Even though this attack wasn't the bell's most powerful ability, it was very difficult for opponents of a lesser cultivation base to withstand such an attack.
He gritted his teeth, and just as he was about to pour forth even more magic power into the bell, a burst of acute pain suddenly tore through his spiritual sense, as if a sharp spike had been forcibly stabbed into his brain.
Unfortunately for him, his spiritual sense wasn't as powerful as Han Li's. As such, he was quite susceptible to Han Li's Spirit Stun Thorn attack, causing him to let loose a howl of pain as he threw his hands over his head, while his body completely curled up into a ball.
His Nascent Soul also instantly disappeared into his body.
In an instant, he had lost control over the Thousand Soul Bell in the air.
A cold light flashed through Han Li's eyes upon seeing this, and he completely ignored the oncoming giant puppet as he pointed a finger toward the massive golden lotus flower in the distance.
The massive lotus flower immediately rotated rapidly as it came crashing down from above, encapsulating the black bell in a burst of golden light.
Just as the golden lotus flower enshrouded the Thousand Soul Bell, the green puppet had swelled to around 60 to 70 feet in size, raising a massive fist before swinging it violently toward Han Li.
A loud thump erupted as the puppet's punch was kept at bay by the Heavenvoid Cauldron. However, the cauldron tremored violently as it shrank down to around half its size. This puppet possessed extraordinary strength!
Meanwhile, a burst of ghastly howls rang out from within the massive golden lotus flower. A giant bell projection around 10 feet in size appeared at the center of the golden lotus flower, warding off all of the flower's sharp golden petals.
At the same time, wisps of black threads emerged from within the black bell, binding the golden lotus flower, forcibly slowing down its rotation.
Han Li was rather bewildered upon seeing this, yet just as he was about to inject more power into his treasure, the giant black wolf surfaced behind him like a wraith before pouncing toward him from behind.
Its claws were able to pierce through Han Li's grey Divine Essencefused Light barrier without any trouble.
The Divine Essencefused Light was indeed powerful, but its powers were not applicable to existences outside the realm of the five elemental powers.
Just as the giant wolf thought that its sneak attack had succeeded, two shimmering golden fists suddenly hurtled toward its front paws.
Following two resounding booms, its front paws were completely pulverized by the pair of golden fists.
The wolf let loose a howl of anguish as its body shot back from the tremendous resulting force of the clash.
Right at this moment, Han Li finally turned around to face it. His entire body was shimmering with golden light, making it appear as if he were a divine deity forged from gold.
At the sight of the backpedaling black wolf, Han Li wore a cold expression as his body shot forth through the air. A string of afterimages was left in his wake, and he appeared above the wolf's head in the blink of an eye.
After recovering his magic power, Han Li was able to unleash his Shifting Smoke Steps in mid-air.
Even though this technique didn't grant him as much speed as the Thunderstorm Wings and the Nine Gale Transformations, when used in conjunction with Han Li's insanely powerful body, it was very effective for movement over short distances.
Upon seeing Han Li appear above its head, the giant black wolf's feral instincts were set off as it blasted a ball of black light out of its mouth, which was aimed straight at Han Li.
However, Han Li merely waved a casual golden palm through the air, and the black ball of light was swatted flying as if it were a pitiful fly.
At the same time, he injected his magic power into his eyes in a frenzy, following which piercing blue light instantly erupted from his eyes, allowing him to glean the bodily structure of the entire wolf in a split second.
Immediately thereafter, Han Li's body swayed before he appeared in front of the wolf's stomach in a completely expressionless manner.
His hand's shot forth light lightning, grabbing onto the wolf's head and one of its hindlegs respectively, catching the wolf in two vice-like grips that completely immobilized it. He then let loose a loud roar as he brought both arms apart in one violent motion! With Han Li's current unfathomable strength, even a demon beast constructed from metal could be torn apart with ease, let alone a creature manifested from a talisman.
As a result, the giant wolf's massive head was wrenched off its body in one fell swoop. As soon as the wolf was decapitated, brilliant black light erupted from its body, dissipating into bursts of tumbling black mist. However, its head was still very much alive and kicking, even while it was still clamped within Han Li's golden grasp.
Han Li chuckled coldly as he grabbed the air with his other hand, following which a ball of silver flames emerged.
The ball of fire transformed into a Fire Raven in a flash, and the latter swooped down toward the black wolf's head following a crisp cry.
Amid a howl of shock and horror, silver flames instantly engulfed the wolf's head, reducing it to a ball of black mist in the blink of an eye.
Immediately thereafter, the silver flames completely devoured all of this black mist before reverting back to its Fire Raven form.
The bird opened its mouth to expel a silver talisman, which Han Li rapidly grabbed ahold of.
This talisman was none other than the one that his opponent had summoned earlier, but the light shimmering on its surface had dimmed significantly, indicating that it had expended most of its power.
Meanwhile, the Fire Raven was blasting silver flames out of its mouth, circling around Han Li in an excited manner.
Han Li then turned toward the green giant puppet over 100 feet away before appearing above its head in a flash.
The puppet had been impeded by the Heavenvoid Cauldron, and was ramming its fists into the latter over and over again.
The cauldron was knocked back around 10 feet and shrank with every single punch, but it was able to withstand an attack from the avatar of an elder demon in the past, so it certainly wasn't an easy obstacle to get around. After each successive punch, it would simply return to its original spot and expand once again to its former size, thereby repeating the process over and over again...
The puppet had no intelligence to speak of, and Han Li's opponent was still reeling from the excruciating pain inflicted by the Spirit Stun Thorn. As such, he couldn't manipulate the puppet and it could only attack the giant cauldron with brute force, seeing as it wasn't capable of formulating any superior strategies.
Han Li wasn't very familiar with the puppetry techniques of the Spirit Realm, but the puppetry techniques in the Great Development Treasured Scriptures left behind by the Monarch of Soul Divergence were among the best that could be found in the human world.
As such, despite this giant green puppet’s obvious power, Han Li was able to immediately identify its weakness with his spirit eyes.
He quickly stowed away the silver talisman in his hand before stepping forward. Golden light flashed, and he appeared almost instantaneously behind the massive puppet.
A string of crackles and pops rang out from Han Li's body as he aimed vicious punch toward a certain spot right under the puppet's ribs.
Prior to even making contact with the puppet, his shimmering golden fist was sweeping up immensely powerful winds that threatened to tear through space.
An earthshattering boom erupted as a massive fist indentation that was several inches deep appeared on the puppet's body right under its ribs. It was swept off its feet by the enormous force of Han Li's strike before thudding to the ground.
However, Han Li refused to release the pressure as his fists rained down like a torrential storm on the exact same spot on the puppet's body.
In the blink of an eye, a hole had been punctured into the puppet's body.
Han Li immediately withdrew his fists before rubbing his hands together, sending an arc of golden lightning hurtling directly into the puppet's body through that hole.
A series of explosions rang out from within the puppet's body, following which it began to shrink drastically amid a burst of brilliant green light. In the blink of an eye, it had shrunk down to only around a foot in size before laying on the ground in a completely stationary manner.
It appeared that a complex series of procedures had been undertaken to defeat the black wolf and the green puppet, but it had actually only taken Han Li the span of a few breaths.
At this moment, his opponent finally recovered from the effects of the Spirit Stun Thorn, just in time to witness Han Li destroying his puppet while scintillating golden light radiated from his body.
"Complete mastery of the Vajra Arts! You're a top-grade body refinement warrior as well!" he exclaimed with incredulity etched on his face.
The armor-clad cultivator outside the barrier of light didn't say anything, but he was clearly also quite astonished by what he was witnessing.
Han Li turned to his opponent with a calm expression, and asked, "Would you like to continue, Fellow Daoist Weng?"
The man's expression immediately darkened upon hearing this."Your abilities are indeed far superior to what I'd anticipated, but do you really think that you've won? Even if I have to sacrifice the fruits of over a century of arduous cultivation, I'm going to show you the full power of this Thousand Soul Bell!" Han Li's opponent flew into a thunderous rage as he looked up at the black bell, which was currently grappling with a giant golden lotus flower.
He then began to chant something, and blue light flashed above his head as his Nascent Soul emerged again.
The Nascent Soul wore a grave expression as it made a hand seal with one hand while raising its other hand into the air. A blue pillar of light shot forth, striking the black bell with unerring accuracy as the Nascent Soul began to chant an unintelligible incantation.
The black bell shuddered before absorbing the blue pillar of light as specks of spiritual light.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the man pointed a finger at the black bell from afar, and it gave off a crisp tinkle.
A burst of violent spatial fluctuations abruptly erupted from within the light barrier, following which a thin black rift appeared in the air above without any warning.
Chapter 1325: Obtaining the Spirit Land
As soon as the black rift appeared, the Nascent Soul flicked its fingers toward the black bell in quick succession. With each successive flick of its fingers, the man's face would progressively pale further and further, while the black rift overhead widened incrementally.
After many tolls of the bell, the black rift had already formed a semi-circular opening, within which black Qi and Yin winds swirled, making it impossible for anyone to glean what was lurking within the rift.
An extremely unsettling burst of cackling suddenly rang out from within.
Han Li's pupils contracted as brilliant golden light erupted from his mouth. At the same time, he expelled more Divine Essencefused Light to protect himself.
He didn't dare to get careless in the face of a spirit treasure.
Right at this moment, a peculiar sequence of events unfolded.
Wispy black tendrils suddenly appeared in the air around Han Li, slowly circling around him, but not expressing any urge to attack.
Han Li faltered slightly upon seeing this and before he could figure out what kind of technique this was, the black tendrils suddenly manifested into a black light formation that trapped Han Li right at its center.
"Crap!"
Han Li's heart jolted with shock as his Divine Essencefused Light hurtled toward the formation around him in a frenzy.
However, it was clearly already too late.
Black light flashed from the formation and following a rush of dizziness, Han Li disappeared on the spot along with his giant cauldron and golden lotus flower.
In the next instant, he stumbled into a peculiar space that was lined with black shadows, and unsettling ghostly cries rang out around him in unrelenting waves.
He had been forcibly teleported into that black rift.
Han Li faltered initially upon seeing this, but for some reason, a smile then appeared on his face.
At the same time, the Nascent Soul of his opponent outside the rift hurriedly began to unleash the black bell's power again.
Amid a string of tinkling chimes, the black rift slowly closed, settling to become a thin black line that was over 100 feet in length hovering in the air.
The Nascent Soul then flashed before immediately returning to his body.
Han Li's opponent then opened his eyes as a sinister smile appeared on his face.
That black rift was an independent space opened up by the Thousand Soul Bell. Even though its name suggested that there were only 1,000 souls within the bell, there were actually much closer to 10,000 Yin souls lurking within the treasure. All of these Yin souls were the souls of extremely vicious demon beasts that had been refined using a special secret technique, ensuring that they retained virtually all of the power they had in life.
Furthermore, the main soul within the bell was even a mid-Deity Transformation Stage heavenly spirit beast during its life. His master had only stumbled upon it during its dying moments in a stroke of massive fortune, thereby allowing him to refine it as the main soul of this treasure.
With the assistance from the other Yin souls, the main soul's power could be enhanced by around twofold. Furthermore, there was a restriction that severely debilitated the powers of all beings within the bell aside from Yin souls, so all cultivators who were abducted into the treasure were placed at a severe disadvantage.
As such, even a late-Deity Transformation cultivator would most likely perish in there.
The armor-clad cultivator looked up at the thin black line in the sky and a peculiar light flashed through his eyes, but he didn't take any action.
Meanwhile, Han Li's opponent sat in mid-air with his legs crossed, waiting for the Yin souls within the treasure to devour Han Li so he could end this battle.
After around five minutes, the black bell in the sky suddenly began to tremor violently. At the same time, erratic halos of black light began to emanate from it, and bursts of peculiar cries erupted from within, creating a very bizarre spectacle to behold.
Han Li's opponent was able to use the treasure, but had not forged a spiritual connection with it, so he had no idea what was going on.
The black bell suddenly let loose a grief-stricken chime, following which the massive projection around it abruptly shattered. The projection disintegrated into wisps of black Qi that disappeared into the Thousand Soul Bell in the blink of an eye.
"Impossible! The main soul was destroyed?" The man finally understood what had happened, and an expression of shock and horror appeared on his face.
Right at this moment, a burst of black light suddenly punctured a certain spot in the space overhead, creating a fist-sized black hole.
Spiritual light flashed and a burst of azure light shot forth through the hole, quickly revealing itself to be a humanoid figure.
As a mid-Deity Transformation cultivator, Han Li's opponent seemed to have detected something, and he hurriedly turned toward that direction.
However, the humanoid figure disappeared in the flash before suddenly reappearing behind the man, leaving a trail of afterimages in its wake.
A thunderous roar erupted, making the man's ears ring as a golden fist came flying toward him.
"Argh!"
The man was stunned by this turn of events, and his body suddenly shattered like a mirror, manifesting seven or eight projections at once that all fled toward different directions.
"Hmph! You're not going anywhere!"
That humanoid figure was naturally none other than Han Li. He let loose a cold harrumph as he launched a string of identical punches toward all of the fleeing
projections at once, all of which struck the backs of the projections with unerring accuracy.
All of the projections were vanquished and disappeared on the spot, but a small silver shield appeared behind the man's true body, keeping the golden fist at bay.
However, the silver shield only managed to withstand the fist for a split second before it was violently shattered.
The golden fist struck the man on the back without any hesitation, but right as it made contact with the man's body, a layer of azure armor suddenly appeared over his skin.
A resounding boom erupted as the fist struck the suit of armor in a violent manner amid a flash of intertwining golden and azure light.
The azure light tremored violently as the fist sank several inches into the man's body, sending him flying through the air amid a howl of agony.
However, Han Li was not satisfied with the outcome of that attack. His fist had been imbued with immense power, but he felt as if he had struck a wall of feathers, and only a small proportion of that power had actually impacted his opponent's body.
Otherwise, that punch would've been enough to inflict a severe wound.
In the instant that he was forcibly teleported into the Yin soul space, Han Li finally sensed his opponent's killing intent, so he naturally wasn't going to hold back in his attacks.
Even though he was surprised by the fact that his punch seemed to have been buffered, he didn't allow his surprise to slow him down in the slightest as he instantly appeared above his opponent. He grabbed the air with a single hand, upon which a golden longsword suddenly appeared in his grasp.
Just he was about to plunge the sword into his opponent's body, the latter suddenly let loose a desperate cry.
"Stop! I concede!"
Han Li's lips twitched upon hearing this, but he completely disregarded this plea for mercy as he brought his sword down without any hesitation.
With the insane sharpness of his Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword, he would definitely be able to slice the man's body cleanly in half, even with that suit of azure armor he was wearing.
Spatial fluctuations suddenly erupted nearby as a swath of yellow light shot forth, sweeping up Han Li's opponent and causing him to vanish on the spot.
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