Jin Yue's expression changed drastically upon hearing this, and she hurriedly fell to her knees again. "But Patriarch Yue, the Chi Rong Race is far too powerful for us to handle. If things continue like this, even if our Tian Peng Race isn't destroyed, it'll be reduced to a shell of its former self. Please uphold justice for us, Patriarch Yue!"
"Hmph, did you not hear what I just said or do you think I'm not doing a good job?" Yue Long harrumphed coldly as a formidable aura erupted out of his body.
Jin Yue immediately felt the air tighten around her, making her body feel extremely heavy. In the face of this fearsome aura, she was unable to even get up again.
Jin Yue's face paled even further as a horrified look appeared in her eyes. "Please forgive me, Patriarch Yue; I had no such intentions!"
"I know I shouldn't be getting involved, but Fellow Daoist Jin is an acquaintance of mine, so please do me a favor and give her some assistance," Han Li suddenly said with a smile as he swept a sleeve through the air.
The enormous force crushing Jin Yue to the ground was immediately disrupted and melted away like snow under the scorching sun.
Jin Yue was stunned to hear this, and she looked up at Han Li with a bewildered expression.
Instead of being enraged by Han Li's intervention, Yue Long immediately put on a smile as he replied, "If that's what Brother Han wants, then it can naturally be arranged. Jin Yue, hurry up and thank Fellow Daoist Han for his kindness."
"It's you!"
Jin Yue finally recognized Han Li, and her bewilderment became even more pronounced upon seeing Yue Long treating Han Li in such a respectful manner.
"What insolence! This is Fellow Daoist Han Li of the human race, and his powers are superior to even my own!" Yue Long scolded with a dark expression.
It took Jin Yue a moment to recover from her astonishment before she hurriedly extended a deep bow toward Han Li. "Fellow Daoist Han… no, Patriarch Han, please forgive me; I was simply caught off guard."
During their last meeting, Han Li had only been at the Body Integration Stage, yet now, even Yue Long was conceding his inferiority to Han Li; this drastic change was far too much for her to process.
Despite Jin Yue's cunning and steadfast nature, she was completely rooted to the spot.
"Alright, you can go now. I promised Fellow Daoist Han that I would look into this matter, so I'll definitely make some time to meditate for your two races," Yue Long instructed with a stern expression as he waved his hand in a dismissive manner.
Jin Yue's heart was still filled with astonishment and befuddlement, but she didn't dare to raise any objections. "Yes, Senior; I'll be taking my leave now."
However, as she rose to her feet, she couldn't help but take a look at Han Li again to make sure that he was indeed the same person that she was thinking of.
Han Li gave her a faint smile, then communicated a message to her through voice transmission.
"Regardless of what history I had with your Tian Peng Race in the past, that should settle any debt that I owe you; don't come to see me again."
Jin Yue's heart jolted upon hearing this, and she was just about to say something when Han Li pointed a finger at her from afar.
Around a dozen bolts of silver lightning suddenly erupted beneath her feet, forming a small lightning formation in a flash.
In the next instant, her surroundings completely blurred, and she abruptly vanished from within the hall.
Han Li had used a lightning formation to teleport her directly out of the pagoda.
"What a marvelous teleportation technique! It seems your powers are even superior to what I had anticipated; I'm even more confident in our collaboration now," Yue Long said as his eyes lit up.
In the air above a normal building far away from the stone pagoda, Jin Yue re-emerged amid a flash of silver lightning.
She quickly inspected her surroundings with a bewildered expression, then cast a stunned gaze toward the stone pagoda in the distance.
……
The next day, before daylight had completely arrived, two streaks of light, one azure and one black, flew out of the stone pagoda before speeding away in a certain direction.
Close to a day later, the two streaks of light arrived in a small mountain range, then descended into a valley between two small mountains.
"This is the spirit region you found?" Han Li asked with furrowed brows as the azure light faded around him.
Aside from countless craters of different sizes, the valley was completely bare.
There wasn't a single blade of grass growing within several kilometers of the valley, and all of the bulges in the area had been sliced through by something, making them significantly shorter than the surrounding ground.
The only thing that was noteworthy at all was a giant copper pillar situated at the very center of the valley.
The pillar was over 1,000 feet tall with layers of formations etched on its surface, but it was covered in rust and looking very dilapidated, much like a relic of the distant past.
"This place doesn't look that impressive, but it wasn't always like this; it only became so barren and desolate after enduring two heavenly tribulations. Spirit regions suitable for drawing upon the power of heaven and earth are very difficult to find, so we'll have to make do here," Yue Long explained as he made his way toward the copper pillar.
"I see, but surely you're not going to rely solely on this treasure to draw upon the power of heaven and earth," Han Li said as he cast his gaze toward the copper pillar.
"Hehe, of course not. This pillar is known as the Metal Wind Pillar, and it's a treasure I refined to help draw upon metal attribute power. However, it was damaged on the previous occasion, so I didn't withdraw it. Now that we're drawing upon a new back of the power of heaven and earth, we'll naturally be using new treasures as well," Yue Long chuckled in response.
He then swept a hand through the air, releasing over 100 balls of azure light that descended into the surrounding craters on the ground.
The balls of light then transformed into over 100 glistening copper pillars that were brand new in appearance.
Immediately thereafter, Yue Long began to chant something while making a hand seal.
A burst of loud rumbling rang out, and the copper pillars quickly arranged themselves into a giant formation with Yue Long and Han Li and the very center.
"There are a total of 108 Metal Wind Pillars, just enough to create a Golden Astral Devilish Formation. With this formation in place, the might of the power of heaven and earth we're about to draw upon will be significantly diminished, and you'll be able to control the power with relative ease according to the instructions I provided you with last night," Yue Long explained.
"Alright, go ahead and begin the proceedings; I'll step in when required," Han Li replied with a calm expression, then made his way over to the top of a nearby copper pillar, where he stood with his hands clasped behind his back.
Yue Long was naturally ecstatic to see this, and he immediately swept his sleeves through the air, releasing countless formation treasures that shot forth toward the edge of the valley.
A short while later, seven or eight more profound restrictions had been set up outside the formation of copper pillars.
At this moment, Yue Long opened his mouth again to release five different treasures, comprised of a white jade vial, a purplish-golden gourd, an azure disk, a silver cauldron, and a crimson feather fan.
As soon as the five treasures emerged, they immediately began to revolve around Yue Long.
Yue Long pointed a finger toward the azure disk, and it instantly swelled to around 10 feet in size.
Spiritual light of different colors surged all over its surface, forming an inky-black starry sky with countless star-like specks of silver light flashing within it.
Yue Long then flipped both of his hands over in unison, summoning three silver beads and a net that resembled a black veil, all of which he immediately tossed toward Han Li without any hesitation.
"Those are the treasures I mentioned yesterday that would assist you in withstanding the power of heaven and earth. If used appropriately, they can be extremely effective," Yue Long said.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist, I'll be sure to make good use of them," Han Li replied as he caught the treasures before giving them a brief inspection.
Yue Long nodded in response before taking a seat with his legs crossed, appraising the azure disk before him in silence.
Time slowly passed by, and four hours later, the starry sky manifested by the azure disk suddenly blurred and rippled, while several of the nondescript looking stars began to glow with scintillating light, sending peculiar energy fluctuations surging out of the disk.
A hint of excitement appeared in Yue Long's eyes upon seeing this, and he yelled, "Be careful, Fellow Daoist; the changes in the stars are about to begin, and I'm going to draw upon the power of heaven and earth now."
He then slammed a palm down onto the ground, and a burst of invisible fluctuations surged forth in all directions from beneath his feet, causing the surrounding earth to tremor violently.
The restrictions that had been set up in the surrounding area also began to emit a loud buzzing sound in unison, and some of them produced layers of light barriers, while others released clouds of dense mist.
As for the 108 copper pillars in the valley, they flashed erratically a few times before a series of golden runes began to glow with scintillating golden light on their surfaces.
Yue Long took a deep breath upon seeing this, then stood up before waving a hand toward the purplish-golden gourd.
The gourd immediately tipped itself over at his behest, upon which a shimmering golden powder began to pour out of its opening.
The powder appeared to be extremely fine, and in the instant it was released, it crashed directly down toward the ground below, seemingly extremely heavy.
