As the voice spoke, the Wind and Cloud Banner in Martial Uncle Huang's hands suddenly emitted a blinding yellow light. Then, as the glow contracted and expanded, it burst open.
Immediately, a patch of white mist, denser and covering a larger area than before, surged frantically from the banner. In the blink of an eye, it enveloped friend and foe alike within it.
"Seeking death!"
From within the mist came the furious roar of the skeletal figure and the enchantingly furious laughter of the seductive woman. This was followed by several massive booming sounds within the mist, making it clear that Martial Uncle Huang had already engaged those two Core Formation stage cultivators.
Han Li and the others naturally wouldn't let this chance to escape slip away. Almost the instant the mist reappeared, the Yellow Maple Valley cultivators hurriedly summoned their flying instruments and scattered in flight.
Han Li, relying on the Swift Wind Boat's superior speed, shot straight upwards into the sky.
This direction held the most and densest concentration of enemy cultivators, but their Magical Power was noticeably weaker than those from other directions. Han Li felt breaking through from here was the most suitable option.
However, there weren't many who shared Han Li's idea. Most of his fellow sect members fled towards directions where fewer enemies blocked the way, causing Han Li to shake his head inwardly.
In the blink of an eye, taking advantage of the chaos, Han Li passed several people and had already rushed to the edge of the encirclement.
The mist here had thinned considerably. The demonic cultivators could vaguely make out Han Li's rapidly advancing figure.
But because of the Azure Fire Miasma, what their eyes saw was naturally a large mass of azure-red dense fog, which momentarily stunned them.
However, three demonic cultivators nearby immediately raised their hands almost simultaneously. A beam of golden light, three streaks of yellow radiance, and a vast swathe of black qi shot towards Han Li.
Han Li snorted softly. He pointed a finger at the turtle shell artifact before him, which instantly expanded several times in size and moved forward to meet the attack. Simultaneously, he poured a surge of spiritual power from his feet into the artifact, boosting the Swift Wind Boat's speed by another thirty percent.
He had long made up his mind—this was not the time to get bogged down in a fight. Therefore, he was willing to expend more Magical Power to seize every second and escape first. Otherwise, once other enemies closed in, it would be too late to flee. Moreover, he still had considerable faith in the turtle shell artifact; after all, its hardness still surpassed that of the White Phosphorus Shield.
Just as Han Li's thoughts raced, the turtle shell artifact collided with the golden light and yellow radiance. As expected, it forcibly blocked them. However, the remaining mass of black mist was remarkably clever. It suddenly split into two, refusing to clash head-on with the turtle shell artifact. Instead, it slid past on either side of the shell. Although this caused a slight delay, it still managed to reach Han Li's side, transforming into a massive ghost head several zhang in size, and lunged ferociously towards Han Li on the Swift Wind Boat.
Seeing this, Han Li was not alarmed; instead, a cold laugh echoed in his heart. He then raised a single hand, and over a hundred fireballs shot out, instantly tearing the ghost head to shreds. Han Li, in his current state, had gained considerable experience in dealing with these basic demonic and heretical arts.
Seizing this opportunity, Han Li "whooshed" and flew straight through the disintegrating remnants of the ghost head. In an instant, he burst out of the encirclement, leaving those few demonic cultivators behind.
Having failed, these individuals naturally refused to give up. They immediately shouted and hurled their flying instruments in hot pursuit from behind. But Han Li paid them no mind, focusing solely on piloting his vessel at full speed.
Just as Han Li had guessed, the Swift Wind Boat was indeed a rare, high-quality item among flying artifacts. At first, he could still hear those few cursing behind him, but before long, their voices grew fainter and fainter. After hurtling forward for several quarters of an hour, not a single figure remained behind him.
Glancing back at this scene, Han Li still didn't dare relax. He flew on for a while longer before finally slowing down, scanning his surroundings. Then, tapping the Swift Wind Boat with his toe, he rapidly descended.
Han Li's current condition wasn't great. He had already expended over half his Magical Power when forming the joint protective barrier, and after this frantic escape, his Magical Power urgently needed replenishment. Otherwise, encountering a powerful enemy would spell trouble.
With these thoughts, Han Li landed on a desolate mountain below. He then withdrew the poisonous mist of the Azure Fire Miasma, found a hidden spot beneath a massive boulder, and sat cross-legged.
Subsequently, he retrieved a mid-grade blue spirit stone from his storage pouch and began replenishing his Magical Power.
And Qu Hun stood beside him, keeping watch as his sentry.
Han Li had barely sat down before a panicked streak of red light shot across the sky overhead, pursued by five or six trails of black and green light.
They blazed past directly above him in rapid succession, one after the other — clearly another lucky soul who had managed to break free of the encirclement.
But Han Li paid no attention to any of it. Instead, he slowly closed his eyes and sank his consciousness deep inward. Only when the mind reached a state of perfect emptiness could Magical Power be restored a little faster.
He did not know how much time had passed before Han Li finally opened his eyes. The bulk of his depleted Magical Power had already been restored — roughly seventy or eighty percent. Though he had not fully replenished his reserves, he was unwilling to linger here a moment longer.
He glanced at the sky. It was approaching dusk, the perfect time to slip away under the cover of night.
But Han Li did not rush off immediately. Instead, he slowly extended his spiritual sense, carefully scanning the area.
Those Devil Dao cultivators were nowhere nearby, just as he had suspected. They had surely broken through the ambush and then gone on to hunt down the main group.
At this thought, Han Li shook his head. Given the enemy's strength, the main group was likely in grave danger.