Han Li's side had nine Foundation Establishment cultivators and over sixty Qi Refinement stage disciples. Though they were somewhat weaker than the enemy, they had the Four Evil Formation to rely on, so they were not without the strength to put up a fight.
So at Xuan Le's call, Han Li and the other cultivators flew upward one after another, hiding near the edges of the Four Evil Formation and silently watching the enemy's movements.
Han Li could finally see the attackers from the Demonic Path clearly!
Most of them wore robes in red and yellow, and from what he could tell, they seemed to belong to two different sects.
Standing at the very front were an ordinary-looking girl in red and a white-haired old man in yellow robes, apparently in his sixties or seventies. Their cultivation was nothing remarkable—Foundation Establishment early stage and late stage respectively—and they were chatting with smiles on their faces.
"Be careful. These people are from the Demonic Flame Gate and the Heavenly Fiend Sect." Lü Tianmeng, the only one among them who had clashed with the Six Sects on several occasions, warned the cultivators on either side with extreme caution, clearly quite wary of both factions.
Upon hearing this, Han Li and the others naturally heightened their vigilance and became even more cautious.
At that moment, the red-robed girl above stopped talking and turned her face, saying a few words in an indifferent tone.
Han Li and the rest were too far away to hear clearly. But every red-robed figure behind the girl took flight and slowly descended toward the Four Evil Formation in the canyon below.
Meanwhile, the yellow-robed old man silently waved his hand, and his yellow-robed cultivators instantly transformed into over a dozen streaks of yellow light, hurtling straight toward the Four Evil Formation—as if meaning to arrive first despite starting later. This made Han Li and the others inside the formation hold their breath involuntarily, and the more impatient ones immediately summoned their magical treasures.
These yellow-robed cultivators were not foolish enough to charge straight into the formation. Instead, they stopped about a dozen zhang away from the Four Evil Formation and revealed themselves. Then, all manner of magical treasures flew from their bodies, hurtling aggressively toward the great formation.
The clash of the treasures' brilliant lights against the green, red, blue, and yellow barriers of the Four Evil Formation produced thunderous detonations, causing the faces of the Seven Sects' people below to change slightly.
"Half of you deal with the Heavenly Fiend Sect cultivators—we can't let them break the formation. The other half keep watch against the Demonic Flame Gate cultivators!" Xuan Le of the Masked Moon Sect deliberated briefly, then said decisively.
He then leaped out of the formation, being the first to release a small, pure-white sword that transformed into a streak of white radiance, intercepting a flying blade and a bead-shaped treasure outside the Four Evil Formation.
At his words, the cultivators under Xuan Le's command also released their own treasures and surged out of the formation to meet the bulk of the enemy's assault. Han Li was naturally among them. He unleashed his now-masterfully-wielded "Golden Cicada Mother-Child Blades," and the golden net woven from several streaks of golden light immediately trapped a green halberd-shaped treasure.
Because the owner of this treasure, whom Han Li had deliberately chosen, was only at Foundation Establishment early stage—the same level as himself—the fight, though it looked spectacular with golden and green lights swirling everywhere in a seemingly fierce clash, was actually well under Han Li's control. He could even sneak glances at the other battle circles from time to time.
Things seemed to be going well enough!
Most of the cultivators who had intervened on Han Li's side were only at Qi Refinement stage, and their magical treasures were far inferior to the enemy's. It took roughly five or six of them working together to barely hold off one Foundation Establishment cultivator's attack. But because they had the formation's protection, these cultivators could retreat inside at any moment when danger arose, so no casualties had occurred yet. As for the other Foundation Establishment cultivators, they were each holding off one yellow-robed enemy in spirited combat, just as he was.
"So this is the strength of the Demonic Path's Six Sects..."
Han Li found it somewhat puzzling. If the enemy's strength was really just this, then it seemed defending the spirit mine shouldn't be a problem at all!
Just as he was thinking this, the red-robed cultivators from the Demonic Flame Gate finally, at their own leisurely pace, arrived at the edges of the Four Evil Formation. This immediately put the still-unused cultivators below—Lü Tianmeng and the others—on high alert, and some of the younger Seven Sects cultivators even looked eager to jump in.
The red-robed figures did not immediately join the battle. Instead, they arranged themselves into a peculiar formation. Then, at someone's command, each of them pulled out a large crimson banner emblazoned with a golden sun crow, blazing with red brilliance—clearly no ordinary objects.
"Oh no—these are Mad Flame Cultivators! They're going to unleash the Green Sun Demonic Fire! Stop them, quickly!"
When Lü Tianmeng saw the red-robed figures so calm and unhurried, a bad feeling had already begun to stir within him. The moment they took formation and drew out the banners, he suddenly recalled the shocking scene he had personally witnessed during the great battle against the Six Sects. His face drained of color as he shouted.
Then, without a moment's hesitation, this cultivator from Spirit Beast Mountain charged out of the formation and hastily threw a leather pouch from his waist. Immediately, two flying centipedes, each several chi long, burst from the bag.
These two centipedes were covered in menacing black-and-yellow patterns and bore a pair of translucent, emerald-green wings. At Lü Tianmeng's series of sharp whistles, they charged toward the red-robed figures with murderous glint in their eyes.
The other Seven Sects cultivators who had not yet entered the fight heard these words and, though they had no idea what "Mad Flame Cultivators" or "Green Sun Demonic Fire" were, could tell that if even this Foundation Establishment late-stage squad leader was turning pale with alarm, it must be something truly extraordinary. Without hesitation, they surged into action as well.
The Foundation Establishment cultivators in particular followed close behind Lü Tianmeng, their magical treasures racing alongside the two venomous centipedes toward the red-robed figures.