When Feng Sanniang heard this, she revealed a bitter smile. She dragged the hair on her forehead to one side and slowly said, “Fellow Daoists! It wasn’t that I was unwilling to state the facts. I was under orders to not divulge this information until we arrived on the island. Now that we’ve arrived, I have no restrictions in telling you all! The foe that our United Six Palaces wish to battle is an ‘Infant Carp Beast’. That is why we had to be a bit careful!”

“Infant Carp Beast!” When Qing Suanzi heard this, he couldn’t help but shout out in shock!

Han Li detachedly gazed on. Although he didn’t know what sort of demon beast they were facing, judging by the pale expressions of the others, it was by no means some trifling beast.

“I don’t blame your palaces for being this careful. If it really is this demon beast, it was right to be careful! If other powers were to know of this, who knows how much of a disturbance would be brought about!!” Qing Suanzi muttered in disbelief. Han Li’s heart stirred upon hearing him.

The youth surnamed Yan and the large bald man’s expressions continuously shifted as their hearts were in turmoil.

Only the middle-aged Confucian scholar with an unsightly expression coldly spoke to Feng Sanniang, “Your Six United Palaces have overreached themselves! Everyone knows that the Infant Carp Beast is an innate water demon beast with formidable water type divine abilities. If it were grade six, it’d be a match for common grade seven demon beasts. By claiming it to be a grade six beast when you were asking for our assistance, were you deliberately trying to take advantage of us?” The middle-aged Confucian scholar asked.

Qing Suanzi and the others eventually recovered from their shock, all revealing their displeasure.

Although they were all rogue cultivators, those that walked the road less traveled, they didn’t dare to rashly offend the Six United Palaces. They all wordlessly stared at Feng Sanniang, waiting for an answer.

Feng Sanniang’s face darkened and she replied without a trace of politeness, “Fellow Daoist Mao, you speak wrongly! Our Six United Palaces did not deceive you! Although the Infant Carp Beast is a bit difficult, it is a genuine grade six demon beast. How could you say we called a grade seven demon beast a grade six demon beast? Besides, since our palaces offered a reward as precious as the Dustfall Pill, you should have understood that you weren’t going to deal with a common grade six beast. Otherwise, our palaces would be operating at a loss.”

The middle-aged Confucian scholar was left dumbstruck for long while, and Han Li inwardly frowned. Although the woman’s outspoken words held reason, he still felt very uncomfortable and couldn’t help but glance at the others.

The other three appeared to have the same attitude as Han Li and revealed slight displeasure.

Then, Feng Sanniang suddenly flashed Crooked Soul a smile and said, “Naturally, our palace acted in this manner to ensure that the existence of the Infant Carp Beast is kept hidden. As a result, arrangements were made before we came here. In addition to the Dustfall Pill you will receive after this matter is concluded, you will all be paid an advance of a thousand spirit stones as compensation for keeping the matter secret. Is this to your satisfaction?”

Everyone’s resentment had slowly faded away, and they each nodded their heads in agreement.

The middle-aged man still seemed somewhat unsatisfied, but his young, beautiful Dao companion then whispered something into his ear. His expression changed, and he kept silent.

Soon after, everyone went off in their own direction on the island and found a quiet location to meditate and rest. Han Li and Crooked Soul found a huge reef near the ocean shore and sat down cross-legged while facing each other.

Under Han Li’s meticulous commands, Crooked Soul quickly entered a state of strength honing. As for Han Li, he slowly closed his eyes, wishing to meditate. But after the the time it took to make a cup of tea, Han Li opened his eyes with a frown. He then looked at the surging waves while lost in thought.

For some unknown reason, he felt somewhat ill at ease, as if something incredible was about to occur. After pondering in restless apprehension for a long while, he helplessly smiled as he was unable to single out the cause.

He was still quite nervous. Although a spirited rest was normally easy to come by, he would be assisting two Core Formation cultivators with the Six Flowing Ripples Formation tomorrow. Although the demon beast seemed quite unordinary, a demon beast was still a demon beast. Facing against cultivators of superior strength, how could it possibly prevail? They shouldn’t have any problem taking it down.

After calming himself down with a few comforting words, Han Li attempted to forcefully enter meditation. But after a while, his heart still felt heavy, and he was unable to get into the mood.

Han Li sighed and stood up, it seemed that unless he did something, he wouldn’t feel at ease!

Han Li helplessly looked around and released his spiritual sense. Fortunately, there was nobody around.

Han Li quickly patted his storage pouch and took out over a dozen sparkling formation flags and six formation plates, the formation setup tool set for the Jadewater Azure Armor Formation.

Although this formation couldn’t be compared to the Five Elements Reversal Formation or the Six Flowing Ripples Formation, it was still far stronger than common magic formations. In addition, it was extremely simple to setup due to its tools.

Han Li called out to Crooked Soul without the slightest hesitation and had him use the reef as the formation’s center, setting up the rest of the formation flags and disks within a hundred meters of it.

As he watched Crooked Soul placing down the flags and burying the formation disks, Han Li felt his anxiety gradually dissipate. He couldn’t help but make a slanted smile and self-mockingly say, “It seems I am still quite fearful of death!

...

The next day before the sunrise, Feng Sanniang and the others gathered together, flying over five kilometers to sea.

At this same moment, in the waters five hundred kilometers away, a streak of gold light and a streak of yellow light were quickly flying in the direction of the nameless small island.

A kilometer behind them, there was a large white mist spanning about four hundred meters chasing after them at the same speed while faintly releasing an infant’s cry. Anybody who heard the miserable wail would feel their blood run cold.

“Elder Miao, should I send a flying sword over to them and see if they’re prepared?” A deep voice suddenly came from the rushing yellow light.

“Sure!” Elder Miao agreed without hesitation. His body blurred and reappeared at the center of the yellow light. At the same time, the golden light enveloping him turned into a golden rainbow and disappeared in an instant.

The huge white mist chasing after them appeared upset by this and the infant’s weeping became even more intense. The sound gradually changed to that of thunder and became increasingly deafening.

“Not good! The beast is going to use Divine Waterstar Thunder! Elder Brother Gu, please hurry!” Elder Miao, now enveloped by the yellow light, shouted out as if he were greatly fearful of the sounds of thunder from behind them.

“Be at ease. My Immemorial Bowl isn’t slow in the slightest!” Just as the deep voice said this, the yellow light sped up and greatly increased the distance between them and the white mist in an instant. However, the white mist seemed unwilling to give up. With sounds of wailing and thunder, it also sped up, cutting through the seawater and spreading huge white waves across the ocean as far as the eye could see.

...

Crooked Soul and company had already taken their positions at the formation’s front, each holding a large blue flag in their hand. The banner was about six meters long and emitted threads of dazzling blue radiance.

The six late Foundation Establishment cultivators wore solemn expressions and were separated by over four hundred meters as they floated above the sea on magic tools, forming a hollow semicircle.

Han Li stood behind Crooked Soul with a detached gaze. As for the middle-aged Confucian scholar’s Dao companion, she stood at his side with a concerned expression.

A short moment later, a streak of golden light suddenly cleaved through the sky and arrived in Feng Sanniang’s hand, drawing the attention of the others.

“Everyone, on guard! The Infant Carp Beast is about to come! Once the beast enters the formation, immediately block off the entrance of the formation!” Feng Sanniang received the message and loudly shouted to the others with a solemn expression. Afterwards, the golden light flew away and disappeared off into the sky.

Han Li’s heart tensed, and he attentively stared in the direction that the golden light flew off into.

The others also wore taut expressions as if they were anticipating the storm that was about to come.

After an unknown amount of time passed, they heard faint rolls of thunder in the distance that soon grew increasingly louder. They eventually spotted a streak of yellow and a streak of golden light flying towards them at the speed of lightning. A huge white mist followed behind them as if it were closely pursuing them.

“That’s the Infant Carp Beast?” Although Han Li could clearly see a huge white mist behind the streaks, he couldn’t imagine the sinister appearance of the demon beast concealed within.