Thus, the white-haired beauty immediately let loose a low cry, and her head of white locks suddenly grew to incredible lengths before she whipped her hair through the air.
Countless streaks of white light shot forth to enshroud the gusts of black winds. These streaks of white light were as straight as arrows, and they appeared to possess immense penetrative power.
Meanwhile, Mu Qing made a hand seal, and brilliant azure light erupted from her body. Projections of flowers appeared all around her before blurring and transforming into wheels of all types of different colors.
The edges of these wheels were extraordinarily thin, and they shot forth soundlessly through the air along with the streaks of white light, creating quite a harrowing sight to behold.
However, an unexpected scene then ensued.
The two beasts did nothing to prepare themselves from the oncoming attack, simply allowing them to strike the black winds surging around their bodies.
However, a sharp screeching sound akin to that of metal grating on metal then erupted, and all of the attacks were repelled as if they'd struck an indestructible wall.
The two women both faltered upon seeing this.
Right at this moment, the black winds dissipated to reveal a pair of sinister humanoid demon beasts that were each around 100 feet tall.
The two demon beasts each had a single horn on their heads as well as silver scales all over their bodies, indicating that they were still the same Infernal Lightning Beasts.
However, the shape of their limbs and bodies very closely resembled those of a human.
What was even more unsettling to the three demon monarchs was that as soon as the two beasts emerged in this humanoid form of theirs, they immediately began to make hand seals while each expelling an object out of their mouths.
One of them was a small black flag that was flashing with black light, while the other was an intricate disk that was emanating brilliant white light.
The crimson-robed figure was the first to realize what they were up to, and he hurriedly yelled, "Stop them! They're trying to activate the restriction left behind by the Mayfly Race!"
He then immediately swept his sleeves through the air to hurl forth a pair of short swords that were only several inches in length each, which flew toward the two treasures summoned by the Infernal Lightning Beasts as two streaks of crimson light.
However, the Infernal Lightning Beast seemed to have anticipated such an attack, and they both shook their heads in unison, upon which their horns detached themselves before transforming into two bolts of lightning.
The bolts of lightning manifested from the two horns clashed with the streaks of crimson light amid two resounding booms, and the immense powers of lightning instantly pulverized the two short swords with devastating might.
These horns were the hardest body parts of these two beasts, and they'd been refined for countless years, so it was no wonder that they were able to destroy the crimson-robed figure's spirit swords so easily.
However, the two horns weren't done just yet; both of them disappeared on the spot before reappearing several tens of feet in front of the crimson-robed figure amid a loud thunderclap, then hurtling forth at an astonishing speed.
The two Infernal Lightning Beast seemed to have identified that the crimson-robed figure was the weakest of the three, so they decided to combine their powers to kill him first.
The crimson-robed figure's heart jolted with shock, but the two horns flying toward him were too fast for him to evade. As such, he could only conjure a layer of crimson light around his body, which then shot forth as a pair of crimson shadows to shield him.
These were none other than the blood puppets he'd refined.
Immediately thereafter, his long robes bulged as a crimson light barrier surfaced over his body.
The two blood puppets were quite powerful, but the two horns suddenly merged as one, forming a sharp lightning spike that punctured the two puppets' bodies with ease before continuing on toward the crimson-robed figure.
The crimson light barrier only managed to stall the lightning spike for a split second before the former was punctured as if it were nothing more than a papier-mache structure.
An earthshattering boom erupted as a gaping wound as wide as a large bowl appeared on the crimson-robed figure's chest.
The crimson-robed figure rapidly slammed his palms all over his own body, plastering a dozen or so crimson talismans to himself in one fell swoop.
A peculiar scene then ensued.
Not only was the gaping wound on his chest not shedding so much as a single drop of blood, the flesh around the edges of the wound squirmed in a grotesque manner before regenerating at a rate that was discernible to the naked eye.
Mu Qing and the white-haired beauty's expressions eased upon seeing this. If the crimson-robed figure really were killed in a moment of complacency, then the two of them wouldn't be able to last very long at all against these two Infernal Lightning Beasts.
However, right at this moment, the lightning spike suddenly circled around in a flash, aiming for the crimson-robed figure's head on this occasion.
Before Mu Qing and the white-haired woman had a chance intercept, a giant purple palm hurtled through the air, moving at an astonishing speed that completely belied its massive size.
The hand streaked through the air like an illusionary blur before catching the lightning spike in a vice-like grip.
However, a loud thunderclap suddenly erupted within the massive hand in the next instant, and countless arcs of lightning erupted from the lightning spike as it squirmed through the fingers on the huge hand like a silver snake.
Following a few flashes, the lightning spike returned to the Infernal Lightning Beasts, where it split into two again before reattaching themselves onto the heads of the two beasts as their horns.
The two horns were still shimmering with silver light, having been remained completely unscathed in the aftermath of that intense clash.
During this brief delay, the two beasts had managed to activate the treasures hovering before them, and they opened their mouths in unison to expel mouthfuls of blood essence onto the pair of treasures.
Black and white light flashed respectively from the flag and the disk, completely absorbing all of the blood mist down below.
The flag then transformed into a dark cloud that rose up into the air, disappearing into the ceiling of the palace in a flash. Meanwhile, the disk transformed into a streak of white Qi that plummeted and disappeared into the ground.
Mu Qing and the white-haired beauty's hearts jolted with shock, yet before they had a chance to do anything, brilliant spiritual light suddenly erupted from the ceiling of the palace, following which a series of black patterns emerged.
Those patterns rapidly spread along the ceiling before combining to form a massive formation.
Black light was flashing all over the formation, and there was a black hole at the very center, within which violent winds were howling incessantly. It was as if a passageway into another space had been forced open.
At the same time, scintillating white light erupted from the ground as a series of fist-sized runes appeared. In the very instant that those runes emerged, a massive golden light formation appeared within the green pond amid the tumbling mist.
As soon as this light formation appeared, it enshrouded the entire pond beneath it, and it was shimmering with piercing golden light that forced one to shield their eyes.
Mu Qing and the white-haired beauty were both shocked and infuriated upon seeing this.
They had enough belief in Liu Zu's abilities to know that he wouldn't actually be trapped in the pond by this golden formation, but with this formation acting as an obstacle, it was clearly extremely unlikely that they'd be able to secure the divine elixir in a short time.
What was even more troublesome was that the black light formation overhead was still expanding rapidly, quickly encompassing all of the demon monarchs down below. It then slowly d
etached itself from the ceiling and descended at the behest of the two Infernal Lightning Beasts.
As such, they'd either have to take evasive measures, thereby forcing them away from the green pond, or face the power of this restriction.
Just as Mu Qing was hesitating about how to proceed, the voice of the white-haired beauty suddenly sounded in her ears. "Fellow Daoist Mu, let's join forces to break this formation. Brother Di Xue, please cover us."
After a brief hesitation, she nodded in response. This appeared to be the only feasible course of action.
At the same time, the crimson-robed figure had also heard the same voice transmission.
At this moment, the gaping hole on his chest, which would've been lethal to a normal person, was already almost completely healed, and aside from the fact that the light in his eyes had dulled slightly, the wound didn't appear to have affected him much.
He furrowed his brows upon hearing the white-haired beauty's proposal, then cast his gaze toward the Purpleblood Puppet's massive hand, which it had used to catch the lightning spike earlier.
The entire palm of the hand had been charred black, and there was an acrid burnt smell emanating from it.
The crimson-robed figure heaved a long sigh before also slowly nodding his head.
He then abruptly stomped a foot onto the Purpleblood Puppet's shoulder, then reached a hand up his sleeve before tossing out a wooden box that was golden in color.
He began to chant something while pointing at the box, and its lid flew off as seven streaks of light of different colors erupted from within.
The streaks of light faded to reveal seven puppets of different forms; some of them were in the form of demon beasts, some resembled Flying Spirit Race some were a mix between human and demon, and there were even two huge puppets. One of those was a massive worm while the other was a giant ant.
All seven of these puppets had been refined from metallic materials, and their bodies were covered in runes. They had quite clearly been painstakingly crafted by Di Xue with great care and effort.
The white-haired beauty chuckled upon seeing this, and she rotated on the spot as eight bursts of black Qi flew forth from her body, within each of which there was a blurry humanoid figure clad in black armor.
These were none other than the Yin Armor Ghost Monarchs that the white-haired beauty had stored away for recovery and recuperation.
As soon as these ghost monarchs appeared, they immediately sat down in a cross-legged manner around the white-haired beauty. Inky-black Yin Qi emanated from their bodies, forming a massive black cloud around an acre in area in the blink of an eye.
On the other side, Mu Qing's skin had turned completely green, and she made a hand seal as countless azure threads surfaced around her.
Patches of strange and exotic plants then instantly appeared in the surrounding area with her at the very center.
Meanwhile, the two Infernal Lightning Beast paid no heed at all to what the three demon monarchs were doing. They merely maintained their hand seals as spiritual light flashed all over their bodies, injecting their power into the formation overhead in a frenzy.
They appeared to be extremely confident in this restriction.
Seeing as the battle was finally about to be decided, Han Li's expression suddenly changed as he rustled a sleeve and tipped out a dozen or so azure beads into his hand. He then narrowed his eyes as he cast his gaze over to another corner of the hall.
There, the cloud of green Qi and the bead within it were finally making their move!
Chapter 1503: Time to Strike
Blue light flickered within Han Li's eyes as he looked on with rapt focus, and the bead suddenly disappeared from within the green Qi right before his eyes.
Even with his Brightsight Spirit Eyes, he was unable to track down its location.
Han Li's heart jolted upon seeing this, and he hurriedly released his spiritual sense to encompass an area with a radius of several tens of feet.
The last thing he wanted was for the bead to sneak up on him and unleash a surprise attack. Even though that was extremely unlikely to happen, he still had to take all the precautions he could.
Han Li turned to glance at the two women beside him, then cast his gaze toward the fierce battle that was still taking place, and his fingers reflexively tightened around his lightning beads.
Even though he'd experience countless tumultuous twists and turns during his cultivation journey, he was still extremely tense and nervous.
He knew that he would only have one chance to save these two.
If he were to fail, then this palace was going to be his final resting place, and over 1,000 years of arduous cultivation would go to waste.
This feeling of teetering on a knife's edge between life and death was making Han Li's heart pound in his chest.
At this moment, Mu Qing and the white-haired beauty began to attack the black spell formation.
Meanwhile, the crimson-robed figure, the Purpleblood Puppet, and the seven other metallic puppets he'd just summoned stood in front of the two women, acting as their guardians.
A sharp ghostly screech suddenly erupted from within the Yin clouds that the white-haired beauty was situated in, following which a white bony ghost claw suddenly reached out before making a grabbing motion.
Ball of egg-sized grey light erupted from between its fingers before surging violently into the air above.
As for Mu Qing, the plants that had appeared around her all disappeared into her body, and she slowly opened her mouth amid a burst of erratically flickering spiritual light to blast forth a pillar of green light.
The pillar of light was of an extremely vibrant green color, yet somehow struck the onlooker with the impression that it was quite viscous, thus creating an extremely peculiar sight to behold.
The two attacks flashed through the air, reaching the underside of the black formation in the blink of an eye.
The grey balls of light expanded and shrank sporadically while the green pillar of light struck the center of the formation in a completely soundless manner.
A ferocious light flashed through the eyes of the two Infernal Lightning Beasts upon seeing this, and they immediately injected more power into the black light formation up above.
A loud rumbling boom erupted as a gust of black winds blew out of the center of the formation.
The gust of wind was extremely fierce and as scathing as a sharp blade. Furthermore, there were specks of light shimmering within the wind, and there seemed to countless glittering particles of sand intermingled within the wind.
As the gust of wind came into contact with the pillar of green light and balls of silver light, a string of resounding explosions rang out while balls of light of different colors flashed beneath the formation.
Moments later, a burst of grey and green light rose up into the air to suppress the black light formation’s descent, thereby resulting in a temporary impasse.
As more gusts of black winds continued to surge forth, the black particles of sand created a mass of inky blackness in the wind, slowly forcing back the grey and green light.
A peculiar look flashed through Mu Qing's eyes she flipped her hand over to produce a small section of a tree branch.
The branch was no more than three feet in length with a few soft green leaves growing from it. Even though it had clearly been detached from the tree that it once belonged to, there was still abundant spiritual Qi revolving around it, and it was showing no signs of yellowing or wilting at all.
Mu Qing tossed this branch into the air, and a ball of green light blossomed. The branch transformed into an exuberant green tree in the blink of an eye with lush shimmering branches and leaves, as if the entire tree had been carved out of a block of exquisite green jade.
Mu Qing wore a grave expression as she chanted something, and the tree trunk swelled drastically in size while the branches elongated. Countless leaf-shaped green projections then flew forth from the tree, all of which surged upward to
fuel the assault against the black light formation.
"Nicely done, Fellow Daoist Mu!" A cry of surprise and elation sounded from within the Yin winds.
"Hmph, Fellow Daoist Lan, it's about time you put in some work as well! Don't tell me this is the extent of your capabilities," Mu Qing replied in a cold voice.
"Hehe..." the white-haired beauty chuckled within the Yin cloud, following which all eight of the ghost monarchs let loose long howls in unison. Boundless Yin Qi surged toward the center and converged, with countless ghostly shadows weeping and cackling within the Yin Qi.
Moments later, the Yin Cloud dissipated, and a massive figure emerged in its place.
This was a gargantuan being that was around 70 to 80 feet tall, and was clad in a suit of antiquated black armor. It was wielding a huge war hammer, and the surface of the armor was covered entirely in sharp black spikes that were around a foot in length each, as well as a series of extremely profound silver patterns.
As for the war hammer, it was even more peculiar in design. It was pitch-black in color, just like the suit of the armor, but there were eight white skulls embedded onto the hammer, and all of those skulls were squirming incessantly as they let loose howls of anguish, blasting forth bursts of black Qi in the process, creating a harrowing sight to behold.
This gigantic being was none other than an enlarged version of the white-haired beauty, and the eight skulls on her war hammer had been manifested from the eight Yin Armor Ghost Monarchs.
Mu Qing's expression changed slightly upon seeing this, but before she had a chance to raise any questions, a cold look appeared on the white-haired beauty as she hurled her war hammer into the air before making a strange hand seal.
The hammer rotated in the air, and the eight skulls screeched in unison, expelling eight bursts of green flames that swept directly upward.
Thus, the Yin flames and green leaf projections stacked on top of one another, encompassing the entire black formation up above, thereby completely halting its momentum again.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 847