Chapter 320: Blue Mark Reappears

"Junior Martial Brother Han is truly extraordinary! You found the loophole so quickly? What is it?" Liu Jing praised, then asked cordially.

Han Li smiled slightly and suddenly handed over the crystal ball in his hand.

"Senior Martial Brother, just look here with this violet light orb, and you'll know," Han Li said, pointing in the direction he had been gazing.

Liu Jing heard this, curiously took the artifact, and peered carefully through the crystal ball.

As Liu Jing gazed, his expression turned to one of surprise. A moment later, he returned the crystal ball to Han Li and lowered his head in thought.

After another moment, he finally looked up and said to the others who were anxiously waiting:

"Junior Martial Brother Han is right," Liu Jing announced, his voice growing louder with confidence. "For some reason, the spiritual energy fluctuations in this direction are vastly different from other areas, seeming much thinner. It appears the opponents set up the formation in a hurry, revealing an unexpected flaw."

"Then Senior Martial Brother Liu means..." Chen Qiaoqian's senior sister couldn't help but ask.

"Concentrate all our artifacts and attack this weak point together. I believe we can break this formation without expending too much spiritual power," Liu Jing stated with certainty.

"Since that's the case, let's act quickly!" As soon as Song Meng heard this, he impatiently raised his hand, releasing his Blue Silk Sword, which began to hover above his head.

The others, having heard Liu Jing's words, also had eager, expectant expressions on their faces.

Seeing this, Liu Jing no longer hesitated and immediately said:

"Alright! Let's make our move. We must break this formation and show them what we're capable of."

As he spoke, over a dozen artifacts flew out from their bodies, emitting dazzling light, and shot directly towards the weak point.

Meanwhile, outside, the Ice Demon, who was directing his cult members in various encirclement formations, was equally anxious.

Ever since the leader of the Black Fiend Sect demanded that the Four Blood Servants be on high alert within the palace, each shift was supposed to consist of two Blood Servants.

However, Ye She, who was supposed to be guarding the gate with him, presumptuously thought he had just accomplished a great feat and used the excuse that he was about to enter the Mid-Foundation Establishment stage. So, he secretly ran off to the Blood Prison to cultivate. The Ice Demon, not wanting to offend this rising star among the Four Blood Servants, simply turned a blind eye and tacitly agreed.

But it was this momentary oversight that led to so many powerful enemies invading now. Yet, he was the only one at the main gate capable of dealing with them.

Fortunately, he was also resourceful!

He first used the "Four Symbols Formation" to trap the invaders, then, without hesitation, he sent people to the Blood Prison and the back hall to summon the other three quickly.

He knew very well that these Qi Condensation stage cult members were no match for so many powerful enemies. However, the Four Symbols Formation had already trapped the invaders, which should buy them some time!

With just a little time, he believed the other three colleagues would arrive promptly.

Once the Four Blood Servants joined forces, the Ice Demon would fear no one.

As he was thinking, a rumbling vibration came from within the Four Symbols Formation.

With this sound, the dense white mist filling the formation began to boil violently, as if the formation was about to break and the people within would emerge.

"What's going on? The Four Symbols Formation couldn't possibly be collapsing so quickly. Something must have gone wrong!" Seeing this, the Ice Demon's pale face, hidden in the chilling aura, turned somewhat green.

"Lord Ice," a nearby Black Fiend Sect disciple explained cautiously, "the enemy attacked too quickly just now, and several disciples dedicated to managing the formation have already died. So, the Four Symbols Formation is currently understaffed, and perhaps the enemy found a weakness."

The Ice Demon was furious and alarmed upon hearing this. Just as he was about to unleash a loud reprimand, a gentle voice came from behind him.

"Ice Demon, what's wrong? You've even activated the Four Symbols Formation, and it still doesn't seem to be trapping the enemy."

Hearing this voice, the Ice Demon immediately felt a sense of relief.

"Qing Wen, you've finally arrived! This is great!" The Ice Demon's voice was filled with unconcealed joy as he hastily turned to look.

Five or six zhang behind him, two figures had appeared unnoticed.

One was a man in his thirties, with regular features, a pale, beardless face, wearing a green Daoist robe. He gazed solemnly at the strange situation within the Four Symbols Formation. The other was a tall, burly man with a large bald head – none other than Tie Luo, who had previously fought Han Li.

"Who are these invaders, and where's that kid Ye She?" Tie Luo asked, stroking his bald head with a bloodthirsty expression.

"Ye She is..."

Before the Ice Demon could finish his sentence, a tremendous "rumble" echoed. The dense mist in the Four Symbols Formation vanished amidst the exploding sound. In front of the palace gates, where white mist had previously enveloped, Han Li and his companions appeared.

After clearly seeing the cultivation levels and numbers of the invaders, Qing Wen's expression subtly changed, and Tie Luo was utterly astonished.

"Haha! You evil cultivators, do you think a broken formation can trap us, the people of Yellow Maple Valley? That's simply wishful thinking!" As soon as Song Meng found himself back in front of the desolate palace, he couldn't help but excitedly shout a few words.

"Yellow Maple Valley?"

Qing Wen and the other two were somewhat surprised, but then they realized it was quite normal. Besides the Seven Great Sects, who else in the State of Yue could dispatch so many Foundation Establishment cultivators at once?

"Why are you breaking into the imperial palace at night? Aren't you afraid of violating the proscriptions?" Qing Wen asked impassively, not waiting for Liu Jing and the others to speak.

Knowing the Seven Sects' proscriptions well, he hoped to use this to make Liu Jing and his group apprehensive.

Liu Jing snorted coldly. Before he could speak, an exclamation came from the opposite side.

"It's you! Aren't you from the Thousand Bamboo Sect?! How are you involved with Yellow Maple Valley cultivators?" The bald man, Tie Luo, instantly spotted Han Li standing at the back of the group with a glance. He couldn't help but ask loudly in astonishment, his voice full of suspicion.

This statement caused both allies and enemies to pause. All gazes instantly turned towards Han Li.

Only then did the Daoist Qing Wen clearly see Han Li's face. His facial muscles twitched, and an expression of disbelief appeared in his eyes.

"When did I ever say I was from the Thousand Bamboo Sect?!" Han Li cast a cold glance at the bald man, then his eyes shifted to Daoist Qing Wen.

It was truly unexpected for Han Li that this old acquaintance from the Great South Meeting, who had strongly invited him to travel together back then, would appear here.

However, because of this, all the mysteries from back then — why the other party had so actively tried to recruit low-level cultivators to travel with him, and why he himself had been inexplicably tracked and assassinated by yellow-robed figures — were now solved.

Understanding the full story, Han Li was naturally furious and felt a strong killing intent towards Daoist Qing Wen.

"Nonsense! If you're not from the Thousand Bamboo Sect, how do you know the Puppet Arts?" The bald man continued to press, unwilling to let it go.

"Does it matter what cultivation technique Junior Martial Brother Han uses? Do we need to tell you?" Liu Jing's face darkened, and he suddenly spoke in a sharp tone. "Let's move! These people are deliberately trying to waste time; we can't let them succeed."

As he finished, he raised a hand, and a flash of silver light shot directly towards the Ice Demon, who was at the forefront.

Only then did the Yellow Maple Valley cultivators realize, secretly cursing the opponents' cunning. They, too, unceremoniously conjured their artifacts, immediately plunging into a chaotic battle.

Han Li had long set his sights on Daoist Qing Wen. So, as soon as the fighting began, he and a Senior Martial Brother Wang from Chen Qiaoqian's group jointly formed a pincer attack, surrounding the Daoist.

Without a word, Han Li slapped his storage pouch at his waist. Instantly, over a dozen dazzling tri-colored rays of golden, black, and red light shot into the sky. After briefly circling above Han Li's head, they emitted faint roars and charged directly towards the opponent.

Han Li had absolutely no intention of exchanging pleasantries or reminiscing with the opponent.

Upon seeing the immense display of power from Han Li's attack, both Qing Wen and Senior Martial Brother Wang on the other side simultaneously changed their expressions.

Senior Martial Brother Wang revealed an expression of pleasant surprise, secretly sighing that Han Li truly lived up to his reputation, indeed a master who had killed many Foundation Establishment cultivators, truly extraordinary.

Meanwhile, Daoist Qing Wen's face took on a cautious expression, and a faint layer of green mist enveloped his body. Seeing Han Li's ruthless attack, he knew Han Li harbored killing intent towards him and certainly wouldn't just wait to die.

So, without any unnecessary talk, he suddenly extended his hand before the artifacts struck.

Five green, spherical artifacts flew from his hand, instantly hovering around him in a pentagonal arrangement.

Then, with a flash of green light, a misty green aura surrounded Daoist Qing Wen, and a pentagonal prism-shaped protective shield appeared out of thin air, completely encasing him.

A burst of multicolored light scattered. Han Li's Golden Fork struck the green prism simultaneously, emitting dazzling light, yet this peculiar shield remained completely unharmed.

"Han Li," Qing Wen suddenly said with a smile, acting as if he was very familiar with Han Li, "my Verdant Wood True Shield can only be broken by Core Formation cultivators; Foundation Establishment cultivators cannot damage it in the slightest. You might as well give up!"