The curses of the few cultivators who were furious after their companion left them without saying anything had already disappeared. They gazed at each other, seeing a trace of dread in each others’ eyes.

Just then, although they had been in an extremely disadvantageous position, they actually did not feel any worry in their hearts apart from a slight feeling of vexation. They all reckoned that even if they couldn’t kill off all these mechanical puppets, escaping through the air was still something that could be easily accomplished!

But now, the escapee’s fate immediately shocked them out of their wishful dreams! He had so many protective spells on his body, and he was even wielding a defensive magic tool, but even so, he was actually unable to withstand that column of light in the slightest. How could this not frighten them?!

In addition, the higher one’s cultivation base, the more one feared death! They had, with great difficulty, achieved a point where they could live slightly longer than regular people. There was also the possibility that they could live even longer, so how could they be willing to die so easily!

However, that frighteningly thick column of light was simply too powerful!

If it hadn’t been directed at the fleeing cultivator but rather at their protective barrier...these people really didn’t know if they could have received it.

The more these cultivators thought about it, the more they panicked! They couldn’t help but begin to think about retreating.

But now, even if they wanted to retreat, the opponent would not easily let them go now that he had the advantage! This caused them to be caught in a dilemma.

Hiding in the clouds high above their heads, Han Li was also shocked by that domineering column of light to the point that his body emanated cold air! Now he was even more unwilling to rashly reveal himself.

However, he was also not very willing to just leave this place in this manner.

Thus, he could rely on the outstanding speed of the Divine Wind Boat to escape even after being discovered. Han Li continued to stay in midair, observing what transpired!

However, the azure-red cloud of smoke that Han Li’s magic tool had transformed into was truly somewhat eye-catching if he left it floating in midair above the cultivators and puppets! Luckily, while Han Li had been in mid-flight, he had greatly increased the altitude of the small boat to a distance of about thousand feet.

Thus, Han Li had yet to be discovered by the surrounded cultivators or the figure in the forest controlling the puppets.

However, Han Li also knew that this method could not be carried on indefinitely, but if he were to retrieve the cloud of smoke, he would definitely be exposed in midair.

Besides, the top-grade magic tool “Azurefire Miasma” that had been refined from a pair of flood dragon eyes could conceal Han Li’s figure, causing enemies to be unable to determine his exact location. In addition, the remaining blood of the Inky Flood Dragon’s Dan had been incorporated in the dense, azure-red fog. This would cause the people who unwittingly came into contact with the cloud to feel dizzy and lightheaded, slowly being poisoned without even knowing!

With such an incredible defensive and stealthy magic tool at hand, how could Han Li not choose to use it?

In his desperation, Han Li suddenly saw a grey cloud floating in a nearby location above where he was hiding. He instantly rejoiced in his heart and slowly drew near to it. Finally, both him and the protective cloud around him entered the cloud.

Now, any traces of Han Li had been completely covered up!

Now that he didn’t have to worry about being discovered, he continued to watch the battle down on the ground with reassurance.

Evidently, that supreme beam of light earlier had dispelled the self-confidence of these Foundation Establishment cultivators. Thus, although they were still attacking with their various magic tools and the fight appeared to be very intense, Han Li could see that the strength of their attacks was far weaker than they were originally.

This was obviously because everyone had their own ulterior motives and appeared to be unwilling to resist the enemy together anymore.

Just as Han Li was quietly shaking his head, an elderly cultivator within the barrier seemingly also became aware that something was wrong. He suddenly yelled loudly towards the forest, “Does Sir really want to continue the slaughter? We are all disciples from various sects of the State of Yuan Wu; if you kill us, you will have wronged the State of Yuan Wu’s entire cultivation world. Are you not afraid of incurring a fatal disaster?”

“Hehe! Fatal disaster?”

“If you had said so before I killed that cultivator who had wanted to fly away, perhaps I would have considered it. However, now that someone has already died, offending once is still an offense. It would be better to kill everybody off. Perhaps this way, no one will know of this matter!”

“We don’t have any malicious intentions! As long as you are willing to make peace, we will swear an oath that we definitely will keep this matter a secret!” a significantly younger cultivator hurriedly vowed.

“Hmph! Swearing an oath? I don’t believe in such trifles! You guys were stealthily following behind me for such a long time, yet you still say that you don’t have any malicious intentions? Could it be that you want to invite me to a meal? Besides, I am not a person from the State of Yuan Wu. Even if I did offend the cultivation world of your state, what can you do? Do you want to follow me back to the Thousand Bamboo School to demand justice? If that’s really the case, I, Mo, very much admire your sect’s elders’ boldness!”

An extremely harsh voice came from within the forest. Upon hearing this voice, Han Li thought that it sounded very familiar!

“It’s him?” Han Li quietly thought, somewhat surprised.

Based on the sound of his voice, it was definitely the burly man who had bought the mechanical puppet beasts at the auction! Hearing their exchange, it was obvious that these cultivators had secretly followed this person right after the auction had ended. They probably wanted to use some dishonorable methods to discover the puppet beasts’ secrets! Who knew that this Thousand Bamboo School fellow became aware of their actions a long time ago and actually laid a trap for them, instantly trapping them here?

“Everybody, we have no choice but to go all out against him. He has already made it clear that he wants to silence us!” The first cultivator to speak was not stupid; he immediately attempted to arouse the fighting spirit of the other cultivators, intending to fight to the death!

“Do you even have the qualifications to go all out against me? Don’t talk about going all out if you can’t even win against my puppet beast army! I have toyed around enough with you people; it’s best if I hurry up and send you on your way!” The burly man’s tone was still just as harsh, but the killing intent in his words was undoubtedly revealed!

Just as his words left his mouth, a loud, earth-shaking sound suddenly emerged from within the forest; then, booming, heavy footsteps came charging out of the forest, causing the cultivators inside the barrier and Han Li, who was in midair, to glance around wildly, not knowing exactly what had occurred!

Although the footsteps were very heavy, they were very quick; in the blink of an eye, they had arrived in an area nearby the forest. Now, all of the people could see what was happening clearly! A roughly fifty- or sixty-foot-tall puppet tiger leapt out of the forest. The burly cultivator, still wearing a cloak, was naturally sitting on the head of the giant tiger.

Upon seeing that the puppet tiger was so enormous, the few cultivators were all secretly shocked and couldn’t help but think of the huge column of light that they had seen earlier. It was likely that it had been shot by this beast!

After it appeared, the burly man did not say anything superfluous and directly patted the tiger’s head.

Instantly, the puppet tiger beneath him slowly opened its lower jaw; faint white light began to condense in its huge mouth! The other puppets that were attacking the barrier instantly stopped one by one, retreating a few steps in an orderly fashion!

These cultivators obviously knew that the situation did not look good, so all of them reached out their hands and pressed them against the barrier; this was the only barrier that could save their lives! As for escaping the barrier and flying away, everybody had once harbored this idea but learned from the unfortunate cultivator’s mistake. Nobody dared to lightly make such a move!

The huge column of white light appeared once again! This time, the domineering light column was actually forcefully blocked by the cooperative efforts of the few cultivators with the help of the barrier, temporarily creating a stalemate!

Although Han Li was very high up in the sky, by virtue of his extraordinary eyesight, he could still clearly see that these cultivators did not appear happy even though they had successfully blocked the column of light. Instead, their faces became pale after pouring such large quantities of their spiritual energy into this barrier!

However, Han Li believed that this destructive attack could not continue for long and would be over before long! The few cultivators inside the barrier also seemed to understand this principle, so they each continued to grit their teeth and bitterly hold on!

As expected, the column of light was maintained for a brief moment before gradually thinning, then disappearing from the tiger’s mouth!

Having received a new lease on life, the cultivators revealed joyful expressions as they finally retrieved the hands that they had placed on the barrier, letting out a big sigh.

However, the burly man coldly laughed upon seeing this. He suddenly uncovered a secret panel on the tiger’s head, then flipped his hand and tossed a mid-grade fire attribute spirit stone into opening. Then, the originally extinguished white light in the tiger’s mouth began to shine again, causing the other cultivators to become completely dazed when they saw this scene!

Han Li gnawed on his lips even more, speechless at the extravagant expense. One mid-grade spirit stone for an all-out attack! How was this a battle tactic? It was clearly using piles of spirit stones to forcefully bash these cultivators. It seemed like the Thousand Bamboo School in his faraway country was extremely rich and had huge stores of spirit stones!

Just as Han Li’s imagination was running wild, the cultivators who were originally able to work together finally scattered under the extremely large threat facing them.

This was because the magic power they had remaining was not very much; continuing to forcefully resist would only bring them an earlier death! Thus, it would be better for them to each rely on their own luck and escape individually!

As expected, the burly man willed the huge tiger to attack two of the cultivators one after the other with the huge column of light. Their fates were almost the same as the first individual; their bodies were charred black, and their remains were truly too horrible to look at.