"You dare to compete with this Young Master for the treasure?" Wu Chou didn't expect the taciturn Xuan Gu to suddenly try and snatch the treasure from him without a word, and he couldn't help but shout angrily, his face showing a ferocious look.
"A joke. Was the treasure forged by your family? If you can snatch it, why can't I?" Xuan Gu gave Wu Chou a cold look and retorted sarcastically without any politeness.
These words infuriated Wu Chou with shame and anger.
But he seemed to recall something. Although his face was full of malice, he didn't speak up to argue further. Instead, he channeled his magical power into his hand seals, and the giant black python constricted with even greater force.
It seemed Wu Chou was well aware that Xuan Gu had the support of Barbarian Beard, whom Grand Ancestor Ji Yin greatly feared, and wouldn't be intimidated by him.
Xuan Gu's mouth curved in a cold sneer. Without another word, he gently pointed a finger at the green net.
The green light on the net blazed intensely, and the green threads thickened by another thirty percent before the entire net tightened.
Although the Fire Wolf bound within was being forced by the combined efforts of Wu Chou and Xuan Gu, its light shield, after being squeezed to several smaller rings, became even more dazzling and solid. The Fire Wolf could still stare safely at the two from within its shield. For a moment, a stalemate ensued.
The righteous and demonic cultivators fighting high in the sky clearly hadn't expected that this treasure would end up near Han Li and the others.
Wan Tianming and the other righteous cultivators grew anxious and wanted to break away to seize the treasure.
But Barbarian Beard and Grand Ancestor Ji Yin remained calm.
No matter what, the people trying to retrieve the treasure over there were their own. They were naturally happy to keep the righteous cultivators occupied and allow Wu Chou, Xuan Gu, and the others to safely collect the treasure.
Furthermore, both felt that the person connected to them had a better chance of retrieving it.
Grand Ancestor Ji Yin believed Wu Chou had a much higher chance of success than Xuan Gu, who appeared to be only at the early Core Formation stage. This was because Wu Chou possessed several treasures Ji Yin had gifted him, and his Grand Yin Art was also a top-tier demonic technique.
As for Barbarian Beard, who knew Xuan Gu's true identity, needless to say, he was even more confident in Xuan Gu!
Master Qingyi saw this scene, a trace of regret flashed across his face. After a moment's hesitation, he continued to entangle Tian Wu Zi in front of him, preventing him from escaping to intervene.
With this, the only idle person near the altar was Han Li.
But Han Li didn't feel idle at all. On the contrary, cold sweat was pouring down his heart at this moment!
Because he felt the basket's ability to retrieve magical treasures was perfect, he had just mindlessly taken out this ancient treasure.
But the moment he saw Xuan Gu make his move for the treasure, he suddenly recalled something terribly wrong.
This basket ancient treasure was obtained after he killed the ugly man guarding Xuan Gu. To take it out like this... wasn't this practically telling Grand Ancestor Ji Yin that he was the one who had released Xuan Gu?
This realization chilled Han Li to the core. He had no mind left for retrieving the treasure! His thoughts were a chaotic mess as he desperately tried to devise a countermeasure against Ji Yin.
However, after a moment, Han Li was stunned.
He clearly sensed that Grand Ancestor Ji Yin's gaze had merely swept over the basket for an instant before moving away. There was no unusual emotion whatsoever, and nothing happened!
Only then did Han Li understand, with a mixture of surprise and joy. The basket ancient treasure was not something Ji Yin had given to the ugly man, and it seemed Ji Yin knew nothing about the ugly man possessing it.
Now, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Han Li's guess wasn't wrong at all!
The reason the ugly man had left the island guarding Xuan Gu for so long was because he had received news of the basket ancient treasure and had gone to seek it on his own.
Although he later successfully obtained the treasure, he had allowed Han Li's group to break the formation trapping Xuan Gu almost completely.
This infuriated the ugly man to no end. But in the end, he still died under Han Li's Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Swords, and the ancient treasure he just acquired became Han Li's spoils of war.
Han Li, having regained his calm, glanced at Xuan Gu, who was competing with Wu Chou for the Fire Wolf, and couldn't help but think: "This is your luck, old demon. If Ji Yin had truly discovered this, I would definitely drag you down with me. Don't even think about staying out of it unscathed!"
Just as one couldn't tell if it was Han Li's good fortune or Xuan Gu's luck, another deep rumble of thunder came from within the cave opening.
This time, the Nascent Soul cultivators, now experienced, immediately slowed their movements and exchanged glances.
Then, before anyone could say who moved first, six figures flashed simultaneously to a position directly above the cave opening.