Chapter 1380

Hearing Long Dong's words, Han Li's eyes flashed with a sharp light, but he said nothing. The young woman and the white-browed youth exchanged a glance, seemingly agreeing, and did not speak in opposition.

The white-robed maiden blinked her beautiful eyes and suddenly spoke:

"For other cultivators to appear in such a place is truly strange; we should hurry on our way and avoid trouble."

"It is precisely because of these abnormalities that we must clarify why these people have appeared here. At worst, we will not enter the city and only inquire outside. If we truly encounter any mishap, there is nothing to fear. Did Elder Li not say just now that there are no cultivators of Void Refinement level or above in the city? After a few more days, we will enter the One-Line Heaven. The environment there is extremely perilous; if there are still unknown dangers lurking nearby, we might all perish within. In all matters, caution is paramount." Long Dong's expression shifted, but after a moment's thought, he still shook his head.

"Upon hearing Elder Long's words, there is indeed some possibility. Let us do this: we will observe from afar for a while longer, first avoiding alarming the cultivators inside. If there truly is no problem, revealing ourselves later will not be too late." Xiao Hong proposed a compromise.

"That is also good, more secure." Long Dong seemed to think the young woman's method was not bad and nodded.

Han Li stroked his chin, and the white-robed maiden smiled faintly; neither spoke again.

Thus, several people changed direction, concealed their escape light once more, and silently headed toward the small city.

Although the group had already greatly reduced their escape speed, the distance of several hundred li was still covered in a moment.

On the distant ground, a point of green color appeared; after drawing slightly closer, it became clearer,

and indeed it was a sizable oasis, surrounded not only by some low shrubs but also featuring a lake-like expanse of several li at its center.

Beside the lake stood a small city, its perimeter encircled by a white stone wall several zhang high, with only a single enormous gate over ten zhang wide facing Han Li and his companions, where more than ten people in yellow robes guarded the entrance, all cultivators around the Foundation Establishment stage.

Outside the city, near the lake, some ordinary people without any magic power were walking about, seemingly bending to plant something.

Han Li's escape light paused, and he stopped there, then extended his divine sense to secretly scan the small city.

Long Dong and the others beside him witnessed this and each employed secret techniques to probe.

"Not bad; these people are indeed of your human race, whether mortal or cultivator, there is no problem. The city also has not a few cultivators, with seven or eight at the Soul Transformation level alone. As for Void Refinement level, there are none, or they have concealed their aura and thus cannot be detected at present." Xiao Hong, after employing secret techniques to probe, opened her eyes and spoke cautiously.

"It appears everything is truly normal! Do any other fellow cultivators have any discoveries?" Long Dong gazed at the small city for a long while before turning back to ask.

"No restriction fluctuations have been detected around this city; it seems no spell formations have been set up nearby, and the fellow cultivators have found none. The temperature here seems much cooler, far less scorching than elsewhere." The white-browed youth also spoke after observing.

"Indeed, there are some abnormalities! But since this place can have an oasis, that in itself is an inconceivable matter, and these cannot explain anything." The young woman said, pondering.

"Why go through all this trouble! If a few fellow cultivators go into the city for a chat, it would be settled."

A strange voice suddenly rang out from above the heads of the group.

Han Li and the others were startled; without thinking, their shadows flickered, and they instantly scattered, appearing in various places tens of zhang away, then cautiously looked upward.

Only then did they see that, at some unknown time, an elderly Daoist priest in purple robes had appeared in the high sky, with kind eyes and a benevolent gaze toward them.

But what caused the young woman and others to feel a great jolt in their hearts was that this Daoist priest was actually a mid-stage Void Refinement cultivator; fortunately, he was a human cultivator, otherwise the group would have surely fled in terror.

Long Dong's gaze toward the Daoist priest, besides surprise, flashed a hint of disappointment in his eyes.

"Greetings, Senior! I do not know who you are or why you have appeared here." Xiao Hong took a deep breath and asked respectfully.

"Originally, you are a fellow cultivator of the Black Phoenix Clan; I am Elder Zi Yun of the Purple Cloud, and this city was built by my clan. You may have doubts in your hearts, but this is not a place for discussion; would you care to enter the city and speak with me?" The elderly Daoist smiled slightly and made an inviting gesture with one hand.

"Elder Zi Yun?"

Upon seeing the other party recognize her origin at a glance, the young woman was startled and immediately exchanged a glance with Long Dong.

Both felt the person's name and title were utterly unfamiliar, as if they had never heard of it, and naturally showed hesitant expressions at the other's invitation.

"Fellow cultivators need not worry excessively; I have always lived in seclusion, rarely interacting with others, so outsiders seldom hear of my name. You fellows must be thinking of the One-Line Heaven! If so, you should listen to my earnest advice more carefully. Recently, the One-Line Heaven has encountered some changes; if you fellows proceed directly there, the path ahead will be perilous." The old Daoist seemed to perceive the young woman's and others' concerns and spoke with a pleasant expression.

Upon hearing Elder Zi Yun's words, Long Dong and the others could not completely dispel their vigilance, but their hearts did relax slightly; yet upon hearing the words about problems in the One-Line Heaven, their expressions all changed somewhat.

"Since Senior extends such warm hospitality, we juniors would be rude to refuse." Although Long Dong had changed his mind inwardly and did not wish to enter this city at all, facing such a courteous invitation from a Void Refinement cultivator, he could not bring himself to utter words of refusal and could only grit his teeth and agree.

Seeing Long Dong say this, Han Li and the others could not well object; they could only salute the old Daoist and agree.

The smile on Elder Zi Yun's face became even more kind and amiable; he chuckled, descended his escape light, and led the crowd straight toward the city gate.

Seeing this, the others also found it improper to ride their escape light to follow; they merely employed light-body techniques and closely followed behind the old Daoist.

Though the distance seemed great, at the speed of the group—seemingly slow but actually urgent—they reached the vicinity of the oasis in a moment, even clearly seeing several children playing by the lake's edge.

"Please forgive our laughter, Senior; my clan only recently migrated here from elsewhere, and some of our mortal descendants had to be brought along as well. This place lacks other things, but we have quite a few kinds of rare spiritual fruits from the outside world; you fellows must certainly try a couple." Elder Zi Yun smiled and explained to the group.

Long Dong and the young woman then had some of their doubts resolved.

And in that very moment, the group had already arrived at the city gate, within arm's reach; the guarding Foundation Establishment cultivators bowed deeply to the crowd, then divided into two rows, clearing the path.

The old Daoist swept his robe and took the lead, walking past.

Long Dong and the others glanced at the gate guards; seeing they showed only respectful expressions and no impropriety, after a slight hesitation, they likewise passed through.

Han Li also passed calmly between the two Foundation Establishment cultivators without changing expression.

Everything appeared perfectly normal!

But just then, a clear ringing sound suddenly came from above, and a mass of silver-colored flame erupted, shooting out with a boom and striking a cultivator nearby.

The silver-colored flame instantly flared, enveloping that person entirely.

The young woman and others stared, dumbfounded.

"What is your intention, Senior? I welcomed you with goodwill, yet you dare to attack my junior." The old Daoist who had stepped forward, his expression changing, shouted loudly, his form suddenly flickering as he took a step forward, appearing instantly before Han Li, raising one hand, a large hand glowing with red light descending to seize him from head to foot.

Han Li's face originally bore the same bewildered expression, but at the instant the silver flame enveloped that Foundation Establishment cultivator, everything became clear to him; yet at that moment, the red hand had already covered his form, an invisible immense force simultaneously tightening his figure, as if pressed down by ten thousand catties of weight.

If an ordinary cultivator were in this situation, they could not even speak, let alone escape; but Han Li cultivates both body and law, and with the transformation from the Dragon Scale Fruit, Heavenly Corpse Pearl, and Bone-Tempering Technique, even without using the Fan Sheng True Devil Art, his bodily strength surpasses that of the white-browed youth and Xiao Hong by several measures.

Under such circumstances, the immense force that would incapacitate an ordinary cultivator caused him only a slight shoulder tremor and a slight twist of his form, and he vanished instantly from his original spot. The next moment, he strangely appeared more than twenty zhang away.

This was precisely the movement technique of the Nine Transformations of the Swift Wind.

With his current body and cultivation, even without using the Wind and Thunder Wings, he could easily perform this movement technique.

"Quickly flee; they are puppets possessed by the Shadow Clan." Han Li, having freed himself, let out a loud shout, then flickered and transformed into a green rainbow piercing the sky as he departed.

At the same time, the cultivator enveloped by the silver flame emitted a piercing, agonized howl from his mouth, and suddenly a gray shadow shot out from his body; but upon contacting the silver flame, it instantly flared and burned, being completely consumed to nothing.

From the emission of silver flame from Han Li's body to the old man's sudden attack, which was then broken and his escape, this took no more than the blink of an eye.

The young woman and Long Dong and the others were first utterly bewildered, still not understanding what had happened, when they heard Han Li's warning and instantly saw the shadow puppet appear within the silver flame; they then knew exactly what was going on, their faces turning deathly pale in an instant.

"Go!"

Almost without anyone needing to command, the four surrounded themselves with spiritual light, transforming into four startled rainbows that shot upward.

Seeing Han Li actually escape from his grasp, the old Daoist was startled; seeing the other four also intending to flee, he let out a cold snort from his nose, swung his sleeve, and struck hard at one of the escaping lights.

Suddenly, countless red threads shot out from the sleeve, instantly binding the escaping light tightly, then pulled back hard, yanking the fleeing light straight down from midair.

As the spiritual light faded, the owner of the fleeing light—shocked and furious—was revealed, wrapped in countless red threads.

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