Chapter 695: The First Appearance of the Mage

As Han Li's spiritual sense perceived, a colossal yellow wind, over a hundred zhang high, swept over, covering everything. Wherever it passed, sand and stones flew, and yellow dust rolled, like a monstrous dragon emerging, carrying a tremendous malevolence.

He, too, was startled.

However, his spiritual sense was exceptionally strong, almost on par with a late-Nascent Soul cultivator. This allowed him to penetrate further than the others, whose spiritual senses could only reach about a hundred li before they could merely observe from afar. As the Grand Evolution Art circulated faintly within him, his spiritual sense condensed and pierced into the wind and sand.

But once his spiritual sense entered the swirling sand, it became hazy, only able to vaguely perceive a few dozen zhang ahead. Probing deeper yielded the same result, as if shrouded in a dense fog.

As Han Li stood astonished, the cold-faced cultivator surnamed You also withdrew his spiritual sense and spoke, following the old woman's words.

"Indeed, this is a Wind Spirit Art of the Mulan people! The spellcasters I've fought against before used this very spirit art, 'Myriad Miles of Red Dust.' Once cast, it not only blocks our cultivators' detection, but the yellow sand and strong winds within also possess a miraculous effect, protecting the caster and trapping enemies. It's quite troublesome. However, I've never witnessed such an astonishing scene before. It appears the range of this spirit art has been expanded a hundredfold, perhaps even a thousandfold. It's truly peculiar." Marquis Nanlong's expression darkened as he spoke.

"The Mulan people?"

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the others subtly changed.

Wang Chan and Yan Ruyan's faces instantly turned pale. However, being the lowest in status and cultivation within the group, they naturally did not dare to interject casually.

"Brother Nanlong is correct. Only a spellcaster's spirit art could make the wind and sand so astonishing. And judging by the power of this art, there's no telling how many spellcasters are hidden within, even those of our same cultivation level. It's not impossible." The white-robed elder spoke with similar caution.

"How is this possible? Why would the Mulan people suddenly deploy so many spellcasters?" the old woman asked, perplexed.

"Madam Tai," Wang Tiangu suddenly asked with a strange expression, "when was our last truce with the Mulan people?"

"About a hundred years ago, I believe!" The old woman's face suddenly showed a look of understanding. "Brother Wang, do you mean..."

"A hundred years is just about right," Wang Tiangu said lightly, a hint of mockery on his face. "It's enough time for the Mulan people to fully rest and recuperate."

"Brother Wang is right; it's about time for a new round of conflict to begin," Marquis Nanlong murmured, a hint of helplessness on his face. "Who knows how many cultivators will fall this time? But how coincidental is it that we've just happened to encounter the Mulan vanguard?"

Hearing this, the others also found the situation exceedingly coincidental.

"There are many coincidences in this world; there's no need to be overly surprised," the white-robed elder stated gravely. "However, at present, we only have two paths forward. First, we can return the way we came, avoiding a direct confrontation with the Mulan vanguard. We could then seek treasure again at another time; after all, treasures don't simply walk away, so there will be other opportunities. However, the Mulan people's offensive will certainly not cease for several years, making a short-term return impossible. Moreover, circumstances are unpredictable. It's hard to say if we can gather all fellow daoists together again next time."

"Needless to say, the second path is to directly engage and force our way through their wind formation," the old woman said, shaking her head in disapproval. "However, the risk is simply too great. What if there are several powerful old devils of our cultivation level hidden inside? We'd have great difficulty succeeding. Can't we find a way to bypass them?"

"It's probably too late to go around," the elder said gravely after a moment of contemplation. "Once the Mulan people launch an offensive, how could there be only this single vanguard? Even if we detour in another direction, we'll still encounter Mulan forces. However, we can first conceal ourselves and see if we can slip past from the side. As long as we don't charge headfirst into the center of the wind formation, it should be fine. And once we've passed the Mulan vanguard, we'll have enough time to avoid the main force of spellcasters. We can then make our way to the sparsely defended Mulan Grasslands and easily retrieve the treasure and leave."

After hearing the elder's suggestion, the others discussed it briefly and concluded that this was their only option. After all, no one wanted to abandon the current opportunity for something uncertain several years later.

This was, of course, also because Marquis Nanlong and the others were all Nascent Soul cultivators. Otherwise, no matter how tempting the treasure, they would have had to return empty-handed and dejected.

Before proceeding, however, these individuals each released communication talismans, sending them to the nearest strongholds of the Nine Nations Alliance cultivators. This was to ensure the Alliance could prepare in advance and not be caught off guard by a Mulan surprise attack.

This could be seen as fulfilling a small part of their duty as cultivators of the Southern Heavenly Region.

Then, the group of nine concealed their cultivation auras and figures, quietly moving to one side. They hoped to avoid the most violent central part of the wind and sand and slip past it.

Fearing that Wang Chan and Yan Ruyan's cultivation was insufficient, Wang Tiangu specifically raised a large light barrier, encompassing both of them. Then, under Han Li's gaze, they gradually vanished from sight.

As Han Li watched this, a faint sneer subtly appeared at the corner of his mouth.

With his spiritual sense, there was no way Wang Tiangu and the others' movements could truly escape his perception.

The hundred-li distance was covered in the blink of an eye.

The murky, yellow wind and sand, like demons emerging from the horizon, faintly pressed in from afar.

Before the yellow sand arrived, towering pillars of wind whistled forth.

Fortunately, they had already deviated from the front of the wind formation and reached a more distant side. Only a few scattered wind pillars swept past them, posing no threat at all.

The larger wind pillars had a diameter of over ten zhang, while even the smaller ones were several zhang wide, each capable of concealing several spellcasters.

Invisible, Han Li clearly perceived them with his spiritual sense at such close range.

Within these wind pillars, shadowy figures vaguely flickered; it seemed spellcasters were concealed within each.

However, these spellcasters evidently did not notice Han Li and the others nearby, and continued to advance, controlling the wind.

Han Li and the others watched with cold eyes, continuing their silent advance.

Just as they were about to plunge into the vast yellow sand closely following behind, Marquis Nanlong, who was leading the group, suddenly changed expression and warned via spiritual voice transmission.

"Not good! Watch out for the side!"

Han Li turned his head at the sound, and his expression instantly changed in surprise.

A massive wind pillar, roughly a hundred zhang thick and reaching as far as the eye could see, was howling horizontally towards them from a distance.

Given such a massive wind pillar, the spellcaster behind it must be extraordinary. Had this person discovered them?

Han Li took a deep breath, and the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords within him began to stir, eager for action.

Although he had long heard of spellcasters, he had never actually seen one with his own eyes. However, seeing one in the current situation was certainly not a joyous occasion.

The other people also stared at the giant wind pillar with wary expressions, some even with faint light swirling in their hands, having already retrieved their magic treasures.

But the giant wind pillar swept past them, narrowly missing them, appearing completely oblivious.

This made Marquis Nanlong let out a great sigh of relief.

In just that brief moment of delay, a boundless sand mist descended from the sky, instantly engulfing everyone. The surroundings immediately became incredibly dim, filled with a murky, dark yellow hue that was exceptionally oppressive.

"Be careful," Marquis Nanlong calmly called out. "This wind and sand are strange; spiritual sense cannot penetrate too far, so don't get separated."

Although it would naturally be easy for everyone to dispel this sand mist, doing so would expose their presence.

Fortunately, this yellow wind and sand should pass quickly, so Han Li and the others could only close ranks, remain concealed, and cautiously advance.

After fleeing for only the time it takes to eat a meal, Han Li observed the dim, monotonous scenery around him, and a faint sense of unease began to stir within him.

Suddenly, Han Li's figure paused, hovering in mid-air and stopping his escape light.

This naturally made Marquis Nanlong and the others pause in surprise, and they, too, halted in astonishment.

"Fellow Daoist Han, why have you stopped?" the old woman asked, frowning with a hint of displeasure.

"Have none of you fellow daoists noticed anything amiss?" Han Li said expressionlessly.

"What do you mean by that, friend?" the dark-skinned man asked with some surprise, his figure flickering as he appeared beside Han Li.

Hearing this, Wang Tiangu and the white-robed elder exchanged glances, and expressions of surprise and doubt appeared on their faces.

"Actually, even if I didn't say it, some of you fellow daoists should have already noticed," Han Li said with a grim expression. "We've flown through this wind and sand for such a long distance, yet we haven't encountered a single spellcaster. Don't tell me they're all concentrated in the very center of the wind and sand. Furthermore, the surrounding scenery hasn't changed at all. You all should know what this means, right!"

"Someone is using a restriction to ambush us!" the dark-skinned man murmured with a grim expression after hearing this. Then, a sharp light flickered in his eyes as he continuously scanned his surroundings.

"Fellow Daoist Han is probably right. I also find it a bit strange," Marquis Nanlong said grimly, nodding after a moment of silence. "It seems we have indeed been detected by the enemy, and they are using a spell to deal with us. It looks like we'll have to fight a big battle!"