Seeing everyone crush their jade slips, Uncle-Master Huang revealed a satisfied expression.
Then, with a flash of yellow light in his hand, a small banner about a foot long appeared. The banner was snow-white throughout, but it emitted a yellowish glow that made it impossible to discern what was embroidered upon its surface.
"I will use the Cloud-Wind Banner to conceal all of you junior nephews and nieces. Once the enemy arrives, we will launch a surprise attack."
After saying this, Uncle-Master Huang gently shook the small banner in his hand. Countless milky-white mists instantly billowed forth from it, transforming in the blink of an eye into a massive white cloud dozens of meters wide, enveloping Han Li and the others within its mist.
The Foundation Establishment cultivators like Han Li were both astonished and delighted!
Although this cloud was extremely dense, for some reason, those standing within the mist felt no obstruction to their vision whatsoever. It was a perfect hiding place!
Thus, under the middle-aged man's spell, the enormous cloud, carrying everyone within it, shot rapidly towards the high sky, merging seamlessly with other white clouds in an instant, making them indistinguishable from one another.
Han Li clicked his tongue in secret admiration upon seeing this!
His own magical tool, the "Qing Fire Miasma," could also conjure dense fog, but it was utterly incomparable to this "Cloud-Wind Banner." Not only was its range small, it could only be used on himself. If his fellow sect brothers entered his Qing Fire Poison Mist, they would likely only be poisoned.
Thinking this, Han Li couldn't help but glance towards Uncle-Master Huang.
He saw the man sitting cross-legged in the center of the mist, eyes tightly shut, body motionless. But behind him, two other Foundation Establishment cultivators stood vigilantly, seemingly acting as his guards.
Han Li was stunned for a moment, but immediately understood what the other was doing—using spiritual sense to search for the enemy's traces.
With the powerful spiritual sense of a Core Formation cultivator, he could surely detect movements within a hundred-li radius.
Seeing this, Han Li also sat down on his Divine Wind Boat to rest his mind. The upcoming battle would be extremely dangerous! Behind him, Qu Hun sat motionless, the very picture of a loyal servant.
After about an hour, the middle-aged man, who had his eyes closed, suddenly opened them and spoke in a cold voice: "The enemies are here. We are off by a little over two li. We must reach the airspace directly above their path." Without another word or greeting, he led the cloud mist onward at high speed.
Those within the mist naturally dared not leave it. Everyone activated their full Magical Power and rode their magical tools to follow closely behind this Uncle-Master Huang.
Seeing this, Han Li furrowed his brow slightly. In mid-flight, he took out the silver giant sword and tossed it behind him to Qu Hun. He didn't know what use it would be, but adding a little more combat power couldn't hurt.
"This is the place. The enemy is almost here, everyone prepare!" After a short while, the massive cloud arrived over the so-called "path." Uncle-Master Huang ordered bluntly.
Instantly, everyone revealed their magical tools and desperately cast defensive spells upon themselves. Multicolored lights flared up one after another among the group.
Han Li, meanwhile, took out two twin-colored spheres, one cyan and one red, and gently tapped them together.
With a muffled "bang," thick plumes of cyan-red smoke surged forth simultaneously from both spheres, rapidly enveloping Han Li. In an instant, they transformed into a massive cyan-red cloud about fifteen or twenty meters wide, completely obscuring Han Li's figure within the mist.
Han Li had actually used the "Qing Fire Miasma" to create a fog-within-fog defense, astonishing the other sect brothers nearby. They had no idea what Han Li intended.
Han Li had no mind for his fellow disciples' astonishment. One hand gripped his tortoise-shell magical tool, while the other held an ordinary blue flying blade. He had deliberately not taken out the Dark Dragon Gall.
He knew perfectly well what he was doing! For him, the less conspicuous the offensive magical tool, the better. Only by being low-key could he avoid being targeted by any powerful figures after the ambush, making it easier to escape.
Under everyone's tense watch, time passed quickly. Half an incense stick's worth of time flew by in the blink of an eye, but there was still no sign of the enemy.
Now, most people grew somewhat anxious and impatient, casting doubtful glances towards Uncle-Master Huang.
The sharp-eyed middle-aged man was equally perplexed. After a brief thought, he slowly spoke: "Don't rush, everyone. I'll search again with my spiritual sense!"
After saying this, he sat down once more. But before he could even begin, a series of deafening booms suddenly erupted from the sky overhead. At first, it was just one or two intermittent sounds, but soon the thunderous roar filled the entire heavens and earth, becoming a continuous, unbroken clamor.
Everyone startled and hastily looked up. What they saw caused the expressions of the Yellow Maple Valley cultivators to change drastically.
Without anyone knowing when it had happened, the entire sky had turned blood-red. All the clouds above had transformed into deep crimson "fire clouds," churning ceaselessly like molten lava, forming huge, inverted bubbles. The tremendous booming sound was precisely the sound of these massive bubbles bursting.
"What is that?!" someone next to Han Li shrieked in terror.