Flying to a distance of about a hundred zhang from the dark clouds in the sky, the shop owner suddenly stopped, his expression grave as he opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of vital essence blood.
His fingers swiftly pointed at the blood several times, causing it to transform into several large blood runes that shot toward the five-colored lightning arc.
In a flash, all the blood runes vanished into the five-colored lightning.
With a deafening roar, the lightning caused the dark clouds to completely disperse and vanish amidst the five-colored thunderlight.
The massive five-colored lightning arc twisted and coiled in the air, its ferocious form fully revealed.
Seeing the might of this lightning, the shop owner swallowed hard, gritted his teeth, and spat out several more mouthfuls of vital essence blood, which similarly transformed into blood runes and merged into the five-colored heavenly lightning.
Losing so much vital essence blood at once left the emaciated man’s already pale face completely devoid of color.
However, his near-desperate gamble was not in vain.
After so many blood runes merged into it, the five-colored heavenly lightning finally trembled and calmed down. Not only did its thunderous roar diminish significantly, but the lightning itself also became gentler. Blood threads appeared faintly across the arc, flickering in and out of sight, creating an eerie sight.
Overjoyed, the shop owner muttered incantations and suddenly flapped his wings toward the sky.
With a series of popping sounds, countless blood threads shot out from his wings, piercing through the five-colored lightning arc and intertwining with the blood threads on its surface, enveloping the heavenly lightning entirely.
The shop owner formed hand seals, his body radiating a blinding white light as he sent one spell after another into the air.
With a low hum, the five-colored heavenly lightning curled and shrank within the blood threads, transforming in an instant into a massive lightning sphere about a zhang in diameter.
Its surface was covered in a web of blood threads, with five-colored flames swirling unpredictably.
The emaciated man was ecstatic at the sight.
With a single gesture, the terrifying five-colored lightning sphere obediently descended.
Han Li and the others watched in stunned silence.
The shop owner gave them no chance to ask questions, his figure flickering as he vanished on the spot.
In the next moment, a spatial fluctuation appeared on the ground, and the emaciated man materialized bizarrely beside the thunder beast. He swiftly raised his hands toward the sky, releasing two thick beams of light that shot into the massive lightning sphere hovering only a few dozen zhang above the ground.
The heavenly lightning trembled and remained suspended mid-air.
At such close range, Han Li and the other two could clearly sense the terrifying power contained within the five-colored lightning sphere, their expressions changing drastically.
Fortunately, the lightning sphere was soon halted at a high altitude by the emaciated man’s spellwork, or else the trio might have abandoned everything and fled immediately.
They had no intention of entrusting their lives to another.
The shop owner paid no heed to their thoughts. Once he had control of the five-colored lightning sphere, he suddenly let out a loud shout.
The lightning sphere spun rapidly, its blood threads parting to reveal a small opening. With a low rumble, a thin five-colored lightning arc shot out, striking the thunder beast below.
The moment the five-colored lightning sphere appeared, the thunder beast seemed to realize the dire situation, roaring frantically as it struggled against the black chains binding it, managing to break free partially and rise to its feet. But before it could take another step, the five-colored lightning struck its forehead with a thunderous crack.
The thunder beast collapsed without a sound.
The shop owner was overjoyed, simultaneously urging the five-colored lightning sphere to release arc after arc of lightning while casting spells to make the emerald wooden plaque hovering above the thunder beast emit green threads once more.
This time, with the aid of the five-colored lightning arcs and the trio’s lightning power, the miniature thunder beast’s shadow was once again forcibly pulled from its body, slowly drifting toward the wooden plaque.
Despite the thunder beast’s spirit struggling desperately, most of its lightning power was locked by the five black daggers, and its physical form was suppressed by the five-colored heavenly lightning and the trio’s efforts. Unable to resist, it was gradually drawn toward the emerald plaque.
With a flash of green light, the thunder beast’s spirit was silently wrapped in green threads and absorbed into the plaque.
The emaciated man hurriedly formed hand seals, sending one spell after another densely into the emerald plaque.
In an instant, the plaque flashed with multicolored light, sealing the spirit within.
The man joyfully beckoned, and the plaque transformed into a ball of spiritual light, landing in his palm.
“Haha, it’s finally done!” The shop owner laughed heartily in his ecstasy.
Han Li’s eyes flickered as the thunderous sound in his hands ceased, the golden arcs vanishing.
“What does this mean, Brother Yu? Weren’t you supposed to subdue this beast? Is it already done?” The effeminate youth, having withdrawn his technique, glanced at the motionless thunder beast on the ground and then at the emerald plaque in the shop owner’s hand, frowning.
This was the same question Han Li and the burly man wanted to ask.
“Hehe, once the beast’s spirit is extracted, subduing it is a trivial matter. There’s no need for the three of you to assist further.” The emaciated man carefully stored the plaque in a jade box, laughing heartily, his face beaming with satisfaction.
The trio exchanged glances, sensing something amiss, and remained silent, their expressions wary.
“Rest assured, since you’ve helped me achieve my goal, I won’t go back on my promise of reward. Here you go.” The shop owner chuckled, flicking his sleeve to release a white mist.
The three wooden boxes from earlier shot toward Han Li and the others.
Despite their earlier suspicions, the effeminate youth and the black-armored man were overjoyed at the sight of their coveted items, reaching out eagerly to grab their boxes.
But Han Li’s eyes flashed with blue light as he suddenly spun, a golden-silver robe flying off his body to envelop the incoming box before he leaped backward.
Seeing this, the effeminate youth, who had just grabbed his box, froze momentarily before realizing something was wrong. He tried to throw it away, but it was too late.
The wooden box shimmered with white light, vanishing like sand to reveal a thumb-sized crystal-clear pearl.
“Lightning Attraction Pearl!”
The youth exclaimed, flicking his finger to send the pearl flying.
But with a thunderous crack, the pearl exploded, releasing a blinding white light.
The remaining five-colored lightning sphere in the sky split into three arcs, striking down with lightning speed.
With three deafening booms, the youth and the burly man were engulfed in the intertwined five-colored lightning and white light.
When the light faded, the two collapsed, smoke rising from their bodies, their fates unknown.
As for Han Li, the pearl wrapped in his robe exploded, but the white light was strangely absorbed by the robe before being ejected.
The descending five-colored lightning missed him, striking the ground a zhang away.
The ground shook as the area hit by the lightning silently vanished, leaving a several-zhang-wide hole.
The lightning had pierced through the second floor.
Han Li, having retreated to the hole’s edge, steadied himself and coldly regarded the emaciated man.
“Hmm?” The man’s smile faded, replaced by a hint of surprise before a mocking expression appeared.
Han Li narrowed his eyes and, without warning, flapped his wings, transforming into a blue-white lightning arc that vanished into the void.
Almost simultaneously, two green claws swiped through the space where Han Li had stood, their tips crackling with crimson lightning.
The thunder beast, previously bound by black chains, had somehow moved unnoticed behind Han Li for a sneak attack.
But now, its eyes were pitch-black and full of intelligence, a stark contrast to before.
Seeing the failed attack, the shop owner looked surprised but quickly retreated silently.
At that moment, thunder rumbled above him as Han Li reappeared in a flash of blue-white lightning, flicking his sleeve toward several nearby copper pillars.
Golden light flashed, slicing the pillars into pieces and dismantling the entire restriction.
The shop owner halted, his expression darkening as he glared at Han Li.
Han Li hovered mid-air, arms crossed, silent.
Behind him, thunder rumbled as the thunder beast appeared amidst four-colored lightning, expressionless, flanking the shop owner.
“Whatever your intentions—whether to subdue this thunder beast or just its spirit—give me what I want, and I’ll pretend nothing happened here,” Han Li finally spoke.
“A mere Flying Spirit General dares to negotiate with me?” the emaciated man sneered.
“If you were at full strength, I might not stand a chance. But after exhausting your vital essence, you’re barely at half power. Do you really think an immature spirit beast can stop me?” Han Li replied coolly, brushing his wrist.
A black streak shot out, transforming into a small monkey on the ground.
The monkey beat its chest, rapidly growing into a towering, ferocious giant ghost that glared at the thunder beast.
Simultaneously, Han Li’s body radiated golden light as seventy-two small golden swords materialized around him. Behind him, a three-headed, six-armed golden Dharma Form appeared. In one hand, he held a pitch-black miniature mountain, while five tiny skulls danced around his other, jade-white hand.
His wings fluttered gently—one wreathed in green light, the other shimmering with five colors—as a green Roc and a five-colored Heavenly Phoenix illusion appeared beside the golden Dharma Form.
With all three Dharma Forms manifesting, his aura was overwhelming, nearly blinding in its intensity.
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