To put it plainly, this was the second cultivator whose Primordial Spirit had been forced out of its body that Han Li had destroyed.
Most cultivators would never resort to the trick of projecting their Primordial Spirit out of their body to save their lives during a fight. That was because it required a certain amount of time to cast, and during that window, the caster couldn't move at all.
In a typical cultivator's battle, who would leave you the time to pull off that escape? You'd be killed dozens of times over in the span it took for your Primordial Spirit to leave the body. Only cultivators at the Core Formation stage and above could借助 their Nascent Soul to instantly project the Primordial Spirit free.
And this Senior Brother Lin was just as unlucky as Yu Zitong had been back then!
He had originally intended to fly directly over Han Li's cave dwelling and head straight back to Yellow Maple Valley for treatment and reinforcements. Instead, he had stumbled right into Han Li's grand formation, trapped by the illusory visions and shifting arrays, unable to leave even a single step. All he could do was watch helplessly as the poison consumed him from within, which left him no choice but to force his Primordial Spirit out of his body.
That was also why Senior Brother Lin was brimming with resentment toward the formation's master. On top of that, he genuinely needed a physical body in order to resurrect himself, so the moment he laid eyes on Han Li, he struck without hesitation, attempting Body Seizing regardless of the consequences.
But he never could have imagined that Han Li would act so quickly — catching him completely off guard, Han Li seized control of his Primordial Spirit in one swift move, reducing it to nothing but dissipating mist.
Now that the man was dead, Han Li naturally wasted no more thought on a corpse. Outside his cave dwelling, he still had a whole pile of trouble waiting to be dealt with.
Though the attacks from the Thousand Bamboo Sect were fearsome, Han Li could see that the formation showed no signs of breaking, which put his mind at ease.
And he was certain that none of them would dare linger here for long!
Because even though this area was on the outer edges of the Taiyue Mountain Range and relatively remote, it still fell within Yellow Maple Valley's sphere of influence. After stirring up such a massive commotion, Han Li doubted they weren't feeling at least some apprehension! By now, having failed to breach the formation, they were probably already trapped in a dilemma of their own making — too deep in to back out easily.
Truth be told, Han Li had briefly considered handing over Senior Brother Lin's body to get them to leave.
But the traces of the Primordial Spirit departing the body were far too obvious. If they only received the body without the spirit, they'd likely be even less willing to let it go! So it was better to just stay inside the formation and play the part of a turtle poking its head back into its shell. After all, they didn't have the ability to break the Inverted Five Elements Array.
Come to think of it, Han Li really had to admire himself — his foresight in setting up this formation ahead of time had truly saved him.
Otherwise, without any warning, he'd have long since become someone's captive.
Still, even though the formation appeared safe for the moment, Han Li didn't dare go back inside and fall into a deep sleep. Instead, he simply brought a green stone bench out from the dwelling and sat on it with his eyes closed, resting his spirit.
Perhaps because they were using puppets to attack, their assault lasted frustratingly long.
After a solid two hours of relentless bombardment, the formation finally showed its first visible change. The previously still and placid array began to shimmer with a faint blue glow that blanketed the entire sky above the formation. The light arrows and beams striking it produced ripples like waves on water.
Seeing this, the Thousand Bamboo Sect members grew excited. This change proved the formation wasn't indestructible — with a bit more effort, they could batter it open. If it had continued to maintain that initial calm appearance, Huang Long and the others would have truly had to consider retreating.
Just as the Thousand Bamboo Sect was planning an even more powerful assault, and Han Li's expression had begun to shift slightly, a thunderous roar suddenly echoed from far in the distance:
"Where do you little bastards come from?! You dare cause such chaos in the Taiyue Mountain Range and attack my disciple's cave dwelling?! If you're tired of living, then this old man will send you on your way!"
The voice was so powerful that even Han Li, shielded behind his formation, felt his ears ringing and his face drained of color. Not to mention the several Thousand Bamboo Sect members outside the formation who were directly exposed to it. Their bodies swayed and they nearly tumbled right off their bamboo platforms.
"It's a Core Formation cultivator — retreat, now!"
Though Huang Long had a rough and menacing appearance, he was actually the most cunning of the group. Upon hearing that the arriving voice carried such overwhelming force, he turned pale with shock and immediately prepared to flee.
But it was clear that Huang Long had still underestimated both the flight speed and the unfathomable magical might of a Core Formation cultivator. Just as the group was frantically gathering their puppets and scrambling to run, the distant horizon suddenly erupted with thunder and lightning. A brilliant white flash blazed forth, followed by a streak of silver light that hurtled toward them at breathtaking speed — arriving before them in the blink of an eye. The group was so terrified their souls nearly fled their bodies that they abandoned even the remaining puppets, each leaping up and scattering in different directions to flee.
But that colossal streak of silver light, fully more than thirty feet long, gave Huang Long and the others no such chance. It split apart in midair, transforming into six or seven smaller silver beams that simultaneously surrounded every single Thousand Bamboo Sect member who had already taken to the sky.