However, the two Infernal Lightning Beasts weren't flustered in the slightest upon seeing this. Both of the merely let loose a few sharp cries toward the air above them, upon which their bodies further expanded slightly before they raised their hands up high above their heads.
Countless silver threads appeared again amid a string of thunderclaps. The silver threads rang along their arms, transforming into massive bolts of lightning that hurtled upward before disappearing into the black light formation.
All of a sudden, a loud rumbling sound erupted from within the formation, and it suddenly swelled to almost twice its original size. At the same time, the sand particles within the black winds multiplied by severalfold, and the formation was able to firmly wrest back the upper hand again.
The white-haired beauty and Mu Qing were stunned to see this, and they hurriedly unleashed more abilities.
One of them expelled a mouthful of blood essence while the other raised her head and let loose a long cry of fury. Their magic powers received a boost as a result, thereby allowing them to further enhance the powers of the treasures they'd unleashed.
Thus, leaf projection and Yin flames were both bolstered significantly, yet the two demon monarchs were still unable to completely halt the formation's descent.
Both of their expressions changed drastically upon seeing this.
It appeared that this restriction really was too powerful for them to handle.
Mu Qing took a deep breath before turning to the Purpleblood Puppet as she yelled, "Lend us your assistance, Fellow Daoist Di Xue. If this thing falls on us, we'll be in big trouble!"The crimson-robed figure standing atop the Purpleblood Puppet didn't say anything in response, but the seven metallic puppets he had summoned suddenly flew forth as seven streaks of light, hurtling directly toward the two Infernal Lightning Beasts.
The black light formation was indeed quite powerful, but its powers would be severely hampered if the two beasts weren't directly controlling it.
As such, the seven puppets didn't have to engage the two beasts in a direct battle; all they had to do was distract the two beasts, thereby preventing them from being able to focus wholeheartedly on the formation.
As the seven streaks of light sped toward the two Infernal Lightning Beasts, a cold light flashed through the beasts' eyes, and they switched to an alternate hand seal.
All of a sudden, a massive black hole with a diameter of around 100 feet appeared behind them.
The two Infernal Lightning Beasts swayed, and their bodies instantly blurred as they vacated themselves from the area encompassed by the black hole. Immediately thereafter, a rumbling boom rang out from the center of the black hole, following which a vast expanse of black light shot forth like lightning, sweeping up all of the oncoming puppets.
An astonishing turn of events then unfolded.
All seven puppets abruptly disappeared within the swath of black light, then reappeared right in front of the black hole before being drawn in and disappearing in a flash.
The demon monarchs all drew sharp breaths upon seeing this.
The two Infernal Lightning Beasts let loose a few triumphant snarls before quickly making a hand seal, and the black hole blurred before also vanishing on the spot.
A thunderous roar of rage immediately escaped the crimson-robed figure's mouth, clearly indicating that he had been extremely infuriated by the inexplicable loss of those seven puppets.
He immediately laid a hand on the back of his own head, and crimson Qi surged forth before forming a massive crimson ball right before him.
The crimson-robed figure swept an arm through the air, seemingly to attack the Infernal Lightning Beast with this crimson ball, but right at this moment, Mu Qing abruptly turned toward a certain direction as she yelled, "Who goes there? Show yourself!"
Before the words had even left her mouth, she had already swept a sleeve through the air toward that direction, sending a plume of azure threads hurtling forth striking what appeared to be empty air.
A faint cry of surprise suddenly sounded, following which a ball of green Qi abruptly exploded.
The azure threads instantly punctured the green Qi, but didn't manage to strike anything of substance.
In the next instant, extremely feeble spatial fluctuations erupted in the air above Mu Qing, and a translucent bead emerged.
As soon as the object appeared, it began to emanate scintillating light, forcing everyone to shield their eyes in order to avoid being blinded.
A crisp crack sounded, and the bead suddenly transformed into two humanoid figures, one of which was white while the other was crimson.
The crimson humanoid figure immediately raised a hand, sending a streak of silver light flying through the air before striking down toward Mu Qing like lightning.
There was a silver chopper with a smooth mirror-like finish within the streak of silver light; it was none other than the Five Dragon Chopper!
As for the faint humanoid figure, it was naturally none other than the crimson-armored puppet.
Due to the flash of piercing white light that had appeared overhead, Mu Qing was forced to close her eyes, but she had already released her spiritual sense, so she could clearly "see" everything in a radius of several tens of feet around her.
As such, she was able to react in a calm manner as she pointed a finger toward the descending silver chopper.
Azure light instantly flashed near the chopper as countless azure threads appeared out of thin air before intertwining with one another. Some of them surrounded the silver chopper in a watertight barrier while the rest of those threads formed a thin azure veil that hung above her.
Mu Qing had prepared countless spirit threads of this nature prior to entering this palace in preparation for any surprise attacks that may be thrown at her, which was why she appeared to be quite well prepared.
However, the Five Dragon Chopper was far more powerful than she could imagine.
The barrier of azure threads around the chopper was sliced through with ease before it descended onto the azure veil without any pause.
Chapter 1504: Chaotic Battle
The azure veil was sliced apart as if it were a papier-mache structure, and the chopper continued to descend toward Mu Qing.
Mu Qing's expression changed drastically, and only then did she realize just how dangerous this chopper was.
She wanted to try and evade, but it was already too late.
The chopper manifested a series of projections during its descent, all of which disappeared in a flash.
Mu Qing's heart jolted upon seeing this, and she only had time to conjure up a suit of azure armor over her body before a series of massive shimmering silver appeared around her in all directions.
As sharp screeching sound erupted from the surfaces of these giant blades, and bursts of frosty light emanated from them to form a watertight barricade around Mu Qing, affording her no avenues for escape nor evasion.
Mu Qing's face immediately turned deathly pale upon seeing this, but she then gritted her teeth before rustling both sleeves at once, and a short black rod appeared in each of her hands.
She swung these rods through the air, and mountainous staff projections instantly appeared before her, then crashed straight toward the massive blades around her.
Mu Qing was well aware of the fact that she had already lost the initiative, and that if she were to stay rooted to the spot, she would definitely be killed.
A rapid string of clangs rang out as the staff projections were able to smash open the frosty light, opening up an escape path for Mu Qing.
However, more waves of frosty light surged forth to replenish the chink that had been inflicted by the staff projections, and it was as if there were no end to this lethal light. All of a sudden, the two black rods were sliced apart by the frosty light, and the staff projections immediately faded as a result.
Mu Qing was stunned to see this, and she immediately withdrew her hands to try and unleash other abilities, only for the
frosty light around her to completely inundate her body in a flash.
The suit of green armor that she was wearing only managed to remain intact for a few moments before it was also sliced apart, and a howl of anguish rang out, followed by deathly silence.
It appeared that Mu Qing had been killed, just like that.
The white-haired beauty looked on with wide eyes and her mouth gaped open, unable to believe what she had just witnessed. She was well aware of the fact that Mu Qing was definitely no less powerful than her, yet the crimson-armored puppet had managed to kill her in what seemed like the blink of an eye.
At this moment, the puppet pointed a finger toward the frosty light, and the light converged to form the silver chopper again.
Beneath the chopper, Mu Qing's body had been sliced into countless pieces, and her remains were hovering in mid-air. Strangely enough, the pieces of her body weren't shedding so much as a single drop of blood, as if she didn't even possess a body of flesh and blood.
The crimson-armored puppet merely took a brief glance at her remains before paying them no further heed.
It had already identified that Mu Qing possessed a wood spirit body, so it wasn't strange at all that she didn't bleed like normal living beings.
The puppet let loose a sinister chuckle as it cast an incantation seal with one hand, and the chopper immediately flew forth again, heading for the Purpleblood Puppet this time.
With the puppet's massive body, it was an ideal target.
The crimson-armored puppet had originally intended to strike only after the demon monarchs had expended all of their magic power, but Liu Zu had descended into the pond, and he knew of a method to sever spirit veins.
This made the crimson-armored puppet a lot more flustered and concerned.
If the connection between this pond and the spirit vein really were severed, he'd still be dealt a severe punishment even if he managed to kill these intruders.
That was why it was unable to wait any longer.
However, much to its surprise, Mu Qing had been extremely alert and set up countless invisible spirit threads in the nearby area, thereby allowing her to detect the puppet's location.
However, that didn't matter to the puppet anyway.
He possessed the insanely powerful Five Dragon Chopper and he had the Infernal Lightning Beasts on his side, while his enemies had already expended a lot of their spiritual power in the preceding battle. With so many factors in its favor, it would be a simple task for it to kill all of the intruders.
The crimson-robed figure stood atop the Purpleblood Puppet's shoulder, and a hint of fear flashed through his eyes at the sight of the oncoming silver chopper. He immediately pointed a finger toward the chopper, and the massive crimson ball before him tremored, then shot forth at a streak of crimson light.
Almost at the exact same moment, the Purpleblood Puppet beneath his feet began to rapidly shrink amid flashes of purple light, reverting back down to the size of a normal human being in the blink of an eye. Immediately thereafter, its six eyes flashed in unison, and six pillars of crimson light erupted from within its pupils, hurtling forth in hot pursuit behind the crimson ball.
The crimson-robed figure descended beside the Purpleblood Puppet just as the silver streak of light plunged soundlessly into the crimson ball, and this was quite a welcoming sight to him.
This crimson ball was not something that was manifested by normal blood essence. Instead, it was something that he'd refined from the Myriad Year Impure Qi that he'd collected, and it specialized in corrupting all types of treasures with a 100% success rate to date.
The silver chopper was indeed quite powerful, but there was no way that it would remain completely unaffected by this crimson ball.
Just as these thoughts were flashing through the crimson-robed figure's mind, a loud explosion erupted, and the smile on his face immediately stiffened.
The crimson ball had been punctured by boundless silver light in a flash before exploding into a cloud of repugnant blood mist.
The mist only drifted in the air for a few moments before it dissipated as putrid black Qi.
At this moment, the silver streak of light that was the Five Dragon Chopper crashed into the six pillars of crimson light.
As soon as the two opposing forces made contact with one another, the silver light wavered slightly, and it was slowed down a little for the first time.
The six pillars of light struck it one after another, causing the silver streak of light to tremor as it reverted back to its original chopper form.
The crimson-robed figure's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly made a hand seal.
The pillars of crimson light then immediately converged to form a massive crimson sword, which clashed with the Five Dragon Chopper.
The chopper was incredibly sharp, but it was unable to immediately slice the crimson sword in half, and its progress was temporarily stalled as a result.
A vicious light flashed through the crimson-armored puppet's eyes upon seeing this, and it recited a mantra in its mind.
Brilliant silver light immediately erupted from the Five Dragon Chopper as boundless frosty light erupted forth again.
In the end, the crimson sword was sliced into several segments by the frosty light before disintegrating into a ball of crimson light.
The crimson-robed figure hurriedly opened his mouth to expel a mouthful of blood essence upon seeing this.
The blood essence then transformed into several crimson runes that swayed in front of him before abruptly disappeared without a trace.
In the next instant, crimson light flashed erratically in the distance before converging again to form another crimson flying sword.
The flying sword emitted a faint ringing sound as it clashed with the Five Dragon Chopper again, not allowing the fearsome treasure to continue down its intended route.
After witnessing Mu Qing's spontaneous death, the white-haired beauty had become quite fearful of the Five Dragon Chopper, but she was ecstatic to see the crimson-robed figure's flying sword keeping it at bay.
Thus, she turned her attention away from the black formation descending from above and hurriedly flipped her hand over to produce a black leather pouch, which she tossed up into the air.
The pouch gently tipped itself over, and a burst of grey Yin Qi gushed forth from within in a frenzy. Over 100 Yin Armor Profound Ghosts appeared within the Yin Qi, but these ones were far more imposing in stature than the normal ghostly soldiers she'd refined.
She had kept this ghostly army up her sleeve this entire time as a trump card of sorts.
The white-haired beauty then let loose a sharp screech before pointing a finger at the crimson-armored puppet in the distance.
All of the ghostly soldiers immediately heeded her call, brandishing their weapons as they rushed toward the puppet atop gusts of Yin winds.
The crimson-armored puppet merely chuckled coldly upon seeing this.
It turned to the ghostly being beside it, which had the head of a horse and the body of a human, and asked, "Can I count on you to take care of those things?"
"Rest assured, Master, I'll eradicate these low-grade ghostly beings with ease." The horse-headed ghostly being's body was remarkably translucent, and it gave a respectful bow in response to the puppet's question.
The puppet nodded, and the ghosty being's body flashed with glazed light before it flew through the air as a five-colored streak of light.
Moments later, it plunged headfirst into the gusts of Yin winds before manifesting a pair of long sabers out of thin air to battle the ghostly soldiers around it.
The crimson-armored puppet paid no heed to that battle as it began to chant something, and unleashed the powers of the Five Dragon Chopper at the expense of its spiritual sense.
The silver streak of light immediately let loose a crisp ringing sound as it clashed with the crimson sword before splitting up into five streaks of light of different colors.
One of those streaks of light c
ontinued to clash with the crimson sword while the other four split up with two of them hurtling toward the crimson-robed figure while the other two sped toward the white-haired beauty.
The white-haired beauty's expression changed slightly, and she looked up at the descending black formation up above, then at the crimson-robed figure and the Purpleblood Puppet, and an indecisive look appeared on her face.
There was clearly no hope for victory in such a situation, and she couldn't help but consider a retreat.
However, right at this moment, a long cry erupted from below the golden light formation over the green pond, following which the surface of the formation rippled, causing the nearby ground to tremor slightly.
The crimson-robed figure's cold voice suddenly sounded in her ears. "Fellow Daoist Liu Zu is about to be back soon."
The white-haired beauty faltered slightly, and she hesitated for a moment longer while the two streaks of light sped toward her at an alarming rate.
In the end, she could only heave a resigned sigh as the projection of the disheveled ghost appeared behind her again. She then made a grabbing motion with both hands, and the massive black ghost's huge hands reached out toward the oncoming streaks of light.
At the same time, the white-haired beauty summoned a small white bone flag before sweeping it through the air, sending forth a burst of grey light that also sped toward the two opposing streaks of light.
On the other end, even with the crimson-robed figure and the Purpleblood Puppet combining their powers, they were still engaged in an arduous battle against the two streaks of light that had flown toward them.
Right at this moment, a sense of foreboding welled up in the white-haired beauty's heart, and she suddenly turned toward a certain corner of the palace, following which the veins on her forehead immediately bulged with fury.
In the corner of the palace where Yuan Yao and Yan Li were standing, a young man had appeared beside them. He had his hands placed on the shoulders of the two women, and countless thin arcs of golden lightning were flowing from his palms into their bodies.
The young man was naturally none other than Han Li, and the two women were trembling uncontrollably with expressions of agony on their faces as crimson threads were expelled from their body one after another.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 848