Chapter 1248: Mad Dash
"You know the way out, Jin Tong?" Han Li asked as he raised an eyebrow.
"I sure do! Back when I was being held captive in the Ghost Valley, I was taken here one time to see an old man," Jin Tong replied.
"Who is this old man?" Han Li asked.
"I don't know, but he seems to be very important in the Nine Origins Temple. Even Gui Lingzi had to bow in his presence. However, he was very nice and friendly, and he instructed Gui Lingzi to treat me well. Right after that, he went into seclusion, and I never saw him again," Jin Tong replied.
"Do you really know the way out?" Han Li asked in a skeptical manner.
"If you don't even trust me, then who can you trust?" Jin Tong protested in a displeased manner.
Before Han Li had a chance to respond, Xiaobai interjected in a distrusting manner, "Are you sure you know the way out, Boss? We were only intercepted by Gui Lingzi because you took us down the wrong path, leading to your capture. And before that, there was that time when..."
"What was that?" Jin Tong snapped in a threatening manner as she gave Xiaobai a firm slap to the head.
"Ouch! Nothing, I didn't say anything. Let's all do as you say, Boss," Xiaobai hurriedly replied as he massaged his own head.
"Seeing as Fellow Daoist Lan doesn't know the way out, either, we may as well let Jin Tong lead the way. If we encounter any Nine Origins Temple cultivators along the way, make sure to avoid battle as much as possible," Han Li said.
"You can all count on me!" Jin Tong said with a confident smile, then looked around momentarily before pointing in a certain direction.
"That way!"
With that, Han Li's group set off toward a dense forest with Jin Tong leading the way.
There weren't many buildings in the Nine Origins Palace, and the buildings that were present in the area weren't particularly grand or majestic, but they were laid out in a very meticulous fashion, connected by elegant walkways and separated by beautiful gardens.
Han Li's group passed through three gardens in a row without encountering so much as a single Nine Origins Temple cultivator.
As they emerged from the third garden, they spotted a lake that was teeming with mist and spiritual qi up ahead.
It was impossible to see through the mist to the other side of the lake, but the sounds of an intense battle could be heard ringing out on the opposite shore.
Han Li took a glance up at the sky to discover a golden light barrier overhead, which was trembling incessantly from repeated explosions.
"Is there something wrong, Fellow Daoist Han?" Lan Yan asked in an anxious manner.
"Boss led us the wrong way, didn't she?" Xiaobai asked in a despairing voice.
"You're really pushing your luck!" Jin Tong snapped as she gave Xiaobai another slap to the head, and the latter hurriedly lowered his head.
"No, this is the right way. The sounds of battle coming from the opposite shore indicate that there are Reincarnation Palace and Nine Origins Temple cultivators fighting on the other side, so we should be getting further and further away from the heart of the Nine Origins Palace," Han Li analyzed.
"See? I told you I was right!" Jin Tong said with a pleased smile.
"That doesn't necessarily mean we're going the right way, Master. What if the Reincarnation Palace cultivators have already stormed into the core region of the Nine Origins Palace? In that case, wouldn't we be heading directly into the fray right now?" Xiaobai countered.
"I think you really have a death wish today!" Jin Tong snapped in a furious manner, and Xiaobai hurriedly began begging for mercy.
"There's no way that the Reincarnation Palace forces could've gotten that so quickly. Besides, the restriction up above still hasn't been breached yet, so it's very unlikely that the battle is taking place in the core region of the Nine Origins Palace," Han Li said.
"You're right, Fellow Daoist Han. The Nine Origins Palace is the most important location in our temple, so if its defenses really have been breached, then the battle raging on the other side of the lake would be far more ferocious," Lan Yan chimed in in agreement.
"Let's go. We'll fly over this lake, then find a place outside the fray and try to leave the area encompassed under the light barrier from there. Once we've managed to do that, I'll be able to get us out of here with my lightning teleportation array," Han Li said.
With a plan established, the group immediately sprang into action, flying toward the other side of the lake.
In order to avoid attracting attention to themselves, all of them had concealed their aura and were flying along just above the surface of the lake, where they could use the mist hanging over the lake as cover.
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The world's origin qi above the lake was so abundant that it resembled a high-grade spirit gathering array, and the mist was entirely formed by spiritual power that had crystallized into the form of tiny water droplets.
As Han Li and the others flew over the lake, the spiritual power droplets surged into their bodies without requiring any active effort from them to absorb them.
It was a blissful feeling akin to basking in a warm spring, and the fatigue that Han Li had accumulated from the previous string of battles was somewhat alleviated.
Right at this moment, a familiar voice rang out up ahead.
"Who are you?"
Immediately thereafter, a green figure appeared within the mist, and the entire surface of the lake was rapidly frozen solid, forming a thick sheet of ice.
The frozen mist up ahead receded to reveal a woman in a green dress, and Lan Yan hurriedly lowered her head in fear and guilt at the sight of her.
Immortal Lord Miao Fa's gaze roamed over Han Li's group, and a stunned and furious look appeared on her face as she exclaimed, "Han Li! How dare you hold Lan Yan hostage and trespass on our sacred Nine Origins Palace! And you've gone and released the Gold Devouring Immortal as well!"
Lan Yan was left in a state of exasperation upon hearing this. It seemed like Immortal Lord Miao Fa had automatically assumed that she had once again been taken against her will by Han Li.
"This Gold Devouring Immortal is my spirit pet to begin with, so I'm only taking back what belongs to me, and I'm leaving right now. How about you let us through, Fellow Daoist Miao Fa? That way, you'll be able to get back to dealing with those Reincarnation Palace cultivators. From the looks of it, they're about to break through the restriction soon," Han Li said.
Immortal Lord Miao Fa reflexively took a glance at the light barrier above upon hearing this, and a grim look appeared on her face, but in the next instant, she suddenly lashed out at Han Li, extending a palm toward him.
In the blink of an eye, six familiar rays of translucent light appeared around him, while something also seemed to have been in the process of settling above him.
Han Li instantly channeled his Reversal True Axis ability while grabbing onto Jin Tong, Xiaobai, and Lan Yan before shooting back in retreat, covering a distance of over a thousand feet in the blink of an eye.
A giant, hexagonal ice crystal had appeared directly above the spot where they had been standing just a moment ago, and it was giving off six rays of dazzling, blue light.
Those six rays of light formed six familiar, white, mirrored walls, but Han Li was already gone from between them.
Immortal Lord Miao Fa was clearly taken aback by the speed that Han Li had displayed, and only then did she notice the strides that Han Li had made in his cultivation base since their previous encounter.
"I'm not falling for the same trick again. We both have things that we're busy with, so I'll be taking my leave now."
Han Li had no intention of engaging in battle against Immortal Lord Miao Fa, so he channeled his Reversal True Axis ability again, vanishing from the spot in the blink of an eye.
However, just like during their first encounter, Immortal Lord Miao Fa had already encircled the entire lake in all directions with massive walls of ice.
Hence, Han Li had only flown less than two thousand feet when he was faced with one such wall of ice.
"Leave that to me!" Jin Tong yelled as she flew forward ahead of the rest of the group, and a layer of bright, golden light appeared over her body as she crashed straight into the wall of ice.
A resounding boom rang out as the entire wall of ice shuddered violently, and its center caved in significantly, while ring-shaped cracks instantly spread over the entire wall from the point where it had been struck by Jin Tong.
Immediately thereafter, the entire wall collapsed violently, and Han Li's group emerged from the other side before flying away in another direction.
"Get back here!" Immortal Lord Miao Fa yelled as she set off after Han Li.
A massive sheet of hexagonal ice had appeared beneath her feet, and it was gliding through the air at an extraordinary speed, carrying her in pursuit of Han Li's group.
Han Li had already released his time spirit domain, but he limited its size so that it only encompassed an area that was less than two hundred feet in diameter around him, just enough to encompass everyone so that he could use his time law powers to enhance their speed.
"Why are we running? Let's just turn around and take her out!" Jin Tong suggested.
"A mid-Great Encompassment cultivator is not so easy to kill, and if we’re caught up in a battle with her, we'll be sure to attract a lot of unwanted attention," Han Li said.
"Then what do we do now? We can't just keep running like this," Jin Tong said with tightly furrowed brows.
"Let's shake her off our trail first. Get ready!" Han Li said, and Jin Tong and Xiaobai immediately gave a collective, affirmative response, while Lan Yan was rather perplexed, unsure of what she was expected to get ready for.
In the next instant, countless arcs of silver lightning suddenly appeared around them, then became interwoven with one another to form a lightning array.
A resounding thunderclap rang out as Han Li and the others vanished from within the lightning array.