However, Han Li did not want any unexpected factors to disrupt his plans. A surge of killing intent rose in his heart as he summoned his spiritual sense toward the Spirit Beast Ring.
With a sharp ape cry, a streak of black light shot out from the void, darting straight toward one side of the palace gate. At the same time, Han Li himself flickered and emerged from his ethereal state, lunging toward the opposite side.
“Ah!”
“Who’s there?”
Two startled cries rang out from either side of the palace gate.
On one side, a gust of yin wind swirled, revealing a massive, two-headed skeleton.
On the other, a foul stench filled the air as a white-haired zombie with blood-red eyes materialized. The zombie had a pair of green wings on its back, exuding an exceptionally putrid odor.
The black light flashed, and a giant ape appeared. Without hesitation, it snorted through its large nose, releasing a wave of yellow mist that surged toward the two-headed skeleton.
The skeleton let out a series of eerie laughs, its arms blurring as countless claw shadows filled the air with a sharp, hissing sound.
This high-level ghost creature clearly had great confidence in the sturdiness of its body, attempting to tear apart the soul-snatching divine light barehanded rather than retreating in fear like the white-robed woman had done earlier.
Yet the moment the two forces collided, the dense claw shadows instantly disintegrated and vanished. The yellow mist swept over, enveloping the skeleton’s pair of bone claws.
Under the flickering light, the two-headed skeleton let out a shrill scream as its supposedly iron-hard claws instantly dissolved into wisps of black smoke.
Panicked, the skeleton hastily tried to retreat, but it was already too late.
The yellow mist flashed, swallowing the entire skeleton within.
The white bone body and its claws spun rapidly before being similarly transformed into thick black smoke, which the Soul-Crying Beast promptly inhaled through its mouth.
The beast let out a delighted cry, turning its head to look at Han Li.
Just in time, it saw Han Li hovering above the white-haired zombie, pointing a finger at the ten-zhang-tall Magnetic Divine Mountain to suppress the ghost below.
Meanwhile, two golden-armored shadowy figures withdrew a golden spear and two long blades from the zombie’s back. The spear crackled with golden arcs, having pierced through the zombie’s heart and left the surrounding flesh charred. The two blades, coated in a shimmering white light, had frozen the zombie’s foul green wings into crystalline ice.
Instead of ordering the shadow puppets to finish off the zombie, Han Li beckoned to the Soul-Crying Beast in the distance.
The beast paused momentarily before understanding Han Li’s intent. Overjoyed, it leaped several times and landed beside Han Li.
With another snort, it released the yellow mist, dissolving the zombie alive into yin energy and sucking it into its mouth.
The beast smacked its lips excitedly and thumped its chest with both hands.
These three ghost creatures were all malevolent spirits that had cultivated for many years in the Netherworld River. Naturally, they were an exceptional tonic for the Soul-Crying Beast.
Han Li smiled faintly, his spiritual sense stirring as a sudden idea came to mind. After scrutinizing the beast for a moment, he secretly relayed a few instructions.
The Soul-Crying Beast listened intently, nodding repeatedly before performing a somersault. A black glow enveloped its body, transforming it into a horned, lightning-limbed monster.
It was none other than the Nether Lightning Beast that had nearly devoured Han Li earlier, albeit slightly smaller in size.
Han Li chuckled and beckoned to the transformed beast, which immediately shrank to a few inches in size and flew into his sleeve.
Activating the Taiyi Ethereal Talisman, Han Li’s body turned incorporeal once more as he flew through the palace gate.
The palace consisted of a main hall and a side hall. Han Li headed straight for the main hall.
The hall was exceptionally clean, with only a dozen thick stone pillars standing in an otherwise empty space.
Han Li paid no attention to this, his gaze fixed on a large, white-glowing hole in the center of the hall.
Approaching cautiously, he paused at the edge and peered downward, his expression shifting slightly.
The hole slanted downward, its walls smooth and curved, devoid of any stairs. A faint white glow emanated from below, but the bottom was nowhere in sight.
After a brief consideration, Han Li leaped into the hole, descending slowly.
The cavern was extremely deep. Even after falling over a thousand zhang, there was still no sign of the bottom. A cool breeze rose from below, indicating another ventilation source.
After descending another few hundred zhang, Han Li’s expression shifted again as faint rumbles of thunder and beastly roars reached his ears, occasionally punctuated by earth-shaking booms that made the surrounding walls tremble.
Han Li’s heart tightened, slowing his descent as he extended his spiritual sense downward.
Moments later, a blinding white light flashed below—the exit was in sight.
His spiritual sense swept the area, detecting no hidden threats.
Relieved, Han Li landed silently and swiftly scanned his surroundings.
This was yet another massive hall, several times larger than the palace above, though its refinement was worlds apart.
The floor was paved with exquisite white jade, while the walls and ceiling were adorned with bowl-sized crystals emitting a soft white glow, illuminating the hall in resplendent grandeur. The spiritual energy here was far denser than above. Two small flower beds flanked the hall, filled with vibrant spiritual flowers and herbs, their faint glow suggesting they had thrived here for tens of thousands of years.
Han Li frowned, quickly losing interest and shifting his gaze elsewhere.
With his discerning eye, he could tell that while these plants were rare, most were ornamental, with few of actual value.
However, only about half of the hall was visible to him—the other half was obscured by thick blood mist and raging lightning arcs.
In the lower section of the hall, intertwined bolts of lightning and blood mist roiled violently, as if locked in an irreconcilable struggle. The lightning clearly held the upper hand, and were it not for the yin winds and countless green threads shooting from the blood mist, it would have long been overwhelmed.
Even so, silver lightning arcs transformed into fist-sized thunderballs amidst unending thunderclaps, exploding and dispersing the blood mist, pushing it into a dire position.
The blood mist was silent, revealing nothing of its occupants, but it was likely the combined effort of the Earthblood Old Freak and his allies. On the opposing side, two horned beasts flickered in and out of the lightning, roaring furiously—as if two Nether Lightning Beasts were relentlessly driving the assault.
No wonder the demon kings were struggling despite their combined efforts.
Han Li’s heart clenched as he observed the battle for a moment before shifting his gaze downward. His pupils abruptly contracted.
Directly beneath the fray was a several-zhang-wide emerald-green pool, its surface shrouded in white mist and brimming with spiritual energy, faintly tinged with a bloody glow.
“Is this the Netherworld River Divine Milk?” Han Li thought rapidly, though he didn’t linger on the pool, continuing his search.
Soon, his eyes brightened as he spotted Yuan Yao and Yan Li standing motionless in a remote corner of the hall, opposite the battle.
The two women wore blank expressions, seemingly indifferent to the fierce battle nearby.
Having seen them under the control of the restriction before, Han Li knew their minds were intact—only their bodies were immobilized. He was confident he could break such a restriction.
Glancing at the thunderous battle blocking his path, Han Li suppressed his excitement and carefully surveyed the rest of the hall.
He hadn’t forgotten the other high-level ghosts that had appeared outside the black barrier and the palace entrance. There were undoubtedly more lurking here, and he had no intention of becoming someone else’s prey.
He wouldn’t make a move until he was certain no hidden threats remained.
His spiritual sense spread stealthily, sweeping every corner of the hall except the battle zone, but found nothing amiss.
Frowning, Han Li activated a faint blue glow in his eyes, using the minimal spiritual power necessary to enhance his vision for a quick scan.
This time, he spotted something—a wisp of faint green qi in the farthest corner of the hall, nearly transparent even under his enhanced sight.
Was this the lurking ghost?
Han Li’s heart tightened. After a brief deliberation, he risked intensifying the blue glow in his eyes to discern the creature’s true form.
Amidst the green qi, he saw strands of black light and, at its center, a crystal-like orb floating and rotating slowly.
The moment Han Li saw it, the orb abruptly stopped spinning, its surface flickering with a faint green light before vanishing.
Han Li’s expression darkened as he instantly deactivated his spiritual eye.
He had a vague sense that the orb had detected his scrutiny the moment he spotted it.
But he trusted his reflexes—he had severed the connection swiftly enough to avoid detection.
Even if the ghost had formidable spiritual sense, it wouldn’t dare release a powerful scan in this situation. A weak scan wouldn’t penetrate the Taiyi Ethereal Talisman’s concealment, while a strong one would alert the battling demon kings and Nether Lightning Beasts.
He was certain the ghost wouldn’t make such a reckless move.
Sure enough, moments later, an almost imperceptible wisp of spiritual sense brushed past where he stood, finding nothing before moving on.
Han Li relaxed slightly, finally at ease. But before he could plan how to discreetly rescue the two women, a furious roar erupted from the blood mist, signaling a sudden shift in the battle.
The blood mist churned violently as a purplish-red radiance burst forth. A towering figure rapidly expanded, transforming into a twenty-zhang-tall Purple Blood Puppet, its body still swelling grotesquely.
Perched on one of the puppet’s shoulders stood a blood-robed figure, hands clasped behind his back.
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