Almost at the exact same moment, the blue waves on the other side also underwent a drastic transformation.
A piercing pillar of light erupted from the center of the blue waves, and all of the water swept outward in all directions like a waterfall. At the very center of the waves, the projection of a blue gourd that was not inferior in size to the vial projection appeared, then also aimed its opening at the sea of Black Infernal Mist.
The two beings then made hand seals in unison, and a thick pillar of azure light erupted from the vial while bursts of blue light swept forth from within the gourd.
The two disappeared into the sea of mist in a flash, causing the mist to tumble violently before surging toward the azure and blue lights in a frenzy.
The black mist then swirled before forming two pillars of mist that gushed into the two container treasures.
The rate at which the two treasures were taking in mist was truly astounding.
In mere moments, a vast expanse of empty space had been cleared out in the wake of the blue and azure lights, but the black mist quickly filled up that space again.
However, there seemed to be no end to the capacity of the two containers, and they showed no sign of stopping as they continued to suck in more and more black mist.
Right at this moment, the crimson-haired being appeared in the air above the blue gourd projection, looking down in silence with a cold expression on his face.
Meanwhile, the massive monster that had been summoned by the white-robed man was seated beneath the vial projection in a cross-legged manner with its eyes closed.
The amount of black mist sucked in by the two treasures was quite incredible, but the amount of Black Infernal Mist in the area was certainly nothing to be scoffed at, either.
The two beings persisted for two days and two nights, but they'd only sucked away a tiny portion of the sea of black mist. If they wanted to completely take all of the black mist with them, then it would take at least a month or two.
However, the two beings didn't appear to be in any hurry as they continued to spur on their two treasures, appearing as if they had all the time in the world.
Han Li had witnessed what these two beings were doing through the use of his Myriad Dragon Beads, and he was starting to become quite uneasy again.
With these two staying here for so long, how was he supposed to cultivate with peace of mind? It would naturally be best if they departed after taking the entire sea of mist, but it would be very bad if they directed their attention to him after that.
However, fleeing the scene would likely incur just as much risk as staying, so Han Li refrained from doing so.
Even so, he had still finished packing up everything within the cave abode a day ago. Aside from the 72 Golden Lightning Bamboo plants in which his flying swords had been sealed, all of the other important items had been stowed away into his storage bracelet, thereby allowing him to immediately escape at the first sign of trouble.
A day later, both of the foreign beings cast incantation techniques to make their container treasures swell to around twice their original sizes, and the rate at which they were sucking in mist also accelerated significantly.
Perhaps they had also used some other abilities to enhance the two treasures, seeing as a dozen or so pillars of mist were now gushing into the treasures as opposed to the original two pillars.
Each and every pillar of mist was rotating as they surged through the air, thereby sweeping up the mist in a wider area around them to surge into the container treasures together.
Thus, the rate at which the sea of mist was being depleted accelerated significantly, and the mist was thinning almost at a rate that was discernible to the naked eye.
The crimson-haired being chuckled upon seeing this before turning to the white-robed man.
"Brother Min, looks like we'll be able to take all of the True Spirit Yin Qi here in around a dozen or so more days!"
The white-robed man smiled upon hearing this, and he was just about to say something in reply when his expression suddenly changed slightly. Immediately thereafter, an infuriated cry erupted from deep within the sea of mist.
As soon as the roar rang out, the black pillars of mist surging toward the container treasures faltered before dissipating amid a string of dull thumps, as if they'd been struck by some kind of invisible power.
Even as the pillar of azure light and waves of blue light continued to sweep through the mist, the black mist remained completely tranquil and refused to be taken.
The two beings glanced at one another upon seeing this, and both of them could see their own grim expression mirrored in one another's eyes.
At this moment, the monstrous cry within the mist became slightly louder, as if there were something flying quickly toward them from deep within the sea of mist.
"Is it that thing?" the crimson-haired being asked without any context.
However, the white-robed being seemed to be aware of what his companion was referring to, and his brows furrowed as he replied, "It most likely is."
"I was wondering why those Tian Peng beings hadn't touched the True Spirit Yin Qi here; turns out such a thing was lurking within it. They've always regarded bird-type true spirits as divine deities, so the thing in there was most likely left behind by such a true spirit as well," the crimson-haired being said with a wry smile.
"That's most likely the case. We don't know what state it's evolved to yet, but if it's already evolved to the final stage, then we have to retreat right away," the white-robed man sighed.
"Indeed, I have no intention of falling to that thing. Even my soul won't be able to reincarnate in that case," the crimson-haired being sighed in a grim manner.
The white-robed man didn't say anything in response this time. Instead, he made a hand seal before pointing a finger at the massive gourd projection.
The projection shattered amid a dull thump, and a speck of azure light shot forth from within before landing in his grasp.
It was none other than that azure jade vial, and it disappeared without a trace amid a flash of azure light.
The crimson-haired being also made a grabbing motion in a cautious manner, and the waves down below vanished as the massive gourd instantly shrank down to its original size before landing in his grasp.
The two beings then stood side by side, looking on into the sea of black mist in silence.
Judging from the sound of that monstrous cry, whatever they were waiting for seemed to be quite close already, but only after 10 minutes did a gust of fierce winds erupt from within the sea of mist. Immediately thereafter, a white figure appeared in a flash, revealing itself to be a gargantuan creature that was several thousand feet in size. As it flashed through the sea of mist, it swept up a rank odor, as it appraised the two beings with a frosty light in its eyes.
This was a white skeletal bird with nine different heads! Each and every one of the heads had eerie green ghostly flames burning within their eye sockets, and wisps of inky-black Yin Qi were swirling around its body, giving the bird an even more sinister appearance.
"Those are the remains of a Nine-headed Bird!" the crimson-haired being exclaimed as soon as he caught sight of the skeletal bird.
"Thankfully, it's still only at the second stage of its corpse transformation and hasn't yet evolved to become an Infernal Nethercorpse of the final stage, so it's only comparable to the two of us in power. The only problem is that we don't know how much of this bird's vicious baleful Qi remains. If it's retained more than half its baleful Qi, then we'll most likely have to retreat," the white-robed man said in a calm voice, but a faint hint of fear flashed through his eyes as he spoke.
"Let's give it a try to find out. Would you really be willing to give up on the True Spirit Yin Qi here, Brother Min?" the crimson-haired being asked with gritted teeth as he stared at the skeletal bird with a grave expression.
"Of course I don't want to give up on it; the cultivation art I'm using desperately requires this stuff to enha
nce its power. We'll each try one attack each to test it. If it's too powerful, then we retreat right away." The white-robed man finally made up his mind.
As soon as his voice trailed off, one of the Nine-headed Birds huge heads reared up before letting loose a shrill cry, following which all eight of its other heads opened their beaks in unison.
Loud booms rang out as fireballs, blades of wind, ice spikes, bolts of lightning, and other attacks of countless different attributes erupted from the eight heads at the same time, obscuring almost the entire sky.
The ferocity of the attack was truly astounding.
However, the two foreign beings suddenly became a lot calmer upon seeing this.
"I'll go first," the crimson-haired being volunteered before making a hand seal, upon which blue light immediately began to surge around his body. He then pointed a finger toward the oncoming wave of attacks in a seemingly casual manner, and a burst of blue light shot forth from his fingertip.
The blue light was initially only a thin line, but after leaving his fingertip, it immediately transformed into a blue light barrier that shielded the two beings behind it.
The crimson-haired being then made another hand seal, and the light barrier flashed erratically before forming a resolute blue wall of ice.
In that instant, all of the oncoming attacks finally struck, crashing into the blue ice barrier like a torrential downpour.
Loud explosions, dull thumps, and sharp screeching sounds rang out at the same time from the surface of the ice wall.
Spiritual light of all types of different colors radiated from the attacks, completely inundating the ice wall in a spectacular display of colorful lights.
The skeletal bird's central head let loose a triumphant cry upon seeing this, but the other eight heads continued their offensive output. In fact, they were attacking with even greater ferocity, as if the bird were planning to kill both of its enemies in one fell swoop.
However, right at this moment, a cold harrumph suddenly sounded from beyond the wall of ice, following which a burst of blue light surged forth. The blue light proliferated at an incredible rate, expanding to encompass an area with a radius of over 1,000 feet in the blink of an eye.
The space left in the wake of the blue light warped and blurred, and any attack that entered that area simply disappeared in a soundless manner.
The crimson-haired being's urgent chanting then sounded from within the blue light, and the light swelled dramatically, sweeping toward the massive skeletal bird in a counterattack.
The blue light was traveling at such an incredible speed that it was upon the skeletal bird in the span of just a single breath.
Chapter 1534: Intent to Retreat
The skeletal bird was startled by this, but remained unflustered as it swiped its massive talons toward the oncoming blue light.
Dozens of inky-black claw projections appeared before hurtling forth like sharp swords, striking the blue light amid a resounding boom
Dozens of rifts were instantly sliced into the blue light by the claw projections, making it appear as if it were a shredded rag.
However, the blue light returned to its original condition following a flash of spiritual light, but all of the claw projections were trapped within the blue light before being sealed in chunks of blue ice.
The blue light then swept into the air above the skeletal bird's head before crashing down with devastating might.
The skeletal bird's central head let loose a sharp cry of shock and fury as it abruptly flapped both of its massive bony wings at once.
Two bursts of grey Qi erupted from the wings before striking the descending blue light, and as the two clashed and intertwined amid bursts of rumbling akin to loud thunderclaps.
The blue light then intensified in brightness before quickly engulfing the grey Qi, then transforming into blocks of ice of different sizes that hovered in mid-air.
However, the blue light was also unable to descend any further as a result, and was kept at bay by the relentless grey Qi.
Just as a stalemate was beginning to eventuate, a startling turn of events unfolded.
The skeletal bird let loose an eerie cry, and light flashed within the blocks of ice before countless holes suddenly appeared on their smooth surfaces. Grey Qi then surged out of those holes in a frenzy before instantly engulfing the blocks of ice and reducing them to nothingness.
The grey Qi possessed powerful corrosive attributes, and it took only the span of a few breaths to completely eradicate the blocks of ice and blue light up above.
"As expected, this Nine-headed Bird still possesses some of its baleful Qi from when it was alive, but let's see just how much of that it's managed to retain!" the crimson-haired being mused in a cold voice.
Immediately thereafter, the blue light began to tremor violently, then increase significantly in brightness, following which countless balls of blue light shot forth from within.
These were fist-sized balls of light that appeared to be almost substantial, and as soon as they appeared, they hurtled toward the skeletal bird amid an unsettling screeching sound.
The skeletal bird had witnessed the power of the blue light already, so it naturally wasn't going to make the mistake of underestimating its enemy's attacks again. Thus, its central head immediately spread open its beak to expel another burst of grey Qi.
This stream of grey Qi combined with the other two that were gushing from its wings, and they swept toward the blue balls of light in unison, following which loud explosions erupted.
All of the balls of light transformed into ice lotus flowers, only to be completely inundated by the grey Qi before they could do anything.
However, there seemed to be no end to these balls of blue light, and with so many of them exploding in rapid successions, the grey Qi was completely stalled, unable to advance any further.
"It has indeed retained a lot of its baleful Qi. Let me give it a try as well!" The white-robed man's voice sounded from within the blue light, following which he emerged from within.
At this moment, he was making a hand seal, and the horn on his head instantly elongated to around twice its original length. At the same time, the massive monstrous projection that had been summoned once before appeared behind it again.
A bolt of azure lightning appeared on the man's horn, and he lowered his head slightly to blast the arc of lightning through the air.
The bolt of lightning became as thick as a large bowl mid-flight and elongated to over 100 feet.
The man shook his head from side to the side, and the massive bolt of lightning blurred before it was instantly split into two, then into four, then into eight...
Countless arcs of this azure lightning had covered half of the entire sky in the blink of an eye, and all of them were sent hurtling toward the skeletal bird amid a burst of earsplitting rumbling.
The skeletal bird was quite startled to see this, and it immediately switched the direction toward which it was blasting its grey Qi, aiming it toward the arcs of lightning instead.
In the instant that the two came into contact with one another, most of the arcs of lightning flashed before forming an azure net of lightning.
A loud thunderclap erupted, and the azure lightning intertwined with the grey Qi, nullifying each other to result in another stalemate.
Moments later, a peculiar look appeared on the young man's face, and he made a hand seal to send another arc of lightning flying from the horn on his head.
The same process repeated itself, and several hundred more arcs of azure lightning shot forth at once, instantly shattering the fragile balance that had been established.
The new influx of azure lightning instantly forced back the grey Qi, and the lightning transformed into lightning wyrms and pythons that wreaked havoc relentlessly within the grey Qi.
The giant skeletal bird raised all nine of its head in unison upon seeing this, then opened its beaks at once to blast forth pillars of black light that shot forth at a rapid spee
d.
Five of those pillars of light surged toward the azure lightning up above while the remaining four shot forth toward the blue light down below.
A scorching aura erupted from the pillars of light, and the arcs of lightning and waves of blue light were all vanquished with ease by this black light.
The nine pillars of light appeared in a flash before the white-robed man and the crimson-haired being, who was hiding within the blue light, then punctured through both their bodies at once.
However, the bodies of those two beings vanished as soon as they were punctured by those pillars of light, revealing them to be mere projections.
In the next instant, spatial fluctuations erupted over 1,000 feet away, and two humanoid figures appeared.
They were none other than the two beings engaged in battle with the skeletal bird.
The white-robed man turned to his companion, and asked, "How much of its baleful Qi do you think it's retained?"
"It should be less than half; around a third," the crimson-haired being immediately replied.
"That's what I think as well. If it had sufficient baleful Qi to support it, then it wouldn't have unleashed its Soul Vanquishing Divine Light so early," the white-robed man mused.
"Does that mean you're going to fight for the True Spirit Yin Qi now, Brother Min?" the crimson-haired being chuckled.
"Seeing as the remains of this Nine-headed Bird doesn't have much baleful Qi left, I certainly won't give up on this True Spirit Yin Qi. However, what's troubling me is that a nethercorpse of this caliber shouldn't be capable of producing so much True Spirit Yin Qi of such a high degree of purity," the white-robed man replied with furrowed brows.
"That is indeed rather suspicious, but what does it matter to us unless there’s a second nethercorpse within this True Spirit Yin Qi? If there were too little of this Yin Qi, it wouldn't be enough to split between us, so this is ideal," the crimson-haired being chuckled.
The white-robed man contemplated his companion's words momentarily before nodding in agreement. "You're right, I was merely overthinking things. Let's go all-out and kill this thing as quickly as possible!"
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 867