However, he didn't think that their primary target would be this troublesome to deal with. First, the Purple Word Cauldron had somehow escaped his control, and now, the Rainbow Light Pagoda had been completely suppressed by Han Li's spirit body.
If it weren't for the fact that he could still sense that the clone controlling the rainbow pagoda was fine and still had a good chance of escaping the restriction, he would've most likely already turned around and made a tactical retreat.
Even so, he was still becoming a little concerned.
However, now that he was being attacked by Han Li, a hint of ferocity welled up in his heart to override his worry. He immediately swept a hand through the air, and the eight crimson ghostly projections that were battling the Purple-striped Gold Devouring Beetles instantly vanished. The eight azure ghostly heads then let loose ghastly howls in unison before detaching themselves from one another, then disappeared into Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang's body in a flash.
In the next instant, he made a hand seal, and crimson light flashed from his body as he began to swell drastically in size, transforming into a giant that was not much smaller than the massive golden ape. Eight bursts of black Qi also erupted from his shoulders, following which eight ghostly azure heads emerged.
These eight heads were each displaying a different emotion, and they were extremely harrowing to behold.
The devilish giant let loose a roar of fury and swept his arms through the air like the spokes of a wagon wheel, sending countless claw projections hurtling through the air. At the same time, the eight heads opened their mouths to expel bursts of black Qi.
The black Qi converged in the air to form a huge black flower, which clashed with the oncoming burst of tremendous force.
The giant flower shuddered before it was instantly crushed into nothingness by the enormous force, but it also nullified most of that power.
The remaining force was then countered by the ferocious claw projections.
A cold light flashed through Han Li's six eyes upon seeing this, and he suddenly let loose a thunderous roar that made the devilish giant sway unsteadily on the spot.
Golden light flashed, and a sword projection that was around a foot in length suddenly appeared right in front of the devilish giant.
The devilish giant was still a little dizzy, and he was quite startled by this attack, but he still reacted very quickly as his hand shot forth like lightning to make a grab for the sword projection.
However, in the instant that his hand closed around the sword projection, it merely vanished as if it were nothing more than an illusion.
The devilish giant naturally faltered slightly upon seeing this, yet before he had a chance to figure out what Han Li's attack was all about, the sword projection suddenly re-emerged in his spiritual sense before descending in a vicious strike.
"Argh!"
A burst of excruciating pain shot through the devilish giant's soul, and he involuntarily threw his hands over his head as he let loose a howl of agony.
This was none other than an ability that Han Li had mastered from the Sword Observation Art he had derived from the Myriad Sword Artwork, and it specialized in targeting one's spiritual sense.
Unfortunately, this was a True Immortal Realm cultivation art and was not something that he could use without any consequences. As such, he was struck with a certain degree of backlash as well, and if it weren't for the fact that he had combined his golden body with his Giant Mountain Ape form, he wouldn't have dared to use it in battle.
Even so, he still gave a muffled groan as golden and silver runes flashed over his body, and he seemed to have sustained even more damage than the devilish giant.
However, Han Li was prepared for this backlash, and even though his three heads were also struck by a burst of sharp pain, he managed to repress the pain and sprang through the air as he let loose a low roar.
After just a single flash, he covered a distance of over 1,000 feet and appeared directly above the devilish giant.
A long golden blade then emerged within each of his six hands before being slashed viciously toward the devilish giant's main head.
Chapter 1939: Forcing the Enemy Into Retreat
Golden light flashed, and the six golden blades instantly fused as one to create a giant sword that was several hundred feet in length.
A cold light flashed through the air, and a hint of incredulity appeared on the devilish giant's main head, following which it slowly tumbled down from the devilish giant's neck.
He had just been decapitated!
However, Han Li didn't display any elation upon seeing this. Instead, the giant swords in his hands split up into six golden blades again, and he slashed them rapidly through the air, unleashing countless golden threads that threatened to tear the devilish giant into countless pieces.
An incredible turn of events unfolded!
The decapitated devilish giant abruptly flapped its four wings and shot back several hundred feet in a flash. At the same time, the sea of blood down below churned violently, and countless arrows of blood shot up into the air to keep the oncoming golden threads at bay.
At the same time, a burst of black Qi emerged from his neck, and a head that was identical to his original one appeared. However, one of the eight azure ghostly heads on his shoulders had vanished.
Han Li's expression darkened upon seeing this, but he didn't falter in the slightest as the six golden blades in his hands transformed into six completely different types of weapons. He swept the six weapons through the air, and countless bursts of golden lightning and fire swept forth in a frenzy, hurtling directly toward the devilish giant in the distance.
Having just lost one of his heads, the devilish giant was also extremely enraged, and his remaining seven heads began to chant in unison as he made an extremely profound hand seal.
All of a sudden, the sea of blood down below began to rotate rapidly with the devilish giant at the center, forming a massive vortex that transformed into a gigantic pillar of blood. The pillar of blood erupted into the heavens, and the devilish giant withdrew his hand seal before grabbing toward it.
Light flashed erratically from the pillar of blood, and it transformed into a giant crimson staff that was several thousand feet in length with black runes engraved all over its surface.
The devilish giant grabbed onto the staff before immediately swinging it toward Han Li with devastating force.
Countless staff projections instantly swept forth as a crimson hurricane, carrying with it a repugnant odor of blood and gore.
The golden lightning and fire intertwined with the hurricane amid a string of resounding explosions, and Han Li raised all six of his weapons in unison before charging directly toward the devilish giant.
The devilish giant harrumphed coldly and also charged toward the massive ape. Thus, the two colossal beings clashed in a fierce battle that threatened to lay waste to heaven and earth.
Not long after their battle commenced, the 13 Purple-striped Gold Devouring Beetles and the giant grey python also joined in.
That naturally made the battle even more intense, and all of a sudden, a ball of vibrant colorful light suddenly emerged right at the center of the battlefield.
Immediately thereafter, a burst of astonishing fluctuations proliferated outward in all directions, collapsing the space in its wake.
Two figures stumbled out of the ball of light before flying backward, and only when a distance of 2,000 to 3,000 feet had been opened up between them did they just barely manage to stabilize themselves.
These two figures were naturally none other than Han Li and the devilish giant, and both of them were looking rather disheveled.
Not only were there large patches of golden fur on Han Li's body that had been charred black, only three of his six weapons remained, and even those three weapons had been severely damaged.
As for the devilish giant, his entire body was covered in blood, and two more of the ghostly heads on his shoulders had been de
stroyed. The massive crimson staff in his hand had also been snapped in half, and it seemed that the devilish giant had come off decidedly second best during that clash.
Just as both Han Li and the devilish giant were appraising each other from afar with wariness in their eyes, a burst of rumbling rang out from the center of the collapsed space, and the ball of vibrant light exploded.
A dozen or so balls of purple light shot forth out of the explosion, and they were none other than Han Li's Purple-striped Gold Devouring Beetles.
The giant grey python also sprang out of the explosion in another direction, but only half of its body made it out of the collapsed space before it was drawn back to its original spot by a burst of enormous suction force.
Thus, the explosion of light completely inundated the giant python, and the devilish giant threw up a mouthful of blood essence as his face paled by a noticeable degree.
The grey python was manifested from his devilish projection, and the two shared a spiritual connection. Now that it had been destroyed, he was suffering significant backlash.
The devilish giant's expression darkened even further, while Han Li waved his six arms through the air to conjure up six different weapons again amid a flash of golden light. Each and every one of these weapons was back to their original condition, and following another flash of golden light, the charred sections of Han Li's golden fur also instantly regenerated.
A ferocious look then appeared on his face as he prepared to charge toward the devilish giant again, yet right at this moment, a dull rumbling boom suddenly rang out from within the mist manifested by the Nine Palaces Heavenly Talisman. At the same time, a giant rainbow pagoda projection emerged in the air above the mist, and it rotated on the spot to release countless pillars of light.
The pillars of light eradicated all of the surrounding mist, and the palatial projections concealed within the mist were also pierced through before disintegrating into specks of spiritual light.
Thus, the Nine Palaces Heavenly Talisman was destroyed in the blink of an eye.
A long streak of rainbow light then shot forth out of the giant projection before the light faded to reveal a humanoid figure.
Han Li's pupils immediately contracted at the sight of this humanoid figure, while a look of elation appeared on the devilish giant's face.
This was none other than the clone that had been trapped by the Myriad Sword Artwork. At this crucial juncture, it had finally managed to break through the restriction using the incredible abilities of the Rainbow Light Pagoda.
However, after Han Li caught a clear glimpse of the clone, his heart was immediately put at ease.
The clone was still carrying the small rainbow pagoda in his hand, but his face was completely devoid of color, and his aura had also become extremely frail. Furthermore, the small pagoda in his hand had also become dull and lusterless, clearly indicating that it had lost some of its spiritual nature.
The devilish giant had also noticed this, and his elated expression immediately stiffened. "What happened? How did you become like this when you had the Rainbow Light Pagoda to protect you?"
"Hmph, this brat used an extremely troublesome treasure to attack me; it seems to be a treasure from somewhere outside the Spirit Realm. If I hadn't used that final trump card, you most likely wouldn't ever see me again!" The clone transmitted his voice to Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang in response.
A bewildered look appeared on the devilish giant's face, and he asked, "Something from outside the Spirit Realm? Setting that aside for now, will you be able to continue in this battle?"
"As long as you're fine, I'll naturally be able to continue, but the Rainbow Light Pagoda has lost some of its spiritual nature, so I won't be able to use its spatial powers for now," the clone replied.
"In that case, even the two of us combined won't have much of a chance of securing victory." The devilish giant's brows furrowed with indecision.
The clone glanced at the giant golden ape, then cast his gaze toward the final clone, who was battling the spirit body, but remained completely silent.
The spirit body was clearly inferior in power to its opponent, but it was easily able to ensure self-preservation by relying on its own incredible regenerative powers.
The clone that was battling it wanted to withdraw from the battle, but was simply unable to shake off the spirit body.
The devilish giant became even more hesitant upon seeing this. The situation seemed to have taken a dramatic turn for the worse for him, but he was still very reluctant to retreat.
After all, he had taken a huge risk to send three fragments of his spiritual sense into the Spirit Realm at once with the sole intention of recovering the Devil Sealing Lock. However, not only had he failed to achieve that objective, he had lost one of his other two incomplete Profound Heavenly Treasures, while the final one had had its spiritual nature damaged; this was naturally an extremely infuriating outcome for him.
Han Li could see the internal conflict on his opponent's face, and all three of his heads began to chant in unison as he made a grabbing motion with one of his six hands. A purple blade segment instantly appeared in his grasp, and as soon as it emerged, the nearby world's origin Qi began to surge violently. At the same time, countless specks of five-colored light appeared in the surrounding area before converging toward the blade segment in a frenzy, creating an incredible spectacle to behold.
"That's an incomplete Profound Heavenly Treasure!" the devilish giant exclaimed as he stared at the shimmering blade segment with astonishment in his eyes.
His other clone was also quite alarmed to see this.
"Retreat!" the devilish giant finally decided as his expression darkened significantly. He then flapped his four wings, and the sea of blood down below swept upward to form a vast expanse of crimson light, which swept up his massive body before fleeing the scene.
The clone also waved the rainbow pagoda through the air and transformed into a streak of rainbow light that flew away as well.
Chapter 1940: Abandoned City
As for the clone that was battling the spirit body in the distance, it seemed to have also received the instruction to retreat, and dazzling crimson light suddenly erupted from its body to force back the spirit body before it shot forth toward its two companions.
The three of them gathered together in the blink of an eye and fled toward the same direction.
"This isn't over, brat! Next time we meet, I'll be sure to extract your soul and torture it for all of eternity!" Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang's menacing voice rumbled in the distance, and he disappeared into the distance after just a few flashes.
After making the decision to retreat, he had done so in a very decisive manner and didn't stall in the slightest. He seemed to be very confident that Han Li wouldn't try to hunt him down, and sure enough, Han Li merely looked on expressionlessly as his opponent departed, displaying no intention of setting off in pursuit.
In the distance, the spirit body made a hand seal before abruptly vanishing on the spot. Spatial fluctuations then erupted beside Han Li, and the spirit body re-emerged.
Han Li harrumphed coldly as he withdrew his Provenance Golden Body amid a flash of golden light. His body then shrank down as his golden fur receded, and he reverted back to his human form.
As opposed to being elated by this victory, Han Li continued to look into the distance with a grim expression.
"Just his clones alone are already this troublesome to deal with; his true body will only be even more powerful. Grand Ascension Stage beings truly are as formidable as they're proclaimed to be!" Han Li murmured to himself before withdrawing his gaze and waving a hand toward the spirit body beside him.
The spirit body instantly flew toward him as a green shadow before vanishing into his body in a flash, and the 13 Purple-striped Gold Devouring Beetles also flew back to his side.
Han Li swept a sleeve through the air to release a burst of azure light that stowed away the beetles, then closed his eyes before mak
ing a hand seal while chanting an incantation.
A thumb-sized crimson rune surfaced on his glabella, and it was flashing with gentle light.
Moments later, Han Li opened his eyes, and a hint of elation appeared on his face. "It worked! The Purple Word Cauldron hasn't traveled all that far away!"
As soon as his voice trailed off, he switched to a series of complex hand seals, and the crimson rune on his glabella also began to fluctuate in brightness.
Not long after that, a streak of black light appeared in the distance, and within it was none other than the Purple Word Cauldron that had flown away during the battle.
However, the cauldron stopped several thousand feet away from Han Li, and purple light flashed erratically from its surface as it emitted a faint buzzing sound, seemingly expressing hesitation to approach Han Li.
However, after Han Li had activated that crimson rune, a connection had formed between them, and that made the cauldron unwilling to leave.
The smile on Han Li's face widened at the sight of the cauldron, and the crimson rune flew directly out of his glabella before revolving around him.
At the same time, he began to chant something while flicking his fingers through the air, and a series of vibrant colorful incantation seals shot forth before vanishing into the cauldron in a flash.
The small cauldron tremored before letting loose a clear cry akin to a dragon's roar, and it flew directly toward the crimson rune, which also vanished into the cauldron amid a flash of crimson light.
A layer of crimson light then appeared over the surface of the cauldron, and it emitted a cry of elation. Only then did Han Li wave a hand toward the small cauldron with a smile on his face.
On this occasion, the small purple cauldron was extremely obedient and voluntarily flew over to Han Li, shrinking down to several inches in size before landing on his palm.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 1120