Han Li stood in the sky above the sea, his gaze sweeping around.

Dark clouds gathered overhead, pressing down almost entirely, while the sound of howling winds grew louder around him. Immense storms surged in from all directions, whipping up water spouts tens of thousands of feet high. These collided and merged, squeezing toward Han Li, who was at the storm's center.

Although Han Li knew this was just an illusion, the suffocating pressure and the cold, constant touch of the sea waves were too real, filling him with apprehension.

"Rumble…"

With a series of deafening roars echoing one after another, the seven or eight water spouts surrounding him finally crashed together, transforming into a single giant waterspout that swallowed Han Li whole.

His figure tumbled up and down in the chaotic currents, constantly battered by waves of heavy pressure. He felt excruciating pain all over his body, and his consciousness began to waver.

Han Li's mind flickered. Thunder boomed around him, and a golden light burst forth like a scorching sun, expanding in all directions. Countless golden electric threads surged out, instantly tearing apart the massive waterspout.

His figure plummeted straight down, crashing into the sea.

Han Li's heart skipped a beat as he realized something was wrong.

The surrounding seawater seemed to have no buoyancy at all. No matter how he circulated his Immortal Spiritual Power to resist, he continued to sink relentlessly towards the seabed.

And this dark and deep sea seemed bottomless. There were no floating fish or any other creatures, only Han Li's lonely figure, sinking endlessly downwards, as if without end...

As Han Li was trapped in the illusion, the others were experiencing similar situations, though the scenes of their individual illusions were not exactly the same.

For instance, Jiao San was currently trapped in a river of blood. The intense baleful aura within the river was unsettling. There were no living creatures, only shadowy figures, like ethereal souls, rising and falling within, swaying like duckweed in the water.

When Jiao San's figure was swept past by the river of blood, these duckweed-like souls would attach themselves to her, wrapping around her body. As layers of smoky shadows continued to coil around her, her body seemed to grow heavier and heavier, sinking towards the riverbed.

Lei Yuce and the others also stood motionless, as if petrified, their faces twisted in grimaces, all trapped within their illusions, unable to escape.

At that moment, a watermark pattern simultaneously appeared on the arms of Lan Yuanzi and Lan Yan, who were also standing still. Each pattern emitted a blue light that shot up above their heads, converging together.

As the two beams of light collided and merged, they immediately shone like a scorching sun suspended in the air, rippling with dense water-attribute Law fluctuations. A layer of blue light emanated from within, transforming into a light blue curtain that enveloped their bodies.

As soon as the light curtain closed, Lan Yuanzi and Lan Yan grunted simultaneously and opened their eyes.

"What a powerful Water Origin Illusion Array..." Lan Yan said, one hand pressing against her chest, bending over to catch her breath.

"I didn't expect the Ren-Gui Water Spirit Talisman that Master planted back then would work here today. It can be considered as receiving Master's protection..." Lan Yuanzi said, taking a deep breath.

"It's also thanks to both of us being here at the same time, activating the Spirit Talisman fusion technique. Otherwise, the power of a single talisman alone would probably not be enough to ensure either of us could wake up from this illusion array," Lan Yan said with lingering fear.

"Alright, time is of the essence. Let's hurry to the main hall and take a look," Lan Yuanzi said with a focused gaze.

"What about them..." Lan Yan said, glancing at the others who were still standing in place.

"Whether they can break the array depends on their own abilities," Lan Yuanzi shook his head and said.

With that, the two of them, protected by the light curtain, quickly crossed the misty square and arrived in front of the double-eaved hall.

Lan Yuanzi arrived at the hall door and, after a brief inspection, found that there were no more restrictions on the door. He placed his palm on the door and pushed it open.

The hall door slowly opened inward, and a rich water-attribute Law fluctuation swept over them, making them feel refreshed, as if a spring breeze had brushed against their faces.

As the two stepped into the hall, they saw a water-blue altar standing in the center of the hall. Its style and size were exactly the same as the golden altar they had seen before.

On this blue altar, one on the left and one on the right, there were broken parts. A palm-sized blue pouch floated above it, appearing to be made of silk. A pattern of water waves was embroidered in the middle, its surface shimmering with the unique luster of satin. Extremely powerful water-attribute Law fluctuations constantly rolled out from it.

Next to the blue pouch, just like the golden altar, a golden flame floated in the air.

The two exchanged a glance and took a few steps closer to the altar. A series of "rumbling" sounds immediately rang in their ears.

Lan Yuanzi immediately grabbed Lan Yan, stopped, and listened carefully. They discovered that the muffled and powerful sound was actually coming from the blue pouch on the altar.

The sound resembled the rushing of a river, the release of a floodgate, making them feel uneasy.

Seeing this, Lan Yuanzi's eyes lit up, and he exchanged a glance with Lan Yan. A hint of joy appeared on both of their faces.

"Little sister, wait here for a moment. I'll go and collect this treasure," Lan Yuanzi said with a strange look in his eyes, releasing Lan Yan's hand and speaking with a smile.

"Brother, don't rush. If you take this treasure, what if, as Lei Yuce said before, it releases that peerless demon?" Lan Yan said, a hint of hesitation flashing in her eyes.

"Don't worry. Let's not even talk about how much of Lei Yuce's words are true. Even if a demon is really released, there will be others to deal with it. At worst, after we get this thing, we'll immediately leave this place and return to Nine Yuan Temple. Everything will be unrelated to us," Lan Yuanzi patted her hand and said softly.

"But..." Lan Yan was clearly still worried, and said again.

But before she could finish speaking, Lan Yuanzi interrupted her, "Think about it. We first failed to capture Han Li, and then formed a grudge with She Chan. If we don't achieve anything this time, what will we face after returning to the sect?"

Lan Yan's expression changed slightly when she heard this, and she fell silent.

"Not only will we be punished, but I'm afraid Master will also be implicated... But if we can bring this treasure back to the sect, perhaps we can be exempted from some of the blame, at least not implicate Master," Lan Yuanzi added.

"Then listen to brother, be careful," Lan Yan's expression finally softened after hearing this, and she said.

Lan Yuanzi nodded with a smile and turned to walk towards the altar.

After taking two steps, he stopped and turned back to Lan Yan, saying:

"The previous altar's restrictions were too strong. The power of the formation contained in this blue pouch is no weaker than that. I'm afraid there will be a lot of commotion in a while. Keep your distance from me and be careful."

"Brother, if that's the case, don't do it alone. Why don't we try using that fusion secret technique? If something goes wrong later, even if we can't get the treasure, at least we can protect ourselves," Lan Yan said quickly, as if she had thought of something.

Lan Yuanzi frowned slightly, looking hesitant.

Seeing this, Lan Yan didn't urge him, but kept looking around.

"That's fine too. Otherwise, with my strength alone, I really don't have much confidence," Lan Yuanzi said after thinking for a moment, nodding his head.

Lan Yan smiled upon hearing this and returned her gaze, coming to the altar with Lan Yuanzi.

After Lan Yuanzi examined the altar for a moment, he raised his hand and many formation flags and formation disks used to set up the formation appeared in front of him, and he began to set them up around the altar.

...

Within the illusion array, the faces of Han Li and the others became very painful. Not a single one of them could break out of the array.

At this moment, Han Li was still sinking in the deep sea. No matter how he circulated the Refining Spirit Technique, he could not wake up and escape.

"Could it be that this illusion array is not based on abnormalities of the divine sense, but constructed through the power of the water-attribute Law?" Such a conjecture emerged in his heart, but for a time he still did not know how to break the situation.

The sea area where he was located was just like a bottomless abyss. No matter how he sank, he would never touch the bottom.

Han Li even had the illusion that he had fallen into a void where time and space did not exist. As long as he could not break the situation, he would continue to sink like this, without end.

...

About a quarter of an hour later.

In front of the blue altar in the double-eaved hall, a circular formation surrounding the altar had been completed.

After Lan Yuanzi checked the formation in all directions, he nodded to Lan Yan.

The latter then turned her wrist, and a flash of light appeared in front of her. An azure blue oiled paper umbrella was then opened.

On the surface of the umbrella, there was a vivid painting of carps swimming in a pond. The pond was green, the carps were bright red, and the surface seemed to have water ripples flowing. It looked lifelike.

Lan Yan gently turned the umbrella handle, and the oiled paper umbrella began to spin around. The pond painted on it seemed to be stirred as well. Ripples appeared on the surface, but the carps under the water did not seem to be affected. They remained still.

She gently raised her slender hand, and the oiled paper umbrella flew high, like a canopy, supported above the altar.

"Let's begin," Lan Yuanzi called out softly.

The two of them simultaneously made a hand seal, and a layer of azure blue light curtain appeared on each of them, transforming into two layers of spirit domains, one large and one small, nested together and enveloping them along with the altar.

Then, as the two continued to open their lips slightly, the sound of chanting rang out from their mouths. The formation flags arranged around them began to unfold, and the runes drawn on them shone brightly, releasing waves of intense water-attribute fluctuations.

As soon as these fluctuations started, the formation disks on the ground also lit up, and pillars of azure blue light rose from them, surrounding the entire altar.