Chapter 1957: Diversion
At this point, the giant jade plate had already transformed into a scintillating red sun, and the red spiritual light radiating from it had encompassed the entire valley down below.
Within this red light, there were countless silver runes flashing incessantly, and they seemed to contain some type of mysterious power.
Within the jade plate, the three Xue Guang clones were standing next to one another. They were all making hand seals with crimson light shimmering around their bodies, staring at the crystalline wall up ahead with intense unblinking eyes.
Within the image on the crystalline wall, a series of crimson balls of light were scouring through the valley in search for something, and nothing was able to impede these balls of light.
As the balls of light roamed over the landscape, the image on the crystalline wall was constantly changing. However, there was nothing to be seen aside from rocks, trees, and spirit beasts that possessed no intelligence.
The three clones' expressions naturally darkened even further upon seeing this, and they continued to control the balls of light to search through the area.
Not long after that, a ball of white light shot forth from the distance, and it was none other than Yuan Cha's stone hall.
The stone hall reached the jade plate in a flash before stopping on the spot, and almost at the exact same moment, Yuan Cha emerged from the stone hall amid a flash of white light.
"You've finally arrived, Fellow Daoist Yuan Cha," the Xue Guang clone at the center said with a smile.
"Cut the chit-chat; are you sure that Han brat has been trapped in the valley?" Yuan Cha asked.
"Of course, I wouldn't dare to lie to you about something like this. After I caught up to him, he tried to use an earth movement technique to get away, so I sealed off this entire area with my All-encompassing Plate, There's no way he can escape from here, but he's used some type of concealment technique that's managed to escape my detection, so I'll have to trouble you, Fellow Daoist," another Xue Guang clone replied.
"Alright, I'll unleash my Great Origin Devil Technique right away to force him out into the open," Yuan Cha said with a nod.
"Please allow one of us to enter the valley with you to protect you against potential sneak attacks while you unleash your ability," the final Xue Guang clone said in a cold voice.
"Protect me? Hmph, it sounds like you just want to keep an eye on me." Yuan Cha's expression darkened upon hearing this.
"Hehe, you're misconstruing my intentions, Fellow Daoist Yuan Cha. That human brat is full of tricks, and he's carrying several powerful treasures that could potentially be very dangerous," the Xue Guang clone in the middle chuckled in response.
"Do whatever you want, then. I won't stop you from sending someone to accompany me, but you'd better not try anything. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, don't blame me for turning on you," Yuan Cha said in an expressionless manner.
Immediately thereafter, she returned to her stone hall without waiting for a response from Xue Guang.
The smile on the face of the middle Xue Guang clone immediately faded, and he said to another clone, "Alright, just as we planned earlier, you go and keep an eye on her. If she tracks down that brat, notify us right away; we can't allow her to get her hands on him first."
"Rest assured, I'll be sure to keep a close eye on her. That brat is most likely a spent force by now, but Yuan Cha still definitely won't be able to capture him easily. Before he appears, make sure to maintain the All-encompassing Plate restriction so he doesn't get away again," the clone replied.
The other two clones naturally gave an affirmative response.
...
Meanwhile, a rumbling boom suddenly rang out from the stone hall, and countless runes flashed from its surface as it split up into the two stone giants.
Yuan Cha was standing atop the head of one of the giants, and she made a hand seal, upon which the two stone giants descended toward the center of the valley.
At the same time, a ball of crimson light emerged from the jade plate before also flying downward.
Moments later, both Yuan Cha and one of the Xue Guang clones had landed on a patch of flat ground within the valley.
Yuan Chu inspected her surroundings before issuing an instruction to the two stone giants. "Elders, begin your transformation."
"Yes, Mistress Yuan Cha!" the two stone giants immediately replied.
Bright grey light erupted from their bodies, and they instantly transformed into a pair of stone pillars, each of which was over 1,000 feet tall. There was a series of strange patterns and runes engraved on the surfaces of the two pillars, creating quite a mysterious sight to behold.
"Shilun Totems! I'm very impressed that these two subordinates of yours managed to cultivate such an ability," the Xue Guang clone said in an intrigued voice.
"These two are definitely among the top 10, if not the top three most powerful beings in the Stone Devil Race. If they can't even do something like this, then why would I have protected them in our holy realm for so many years?" Yuan Cha replied in a cold voice.
"Hehe, if the Stone Devils under my command were this powerful, I'd also do everything in my power to protect them. Alright, setting that aside for now, have you summoned these totems to enhance the power of your Great Origin Devil Technique?" the Xue Guang clone asked.
"Even your All-encompassing Plate was unable to track down that Han brat, so just using the Great Origin Devil Technique may not be enough, either. However, with the Shilun Totems to assist me, I'll be able to find him for sure," Yuan Cha confirmed.
The Xue Guang clone nodded in response before falling silent.
Yuan Cha also had no intention of speaking any further, and her body swayed before she appeared in between the two stone pillars.
White light flashed, and an antiquated stone platform rose up from the ground, carrying her over 100 feet up into the air.
She took a deep breath before making a hand seal, then swept her other sleeve through the air to release a dozen or so small black flags, all of which took root firmly on the ground near the stone platform.
She then let loose a delicate cry, and a streak of black light emerged from her back before transforming into a giant devilish projection with three heads and six arms. The projection wore a suit of glossy black armor, and its entire body was giving off an overwhelming baleful aura. Its six eyes were bright red and completely devoid of emotion.
Yuan Cha began to chant in a low voice before casting around a dozen incantation seals into her surroundings, all of which vanished into thin air in a flash.
The small black flags immediately released a buzzing sound in response, and they quickly swelled to over 100 feet tall amid a flash of black light.
Right at this moment, the giant devilish projection behind Yuan Cha suddenly raised its heads before making a grabbing motion upward with all six of its hands.
Six black balls of light emerged over its palms, then transformed into six plumes of black smoke that converged high up in the air.
A devilish cloud instantly took shape up above, then began to take on the forms of different living creatures, as if it possessed spiritual nature.
Yuan Cha's chanting ceased upon seeing this, and she pointed a finger up toward the huge flags.
Black light swirled over the surfaces of the flags, then transformed into around a dozen bursts of black Qi that rose up into the devilish cloud.
As a result, the cloud swelled drastically in size, and soon, it had encompassed virtually half of the entire valley.
A cold light flashed through Yuan Cha's eyes, and she abruptly opened her mouth before expelling several balls of blood essence toward the devilish cloud up above.
The blood essence transformed into droplets of blood rain that vanished into the cloud in a flash, and at the same time, the two stone pillars were also releasing halos of five-colored light.
With each halo that passed through the devilish cloud, the cloud would swell slightly in size, and not long after that, countless crimson threads emerged within it amid a flash of crimson light.
They intertwined with the black cloud and manifested countless fist-sized balls of black Qi, all of which then transformed into palm-sized black crows.
There were over 10,000 of these crows in total, creating a harrowing sight to behold.
"Go!" Yuan Cha instructed as she swept a sleeve through the air.
The crows circled around before flying toward a certain direction in the valley, while Yuan Cha closed her eyes before pressing a finger against her own glabella, seemingly sensing something in silence.
The Xue Guang clone's expression changed slightly at the sight of the massive murder of crows, but he didn't do anything.
The crows seemed to possess insubstantial bodies as they were able to pass through all physical obstacles in their way, and mere moments later, they had scoured through close to half of the entire valley, but still hadn't been able to discover anything.
Just as the crows were summoned back by Yuan Cha before being sent toward a different direction, a sharp ringing sound suddenly erupted, and the Xue Guang clone faltered slightly before hurriedly laying a hand onto his own waist.
An egg-sized crystal ball instantly shot forth before transforming into a translucent light screen, within which the other two Xue Guang clones could be seen.
"We've got bad news! Come back with Fellow Daoist Yuan Cha right away! Another Han Li has suddenly been sighted elsewhere, and he broke through several of our defensive lines, killing two devilish lords en route to Deep Heaven City! That Han Li used an incomplete Profound Heavenly Treasure and released a swarm of Gold Devouring Beetles, so he's almost definitely the true body. We've all been had; we're currently pursuing just another clone of his! I've already issued an order to stall him at all costs. If we hurry over now, we should still be able to catch him!" one of the two Xue Guang clones said in an urgent manner.
The Xue Guang clone's expression darkened significantly upon hearing this, and he hurriedly turned to Yuan Cha. "Did you hear that, Fellow Daoist Yuan Cha? Forget about this clone; we have to leave this place right away!"