The cold sweat on Han Li's forehead finally broke free.
Fortunately, he had once learned the Gauze Mist Footwork, which required no spiritual energy or Magical Power at all. Otherwise, a grand Core Formation cultivator actually dying from a fall would have been the laughingstock of the entire cultivation world!
Those Foundation Establishment cultivators, however, certainly wouldn't be as lucky as he was. Quite a few of them were probably going to perish or be seriously injured.
He steadied his mind for a moment and was about to take further action when a rapid series of clanging sounds reached him from nearby. Han Li's expression shifted, and he quickly looked over. Sure enough, the two sets of Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Swords that hadn't been recalled into his body had crashed to the ground with a crisp ring. Not far away lay the Eight-Faced Gold Mirror, the basket-shaped ancient treasure, and the small silver bell.
Every one of them was dim and lifeless, as though all their spiritual energy had been drained.
Han Li felt a chill run through him. He hurriedly attempted to send out a sliver of spiritual sense to examine these treasures. But the moment he tried, his heart turned ice-cold.
His once formidable spiritual sense now sat completely motionless within his body, unable to extend even a fraction of an inch beyond it.
Han Li sucked in a sharp breath.
With both his Magical Power and spiritual sense now useless, he was essentially no different from an ordinary mortal at this point.
Forget about casting any divine abilities — he couldn't even open his storage pouch or spirit beast pouch.
Han Li turned his head and looked. The towering wall of black fog was already clearly visible, and his face drained of color.
At this fog's speed, there was absolutely no chance his current mortal body could escape. After a grim consideration, Han Li gritted his teeth, flickered his body, and dropped down to where the treasures lay. He then grabbed everything in sight off the ground with both hands, gathering every last one of them.
Since the storage pouch was inaccessible, he could only tuck them into his robes. Fortunately, none of the treasures were particularly large — otherwise, he really wouldn't have been able to carry them all.
Just as Han Li finished stowing the treasures away, the boundless black fog, rising over a hundred zhang high, surged onto the tiny island in an instant.
Han Li had barely stood up when he felt an enormous, irresistible suction force emanating from the direction of the ghost fog. Before he could even figure out what was happening, he was pulled through the air toward it.
Han Li was horrified. He twisted his limbs several times, attempting to use the Gauze Mist Footwork to break free and flee, but it had absolutely no effect.
Moments later, he was sucked straight into the pitch-black fog. Countless streaks of black lightning intertwined and erupted, enveloping him in an instant.
A deep rumble echoed outward, and amid the flashing of dark radiance, Han Li vanished without a trace, disappearing completely into the ghost fog.
……
Han Li's ears rang with a chaotic buzz. All manner of strange sounds flooded into his mind, and his entire body was caught in a dizzying spin. He couldn't see a single thing — everything before his eyes was pitch-black.
Suddenly, he felt his body come to a halt, then he plummeted downward with absolutely nothing to brace himself.
A muffled thud rang out as his body slammed into something. The landing was soft and cushioned, and he suffered no injury. This finally allowed the tension Han had been holding in to ease.
As far as his eyes could see, it was still shrouded in darkness. But a thick, fishy stench immediately surged into his nostrils.
Without a word, Han Li groped beneath himself. It was slippery, slimy, and something was wriggling around.
He was lying in a pile of fish and shrimp — and they were still alive and flopping about.
Han Li furrowed his brow and tried to slowly push himself up, but a searing headache struck him instantly. At the same time, his limbs went weak, and a wave of dizziness rose unbidden from deep within him.
Han Li cursed inwardly. He knew this was the consequence of being forcibly teleported without the protection of Magical Power.
It would probably be a while before he could even stand up.
In that case, after a brief thought, Han Li simply lay still among the fish and shrimp without moving a muscle. He would conserve his energy and wait for his limbs to return to normal.
But at that very moment, a cluster of black lightning suddenly materialized several zhang above his head.
By the dim glow it cast, Han Li managed to make out his surroundings a little better. More than a dozen zhang above, the ceiling was covered in clusters of strange, jagged stone formations. This appeared to be some kind of underground cavern, and within that bizarre lightning, there seemed to be something else enclosed.