Chapter 1162: Golden Flower, Ghost Dove

“So, does Your Excellency also wish to partake?” Han Li smiled faintly, speaking unhurriedly.

“Among the renowned cultivators of the Chaotic Star Seas, even if I don’t know them all, I’m at least familiar with most by name and appearance. Yet, I’ve never heard of someone like you. Hmm—wait, no! You seem somewhat familiar!” The bald giant initially replied coldly, but after scrutinizing Han Li more closely, his brows furrowed, and he muttered with a mix of suspicion and surprise.

Upon hearing this, Han Li’s pupils abruptly contracted, his eyes flashing with a blade-like chill.

“Since you’ve said as much, I’ll yield the cave of Barbarian Beard to you. Let’s go!”

After a moment of visibly conflicted deliberation, the giant suddenly seemed to recall something, his expression shifting slightly before he abruptly voiced words of retreat.

The three bewitching women present were stunned, their jaws nearly dropping in disbelief.

Golden radiance flared around the bald giant as he unceremoniously swept up the bewitching woman beside him and attempted to take flight on a streak of light.

But at that very moment, Han Li raised his hand without warning, unleashing a green sword beam that vanished in a flash before slashing down fiercely at the giant’s head.

Naturally, this left the so-called Golden Flower Venerable no chance to escape. With a furious roar, he once again summoned his golden shield, transforming it into a golden mist to shield himself.

A thunderous *boom* erupted as a burst of golden light exploded mid-air, its brilliance so blinding that the old man and the others instinctively shut their eyes, retreating in fear, unable to bear the sight.

When the light dissipated, the Golden Flower Venerable staggered slightly below, his golden shield now somewhat damaged but still intact—both he and the bewitching woman behind him unharmed.

He had actually blocked Han Li’s strike.

“What is the meaning of this, fellow Daoist? I’ve already yielded this place to you—why attack me?” the Golden Flower Venerable growled, his face twisted with rage.

“Meaning? Since you’ve recognized me, did you really think I’d let you leave?” Han Li’s lips curled slightly as he let out a cold laugh.

With murderous intent surging, Han Li wasted no more words. Slapping his storage pouch, a demon-subduing staff shot out, vanishing mid-air before reappearing eerily above the giant’s head. Han Li formed hand seals and chanted incantations, causing the staff to glow with yellow light, swelling to over a hundred feet in size before crashing down with immense force.

It was as if a small mountain were descending. Even before it landed, the surrounding space warped, and a deafening hum filled the air.

Now with vastly enhanced cultivation, Han Li wielded the treasures of the Kunwu Three Elders with far greater power than before.

The Golden Flower Venerable below paled in shock and fury.

Only now did he realize that his opponent was a ruthless man who would kill on mere suspicion, unwilling to hear any explanation. Worse, the might of Han Li’s treasure far exceeded his expectations—his already damaged golden shield would never withstand this blow.

In desperation, the giant didn’t summon another treasure. Instead, he flipped his hand, producing a golden talisman.

With a wave and a few strange incantations, his body spun rapidly, erupting in a dazzling golden mist.

The demon-subduing staff struck with a *thud*, shattering the golden mist into countless fist-sized golden flowers that engulfed both the giant and the bewitching woman.

Amid the clash of yellow and golden light, an earth-shaking explosion resounded. When the light faded, only a massive crater remained—the giant and the woman had vanished without a trace.

Han Li frowned momentarily before coldly sweeping his divine sense outward.

Suddenly, he slashed backward with a single hand, unleashing a massive sword beam toward an empty patch of void.

A muffled *bang* echoed as golden flowers materialized out of thin air. The bald giant, clutching the bewitching woman, emerged from the void, the golden flowers around him trembling as they deflected the sword beam.

Han Li’s brows arched in surprise as he studied the golden flowers closely.

Thanks to his cultivation of the Green Origin Sword Art, his power far surpassed that of ordinary late-Nascent Soul cultivators. Even a casual strike from him was formidable. Yet, the Golden Flower Venerable had blocked it effortlessly with just a talisman—this was unusual.

“Impossible! How could you detect my location? Even mid-Nascent Soul cultivators shouldn’t possess such abilities!” The giant was even more shocked, his face a mask of disbelief.

“Hmph. That talisman is interesting, but thinking you can escape under my watch is delusional,” Han Li said flatly, summoning the demon-subduing staff back to his hand before hurling it at the Golden Flower Venerable once more.

The giant’s face twisted with ferocity. Waving the golden talisman again, he transformed into golden flowers to evade, reappearing elsewhere in the sky. He then flung the bewitching woman aside, his expression turning savage as he roared, “Han Li! I’ve yielded step by step, but do you truly think that just because you possess the Void Heaven Cauldron, you can dominate me? Today, I’ll fight you to the death!”

With that, he slapped his waist, releasing a plume of black smoke from a spirit beast pouch. The smoke writhed before coalescing into a monstrous bird over ten feet tall, wreathed in dark energy, with emerald eyes and a grotesque red crest. The bird screeched hideously, glaring at Han Li with malicious intelligence.

“A Ghost Vulture? So you’ve tamed such a fiendish creature?” Han Li remarked with mild curiosity, though his expression remained unperturbed.

He tapped his own waist, and with a simian cry, a streak of black light shot out, circling once before revealing a small black-furred monkey crouching in mid-air—the Soul Devouring Beast.

The beast wobbled to its feet, seemingly disoriented, but after sniffing the air, its eyes lit up at the sight of the Ghost Vulture. Its face even broke into a grin.

Black light flashed as the beast’s body swelled violently, transforming into a towering black ape, thirty feet tall, with jagged fangs and chilling eyes. The ape beat its chest with massive fists before unleashing a deafening roar that shook the heavens, like a demon god descending upon the world.

The Golden Flower Venerable gasped in horror.

Meanwhile, the once-ferocious Ghost Vulture trembled under the ape’s roar, its eyes filled with terror as it circled above the giant, unwilling to attack.

Han Li flicked his sleeve, sending two golden flying swords streaking out, each elongating into ten-foot-long beams that crisscrossed toward the giant. Simultaneously, the demon-subduing staff shot silently toward the giant once more.

The Golden Flower Venerable’s heart sank, but he gritted his teeth and spat out a small golden bell. From his storage pouch, two emerald streaks shot forth, materializing into two jade hooks.

With a flash of green light, one of the hooks sliced through the giant’s fingers, severing two without a drop of blood. The giant chanted an incantation, and the severed fingers transformed into streaks of blood light that shot toward the Ghost Vulture.

The bird screeched, swallowing the blood light whole.

Instantly, its body swelled to twice its size, its green eyes turning blood-red as it lost all fear of the Soul Devouring Beast. With a flap of its wings, it spewed black mist and lunged at the giant ape.

The two jade hooks clashed with the golden swords, while the golden bell emitted a crisp chime, sending a wave of golden sound to intercept the enlarged demon-subduing staff.

The Golden Flower Venerable exhaled slightly in relief—until he noticed the mocking smirk on Han Li’s face.

The Ghost Vulture, now above the ape, spat two streams of black mist downward. The ape snorted, releasing a deep yellow mist that enveloped the bird in an instant.

After a violent churn of light, the Ghost Vulture let out a final shriek before dissolving into black smoke, which the ape promptly inhaled.

The giant’s face drained of color.

Though he’d suspected the Ghost Vulture might not match the ape, he never imagined it would be devoured in a single move. This creature had been painstakingly nurtured using a rare ghost cultivation technique—its ghostly eyes could suppress spirits, and its soul-snatching abilities were lethal to ordinary cultivators.

The loss was devastating.

Before he could recover, the two jade hooks shattered under the golden swords’ assault, reduced to nothing in moments. Freed, the golden swords let out clear cries as they streaked toward him.

Panicked, the giant reached for another treasure—only to hear a solemn chant from above.

He looked up in horror, his face turning ashen.

The demon-subduing staff, now radiating seven-colored Buddhist light, had grown impossibly heavy. The golden sound waves that had barely held it back now faltered, allowing the staff to descend slowly, now mere yards from his head.

“No!” the giant cried, instinctively waving the golden talisman again to vanish in a burst of golden flowers.

But this time, Han Li was ready. Silver light flashed behind him as his Wind Thunder Wings unfurled. With a thunderclap, he vanished almost simultaneously with the giant.