After being struck, the massive skeleton merely swayed slightly. A grayish-white glow flowed across its bones, and the holes instantly healed as if they had never existed.
An attack that would be fatal to ordinary cultivators had no effect whatsoever on this demon.
Han Li frowned slightly. It seemed that unless they first eliminated Elder Qian, these Five Linked Demons would be extremely difficult to destroy.
Though the giant skeleton appeared slow, it covered a great distance in just a few strides, arriving right in front of Gui Ling.
A bloody glint flashed in its hollow eye sockets as its bony hands reached out and grabbed two of its own ribs. The ribs detached from its body, transforming into two white blades over ten feet long, which it firmly grasped.
With a slight swing, black demonic flames surged forth.
Seeing this, the giant form of Gui Ling snorted coldly, took two steps forward, and raised her massive axe for a fierce downward strike.
A flash of silver light erupted, accompanied by a deafening roar.
The giant skeleton swung its bone blades, which suddenly doubled in length, and crossed them above its head, forcefully blocking the descending axe. It seemed this demon also possessed immense strength.
Gui Ling showed no surprise at her axe being blocked. A strange glint flickered in her eyes as she muttered, “Tiger Devour.”
A ripple of silver light spread across the axe’s surface, and suddenly, the image of a massive beast’s head emerged—resembling a white tiger with a single horn.
The beast’s maw gaped wide, and half its body lunged forward like lightning, biting off the giant skeleton’s head in one swift motion. It swallowed the skull in a few bites before retracting back into the axe.
This silver axe was not just a deadly weapon—it also housed its own artifact spirit.
This turn of events stunned Han Li, and even the blood-shadow form of Elder Qian was taken aback.
But the giant form of Gui Ling hesitated not at all. She swung her axe like a spinning wheel, enveloping the headless skeleton in a storm of cold light.
The sound of cracking bones echoed.
With the axe’s sharpness and her overwhelming strength, she reduced the massive skeleton to countless fragments in an instant, scattering bones across the ground.
As soon as her axe stopped, Gui Ling opened her mouth and spewed a stream of yellow demonic flames over the remaining bones, intent on completely eradicating the Five Linked Demons.
However, after his initial shock, Elder Qian in the distance regained his composure. Seeing Gui Ling attempting to refine the demons—which were tied to his very life—he silently formed a hand seal and activated his demonic arts.
A frigid wind suddenly swept through the raging yellow flames, diminishing their intensity.
Five strands of crystalline black threads emerged from within the flames before shooting outward and exploding a dozen feet away.
Five streams of grayish-white energy rose from the ground, dispersing into mist, and the five pristine white skeletons reappeared, swaying unsteadily.
“Demonic Transformation! I never thought you’d trained your sub-demons to master such a technique. Aren’t you afraid they’ll turn on you one day?” Gui Ling roared in astonishment.
“Turn on me? As long as I remain cautious, they’ll never get the chance,” Elder Qian replied indifferently, intensifying his demonic arts with a thought.
In the blink of an eye, the five humanoid skeletons lunged toward each other, merging back into the giant skeleton. It immediately conjured two bone blades and charged fiercely at the monstrous woman.
This time, Gui Ling did not command the beast within her axe to attack. Instead, she wielded the massive weapon herself, engaging the skeleton in direct combat.
A brilliant sphere of cold light clashed violently with two smaller masses of white energy between the two towering figures. The deafening collisions shook the entire hall, threatening to bring it down at any moment.
Han Li narrowed his eyes as he observed the battle. Though Gui Ling had regained her strength and transformed into her giant form, the residual Arctic Divine Light in the vicinity seemed to pose no threat to her. However, neither her giant form nor her blood-red battle armor could withstand the Arctic Divine Light as long as the giant skeleton could.
This battle needed to end quickly.
With this in mind, Han Li glanced at the distant blood-shadow, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. He subtly manipulated the Yang Ring above his head, causing it to tremble slightly.
From behind the blood-shadow, several silver chains shot forth like silent vipers.
Elder Qian, preoccupied with strategizing against Han Li and Gui Ling’s combined assault—whether due to overconfidence in his immortality or the severe suppression of his divine sense in the Arctic Divine Light—only noticed the chains when they were already upon him.
He jerked aside in a desperate attempt to evade.
But silver light flashed, and the seven or eight chains pierced through his blood-shadow form before he could react.
Elder Qian was initially startled, but upon looking down at the chains protruding from his body, a cold smirk appeared.
Such minor injuries meant nothing to him—he could recover in an instant.
However, he soon realized something was wrong. The chains didn’t dissipate after piercing him; instead, they solidified like physical restraints, shimmering with faint silver light.
His expression darkened.
“Too late,” Han Li said coolly.
The silver chains coiled around the blood-shadow like serpents, tightening with enough force to tear it into seven or eight pieces.
Furious and alarmed, the shattered remnants of Elder Qian’s form dispersed into bloody mist, darting to one side in an attempt to reform.
But the silver chains pursued relentlessly, repeating the same brutal dismemberment before his body could fully coalesce. Like shredding paper, they tore his demonic form apart again and again, denying him any chance to solidify.
After five or six repetitions, the bloody mist had visibly thinned.
“You seek death!” a furious roar erupted from within the mist.
Elder Qian had clearly realized the dire situation.
Within the Arctic Divine Light, no matter how fast he fled as mist, Han Li could instantly summon more silver chains from all directions, leaving him no escape.
Abandoning attempts to reform, the bloody mist abruptly condensed inward. A flash of crimson light later, a fist-sized blood-red pearl materialized.
The pearl glowed with an eerie red light, exuding a nauseating stench of blood—clearly no ordinary treasure.
“Blood Demon Pearl!” Han Li’s lips twitched as he blurted the name.
“You think I fear you? Prepare to die!” Elder Qian’s voice emanated from the pearl before it shot toward Han Li like a crimson streak, brimming with murderous intent.
Han Li took a deep breath and raised a hand, swiftly casting several spells toward the Yang Ring above his head.
A dozen silver chains materialized in the pearl’s path, lashing out at it.
Though the Blood Demon Pearl moved with astonishing speed, the chains struck it one after another.
A resonant hum came from the pearl, and with a pulse of green light, the chains were effortlessly repelled.
Han Li’s expression remained impassive. One hand summoned a sphere of golden lightning, while the other, hidden in his sleeve, tightened around the Three Flames Fan’s handle.
Elder Qian had concealed his primordial spirit within the Blood Demon Pearl. To truly kill him, the pearl itself had to be destroyed.
The Blood Demon Pearl was infamous in demonic cultivation—a treasure that could house one’s primordial spirit, effectively serving as a second body. Few demonic cultivators ever succeeded in refining one.
Rumors said its creation required collecting the essence blood of hundreds of different spirit beasts and mastering several esoteric demonic arts. Moreover, its exact refinement method was believed lost to time. Yet somehow, the Yin Luo Sect had obtained it, and Elder Qian had succeeded in forging it.
But this also presented an opportunity. If the pearl came close enough, Han Li would trap it with a surge of Divine Devilbane Lightning, then strike with the Three Flames Fan for a decisive blow.
No matter how extraordinary the pearl’s powers, it couldn’t withstand the fan’s might unscathed.
Just as Han Li prepared to counter, the approaching blood streak suddenly halted mid-flight. Crimson flames flared from the pearl, and in a flash, it vanished.
Han Li’s heart clenched as he urgently expanded his divine sense, wary of Elder Qian using a movement technique to ambush him.
But the next moment, he was stunned.
The Blood Demon Pearl, wreathed in flames, reappeared—not near Han Li, but far to one side, right before the Arctic Divine Light barrier.
Elder Qian’s mad laughter echoed from there.
“You really thought me a fool, boy! Fighting two high-level cultivators here would be idiocy. Once outside, I’ll gather reinforcements and give you both a proper welcome!”
Before the words faded, the Blood Demon Pearl plunged into the dense, wave-like silver threads of the Arctic Divine Light.
Despite the barrier’s density, the pearl’s crimson flames melted through effortlessly, rendering the divine light powerless to restrain it.
By the time Han Li reacted, pursuit was impossible. Though surprised, his face betrayed no panic. Instead, he turned expressionlessly toward the Five Linked Demons still battling Gui Ling.
The giant skeleton continued swinging its bone blades with fierce howls, showing no signs of retreat.
Han Li’s eyes flickered. Thunder rumbled behind him as silver wings unfurled. With a flash, he vanished, reappearing near the Arctic Divine Light barrier.
His cold gaze fixed on the direction Elder Qian had fled. He raised a hand, summoning the Three Flames Fan.
After a brief hesitation, he opened his mouth and expelled a sphere of azure light containing a faintly visible object—a fist-sized cauldron. It was none other than the Void Sky Cauldron.
No sooner had Han Li prepared than a thunderous explosion erupted from within the Arctic Divine Light, followed by Elder Qian’s muffled curses.
The divine light rippled violently as a crimson streak and a dazzling silver light shot out in quick succession.
The crimson streak was the Blood Demon Pearl, though its flames had diminished by a third. The silver light was too blinding to discern clearly, but a slender figure seemed to flicker within.
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