Han Li stood in the sky above the sea, his gaze sweeping in all directions.

Dark clouds gathered overhead, pressing down almost entirely, and a howling sound arose all around. Massive storms surged from all directions, whipping up towering waterspouts tens of thousands of feet high. They collided and merged, squeezing toward Han Li at the center of the storm.

Although Han Li knew this was merely an illusion, the suffocating pressure and the icy touch of the waves constantly crashing against him felt too real, leaving him unable to remain unperturbed.

"Rumble..."

Accompanied by a series of deafening booms echoing incessantly, the seven or eight waterspouts around him finally collided, merging into one gigantic waterspout that engulfed Han Li entirely.

His figure tumbled up and down in the chaotic currents, constantly buffeted by waves of immense pressure. He felt excruciating pain throughout his body, and even his divine sense began to dissipate.

With a thought, Han Li unleashed a thunderous roar around him, and a golden light bloomed like a dazzling sun, expanding in all directions. Countless golden electric arcs surged forth, instantly tearing the enormous waterspout apart.

His figure plummeted straight down, crashing directly into the sea.

A sudden realization struck Han Li, and he found that something seemed amiss.

The surrounding seawater seemed to offer no buoyancy whatsoever. No matter how he channeled his immortal spiritual power to resist, he continued to sink toward the seabed.

And this dark, deep sea seemed to have no bottom at all. There were no floating fish or any other creatures, only Han Li's solitary figure sinking further and further down, as if without end...

While Han Li was trapped in an illusion, the others were experiencing similar situations, though the specific scenes of their illusions varied.

For example, Jiao San was currently trapped in a river of blood. The river water was filled with a frightening level of baleful aura, and there were no living creatures in it. Only shadowy figures like wisps of smoke-like souls floated up and down, drifting like duckweed in the water.

When Jiao San's figure was swept along by the bloody river, these duckweed-like souls would attach themselves to her, wrapping around her body. As layers of smoky shadows continued to entwine, her body seemed to become heavier and heavier, sinking continuously toward the riverbed.

Lei Yu-ce and the others were also standing motionless in place, as if they had been frozen in place. Their faces were twisted in agony, all trapped in illusions from which they could not escape.

At this moment, a watermark pattern simultaneously emerged on the arms of Lan Yuanzi and Lan Yan, who were also standing still. Each of the patterns emitted a blue light, which shot into the air above their heads and converged.

As the two beams of light collided and merged, they immediately shone like a dazzling sun in the sky, filled with a rich water-attribute Law fluctuation. From it, a layer of blue light emanated, transforming into a water-blue light barrier that enveloped their bodies.

As soon as the light barrier closed, Lan Yuanzi and Lan Yan both groaned and opened their eyes.

"What a powerful Water Origin Illusion Array..." Lan Yan said, pressing a hand to her chest, panting as she spoke.

"I didn't expect the Ren-Gui Water Spirit Talisman that Master planted back then would be useful here today. It can be considered a blessing from Master..." Lan Yuanzi said, taking a deep breath.

"It's also thanks to both of us being here at the same time, activating the Spiritual Talisman Fusion Technique. Otherwise, the power of a single talisman alone would probably have been insufficient to ensure that either of us could awaken from this illusion array," Lan Yan said, with a hint of lingering fear.

"Alright, time is of the essence. Let's quickly go and investigate that great hall," Lan Yuanzi said, his eyes narrowing.

"What about them..." Lan Yan said, glancing at the others who were still standing motionless in place.

"Whether they can break the array depends on their own abilities," Lan Yuanzi shook his head and said.

With that, under the protection of the light barrier, the two quickly passed through the misty plaza and arrived in front of the double-eaved hall.

Lan Yuanzi came to the hall door, and after a brief inspection, he found that there were no more restrictions on the door. He placed his palm on the door and pushed it open.

The hall door slowly opened inward, and a rich water-attribute Law fluctuation swept over them, making the two siblings feel refreshed, as if a spring breeze had brushed their faces.

As they stepped into the hall, they saw a water-blue altar standing in the center of the hall. Its style and size were exactly the same as the golden altar they had seen before.

On this blue altar, on the left and right sides, there was a damaged spot. Above it floated a palm-sized blue pouch, which looked like silk. A pattern of water waves was embroidered in the middle, and the surface shimmered with the unique luster of satin. Constant, extremely powerful water-attribute Law fluctuations rolled out from it.

Next to the blue pouch, just like the golden altar, a golden flame floated beside it.

The two exchanged a glance and moved a few steps closer to the altar. A "rumbling" sound suddenly rang out in their ears.

Lan Yuanzi immediately pulled Lan Yan back, stopping their steps. He listened carefully and discovered that the muffled and powerful sound was coming from the blue pouch on the altar.

The sound was like the rushing of a river or the release of floodgates, making their hearts pound.

Seeing this, Lan Yuanzi's eyes lit up, and he exchanged a glance with Lan Yan. A hint of joy appeared on both of their faces.

"Little sister, wait here. I'll go and collect this treasure," Lan Yuanzi said with a strange look in his eyes, letting go of Lan Yan's hand, a smile on his face.

"Brother, don't be hasty. If you take this treasure, what if it really releases that peerless demon, as Lei Yu-ce said before?" Lan Yan said, a hint of hesitation flashing in her eyes.

"Don't worry. Let's not even talk about whether Lei Yu-ce's words are true or false. Even if a demon is really released, there will be others to deal with it. At worst, after we get this item, we'll immediately leave this place and return to Nine Elements Temple. Everything will be none of our business," Lan Yuanzi patted her hand and said softly.

"But..." Lan Yan was still worried, and she repeated.

But before she could finish speaking, Lan Yuanzi interrupted her: "Think about it. We first failed to capture Han Li, and then we formed a grudge with She Chan. If we don't achieve anything this time, what will we face when we return to the sect?"

Hearing this, Lan Yan's expression changed slightly, and she fell silent.

"Not only will we be punished, but I'm afraid our master will also be implicated... But if we can bring this treasure back to the sect, we might be able to avoid some of the blame, at least to avoid implicating Master," Lan Yuanzi added.

"Then I'll listen to you, brother. Be careful," Lan Yan said, her expression finally softening after hearing this.

Lan Yuanzi nodded with a smile, turned around, and walked toward the altar.

After taking two steps, he stopped again and turned back to Lan Yan, saying:

"The restrictions on the previous altar were too strong. The power of the formation contained in this blue pouch is no weaker than that. There will probably be quite a commotion later. Keep your distance from me and be careful."

"Brother, if that's the case, don't act alone. Why don't we try using that fusion secret technique? If something goes wrong, even if we can't get the treasure, at least we can protect ourselves," Lan Yan said, seemingly thinking of something.

Hearing this, Lan Yuanzi frowned slightly, appearing somewhat hesitant.

Seeing this, Lan Yan didn't urge him, but continued to scan her gaze around.

"That's fine too. Otherwise, with my strength alone, I really don't have much confidence," Lan Yuanzi thought for a moment, then nodded and said.

Hearing this, Lan Yan retracted her gaze, smiled, and came to the altar with Lan Yuanzi.

After Lan Yuanzi examined the altar for a while, he raised his hand, and many formation flags and formation plates used to set up formations appeared in front of him. He began to set them up around the altar.

...

Within the illusion array, the faces of Han Li and the others had become very painful. Not a single one of them was able to break out of the array.

At this moment, Han Li was still sinking in the deep sea. No matter how he channeled the Refining Spirit Technique, he was unable to awaken and escape.

"Could it be that this illusion array is not based on anomalies in divine sense, but constructed by the power of water-attribute Laws?" Such a guess emerged in his mind, but for a time he still didn't know how to break the situation.

The sea area where he was located seemed to be a bottomless abyss. No matter how much he sank, he would never reach the bottom.

Han Li even had the illusion that he was trapped in a void where time and space did not exist. If he couldn't break the situation, he would continue to sink like this, endlessly.

...

About a quarter of an hour later.

In front of the blue altar in the double-eaved hall, a circular formation surrounding the altar had taken shape.

After Lan Yuanzi inspected the formation in all directions, he nodded to Lan Yan.

The latter then turned her wrist, and light flashed in front of her. A sky-blue oiled paper umbrella immediately opened.

On the umbrella's surface, there was a vivid painting of koi carp in a pond, with the pond being emerald green and the koi carp being bright red. The surface seemed to have rippling water, making it look lifelike.

Lan Yan gently rotated the umbrella handle, and the oiled paper umbrella spun around and around. The pond drawn on it also seemed to be stirred, and ripples appeared on the surface. However, the koi carp under the water didn't seem to be affected at all, remaining still.

She gently raised her slender jade hand, and the oiled paper umbrella flew high, propped up above the altar like a canopy.

"Let's begin," Lan Yuanzi called out softly.

The two of them simultaneously pinched a magic seal, and a layer of water-blue light barrier opened up on each of them, transforming into two layers of spiritual domains, one large and one small, interlocking and enveloping them together with the altar.

Then, as their lips continued to open and close slightly, chanting sounds rang out in their mouths. The formation flags set up around them began to unfurl, and the runes drawn on them shone brightly, releasing waves of intense water-attribute fluctuations.

As soon as these fluctuations arose, the formation plates on the ground also lit up, and water-blue light pillars rose from them, surrounding the entire altar.