Han Li's worry, it turned out, was entirely unnecessary.
After just half a shichen, Han Li felt two powerful spiritual energy fluctuations approaching Red Coral Island at great speed from the east and west. His expression shifted slightly.
He snapped his eyes open and fixed his gaze intently on the row of formation flags before him, pressing his somewhat dry lips together.
Even though everything had been arranged perfectly, facing two high-rank demon beasts at once still made his heart involuntarily tighten with nervousness.
Suddenly, one of the blue-purple formation flags in front of him blazed with light, then began to tremble gently.
Han Li's face was solemn, but he didn't spring into action immediately — he simply watched in silence.
He knew that although fifth-level demon beasts already possessed some degree of spiritual intelligence, once trapped in a grand formation like the "Inverted Five Elements Formation," they would need considerable time to break free. While a fifth-level demon beast's cultivation was nominally equivalent to an early Core Formation cultivator, in actual combat the majority of them were no match for cultivators of the same level.
After all, they suffered from their low intelligence and the overly limited repertoire of natural techniques they possessed, making it easy for cultivators of equal rank to exploit their weaknesses and kill them.
Something as sophisticated as a formation was even more beyond their ability to crack in a short time.
That was why Han Li could afford to wait calmly until the second demon beast had also fallen into the formation before making his move with peace of mind.
Just as he was turning these anxious thoughts over in his mind, a yellow formation flag also blazed with radiance and emitted a low, humming buzz.
Immediately, a hint of joy appeared on Han Li's previously grave face. He then formed hand seals with both hands and used the surrounding illusion formation's restrictions to seal away the aura of the Nishang Grass nearby.
Otherwise, if one or two more demon beasts were drawn in, he would be unable to handle them.
After finishing this, Han Li reached out and lightly snatched at the empty air. The two formation flags that had been glowing strangely flew automatically into his hand, and he softly uttered the word "Go!"
Behind him, Qu Hun immediately opened his mouth and spat out a beam of yellow light. The yellow glow intensified, sweeping up Han Li and transforming into a yellow streak that shot into the sky.
Moments later, Han Li appeared above the westernmost "Illusion-Form Heavenly Net Formation." Within the formation, yellow and green curtains of light churned ceaselessly, and from inside came a rumbling bellow resembling a bull's roar.
Han Li released the Divine Wind Boat and flew off on the treasure alone.
He then pulled the yellow formation flag from inside his robe, gave it a gentle shake, and a beam of yellow light shot from the flagpole directly onto the colorful curtains within the formation. Instantly, all the radiance receded, revealing a demon beast trapped inside.
The creature was roughly two to three zhang in length, its entire body round and plump, covered with fiery-red spines. At first glance it looked like an enormous sea urchin, but its bulging body was studded with dozens of uniformly sized emerald-green eyeballs.
Those eyes were utterly cold, firing beams of crimson light one after another in a relentless assault against the formation's restrictions. The bull-like bellow was emanating ceaselessly from its fat belly — the creature seemed to be in a state of violent agitation.
"A Thousand-Eye Demon."
The moment he saw the demon beast's appearance clearly, Han Li immediately recognized what it was, and a flicker of excitement stirred in his heart.
This was one of the most common fifth-level demon beasts in the Outer Star Seas — a perfect opponent to test his skills on.
He couldn't afford to delay! This wasn't the "Inverted Five Elements Formation" — it couldn't withstand too many assaults from this creature. With a thought, he issued his command to Qu Hun.
Upon receiving the order, the yellow light around Qu Hun's body shifted abruptly, transforming into a towering pillar of blood-red radiance. He brought his palms together and then swiftly pulled them apart, and a crescent-shaped arc of yellow light shot from between his hands, piercing into the formation and slashing viciously toward the Thousand-Eye Demon.
This was the Mixed Origin Bowl — the treasure that Qu Hun had refined to roughly seventy or eighty percent completion.
Though the Thousand-Eye Demon was trapped within the formation, it seemed to sense the danger of the yellow arc. All the eyeballs on its body swiveled simultaneously toward the incoming Mixed Origin Bowl, and dozens of crimson beams converged into a single thick pillar of red light, forcefully blocking the yellow arc's advance. For a moment, it became a contest of magical power between Qu Hun, who was driving the treasure, and the demon beast.
Seeing this, Han Li felt no anger — only delight.
He slapped a bulging storage pouch at his waist, and immediately over a hundred streaks of white light poured from it in rapid succession, landing around the perimeter of the formation in the blink of an eye. They revealed themselves as a pack of ferocious-looking puppet beasts.
These puppet beasts, each roughly a zhang tall, had no sooner materialized than they opened their mouths. Beams of multicolored piercing light began to gather within their jaws, poised and ready to fire.