On the small island, within the silver shield of light, Han Li tilted his head back and let a drop of spiritual liquid fall into his mouth. Then he looked at the small bottle in his hand, his expression turning pensive.
This was already the fifth drop of spiritual liquid he had consumed. The golden light outside the shield showed no sign of weakening, but the outermost golden flames had shrunk compared to the beginning. It seemed that after such a long period of attrition, his opponent was finally starting to buckle. Presumably, in a little more time, it would be his moment to break free.
Having reached this conclusion, a flash of white light passed through Han Li's hand. With a calm expression, he put the small bottle away in his storage pouch. At the same time, he looked up at the dark clouds gathering in the sky, and his brow furrowed involuntarily.
He had clearly seen that green pillar of light and the unnatural phenomenon in the sky earlier. That pillar had originated from the direction of the small valley, so it must have been caused by Yuan Yao's spell casting. Although he didn't know the detailed situation over there, the appearance of the oppressive dark clouds didn't exactly look like the soul-returning technique had been successfully completed.
These thoughts flashed through Han Li's mind one after another before he quickly pushed them aside. Until he escaped from the golden light, he was too preoccupied with his own predicament to dwell on it further.
Now, after exhaling lightly, the numerous magical treasures within his body began to stir with anticipation. At the same time, behind his back, the silver wings that had previously vanished faintly materialized once more.
...
Floating in the air above the golden flames, Wen Tianren no longer wore the smug expression he had when trapping Han Li. Instead, his face was ashen, covered in a thin layer of dark qi. The golden horn between his brows was now only a third of its size from the day before, reduced to barely an inch in length.
Currently, this disciple of the Six Paths Master looked grimly frightening. His heart was a mixture of shock, fury, and a hint of underlying fear.
No one knew better than he, the treasure's master, just how powerful these Golden Light Divine Flames were.
He had initially claimed the opponent could withstand the flames for an hour, but that was already an exaggeration. In his true estimation, the opponent wouldn't even last half an hour.
This way, although he had depleted some of his vital essence, eliminating this dangerous foe made it worth the cost.
But after half an hour, Han Li showed no movement whatsoever within the flames, which surprised him a little.
After an hour, his opponent's aura still hadn't vanished, and a look of shock appeared on his face.
After two hours, with Han Li's silver shield still intact as ever, Wen Tianren fully sensed that something was wrong.
He vaguely felt he was doing something foolish. His opponent clearly wasn't afraid of a prolonged battle of attrition.
It was obvious that either Han Li possessed something that could rapidly replenish magical power, or there was some other secret at play.
And as far as Wen Tianren knew, the only thing that could rapidly restore magical power was the extremely rare Ten-Thousand-Year Spiritual Liquid. Could his opponent really be carrying such a thing?
Wen Tianren quickly deduced the truth!
But now he was stuck riding the tiger and couldn't dismount. First, more than half of his true demon avatar had been destroyed, and then he had not hesitated to expend his vital essence to activate the Eight Gates Golden Light Mirror. His current cultivation had dropped significantly.
If he released Han Li to fight directly now, his chances of victory wouldn't be high.
However, Wen Tianren also knew full well that a heaven-defying treasure like Ten-Thousand-Year Spiritual Liquid was something an ordinary cultivator couldn't possibly carry much of.
So, gritting his teeth, he continued to consume his true essence, using the golden flames to try and refine Han Li.
He was resolved that even if he had to go into seclusion for twenty to thirty years upon his return to recover his vital essence, he would first use these Golden Light Divine Flames to exhaust Han Li's spiritual medicine, and then refine him into ash.
And this stalemate had continued until now.
During this time, every quarter-hour made the Six Paths disciple's expression darken further.
Now, even within the golden flames, the silver shield of light remained as solid as ever, showing absolutely no signs of collapse.
And Wen Tianren himself could not maintain this state much longer.
Now, his mind raced to find another way out of this predicament. The appearance of that green pillar of light earlier had sparked an idea in his mind.
"Zi Ling! Go now to the place he came from and bring me his companion. That person should be in a critical stage of casting a spell and won't be able to resist." Wen Tianren licked his somewhat dry lips and suddenly issued a cold order to the Fairy Zi Ling in the distance. The gentle and refined demeanor he had shown the young woman was entirely gone, replaced by a hint of savage ferocity.
Hearing these words, Fairy Zi Ling, who had been staying in place, changed her expression slightly.
This battle of magic had truly tested the young woman's composure time and again. She had originally thought Han Li trapped in the golden flames wouldn't last long, but now an entire night had passed, and Han Li was unharmed, while Wen Tianren was the one caught in a dilemma. This filled her with shock!
Now, as Wen Tianren's words reached Zi Ling's ears, the extremely intelligent woman was first stunned, then quickly understood his intention.
This young master of the Reverse Star Alliance intended to use the person casting the spell to threaten Han Li, forcing him to hesitate!