At this moment, the silver lightning finally dissipated completely, revealing before the white light barrier a towering black ghost, standing over ten zhang tall, its body gleaming darkly.
This ghost bore two horns on its head, its body covered in black scales resembling armor, with a pair of massive fleshy wings on its back. Its two arms, seemingly forged from refined iron, were abnormally long, hanging all the way to the ground. When Han Li glanced at its face, even he felt a chill run down his spine, a shiver of fear creeping in.
The ghost’s face was utterly flat, as if it had no features at all. Its enormous body was riddled with wounds, and aside from its two thick arms, almost no part of it remained intact.
Clearly, the two thunder orbs and sword light Han Li had unleashed earlier had been mostly blocked by this ghost. Otherwise, they would have been enough to shatter the barrier protecting the blood sword.
The giant ghost threw its head back and let out a piercing howl. Suddenly, countless strands of black yin energy appeared around it, swirling before plunging into its body.
In the blink of an eye, its mangled body was restored to perfection as the black energy writhed and mended it.
“Heh heh, boy. Try facing the might of this Faceless Ghost King I’ve nurtured for a thousand years. Its powers are no less than my own.” A malicious voice abruptly rang in Han Li’s ears, causing his eyes to flicker.
“A Ghost King?” If one were to observe Han Li closely at this moment, they would notice the corners of his lips quirking slightly, revealing a peculiar expression.
“Be careful, Fellow Daoist Han. The Faceless Ghost King is a notorious entity in the ghost realm, with abilities rivaling a Void Refinement cultivator.” A faint female voice also reached him—it was Ye Chu, still locked in a stalemate with the Long Family’s dual cultivators.
Seeing how swiftly Han Li had dealt with the Black Phoenix Clan’s matron, a glimmer of hope had ignited in her heart.
Almost simultaneously, the Ghost King turned its head toward Han Li. Though it had no eyes, it seemed to sense Han Li’s presence perfectly.
With a low growl, the Faceless Ghost King suddenly raised its two abnormally long arms. The sky above instantly darkened as fierce winds howled, and black yin energy surged, turning the surroundings gloomy. From within the yin energy, countless wails echoed, as if ten thousand ghosts were hidden within.
Beneath the yin energy, the Faceless Ghost King swung its arms toward Han Li’s direction.
The yin energy in the air churned violently, coalescing into an unimaginably large black ghost claw—easily a hundred zhang in size, flickering with blue ghostly flames as it slowly descended toward Han Li.
Han Li felt the air around him tighten, an invisible force inexplicably manifesting, as if attempting to completely immobilize him.
An ordinary cultivator would likely be helpless against such force, forced to await death. But Han Li’s formidable physique rendered such restraints meaningless. With a cold snort, he flicked his hand over his spirit beast bracelet.
With a “whoosh,” a streak of black light shot out, circling once before landing gracefully about a zhang in front of Han Li—a half-foot-tall black-furred monkey, its fur glossy and dark.
It was the Soul Devouring Beast.
The moment the little monkey appeared, its eyes darted around, and it sniffed lightly with its large nose. Its eyes suddenly gleamed, and it thumped its chest with a fist. As black light erupted from its body, its form rapidly expanded. In just a few flashes, it transformed into a thirty-zhang-tall, ferocious giant ape.
Without hesitation, the beast snorted toward the descending ghost claw, and a streak of azure light shot from one of its nostrils, striking the center of the claw’s palm.
An unbelievable scene unfolded.
The moment the azure light touched the claw’s palm, a black hole appeared at the point of contact. Wherever the azure light swept, the rest of the claw disintegrated into inky black yin energy, which was then swiftly absorbed by the light.
In the blink of an eye, the entire ghost claw crumbled and dissolved.
Seeing this, the Faceless Ghost King in the distance wasted no words. It raised a hand and made a grasping motion toward the Soul Devouring Beast.
Five black streaks, like five massive blades, shot toward the giant ape in an instant.
The sound of tearing air had barely registered before the claw streaks reached the ape’s body.
With several “pfft” sounds, the five black streaks vanished into the ape’s body—without any visible effect.
The giant ghost was visibly stunned.
The giant ape, however, paid no heed. With another snort, a second streak of azure light shot from its other nostril.
The two streaks of azure light intertwined in the air, sweeping through the yin energy like an autumn wind clearing fallen leaves. Then, they merged into a single blue-black streak and shot back, swallowed whole by the ape.
A look of satisfaction crossed the Soul Devouring Beast’s face as it turned its gaze toward the distant Ghost King.
Having witnessed its own powers being nullified, the Faceless Ghost King finally snapped out of its shock, letting out a furious growl.
Without any further movement, a layer of ancient battle armor suddenly appeared on its body, wreathed in rolling blue flames. In its hands, a pair of massive bone hammers materialized.
Han Li focused his gaze and saw that these hammers were crafted from the skulls of two enormous demonic ghosts—one wreathed in yellow winds, the other shrouded in black mist, their exact nature unclear.
The Soul Devouring Beast, however, ignored this entirely. Blinking its eyes, it shot two more streaks of azure light from its nostrils, aiming straight for the ghost.
With two “booms,” the Faceless Ghost King swung its hammers, releasing waves of black light that fearlessly dispersed the azure streaks.
The Soul Devouring Beast’s soul-snaring light had failed against this ghostly entity.
Han Li’s expression darkened slightly at the sight.
The Soul Devouring Beast, now serious, let out a low growl from its throat. A chilling wind rose around it, and countless bolts of lightning crackled into existence.
The giant ape’s body expanded once more, its fur turning crimson. Three curved horns slowly emerged from its skull, while a bulge formed between its brows, splitting open to reveal a single blood-red demonic eye. Its face elongated, fangs bared, and three zhang-long black bone spikes sprouted from its back, wreathed in sinister black energy.
The Soul Devouring Beast had undergone an advanced transformation, becoming a monstrous demon itself—its yin energy now seemingly surpassing even that of the Faceless Ghost King. The moment its third eye opened, a thunderous boom echoed as a blood-red arc of lightning, thick as a bowl’s mouth, shot forth.
The lightning, crimson as blood, reached the Faceless Ghost King in an instant.
An unbelievable scene unfolded!
Upon seeing the blood-red lightning, the Faceless Ghost King let out a terrified shriek. It slammed its hammers together and frantically retreated, as if attempting to flee.
Two muffled “pffts” sounded as the bone hammers disintegrated into wisps of smoke upon contact with the blood-red arc, as if encountering their natural bane.
Unimpeded, the blood-red lightning struck the Ghost King’s blue-flame armor with a thunderous crack.
Like the hammers, the armor offered no resistance, dissolving instantly. The lightning pierced through the Ghost King’s chest, then coiled around its body like a serpent, tightening relentlessly before yanking it backward.
The giant ghost let out a blood-curdling scream as it was dragged through the air, shrinking rapidly under the lightning’s grip until it hovered before a gaping maw.
In a flash of red light, the Soul Devouring Beast swallowed it whole.
With ease, the Soul Devouring Beast had devoured the so-called Faceless Ghost King single-handedly.
This time, the Long Family’s dual cultivators, Ye Chu, and the white-robed woman were all left dumbstruck.
This was no ordinary ghost—it was a Ghost King comparable to a Void Refinement cultivator! How could it be vanquished in a single strike, as if made of paper? What kind of spirit beast was this monkey, capable of such transformations? And what kind of heaven-defying power did that blood-red lightning possess?
These thoughts raced through their minds.
But before they could recover from their shock, Han Li’s figure blurred as he teleported directly above the white light barrier.
With a flick of his sleeve, seventy-two streaks of golden light surged forth, converging into a single ten-zhang-long golden greatsword.
The sword flashed once before slashing down onto the light barrier.
With a crisp “snap,” golden and white lights clashed, leaving a thin white line on the barrier’s surface.
“No!” The Long Family’s dual cultivators, clearly unprepared for the sharpness of Han Li’s sword, cried out in unison.
The barrier trembled before shattering along the line, collapsing entirely.
Relying on his sword’s might, Han Li had indeed cleaved through the already weakened white barrier in a single stroke.
The Blood Crystal Maha Sword now lay completely exposed before him.
Without hesitation, Han Li activated his sword art. The golden greatsword vanished, only to reappear an instant later, slashing down onto the blood sword’s blade.
A sharp “clang” rang out as blinding golden and red lights erupted. The golden sword recoiled, repelled by some force.
Han Li frowned at this.
He flicked his sleeve again, sending several silver thunder orbs shooting forth.
The blood sword merely shuddered under the silver arcs, remaining unharmed.
“Hahaha, give it up, boy. The Blood Crystal Maha Sword is a treasure listed on the Chaos Myriad Spirit Ranking. Do you really think you can destroy it with your meager skills?” One of the Long Family cultivators, now regaining composure, sneered.
Han Li’s eyes narrowed as he studied the blood sword intently. Suddenly, he pointed at the golden greatsword in the air.
A resonant hum echoed as the sword trembled, splitting back into seventy-two smaller golden swords under a burst of golden light.
These swords then emitted a chorus of hums before multiplying into hundreds of golden sword beams, each about a foot long, swirling through the air.
Han Li began chanting under his breath, his fingers weaving intricate seals as he sent wave after wave of spell incantations outward.
All the swords trembled before scattering across the sky, shooting off in all directions.
In a series of eerie flashes, the golden sword beams vanished one by one, as if they had never existed.
Han Li had just deployed the Great Geng Sword Formation around the blood sword, intending to use the formation’s overwhelming power to force Long Dong’s soul out—or even destroy the spirit treasure outright.
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