The silver-haired woman’s expression changed the moment she saw the demonic creature. With a flash of crystalline light disappearing from her hand, she shouted sharply at Han Li, “It has forcibly pushed its demonic power to the limit. If you don’t lend me this cauldron, none of us will be able to withstand this demon!”
No sooner had Linglong finished speaking than a deafening roar erupted from the mist, followed by a thick, pitch-black beam of light shooting through the air, striking directly at the elderly Daoist Xuanqingzi.
The old Daoist was startled, swiftly swirling his ancient sword into a blur as countless yellow sword qi surged forth, barely managing to block the attack. However, at that very moment, the demonic qi churned violently, and the colossal three-headed demonic shadow suddenly burst forth from the miasma, vanishing again in a flash.
Before Xuanqingzi could react, a silent black flash appeared above him, and the three-headed demonic shadow emerged from the void.
Xuanqingzi, a veteran of countless battles, sensed the demonic presence almost instantly. Without hesitation, he swung his ancient sword backward and twisted his body, transforming into a streak of radiant light as he attempted to flee. The two side heads of the demonic shadow let out a sinister laugh, opening their massive mouths to release two black beams of light. One beam shattered the sword qi from the ancient sword on contact, while the other inexplicably caught up to Xuanqingzi’s fleeing form, effortlessly engulfing it.
The protective light barriers formed by the old Daoist’s Eight Trigrams Mirror and jade pendant dissolved instantly under the black beams, offering no resistance whatsoever.
Panicked, Xuanqingzi frantically swung his ancient sword, surrounding himself with blinding sword light. However, a loud explosion erupted from within the black light, and after a few flashes of yellow radiance, everything vanished without a trace. A single agonized scream from the old Daoist was all that remained before silence fell.
After the black light dissipated, the spot where Xuanqingzi had stood was completely empty, as though both his treasures and his Nascent Soul had been utterly erased from existence.
The others were stunned.
After such a prolonged battle, the old Daoist had remained unscathed, yet now he had been annihilated in an instant. The abruptness of the change was staggering.
As the others gasped in shock, they finally got a clear look at the three-headed demonic creature, sending chills down their spines.
It appeared the demon was indeed the transformed form of the black-armored woman. Now standing thirty to forty feet tall, her central head retained the same beautiful feminine face, while the two side heads were massive, pitch-black wolf heads, each the size of a water vat, exuding sheer terror.
Most of the demon’s body was covered in dark armor, with only small portions of its limbs exposed, covered in fine, elongated black fur. Its six arms were adorned with dark-green scales, and though its hands were empty, its fingers ended in razor-sharp claws gleaming with a sinister black light.
The sheer size of the demon and its ability to obliterate Xuanqingzi in a single strike left the others utterly shaken. However, despite expending significant energy, the two wolf heads seemed unaffected, while the central female head appeared pale, its purple eyes noticeably dimmer.
The two eagle-winged, humanoid demons that had been spewing mist within the demonic qi earlier had vanished without a trace after the three-headed demon’s appearance, likely unable to sustain their forms after the transformation.
Seeing the demon’s weakened state, the Corpse Bear and the middle-aged scholar exchanged glances before launching another coordinated assault without hesitation. Though they didn’t understand how the demon had become so formidable, they refused to be picked off one by one.
In an instant, waves of bloodlight, silver radiance, and crimson light surged forth, encircling the demon and denying it any chance to recover.
After its earlier devastating attack, the three-headed demon seemed incapable of repeating such a feat, resorting to spewing black mist and flailing its six arms in a desperate defense.
“Something’s wrong!” The silver-haired woman, who had been demanding the Void Heaven Cauldron from Han Li, suddenly paled. With a low cry, her figure blurred and vanished, reappearing above the demonic qi-shrouded altar moments later.
Gazing down at the churning miasma, she frowned before plunging into it, protected by a crystalline glow.
Han Li was momentarily stunned.
He had refused her demand so firmly because he wasn’t afraid of Linglong, the Demon Concubine, actually attacking him. Earlier, he had secretly tested and confirmed that he could still sense the artifact spirit through his bonded flying swords. It seemed that even after merging with Silvermoon’s soul, the artifact spirit’s connection to him remained unchanged.
Though her spiritual sense was too powerful for him to control her in any way, she was equally constrained by this bond. Who knew what bizarre consequences might arise if she attacked or killed Han Li? Such a situation, where part of one’s soul became another’s artifact spirit, was likely unheard of.
Now, seeing the silver-haired woman abruptly abandon him, Han Li was puzzled. He glanced at the altar shrouded in black demonic qi, but even with his Brightsight Spirit Eyes, he couldn’t discern anything. Frowning, he observed the three-headed demon struggling to defend itself, then noticed the faint glow from the surrounding stone pillars. The demonic qi around the altar hadn’t increased at all.
A thought struck him, and without hesitation, he rubbed his hands together and flicked his fingers, releasing a series of golden lightning arcs. The arcs shot toward the dozen or so black qi pillars, and upon contact, thunderous explosions erupted. The pillars collapsed instantly, as though they were mere illusions.
Not only Han Li but the others also reacted with shock. Simultaneously, an icy voice rang out from the altar: “Holy Ancestor Yuansha, your true form is indeed here!”
A mocking laugh followed: “Heh, my Heavenly Wheel Demon Transformation Art isn’t bad, is it? This vessel had decent aptitude, worth the effort of sending him into the seal with my secret technique. Pity the infusion of true demonic qi was too brief to fully manifest the Three-Headed Wheel-War Demon form. But clad in my armor and fused with my avatar, his full-power strike was no weaker than a Deity Transformation cultivator’s. If only the armor’s demonic qi weren’t limited—he alone could have wiped you all out.”
Hearing this, Qimiao Zhenren and Guiling, who were besieging the three-headed demon, faltered in their attacks. At that moment, the demon’s body erupted with black light, and its three heads underwent a grotesque transformation.
The central head became that of a horned man with glowing red-purple eyes—clearly the missing giant-headed freak. The two side heads now bore the faces of the eagle-winged demons. Three distinct beings had been forcibly merged into one.
Even seasoned veterans like Qimiao Zhenren were horrified by this sight, their attacks slowing involuntarily.
The transformed demon threw its central head back and let out a piercing shriek, its face twisting with malice. Its black armor expanded, encasing its entire body, including all three heads. With a sweep of its six arms, it summoned two black longswords, two black spears, and two black sabers, one in each hand. With a murderous snarl, it lunged at Qimiao Zhenren and the others.
At the same time, a series of muffled explosions erupted from the distant demonic qi, followed by a chain of violent detonations that shook the entire altar.
“Holy Ancestor Yuansha, what are you doing?!” the silver-haired woman’s furious voice rang out from within the miasma.
“Why wouldn’t I? Destroying this seal is my mission. Without the Spirit Realm’s interference, this world won’t be able to contain the true demonic qi. It’s only a matter of time before it becomes part of our Ancient Demon Realm!” The black-armored woman’s mocking voice faded as the surrounding demonic qi surged toward the altar’s center like iron filings to a magnet.
Within moments, all the demonic qi had vanished, absorbed into a single figure standing atop the altar—the black-armored woman, now devoid of her armor. In her raised hand, she held a black orb the size of a human head, its surface pulsing with dark light. Upon closer inspection, faint five-colored spiritual light flickered within it.
Han Li’s eyes widened in realization. This orb must be connected to the five-colored light stripped from the Spirit Rhinoceros Peacock when Holy Ancestor Yuansha’s true consciousness descended!
Meanwhile, the black-armored woman stood eerily still, demonic qi roiling around her as she chanted incantations, one hand holding the orb and the other forming seals. A faint shadow resembling the earlier demonic statue materialized around her, mirroring her movements.
Linglong hovered gracefully to the side of the altar, her beautiful face twisted with fury as she stared skyward.
Following her gaze, Han Li saw that the Black Wind Banner, which had been locked in a standoff with the Eight Spirit Ruler high above, had undergone a bizarre transformation. The banner, now resembling a colossal black serpent, had condensed into a massive dark sphere the size of a pavilion. Countless black vortices swirled within it, dizzying to behold yet utterly silent.
Even the silver runes descending from the giant lotus vanished into the sphere without a sound, like stones sinking into the sea.
With one large and one small black sphere now hovering ominously above and below, Han Li felt a deep sense of foreboding. Regardless of the black-armored woman’s intentions, the sheer density of demonic and spiritual power within those spheres was terrifying. He couldn’t allow whatever was coming next to unfold.
In an instant, Han Li made his decision. With a mental command, his humanoid puppet raised a hand, and a profound black streak shot toward the enormous wind sphere above.
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