Liu Le'er was bound by the black net, unable to move at all like a rice dumpling. Hearing the old man's words, she suddenly remembered something, and cried out in shock:
"You are Qi Xuan of the Heavenly Ghost Sect!"
"That's right, I am Qi Xuan. It seems you should know why I'm here!" Qi Xuan's smile vanished, a look of ferocity appearing on his face.
"You want to use me to lure my brother here, don't even think about it!"
Liu Le'er shouted angrily, a hint of determination flashing across her pale face.
Then, the girl's pupils suddenly shone with a ghostly green light, and spots of crystalline green light appeared between her eyebrows, flashing violently.
Seeing this, the old man pointed with one hand, and a black light shot out, instantly disappearing into Liu Le'er's brow.
The green light between Liu Le'er's eyebrows flashed and disappeared. Before she could have any other thoughts, her eyes darkened, and she fainted.
"Hmph! It's not your time to die yet. When I catch that Han Li, I will burn you both to ashes with 地鬼之火 before my grand-nephew's spirit tablet, so you will never be reincarnated!"
Qi Xuan muttered hatefully to himself, then his gaze returned to the girl's left arm. After a moment of thought, he flipped his hand and took out a fiery red round bottle, densely covered with various unknown runes.
He tossed the round bottle into the air, suspending it in front of him. Then, he chanted incantations and flicked his fingers rapidly, seemingly urging some secret technique.
After a while, he let out a low shout and pointed at the round bottle with one hand.
"Poof!"
All the runes on the bottle lit up, and a stream of fiery red light shot out from it.
Dozens of fiery red crystal threads flew out from the light, disappearing into the silver seal on the girl's left arm in a flash, and then pulling outwards.
Buzz buzz buzz!
The silver seal immediately shone brightly, revealing spots of silver flames as the crystal threads pulled.
Qi Xuan was delighted and quickly made a hand seal with both hands.
The light spewing from the bottle became much denser, and more and more crystal threads densely emerged from it, all disappearing into the silver seal.
Liu Le'er's body trembled slightly, her left arm twitched, and she groaned.
More and more silver flames were pulled out of the seal, vaguely forming half of a silver firebird, but its aura was extremely weak, looking like it was about to fall asleep.
At this moment, a wave of blue light rippled from the bottom of the seal, faintly revealing a force that wanted to pull the firebird back.
Seeing this, Qi Xuan revealed a contemptuous smile, opened his mouth, and spat out a mouthful of 精血, merging it into the round bottle.
Immediately, the bottle's body glowed brightly, and all the crystal threads intertwined and entangled, instantly condensing into two crystalline chains that locked the silver firebird's neck with a "snap."
The bird's body flashed with silver light, and it awakened.
Seemingly noticing the chains on its neck, it let out an angry cry. With a spread of its wings, its body blazed with silver flames, and it spat out a silver pillar of fire.
As soon as the crystalline chains touched the silver flame, they vanished in the blink of an eye. The fire pillar continued to shoot towards Qi Xuan, unabated in speed, and penetrated the fiery red round bottle.
Because the event happened suddenly, and the fire pillar's speed was astonishing, it reached the old man in the blink of an eye.
Qi Xuan was shocked. Without thinking, he waved his hand and summoned a jade green small shield to block. At the same time, his figure shot out backwards with a series of afterimages, appearing dozens of feet away. However, his left arm was reduced to ashes because it touched a bit of the silver flame.
If the flame had not seemed to lack power, he would have been severely injured even if he hadn't died.
He took a deep breath, flipped his hand, took out a blood-red pill, and swallowed it. The muscles on his severed arm writhed frantically, and new flesh grew out at a speed visible to the naked eye.
After a few breaths, his left arm had grown back.
The old man then looked towards Liu Le'er's direction with lingering fear.
The fiery red round bottle and jade green small shield had already been devoured cleanly by the silver flame. After the silver firebird's attack, it had disappeared back into the seal on the girl's left arm with a flash of blue light.
Although he had suffered a hidden loss due to being caught off guard, the more it was like this, the more fiery his gaze became when he looked at the seal.
...
In a winding, verdant mountain range, mist steamed, spiritual energy permeated, and exquisitely crafted pavilions and palaces were distributed everywhere.
Above a remote valley, seven or eight figures flew from afar and landed at the valley entrance.
Among these people, the leader was a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy, wearing snow-white clothes, his handsome face full of arrogance.
As soon as he landed, he immediately said to the others: "Enter the valley immediately, we must not let it escape this time."
"Yes!"
Everyone responded in unison and immediately rushed into the valley.
An old woman in a gray robe with white hair did not obey orders like the others. Instead, she leaned on a strangely shaped purple cane and came to the boy's side.
"Granny Sun, you should go too. This 紫云貂 is very cunning. Without your help, these people will probably have difficulty succeeding," the boy said, glancing at the old woman beside him.
"Young Master, this old woman is under orders from the Sect Leader to protect you. I cannot leave my post without permission," the white-haired old woman shook her head.
"It's just entering the valley ahead of me to capture that 紫云貂, how can that be considered leaving your post without permission?" The boy frowned slightly.
"The Sect Leader ordered me not to leave the Young Master's side. If anything happens to you, this old woman will have no way to atone for my crime," the old woman still refused to obey.
A trace of displeasure appeared on the boy's face, and he said: "This Calabash Valley is located within the territory of my Jingyuan Temple, and it's only a stone's throw away from our sect. Which bold madman would dare to come here to cause trouble? Wouldn't that be wishing for death?"
"That's true, but..."
Before she could finish speaking, the boy interrupted impatiently: "Enough talk, if we delay any longer and the 紫云貂 escapes, I will report to the ancestor and hold you accountable."
The old woman's face became a little ugly, but she still hesitated to move.
"Hurry up and go!"
Seeing this, the boy suddenly became furious.
The white-haired old woman had no choice but to grit her teeth secretly, and struck the ground heavily with her purple staff, transforming into a long rainbow and rushing into the valley.
The boy looked at the old woman's back, still feeling a little annoyed. He flicked his sleeve heavily and stepped towards the valley.
But just as he took two steps, he felt something strange behind him. He subconsciously turned his head to look and saw only two soul-stirring deep blue lights swaying, and his consciousness immediately became blurred.
In the void behind him, Han Li, dressed in a green robe, slowly appeared. Blue light flickered in his pupils, and he held a purple talisman between his fingers.
He calmly put away the Taiyi Transformation Talisman, a smile appearing on the corner of his mouth, and walked to the boy's side.
At this time, the boy's eyes were dull, his expression blank, and he stood motionless.
"Where is the Gathering Star Platform of the Jingyuan Temple?" Han Li asked directly.
"On Nine Palace Peak... on the summit," the boy's lips moved as he answered.
"Oh, why isn't it on the main peak, Reverence Heaven Peak?" Han Li asked, puzzled.
"Nine Palace Peak has the highest terrain, and the summit has the widest field of vision, which is more conducive to receiving the power of the stars. Therefore, our ancestors set up the formation on this mountain," the boy answered without hesitation.
"Who is stationed on the Gathering Star Platform, and what is their cultivation level?" Han Li nodded and continued to ask.
"The temple arranges..." The boy's face was expressionless, his mouth opening and closing constantly, reciting the situation on Nine Palace Peak like pouring beans from a bamboo tube.
Nine Palace Peak, as the main sect peak second only to Reverence Heaven Peak, was naturally also an important place for the Jingyuan Temple, with a large number of sect elders and disciples cultivating on it on a daily basis.
However, the summit where the Gathering Star Platform was located was a major forbidden area in the sect. Except for some inner elders and some core disciples, other people were generally not allowed to enter.
According to the boy, there were powerful restrictions sealing the Gathering Star Platform from the outside, and an unknown number of elders stationed inside. What was certain was that there was at least one Integration Stage elder sitting there.
After pondering for a long time, Han Li gently tapped the boy's brow with his fingers, and then his figure disappeared into thin air like smoke and mist.
The white-clothed boy's eyes regained their clarity, and he still remembered that there was something strange behind him. He hurriedly turned his head to look, but saw that it was empty and there was no one there.
He shook his head in confusion and turned to continue walking towards the valley.
On the other side, Han Li's figure turned out from behind an ancient tree, and with a lift of his foot, he was about to fly up into the air.
At this moment, a ray of light suddenly lit up on his waist, and a yellow talisman flew out by itself without being summoned, hovering in the air.
When Han Li saw this talisman, his brows furrowed slightly.
With a "whoosh" sound.
A ball of fire rose in the air, and the talisman spontaneously combusted.
Flames rose, and a blurry image appeared in the flames, gradually becoming clear.
In the image, he immediately saw the green-shirted girl slumped on a stone table, her delicate face without a trace of blood, her eyes closed tightly, and she had fainted.
And her slender wrist was being tightly grasped by a withered hand.
The owner of that hand was dressed in a black robe, with white hair and a black beard, and a thin, dry figure. He was looking at him with a sinister expression.
"You are Qi Xuan!" Han Li glanced at the old man, then looked at the robe on his body, narrowed his eyes, and suddenly asked.
"Hmph! Han, you killed my grand-nephew Hao'er two years ago, and then insidiously plotted against my close friend Lu Ya. You have been hiding in the Cold Flame Sect ever since. It's been quite a search for this old man! Today, this little fox demon has fallen into my hands. Are you going to save her or not?" A murderous aura flashed across the old man's face, and he cackled.
"What does Your Excellency want?" Han Li asked, his expression unchanged.
"Come to my Heavenly Ghost Sect's酆阴山脉幽鬼峰 within a month. Remember, you are only allowed to come alone. If I don't see you there, don't blame this old man for being ruthless." Qi Xuan's voice suddenly turned cold.
As he spoke, he increased the strength of his grip on Liu Le'er's wrist, causing the unconscious girl to furrow her brows and her face to become even paler.
Seeing this, Han Li's face darkened, and he remained silent.
Accompanied by a burst of sinister laughter, the firelight in front of him disappeared after a burst of distortion, leaving only a pile of ashes, which was blown away by the mountain wind and vanished without a trace.