At the old man's words, the middle-aged man's eyes narrowed with a flash of spiritual light, and an expression of utter disbelief appeared on his face.
"Could it be that you have actually mastered that demonic art?" His voice carried a trace of dread.
"It's better if you've guessed it. If you quietly surrender now and allow yourself to be captured, I can still spare your life. Otherwise, as for the consequences, you should know them well enough without my having to say them." As the old man spoke, he extended a palm, and with a soft crackle, a ball of fire black as ink came floating above the center of his hand.
"The Corpse Fire of Tiandu! So you've finally mastered it." The middle-aged man's face turned deathly gray, and he spoke in a voice gone dry with terror, so hoarse it was almost broken.
At this scene, Patriarch Jiyin gave a cold snort. Suddenly turning his head, he said with pride to Fairy Ziling and the others:
"Listen well, all of you. This patriarch is in a good mood today, and I am willing to grant you a way out! So long as you are willing to submit to Jiyin Island from this day on, you may continue to live free and unfettered as before. But every order this patriarch gives must be carried out to the letter; otherwise, your souls will be scattered and your spirits extinguished. Surrender one third of your primordial spirits into these spirit-suppressing tablets now, and you may leave here in peace." With these words, his other hand reached into his robe and drew out several tablets of pitch-black wood, and he fixed the crowd with a cold gaze.
Han Li and the other cultivators exchanged glances.
No one was foolish enough to step forward and take a tablet of his own accord, yet no one dared to summon the courage to refuse. Overawed by the man's reputation, the whole place fell into dead silence for a time.
Come to think of it, among the Core Formation cultivators on Fairy Ziling's side, aside from Han Li and Qu Hun, there were only the Meng-surnamed cultivator and a hawk-nosed cultivator whom Zhuo Ruting had brought along. The rest, including Fairy Ziling, Madam Fan, and four or five others, were all merely at the middle or late Foundation Establishment stage.
As for Old Fiend Chihuo, who had been hiding in the black clouds all along, he had long since, quietly and without any fanfare, released the three Hidden Fiend Gate cultivators who had originally been trapped. Within the dark clouds he too remained utterly silent.
"It seems you all intend to be destroyed body and soul. Very well, this patriarch will oblige you!" Patriarch Jiyin's expression turned cold as he spoke in a voice of the utmost menace.
The moment the words fell, the hawk-nosed cultivator standing behind Zhuo Ruting abruptly transformed into a streak of yellow light and shot up into the sky. Before Zhuo Ruting's shocked and furious eyes, he flew several dozen zhang away in the blink of an eye, and only then did his cold snort come faintly drifting back.
"Hmph! I, Feng, have no wish to oppose the patriarch, nor any interest in being commanded by others. I will take my leave first."
In the space of a few short words, the yellow radiance had flown another dozen zhang. What incredible speed!
Seeing this, a murderous gleam flashed through Patriarch Jiyin's eyes. The hand holding the black fireball tossed it lightly toward the direction of the yellow light. The black fireball left his hand, flickered a few times, then abruptly transformed into a slender black rainbow and vanished without a trace in an instant.
Everyone else found this utterly baffling, but Han Li, who had witnessed the scene, felt his heart tighten at once.
At the same moment, a miserable shriek rang out from the distant yellow light, which then erupted with a whoosh into a mass of eerily strange black flame. The flame quickly shrank and vanished, and in the blink of an eye, apart from a flying-dagger magic treasure grown utterly dim, there was no trace of anything left.
"Hah!" Han Li drew in a sharp breath.
The escape speed of that black flame was simply too fast!
He reckoned that if the distance were greater and his concentration absolute, he might have some chance of evading it; but if it were launched at him from within twenty or thirty zhang, he would absolutely be unable to dodge.
Moreover, judging from the power with which that black flame had burned a man to flying ash, it was absolutely no less formidable than the "Azure Yang Devil Fire" of the Six Devil Sects, and certainly nothing an ordinary magic treasure could withstand.
Having reached the conclusion that the man could snuff out his life at any moment, Han Li's lips went somewhat dry, and his heart pounded fiercely.
Only with great effort did he barely restrain the urge to turn and flee at once. He knew perfectly well that if he acted rashly now, he would only die that much faster.
But to hand over one third of his primordial spirit—no matter what, Han Li would not do it. It was practically the same as placing his life in the other man's hands.
For if the other party destroyed the spiritual sense imprinted on those spirit-suppressing tablets, then any cultivator lacking that portion of his primordial spirit would, at best, become an idiot and live out the rest of his days in a dazed haze; at worst, his mind would collapse on the spot and he would die then and there.
Moreover, this vicious art capable of binding another's primordial spirit could only be unleashed by a cultivator who had entered the Nascent Soul stage. Even Core Formation cultivators possessed no such ability.
Han Li barely managed to steady his mind and looked toward the others, to see whether they might have any good plan for dealing with the situation.
Not far away, the Meng-surnamed cultivator, himself a Core Formation cultivator, had long since lost his former beaming expression. Sensing Han Li's gaze, he merely turned his head, forced a wry smile by way of acknowledgment, then once more turned to stare darkly at Patriarch Jiyin.
As for Fairy Ziling standing at the front, her gaze remained comparatively cool and clear. But the ten slender, white-jade fingers behind her back had knotted together and were twisting slightly—a sight that left Han Li speechless.
As for Madam Fan, Zhuo Ruting, and the other Miaoyin Gate cultivators, after witnessing the power of that black devil flame, their faces had long since drained of all color. Though their expressions remained fairly composed, the fear in their eyes could not be concealed no matter what.
Han Li licked his lips, then turned his gaze toward the Hidden Fiend Gate group.
The middle-aged man, having been visibly moved by the power of Patriarch Jiyin's black devil fire, had now narrowed his eyes to slits.
When Han Li looked over, he spoke in a low, grave voice:
"Don't let the old fiend frighten you. Since he is possessing another's body, this newly mastered ability can only be used a few times at most; otherwise, the body he possesses would burst apart and die. For now, our only option is to join forces and deal with this old fiend together."
After the middle-aged man finished speaking, he glanced, deliberately or not, toward Old Fiend Chihuo in the black clouds.
In his heart, only by joining hands with Old Fiend Chihuo, who was likewise at late Core Formation stage, could they hope to put up a fight against the man.
But after the middle-aged man spoke these words, not a sound came from within the clouds—not the slightest response.
This eerie situation set everyone, Han Li included, on edge.
Fairy Ziling in particular shot a cold glance toward the clouds and said not a word.
Patriarch Jiyin, for his part, let out a few cold snorts.
He pressed his two hands together and then easily drew them apart, and two more balls of black fire appeared floating above his palms. At this, the faces of everyone present abruptly changed, and all of them fixed their eyes on those two fireballs, watching their every move.
At that moment, the black clouds finally began to churn, and from within them came the strange, metallic ring of Old Fiend Chihuo's voice.
"Patriarch Jiyin—do you mean to demand my submission as well?"
"Of course. Since this patriarch has condescended to possess a body and come here in person, everyone present must either die or acknowledge me as master. No one will be an exception." Patriarch Jiyin glanced at the black clouds and said mildly.
"Fine! Fine! A mere possessed husk dares to scheme against me, the master of this island! It seems I shall have to personally test the power of your devil fire." Old Fiend Chihuo seemed stung into fury; the clouds churned all the more violently, and the sound of thunder and fire swelled for a time.
Seeing Chihuo and Patriarch Jiyin finally break off all negotiation, the Miaoyin Gate and Hidden Fiend Gate people all felt their hearts ease at the same moment!
If this old fiend joined the fight on their side, they would not be without the strength to resist.
After all, the "Kui Water Devil Art" that Old Fiend Chihuo cultivated was a technique renowned throughout the Scattered Star Seas; perhaps it could counter the man's devil fire!
"Patriarch Jiyin, you wield the spirit-suppression art with such reckless abandon—are you not afraid that the Star Palace will come knocking? As far as I know, that art is strictly forbidden to Nascent Soul cultivators such as yourself by the Heavenly Star Sages." At this point, Fairy Ziling suddenly asked this question.
Even an old fiend at the Nascent Soul stage like Patriarch Jiyin changed color slightly at the mention of the Star Palace and the Heavenly Star Sages.
But his expression quickly returned to normal, and he snickered coldly:
"You girl certainly know a great deal! It's true that the Star Palace has such a prohibition against the likes of us, but that was a matter of the past. Do you think the Heavenly Star Sages of today still dare to leave Heavenly Star City lightly? So long as the Heavenly Star Sages do not act, what can the rest of the Star Palace possibly do to the likes of us!"
These words were like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, leaving Han Li and the others stunned. Only the middle-aged man and the Hidden Fiend Gate people showed no surprise, as though they had long known of the matter.
Fairy Ziling's heart sank abruptly, but she then coldly said to the middle-aged man with sudden resolve:
"You and Senior Chihuo will deal with this old fiend. Everyone else will first deal with those traitors; then, at the end, we will all together deal with the old fiend!"
The remark gave the middle-aged man a moment's pause, but he immediately understood, and waved a hand at the cultivators under his command.
"For now, do as she says. If we do not drive back this old fiend, none of us will leave here alive."
Then, his face covered in frost, he looked toward the opposite side, and Old Fiend Chihuo's black clouds gently swayed over to hover above his head, forming an allied stance.
The several Core Formation cultivators of the Hidden Fiend Gate exchanged a few glances, and without a word flew to Han Li's side, casting cold eyes toward the traitorous Elder Zhao and the others.
Seeing that they would not have to face Patriarch Jiyin's terrifying devil fire directly, the Meng-surnamed cultivator and the other Miaoyin Gate cultivators looked much relieved. They likewise took out their magic tools and released their magic treasures, ready for a fierce battle.
But Han Li, standing at the very back of the crowd, was frowning deeply.
For some reason, the situation before him gave him a strong sense of foreboding, as though something bad were about to happen.
He himself also felt something was somehow not right. Had this Patriarch Jiyin truly brought not a single helper, and was he really counting on nothing but the possession art to deal with their whole group?
He licked his somewhat dry lips, and with a flicker of thought, quietly gave Qu Hun a few instructions. Only then did he release the Green Brilliance Sword.