Upon seeing the massive blade descending upon him, the blood-robed man’s expression changed drastically. A surge of bloody light erupted from his body as he prepared to unleash some divine ability.
But at that very moment, the five giant blades twisted outward abruptly and vanished without a trace.
In the next instant, the five blades reappeared like five massive gates at the edge of the blood cloud. With a flash of eerie radiance, five curtains of light cascaded forth like a torrential galaxy.
Amidst the chilling gleam, the blood cloud was instantly shredded into scattered wisps, utterly unable to resist.
A flicker of fear crossed the blood-robed man’s face. Abandoning any thought of further secret techniques, he frantically shook his sleeves and opened his mouth wide.
A small azure shield, a sheet of blood-red gauze, and a round alms bowl shot out from his body simultaneously.
The three treasures radiated dazzling brilliance, their aura astonishing—clearly extraordinary artifacts.
Once released, they transformed into three layers of differently colored barriers, encasing the blood-robed man within.
Not stopping there, the man took a deep breath and spat out several globs of essence blood. With a swift motion, a purple talisman flashed and vanished into the blood mass.
With a *bang*, the blood mass exploded, transforming into a crimson mist that enveloped him.
A suit of purple armor materialized on his body. Exquisitely crafted, its surface crackled with lightning, as if it were no mortal artifact.
By then, the chilling light had already cleaved through all the blood mist and reached the blood-robed man.
Several crisp *clangs* later, the light curtains swept past, slicing through the three layers of defense as if they were paper, landing heavily on the man himself.
With a *boom*, the purple armor flared with radiant light, momentarily halting the surrounding cold gleam.
But it was only a brief pause!
In the next instant, the five streams of cold light swirled around the armor like a whirlpool, accompanied by faint dragon roars.
With a *pfft*, the purple armor was cleanly severed at the waist.
Despite his myriad divine abilities, the blood-robed man had no means to counter this seemingly indestructible cold light.
The purple armor had been his strongest defensive technique.
A flash of despair crossed his eyes as he unleashed hundreds of talismans and over a dozen magical artifacts of various forms. But with a series of explosions, all were shredded into dust by the cold light.
A final scream later, the blood-robed man was engulfed by the five streams of cold light, his primordial spirit utterly annihilated.
Witnessing this from afar, the blood-armored puppet’s eyes gleamed coldly. “The Five Dragon Guillotine’s greatest power lies in its unparalleled sharpness. To think he tried to block it with mere treasures—truly seeking death,” he muttered. With a single hand, he reached into the void.
The five giant blades in the distance hummed before transforming into five flood dragon phantoms that shot back toward him.
The five dragon phantoms converged above the puppet’s head, glowing brilliantly before reforming into the silver guillotine, which descended into his grasp.
A flicker of joy crossed the puppet’s eyes as he reached to take it, but suddenly his gaze dimmed, and his body swayed, nearly toppling from the sky.
Fortunately, a flash of spiritual light steadied him. Yet, his eyes betrayed a trace of helplessness as he sighed and grasped the hovering silver guillotine.
Running a hand over its gleaming surface, a resonant hum arose.
“Though this treasure’s power is immense, the toll it takes on divine sense is extraordinary. Next time, I must end battles swiftly,” the puppet mused aloud.
Just then, a dark wind surged from the horizon, carrying an oppressive black cloud.
In moments, the cloud, now covering most of the sky, loomed before the blood-armored puppet.
Several high-ranking demonic beings descended on gusts of yin wind, standing before the puppet with reverence.
“Have you completed the task I assigned?” the puppet asked, stowing the guillotine into his sleeve with a flick.
“Rest assured, my lord. Everything is prepared. Once you enter, the formation will seal the area entirely. Even if any outsiders escape your grasp, they will be trapped long enough,” a zombie-like high-ranking ghost replied cautiously.
“Half of you follow me in; the other half, begin the formation. Those fools may have lured away one Nether Lightning Beast, but they never imagined the guardian of the Divine Milk is not one, but a mated pair,” the puppet sneered, glancing at the dark clouds above.
“Though the Nether Lightning Beasts were left by your clan’s elders, without the summoning token, they may attack us as well,” the ghost, evidently intelligent, voiced hesitantly.
“Fear not. Those who went ahead will draw the beasts’ ire first. We need only follow stealthily and strike from the shadows. With the Five Dragon Guillotine, I had but half a chance against them. Now, with the beasts aiding us, their survival would be a miracle. As for the other beast, let it be lured away. Without this, they would never have entered their own grave. Defeating them outside would be easy, but annihilating them entirely? Nearly impossible,” the puppet chuckled darkly.
The other ghosts fell silent.
“Don’t neglect the beast that gave chase. Have someone follow discreetly. If the prey is devoured too soon or the beast returns unexpectedly, alert me with a Ten-Thousand-Mile Talisman,” the puppet added.
“Worry not, my lord. We’ve sent Bai Gui, our most adept in stealth and evasion, to trail it. Nothing will be overlooked,” the high-ranking ghost assured.
“Bai Gui? The one who lost only an arm against the strongest outsider?” The puppet seemed surprised.
“Indeed, it is she.”
“Good. With her, there should be no issue. Let us move. The outsiders must have entered the underground palace beneath the Divine Pool by now,” the puppet commanded with a nod.
The ghosts bowed solemnly.
Three of them followed the puppet into the blue passage, while the remaining two let out a piercing howl. From the surrounding black clouds, countless skeletal shadows surged forth, accompanied by ghostly wails.
—
Han Li flicked a hand, sending seven or eight golden arcs crackling backward toward a flickering silver mass a hundred zhang behind him—the Nether Lightning Beast that had pursued him for countless miles.
Rather than anger, the beast showed excitement at the incoming arcs. Opening its maw, it spewed forth a silver mist that engulfed the divine thunderbolts before sucking them back in.
Licking its lips, low rumbles echoed from its belly as it savored the feast.
Seizing the moment, Han Li flapped his wings and vanished as a crystalline thread, reappearing hundreds of zhang away, widening the gap momentarily.
Unfazed, the beast let out a growl, its limbs crackling with silver lightning as it gave chase.
Han Li didn’t need to look back to know its movements—this dance had repeated endlessly along their flight.
The beast’s speed slightly outpaced his own, and no matter how far he pulled ahead, it would close the gap within minutes, then launch relentless attacks from afar.
Initially, it spat silver lightning arcs of terrifying power, but Han Li, shielded by his divine thunder and lightning robe, shrugged them off effortlessly.
Switching tactics, the beast unleashed claw projections—small at first, but swelling to monstrous sizes mid-flight, their suction warping the air, leaving no escape.
Were it not for his Wind Lightning Wings merging both elements for bursts of speed, a single strike would have crippled him.
Even so, he barely dodged, once grazing a claw and suffering cracked armor, a shattered robe, and minor internal injuries.
Only the white-haired beauty’s Qiankun Banner, summoning a massive Taiji diagram to absorb the impact, saved him.
Now, he dared not let the beast near, instead delaying it with sporadic divine thunder.
The beast, content to feast on the thunder, seemed in no hurry to kill, merely dogging him relentlessly.
Half an hour later, they had left the gray mountains far behind.
Only Han Li’s profound mana reserves, mastery of evasion, and ample divine thunder kept him alive. Any other Nascent Soul or even Void Refining cultivator would have been devoured long ago.
No wonder the Six-Footed group deemed his role as bait a death sentence.
Having expended much divine thunder breaking the Nether River’s restrictions, they assumed he couldn’t last without it.
While monitoring the beast, Han Li calculated the others must have breached the barrier by now, freeing him to plot his escape.
Ordinary means wouldn’t shake this monstrosity. His only cards were his remaining thunder orbs, two newly forged talismans, and his trump card—mature Gold Devouring Beetles.
The first two were expendable, reserved for the Six-Footed group. The last would drain his divine sense, usable only in mortal peril.
His mind raced.
While controlling hundreds of beetles was impossible, releasing a few to harass the beast might work.
He didn’t need to defeat it—just slow it enough to flee. Coupled with talismans, his odds improved.
After intense deliberation, he settled on a risky plan.
Taking a deep breath, his divine sense reached into the spirit beast ring hidden on his person.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage