As soon as Han Li directed his seven sub-blades to engage the silver sword, he immediately felt the overwhelming power of his opponent.
The big man's single giant sword magic treasure alone was enough to completely suppress all the gold blades. The defensive golden net woven from seven beams of gold light crumbled under the violent collisions of the silver greatsword, unable to hold it back in the slightest. Instead, under the relentless strikes of the silver sword energy, the glow on the gold blades dimmed rapidly — a clear sign of their imminent collapse. It seemed only a matter of time before they met the same fate as the young woman's silk scarf!
But none of this surprised Han Li, who had already witnessed the silver sword's power. His "Gold Insect Mother-Daughter Blades" were merely average among top-tier magic treasures — it was entirely expected that they couldn't match the other man's silver sword, so there was nothing to be alarmed about. With a wave of his finger toward the aerial battle, Han Li tried to pull two of the gold blades from the fray and send them shooting toward the big man. First, he wanted to probe the opponent's defenses and see if there was an opening! After all, if a person was dead, no matter how powerful their magic treasures were, what good would they do?
The two gold beams, under Han Li's control, had just turned to fly toward the barefoot man when the opponent's giant sword suddenly erupted with blinding silver light. It began spinning furiously around its hilt, instantly transforming into a massive silver disc. From the disc's center, countless threads of suction force radiated outward, weighing down all the nearby gold blades as though they bore an enormous burden, rendering them completely immobile. The two blades trying to break away were no exception.
The sight left Han Li stunned. By the time he snapped back to his senses and hastily looked toward the big man, sure enough, the fellow was forming strange hand seals, both hands whirling like wheels as he performed some technique!
Without time to think, Han Li quickly slapped his storage pouch. A blue flying knife and a golden flying cymbal shot out in haste. Neither object lingered near Han Li for even a moment — both streaked directly at the big man.
Though the Giant Sword Sect's barefoot man's hands hadn't stopped their work, he saw every move Han Li made with perfect clarity. He let out a cold laugh, suddenly shifted his hand seals, freed one hand, and tapped lightly twice from afar at the incoming flying knife and golden cymbal.
The result was immediate: Han Li felt his connection to the two magic treasures sever instantly. With two whooshing sounds, both high-grade magic treasures, despite being seven or eight zhang away, were pulled through the air by the silver disc and forcibly sucked into its center.
With two muffled pops, the moment the two high-grade magic treasures entered the disc, the silver greatsword's rapid spinning dragged them into the vortex. They couldn't even hold out for a heartbeat before shattering into fragments like puffs of smoke. The glittering shards of the destroyed treasures fell in an eerily beautiful meteor shower.
Han Li's mouth went completely dry. He had never imagined the man's technique and silver sword could be so extraordinary. Not only had his Gold Insect Blades been trapped, but the two high-grade magic treasures he'd just launched hadn't even made the slightest impact before being utterly destroyed. It genuinely sent a chill through his heart.
Another crackling explosion rang out. Han Li's expression changed drastically as he looked more carefully. Sure enough, of the original seven gold sub-blades, only six remained, and in the center of the silver disc, another brilliant shower of golden sparks had appeared. Under the big man's control, the silver disc was now capturing and destroying the gold blades one by one.
If the earlier destruction of the high-grade magic treasures had merely alarmed Han Li, the loss of a gold sub-blade now made him truly wince with pain. These were top-tier magic treasures! And because they were a set, every blade lost significantly reduced their overall power.
Still smarting from the loss, Han Li no longer hesitated. He flipped his right hand, and the small mirror he had obtained from the woman known as Duo Bao appeared in his palm. He rapidly channeled spiritual energy into the mirror and aimed it upward. A wash of hazy green light instantly sprayed from the mirror's surface, forcing the silver disc back into its original giant sword form. The sword and the remaining gold blades were locked within the green light, frozen in midair, unable to move a fraction of an inch.
The barefoot man's eyes, which had been gleaming with triumphant frenzy, vanished the instant he saw Han Li's small mirror. His expression changed dramatically and he cried out involuntarily: "The Green Condensing Mirror! How is that thing in your hands? Isn't that the protective magic treasure of the Hidden Moon Twin Beauties? Did you kill one of them?!"
After speaking, the big man stared at Han Li with a look of utter disbelief, as though Han Li had committed some unspeakable, heaven-defying atrocity. It made Han Li's skin crawl!
Judging by the man's tone, obtaining this top-tier magic treasure seemed to bring enormous trouble. Han Li couldn't help but temporarily hold back, wanting to hear what the man had to say.
"What do you mean? I didn't kill that woman — I got it from the guy who killed her, someone called Feng Yue! Is something wrong with that?" Han Li frowned, his expression sour.
"Heh heh, you can save those words for the grandmother of the Hidden Moon Twin Beauties! Let's see whether a Core Formation cultivator and elder of the Hidden Moon Sect would bother listening to the explanation of a mere Qi Refining stage disciple like you!" The barefoot man sneered several times, his voice dripping with mockery.
Han Li's heart sank. He knew that if what the man said was true, there was truly no way to explain himself! He had no evidence to prove he wasn't the killer — on the contrary, that sinister woman's magic treasure was in his possession. Under those circumstances, the elder of the Hidden Moon Sect would most likely not let this supposed "murderer" go.
"This is really bad!" The thought of having a Core Formation expert constantly targeting his life made Han Li's mouth taste unbearably bitter. He was so overwhelmed with frustration that he felt like coughing up blood.
Truth be told, he was incredibly wronged! Not only had he not killed the woman, but killing Feng Yue could even be considered avenging that wicked woman! Yet here he was, facing the prospect of being hunted by a Core Formation cultivator. There was truly no justice!
After all, crushing a Qi Refining stage disciple like him was no different from squashing an ant — why would she waste her time listening to his explanations? And his own sect, Yellow Maple Valley, most likely wouldn't offend an elder of the Hidden Moon Sect for the sake of a nobody like him!
The more Han Li thought about it, the bleaker his future looked and the worse the consequences seemed! Would he really have to flee far and wide the moment he left the forbidden zone, assume a false identity and escape to another kingdom? Han Li truly couldn't make up his mind!