Chapter 2374: Retreat   However, Fairy Hua Xi suddenly twisted away as if she had already anticipated this, then lashed out with a hand of her own, which was covered in translucent sand.

The two palms clashed amid a dull thump, and both of them were forced back several steps from the force of the impact.

"I knew you would try something like this. Looks like I still haven’t punished you enough! I’m going to..." Fairy Hua Xi’s voice abruptly cut off as her furious expression suddenly transitioned into one of horror, and she shuddered as a thin azure hand suddenly protruded out of the front of her chest.

The hand was locked around Fairy Hua Xi’s Nascent Soul, which was struggling desperately with an agonized look on its face.

Patriarch Wu Gou appeared before Fairy Hua Xi’s Nascent Soul in a wraith-like manner and appraised it in silence.

At the same time, spatial fluctuations erupted behind Fairy Hua Xi’s body, and a barely visible azure figure emerged.

Almost at the exact same moment, the fiery golden giant that was opposing the other extreme mountain abruptly vanished on the spot.

As a result, the extreme mountain was free to crash down from above, and the entire sea of golden flames was instantly snuffed out.

Fairy Hua Xi’s Nascent Soul struggled for a moment longer to no avail, and it finally gave up in despair as a resentful look appeared on its face. "I didn’t think you’d already mastered the Spirit Substitution Technique, but don’t celebrate too early; if I’m going to die here, then I’m going to take you down with me! Don’t forget that there’s a bonded restriction planted in your body."

"Is that so? If that’s what you were counting on, then I can tell you right now that I’d already dispelled your restriction several years ago. As for why I allowed you to do as you please up until now, it’s all for that thing up your sleeve," Patriarch Wu Gou said as a peculiar look flashed through his eyes.

"That’s impossible! Argh..."

The Nascent Soul’s anguished howl was abruptly cut off as the azure figure burst into golden flames before pouncing forward to envelop both Fairy Hua Xi’s body and her Nascent Soul, instantly incinerating both into ashes.

Patriarch Wu Gou then immediately reached forward in an expressionless manner, and an inky-black formation plate flew out of the golden flames before landing in his grasp.

He carefully inspected the formation plate for a short while before blowing on it, and the formation plate began to disintegrate at a rate that was discernible to the naked eye, fading into a cloud of black smoke in the end.

Patriarch Wu Gou then opened his mouth to inhale the cloud of black smoke, and a relieved look flashed through his eyes after he briefly inspected his own internal condition.

After that, the golden flames reverted back into an azure humanoid figure.

A dull thump rang out as the sand barrier was finally completely melted away, but the surrounding silver flames suddenly fell completely still, and even the giant Fire Raven was hovering in mid-air in a stationary manner with its wings folded away.

Only then did Patriarch Wu Gou cast his gaze toward Han Li, who was also appraising him with a peculiar expression.

"I don’t know what happened between you and your dao companion, but I can roughly guess some of the details. Do you still intend to continue this battle on your own?"

"Of course not. In my current state, Daoist Tian Ding’s cultivation arts won’t be of any use to me. On top of that, I can tell that you haven’t even unleashed half of your full power yet up to this point, so it would be nothing short of suicidal for me to continue this battle. Please excuse me, I’ll be taking my leave now," Patriarch Wu Gou replied in an indifferent manner, and the azure humanoid figure immediately fused into his body, upon which he sped away as a streak of light, vanishing into the distance after just a few flashes.

Han Li was rather surprised by Patriarch Wu Gou’s decisive departure, but he naturally wasn’t going to stop him.

All of a sudden, an earth-shattering boom rang out in another direction, and Han Li turned toward that direction to find that the sea of crimson mist there had faded, revealing the Provenance Golden Body and the Nine-eyed Blood Toad.

The two were facing one another from over 1,000 feet away, and the Provenance Golden Body had become very dim and was missing a head and two arms.

As for the Nine-eyed Blood Toad, it was riddled with wounds, and only five of its eyes remained open, while the other four were all bleeding profusely.

It seemed that neither side had gained the upper hand over the other.

As for the other two battles taking place, they were still as intense as ever.

A faint smile appeared on Han Li’s face, yet just as he was about to fly toward the Nine-eyed Blood Toad, it suddenly heaved a forlorn sigh. "There’s no need to continue this any longer, Brother Han; the three of us concede, and we’ll no longer pester you and your companion."

As soon as its voice trailed off, a burst of crimson mist rose up from the Nine-eyed Blood Toad, and its injuries were quickly healed before it reverted back to its human form amid a flash of spiritual light.

Han Li hesitated momentarily before also reverting back to his human form amid a flash of golden light.

The other combatants had naturally already witnessed what had just happened, and despite their reluctance to do so, Daoist Qing Ping and Mistress Wan Hua could only disengage themselves from their respective battles before retreating back to Xiao Ming’s side with dark expressions.

"Are we just going to give up, Brother Xiao?" Mistress Wan Hua asked with an indignant expression.

"What else can we do? Patriarch Wu Gou and Fairy Hua Xi are no longer here; the three of us have no chance at victory," Xiao Ming replied.

Daoist Qing Ping also seemed very reluctant to give up, but he didn’t say anything in the end.

"You’ve gotten the better of us, Fellow Daoist Han. We’ll only be embarrassing ourselves further if we continue to stay here, so we’ll be taking our leave now," Xiao Ming said as he cupped his fist in a salute toward Han Li before preparing to depart with Daoist Qing Ping and Mistress Wan Hua.

"You think you can just come and go as you please, Brother Xiao?" Han Li asked with a cold smile.

At this point, the giant golden crab and Fairy Ice Soul had also flew over to Han Li’s side, and Fairy Ice Soul’s eyes were filled with elation.

Meanwhile, the giant golden crab transformed into a young daoist priest amid a flash of silver lightning.

Xiao Ming’s pupils contracted slightly upon hearing this. "What are you trying to say, Brother Han?"

"Why ask a question you already know the answer to, Brother Xiao? If you want to leave, then you’ll have to buy your way out of here," Han Li said.

"Fine. Here are three Yin Blood Crystals to compensate for our actions," Xiao Ming sighed as he swept a sleeve through the air, releasing a jade box toward Han Li.

Han Li drew the jade box into his grasp, then inspected its contents with his spiritual sense before giving a pleased nod.

The jade box was then stowed away amid a flash of spiritual light, and Xiao Ming cupped his fist in a salute again before flying away, followed closely by Daoist Qing Ping and Mistress Wan Hua.

Even though they could no longer obtain Daoist Tian Ding’s true inheritance, there was still some time until the closing of the Heavenly Cauldron Palace, so if they made haste, they could still obtain some treasures from some other areas.

"Thank you, Brother Han. If you hadn’t stood up for me, I would already be dead by now," Fairy Ice Soul said with unadulterated gratitude in her voice as she extended a deep bow toward Han Li.

"No need for formalities, Fellow Daoist Ice Soul. Even setting aside our history with one another, I would’ve ensured your safety on the basis that you’re a fellow human Grand Ascension Stage being," Han Li said with a smile, while Daoist Xie stood beside him in silence with a wooden expression.

After a short conversation, the three of them flew toward a certain direction.

Several hours later, a light formation suddenly appeared at a certain location in the centrum amid a burst of spatial fluctuations, following which Han Li’s trio emerged.

After quickly inspecting their surroundings, Fairy Ice Soul said, "I can sense the blood spirit’s approximate location; I’ll use the restriction to teleport us over to her."

Han Li naturally had no objections to this, and thus, Fairy Ice Soul flipped a hand over to summon a formation plate.

She then cast a few incantations toward the formation plate before tossing it forward, upon which it transformed into a light formation again.

The three of them stepped into the formation before vanishing amid a faint buzzing sound.

Several hours later, the blood soul was situated in a pavilion, drawing a series of treasures on a wooden shelf up her sleeve when her expression suddenly changed slightly, and she promptly abandoned the remaining two or three treasures on the shelf before flying out of the pavilion as a streak of light.

Almost at the exact same moment, spatial fluctuations erupted nearby, and a light formation carrying Han Li’s trio emerged.

"You’ve finally been freed," the blood soul said as she appraised the mirror image of herself with a complex expression.

"Thank you for your hard work and for enlisting Brother Han’s help. Otherwise, the two of us most likely would’ve never had a chance to reunite," Fairy Ice Soul said with a smile.