Chapter 825: Ambush

Through a wisp of his spirit in the puppet, Han Li clearly perceived everything as it entered the cave entrance.

Before the white wolf lay a natural passage, seven to eight zhang high. The cave walls on both sides were a dark reddish-black, with wisps of flame occasionally darting out from cracks, causing the surrounding air to shimmer and distort from the intense heat. Han Li believed that cultivators with slightly lower cultivation, if unprepared, would likely be immediately overwhelmed and pass out from the hot, high-temperature winds upon entering this passage. As an automaton puppet, the white wolf was naturally unaffected.

It flew forward along the passage. After a short while, its sight brightened, revealing a fiery red underground world before it. This area spanned several hundred zhang, but its most striking feature was a lava lake that occupied most of the space. Fiery red bubbles constantly churned and burst within it, giving off a terrifying sensation that one would be roasted alive if they ventured too close. Around the lake was reddish igneous rock ground. Surprisingly, flashes of green indicated the growth of spirit herbs upon it, a sight that couldn't help but inspire wonder and attest to the extraordinary nature of these plants.

However, Han Li's wisp of spirit within the white wolf had no interest in the spirit herbs; its gaze had already settled on a large, protruding rock in the center of the lava lake. On it, a creature, fiery red all over, was lying on its back, snoring loudly. The creature was not very large, three zhang wide and five to six zhang long, its form greatly resembling a giant toad. However, its flame-bright skin gave it an extraordinary aura. As it breathed in and out, a layer of red cloud-like mist occasionally appeared on its body, adding to its mysterious aura. This must be the Fire Toad Beast!

Han Li clearly observed the beast, cautiously scrutinizing it for a long while. Only then did his gaze shift to a stone platform on the opposite side of the lava lake. The stone platform clearly appeared ancient. Although the platform's surroundings were carved with many patterns and runes, its four corners were already eroded and dilapidated. But at the center of the stone platform lay a cultivator's remains, wrapped in a cyan long robe, resting quietly. The long robe was simple in style, ancient and unique, clearly not something worn by modern cultivators. Moreover, after so many years, the robe still looked brand new. Emitting a faint green glow, it was clearly no ordinary item. The remains wrapped in the long robe had long since turned into a pile of bones. However, these bones were strangely crystal clear and translucent, like crystal.

After carefully scanning the bones and glancing once more at the Fire Toad Beast, Han Li released a wisp of his spirit and stealthily sent it towards the bones. He intended to first examine the cultivator's remains to see if there were any treasures on them. After all, he hadn't detected any treasures or storage bags on the surface of the remains, which made him suspicious. However, perhaps the treasures were hidden inside the cyan robe or somewhere near the stone platform, so he decided to search first.

As this wisp of spirit flew above the remains and gently descended to probe, an unexpected change occurred. The cyan robe suddenly flared with spiritual light. A layer of cyan mist-like light appeared on it, instantly deflecting the wisp of spirit. The surrounding spiritual energy fluctuated strangely. The Fire Toad, which had been sleeping on its back, seemed to sense something. Its tightly closed eyes suddenly opened, and its pair of emerald green eyes darted around a few times before fixating on the white wolf puppet near the cave entrance.

"Not good!" Han Li exclaimed inwardly. The white wolf puppet he controlled quickly turned around, its spiritual light flashing as it transformed into a white rainbow and shot back the way it came. At the same time, the seemingly bulky Fire Toad suddenly flipped over, leaped high, and landed back on the giant rock, assuming a ready, crouching posture. It glanced at the disappearing white rainbow, then let out a furious growl. Immediately, its powerful hind legs pushed off, and it was instantly enveloped in a red mist, then chased after the puppet.

"The Fire Toad is coming. Fellow Daoists, be careful," Han Li, invisible near the formation, subtly moved his lips, transmitting a message to Nangong Hou and the other cultivator. The two men's expressions hardened upon hearing this, and they simultaneously looked towards the distant colossal peak. A white rainbow was shooting out from within, flying straight towards them. A moment later, a brilliant red mass flashed out from the cave entrance, pursuing the white rainbow closely. Its escape speed was not slow at all, no less than that of an ordinary early Nascent Soul cultivator.

Seeing this scene, Han Li's expression shifted slightly. This time, it was fortunate that the white wolf puppet he sent out was a speed-type automaton beast; otherwise, whether it could lure the beast over would have been debatable. Thinking of this, he urged the wisp of spirit in the white wolf puppet again, instructing it to flee at full, superhuman speed without fear of damaging the puppet's body. Then, he himself flipped his hand, and a ball of shimmering blue ice flame silently appeared in his palm.

Nangong Hou and the other cultivator, with grim expressions, also prepared their magic treasures, waiting quietly on either side of the formation. The colossal peak and Han Li's location seemed far apart, but the white rainbow and the fiery red mist reached their vicinity in the blink of an eye. A fierce look flashed across Han Li's face, and the ice flame in his hand silently grew by another third.

But just as the white rainbow was about to reach the vicinity and plunge into the grand formation they had set up, the Fire Toad, still thirty to forty zhang behind, seemed to lose patience. After a loud croak, a brilliant red fireball shot out from the beast's mouth. When it first exited, the fireball was only the size of a human head, but after shooting out several zhang, with a whoosh, it instantly transformed into a massive object several zhang in size. It immediately caught up with the white wolf puppet at the edge of the grand formation, and a fiery hurricane, over ten zhang tall, instantly engulfed the automaton beast.

Then, muffled explosive sounds continuously emanated from the flames, followed by silence. Han Li's expression subtly changed! The flames quickly receded. The automaton beast, originally there, had vanished without a trace, leaving not a single speck behind. Seeing this, Han Li was naturally surprised. The Fire Toad's demonic flame was indeed no ordinary fire; at the very least, it surpassed the infantile flame of a Nascent Soul cultivator. He wondered if his own ice flame could suppress it. However, he wasn't overly concerned, as he possessed more than just one or two methods to kill this beast. Both the Purple-Rose Heavenly Flame and the Grand Geng Sword Formation were more powerful trump cards. Furthermore, even if he released all his Core Formation-level puppets at once, they could literally overwhelm and kill this beast. However, Han Li naturally wouldn't be willing to suffer such a significant loss. Automaton beasts could be very useful in certain situations.

At this moment, the Fire Toad, seeing that it had eliminated the intruder who had recklessly entered its nest, let out a long croak of extreme satisfaction. With a flash of red mist, it was about to turn and fly back. At this, Han Li and the other two looked at each other in dismay. Among them, Han Li's heart tightened particularly. This Fire Toad was linked to Nangong Wan's life or death; how could Han Li let it leave so easily? After frowning, he suddenly moved, transforming into a cyan rainbow and shooting out.

On the other side of the formation, Han Li's solitary figure appeared across from it. Nangong Hou and Old Man Lu Wei Ying were startled at first, then immediately understood Han Li's intention. Han Li's action successfully startled the Fire Toad, which had already half-turned its body. It swiftly turned its head, staring intently at the new enemy not far away, motionless. A hint of suspicion seemed to flash in its single eye.

Han Li didn't speak. With one hand, he held the small ball of ice flame. With the other, he patted his waist, and six balls of blue light shot out from his storage pouch, landing behind him. As the light receded, six giant blue tortoises, three zhang tall and shimmering with spiritual light, appeared behind Han Li. These were the giant turtle automaton beasts Han Li had recently refined. With a command in his spiritual sense, the carapaces of the six giant tortoises flashed rapidly with light. Suddenly, ice cones, each about a chi in height and of uniform size, materialized. Each one was crystal clear and pointed straight upwards diagonally, emitting wisps of cold air. The giant tortoises, which had originally appeared harmless, instantly became fierce and menacing, their aura astonishing.

The Fire Toad opposite seemed to sense Han Li's hostility. A fierce glint flashed in its green eyes, and with a breath, a fireball shot out from its mouth. Seeing that the fireball also grew massive and aggressively shot towards him, Han Li didn't speak. With the thought of testing the power of the Fire Toad Beast's demonic flame, he immediately raised the palm holding the ice flame. The ball of blue ice flame in his hand immediately transformed and condensed into a blue ice flower. It floated lightly towards the opposite side, meeting the giant fireball head-on.

The Fire Toad Beast's fireball was five to six zhang in diameter, while the ice flower condensed from the Azure-Blue Ice Flame was only a few inches in size. In terms of sheer scale, there was no comparison. However, the moment they met in the air, an astonishing scene unfolded. With a sizzling sound, the fireball flashed with blue light, and a thick layer of blue ice appeared on its surface. A giant ice ball formed in the air, yet at its center, fiery red flames still pulsed. Han Li was slightly startled by this sight. But the Fire Toad Beast opposite, seeing its fireball confined, became furious. With an open mouth, hundreds of fist-sized fireballs surged out from its mouth, rushing forth.

Han Li pursed his lips and waved a hand. The six giant tortoise puppets behind him, already poised, simultaneously shook their carapaces. Then, countless ice cones shot through the air from their shells, densely meeting the multitude of fireballs. After a series of rumbling explosions, the white cold air formed from the shattering ice cones and the vast waves of fire from the bursting fireballs intertwined in mid-air. Rolling white mist suddenly permeated the entire sky. Han Li stared ahead, his eyes narrowing slightly. Clearly, the opponent's fireballs were much more powerful than the giant tortoise's ice cones. In a moment, the waves of fire forced the cold air to retreat step by step.

Seeing this, Han Li mumbled something under his breath. Suddenly, his figure shot backward. The six giant tortoise puppets immediately followed suit, retreating. At this point, the sea of fire completely overwhelmed the cold air from the ice cones and unceremoniously pursued them. But the six giant tortoises immediately shot out another large batch of ice cones, and the resulting cold air once again blocked the waves of fire. Meanwhile, Han Li and the few giant tortoises had already flown over twenty zhang away.

Han Li stared intently at the Fire Toad Beast, which remained motionless, his lips tightly pressed together. According to the information he had gathered before coming to the Fallen Devil Valley, the Fire Toad Beast could not only use the power of lava to restore its vital energy and injuries, but also excelled in fire escape techniques, allowing it to travel a thousand zhang in an instant by harnessing the power of flames. Below this mountain range, there were lava seas everywhere. If this beast were allowed to go underground, it could easily escape. Nangong Hou and the other cultivator might not care about this; after all, they were here for the treasures on the remains, so even if they couldn't kill the beast, merely driving it away would be fine. But he was different; he was determined to obtain this beast's demon core. Therefore, he absolutely had to lure this beast into the formation and block its retreat; only then would he feel at ease attacking it. Hence, whether the Fire Toad Beast would pursue him now naturally became the crucial matter.

The Fire Toad Beast was momentarily stunned to see Han Li retreat immediately after just one exchange. However, this beast didn't seem to possess high intelligence; it didn't even think before its body flashed with living mist, transforming into a ball of red light, and vigorously chasing after him. Seeing this, Han Li was overjoyed.

After only pursuing for a short distance, blue-white light suddenly appeared around the fleeing Fire Toad, and a layer of light blue water curtain materialized around it. Then, several white lights flashed on the water curtain, and several faint white water dragons seemed poised to leap out. The entire light barrier became chillingly oppressive. The Fire Toad Beast was startled and involuntarily stopped its escape light. Its eyes darted around erratically, and it let out threatening growls.

At the same time, spiritual light flashed on both sides of the light barrier, and Nangong Hou and the old man surnamed Lu simultaneously revealed themselves. As soon as the two men saw the Fire Toad Beast trapped by the formation, they unceremoniously unleashed their respective treasures. Nangong Hou still threw out the jade ring in his hand, while the old man did not use his original magical flag treasure. Instead, he raised both hands, and two blue flying halberds intertwined and shot out. The formation's light barrier naturally had no effect on their treasures, which instantly flashed through the water curtain to attack the Fire Toad within. Meanwhile, the white water dragons on the light barrier also flew out from the water curtain at the opportune moment, attacking fiercely with bared fangs and claws. This was Han Li, who from afar had conveniently activated a formation flag in his hand, triggering the restrictions within the formation to cooperate with their attacks.

As soon as the Fire Toad saw this scene, though not highly intelligent, it also sensed something amiss. It immediately let out an earth-shattering croak. Then its body rapidly contracted, then abruptly swelled, activating its life-saving divine ability. After the beast roared, red light shields of uniform size immediately appeared all over its body. These small shields were densely packed, swarming out from the Fire Toad's body batch after batch, then merging into one. In a blink of an eye, they formed three layers of impenetrable fiery red light shields.

At this very moment, the jade ring, the water dragons, and the two blue halberds almost simultaneously struck these light shields. Immediately, continuous booming sounds echoed within the water curtain as red flames, water vapor, and various other lights intertwined, becoming dazzlingly bright for a moment, making it impossible to look directly at it. But after another wild roar from the Fire Toad Beast, a fiery red light pillar, as thick as a water vat, burst forth from the radiance, striking one side of the water curtain. As a result, with a soft 'whoosh,' the water curtain only resisted for a moment before being easily pierced, creating a large, gaping hole.