainly wasn't expecting to be led to the Light Frost Palace. Given how massive this palace is, surely you two won't mind if the two of us enter it with you," Han Li said with a smile.
At the same time, he casually made a hand seal, and the azure flying boat beneath his feet instantly shrank down significantly before flying up his sleeve.
He then swept a sleeve through the air to release a burst of azure light, which swept up himself and Lu Yuqing before carrying both of them to a spot not far away from Xiong Shan's duo.
Patriarch Cold Flame's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, and he turned to Xiong Shan.
Back at the Holy Puppet Sect, he had already established that he was no match for Han Li, and he didn't want to engage Han Li in a direct battle unless there were no other alternatives.
Xiong Shan's expression darkened slightly, and a cold gleam flashed through his eyes as he said, "If you want to enter the Light Frost Palace, then you'll have to show me if you have what it takes!"
As soon as his voice trailed off, his robes billowed outward as golden light erupted out of his body, and thick streaks of golden sword qi emerged, resembling the branches of a flowering tree as they swept directly toward Han Li with astonishing might.
Initially, each streak of sword qi was only around a foot in length, but they swelled to close to 100 feet mid-flight, and they had converged to form a golden sword lotus flower that was descending directly upon Han Li.
Even before the sword lotus flower arrived, a burst of formidable sword intent had already completely enshrouded Han Li and Lu Yuqing.
Han Li felt a burst of sharp pain over his entire body, and the flashing golden light radiating from the sword lotus flower struck him with some type of illusion, as if he could already see himself being torn to shreds by the streaks of sword qi.
He immediately drew upon his own vast spiritual sense as an instinctive reaction, and the illusion was instantly dispelled.
In contrast, there was a horrified look on Lu Yuqing's face, and her eyes were dazed and hollow, as if she had been plunged into the depths of despair by Xiong Shan's immense sword intent.
Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this, and he positioned himself in front of Lu Yuqing as 18 specks of starlight emerged over his body. As a result, he instantly grew a little taller, then threw a punch directly upward.
A burst of tremendous force was released from his fist, causing the surrounding space to warp and twist, and ripples that were visible even to the naked eye could be seen sweeping through the air.
The golden sword lotus flower's downward momentum was instantly halted, following which it shattered and disintegrated into countless specks of golden light.
The tremendous sword intent in the air also faded with the sword lotus flower's destruction, and Lu Yuqing shuddered before gasping for air, but at the very least, she had returned to her senses.
She had been completely immobilized by the sword intent just now, but she was still able to see what had just unfolded, and a complex look appeared in her eyes as she cast her gaze toward Han Li, who was standing up ahead with his back facing her.
The fearsome power released by Han Li's punch was only stopped momentarily by the golden sword lotus flower before continuing to sweep toward Xiong Shan with astonishing might.
Xiong Shan instantly felt the space around him constrict, and it was as if he had suddenly been trapped within a wall of iron and steel.
"You're also using the Great Universe Origin Arts!" Xiong Shan exclaimed as he made a hand seal with one hand, and his golden longsword instantly appeared in his grasp.
With his longsword summoned, his aura began to rapidly swell and take on a peerlessly sharp quality.
Immediately thereafter, he let loose a thunderous roar before slashing his longsword through the air with a flick of his wrist, and several huge streaks of golden sword qi swept through the air around him to free him from the constricting space.
He then began to chant an incantation, and his golden longsword flew out of his grasp before transforming into a giant golden sword that was several thousand feet in size, giving off formidable metal-attribute law fluctuations.
The giant golden sword slashed through the air before crashing into the force generated by Han Li's punch with an earth-shattering boom, and neither side seemed to be able to get the better of the other, with sword qi and fist intent erupting in all directions, causing the surrounding space to tremble violently.
Right at this moment, an indetectable smirk appeared on Xiong Shan's face, and a giant golden flag abruptly appeared behind Han Li amid a burst of spatial fluctuations.
The flag was radiating golden light with countless runes flashing on its surface, and it was also giving off bursts of metal law fluctuations.
As soon as the golden flag appeared, it instantly released countless thin golden threads that shot rapidly toward Han Li's defenseless back.
Lu Yuqing's expression changed drastically upon seeing this, but the golden threads were too fast for her to react to.
Right as the two of them were about to completely inundated by the wave of golden threads, a burst of starlight suddenly flashed over Han Li's body, and the Seven Bright Star Rings flew out, arranging themselves into the formation of the Big Dipper as they situated themselves behind Han Li and Lu Yuqing.
Radiant starlight erupted out of the Seven Bright Star Rings, instantly forming a thick wall of light.
A string of dull thuds rang out in rapid succession as countless tiny holes were pierced into the surface of the wall of light, but it was ultimately able to keep all of the golden threads at bay, much to Xiong Shan's alarm and dismay.
Right at this moment, another resounding boom rang out as Xiong Shan's giant golden sword was sent flying back through the air, while the tremendous force unleashed by Han Li's punch also faded away.
All of this had transpired in the blink of an eye, and Han Li remained standing on the spot in a calm and composed fashion, while Xiong Shan stumbled back a couple of steps before steadying himself.
He then made a hand seal, and the giant golden sword shrank down to half its original size before circling around in the air above his head.
Han Li paid no heed to the giant sword as he glowered intently at Han Li and the Seven Bright Star Rings behind him.
The Seven Bright Star Rings had appeared at the perfect time, and it was as if Han Li were a clairvoyant that had predicted the emergence of the giant golden flag.
"I've been here this entire time, so did you think that I wouldn't notice when you summoned that golden flag in secret before concealing it while the two of you were breaking the restrictions here?" Han Li asked with a faint smile.
Xiong Shan's expression darkened even further upon hearing this, and he made a hand seal, upon which the giant golden flag vanished from the spot before appearing behind him the next instant.
"I wonder if you had summoned that golden flag as a precautionary measure to deal with unforeseen danger, or if you were planning to use it on someone else," Han Li said with a faint smile as he took a meaningful glance at Patriarch Cold Flame.
A furious look immediately appeared on Patriarch Cold Flame's face upon hearing this, and he flew over 1,000 feet away from Xiong Shan in the blink of an eye.
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