Chapter 1110: Containing the Flame

Watching Han Li retract the green ruler and land lightly before him, the Spirit Infant revealed a venomous expression.

Its gaze was icy as it stared at Han Li, lips tightly sealed.

Clearly, the Grand Elder of the Small Extreme Palace understood that since the conflict had escalated to this point, any plea for mercy would only invite humiliation.

Perhaps his only regret was not using a secret technique to self-destruct his Spirit Infant before Han Li’s restraints took hold.

Now that he was completely immobilized, even the thought of self-destruction was impossible.

Han Li looked at the restrained Spirit Infant of Frost Li the Transcendent, smiling faintly without a word. With a flick of his sleeve, a small emerald bottle shot out, arriving above the Spirit Infant in a flash.

Han Li tapped the bottle lightly.

The mouth of the bottle inverted, swirling with white light, and a radiant mist surged forth, enveloping the Spirit Infant and drawing it inside.

Then, Han Li gestured toward the distant Qianlan Cauldron.

The wisp of Lunar True Fire immediately wrapped around the cauldron and shot toward him, disappearing into his sleeve in an instant.

Han Li then stored the green bottle and descended as a streak of azure light.

Moments later, the azure glow flickered, and Han Li reappeared above the rubble. His gaze swept the area, and his brow furrowed slightly.

Bai Mengxin, who had been trapped in the silver barrier, now lay motionless at the edge of the rubble, her abdomen pierced by a gaping hole, blood pooling beneath her. She was already a corpse.

Her essence, blood, and spiritual energy had been completely drained, clearly indicating her Spirit Infant had fled.

Looking upward, the puppet stood motionless beside the Kirin phantom, as if it had not moved an inch since Han Li left. However, the Yuan Gang Shield and the Demon Marrow Flying Dagger floated before it, shimmering faintly.

About fifty zhang away, five humanoid skeletons swayed side by side, the once-overwhelming gray-white demonic energy now completely dissipated. One skeleton clutched a pale cyan storage pouch, while another toyed with a small, flickering black flame.

Han Li’s frown eased as his divine sense connected with the puppet’s split consciousness, instantly understanding the situation.

Bai Mengxin, witnessing Han Li destroy Frost Li the Transcendent’s body and pursue his Spirit Infant, had panicked. She detonated several ancient treasures to break free from the Yuan Gang Shield’s barrier, attempting to escape.

But the puppet, under Han Li’s orders, ensured no one escaped. It drove the Demon Marrow Flying Dagger through her abdomen, destroying her body. When her Spirit Infant emerged, the puppet shattered it with a Thunderfire Bow and a Golden Lightning Wood Arrow, erasing her from existence.

As for the blue-robed middle-aged man, he had succumbed to the Five Demons’ assault, his body, Spirit Infant, and treasures all devoured, leaving only his storage pouch and a remnant of the Extreme Cold Flame.

Understanding the situation, Han Li exhaled softly and beckoned the Five Demons. The storage pouch and the black flame floated toward him, landing in his hands.

He casually stored the pouch but examined the black flame with interest. After a brief hesitation, he compressed it into a fist-sized golden sphere.

Taking out an ice-cold jade box, he placed the sphere inside and stored it away.

His gaze then fell on Bai Mengxin’s corpse. After a moment’s thought, he flicked his sleeve, releasing a crimson fireball.

With a *puff*, the corpse was engulfed in flames. But soon, a white flame emerged from the body, extinguishing the fire before condensing into a blazing white orb, attempting to re-enter the corpse.

This was the Phoenix Ice Flame Bai Mengxin had cultivated. With her spirit extinguished, the residual flame sought to return to her body.

But Han Li was prepared. He clenched his fingers and made a grasping motion.

A large hand formed of Purple Apex Flame materialized above the white flame, snatching it up and pulling it back.

At the same time, Han Li retrieved the storage pouch from the corpse.

He treated the Phoenix Ice Flame the same way—sealing it with Evil-Warding Divine Lightning and storing it in an ice jade box.

Though much of the flame had dissipated with its master’s death, the remnants were its essence. Absorbing them into his Purple Apex Flame would undoubtedly enhance its power, but now was not the time for experiments.

Finally, Han Li examined Frost Li the Transcendent’s remains. To his surprise, the pair of Golden Wind Foxes he had been wary of were missing from the spirit beast pouch.

Puzzled but unconcerned, he stored the storage pouch without further thought.

With everything settled, Han Li turned his attention to the Kirin phantom and the Mystic Jade Token in the sky, his expression solemn.

Though the phantom was lifeless, it contained astonishing spiritual energy. Strangely, it seemed both condensed from extreme cold and formed of pure spiritual power—he couldn’t discern its true nature.

After a brief hesitation, he raised a finger, golden light flickering at its tip as he prepared to test the phantom with a sword aura.

But suddenly, a crimson flame shot from his sleeve, merging into the Kirin phantom. It transformed into a fire crow—the Lunar True Fire’s manifestation.

Watching the fire crow absorb the white mist composing the phantom, Han Li lowered his arm. After a moment’s thought, he turned away, leaving the fire crow to its task, and focused on a distant five-colored barrier.

Within the barrier, the sounds of battle had weakened but not ceased—the gray-robed monk and the old woman were still locked in combat.

Evidently, the barrier had shielded them from the outside battle’s conclusion. They had no idea Han Li, at mid-Spirit Infant stage, had slain a Great Cultivator and two peers in mere moments.

Han Li’s body glowed with azure light as he shot toward the barrier, arriving above it in an instant.

After a brief inspection, he smirked. With a thought, the puppet and the five skeletons floated over, landing behind him.

Then, Han Li flicked his sleeve, releasing thirty-six golden flying swords. They circled above him before splitting into hundreds of identical sword auras, scattering around the barrier.

To his surprise, the sword auras vanished one by one, disappearing without a trace.

He had deployed the Great Geng Sword Formation, enveloping the area under its control.

Finally, Han Li raised a hand, sending out a yellow light that transformed into a demon-subduing staff, glowing faintly.

Expressionless, he closed his eyes, formed a hand seal, and began chanting.

The staff trembled, swelling rapidly under blinding yellow light until it became a colossal object over ten zhang long and as thick as a vat.

Han Li ceased his chant and opened his eyes calmly.

He examined the massive staff, then rubbed his hands together, producing a small orb of seven-colored Buddhist light. He flicked it toward the staff, which now radiated both yellow and rainbow light, emitting a deep, solemn hum.

“Go!” Han Li commanded, pointing at the staff.

The colossal staff descended with crushing force onto the barrier below.

A deafening explosion shook the underground cavern as the five-colored barrier shattered under the staff’s might.

Han Li peered inside, his expression shifting from shock to amusement.

“How unexpected. The two of you were merely acting? Would you mind if I joined in? Otherwise, without opponents, wouldn’t it be a waste?” Han Li remarked coolly, his tone indifferent.

Inside the barrier, the gray-robed monk and the old woman sat cross-legged on boulders just ten zhang apart, eyes closed in meditation.

Between them floated a peculiar, mouse-like spirit beast, its belly expanding and contracting rhythmically, producing thunderous explosions that mimicked a fierce battle between powerful cultivators.

The two had never fought—they had been using the beast’s sounds to deceive those outside the barrier all along.