Chapter 1031: Treasure Seizure

Volume 6: Celestial Treasures

As the treasures were about to be taken, a green light flashed where the woman stood. Suddenly, several long green snakes shot out from below, swiftly coiling around the woman like a rice dumpling after a few lightning-fast turns. Several snake mouths bit down ferociously with incredible speed.

With several "bangs," a white light shield instantly appeared around the woman, without her even casting a spell, indicating she wore some kind of psychic artifact. The green snakes were instead flung back, revealing their true forms: several vibrant green vines.

At this, Lady Mu became as shocked and enraged as Han Li.

She never imagined there was yet another hidden assailant following her. Her previous actions of trapping Han Li and intentionally using an artifact to open the shield on the altar table had inadvertently paved the way for someone else! Who was this attacker, and how had they managed to follow the Sun-Moon Shuttle so closely without being detected at all?

She knew that her ability to infiltrate this place undetected relied entirely on the token left behind by the three Kun elders. This token could temporarily control some of the hall's restrictions, allowing her to pilot the Sun-Moon Shuttle from underground and bypass other cultivators.

Just then, an ear-splitting, grating laugh echoed. A tall, green figure silently emerged from nearby. A pair of icy green eyes coldly swept over Lady Mu, their chill making the woman shiver involuntarily.

But upon focusing and clearly seeing the green figure's appearance, her face changed drastically as she gasped: "Mu Kui! How can such a fiend still exist in the human realm!"

Although the green figure superficially resembled a human with limbs and a head, its face and entire body were covered in tree bark-like growths, making it look more like a walking, monstrous tree.

Upon hearing Lady Mu's exclamation, Mu Kui's eyes flashed with a hint of mockery. It then completely ignored the woman, its figure transforming into a green light and darting towards the altar table. It, too, intended to claim all the treasures for itself.

Lady Mu's heart sank. Even if she could break free now, she would be too late to stop this fiend.

However, an incredible scene unfolded next. Before the green light Mu Kui had transformed into could reach the altar table, from the remnants of the Moon-Gazing Painting—which Han Li had previously sliced into fragments—spirit light suddenly flickered, then burst forth in three streams of yellow, white, and red radiance. This radiance surged forward, coiling around the green light and flinging it back like a ball, dozens of meters away.

The green light retracted, revealing Mu Kui's stumbling figure. The tall fiend seemed unable to control itself, spinning in place several times before finally managing to steady itself. Its green eyes, when it looked up at the radiance, were filled with indescribable terror.

The three streams of radiance then circled once above the altar table before transforming into three blurry, foot-tall figures. They floated weightlessly, clearly resembling the Daoist, Confucian, and Monk figures from the original Moon-Gazing Painting. All six of their expressionless eyes were fixed intently on Mu Kui in the distance, as if looking at a dead man.

"The three Kun elders!" Mu Kui shrieked in extreme terror. Immediately, its body flashed with spirit light, and without a second thought, it transformed into a green rainbow, streaking towards the North Pole Primordial Light, not even daring to glance back.

However, the three small figures silently pointed their fingers at the small sword, the demon-subduing staff, and the scroll on the altar table, respectively.

The three treasures vibrated with a humming sound, leaping up. After a tremor, they transformed into three astonishing rainbows—purple, yellow, and red—shooting out and instantly vanishing in the air. The next moment, they reappeared behind Mu Kui just as it was about to plunge into the countless silver light threads, then converged and struck it fiercely.

Mu Kui had no way to dodge! With an earth-shattering "boom," the three-colored radiance exploded, instantly engulfing the green light. The blinding orb of light radiated like a scorching sun, making it impossible to look directly at it. But once the light dissipated, the spot was empty except for the three treasures hovering in place.

A single strike from these three treasures had utterly annihilated the terrifying Mu Kui, vaporizing its body and even its primordial spirit from existence.

At the same time, the lowest of the four blood-red wooden tokens on the altar table spontaneously combusted, turning into a pile of ash in an instant.

The three treasures immediately flew back after eliminating the fiend. After a single rotation, they obediently returned to their original positions on the altar table. The three figures above them blurred and then dissipated, vanishing completely. From beginning to end, they had not uttered a single word.

These three small figures were merely strands of divine consciousness left by the three Kun elders within the painting, serving as the final restriction specifically placed in Kun Hall to prevent the treasures from falling into evil hands.

Mu Kui was an extremely powerful fiend, formidable in both cunning and cultivation, seemingly even more potent than the Silver-Winged Yaksha. Yet, it had foolishly lost its life to a single strike from three strands of divine consciousness, truly an incredibly unlucky fate.

Lady Mu was first startled, then delighted. After Mu Kui's demise, the green vines binding her immediately transformed from iron-hard into ordinary pliable vines, which were then consumed by white spirit flames, vanishing into nothingness.

She took a deep breath, calming herself. Just as she was about to make a move, a muffled "bang" echoed from behind her, as if something had burst open, immediately followed by a clap of thunder.

The elegant female cultivator gasped in surprise.

A chill ran down the woman's spine. Without hesitation, she raised her jade hand, her five fingers clawing at the air towards the altar table. Instantly, all the treasures on the table trembled and lifted into the air, drawn directly towards her.

At that very instant, a bolt of lightning flashed above the altar table, revealing a figure amidst the electric light. This figure also lunged to grab the treasures. The treasures, which had been flying towards Lady Mu, abruptly halted and reversed direction, shooting towards this new arrival instead.

It was Han Li, who had just escaped from the giant scarf and immediately used his Wind-Thunder Wings to teleport here.

Seeing this, Lady Mu was naturally both shocked and enraged. She opened her mouth, and several strands of cold light, emitting piercing sounds, shot towards Han Li—these were several silver flying needles. Simultaneously, she flicked her sleeves, and a crimson mist flew out, coiling directly towards the treasures.

Witnessing this, Han Li's expression darkened. He opened his mouth, and a white crystal orb shot towards the flying needles; it was the Snow Crystal Orb. With one hand, he instinctively clawed at the air towards the treasures again, and a large green hand instantly appeared above them, reaching down to grab them. With his other hand, he flipped his palm, and an ancient feather fan materialized within it.

A fierce glint flashed across his face, and Han Li, without the slightest hesitation, fiercely fanned at the woman.

He had first been ambushed by the giant scarf, then trapped by the woman's treasure, making him already exceptionally furious. Thus, at this crucial moment of snatching the treasures, he immediately and unreservedly deployed the Three-Flame Fan.

As a result, the silver needles were blocked by the Snow Crystal Orb. The spectral hand reaching for the treasures was also entangled by the woman's surging crimson mist, preventing it from descending. But with a tremor of the Three-Flame Fan, a torrent of golden-red, three-colored flames surged forth.

Lady Mu's expression changed drastically upon seeing this. She had personally witnessed the terrifying power of the Three-Flame Fan and knew it was absolutely not something she could withstand head-on. Left with no choice, she disregarded the treasures and rapidly retreated, her figure blurring as she shot backwards.

Though the three-colored flames missed their target, they still exploded with a flash. The astonishing spiritual pressure released by the nearly ten-zhang wide, three-colored aura forced even Han Li to retreat several steps. And while the treasures were at the edge of the Three-Flame Fan's power, both Han Li's green hand and Lady Mu's crimson mist were shattered and vanished by this spiritual pressure.

The treasures scattered and plummeted from high above towards the ground.

Han Li was overjoyed at this sight. Just as he was about to act, three streaks of escaping light simultaneously shot forth from the North Pole Primordial Light: a blood-red shadow, a ball of silver light, and a cloud of purple mist. These three streaks of light seemed to be proficient in some bizarre evasion technique, either vanishing on the spot or suddenly transforming into a wisp of clear wind.

Upon seeing this, Han Li inwardly cursed, his movements even swifter. With a clap of thunder, he appeared above the treasures a split second before the others. And indeed, the other three figures materialized nearby almost simultaneously, attacking their closest opponents while also using their divine abilities to snatch a treasure.

Closest to Han Li were an unknown wooden token and the shimmering red scroll. He ignored the other treasures, immediately transforming into a streak of green mist and sweeping them into his grasp. As he tried to also snatch the nearby demon-subduing staff, more than ten blood-red light pillars and a surging golden wave simultaneously assaulted him from above.

Left with no alternative, Han Li had to envelop himself in radiance and temporarily retreat, evading these attacks for the moment.

The demon-subduing staff was immediately snatched away by the blood-red shadow that swiftly followed.

The purple mist and the silver light, however, paid no attention to the other treasures. Instead, they desperately enveloped the two other scattered wooden tokens, as if fearing someone else would snatch them.

Han Li was startled by this. Meanwhile, the blood-red shadow flashed and lunged again for the emerald green, seal-shaped treasure.

"Stop! You cannot take the Dragon Transformation Seal!" a woman's voice, full of urgency, cried out. Immediately, an milky-white jade ruler suddenly appeared above the blood-red shadow and slammed down mercilessly.

This ruler was truly bizarre. Even before it fully descended, Buddhist chants and sounds resonated from it. Countless milky-white lotus flowers, like scattered blossoms from the heavens, appeared in a wide area of the nearby air. Each was the size of a bowl, and every petal shimmered with seven-colored Buddhist light. Not only the blood-red shadow, but also the silver light and the fiendish figure in the purple mist were enveloped beneath it.

Han Li, having retreated backwards, happened to be outside the ruler's zone of power.

To Han Li's astonishment, all the white lotuses simultaneously exploded amidst the woman's shout, then transformed into a giant seven-colored lotus that bloomed petal by petal. Countless Buddhist scriptures emerged from each petal, and the chanting of Buddhist mantras resounded like thunder throughout the entire hall.

Trapped within the colorful lotus, the blood-red shadow, the silver light, and the fiendish figure in the purple mist—not to mention collecting other treasures—found themselves unable to even stand steady for some unknown reason, swaying unsteadily as if drunk.