“That is true,” he said with an odd expression, “It would be a difficult task for the two of us, but what if we had a late-Nascent Soul cultivator?”
“There is another late-Nascent Soul cultivator?” The woman unconsciously looked around her and found no signs of life. She then looked at him with an entirely baffled expression.
Chapter 1027: An Ambush
Near the rear section of Kunwu Hall, a huge textile shuttle was flashing forward like a dragon made of lightning. A silver ball, a purple mist, and a crimson silhouette were closely chasing after it.
Various-colored light wildly flared as attacks pelted the shuttle, but its surface brightly shined and repelled them all.
The Sun Moon Shuttle was well deserving of its title as one of the three great shuttles of the cultivation world. For the time being, no attack had any effect.
Lady Mu was in the shuttle’s interior and driving it at full speed, attempting to avoid the incoming attacks with all her might. To the side, her beautiful junior martial sister was tightly grasping the Four Skies Ruler, but her face was completely pale and her eyes half-shut.
It appeared that forcefully using the Divine Spirit Treasure replica had taken a toll on her.
“Fellow Daoist Qian, you truly wish to join hands with those demons? The treasure we acquired is for the purpose of resealing the mountain for the safety of our world.” As Lady Mu’s cultivation was far inferior to the three, her magic power was quickly depleted trying to evade them.
Old Devil Qian’s cold voice chuckled from the crimson silhouette, “Cease your rambling. Do you believe me to be a child? Besides, I’m not allied with these demons. I’m merely angered by your attack. A meager sect like yours dares contend against me?If you want to be sensible, obediently hand over the treasures you took — and that Divine Spirit Treasure replica as well.”
When she heard this, she sighed and spoke little else. After all, their sect’s standing was irrelevant in the eyes of the great ten sects.
Under their combined assault, the Sun Moon Shuttle eventually began to dim as it was slowly pushed to a corner of the hall.
Old Devil Qian wore a malicious expression and prepared to deal a fatal blow when he suddenly heard a Buddhist chant sound out from the shuttle. Soon after, white lotuses began to blossom and a ruler shot out.
“Not good!”
Be it the demons or the old devil, they all backed away as quickly as they could. Having already suffered an illusion once before, they wouldn’t dare tangle with its attacks again.
With that single moment of delay, the shuttle immediately disappeared as soon as the white ruler returned inside. Then, it reappeared behind the three and directly shot towards the exit.
The white lotuses silently dispersed, only having been empty illusions.
Old Devil Qian and the demons were enraged, having realized they were duped, and immediately set off in pursuit.
However, they were too late as the shuttle had already charged into the Greatnorth Essence Light. Several of the light's silver strings had shot towards the treasure, but had been repelled by the light on the shuttle’s surface.
As the shuttle continued forward, Lady Mu held her hands in an incantation gesture with a solemn expression.
She was controlling a shining silver medallion in her grasp. It released streams of light that covered the shuttle in a silver barrier. Her junior martial sister was now on the verge of collapse. Her use of the Four Skies Ruler had left her in a ruined state unable to even raise her hands.
Completely occupied, she could only steal glances at her with deep worry written on her face.
The young woman lightly smiled, “Senior Martial Sister doesn’t need to worry. With a few years of rest, I will be fine.”
“I hope that’s the case. It’s too difficult for you to use it so much at your current cultivation,” Lady Mu spoke with a helpless tone.
“It was the only way to take the Dragon Call Crest from those great enemies. But if it weren’t for that cunning Daoist Han, we would’ve been able to simply take the treasures and leave.” The young woman resentfully said.
Lady Mu could only offer a bitter smile in response, but she inwardly shuddered at the thought of the Triflame Fan.
Then, light streaked behind the shuttle as the other three closely pursued them into the light.
Given their poor condition, they would’ve already fallen were it not for the profound Sun Moon Shuttle; Old Devil Qian and the other two knew this as well and relentlessly pursued them as a result.
However, they immediately felt something was amiss after they entered the Greatnorth Essence Light.
With the assistance of the silver medallion, the two women were able to activate the illusion restriction within the Greatnorth Essence Light. Although the formation didn’t pose much of a threat to them, it delayed them enough for the women to escape.
Old Devil Qian was thrown into a fury as a result. As for the demons, they began to take measure of him with unkind eyes.
When Old Devil Qian sensed this, he immediately grew wary and returned their leers, “What, do you plan on attacking me?”
The nightfiend hesitated. In a brief moment, he came to the conclusion that the two wouldn’t be able to easily take him down, and instead replied with a chuckle, “Of course not. We wouldn’t dare to do something so foolish against someone of your abilities.” Afterwards, he called for the Lion Hawk and the two immediately departed.
Since they had their lifesoul tiles on hand, their objective was complete and decided not to needlessly tangle themselves with other matters.
When he saw the two disappear from sight, he coldly laughed and had his crimson silhouette fly off in a different direction.
The red mass passed through the countless silver strings without the slightest obstruction, weaving left and right until he managed to leave the illusion.
Relieved, the old devil was about to make his way out of the area, when he came to a sudden stop and his eyes glistened with deep crimson light.
“Whoever’s there, get lost!”
“As expected of the Grand Elder of the Yin Sifting Sect, Brother Qian’s cultivation is truly profound.” A calm man’s voice echoed from a stone pillar in front of him, and he revealed himself in a blur with a barrier of black light surrounded him.
“Han Li!” Old Devil Qian narrowed his eyes.
The man’s cheek twitched at having seen how easily Han Li blocked the Greatnorth Essence Light. He gloomily said, “You’ve must’ve been here for quite a while. Were you waiting for me?”
“You’ve guessed it — my business is simple. Could Brother Qian give me a copy of the incantation to dissolve the Soul Seal Curse?”
“The Soul Seal Curse?” Old Devil Qian repeated with a trace of surprise. Then after a moment’s thought, he howled with laughter.
“Although I don’t know why you’d want the method to dispel the curse, did you think I’d actually tell you?"
Han Li sighed and muttered, “I knew that was a waste of breath, but I figured I'd give it a try regardless. After all, it would be difficult to remain in the Great Jin for much longer if I were to refine the soul of a grand elder from the ten great sects.”
When Old Devil Qian heard this, he glared daggers at Han Li.
“You want to refine my soul?” Old Devil Qian calmly asked. “Let’s see if you have the skill. Call out for whoever is helping you. A lone mid-Nascent Soul cultivator like you wouldn’t dare to speak so arrogantly.”
“In that case, please come out, Fellow Daoist Gui.”
With that said, a pillar at Old Devil Qian’s side flashed, revealing the horned woman in crimson armor holding a black rod.
“You?” The devil quickly shifted his eyes, “What did that fellow offer you to join hands together? I can raise it.”
Gui Ling snorted and pounded the ground with the rod, “It’ll be enough if you hand over your life to me!” Sullen at having no choice but to serve, she wasn’t abo
ut to humor him.
Old Devil Qian was enraged by her words, but his face hadn’t displayed the slightest change. He quickly swept his spiritual sense around him and found nobody else nearby, much to his relief.
If it was just these two, he wouldn’t have a problem escaping.
With that in mind, he said little else as his body flared crimson and he flew off in a streak, showing no intention of retaliation.
Han Li, having already expected this to happen, produced a black ring with a wave of his hands.
Suddenly, the winds began to stir, and the Greatnorth Essence Light a hundred meters around him let out a clear ring and began to amass, forming a dense wall.
The red devil incarnation was admittedly powerful and near invulnerable, but when he saw the Greatnorth Essence Light densely gather together, he suddenly stopped in alarm.
In that moment of delay, Gui Ling waved the black rod and summoned unending copies of it above Old Devil Qian’s head.
But before the rods fell upon him, he suddenly felt his entire body tighten as if there was an invisible force holding him in place.
The old eccentric felt his heart tremble.
At that same moment, Han Li pointed at his Yang ring and had countless silver strings form a net around the old devil.
Greatly alarmed, Old Devil Qian let out a fierce shout.
The crimson silhouette glowed with spiritual light and its abdomen suddenly swelled. With a muffled bang, his body erupted, scattering crimson threads in every direction. The mass of rods and the net of Greatnorth Essence Light had both failed to strike.
The crimson soon gathered in the air thirty meters away and began to weave back its shape.
In the blink of an eye, Old Devil Qian’s crimson incarnation returned to its original form without the slightest damage.
Chapter 1028: The Unbroken Cinque Devils Combined
Although Han Li didn’t believe they would be able to kill Old Devil Qian so easily, he hadn’t expected how elusive his devilish arts would be. His very body had turned nearly incorporeal, and it wasn’t the effect of any ghostly properties but a Devil Dao technique that turned his body into that of an undying devil.
He had read of such techniques before. In the ancient past, there were many Elder Devils that took on this form, much to the great suffering of the cultivators at the time.
It was truly a marvel to witness it with his own eyes.
Han Li was amazed, but he had no intention of ceasing his assault. He opened his mouth to spit out a purple fireball. It surged to the size of a chariot before closely chasing after the crimson silhouette.
With one hand controlling the huge net of Greatnorth Essence Light pursuing the old devil, he waved his other, releasing a dense bolt of golden lightning with thunderous booms.
The horned woman assisting Han Li, Gui Ling, swiped the black rod in her hand several times at crimson mass and countless copies of the rod swept all around it in a raging storm.
As they were in the Greatnorth Essence Light, tangible treasures weren’t easily used by either side. One mistake and the light could easily destroy it.
Old Devil Qian now found himself trapped and saw that several attacks would soon strike him. The tide of the battle was quickly turning against him.
Violent fury stirred in his heart, inspiring him to grit his teeth and bite the tip of his tongue. He spit out a ball of grey light wrapped in crimson threads to block the bolt of lightning.
The two struck and a muffled bang sounded out, resulting in green trails of smoke lingering in the air — the attacks completely vanished.
In that delay, Old Devil Qian had already begun to spin in the air and summoned five clouds of white Qi around him.
They quickly grew to six meters, followed by a slender human skeleton emerging from each of them. They all had flawless bones and threads of icy Qi pervading them.
The old devil had called upon the true bodies of the Unbroken Cinque Devils.
As soon as the five skeletons appeared, they breathed out a stream of green flame.
The blaze appeared unremarkable as if it were only a common ghostly flame, but two of the streams had aimed at the Purple Apex Flames fireball and were able to hold it in a deadlock.
The flame streams from the other three skeletons formed a green wall, blocking the huge net of Greatnorth Essence Light.
Like before, the mass of rods closing in on him had tied his body down with an immense and invisible pressure.
But this time, he didn’t combust his body. After all, the method would consume a great among of his magic power; he could only use it as a last resort.
And since he had called upon the true bodies of the cinque devil incarnations, he had a plan.
With a mental command, the five bodies appeared around him in a blur and raised their hands, creating a grey barrier that enveloped both him and themselves.
An instant later when the rods struck, violent explosions shook the air around them as black and grey light shined in the air. Each thunderous strike was heart-shaking.
When Han Li witnessed the might of the rods, he was amazed.
This Vast Cliff Tortoise was truly capable. It appeared that in their earlier battle, she hadn’t been able to employ even half of her abilities due to fatigue, or she would’ve been able to put up a far greater fight.
However, the barrier was far more durable that he had anticipated.
Once the explosions stopped and the rod copies all disappeared, the barrier was revealed to have stood firm, even against the astonishing assault.
Gui Ling’s expression sank. She gloomily looked at the barrier and snorted before opening her mouth and spitting out a black-white cloud of essence onto the rod in her hand.
With a clear ring, light brightly glowed from it and its shape shifted into the form of a hatchet.
With a tremble of his wrist, Gui Ling raised the axe into the air and muttered an incantation as she stared at it.
A layer of dazzling silver light radiated from its surface and abruptly took over its color as the hatchet underwent another transformation.
In the blink of an eye, it expanded to the size of a huge silver axe over thirty meters long.
The edge was just as bright as light shining in the darkness, and its handle was as thick as an ordinary person.
With the grand transformation, it released an astonishing amount of baleful Qi as if it had been released from a seal.
Even from far away, Han Li could sense the unruly bloodthirst of the axe's edge.
Hostility lingered on Gui Ling’s face and her body violently expanded in size.
In only a moment, she grew over twenty meters tall.
Han Li gasped with an odd expression, muttering, “The Giant Augmentation Technique! To think that you were capable of such great power. It seems that your cultivation has already reached the peak of late-Nascent Soul stage.”
Meanwhile, he unconsciously glanced at an area of the Greatnorth Essence Light and his expression blanked once more. With an icy glint from his eye, his sleeve trembled and he summoned the Triflame Fan into his hand.
Gui Ling reached out to the silver axe and grabbed it before looking down at Old Devil Qian in the distance. Then with both hands, she chopped down.
A ten-meter-long silver streak shined from the axe and was released from its edge to whistle through the air. It left a white mark in its wake as if it was tearing through space itself.
Old Devil Qian was shocked to see this.
He was confident in his cinque devils, but he didn’t dare to boldly resist the strike.
Without another thought, he suddenly raised his hand, holding onto a short snow-white blade.
In a cold flash, the blade fell, chopping down towards his hand.
But before it was severed, he spat out a mist of crimson blood onto it. In an instant, the blood essence fused together and caused it to extend into an oddly shaped meter-long crimson saber that was both narrow and sharp.
With
the blade in the hand and the huge silver crescent approaching him, he waved it with a grave expression and the strange sword disappeared from sight. A moment later, the cinque devils warped in front of him as if to receive the attack.
Contrary to Han Li’s expectations, crimson and silver radiance soon filled the air as their attacks clashed without producing even the slightest sound. He saw the slim crimson saber strangely bend at several angles, trembling and on the verge of collapse.
But then, the cinque devils suddenly leapt forward and merged together, forming a giant skeleton on par with Gui Ling.
A brittle snap rang out as the long crimson saber snapped into pieces. It was clear to see that the silver crescent had smoothly cut through.
The huge skeleton then let out a wild cackle and lifted its skull to spew out a grey mist.
The mist wasn’t large by any means and seemed to be condensed from essence. When the crescent chopped at it, however, it hadn’t cut through but rather slowed down as if swimming through a dense liquid.
Soon after, the silver streak let out a bright hum as it was instantly stained grey and thoroughly absorbed.
The mist then circled in the air before returning to the skull’s mouth.
Gui Ling’s voice roared, “Corrupting Devil Qi! Since your devils are capable of this, it seems they were once the bodies of Nascent Soul cultivators. Ordinary corpses wouldn’t be able to produce such an ability!”
Old Devil Qian coldly laughed, “What I used to refine these united devils aren’t something of your concern, demon. But since you know how fearsome it is, let’s have you learn of their combined might as well!” Then he raised his hand and struck the giant skeleton with several spell seals.
The huge skeleton let out a piercing drone and its emotionless eyes shined with crimson light. It began to walk towards Gui Ling, each step causing the ground to tremble.
Han Li’s gaze flickered and fixed on the huge skeleton. With the Triflame Fan unfolded, his heart tensed, but soon relaxed.
He quickly flung his other hand and released the Yang ring above his head.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 555