Published: August 27, 2025
Chapter 404: The Strange Trap
A night passed without incident.
The next day, at the break of dawn, a group of cultivators silently appeared above the "heretical cultivators' old lair."
“Is this really the place?” Immortal Maiden Zi Ling looked down at the small, dark island several times with some doubt.
The island was indeed very small, just a few li in diameter. Calling it an island was less accurate than calling it a huge reef.
“That’s right. Not only did the ‘Golden Cicada Bee’ track them here, but two elders have also confirmed that the people coming and going are indeed those heretical cultivators,” Madam Fan said softly nearby.
Upon hearing this, the purple-clad woman nodded silently, her heart free of doubt.
However, this place was clearly just a temporary hideout for them.
Not only was the island pitifully small, but even in the sky above it, there was only a simple and rudimentary illusion formation, which could not stop anyone at all.
“Kill on sight!”
At Immortal Maiden Zi Ling’s cold order, a strange laugh came from the Old Fiery Demon hidden in the dark clouds. After a series of thunderfire blasts, the formation was easily wiped out.
Then, the cultivators charged down without reservation.
The commotion of breaking the formation obviously alerted the people on the island.
After a few sharp cries, nearly forty to fifty colorful lights rose from the island as a large group of cultivators rushed to meet them. Leading them were three core formation stage cultivators, who were momentarily stunned when they saw the Miaoyin Sect cultivators.
But before they could react, Madam Fan shouted “Strike!” and released a silver wheel magical artifact, launching the first attack.
Seeing this, the other cultivators also made no apologies and attacked fiercely.
Immediately, colorful light flashes filled the sky and piercing cries rose sharply.
Since Han Li wanted to attract the attention of the Heavenly Thunder Bamboo, it was only natural that he would join in. He and Quhun casually unleashed their magical treasures, encircling five or six foundation establishment stage cultivators, prepared to annihilate them all.
With Han Li and Quhun’s core formation cultivation base, dealing with several foundation establishment stage cultivators should have been easy.
But what surprised him happened next.
These four or five foundation establishment stage cultivators, upon realizing Han Li and Quhun were core formation stage cultivators, suddenly changed expression and tore their clothes apart, their bodies wildly swelling.
They transformed into the familiar images of fierce demon beasts, making Han Li nearly drop his eyes in shock.
However, although their speed and cultivation base had increased significantly after transformation, Han Li was no longer a foundation establishment stage cultivator.
After holding out for a while, these few were reduced to flying ashes by Han Li and Quhun’s Green Radiance Sword and Hunyuan Bowl.
At that moment, Han Li realized that these people’s transformations seemed different from the Black Death Cult’s demon beasts.
They didn’t need to chant spells to shed cocoons before transforming, nor did they have the Blood Condensing Five Elements Pill condensed inside their bodies.
This left Han Li feeling more confused and suspicious, wondering what exact relationship these bandits had with the Black Death Cult.
But he quickly gathered his thoughts and stared attentively in other directions.
Now was not the time to ponder mysteries. Being caught off guard by someone’s sneak attack would be truly unfortunate.
Yet what he saw only deepened his doubts.
Most of these heretical cultivators—eighty or ninety percent of the foundation establishment stage ones—used the demon beast transformation technique, forming small groups and fighting fiercely with reckless abandon!
The three highest-ranked core formation stage cultivators had been trapped inside the dark clouds by the Old Fiery Demon’s spell, unable to escape.
The continuous rumbling inside the black clouds showed they were struggling hard.