"Still, risking his life for a woman's sake. I overestimated him." The black-robed figure muttered another comment, turning his head to glance at a spot not far away.
An extremely crude teleportation array lay there, and the man's gaze flickered ceaselessly upon it.
Once he sensed that Han Li was only several dozen li away, he abruptly rose and strode toward the teleportation array.
Moments later, amid a flash of white light, his figure vanished without a trace.
Han Li too had sensed the black-robed man's movements and was carefully flying in this direction. When the other's presence suddenly vanished completely from his spiritual sense, he couldn't help but be startled.
"Could it be that this person has used an escape technique to conceal himself and plans to ambush me from the side?" With this thought in mind, Han Li felt a chill and naturally became doubly cautious.
"This is…"
But when he cautiously approached the peak of Tianzhu Mountain and caught sight of the conspicuous little teleportation array, his expression changed. A quick glance revealed a newly erected stone slab beside the array, with four characters about an inch tall carved into it with a sharp blade, each one strikingly clear.
"Won't Wait If You're Late"
After reading these four words in a low voice, Han Li's expression turned somewhat grim as he silently cursed the other's cunning.
With his expertise in spell formations, he could tell at a glance that such a crude teleportation array couldn't possibly send him very far. But even so, if it randomly deposited him at a place where the other had laid an ambush—wouldn't that be walking right into a trap?
What was worse, once he teleported away, he had no idea whether the silver-haired elder and the others would still be able to find him!
But judging from the message left on the stone slab, the other clearly had no intention of meeting him now and was not giving him any room to negotiate.
If he delayed too long, the other might steel his heart and simply leave. That would spell real trouble.
He didn't dare gamble on whether the other would really go through with it.
After all, he had killed the Yinluo Sect Master's dual cultivation partner. If this newcomer was truly the Demonic Path Sect Master himself, then such behavior was not out of the question.
It seemed that if he wanted to find a way to break the Soul-Sealing Curse, he had no choice but to take the risk.
Han Li's expression shifted between light and dark for quite a while before he finally reached a decision.
He first swept the surrounding area with his spiritual sense to confirm that no other demonic cultivators were hiding nearby. Only then did he produce a voice transmission talisman, whisper a few words into it, and send it streaking back in the direction he had come from as a trail of red light.
Then, without further hesitation, Han Li unfastened a spirit beast pouch from his waist and tossed it into the air. A swarm of Tri-colored Gold Devouring Beetles surged forth, transforming into tri-colored battle armor that materialized over his body.
With a flick of his sleeve, a small blue shield flew out and positioned itself before him. His other hand turned over, and after a flash of white light, a silk handkerchief as light as gauze appeared in his palm.
Han Li lowered his head to gaze at the silk handkerchief, a peculiar look flickering through his eyes.
This handkerchief was none other than the protective treasure Nangong Wan had gifted him all those days ago.
Han Li gently ran his fingers across the smooth surface of the handkerchief, standing there in silence.
But after a brief moment, he raised his hand and layered several more protective barriers over himself. Then, with a flicker of movement, he stepped into the teleportation array.
Taking a deep breath, Han Li raised his hand and struck a spell seal into one corner of the array.
Brilliant white light blazed forth, and Han Li vanished utterly from the teleportation array without a trace.
Several thousand li from Tianzhu Mountain, on a nameless little island at the center of a lake, a spiritual white light flared at a certain spot on the island, and Han Li's figure materialized there.
The instant he emerged, disregarding the physical discomfort from the transfer, he activated the blue light shield before him without a moment's thought. The shield immediately swelled to an enormous size, covering most of his body.
Han Li felt no attack coming, and only then did his mind ease slightly as he looked around.
"No need to worry. I wouldn't stoop to a sneak attack against an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator like you. Though I hear you're not an ordinary early-stage cultivator." An unfamiliar voice came from not far away, directly across from Han Li.
Upon hearing this voice, Han Li's heart stirred.
This was definitely not the Yinluo Sect Master's voice. Could it really have been some other demonic cultivator who had done this? Surprise flickered through his eyes as he turned toward the source of the voice.
Before him stood a black-robed young man of roughly twenty years of age, some thirty-odd zhang away, hands clasped behind his back, watching him with an impassive expression.