The old man's face turned ashen as he looked at the scroll. The object in his hand was riddled with holes, resembling a sieve, and was clearly beyond repair.
"What a pity! If Brother Kuo Yao hadn't been in such a hurry to come out and had held on a bit longer without using his Fire Spirit Essence, that cultivator would most likely have withdrawn the array due to a lack of magic power. Now, Brother Kuo Yao has also lost a considerable amount of his essence. Neither of them can gain the upper hand," the man in the black robe said regretfully. The tall, thin mage was stunned upon hearing this, looked down, and his face showed a hint of understanding.
The old man with the surname Ma's face alternated between green and white. Despite his reluctance, he put the scroll into his storage bag and glared viciously at Kuo Yao.
Seeing the old man's expression, Kuo Yao snorted coldly, stomped on the fire dragon beneath him, and flames surged around his body, red light reappearing.
"Master Kuo, stop. How about calling this duel a draw? Both of you have exhausted your magic power. Continuing to fight will yield no result," the tall, thin mage suddenly shouted from high in the sky, addressing the bald, eyebrowless man and the other cultivators from Tian Nan.
The bald man was a bit surprised upon hearing this, but after exchanging a glance with Gu Shuangpu, he nodded in agreement. "Fine, let's end it here."
Hearing the tall, thin mage and the bald man's words, the old man with the surname Ma, despite his unwillingness, knew that continuing the fight would be futile. He had no choice but to fly back.
Kuo Yao, equally frustrated, retracted the fire dragon and flew back into the sky with hatred.
When the old man returned, the bald man comforted him with a few words, which slightly eased the old man's expression.
However, at that moment, the man in the black robe and the tall, thin old man whispered a few words to each other. The black-robed man then floated down lightly, stopped at the site of the recent battle, and scanned the cultivators with a gloomy gaze.
"This time, I will be your opponent. Let me make this clear: this battle is to the death. Don't expect anyone to suddenly stop the duel," the black-robed man said hoarsely, his eyes flashing with contempt.
The black-robed man's arrogant words naturally angered the bald man and Gu Shuangpu, but they did not dare to rashly step forward and accept the challenge. After all, they knew that the two Nascent Soul cultivators who had previously died were killed by this unknown mage. No matter how confident they were, they hesitated when it came to their lives.
"Let me face him," Han Li suddenly said calmly.
"Ah, you want to go! ... Be careful, Han. If anything goes wrong, the three of us will step in to help," the bald man was initially stunned but then secretly sighed in relief. Outwardly, he expressed concern.
Han Li smiled slightly and said nothing more. With a flash of blue light, he soared into the sky.
In an instant, the blue rainbow reached the black-robed man, and the light dissipated. Han Li stood there with his hands behind his back, his face expressionless.
The black-robed man's eyes flickered as he sized up Han Li, gradually turning cold. His eyes began to change from black to green, looking extremely eerie.
Han Li's eyes narrowed, and he suddenly asked, "Are you a demon or a ghost?"
"Heh! Do I not look human to you?" The black-robed man sneered instead of getting angry, as black mist began to emanate from his body, accompanied by ghostly wails. In an instant, the surroundings turned into a ghostly domain.
