Chapter 1804: Three versus Three

Shǐ Lún and the two others wore grim expressions, silently staring at the large tree. Then, with a flash of green spiritual light, three unfamiliar cultivators suddenly appeared from behind the tree.

One was a handsome man in a yellow scholar's robe, appearing to be in his thirties. Another was a young Daoist priest, around seventeen or eighteen, with a black wooden sword strapped to his back. The last was an unremarkable young man in his twenties, dressed in a green robe. He held a silver talisman in one hand and in the other, a petite figure—it was the young girl named Bái Guǒ'ér.

These, of course, were Han Li and his two companions.

Coincidentally, after a long journey, the three of them had just arrived at this very spot. Having reached the vicinity of Nine Immortal Mountain and having been rushing continuously, they planned to rest here for the night and then visit a market town tomorrow.

However, before the three could even begin to rest, Shǐ Lún and his group arrived at this secluded spot and, right before their eyes, enacted a scene of murder and treasure snatching.

Such incidents were, of course, quite common in the Spirit Realm. However, Shǐ Lún not only went back on his word but also held a young girl hostage to threaten the other party, which was rather despicable. This behavior was too much for Hai Dashao and his companion, who were full of righteous indignation. They simply couldn't stand by and watch, which led to their secret intervention to rescue the child.

Of course, this was also because they felt they had the unfathomable "Brother Han" backing them. At worst, their lives wouldn't be in peril.

When the two indignantly stepped out, Han Li could only give a wry smile and join them.

"Who are you, daring to meddle in our three brothers' affairs?" Shǐ Lún's heart, which had been pounding, relaxed when he saw that two of them were merely Foundation Establishment cultivators, and the third was a mortal with no spiritual power. His gloomy expression returned as he threatened them.

"Qi Lingzi, your 'Peach Substitute for Plum' trick is truly amusing! You actually managed to replace the little girl with a broken puppet. But why didn't I see you, Master of the Temple, use it back when we were in danger? Were you saving a trump card even when our lives were on the line?" Hai Dashao rolled his eyes at Qi Lingzi, clearly intending to settle an old score.

"Hmph! What do you mean 'saving a trump card'? This 'Peach Substitute for Plum' talisman isn't easily refined or activated! I practically lost all my possessions just to refine this one, and even then, I found my spiritual power wasn't enough to activate it. If I hadn't given this talisman to Brother Han to use just now, we wouldn't have been able to save this little girl at all!" Qi Lingzi protested, his face full of grievance, almost jumping up in indignation.

"Is that so?" Hai Dashao looked somewhat surprised, clearly startled.

The two continued their exchange, completely ignoring Shǐ Lún's question, which made his face turn ashen. The other two black-clad cultivators also had fierce lights flashing in their eyes.

As for Han Li, with a movement of his arm, he casually placed the young girl on the ground beside him, a faint, unreadable smile playing on his lips.

Bái Guǒ'ér, having just narrowly escaped death, was still visibly shaken. She simply stared blankly at Han Li and the others, seemingly unsure of what to do.

"Attack! Kill these three little thieves!" Shǐ Lún's face sank, and he finally spat out the murderous words.

Based on his experience, although three more opponents had appeared, the only one he needed to pay attention to was the late Foundation Establishment young man who had remained silent. The other two were merely an early Foundation Establishment cultivator and an ordinary mortal. Adding the previously encountered middle-aged man, they only faced one more mid Foundation Establishment cultivator. His three brothers, on the other hand, were all peak late Foundation Establishment cultivators. Judging solely by their cultivation realms, they could completely overwhelm their opponents. What's more, Shǐ Lún himself possessed a few extremely powerful trump cards that could even pose a significant threat to Core Formation cultivators, which was why his two companions were so wary of him.

As a result, he was naturally full of confidence in defeating the people before him. The only problem was that it might be somewhat impossible to kill all of them. After all, if the opponents were determined to escape, it would be truly unlikely to wipe them all out.

This was also why he hadn't immediately attacked, choosing instead to try and stabilize Han Li and his companions with words first. However, this wasn't Shǐ Lún's first time engaging in treasure-snatching and murder. As soon as he realized he couldn't sway them with words, he immediately gave up any illusions, and his murderous intent surged, deciding to make his move.

According to his thoughts, even if one or two truly escaped, they could simply leave Nine Immortal Mountain immediately and lie low for a while. No high-level cultivator would specifically hunt them down for such an incident.

Therefore, as soon as he uttered the command "Attack!", the stack of black banners in his hand instantly transformed into over a dozen streaks of black light, shooting out as usual. However, their target was not Han Li and his companions, but the nearby middle-aged man. The other two black-clad cultivators also moved: their two silver halberds and one black spiked shield transformed into two streaks of silver light and a black cloud, respectively, shooting fiercely towards the middle-aged man.

These three often fought together, and without needing any discussion, they attacked simultaneously with perfect coordination. Their motive was clear: first, they would jointly deal with the middle-aged man, and then they would slowly handle Han Li and his two companions.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man's face turned pale. Without hesitation, he flicked his wrist, releasing the small yellow sword in his hand, and a curtain of swords swirled around him. Next, with a flick of his other sleeve, another cloud of yellow sand flew out, transforming into countless specks of starlight that instantly engulfed his figure.

*Boom!* A loud explosive sound erupted!

The sword curtain was easily shattered by the combined might of the three magical artifacts. However, when the attacks landed on the countless specks of yellow sand, they were blocked by a sudden tremor. This came as a surprise to Shǐ Lún and his two companions.

Nevertheless, they immediately urged their magical artifacts to attack the somewhat dimmed starlight again. But at that moment, Hai Dashao let out a loud shout and suddenly stomped his foot.

With a soft thud and a slight tremor of the ground, his figure shot out like a crossbow bolt. After a single flash, he appeared directly above the black-clad cultivator wielding the silver halberds. Hai Dashao swept his arms, revealing a pair of dazzling golden gloves on his hands. As he swung his arms, dense golden fist shadows poured down like a storm onto the black-clad cultivator below. Even before the fist shadows landed, an astonishing aura descended, emanating through them and enveloping the area.

The black-clad cultivator below was greatly startled. How could he still focus on attacking the middle-aged man? He hastily changed his incantation gesture. The two silver rainbows in the distance flashed and shot back, transforming into a shield of silver light that enveloped him. The next moment, a continuous roar erupted between them as golden and silver lights intertwined, engulfing both figures. But amidst Hai Dashao's loud laughter, the golden fist shadows instantly burst forth with dazzling golden light, like miniature golden suns, actually forcing the silver light to retreat step by step.

"Spirit artifact! A body refiner!"

The other black-clad cultivator on the side saw this and his expression changed. He suddenly pointed at his black spiked shield, looking as if he intended to launch a pincer attack on Hai Dashao.

But just then, Qi Lingzi, from a distance, sighed, shaking his head and muttering with a troubled expression: "What? Two against one? That's a bit too shameless, isn't it? Well, there's no helping it. Although as the master of a temple, it's beneath my status to fight you, for Hai Dashao's sake, I'll make an exception just this once."

As soon as he finished speaking, the young Daoist priest raised a hand and slapped a blue talisman onto his body. After a flash of glistening blue light, Qi Lingzi's figure vanished in an instant. Immediately, however, the same blue light flickered and reappeared above the black-clad cultivator wielding the shield.

This black-clad cultivator was an exceptionally experienced combatant. As soon as he noticed something amiss in the air, he immediately refrained from urging his shield to help his companion. Instead, he transformed directly into a black cloud and smashed down towards the blue light. With a *splat*, the blue light was smashed into smithereens as if it were a ball of water, scattering into countless blue specks that vanished.

But it was empty inside; not a trace of Qi Lingzi's figure could be seen.

"Not good!" The black-clad cultivator inwardly cursed, but it was already a bit late. Behind him, a faint blue mist suddenly emerged. Then, with a loud whoosh, dozens of foot-long blue ice cones shot out. At such close range, even though the black-clad cultivator's spiritual power far exceeded Qi Lingzi's, he was utterly defenseless. The blue ice cones flashed and struck the cultivator's back.

But with a flash of black light, a phantom resembling a black tiger's head suddenly appeared. When the ice cones struck it, eighty to ninety percent of them were instantly blocked. Only a few actually hit the black-clad cultivator's back. This made him stumble, and several streams of blood gushed out from his body.

"You brat, I'll take your life!" Having been sneak-attacked and injured by Qi Lingzi, the black-clad cultivator was instantly enraged. He abruptly formed an incantation with both hands, and as his sleeves billowed, several black ghostly heads flew out, spitting yellow poisonous flames as they fiercely pounced on the young Daoist priest.

Qi Lingzi was startled by this. He hastily moved one hand, gripping the black wooden sword from his back. Then, with one hand forming an incantation and the other repeatedly pointing the wooden sword forward. Immediately, streaks of blue light shot out from the sword tip, accurately striking the black ghostly heads. However, they only caused the heads to pause slightly, without truly harming them.

However, Qi Lingzi's movement art, whatever it was, was exceptional. With blue light flickering on his body, his figure moved like a fish in water, appearing and disappearing in the air. This left his opponent, despite superior magical artifacts and cultivation, temporarily unable to do anything.

Shǐ Lún's face was now even grimmer than before. Although only two of their opponents had attacked, the difficulty seemed to far exceed his expectations. While he was confident his two companions would eventually defeat their opponents, he didn't have that much time to wait.

With a resolute resolve, he ignored the dozen or so black lights relentlessly bombarding the middle-aged man. With a flick of one hand, a blood-red leather pouch appeared in his grasp, from which a faint buzzing sound could be heard.

But just then, a cold voice suddenly came from behind him: "Oh, are those spirit insects? Their rank seems quite high. For a Foundation Establishment cultivator to possess such spirit insects, you do have some ability."