Chapter 457: Extreme Yin Attack

Han Li's face was expressionless. He allowed the box to fly towards the light barrier, where it bounced off and fell outside the formation.

He showed no intention of deactivating the restriction.

He simply stared at the golden box with a cautious gaze, remaining silent.

"What's wrong? Are you afraid this box is still an illusion made of ghost silk?" Xuan Gu said calmly, his hands clasped behind his back, looking at Han Li inside the light barrier. "You can rest assured. That old demon is dead now. I need to join forces with you to eliminate Jiyin. I won't harm you again. Besides, the sheer number of Golden Lightning Bamboo artifacts you possess is truly beyond my expectation. They will certainly be remarkably effective against Jiyin's Profound Yin Grand Technique. Why would I cripple myself?"

Upon hearing this, Han Li didn't even glance at Xuan Gu in the sky.

To him, if the opponent could ambush him once, they could certainly do so again for other unknown reasons.

No matter how pleasant or logical the opponent's words were, he still needed to exercise extreme caution.

With this thought, Han Li raised a hand, and an incredibly slender, light-golden electric arc shot out, precisely striking the lid of the golden box.

With a crackling sound of sparks, the golden box merely wobbled a few times, with no other changes occurring.

Seeing this, Han Li exhaled softly.

If the box had been transformed from some evil object, it would surely not have withstood the strike of the "Evil-Dispelling Divine Lightning."

Feeling reassured, he then made a summoning gesture towards the box in the air. The golden box leaped from the ground and flew directly towards him.

At the same time, the surrounding light barrier flickered momentarily before returning to its original state. The golden box seized this opportunity to pass through the shield and fly into Han Li's hand.

Under Han Li's spiritual sense surveillance, Xuan Gu remained completely still. This eased Han Li's mind slightly, and he lowered his gaze to the golden box in his palm.

However, as he gazed at the object, a cold glint flickered in his eyes. He did not immediately open the lid, seemingly lost in thought.

In the air, Xuan Gu saw Han Li's cautious demeanor and merely sneered. He then leisurely looked around, showing no sign of impatience.

Han Li glanced at the white rabbit, the incarnated form of the spirit ginseng, lying on the ground.

It was motionless on the ground, seemingly still unconscious.

After a brief hesitation, Han Li no longer delayed. He extended two fingers and lightly tapped the lid of the golden box.

Immediately, a ball of green light abruptly illuminated between the lid and his fingers. With this tap, the lid opened on its own, revealing the contents of the box.

Han Li quickly focused his gaze, and a small object appeared before his eyes.

The object was about half a foot long, entirely earthy yellow, with a dry, wrinkled skin, resembling an ordinary root from an old tree.

Han Li was speechless!

The only unusual feature was a remarkably beautiful small silver flower growing at its tip. This flower emitted a faint glow and a subtle fragrance, which instantly invigorated Han Li upon smelling it.

Just as Han Li wondered if this was truly the "Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng" or if Xuan Gu had simply found an unknown object to deceive him, the rabbit, which had been lying motionless on the grass, suddenly sprang up. It transformed into a ball of white light and shot like an arrow towards the "root" in the golden box.

Han Li was startled at first, but then a look of delight appeared on his face.

Since the white rabbit incarnation of the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng was so eager for this object, it confirmed that this was indeed the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng, putting his mind at ease.

However, Han Li could not allow the incarnation to simply merge with its main body.

Without ceremony, he flexed a finger and flicked it, sending a green sword light shooting out. It accurately struck the white rabbit's head, causing it to tumble backward and bounce away to a distance.

But seeing its main body so close, the small creature desperately bounced and rushed forward again, determined not to give up until it reached its goal.

At this point, Han Li grew a little impatient.

Immediately, an electric arc shot out, knocking the white rabbit completely to the ground. A large patch of its fur turned black, and it genuinely fainted.

Then, Han Li levitated the rabbit over, glanced at it in his hand, and tossed it into the golden box.

As soon as the white rabbit incarnation touched the main body of the "Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng," a white light flashed, and it dissolved into the root. Han Li immediately closed the lid and placed a small restriction on it to prevent them from escaping.

Only after completing all this did Han Li truly let out a small sigh of relief.

Xuan Gu still showed no signs of making a move. While this eased Han Li's mind, his vigilance paradoxically heightened by several degrees.

Therefore, after tucking the golden box into his storage pouch, he calmly asked:

"Senior, you're entrusting the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng to me just like that? Aren't you worried I might flee with it right now?"

Han Li asked, testing the waters.

"Flee?" Xuan Gu retracted his gaze from looking around, then looked at Han Li and said unhurriedly, "Do you think this spiritual item will be effective with just the ginseng itself, without the refining formula?"

Upon hearing this, Han Li frowned, just as he was about to say something more.

However, Reverend Xuan Gu gave a cold laugh and, without allowing for further discussion, continued:

"Jiyin has already placed a mark on you. Even if you flee to the ends of the earth, you won't escape his pursuit. It would be wise to cooperate with me. Otherwise, even if you manage to escape the Hall of the Void with the spirit ginseng, you'll still... hehe!"

"Placed a mark?" Han Li's expression changed, but he quickly regained his composure.

With his powerful spiritual sense, he couldn't believe he had been marked without knowing it.

Seeing this, Xuan Gu naturally guessed that Han Li didn't believe him at all.

He immediately twitched his lips, and just as he was about to produce some evidence, his expression suddenly changed. He abruptly turned and gazed into the distance.

This left Han Li feeling somewhat bewildered. But at the same time, an alarm blared in his heart, making him secretly wonder what new trick the old demon was trying to pull.

Unexpectedly, Xuan Gu immediately turned back and uttered words that instantly made Han Li tense up.

"Jiyin is coming. He's probably looking for you. Take care of yourself! I'll hide for now." After saying this, Xuan Gu transformed into a dark cloud and flew away, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Han Li was dumbfounded!

Just as he was questioning whether the other party's words were true or false, a booming demonic wail echoed from the distant horizon. Following that, a vast, oppressive black cloud swept in from afar, covering the sky.

Its direction indicated it was heading straight for his location.

Han Li's heart sank!

This black cloud was precisely the awe-inspiring aura produced by the Profound Yin Grand Technique. The person approaching was, in all likelihood, Patriarch Jiyin.

Could he truly have been ambushed by Jiyin without realizing it?

Otherwise, why would Patriarch Jiyin travel to such a remote place and fly straight towards him with such precision?

At the same time, Han Li cursed Reverend Xuan Gu inwardly.

Hadn't he continuously claimed they would join forces against Jiyin? Yet, now that the opponent had arrived alone, he had fled so swiftly, leaving Han Li behind by himself.

This left Han Li utterly frustrated!

It was too late for him to hide now. It seemed he would have to brace himself and confront the situation.

Just as Han Li hadn't even had time to retract his formation, the vast black cloud arrived above the forest in a flash and abruptly stopped.

Now, Han Li had no choice left. He could only watch the dark cloud intently, his heart tightening, remaining silent.

He believed the other party wouldn't immediately try to kill him upon meeting. This was also an opportunity to figure out why Patriarch Jiyin had been relentlessly pursuing him.

He had pondered this for a long time but still hadn't discovered the reason.

It greatly vexed him!

With this thought, Han Li's state of mind returned to normal. He gazed at the dark cloud in the sky, silently waiting for the other party to speak.

However, to Han Li's complete surprise, a cold snort first echoed from within the dark cloud, followed by a pillar of ink-black light that shot out from the cloud with lightning speed, striking the formation's light barrier.

Instantly, a yellow glow flashed, and a cracking sound ensued. The light barrier, unable to withstand even a single blow, cleanly shattered and dissipated.

Watching the black light pillar, now completely unhindered, sweep directly towards him.

Han Li's face instantly turned ashen!

Without hesitation, he flickered a few times, leaving his original position and reappearing more than ten zhang away, his face a mixture of shock and fury.

Han Li no longer hesitated. He waved both hands, and dozens of tall puppet giant apes appeared around him, positioning themselves in front of him.

Then, several spirit beast pouches spun around, each activating and floating gently in front of him.

Han Li's gaze was icy cold!

Although he knew his chances of victory were extremely low, if the other party truly intended to kill him here, he would have no choice but to fight with all his might.

He would never sit idly by and await death!

At the same time, the true essence within his body locked onto the nine Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords, which began to stir, ready for action.