Chapter 1051: Self-Preservation

In Volume 3, Chapter 6, Han Li, with his Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure, finally comprehended the true meaning of winds as sharp as knives and the world crumbling around him.

Even though he was only at the fringe of the Black Wind Banner's power, Han Li felt as if he had lost all five senses. His ears were filled with whistling howls, his eyes saw nothing but a blurry yellow expanse, and even his spiritual sense couldn't extend an inch. The moment his spiritual thoughts left the protection of his shield, they were instantly scattered by the fierce winds outside.

He now finally understood why the Seven-Flame Fan was considered one of the weakest among Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasures. His own Three-Flame Fan, which could already unleash 30-40% of its power, was fundamentally incomparable to the might of this Black Wind Banner.

Fortunately, his Bright Clarity Spirit Eyes ability was still active. After channeling spiritual energy into his eyes, a blue glow flickered in his pupils, finally allowing him to vaguely discern objects within a dozen zhang.

As for the Nine Truths Devil Subduing Grand Formation in the distance, he couldn't tell what had become of it under such fierce winds. He could only infer the extreme intensity of the battle from the ground's fluctuating tremors.

He looked up at the sky, which was in the same state: a chaotic, paste-like blur stirred by the gale, making it impossible to see into the distance.

Han Li's expression shifted as the humming sound from his protective shield grew louder. To maintain it, his magical power was draining significantly faster than before.

The Black Wind Banner's power was still steadily increasing.

Taking a deep breath, he subconsciously glanced at his feet; escaping underground seemed like a good idea.

The moment the thought surfaced, about a zhang from his protective shield, a black wind pillar, as thick as a bowl, erupted from the ground, rapidly growing and spinning wildly.

Instantly, a colossal force exerted itself. His green light shield began to drift uncontrollably and swiftly towards the wind pillar.

Han Li's heart lurched. He instantly condensed all his magical power, causing his shield to radiate an intense light, and only then did he manage to halt his movement.

Immediately, over a dozen streaks of golden sword light shot out from his shield, weaving and flashing around it. The crisscrossing sword qi instantly pulverized the nascent wind pillar into fragmented black qi. However, the black qi instantly re-condensed and began to spin, clearly on the verge of forming another hurricane.

Seeing this, Han Li's expression turned grim as he motioned to Yin Yue, then shot backward.

It seemed these wind pillars were truly sinister. Hiding underground didn't appear to be very safe either.

After carefully dodging several more identical wind pillars, the two finally reached a corner at the very edge of the space.

Before them lay the dim, indistinct grey barrier.

Just as he had expected, the fierce winds here had diminished considerably, and the black wind pillars were absent.

The two could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

The solemn expression on Han Li's face had not vanished in the slightest. After gazing towards the palace for a moment, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes. With a flick of his wrist, a golden flying sword, about a foot long, struck the barrier behind him with force.

With a "zzzzzt" sound, a several-foot-deep crack instantly appeared in the barrier, but with a flash of white light, it restored itself to its original state.

Han Li frowned.

The barrier didn't appear particularly tough and could be easily cleaved by a flying sword, but its depth was unknown, and its recovery speed under the existing restrictions was astonishingly fast. If he couldn't penetrate the barrier in a single strike, he couldn't hope to leave this place.

Pondering this for a moment, Han Li moved his arm and pressed a hand onto the storage pouch at his waist.

With a flash of spiritual light, the Three-Flame Fan materialized in his hand.

Carefully and slowly, he infused spiritual energy into the fan, and immediately a three-colored halo appeared on its surface.

Han Li took a breath, held the fan in one hand, aimed it at the barrier, and gently fanned.

Immediately, a surge of three-colored flames erupted from the fan's surface. Wherever they touched, the barrier silently dissolved and disintegrated, revealing a hole about a zhang wide.

However, after just a single glance inside, Han Li's expression turned extremely grim.

Although his strike had reached a depth of over ten zhang before the flames dissipated, the barrier showed no signs of being pierced through.

Even though he hadn't utilized the Three-Flame Fan's full power, the sheer thickness of the barrier brought a look of hesitation to his face.

While the Three-Flame Fan possessed considerable power, he found it hard to believe that merely increasing its might slightly would be enough to break through this bizarre restriction set by ancient cultivators, especially since his previous strike had been ineffective. After all, this was the place where the Demon Consort Long Meng and the Ancient Devil Saint Ancestor's avatar were sealed.

Furthermore, unleashing the Three-Flame Fan's full power would cause a significant commotion. A single strike might very well attract the Ancient Devil Saint Ancestor's attention. It would be disastrous if he failed to break the barrier and instead brought harm upon himself.

Moreover, he suspected that this peculiar barrier might secretly contain other layered restrictions. If he were to destroy the barrier only to trigger a backlash from other restrictions, that would be no laughing matter.

With these thoughts in mind, Han Li's grip on the Three-Flame Fan loosened slightly, and his expression became uncertain.

"This space isn't so simple. Master, it would be best not to act rashly!" Yin Yue, who had been somewhat dazed since seeing Long Meng, suddenly spoke.

Han Li smiled at her words, just about to respond, when his expression suddenly darkened. He turned his head and coldly spoke towards the gale to one side:

"Who's there, lurking so furtively? Don't blame me for not being polite."

After saying this, he gripped the Three-Flame Fan in his hand tightly, and the three-colored light on its surface immediately began to flicker uncertainly again.

"Fellow Daoist Han, please hold your strike. I know the power of your precious fan and would rather not take a blow for nothing," a man's voice calmly drifted over. Two white figures, a man and a woman, then emerged from the yellow gale: the young man surnamed Xu and the Heavenly Azure Saintess, Lin Yinping.

Han Li's eyebrows rose, and he made no effort to conceal his surprise, yet his voice remained cold as he said:

"Oh, so you two came here. Do you intend to take this opportunity to engage me in battle?"

After speaking, he seemingly casually glanced towards the palace.

Although that area was where the gale was most violent and most of the black wind pillars converged, it still couldn't conceal the faint rumbling of thunder carried on the wind. Occasionally, one or two dazzling golden lights would tear through the sky, surprisingly illuminating the entire space in an instant.

It seemed the Nine Truths Devil Subduing Formation was truly extraordinary; it had endured until now even under the fierce power of the Black Wind Banner. He wondered if the Eight Spirit Ruler had also joined the fray.

Han Li pondered this inwardly. Seeing that the black-robed woman was still unable to divert her attention towards them, his heart temporarily settled. He then refocused his gaze on the man and woman before him, his expression showing neither surprise nor pleasure.

"Fellow Daoist, there's no need for that. We didn't come to cause trouble for you this time; rather, we're here to discuss a strategy for survival," Lin Yinping said calmly, as if she had already anticipated Han Li's hostility. She raised a hand and cast a sound-insulating barrier before speaking.

"What strategy for survival?" Han Li's heart stirred, but his voice remained emotionless.

"Fellow Daoist Han, why ask the obvious? The Ancient Devil Saint Ancestor's Black Wind Banner is so formidable that even if a few of us teamed up, we wouldn't be his match. Shouldn't we seize this opportunity while he's entangled with that Spirit Realm Demon Consort to escape this dangerous situation, instead of waiting for him to turn around and leisurely deal with us?" Given the limited time, the woman wasted no words and directly stated her purpose.

"Oh, so you two no longer want the Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure?" Han Li asked faintly, narrowing his eyes.

"Fellow Daoist, you jest," the young man surnamed Xu said decisively, seemingly quite knowledgeable about ancient devils. "While spirit treasures are undoubtedly precious, how can they compare to our lives? This Ancient Devil Saint Ancestor has been trapped beneath this pagoda for so many years; his true essence must be depleted. And our nascent souls are the best medicine for him to recover his vitality. Once he regains his freedom, he will absolutely not let us go."

"So, what do you plan to do?" Han Li vaguely guessed their intentions, but still asked expressionlessly.

"Naturally, we'll team up to ambush the ancient devil guarding the teleportation array over there, then seize the path and escape," the young man surnamed Xu said without hesitation.

"Just the few of us? Do you truly understand how formidable that two-headed, four-armed ancient devil is?" Han Li scoffed, retorting.

"What, can't the few of us handle this devil?" Lin Yinping asked with a light laugh, somewhat surprised.

"If you knew that this devil once managed to escape even when besieged by three Grand Cultivators and over a dozen other Nascent Soul cultivators, would you still be so confident?" Han Li said slowly, stroking the feather fan in his hand.

"Is this the demon that escaped from your Tiannan region back then?" the young man surnamed Xu exclaimed, suddenly startled.

"Precisely, it is this demon."

Seeing Han Li's certainty, the Grand Immortal Master Mulan and Lin Yinping exchanged glances, and a hint of hesitation appeared on their faces as well.

"Then what if the two of us join? That should certainly be enough to force this devil back!" A chilling voice suddenly echoed from above their heads. Just as Han Li and the others' expressions changed drastically, two flashes of cyan and purple light appeared in the yellow wind, revealing the figures of the Silver-winged Yaksha and the Lion-Vulture Beast.

Spiritual light surrounded the two demons, and they seemed completely unaffected by the fierce winds, hovering safely in place. It appeared the Silver-winged Yaksha's wind evasion ability allowed them to thrive in this harsh environment.

"It's you two. Do you also wish to join forces?" After clearly discerning the two demons, Han Li regained his composure.

"Of course," the Silver-winged Yaksha said bluntly. "Although the two of us aren't of the same kind as you, in the eyes of this Ancient Devil Saint Ancestor, there's no difference. If we don't leave, we'll face just as much peril as fortune!"

"Good, with the two of you assisting, plus Fellow Daoist Gui Ling, it will be foolproof. There's no time to lose; let's act immediately! Who knows how much time that formation and the Eight Spirit Ruler can buy us," the young man surnamed Xu agreed without hesitation. A fierce glint flashed across his face, and he turned to look at Han Li.

Clearly, as long as Han Li agreed, their alliance would instantly solidify. The Silver-winged Yaksha and the other demon also looked towards Han Li.

Han Li subconsciously licked his lips. After a brief moment of silence, he finally nodded slowly.

"We are only temporarily forcing this devil back, not necessarily destroying it. This amount of manpower is indeed sufficient. Alright, I'll call Gui Ling back now." Having made his decision, Han Li no longer hesitated. He immediately formed hand seals with both hands, and after Gui Ling's soul tablet within him trembled, it began to flicker with faint spiritual light.

The Silver-winged Yaksha and the Lion-Vulture took this opportunity to descend from the air and stand to one side.

Just a moment later, a yellow light flashed where Han Li stood, and the ugly woman appeared silently behind him, like a phantom.