Chapter 499: Confrontation
All of this had taken place over the span of just a few seconds, and Feng Tiandu let loose an involuntary muffled groan upon having his spirit domain destroyed, seemingly having suffered some severe internal injuries.
His expression changed drastically at the sight of the oncoming staff projection, and he shot back in retreat while making a frantic string of hand seals.
A black scroll flew out of his body, then unfurled itself to reveal that a lone, steep black mountain was painted upon it.
The scroll released countless rays of black light, while the black mountain that was depicted shuddered violently, then flew out of the scroll and rapidly swelled to over 1,000 feet with black mist swirling all around it.
The black mist around the mountain was filled with countless black runes that were giving off an incredibly heavy aura, and it was clear that this was a formidable treasure.
As soon as the black mountain appeared, the staff projection also arrived, and the black mist around the mountain was instantly scattered upon contact amid an earth-shattering boom.
In the instant that the two collided, a vast explosion of blue and black light instantly erupted in all directions, and the entire mountain shuddered violently.
Countless cracks began to appear on its surface, following which it exploded with tremendous force, sending countless loose rocks flying in all directions, while the black scroll was also torn into two.
However, the blue staff projection had also expended all of its power up to this point, and it flashed a few times before fading away.
Even though Feng Tiandu wasn't struck by the giant staff projection, he was still sent flying back several thousand feet by the shockwaves resulting from the clash, and a stunned look flashed through his eyes after he steadied himself.
Meanwhile, the projection of the giant blue figure rapidly shrank down before fading altogether to reveal Luo Qinghai.
At this point, he had already reverted back to his human form, and there were rings of incredibly dense blue light surging out of his body, but his complexion was extremely pale.
The four Vast Flow Palace Golden Immortals and Nan Kemeng hurriedly flew over to his side before forming a protective encirclement around him.
"I'm fine," Luo Qinghai reassured as he flipped a hand over to produce a golden pill, which he promptly devoured.
An intrigued look flashed through Han Li's eyes as he noticed that the aura emanating from the pill was rather similar to that of the Golden Soul Pill.
A burst of golden light flashed over Luo Qinghai's face, and his complexion quickly returned to normal.
Meanwhile, the battle between Jin Tong and Qi Tianxiao was still raging, and a resounding clash took place between the two.
Jin Tong was sent flying by an eruption of gray light, while Qi Tianxiao was looking a little pale as he also shot back through the air as a streak of gray light.
As for Jin Tong, she was sent flying back several hundred feet, but she was completely unscathed, much to Qi Tianxiao's concern and dismay.
A furious roar erupted out of her mouth as she prepared to clash against Qi Tianxiao once again, but Han Li's voice suddenly rang out from beside her ears.
"Come back, Jin Tong."
Jin Tong hesitated momentarily, then made a series of threatening gestures at Qi Tianxiao before flying back to Han Li's side.
At this point, the Golden Immortal from the Blaze Dragon Dao had also arrived on the scene, and they were all gathered in a corner of the palace.
Meanwhile, Qi Tianxiao arrived by Feng Tiandu's side with a concerned expression, and the latter promptly devoured a black pill, upon which his complexion began to slowly recover.
At the same time, the elderly man from the Southern Dawn Race flew through the air as a streak of crimson light before landing beside the elderly woman.
With that, four distinct groups of cultivators were formed, and all of them were looking at one another, but none of them were in a hurry to make the first move.
Jin Tong flew back to Han Li's side before landing on his shoulder, then cast her gaze toward the two Golden Immortals from the Blaze Dragon Dao.
"When did these two show up? Are they good people? Are they strong?" Jin Tong asked.
A peculiar look flashed over the faces of both Golden Immortals upon hearing this.
Han Li raised an eyebrow as he cast his gaze toward Daoist Hu Yan with an inquisitive look in his eyes.
This was something that he wanted to ask as well. It seemed that the two Golden Immortals were allies of theirs, but he didn't know whether that was confirmed to be the case.
"The situation was too chaotic earlier, so I wasn't able to explain everything to you, but Dao Lord Ouyang and I have actually already made an agreement some time ago to join forces in the immortal manor," Daoist Hu Yan explained.
"Fellow Daoist Li, I didn't think that you would already be at the Golden Immortal Stage. Congratulations," Ouyang Kuishan said as he cupped his fist in a salute.
Han Li's mind was racing as he smiled and nodded in response. "You're far too kind, Dao Lord Ouyang. We were all part of the Blaze Dragon Dao at one point, so let's continue to work together from here onward."
Ouyang Kuishan and Daoist Hu Yan were both very pleased to see that Han Li was willing to accept this arrangement.
Han Li had shown himself capable of opposing Feng Tiandu on his own, and on top of that, he had a Golden Immortal Stage Gold Devouring Immortal on his side, so he was definitely a powerful ally.
With his cooperation, they now had a total of six Golden Immortals, making the most formidable camp present, and that was naturally going to be immensely beneficial for their plight in securing more High Zenith Pills.
"Having said that, there's something that I want to establish in advance," Han Li suddenly said.
"Please go ahead, Fellow Daoist Li," Daoist Hu Yan hurriedly prompted.
"We may all be working together right now, but the High Zenith Pills that each of us secure still go to ourselves, right?" Han Li asked.
Ouyang Kuishan's expression changed slightly upon seeing this.
However, before he had a chance to say anything, Daoist Hu Yan replied, "Of course. We're only joining forces to ward off the enemies present, but it's still up to ourselves to secure High Zenith Pills."
Ouyang Kuishan's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, and he exchanged a subtle glance with the other Blaze Dragon Dao Golden Immortal.
They were currently the two weakest cultivators in the group, so they had the worst chances of securing High Zenith Pills, but seeing as both Daoist Hu Yan and Han Li approved of this arrangement, they had no choice but to agree as well.
"Good," Han Li said as a faint smile appeared on his face, following which he turned his gaze back to the green pill cauldron.
He had already fulfilled his promise of helping Daoist Hu Yan secure a High Zenith Pill, so he no longer had any qualms.
Meanwhile, Luo Qinghai was also observing Han Li's group with a hint of wariness in his eyes.
At this point, only three of the nine High Zenith Pills had emerged, so there were still six left, and no one was in any hurry to strike.
The Dawn Fall Sect only had two people left, and Feng Tiandu had already displayed all of his trump cards. On top of that, he was undoubtedly severely taxed after that grueling battle, so he was no longer a cause for concern.
Instead, it was actually Han Li's camp that posed the biggest threat, given his time law domain and the Gold Devouring Immortal on his side.
Han Li and the others all bristled slightly at the sight of the rather unfriendly gaze that Luo Qinghai was directing their way.
Just now, Luo Qinghai had displayed High Zenith Stage power to break Feng Tiandu's spirit domain, and even though his aura had subsided since then, everyone was still quite wary of him.
"Be careful of Luo Qinghai, everyone. He possesses the bloodline of the true spirit Wa Serpent. [1] If I'm not mistaken, he must've devoured the true spirit core of a High Zenith Stage Wa Serpent just now, thereby allowing him to forcibly elevate his own cultivation base to the High Zenith Stage. Of course, in that form, he can't compare with a true High Zenith cultivator, but he's still not to be underestimated," Daoist Hu Yan informed Han Li and the others through voice transmission.
Everyone's expressions changed slightly upon hearing this.
Han Li had once read some records pertaining to true spirit cores, so he knew that they were the origins of a true spirit being's bloodline.
Once a normal cultivator perished, it was very difficult for someone else to use their body of nascent soul, but this was different in the case of true spirit cores.
As long as one possessed the same bloodline, they would be able to use a true spirit core to unleash power far beyond their own. However, this was quite a risky move to make, and it was also very taxing on one's spiritual sense.
Han Li took a glance at Luo Qinghai, then asked through voice transmission, "Fellow Daoist Hu Yan, in your opinion, has Luo Qinghai completely exhausted the power of that true spirit core?"
"I don't think so. Given how cunning he is, I'm sure he wouldn't prematurely show his hand, so we have to be careful," Daoist Hu Yan warned in a solemn voice.
Everyone immediately nodded in response.
Han Li then took a glance at Feng Tiandu's duo before quickly shifting his gaze to the pair of Southern Dawn beings, upon which a peculiar look flashed through his eyes.
"Do you know those two, Fellow Daoist Li?" Daoist Hu Yan asked as he noticed the direction of Han Li's gaze.
"No," Han Li replied with a shake of his head.
The pill that the elderly woman had brought out was most definitely an Origin Void Pill.
He had personally refined that pill, so there was no mistaking it.
However, at the time, he had given the pill to Wyrm 3, so how had it fallen into this woman's hands? Could it be that this was Wyrm 3 in disguise?
The only problem with that theory was that the cultivation base didn't seem to match up.
"We need to keep an eye on those two, especially that woman. She was able to avoid those stone statues just now with ease, but they don't seem to be interested in High Zenith Pills. It seems like their objective is that living corpse instead, and it's unclear what they're up to," Daoist Hu Yan mused in a rather perplexed manner.
Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this. That was exactly what he was wondering as well.
In fact, not only was the elderly woman interested in that living corpse, the same seemed to apply to Feng Tiandu as well.
The fact that it was situated in such an important place in the High Zenith Palace indicated that it was definitely no ordinary corpse, and the aura that had erupted out of its body after being fed that Origin Void Pill was also nothing to be scoffed at.
In contrast with the prior commotion, the palace was currently so silent that even the faintest of pin drops could be heard, and the atmosphere was rather oppressive, while the situation had also become quite murky.
Right at this moment, three of the dragons on the surface of the green pill cauldron lit up in unison with five-colored light, indicating that another three High Zenith Pills were about to take shape!
A vast expanse of golden light gathered in the sky above the golden palace once again, forming an enormous golden vortex that was significantly bigger than the two previous ones.
Everyone immediately turned their attention to the pill cauldron upon seeing this.
1. In Chinese mythology, the goddess of creation, Nüwa, is a half-human, half-snake being, and that's what "Wa Serpent" is referring to here. ?
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