In that short moment of delay, Grand Immortal Xu and the others rushed through.
However, a crimson light suddenly flared from outside, and countless black threads ripped through the air as they tore into the opening. Grand Immortal Xu and Lin Yinping let out deafening shouts in their alarm. In a loud and abrupt explosion, dense blood Qi suddenly surrounded Master Scatterwind who was now wearing a sinister smile.
“Go!”
Han Li shouted without any hesitation and directly shot through the opening in a spark of silver lightning.
Gui Ling felt complete bewilderment but quickly followed him out regardless. As soon as he appeared outside the seal, his surroundings were completely engulfed in blood Qi, but as he was already prepared for this, arcs of golden lightning from his body kept the blood Qi at bay.
He then stopped and looked in the direction of the opening with a raised brow.
The breach in the seal was quickly shrinking, and there was a sea of dense blood Qi roiling around it, filling the air with a sour stench. There were also a few figures floating in the air above the seal: the Silver-winged Nightfiend, the Lion Hawk, and a giant white-furred monster.
The monster wore the same clothes as Master Scatterwind and his body stank of profuse corpse Qi. He turned his head to reveal eyes lit with a green blaze, sharp fangs, and a shriveled face covered in white fur.
At that moment, the monster was controlling the blood sea and his crimson blade to suppress a single person from escaping.
This person’s body had lost one of his arms and legs, and was desperately using an azure pearl and silver hook to block the crimson light and corrosive blood Qi surrounding him. He was Grand Immortal Xu who now wore a hateful expression.
Not far from him was the Keen Spirit Peacock. It was trapped by a purple mist that was rigidly produced by the Lion Hawk. It was fully occupied with preserving its own life.
As for Lin Yinping, she was caught in a barrage of countless Ghostfiend Threads by the Nightfiend. Were it not for the grand abilities of her embroidered silkworm scarf, matching thread for thread, she would’ve long been captured.
But it was only a matter of time before she would fall.
Because of Han Li’s warning, Gui Ling also managed to make it out. Then, her eyes focused on the white-furred monster and astonishedly shouted, “It’s him!”
Chapter 1052: Raising Conditions
“What, do you recognize that corpse?” Han Li asked without turning around.
After a moment of deliberation, Gui Ling sincerely replied, “For the time being, I do.”
Han Li then cocked his head around and asked, “The time being?”
“Before he turned into a refined corpse, he was a spirit beast,” Gui Ling explained, “We were somewhat acquainted in the past. His master was a human cultivator that descended from the Spirit Realm, but I haven’t seen him after Kunwu Mountain was sealed. I don’t know how he ended up like this.”
Han Li’s expression stirred, “You mean to say he was originally a demon beast from the Spirit Realm?”
“That’s right,” Gui Ling sighed, “In the past, cultivators and demons that descended into the mortal realm had restrictions on their cultivation. Any accompanying spirit beasts that descended with their masters, like me, had their original memories erased.”
“Then you mean to say you don’t remember anything?” Han Li’s heart trembled, and he soon felt disappointed. His brief hope of having her explain a bit about the Spirit Realm was extinguished.
“Apart from knowing my origin, everything else is blank,” Gui Ling spoke with a sad expression.
Han Li remained silent in thought before Silvermoon came to mind.
As her identity was quite important, she could have memories of the Spirit Realm. As his heart began to stir, he immediately stifled his curiosity as it was hardly the time for this. His gaze quickly swept to the area below.
His cursory search discovered that the surroundings outside of the seal had changed.
The area was barren. Not only did the Eight Spirit Ruler floating above the palace disappear, but the restriction created from the Black Wind Flag also left. It was no wonder why they had easily broken through the seal.
Giant holes and ten-meter-deep claw grooves littered the ground, and half of the palace looked as if it had been shredded.
Han Li’s spiritual sense had already swept past the ruins of the palace, but he wasn’t able to discover anything as there were restrictions warding off spiritual sense.
Regardless, he still felt relieved. The pressure that Devil Ancestor emitted was truly too great. If he directly encountered her, he wouldn’t last long.
However, the sole teleportation formation in the area was still sealed by the Black Wind Flag. He would have to think of another way out.
With wandering eyes, he began to ponder on a way to escape.
His train of thought was soon interrupted by Lin Yinping’s anxious voice, “Fellow Daoist Han, if you agree to rescue us, I will personally resolve the hatred between you and our Endless Sky Temple.”
Han Li bluntly answered, “How could this hatred dissolve after you pursued me for so long? I have no interest in helping!”
“Brother Han, don’t forget that we still have three other grand immortals. Will they let you go if Grand Immortal Xu and I were to die here?”
When Han Li heard this, he chuckled and looked back at the sea of blood.
Lin Yinping was currently using a shining silver embroidered cloth to forcefully repel the assault of Ghostfiend Threads for the time being, but her face was deathly pale. It was clear that she was using a secret technique to forcefully raise the power of her magic treasure.
Grand Immortal Xu was also in dire straits. Because of the injuries he sustained from the ambush and his entrapment in that sea of blood, he was on the verge of collapse despite the formidable resistance he raised with his magic treasures.
The Keen Spirit Peacock found itself in the best situation of the three.
Although the bird wasn’t able to escape from the purple mist, the Lion Hawk also wasn’t able to harm it in turn. its formidable golden shockwaves were completely restrained by the peacock’s golden light.
With a calm expression, Han Li continued, “Even if your words were credible, I would still not act. To tell the truth, if you weren’t on the edge of calamity, I would’ve thought to take advantage of the situation as well. As for your three grand immortals, let them come, I wouldn’t mind comparing our abilities.”
After slaying the Elder Devil, Han Li was able to approximately gauge his own abilities. With the human-like puppet hidden nearby and Gui Ling obediently following his orders, he shouldn’t find himself at much of a disadvantage against three late-Nascent Soul cultivators.
Not to mention that it would be impossible for the three to all travel there at the same time.
If the Moulan discovered that there were no Soaring Sky Grand Immortals in the plains, they would mount an invasion in an instant.
With that in mind, Han Li paid no mind to Lin Yinping’s threat.
The white-haired refined corpse was somewhat worried that Han Li would interfere, but he relaxed. He let out an inhuman laugh, “Fellow Daoist Han is truly sensible. As I have no intention of attacking him, why would he come to the aid of rabble like you? You should give yourselves up!”
Han Li remained expressionless, but he felt disdain in his heart.
Inside the seal, the refined corpse disguised as Master Scatterwind had stealthily released a thread of its corpse Qi, immediately alarming the Weeping Soul Beast. He then discovered that the Silver-winged Nightfiend and Master Scatterwind were exchanging voice transmissions.
As his spiritual sense was stronger than even one belonging to a common late-Nascent Soul cultivator, he was able to eavesdrop, but he couldn't closely listen in as he wanted to avoid detection.
But from what he gathered, he understood that the white-haired refined corpse planned on joining fo
rces with the other two demons, and ambush the human cultivators when they escaped the seal and left their guard down.
Regardless of who it was, it made no difference. As such, Han Li deliberately stayed one step behind and had those two spring their trap.
In any case, Han Li wasn’t about to play along with their show.
Although he hadn’t seen the white-haired refined corpse before, from his appearance and cultivation, he was clearly the Venerable Corpse Xiong.
He was a renowned character in the Great Jin demon clans, said to have lived for tens of thousands of years and cultivated into a spirit. As Myriad Demon Valley rivaled both the High Zenith Sect and the Heavenly Devil Sect in power, it was rather odd for him, the faction leader, to appear here disguised as a vagrant cultivator.
Now, there was a mystery of whether there ever even existed a vagrant cultivator by the name of Scatterwind, or if this demon had created that identity from the very beginning.
The concealment techniques that this refined corpse used were truly miraculous. Even Han Li wasn’t able to break through. But as a result, his cultivation had been greatly limited, allowing a Nascent Soul of the Ying Sifting Sect Elder to escape when he was ambushed by the blood blade.
When Han Li looked at both the blood sea and Corpse Xiong below him, he expressionlessly pondered for a moment and a cold glint flashed from his eye.
Although he had no intention of saving the other two, he couldn't easily allow that crimson blade to absorb the blood and soul of a late-Nascent Soul cultivator. If he allowed that treasure to become stronger, it would be used against him.
Even if the blood blade quickly absorbed the power of its kills, it should need some time to process them. That delay will be the prime opportunity for him to seize it.
Han Li resolved himself. It would be far safer for this wicked treasure to be in his possession.
Maintaining an indifferent expression, Han Li’s lips began to stir. At his side, Gui Ling’s eyes shifted a bit but her expression remained calm.
At that moment, Grand Immortal Xu finally broke his silence. He took a deep breath and harshly shouted, “Brother Han, if you assist me, I am willing to present you the secret to developing the Gold Devouring Beetles to their final form of maturation!”
Han Li instantly paused and his expression turned odd.
When Lin Yinping heard this, she quickly refuted in alarm, “No! That secret doesn’t leave our sacred temple under any circumstance. How can we so easily divulge it to outsiders!?”
“What use is a secret among the dead? Don't tell me that you would rather be devoured by that blood blade and lose your ability to reincarnate. If we die here, the Moulan will use this chance to counterattack. What does a trifling secret mean in the face of our people’s prosperity!”
When Lin Yinping heard this, her face grew deathly pale and she remained silent.
When Corpse Xiong saw Han Li’s pensive expression, he knew that things would turn for the worse.
The demon spared no effort as he clasped his hands in an incantation gesture and wildly poured magic power into the crimson blade. Crimson light surged from it to form a giant ghost face. It widely opened its mouth downward to the blood sea and moved to swallow Grand Immortal Xu.
Meanwhile, the blood sea surged all around and the repeated waves of crimson collapsed against one another to create a whirlpool of blood, forcefully sweeping Grand Immortal Xu into it and leaving no path of escape.
In Grand Immortal Xu’s alarm, he inwardly cursed and could only wield his azure pearl and silver hook to strike at the ghost face in desperation.
But crimson light flashed from its mouth and a crimson thread show out, firmly binding the two treasures in the blink of an eye, much to his shock.
The ghost face opened its mouth once more, this time revealing its fangs as it sinisterly laughed and it plunged its head into the sea of blood.
Grand Immortal Xu grit his teeth when he saw this, and his Nascent Soul opened its eyes in preparation to escape.
Chapter 1053: Nascent Soul Convergence
A bolt of lightning suddenly crashed from the sky and ruptured in dazzling golden light, dispersing half of the ghost face in an instant.
The face let out a miserable scream, but the attack only provoked it further. Just as Grand Immortal Xu rejoiced from the assistance, the ghost bit down on his neck.
Endless layers of crimson light engulfed him in an instant.
He sensed his body quickly eroding within the crimson light. Frightened, he hastily chanted a strange incantation and surrounded his body in a layer of golden light. It briefly shrunk before exploding.
Golden light flared, scattering the crimson around him, followed by a Nascent Soul flittering out from it. It used instantaneous movement to blink over thirty meters away.
“You want to run?” Corpse Xiong coldly snorted and fiercely grabbed at the air.
A cloud of black Qi suddenly condensed above the Nascent Soul, creating a large hand that swept down towards it. Its very appearance seemed to suppress an area of thirty meters around it with its vast pressure.
Immortal Xu inwardly cursed at the sight.
If it were before the ambush, his Nascent Soul would’ve been able to easily teleport farther away and even have the power to break past the Black Wind Flag’s restriction. After all, the Nascent Soul congealed from his cultivation was immensely powerful and had the ability to fight without a body.
As he had already exhausted most of his spiritual power inside the sea of blood, he stood little chance at resisting this technique.
Meanwhile, Han Li was standing a hundred meters with his hands behind his back, wearing an indifferent expression. He appeared to be unwilling to take any further action after releasing his earlier bolt of lightning.
With no other option, Immortal Xu could only run with all his might.
He channeled his remaining magic power and had his Nascent Soul open its mouth to spit out a metal medallion in preparation to use his soulbound magic treasure to escape.
But then, silver light flashed and a man appeared above the black hand. He raised his arm and a dragon’s cry sounded out. In a bright flare, a green streak glowing with golden light shot out, striking the large hand.
A huge hole instantly exploded in the hand, and countless thin arcs of lightning wildly raged through the air, collapsing the black Qi.
The silhouette in the silver light then blurred, arriving over thirty meters away and quickly moving to Immortal Xu’s Nascent Soul.
He rejoiced in his escape of death and instantly glowed as he flew farther away.
Although the silhouette in silver light had saved him, he wasn’t about to trust his life in the hands of another.
The silhouette ignored this gesture and instead turned to face Corpse Xiong and the others.
The Keen Spirit Peacock had received an order from Immortal Xu and its body trembled, launching several of its long tail feathers towards the Lion Hawk.
Rainbow light surged from the attack, forcing the Lion Hawk to withdraw.
The purple mist was dissolved by the rainbow light, creating a large opening.
The peacock took advantage of this opportunity to wildly flap its wings, strangely warping its body like smoke as it twisted its way through the mist and rushing to the side of Immortal Xu’s Nascent Soul.
The Nascent Soul rejoiced and the two immediately converged. An inconceivable scene followed.
The peacock opened its mouth and swallowed his Nascent Soul. It soon let out a clear cry, and the peacock flared its feathers.
Suddenly, blinding rainbow light then submerged and hid the bird’s body.
At nearly the same time, a cloud of black-white Qi suddenly warped close to the Silver-winged Nightfiend and Lin Yinping’s battle.
Gui Ling appeared and the Nightfiend’s expression froze as soon as he saw her.
She expressionlessly glanced at him, and simply sent him a few voice transmissions before taking an
y further actions.
His expression faintly shifted and he pondered to himself for a brief moment before drawing out a long sigh. He waved his hands and released Lin Yinping from the assault, having his Ghosfiend Threads return to him in a dense and massive wave.
Lin Yinping rejoiced and thought to escape, but Gui Ling had other plans. Her figure blurred and suddenly arrived at Lin Yinping’s side with the huge silver axe raised. She swung down without any hesitation, light flaring from the weapon.
In her fright, Lin Yinping pointed to her embroidered cloth desperately wishing for it to block the attack.
But in a strange flash of light, a huge tiger phantom appeared from the axe and pounced towards her.
A rip sounded out as the embroidered cloth was split in two, and the tiger phantom immediately covered the woman in a ball of yellow Qi.
A fishy scent enveloped her and she inwardly cursed. Her head drooped and her body soon plummeted through the air.
Gui Ling then formed an incantation gesture and had the cloud of yellow Qi firmly constrict her.
Black-white Qi surged and Lin Yinping disappeared from her original location. She reappeared at Han Li’s side in a flicker.
As this all happened, Corpse Xiong hadn’t yet to take action. He simply observed with a cold indifference.
With their orders accomplished, the human-like puppet and Gui Ling blurred, reappearing behind Han Li.
Rather than taking even a glance at his new hostage, he wore an odd expression as he looked in a different location.
The rainbow light shining from the peacock was brilliant, and only grew more intense with time.
“Fellow Daoist Han! What are you scheming?” A thunderous voice rumbled out from the blinding light. The voice resembled Immortal Xu’s but was much harsher and carried a furious and violent tone.
“Didn’t I help you by saving Fellow Daoist Lin?” Han Li replied with indifference.
“Oh? So it seems I’ve been overly suspicious,” the voice from the rainbow light softened and the light faded to reveal the Keen Spirit Peacock. However, it was much larger than before and there was a shining white face on top of its head. The face was hollow and transparent, but it was clearly Immortal Xu.
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