Chapter 2394: Gathering and Coincidence

Truly remarkable, splendid.

"What do I mean? Naturally, it's about striking first," the giant ape rumbled. It grabbed at the air, and instantly, two masses of bluish-black light condensed in its hands, astonishingly forming two small mountains dozens of feet tall.

The giant ape moved its two arms, violently hurling the mountain peaks. With explosive roars, they transformed into two massive orbs of light, hurtling straight towards two of the old men.

Simultaneously, a crystalline light flashed above its head, and a third small mountain materialized out of thin air.

With a series of "chi chi" sounds, dense, invisible sword energy immediately materialized around the last old man, swirling and striking.

The three gaunt old men's expressions drastically changed. Two of them roared loudly, and phantom images of a centipede and a giant scorpion appeared behind them, respectively. Moving their four arms, each extended two palms to strike forcefully at the incoming mountain peaks.

The moment the four seemingly ordinary palms extended, countless blue scales instantly appeared on two of them, while dazzling electric arcs coiled around them.

The surface of the other two palms suddenly turned dark and shiny, swelling crazily as if inflated. Ten green pointed claws sprouted from their fingertips, emitting a foul, rolling black mist.

As for the third old man, seeing himself enveloped by the invisible sword energy, he flipped his hand, revealing an about six-inch-tall statue with a fox's head and a human body. He tossed it above his head.

The statue emitted a clear cry, then glowed brightly, transforming into a five-tailed red fox puppet.

With a sudden sweep of its multiple tails, the red fox conjured a layer of crimson light, completely enveloping the void below it.

The next moment, the four palms struck squarely on the two orbs of light formed by the extreme mountains.

Two earth-shattering roars erupted, causing the nearby void to violently ripple and blur.

The two orbs of light trembled. They actually paused for a moment, revealing their original form as extreme mountains.

However, the two gaunt old men who had struck suddenly changed expressions. Their bodies trembled, and they were sent flying backward.

When the two, faces filled with shock and fury, regained their footing dozens of feet away, they raised their four arms again. Their surfaces were already covered in blood, as if their skin had completely shattered, with not an inch remaining intact, and their ten fingers appeared directly broken.

Meanwhile, the invisible sword energy had violently slashed against the third old man's red light barrier.

Instantly, the light barrier flickered wildly. In a flash, slender cracks appeared on its surface.

The third old man was startled. He immediately opened his mouth and spat out a wisp of vital energy that merged into the statue in his hand, then furiously activated a spell.

The red fox puppet above his head glowed with a layer of golden light. The light barrier formed by its five long tails also changed color, turning a pale gold, and the cracks on its surface rapidly mended themselves. It had managed to block the entire wave of invisible sword energy.

However, Han Li, fighting one against three, clearly still held a slight advantage.

This made the three old men, who had originally approached with aggressive momentum, hesitate and stop in their tracks.

But after a few grim-faced exchanges, the three slowly approached the giant ape that Han Li had transformed into.

It seemed these three Mahayana old monsters truly intended to gang up and fight him.

Han Li chuckled to himself, a glint in his eyes. He raised his hands, and with a low roar, the Brahma Saint Dharmakaya behind him vibrated faintly.

Then, the enormous Brahma Saint Dharmakaya flashed into existence behind him, and with a sudden lunge, merged with the giant ape, becoming one.

Instantly, the giant ape's body radiated a brilliant violet-gold light. After a slight crouch, golden light flared from its shoulders and beneath its ribs, simultaneously giving rise to two more giant ape heads and four furry golden long arms.

Han Li had actually unleashed both the "Startling Sting Art" and the "Brahma Saint True Devil Arts" simultaneously.

At this moment, the formidable strength of his physical body was almost second only to the Nirvanic Saint Body state.

It was clear that even Han Li dared not be too careless when facing three opponents of the same cultivation level.

Just as the four were about to unleash their powerful divine abilities and begin fighting, suddenly, fluctuations appeared in the void about a hundred feet away. Another shimmering teleportation array materialized, and within it, a swirl of radiant light revealed three figures of varying heights.

The three old men, who were about to approach Han Li, immediately felt a chill in their hearts and stopped in their tracks.

The three-headed, six-armed giant ape that Han Li had transformed into turned its three heads, and its six eyes swept like lightning towards the same direction.

These three figures were an old woman, a Taoist priest, and a masked man—none other than Xiao Ming, Madam Wanhua, and others.

The moment these three finished teleporting, they clearly saw the three old men and the three-headed, six-armed giant ape Han Li had conjured. They were equally surprised and exchanged glances.

"So it's Brother Xiao. What a coincidence, that we all ended up in the same place," the giant ape said with a loud laugh. Then, the golden light on its body receded, its form rapidly shrank, and in an instant, it reverted to its human form.

"I also didn't expect to meet Fellow Daoist Han here; it truly is quite a coincidence," Xiao Ming said, his eyes flashing after recognizing Han Li in his original form, and forced a smile.

Madam Wanhua and Taoist Qingping, however, could only smile wryly in their hearts.

As for the three gaunt old men, upon seeing this situation, they dared not act rashly, merely scrutinizing the newly arrived trio with sinister gazes.

Xiao Ming, glancing at the three gaunt old men, then asked thoughtfully:

"Your faces are quite unfamiliar. Might you be fellow Daoists who seclude yourselves in the Black Smoke Forest Sea of the Northwest?"

"Hmph, you are quite knowledgeable, recognizing our origins at a glance. Indeed, we, the Three Witch Spirits, have always lived in seclusion in Black Smoke," replied the old man controlling the red fox puppet with a snort, his words clearly tinged with hostility.

"The Three Witch Spirits? So, you three are fellow Daoists who cultivate witchcraft abilities. But may I ask what grievances you have with Brother Han, and why you are making such a big move here?" Xiao Ming asked, his eyes flickering.

Although he hadn't personally witnessed Han Li and the others' battle, the lingering spiritual energy fluctuations in the air and the stance of confrontation between the two parties naturally revealed the recent conflict.

"Treasures of heaven and earth inherently belong to the strong. Since we've entered this Heavenly Cauldron Palace, naturally anyone here is our opponent. What reason do we need?" the speaking old man replied without hesitation.

"So, you three fellow Daoists also consider the three of us as opponents then. Brother Han, what do you say?" Xiao Ming's voice immediately grew three parts colder, but he turned his head and asked Han Li.

"I don't care," Han Li merely shrugged, an indifferent expression on his face. "As long as others don't actively provoke trouble first, I naturally wouldn't bother to act."

Seeing this, Xiao Ming felt his apprehension subtly increase by two more points. Glancing at the Three Witch Spirits again, he frowned slightly.

According to his original plan, he should have long since entered the central area of the Heavenly Cauldron Palace or located the core of its restrictions by now.

But he never expected that the restrictions in the second area they entered earlier would be far more profound and unusual than anticipated, trapping the three of them until just now, when they finally managed to break through.

And the moment they emerged, they encountered Han Li and the Three Witch Spirits—two groups of extraordinarily powerful opponents—which naturally made their headache even worse.

If possible, he would naturally prefer to see the two sides fight to the death, allowing them to benefit as a third party and directly enter the final area on their path.

However, after their appearance, this would be impossible unless Han Li and the Three Witch Spirits were completely brainless.

And if the standoff continued like this, it certainly wouldn't be a good thing for him.

It wasn't just them, the Mahayana cultivators, who had entered the Heavenly Cauldron Palace. Who knew if others would also find this place if they delayed any further?

Thinking of this, Xiao Ming's expression turned serious as he spoke again:

"Four fellow Daoists, we have only entered this place in search of treasure. Why quarrel before the true treasures are even in hand? The real treasures are clearly in the areas beyond this point. Instead of wasting energy fighting, it would be better to use it to search these subsequent areas. The previous restrictions were already so difficult to break; even if we use all our remaining time, we might not truly obtain any treasures and return."

"I don't care," Han Li replied with a half-smile, blinking his eyes. "As long as others don't actively provoke trouble first, I naturally wouldn't bother to act."

"Alright, since Brother Xiao has put it that way, let's put this conflict aside for now. Let's go!" The old man controlling the red fox puppet pondered for a moment after hearing this, then a fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and he nodded.

Then, the three old men exchanged a few whispered messages, moved their bodies, and truly turned around, flying towards a certain nearby area.

Xiao Ming seemed slightly taken aback when he saw the area the three had chosen, but he quickly returned to normal and smiled at Han Li:

"Brother Han, do you also have a destination in mind? If you haven't decided yet, the three of us will proceed first."

"What's there to choose? I'll go... I'll explore that place," Han Li said, shaking his head seemingly casually, and pointed a finger in a certain direction. However, midway through, his pupils suddenly contracted, and after a slight deviation of his fingertip, he pointed strikingly towards another area adjacent to his original direction.

Madam Wanhua and Taoist Qingping, who had remained silent until now, instantly changed expressions upon seeing the area Han Li had chosen.

At this moment, Han Li had already transformed into a long rainbow, soaring through the air. After a few flashes, he plunged into the pale blue light barrier. Inside, light mist instantly flickered, and his figure disappeared into it.

"What do we do? This fellow from Fengyuan Continent actually chose the area we originally intended to. Could he also know the location of the Heavenly Cauldron Palace's core?" Madam Wanhua anxiously exclaimed.

"It shouldn't be. The legacy passed down by Patriarch Tianding back then was inherited only by our lineage. Before now, it's impossible for anyone else in the world besides me to know its exact location and control methods," Taoist Qingping said with a very troubled expression.

"So, you mean he coincidentally chose this area. But his actions just now didn't seem to suggest that," Xiao Ming said, his gaze also darkening. At the same time, the image of Han Li's finger suddenly changing direction after pointing came to his mind.

"Then what do we do? Should we choose another area?" Madam Wanhua asked resentfully.