Chapter 44: The Hunt in the Secret Realm
The unexpected encounter with Qin Yixuan and that brief but intense confrontation gave Ye Li a deeper understanding of the dangers of the secret realm. It wasn't just the environment and the monsters; the talented disciples from other sects were also formidable opponents for her quest for opportunities.
She took an ordinary Qi-restoring pill to quickly recover her depleted spiritual energy, while carefully storing the newly acquired Ice Soul Spirit Fruit. This fruit held immense and pure energy, requiring a safe place to refine it.
The terrifying tremors from underground had subsided, but the horrifying atmosphere of scorching heat and deathly silence still left her with a lingering fear. She didn't dare linger there for long, so she quickened her pace, diving deeper into the ruins of the ancient city.
The deeper we went, the taller and older the surrounding ruins became, their styles becoming more bizarre. The broken walls were carved with incomprehensible patterns and characters, permeating the air with the vicissitudes of time. The fog seemed to be restrained by some force, becoming much thinner here, but visibility was still low.
Relying on the map provided by Lin Feng and her own keen perception, she avoided some dangerous areas with obvious energy disorder. On the way, she was lucky to find several "ghost stones" containing cold and yin energy, which were the materials for refining certain special formations and talismans.
Just as she was carefully passing through a half-collapsed palace corridor, a warning sign suddenly arose in her heart!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Without warning, several sharp sounds of piercing the air struck from the side and rear! The gusts of wind were fierce, attacking her back, neck, and other vital points!
sneak attack!
Ye Li didn't think twice and instantly activated the Shadow Step. His body slid forward as if he had no bones. At the same time, he twisted his body suddenly, and the dagger was already unsheathed, dancing behind him to form an icy sword curtain!
Ding ding dong dong!
Several poisoned black nails were knocked away by the sword curtain and nailed to the stone pillars nearby, making a sizzling corrosion sound!
"Your reaction is quite fast!" A cold voice sounded from the fog.
Four figures suddenly appeared on the ruined palace wall to the side and back. The leader, dressed in the attire of the inner sect of the Xuanyun Sect, had a sinister expression and eyes filled with hatred and murderous intent. It was Li Hao, who had a long-standing grudge against Ye Li!
Behind Li Hao, there were three disciples with strong auras, two of them were in the early stage of Condensation Veins, and one was at the peak of Spirit Awakening Realm. They all locked their eyes on Ye Li with unfriendly intentions, forming a subtle encirclement.
Ye Li's eyes instantly turned cold. Li Hao, a veteran inner sect prodigy, had reached the mid-stage Condensing Veins stage. He had harbored a grudge against Ye Li because his cousin had been defeated and humiliated by her in a ring battle, and had previously spread rumors about her within the sect. Unexpectedly, he had also entered the secret realm and ambushed her there!
"Li Hao, what do you want to do?" Ye Li's voice was icy. He secretly used all his strength to practice his skills, keeping a vigilant eye on his surroundings. The other party came prepared and had the advantage in numbers. The situation was not good.
"What are you doing?" Li Hao sneered and walked down the wall step by step. "Ye Li, you've relied on your luck and looks to act arrogantly in the sect. Don't you know how many people you've offended? This mysterious land of clouds and mist, with its high mountains and dense fog, is a perfect place to clean up the mess!"
A tall and thin disciple behind him also sneered, "Brother Hao, why waste time talking to her! Hurry and capture her! She must have something valuable on her! That blue light just now, maybe it was some treasure!"
Another short and strong disciple licked his lips and glanced at Ye Li with lustful eyes: "Hehe, after we capture him, let the brothers also 'interrogate' him thoroughly..."
They used foul language and made no effort to conceal their malice.
Ye Li's heart was filled with murderous intent, but his expression remained calm. Of the four opponents, Li Hao, at the middle stage of Condensation Vein, was the biggest threat. The other two at the early stages of Condensation Vein and one at the peak of Spirit Awakening were also not to be underestimated. A head-on confrontation was definitely not the best strategy.
"Just you guys?" Ye Li deliberately sneered in disdain, trying to provoke the other party, "A bunch of chickens and dogs dare to block the road?"
"Looking for death!" Li Hao was indeed enraged and shouted, "Set up the formation! Trap her! Don't let her escape!"
The three disciples behind him responded immediately, quickly shifting positions and each waving several formation flags. In an instant, a simple trapping formation lit up, covering an area of several dozen feet! Although it was only a low-level trapping formation, it was enough to restrict Ye Li's movements and prevent her from escaping by relying on her speed!
"Capture her for me!" Li Hao waved his hand, but did not step forward immediately. He obviously wanted his men to consume Ye Li's strength first.
The two disciples at the initial stage of Condensing Veins and the disciple at the peak of Spiritual Awakening immediately lunged forward with a fierce grin! Blades and sabers flashed, accompanied by a fierce gust of wind, as they attacked Ye Li from three different directions!
Despite the imminent danger, Ye Li's eyes remained calm. Using Shadow Steps to their full potential, he dodged and evaded the limited space of the formation like a butterfly, narrowly avoiding each attack. Meanwhile, his dagger darted out like a venomous snake, each thrust accurately parrying the most lethal blow.
But she was outnumbered after all, and her cultivation was at a disadvantage. She was instantly at a disadvantage and could only barely hold on, surrounded by danger.
"Hahaha! Let's see how long you can hide!" Li Hao laughed triumphantly on the periphery, as if he had already seen the fate of Ye Li after being captured.
If you defend too long, you will lose! A flash of knife light passed by, brushing against Ye Li's shoulder, leaving behind a strand of black hair and a trace of blood!
A burning pain came, and Ye Li's eyes became fierce!
This can't go on!
As she dodged with difficulty, she quickly observed her surroundings. The light curtain of the trap flickered, the ground was covered with broken stone slabs, and all around her were ruined buildings...
Got it!
She deliberately exposed a flaw, staggered, and crashed into the disciple at the peak of the Qi Ling realm on the left!
The disciple was overjoyed upon seeing this, and slashed fiercely at Ye Li's chest, which seemed to be wide open!
However, just when the blade was about to hit his body, Ye Li's figure twisted like a ghost, avoiding the blade by a hair's breadth, and at the same time, he flicked his left finger!
An inconspicuous stone accurately hit a loose stone slab under the feet of a disciple in the early stage of Condensation Vein on the right!
The disciple was attacking with all his strength when his feet suddenly slipped, his center of gravity became unstable, and his moves became chaotic!
But at this moment, Ye Li's short sword burst out with astonishing speed and unparalleled coldness, piercing straight into the throat of the peak disciple of the Qi Ling Realm!
Besiege Wei to save Zhao! Attack them and they will surely save them!
The disciple from the Qi Ling realm was so frightened that he hurriedly drew his sword to save himself!
But Ye Li's sword move was a feint! The sword's momentum strangely bent mid-strike, and his body, using the force of the collision, slid out of the gap between the two of them like a swimming fish!
The direction was exactly - the disciple in the early stage of Condensation Veins who was slipping and his moves were messed up!
"Be careful!" Li Hao saw it clearly from the outside, shouted urgently, and pounced at the same time!
But it's too late!
Ye Li's speed was beyond imagination! The combination of the Phantom Step and the instantaneous burst of the "Phantom Emperor Scripture" allowed her to appear in front of the unstable Condensing Vein disciple as if by teleportation!
"Mysterious Ice Explosion Talisman!"
She instantly activated a talisman and slapped it directly towards the other person's face!
At such a close distance, it’s impossible to dodge!
boom!
The violent ice explosion instantly engulfed the Condensed Vein disciple! Extremely cold air mixed with violent energy exploded!
The disciple let out a shrill scream, and the protective spiritual light on his body shattered in an instant. He was blown backwards, his body covered with frost and dripping with blood, and he fell heavily on the light curtain of the trap array, his life or death unknown!
After a successful attack, Ye Li did not stop, and did not even look at the result, and his figure retreated again!
Li Hao's angry attack landed right on the spot where she had just stood, creating a big hole in the ground!
In a flash, Ye Li not only escaped from the trap, but also instantly disabled one of the opponents!
The remaining Nengmai disciple and the Qiling realm disciple turned pale with fear and their offensive momentum paused.
Li Hao was so angry that his face turned blue. He didn't expect Ye Li to be so slippery and ruthless that he dared to kill someone right under his nose!
"Waste!" He cursed, no longer caring about conserving his strength. The powerful aura of the middle stage of Condensation Meridian burst out, and he attacked personally! A long sword burning with flames appeared in his hand, and with a terrifying high temperature, he slashed at Ye Li!
"Flame Slash!"
Before the knife arrived, a scorching wave of air had already hit his face, evaporating all the surrounding mist!
Ye Li didn't dare to take it head-on, so he used the Shadow Step again and quickly retreated towards an even more dilapidated area filled with collapsed palaces and huge stone pillars!
"Where are you running to!" Li Hao roared and chased after him relentlessly. The other two also reacted and gritted their teeth to catch up.
Ye Li's figure quickly shuttled between the ruins, using the complex terrain to dodge Li Hao's violent attacks. The flaming blade cleaved the stone pillars one by one and split the ground, but always missed by a hair's breadth.
She did not flee blindly, but while escaping, her hands very covertly ejected tiny jade fragments engraved with simple runes. These were the failed products or scraps from her daily formation practice, but they came in handy at this moment.
She hadn't set up any complex formations, nor did she have the time. She simply used the rubble to slightly alter the flow of energy in the surrounding environment, creating subtle misdirections and obstacles.
For example, when Li Hao's sword energy passed through a certain area, it was disturbed by a trace of extremely cold energy, causing it to deviate slightly. Or the two people chasing behind him would feel that the fog seemed thicker in a certain direction, and subconsciously take a detour, thus increasing the distance between them and Li Hao...
These methods were insignificant and could not hurt the enemy at all, but in this high-speed chase and tense battle, they accumulated over time and successfully disrupted the rhythm and coordination of Li Hao and the other two!
The more Li Hao chased, the more frustrated he felt. He felt his attacks were always just a little short. Ye Li was as slippery as a loach and refused to hold back! The two men were being left further and further behind!
"You two losers! Hurry up!" Li Hao cursed angrily.
At this moment, Ye Li suddenly rushed into a half-collapsed, maze-like palace ruins!
Li Hao chased in without thinking!
The palace was dimly lit, with a complex structure and collapsed walls and obstacles everywhere.
Not long after he started chasing, Li Hao lost sight of Ye Li!
"Get out here!" Li Hao roared, swinging his sword wildly, smashing the surrounding broken walls and ruins into pieces!
However, all he got in response were the tricky, cold finger winds and invisible poisonous energy needles (shadowless needle talismans) coming from different directions!
These attacks were not powerful enough to seriously injure him, but they were extremely annoying, forcing him to focus on defense and causing his speed to drop again.
He felt as if he was trapped in an invisible quagmire, with a lot of strength but nowhere to vent it!
"Damn it! If you have the guts, come out and fight me head-on!" Li Hao was so angry that he almost vomited blood.
In the dim corner, Ye Li calmly shifted positions like a hunter in the night, each strike perfectly timed. Leveraging her familiarity with the terrain (having roughly surveyed it with her spiritual sense beforehand) and the subtle distractions she had orchestrated, she successfully lured Li Hao into a battlefield that favored her.
She is consuming and procrastinating.
Waiting for an opportunity to kill with one blow, or... get rid of it completely.
Outside the palace, the other two disciples finally came in breathlessly. Looking at Li Hao who was spinning in place and attacking indiscriminately like a mad tiger, they were a little at a loss.
"Brother Hao! Where's that woman?"
Li Hao turned around suddenly, his eyes red. "Nonsense! Hurry up and split up to look for her! She must be hiding nearby!"
However, the moment he finished speaking——
Rumble!
The entire palace ruins shook violently once again! Even more violently than before!
It was as if the terrifying existence underground was startled by Li Hao's crazy attack and woke up again!
"Not good!" Li Hao's face suddenly changed!
Ye Li was also startled!
The next moment, the ground beneath their feet collapsed! A scorching breath mixed with the roar of death gushed out from the ground!
The real danger has arrived!
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