Chapter 895: Bitterness

"Master! What's wrong?" asked Silver Moon, Han Li's artifact spirit, who immediately sensed something amiss, their minds being intrinsically linked.

"Someone is approaching," Han Li replied. "One Core Formation cultivator and one Foundation Establishment. But they've stopped about ten li away. The Foundation Establishment cultivator's aura feels somewhat familiar, like Feng Yue. That's a bit strange." Han Li stroked his chin, lost in thought.

"Shall I go take a look in my artifact spirit form?" Silver Moon asked after a moment of silence.

"No, forget it," Han Li replied, shaking his head as if sensing something with his spiritual sense. "Your injuries haven't healed, and I can only use my Foundation Establishment cultivation. It's best not to stir up trouble. They should leave soon. I can just monitor their movements with my spiritual sense from here."

Since Han Li had spoken, Silver Moon naturally didn't voice any disagreement and assented.

Han Li then closed his eyes and remained seated quietly.

After a while, Han Li let out a soft exclamation, and a look of astonishment suddenly appeared on his face.

This time, Silver Moon wisely refrained from asking anything further.

Han Li's brows immediately furrowed, and his complexion kept shifting, alternating between dark and light.

"Senior Dayan, if I'm not mistaken, you said that only a few secret techniques can eliminate the fiendish aura on my body. And among those, Buddhist cultivation techniques account for more than half. Is that truly the case?"

"Indeed," Dayan God-Monarch replied languidly. "Besides Buddhist cultivation techniques, a few rare Confucian and Daoist techniques should also be able to dispel fiendish aura, but they are nowhere near as effective as Buddhist techniques."

"If that's the case," Han Li asked, his expression still uncertain, "then the most prominent characteristic of Buddhist cultivation techniques is that the magic power cultivated within them contains Buddhist power. And most of these techniques manifest as seven-colored spiritual light. Is that also true?"

"That's right! Why? Did you discover something?" Dayan God-Monarch asked, sounding a little puzzled and curious.

"In that case, this person might be useful," Han Li murmured to himself, lowering his head. "Perhaps it's an opportunity."

Dayan God-Monarch was baffled by Han Li's enigmatic questions, and when Han Li didn't provide an answer, he naturally grew displeased. Just as he was about to press for details, Han Li seemed to have made up his mind. He suddenly stamped his foot, and his entire body, controlling an artifact, instantly transformed into a streak of green light, shooting out from the boulder and soaring through the air towards a certain direction.

This sudden action caught both Silver Moon and Dayan God-Monarch by surprise. Although they were puzzled, seeing Han Li's haste, they could only keep their myriad questions to themselves for the moment.

Han Li arrived at the location, more than ten li away, almost instantly. It was a rare patch of woodland in a small grassland, only about a li in size. The trees were somewhat sparse and not very tall.

In a clearing about ten zhang wide in the middle of the woods, two people were present.

One of them, a man in a blue robe, lay motionless on the ground, his back covered in a patch of black blood, his condition unknown. However, a seven-colored, extraordinarily vibrant light barrier protected his entire body. Nearby, the other person was an old man in a purple robe with hawkish eyes, who was manipulating a fiery red flying sword that transformed into streaks of sword light, striking the light barrier.

Although the seven-colored light barrier was extraordinary, because it lacked a master to control it, it had already begun to waver violently, its light flickering wildly.

Han Li's sudden, unmasked appearance naturally alarmed the hawkish-eyed old man below.

The old man was startled at first, but he raised his head and swept his spiritual sense over Han Li, discovering that Han Li's cultivation was merely at the Foundation Establishment stage, and his heart immediately relaxed. Instead, he immediately conceived the idea of killing Han Li to silence him. With a raise of his hand, a black ray flashed out, vanishing in an instant. It was a three-edged nail enveloped in black qi, moving at an incredibly fast speed.

Han Li snorted coldly, and without a word, he touched the top of his head. A dark green cloud, with a whoosh, shot out from the top of his head, instantly transforming into a jade-green hand several feet long, reaching out to grab the black ray.

The hawkish-eyed old man was stunned by this sight. Before he could understand what kind of cultivation technique this was, with a muffled 'thud,' the three-edged nail was effortlessly scooped up by the large hand as if it were a piece of straw, instantly losing its connection with the old man's spiritual sense. At the same time, the hand shot straight downwards without hesitation, pouncing on him.

At this, the hawkish-eyed old man was scared out of his wits. He frantically formed hand seals with both hands, desperately trying to summon his red flying sword back for protection.

But the dark green hand flashed once mid-air and vanished, only to reappear mysteriously about a zhang above the old man's head the next moment, instantly transforming into a giant fist that smashed down fiercely.

"Argh!"

The purple-robed old man only managed to let out a single scream before being smashed into a pulp.

The dark green fist then transformed back into a large hand, and with a grab in the air over the old man's mangled remains, an egg-sized jade-green light sphere immediately flew into its five fingers.

The large hand immediately shot back towards Han Li, and after a single swirl, it transformed into a dark green infant that landed on Han Li's shoulder. At this moment, it held the dark three-edged spike in one hand and the jade-green light sphere in the other, a wide grin on its face.

Han Li's eyebrows twitched slightly.

When faced with sudden sieges, no matter how critical the situation, he had never once used his second Nascent Soul, keeping it as an unexpected means of escape. But now, having given it a small test, its power seemed to far exceed his expectations. With just a slight transformation, it had so easily killed a Core Formation cultivator. It seemed ordinary Core Formation cultivators were no match for this Nascent Soul.

Thinking this to himself, Han Li floated down without a word and walked towards the seven-colored light barrier.

At this moment, the red flying sword, since the old man's physical body had been destroyed and even his nascent spirit, formed from his soul, had been sealed, naturally fell to the side, uncontrolled, flickering with a faint spiritual light and remaining motionless.

Han Li ignored the sword and walked to the seven-colored light barrier, observing it carefully.

At this point, it was unusually clear to see that the light barrier originated entirely from a pale blue jade pendant floating inside it.

This object floated several feet above the blue-robed man, shining with seven-colored spiritual light, and occasionally, strange Buddhist characters flickered within the light. It was precisely the jade pendant inscribed with 'Ning Zhongfeng' that Han Li had once shown Silver Moon.

After gazing at the jade pendant for a moment, Han Li slowly transmitted his voice to ask:

"How about it, Senior? This is a magic tool refined by the Buddhist Sect, isn't it?"

"Looking at the materials and refining technique, it certainly can't be called a Buddhist treasure," Dayan God-Monarch replied indifferently after a cold snort, having fully understood the meaning of Han Li's previous words. "But it has indeed been blessed with Buddhist restrictions by a high-ranking Buddhist monk. Otherwise, a mere top-tier magic tool wouldn't be so intelligent and capable of resisting attacks from a Core Formation cultivator's magic treasure for so long. It seems this Feng family has some connection with the Buddhist Sect."

Hearing Dayan God-Monarch's confirmation, Han Li's heart brightened. At least his intervention wasn't in vain this time.

Thinking this, he stepped forward without a word, raised a hand, and gently pressed his palm against the barrier. A thin layer of azure flames appeared on his palm.

With his current cultivation, he couldn't unleash much more of the Azure Essence Ice Flames; these flames were already the limit of what he could control. But even so, the seven-colored light barrier couldn't resist the extreme cold of the ice flames at all. With a 'bang,' the barrier collapsed and vanished like a bubble.

Han Li walked over to the blue-robed man, and after examining the black bloodstains on his back, he couldn't help but frown.

Only then did he sense that this person's aura was not only extremely chaotic and weak, but also faintly exuded an aura of death. This clearly indicated that his life was hanging by a thread.

Han Li raised a hand without speaking, and a spell seal landed on the man's body. Then he opened his mouth, and a cloud of misty green vital qi sprayed out, transforming into a sheet of green mist that enveloped the blue-robed man's body.

Then he lightly flicked his sleeve, and after a gust of strong wind blew, the person on the ground was flipped over.

After a single glance, Han Li immediately gasped.

It was indeed Feng Yue, but his face had now turned completely dark, almost black, and his lips were so dark they were faintly purple, making him appear truly horrifying.

Han Li's expression turned grim.

But after a brief moment of thought, his spiritual sense instantly enveloped the other person's entire body, and blue light flickered in his eyes as he activated his Brightsight Spirit Eyes.

This person, having been afflicted by such a strange poison, with poisonous qi enveloping his body, should have died immediately, yet he still had a breath left. This was rather strange.

Han Li naturally wasn't willing to let go easily and began to search carefully.

A moment later, Han Li found something, and with a raised hand, he grabbed the other person's collar.

With a 'rip,' the other person's robe was torn half open, revealing a silver-white key tethered by a chain on his chest.

At this moment, the key glowed with milky white spiritual light, continuously dispelling the poisonous qi around the blue-robed man's chest. However, the rest of his body outside the chest area had also turned dark.

Han Li's eyes flickered, and he grabbed one of the blue-robed man's arms. Immediately, green light surged, and a layer of misty green spiritual light rapidly flowed from Han Li's palm into the blue-robed man's body, intending to slowly expel the black qi from his body.

However, a moment later, the green spiritual qi that had just passed into the blue-robed man's arm mysteriously turned black and rapidly spread along the spiritual qi directly towards Han Li's palm.

"'Bitter Poison!'" Han Li exclaimed in alarm, suddenly flung his hand, immediately severing the spiritual qi connection to the other man's arm, and his face turned slightly pale.

"'Oh! It's actually Bitter Poison, one of the Ten Great Deadly Poisons. Han brat, you've wasted your efforts. This person cannot be saved at all,'" Dayan God-Monarch chuckled, sounding quite pleased with the misfortune.

Upon hearing this, Han Li couldn't help but roll his eyes, and at the same time, he scoffed defiantly:

"'Hmph! Perhaps I can't completely detoxify him," Han Li scoffed. "But making him temporarily conscious, or even letting him live for ten days to half a month longer, isn't difficult for me. However, the spiritual medicine required won't be a small amount. I just don't know if this person is worth such a great cost.'"

After saying this, Han Li slowly stood up, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Master, you could first make him conscious, ask about a few things, and then decide. It wouldn't be too late," Silver Moon suggested with a light chuckle.

"That's true!" Han Li mused. "If I don't clarify his connection with the Great Jin Buddhist Sect, I'll always feel a bit unwilling."

Then, with a pat of his hand on his storage pouch, a small, pristine white bottle appeared in his hand.