“That depends on how Fellow Daoist Hu intends to act. If it’s just an ordinary strike, there’s naturally no issue in withstanding it. But if he’s willing to sacrifice lifespan or even plans to use that treasure of his, Junior Brother Han might not escape unscathed. However, Fellow Daoist Hu likely wouldn’t resort to such mutually destructive measures.” Xiang Zhili frowned slightly as he spoke slowly.
“Brother Xiang makes a valid point. But you may not be aware—Old Devil Hu recently acquired a peculiar treasure, said to rival the power of a spiritual treasure. What’s more, this treasure can be easily wielded after being refined with a special secret technique beforehand. With just a slight infusion of his own magic power, its might becomes unimaginable. I’d wager he’s nine out of ten likely to use it.” The Wind Freak chuckled darkly.
“Such a thing exists?” Xiang Zhili’s expression shifted slightly, visibly moved.
As the two murmured among themselves, the two figures in the air finally took action.
The wooden-crowned elder flicked his sleeve, sending forth a streak of emerald light that circled once before transforming into an object hovering before him.
It was an ancient-looking scroll, shimmering with an eerie green glow, exuding an air of profound mystery.
The old devil cast a cold glance at Han Li across from him, then suddenly formed hand seals and began chanting incantations.
Amid the murmurs of the spell, the scroll slowly unfurled. A green radiance flickered across its surface, faintly revealing over a dozen miniature verdant mountains of varying sizes—it was a breathtaking landscape painting.
But before anyone could clearly discern its contents, a green mist surged from the scroll, swiftly engulfing it entirely.
From within the mist came a series of strange cries, followed by eighteen emerald pillars of light shooting skyward.
An astonishing sight unfolded!
The pillars of light condensed high above, each revealing a miniature mountain roughly ten feet tall, all lushly green and brimming with spiritual energy. The cries emanated from these very mountains.
“This is…”
At this bizarre sight, Han Li’s expression, previously somewhat indifferent, turned grave. Without hesitation, he flipped his hands.
Two treasures he had been holding—a green wooden ruler and a small azure cauldron—materialized in his grasp.
With one hand, he tossed the ruler forward. A lotus shadow bloomed, rapidly expanding into a colossal silver lotus shielding him, the ruler spinning slowly at its heart, radiating dazzling green light.
Simultaneously, Han Li flicked the small azure cauldron lightly. A clear chime rang out as its lid flew open, releasing a burst of fine azure threads.
Amid a spread of azure light, the threads wove into a vast net over ten zhang wide, descending from above to envelop Han Li protectively.
The Void Sky Cauldron itself shrank to a few feet in size, hovering above his head.
Then, with another hand seal, golden light flashed over Han Li’s body, forming a tight-fitting golden barrier—the Diamond Shield, manifested from Buddhist relics.
Having erected three formidable layers of defense in one breath, Han Li felt a momentary relief.
Opposite him, Old Devil Hu observed this display and remarked coolly, “Since you’ve prepared yourself, this old man shall make his move.”
With those words, the old devil let out a low shout, forming hand seals as a jet-black beam shot from his mouth, vanishing into the green mist.
He was channeling his spiritual power into the mist-shrouded scroll.
A dull boom echoed as the green mist churned violently. Eighteen black pillars of light surged upward, each merging into one of the floating miniature mountains.
Instantly, the mountains blazed with emerald brilliance, swelling rapidly. Within moments, they transformed into towering behemoths, each fifty to sixty zhang tall—eighteen genuine peaks. The cries from within grew clearer, revealing glimpses of foot-long gray apes lurking among the crags, hinting at further mysteries.
Witnessing this, the gathered cultivators below gasped in awe, and even Violet Spirit couldn’t suppress her concern.
“Go!”
A shadow of black energy flickered across the old devil’s face as he made a grasping motion, as though lifting something immensely heavy. One of the mountains trembled before hurtling toward Han Li. With several more deliberate grasps, seven or eight mountains roared through the air, aligned in a row, crashing toward Han Li’s position.
Even a single such colossal mass would be impossible for an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator to withstand, let alone seven or eight.
Though over a dozen mountains remained, Old Devil Hu exhaled deeply, his eyes dimming slightly as he ceased his actions. Whether out of caution, believing these peaks sufficient to teach Han Li a lesson, or due to the immense strain of wielding them, he chose not to press further.
Han Li was momentarily stunned.
Though he had anticipated an extraordinary attack given the terms, he hadn’t expected the old devil to hurl entire mountains at him.
Even disregarding any mystical properties these peaks might possess, the sheer force alone—despite his spiritual treasures—would be unbearable after a few strikes. Had there been no prior agreement, he could have easily evaded with movement techniques. But now, he had no choice but to stand his ground.
A bitter taste filled Han Li’s mouth, but his mind raced. Suddenly, he slapped his waist.
A streak of black light shot out, circling once before revealing a small, ink-black monkey a few inches tall—the Soul-Snatching Beast!
From his other sleeve, a small black vial flew out.
With an inverted tilt, five humanoid skeletons emerged amid a surge of gray-white demonic energy—the Five Devils of Mutual Destruction.
Han Li swiftly formed hand seals while mentally urging his spiritual beasts.
The small monkey’s body swelled with black radiance, expanding explosively into a thirty-zhang-tall titanic ape. It pounded its chest with massive fists, unleashing a thunderous roar that shook the skies. Then, with a snort, a vast yellow mist erupted from its nostrils, coalescing into a gigantic, hazy trident.
The ape seized the weapon, resembling a celestial demon descending upon the world.
Meanwhile, the five skeletons merged amid swirling demonic energy, forming a colossal skeletal figure wielding two massive, phosphorescent bone blades.
The two behemoths—one demonic, one bestial—took positions flanking Han Li.
Almost instantly, the first mountain came crashing down.
Before Han Li could act, the skeleton and the ape struck simultaneously.
The ape inhaled deeply, raising its trident to block the sky, while the skeleton crossed its bone blades in a fierce upward slash.
Two earth-shaking booms erupted as spiritual lights clashed. The ape and skeleton staggered under the weight, but their combined strikes slowed the mountain’s descent, halting it mid-air.
Han Li, who had just retrieved a three-colored feather fan, showed no relief.
More deafening impacts followed as additional mountains piled onto the first, their combined weight proving unbearable. By the third strike, the ape trembled violently, the demonic pattern on its back dimming as its trident shattered into fragments.
Simultaneously, the ape’s body shrank abruptly within a black glow, dwindling to a mere ten feet tall.
Without the ape’s support, the skeleton faltered. At the fourth impact, its bone blades snapped, and four mountains mercilessly crushed down, engulfing the skeletal figure in darkness.
Even the usually ferocious giant skeleton showed a flicker of fear in its eyes.
Han Li’s heart clenched as he prepared to strike upward with the Three Flames Fan.
But then, something astonishing occurred.
With a muffled thud, the skeleton formed by the five devils roared, spewing a torrent of five-colored flames from its mouth, striking the base of the lowest emerald peak.
The explosion of multicolored radiance slowed the mountain’s descent tenfold.
Yet the following peaks, unaffected, continued their relentless fall. A cataclysmic collision ensued as the four mountains crashed into one another mid-air, erupting into a sun-like burst of emerald brilliance.
Beneath the radiance, the five-colored flames churned, seemingly supporting the emerald light.
The contrast was breathtakingly vivid.
Han Li gaped in disbelief. Though he knew the merged five-colored flames possessed peculiar abilities, he hadn’t expected them to counter such massive objects.
From afar, Old Devil Hu’s expression darkened. With a mental command, two of the remaining four mountains paused before plunging into the emerald radiance.
Another deafening explosion followed, space warping as the emerald light pressed down with renewed force.
The five-colored flames wavered violently before dispersing into fragments.
But Han Li had already acted. The giant skeleton dissolved into five streaks of white vapor, fleeing in all directions. Meanwhile, a phoenix’s cry rang out as a three-colored firebird erupted from the Three Flames Fan, colliding with the descending emerald light.
A massive halo of light exploded, the three-colored flames briefly halting the emerald radiance’s fall. Yet, the flames soon faltered, yielding once more.
Han Li’s eyes flashed as he pointed at the azure cauldron above him.
The protective net of azure threads transformed into a cloud of green spiritual energy, surging upward to reinforce the three-colored flames.
Temporarily, the emerald light was held at bay.
But as the final two mountains descended, the emerald radiance began its inexorable advance once more.
Han Li took a deep breath, sweeping his sleeve toward the silver lotus before him.
The colossal lotus vanished, only to reappear above his head amid a seven-colored Buddhist glow, the green ruler at its core spinning rapidly as the lotus expanded anew.
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