As the second Profound Robe figure materialized, Han Yi's heart sank.
This new apparition was identical to the first. After witnessing the initial robe shatter into a dense mist, Han Yi instantly deduced that these figures were constructs of the formation arts.
If there were two, there could be a third, a fourth...
No.
He couldn't allow the Black God Tower cultivator to seize the initiative. He needed to disrupt their spellcasting.
His opponent was a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, far superior to him in cultivation realm. Moreover, the battlefield had been chosen by the enemy, and the formation arts were of their making.
Everything was stacked against him.
To break this deadlock, he needed to act unpredictably.
Unpredictably?
The thought flashed through his mind, and the golden light in Han Yi's eyes suddenly blazed with intensity, overflowing outward. As he lifted his head, he casually flicked his wrist, and a second sword artifact materialized beside him.
The Thunder Swamp Sword.
A black streak of Sword Light flashed, instantly piercing the Profound Robe figure overhead. With a muffled pop, the robe shattered once more, dissolving into a dense mist.
Simultaneously, a third and fourth sword artifact appeared beside Han Yi.
The Phoenix Feather Sword and the Fire Mist Sword.
Though these sword artifacts were merely Top-Grade Magic Artifacts and held little practical use for Han Yi at his current level, especially against a Golden Core cultivator, they served perfectly as his opening move.
Without a word or gesture, Han Yi lightly flicked his wrist. Four sword artifacts, shimmering with black, purple, and crimson light, began to spin wildly around him in a frenzied dance.
Simultaneously, a fierce glint flashed in Han Yi's eyes as his Divine Sense surged forth. Born with a First-Class Divine Soul Immortal Foundation, he had achieved the Return to Simplicity breakthrough through the Ninefold Soul Tower, condensing the Second Heaven of the Soul Tower.
Now, the quality of his Divine Soul power matched Yan Bu's, while its quantity trailed only slightly behind.
Previously confined by the limited space of his Meditation Chamber, Han Yi had been forced to practice the Sword Control Technique using this circular motion. Now, unleashing it without restraint, the power was terrifying.
As if rehearsed countless times, the four sword artifacts blazed in unison, transforming into four dazzling coils that spiraled madly around Han Yi. These coils were not parallel but constantly crisscrossed and diverged, creating an illusion of multiple intersecting vortexes rotating around him with different orientations.
Three hundred meters away, Yan Bu's eyes flickered. The Profound Robe figures he had summoned earlier were all his Spirit Kill Bodies.
This Third-Tier Spirit Kill Formation, a Mid-Grade Third-Tier Spirit Formation, was one of his trump cards. Within the Killing Formation, he could manifest nine Spirit Kill Bodies, each capable of instantly swapping places with his True Form at a mere thought.
The two Spirit Kill Bodies he had summoned earlier were merely a probe.
Though he had set up this formation to trap Han Yi in his own domain, he couldn't shake his habitually cautious nature.
His choice of this desolate border region between Gan and Shu Prefectures, the Spirit-Trapping Talisman, and the Spirit Kill Formation itself were all manifestations of his meticulous nature.
Yet this very caution had cost him the opportunity for a decisive initial strike.
Had he immediately unleashed all nine Spirit Kill Bodies in a concentrated assault on Han Yi, instead of tentatively testing the waters, Han Yi might have been caught unprepared and exposed a weakness.
Now, however, the chance was gone.
Within the Spirit Kill Illusion Array, four sword artifacts churned through the dense mist. In less than three breaths, every corner of the three-hundred-meter radius had been scoured by the relentless blades.
In reality, the four sword artifacts were merely a diversion, a tactic Han Yi used to buy himself a fraction of a second—less than the snap of a finger.
As the swords converged in a deadly vortex, Han Yi had already produced two spirit talismans: a Low-Grade Third-Tier Three Spirits Immortal Fall Talisman and a Mid-Grade Third-Tier Six Spirits Immortal-Slaying Talisman. These two talismans had cost him nine hundred and sixty high-grade spirit stones.
To put this into perspective, the lowest-grade magic treasure in the Cultivation World could be obtained for just one hundred high-grade spirit stones. This sum was nearly enough to purchase a decent Mid-Grade magic treasure. Moreover, spirit talismans, being disposable magic treasures, possessed destructive power several times greater than Mid-Grade magic treasures.
The four sword artifacts abruptly halted their assault. Han Yi immediately activated the Three Spirits Immortal Fall Talisman and casually pointed it forward.
Boom!
The void erupted in a deafening explosion. A pitch-black thunderbolt erupted from the direction Han Yi had indicated, shaking the Spirit Kill Illusion Array violently. Though formidable, the array was only a Mid-Grade Third-Tier formation. The impact from the Third-Tier spirit talisman caused it to falter momentarily.
Amidst the shaking, the dense fog of the Formation Arts suddenly dispersed. Though its shape and color remained unchanged, Han Yi's Ultimate Divine Sense, previously limited to a three-meter radius, instantly expanded to cover ten kilometers.
The next moment, his eyes lit up as he glanced to his left.
Simultaneously, four sword artifacts activated. The formidable Seven Stars Kunwu Sword shattered space, hurtling a hundred meters in an instant to pierce Xuanpao Yanbu. The Fire Mist Sword arced upward in a parabola before plunging downward in a deadly strike. The Phoenix Feather Sword swept left, while the Thunder Swamp Sword lunged right.
The four swords shattered space with such extreme velocity that no sound accompanied their passage—not even for a moment, merely a kshana.
To understand this sequence, one must rewind slightly.
From the moment the second Xuanpao Yanbu appeared, Han Yi knew he couldn't afford to wait. His counterattack needed to be swift, precise, ruthless, and overwhelming.
His plan was brutally simple: first, unleash the four swords in a coordinated assault to disrupt his opponent's fog-based doppelganger technique. Then, instantly unleash a Three Spirits Immortal Fall Talisman. The talisman's explosive power would momentarily breach the formation, allowing him to pinpoint his opponent's true location.
Only then would he unleash his killing blow.
His true killing move wasn't just the four sword artifacts; the most crucial element was the spirit talisman in his hand: a Mid-Grade Third-Tier Spirit Talisman, the Six Spirits Immortal-Slaying Talisman.
Indeed.
In this battle, Han Yi spared no expense on spirit talismans, wagering everything he had.
The Six Spirits Immortal-Slaying Talisman ignited.
A bolt of pitch-black thunder erupted, striking faster than the four sword artifacts and crashing down with devastating force.
Meanwhile,
Luo Bu's expression darkened as Han Yi's sword artifacts closed in. Their speed was astonishing; in just three breaths, they had scoured every inch of the formation.
Had he not possessed a Formation Plate, evading this lethal barrage would have been impossible.
Still, the idea of being slain by mere swords in his own domain was laughable.
He produced a vial. As he uncorked it, invisible toxic gas diffused into the dense fog. Luo Bu instantly sealed his pores and halted his breathing. Holding one's breath for an hour was trivial for a Qi Refining Cultivator, let alone a Golden Core cultivator.
As the poisonous gas dispersed, Yan Bu hadn't even seen Han Yi put away the jade bottle when, in the next instant, he witnessed Han Yi activating a spirit talisman.
Then—
Boom!
A thunderous explosion ripped through the Spirit Kill Illusion Array, causing the Main Formation Plate to tremble violently.
Yan Bu's pupils constricted sharply. The next moment, Han Yi's gaze was locked on him, and four sword artifacts hurtled toward him.
No.
Not just that.
Yan Bu jerked his head upward, and a blinding bolt of lightning seared into his vision.
Fast.
Too fast.
He had barely conjured two Spirit Kill Bodies and released the poisonous gas. Yet his opponent was already acting with such decisive resolve, activating a Third-Tier Spirit Talisman. And after the first, another followed immediately.
The power of this second talisman, reflected in his rapidly dilating pupils, was more than twice as potent as the first.
A Mid-Grade Tier Three Spirit Talisman.
This is bad.
Yan Bu's heart pounded frantically.
Too fast, too fast! The interval between Han Yi's two talismans was so short that Yan Bu didn't even have time to discard the jade bottle releasing the poison, let alone activate any of his own talismans.
Faced with imminent danger, Yan Bu barely had time to slam his hand against the Main Formation Plate.
Bang!
The Formation Plate shuddered violently. The sudden surge of Mana overwhelmed his control, causing a faint crack to appear on its surface.
Crack.
The next instant, Yan Bu exploded.
However, if time could be slowed down a hundredfold, three distinct events would unfold simultaneously at Yan Bu's location during that critical instant.
First, Luo Bu's head snapped up, his face contorted in horror. He slammed his hand onto the Main Formation Plate, channeling its power to transfer his consciousness into a Spirit Kill Body. At the opposite end of the Spirit Kill Illusion Array, another Spirit Kill Body was gradually reverting to flesh and blood.
But just as Luo Bu's Spirit Kill Body had partially materialized, the second event occurred.
This was the moment Han Yi's Six Spirits Immortal-Slaying Talisman officially activated. The thunder unleashed by the talisman materialized into a tangible force, like an invisible brush drawing a straight, pitch-black line from a void point within the Formation Arts. The line's endpoint landed squarely on Luo Bu's shoulder.
As Luo Bu was halfway through his teleportation, the Six Spirits Immortal-Slaying Talisman tore through his shoulder, arm, and a significant portion of his chest.
The third strike.
Just as the Spirit Kill Body exploded, four sword artifacts pierced through it in quick succession, utterly shattering the body. The swords then slammed into the Killing Formation, causing it to tremble violently.
In the next instant, time resumed its normal flow.
Luo Bu reappeared on the other side of the Killing Formation, his composure shattered, his face contorted in terror.
Too fast. It was too fast.
I almost died.
Yet, despite his terror, the assassin's instincts remained sharp. Enduring the excruciating pain, he slapped down a Spirit Talisman in a surge of fury and desperation.
This talisman, like the previous one, was a Mid-Grade Tier Three Spirit Talisman.
Over a hundred meters away, Han Yi sensed the danger. He abruptly raised his hand, channeling mana to conjure a pitch-black shield. The shield radiated intense heat, its oppressive aura spreading outward.
The Windfire Shield.
This was the Windfire Shield, a defensive barrier creatively forged by Han Yi through the innovative fusion of two Return to Simplicity spells.
Moreover, this was the first time he had used it in actual combat.
During the previous battles in Jinyun Immortal City, the clashes had been too sudden, catching him off guard and leaving him no time to even summon the Windfire Shield.
But this time was different.
As the four sword artifacts hurtled toward him, Han Yi gripped two spirit talismans in his hands, the Demon-Slaying Dagger at his waist poised for action, and the Windfire Shield primed to intercept any surprise attacks.
I have Third-Tier Spirit Talismans, he thought, but my opponent undoubtedly has them too, and likely even stronger ones.
Even his Windfire Shield might fail, but this was the absolute limit of his current abilities. If it fell, he still had Body Cultivation Techniques, the Light Body Technique, and Teleportation Talismans to fall back on.
There are no certainties in battle. All I can do is push myself to the limit.
In the next instant, the spirit talisman Yan Bu had slapped down burned to ash. Yan Bu pointed a ferocious finger at Han Yi, his eyes twisted with savage fury. Half of his shoulder and arm had been blasted apart. Without immediate treatment, his vitality would barely sustain him for another half hour. He had no choice but to unleash his trump card.
And moreover...
This spirit talisman was Han Yi's ultimate trump card—a mid-grade talisman obtained from the Soul Hall, the most mysterious holy land in the Great Qin Immortal Kingdom. It was an extremely rare talisman specifically designed to target the divine soul.
The Yin Kill Soul-Suppressing Talisman.
Even a late-stage Golden Core cultivator could meet their demise if they weren't careful.
Faced with life and death, Han Yi no longer hesitated about wasting such a precious talisman.
As the talisman burned to ashes, Han Yi's heart leaped. He frantically squeezed out every last drop of mana, conjuring a second Windfire Shield. Even with double layers of protection, he couldn't shake his unease.
In the next instant, an invisible pulse erupted from the talisman. Moving with near-instantaneous speed, it struck Han Yi's Sea of Consciousness Space before he could react.
The invisible force crashed into Han Yi's divine soul like an enormous hammer, shattering it instantly.
Han Yi, who had been standing on his sword in mid-air, suddenly went limp, his eyes darkening as he plummeted downward.
Simultaneously, the black pearl hovering at the apex of his Sea of Consciousness Space came under attack. The pearl trembled violently, undergoing a transformation far more intense than when it had previously absorbed the Chaos Spirit Demon Poison.
As if provoked by an external force, half of the black pearl abruptly flashed toward the white half, only to falter at the edge and revert back to black.
As the black pearl flickered between black and white, the mysterious energy that had entered Han Yi's Sea of Consciousness Space was instantly absorbed. Then, the black half of the pearl abruptly transformed completely, becoming white.
The pearl now appeared half white and half black, resembling an eyeball split into two distinct halves.
However, this state lasted less than a breath. The white half trembled violently, unable to maintain its form, and was swiftly devoured by the black, reverting to its original appearance.
After that, nothing else happened.
A hundred meters away, Yan Bu trembled from the partial destruction of his body. But seeing Han Yi plummet into the Void, he finally exhaled in relief.
Using a Mid-Grade Third-Tier Spirit Talisman to kill a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator might seem like overkill, but he had no regrets.
He had nearly been killed himself. Though only at Foundation Establishment, this youth was absurdly powerful and wealthy, unleashing two Third-Tier Spirit Talismans right from the start. He had almost capsized in the shallows.
Despite his relief, Yan Bu wasn't finished yet.
He lightly tossed his short sword into the air, sending it plummeting after Han Yi to sever his head.
Only with the head severed could he truly rest easy.
It was a habit ingrained from his days as an assassin.
However...
In the next instant...
Plummeting through the Void, Han Yi abruptly opened his eyes, a fierce glint flashing within them.
The four sword artifacts that had been bombarding the formation's spiritual barrier also began to fall. But the moment Han Yi's eyes snapped open, the Seven Stars Kunwu Sword trembled violently and surged upward, its ascent far swifter and more ferocious than the descent of the short swords.
In an instant, the two blades crossed paths. The Seven Stars Kunwu Sword, defying gravity, soared higher and faster, reaching Yan Bu's eyes first.
The flicker of delight in Yan Bu's eyes froze mid-expression, fear gripping him before it could fully manifest.
Whoosh!
The Seven Stars Kunwu Sword seemed to teleport, materializing ten meters above Yan Bu.
In that same breath, it pierced through his forehead, then reversed its trajectory, bearing down like an executioner's axe. Perched slightly above Yan Bu, it gripped the impaled sword and, using the blade as a cleaver, brought it down in a swift, horizontal slash.
Thwack!
Still falling, Han Yi effortlessly dodged the now-uncontrolled short swords, whose speed was no match for his own. With practiced agility, he pivoted and shot upward.
Bang!
Though Yan Bu was dead, the Spirit Kill Illusion Array persisted. Han Yi crashed into it, rattling its already strained structure, but it stubbornly held its ground.
Han Yi drew his Demon-Slaying Dagger and slashed fiercely, tearing a hole in the Killing Formation. Without hesitation, he plunged through the breach.
Just as Han Yi entered the formation, Yan Bu's Divine Soul escaped his physical body. Though slightly ethereal, it retained nearly the same size and shape as his corporeal form.
Without a moment's pause, Han Yi transformed his Divine Soul into a towering pagoda and unleashed three consecutive blasts of the Divine Soul Secret Technique: Divine Soul Five Decays, striking Yan Bu's newly liberated soul.
By the time Yan Bu's Divine Soul could react, the signs of the Five Declines had already manifested.
"This... the Five Declines of the Celestial Being?"
"No, it's the Divine Soul Five Decays! You... you're from the Soul Hall, aren't you?!"
"No!!"
Deeper terror flared in Yan Bu's Divine Soul's eyes. Driven by primal instinct, he whirled around and fled.
But he crashed straight into the still-active Killing Formation. The impact hurled his Divine Soul back inward, and the already unstable and now uncontrolled formation shattered completely.
As the rebounding Divine Soul tried to flee again, it froze mid-motion. Starting from the feet and rising to the head, it slowly began to dissolve into nothingness, utterly ceasing to exist.
His soul scattered, his essence dissipated.
At that very moment, Yan Bu's short sword plummeted onto the Immortal Boat, which was trapped by the Spirit-Trapping Talisman below, producing a crisp, metallic ting.
Meanwhile, his headless physical body and severed head, still clutching the Main Formation Plate, had already fallen over eighty meters. However, their trajectory suggested they wouldn't strike the Immortal Boat but would instead crash directly into the forest below.
Han Yi remained vigilant, his expression grave. Standing in the void, his golden eyes scanned the surroundings, scrutinizing every inch of land within a several-kilometer radius for any anomalies.
Four breaths later, a thunderous impact echoed from the forest nearly a kilometer below.
A minute passed.
Confirming there were no further disturbances, Han Yi swiftly descended onto the Immortal Boat, careful not to touch the fallen short sword.
Next, he shattered the Spirit-Trapping Talisman imprisoning the Immortal Boat and guided it down to hover above the forest canopy. Then, he took flight on his sword, landing near Yan Bu's mangled corpse.
Strictly speaking, this was the first Golden Core cultivator he had personally slain in direct combat—and a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator at that.
Han Yi wasted no time. He swiftly retrieved the assassin's Cosmic Ring and the palm-sized Main Formation Plate that had fallen nearby. After thoroughly checking Yan Bu's body for any other valuables and finding nothing, he soared into the air on his sword. His figure flickered across the area as he collected the eight scattered Formation Plates scattered within a three-hundred-meter radius. Then, he landed back on the Immortal Boat.
The Immortal Boat roared to life.
This time, Han Yi dared not relax for a moment. Unleashing his full Divine Sense, he propelled the boat with the same urgency he had used when rushing to aid Jinyun Immortal City, achieving a speed roughly thirty percent faster than his usual cruising pace.
Under normal circumstances, Han Yi always reserved some of his energy when piloting the Immortal Boat, never pushing it to its limits. Only in dire emergencies would he resort to such haste.
After officially crossing the border between Qian Prefecture and Shu Prefecture and entering Shu Prefecture, Han Yi maintained his relentless pace. For seven days, he pushed himself to the absolute limit, arriving back at the Profound Pill Sect three days ahead of schedule.
As soon as he returned, he landed directly at Azure Dragon Palace, outside his personal Meditation Chamber. He pushed the door open, closed it behind him, and activated the chamber's Formation Arts.
Seated cross-legged on the futon inside the chamber, Han Yi's expression remained grave, showing no sign of relief. Instead, his expression grew even more solemn.
He focused his mind on his Divine Soul within the Sea of Consciousness Space. The Divine Soul opened its eyes and gazed at the black pearl suspended in the darkness.
During his fierce battle with Yan Bu, the most perilous moment came from a bizarre Spirit Talisman—an exceedingly rare type specifically designed to target the Divine Soul.
When the talisman entered his Sea of Consciousness Space, it struck Han Yi's Divine Soul with devastating force, shattering it into pieces. This was why he had momentarily lost control of his body and plummeted downward.
Yet, in the next instant, his eyes snapped open again. His Divine Soul had swiftly reformed.
The most significant event within his Sea of Consciousness Space was the black pearl suspended at its apex. Without its intervention, Han Yi would have struggled to reconstitute his Divine Soul. The talisman's disruptive force, like a crushing hammer, had not only shattered his soul but also stubbornly suppressed its fragments, making reunification nearly impossible.
This single Spirit Talisman posed the greatest threat in the entire battle.
Only when the black pearl neutralized the disruptive force could Han Yi instantly rebuild his Divine Soul. He only witnessed the moment when the half-white, half-black pearl reverted entirely to its original black state, completely unaware of the preceding transformations.
Thus, upon returning to the Azure Dragon Palace and confirming his safety, his first priority was to examine the black pearl within his Sea of Consciousness.
After a full quarter of an hour, Han Yi opened his eyes, a look of confusion etched across his face.