The protective light barrier actually couldn't stop the blue flame that looked as if a single breath could extinguish it — this was clearly beyond the cultivator surnamed You's expectations.
As a result, he didn't even have a chance to dodge. The impossibly slender blue flame flickered once and vanished, striking him squarely on the neck.
With a "sizzle," blue ice appeared abruptly, and in the span of a single breath, it transformed his entire body into a glittering blue ice statue.
This was simply the cultivator surnamed You's terrible luck.
Han Li, drawing on his previous experience fighting the Dharma Master surnamed Mu, had deliberately aimed that wisp of Azure Blue Ice Flame directly at the man's neck. He froze the head first, then the body, leaving the man absolutely no chance to react or cast any spells.
And as expected, the strike succeeded in a single blow.
But just as Han Li used the Azure Blue Ice Flame to turn his opponent into an ice figure, a blue arc of lightning shot from the gourd and hurtled toward Han Li with blinding speed.
Before it could actually touch Han Li's body, thunder boomed loudly, and a pale golden web of lightning suddenly materialized around him.
Under the flashing golden light, the blue lightning arc was instantly absorbed into the golden net and vanished without a trace.
At that moment, Han Li didn't hesitate for even a heartbeat. He leaned forward slightly, raised his hand, and snatched the blue gourd in one swift motion.
From the moment Han Li activated his Wind Thunder Wings to the freezing of the cultivator surnamed You and the seizure of the treasure, the entire process had taken no more than an instant.
Wang Chan, who stood off to the side, had only just finished releasing his protective blood aura. He had originally intended to rush forward immediately to assist the cultivator surnamed You, but after taking only two steps, he witnessed with his own eyes the scene of the cultivator surnamed You being instantly defeated.
This sent a look of horror into his eyes.
When Han Li turned his head and gazed at him coldly, Wang Chan didn't think twice before shooting backward. He hastily positioned himself shoulder to shoulder with Yan Ruyan and roared, his voice tinged with fear:
"Cast your spells together! Use the Blood Spirit Grand Technique to trap him!" With those words, he roughly grabbed one of Yan Ruyan's delicate hands, rapid incantations erupted from his mouth, and the blood mist surged upward.
Although Yan Ruyan didn't struggle, a flicker of disgust crossed the depths of her eyes. After a moment's hesitation, equally melodious incantation sounds issued from her rosy lips. The blood mist around her body merged seamlessly with Wang Chan's, forming a mass of fog that radiated a purple-tinged blood glow.
Wang Chan and Yan Ruyan's figures vanished into the purple mist. Shortly after, shrill wails resembling ghosts crying and wolves howling drifted faintly from within, as if some monstrous creature lurked inside.
Upon seeing this, Han Li's face remained expressionless, but a hint of mockery tugged at the corner of his lips.
"Wonderful! I never expected Fellow Daoist Han to possess such heaven-defying abilities. If the two of us join forces, we might truly have the power to fight them!" From the other side came the delighted and surprised voice of Marquis Nanlong.
Han Li swept his gaze in that direction.
Marquis Nanlong and his group hadn't made a move yet, but Wang Tiangu and the white-robed elder were staring at him with mouths agape, their faces filled with shock.
Meanwhile, the opposing Marquis Nanlong wore an expression that mingled surprise and elation. Han Li's performance just now had greatly revived his hope of escaping alive.
"As long as you're willing to join forces, I'm willing to give you another jade box!" Marquis Nanlong immediately tried to win him over without a second thought.
"Join forces? Heh heh..." Han Li let out a cold laugh and said nothing more, but he had absolutely no intention of doing so.
He knew perfectly well that although he had taken down a fellow Nascent Soul cultivator so easily, it was entirely because the cultivator surnamed You hadn't known the power of the Azure Blue Ice Flame and had fallen straight into the trap.
If they had truly fought using other methods, even if he could have won, it would have been far from a quick affair.
Moreover, the opposing side still had three early-stage cultivators and one mid-stage cultivator. If Marquis Nanlong were unharmed, it wouldn't be impossible to fight alongside him. But now that the marquis was gravely injured, joining forces with him would only be dragging himself into the pit as well.
He could do without that jade box.
However, before he left, he had to get them to start fighting so they would focus their attention on Marquis Nanlong.
Otherwise, if they changed their minds, he wouldn't be able to get away so easily.
With this thought, Han Li paid no more attention to anyone else. With a beat of the pair of wings on his back and amidst the crash of thunder, his figure vanished from where he stood.
"He's going to run! Stop him! Don't let him take that jade box!" Upon seeing this, Elder Yun immediately shouted without a second thought.
But having just witnessed Han Li's terrifying feat of nearly instant-killing a fellow-rank cultivator, the old woman and the dark-faced man paid no heed whatsoever and had no intention of making a move.