The two golden-armored warriors were none other than the shadow puppets summoned by Han Li using the Armor Origin Talisman. Though they only possessed about seventy to eighty percent of Han Li’s strength and a portion of his abilities, they were still not to be underestimated.
Enraged, the blood puppet could no longer recklessly pursue Han Li. If it attempted to teleport, the attack would forcibly interrupt its spellcasting.
With a flick of its sleeves, a bloody, foul wind surged forth, sweeping away the wind blades and the giant serpent. Then, it opened its mouth and spat out two crimson beams, which pierced through the chests of the two armored warriors with lightning speed, leaving gaping holes in their torsos.
However, the blood puppet’s pupils abruptly contracted in shock.
Under a flash of golden light, the gaping wounds on the two warriors’ bodies healed as if nothing had happened.
One of them raised its golden spear, and with a thunderous roar, arcs of pale golden lightning shot forth, transforming into over a dozen golden electric snakes that darted toward the blood puppet in an eerie manner.
The other warrior flung its twin blades into the air.
As the blades whirled and danced, five illusory skulls faintly emerged within the golden light. Simultaneously, a torrent of five-colored cold flames spewed forth.
“Hmm?”
The blood puppet’s astonishment deepened, but even if these techniques were at full power—let alone only seventy to eighty percent of Han Li’s strength—it would not be fazed.
With a hand seal, countless blood-red dots of light appeared around its body, rapidly expanding into dense clusters of crimson orbs.
At its command, these orbs silently shot out in all directions.
A series of muffled booms erupted as the orbs collided with the lightning arcs and cold flames, transforming into clusters of bloody fire.
Both the lightning and the cold flames were instantly obliterated, and the bloody flames surged back, engulfing the two armored warriors.
Despite their desperate efforts to fend off the flames with their weapons and protective gray auras, the blood flames only hesitated for a moment before overwhelming them.
A shocking sight unfolded—the two warriors rapidly dissolved within the raging flames, turning into pools of blood before vanishing entirely.
Without pause, the blood puppet transformed into a streak of crimson light, darting toward the entrance.
Though Han Li seemed to have already fled, the puppet paid it no mind.
As long as Han Li hadn’t escaped beyond a few hundred miles, its divine sense could easily locate him, allowing it to give chase.
When the crimson streak burst out from underground, the palace above was empty, with no trace of Han Li.
The puppet materialized within its escape light, scanning the surroundings before letting out a cold laugh.
Closing its eyes and forming a hand seal, it released its divine sense to sweep the area.
Moments later, it opened its eyes with a long cry, transforming back into a crimson streak that shot toward the blue passage exit.
In just a few flashes, the crimson streak vanished from the palace.
At full speed, the blood puppet was astonishingly fast!
Within moments, it reappeared at the original entrance, where the blue passage remained intact.
According to its divine sense, Han Li had already fled over a hundred miles away, so without hesitation, the puppet plunged into the blue passage.
As the crimson streak shot out of the entrance, a strange roar and thunderous rumbling erupted from ahead.
Startled, the blood puppet focused its gaze.
A massive Nether Lightning Beast, several zhang in size, crouched above the entrance, its body crackling with silver arcs.
With another roar, the beast pounced down ferociously.
“Impossible!”
The blood puppet gasped in shock.
There were already two Nether Lightning Beasts in the palace below—how could a third suddenly appear here?
Faced with such a fearsome creature, the puppet had no time to think about chasing Han Li. With a flash of spiritual light, a wooden plaque shot out, spinning rapidly and releasing a protective radiance that enveloped it tightly.
The puppet then formed another hand seal, summoning clouds of bloody mist that obscured its form.
Against a Nether Lightning Beast—a creature capable of rivaling peak Body Unity cultivators—it had no choice but to adopt a defensive stance.
Only by doing so could it hope to withstand the beast’s onslaught and find a way to escape.
But as the blood puppet hesitated at the entrance, a buzzing sound filled the air.
Silver talismans materialized in the surrounding void, shattering simultaneously with a flash of light.
A brilliant silver radiance erupted, and amidst countless swirling runes, a massive silver formation took shape—the Nine Palaces Heavenly Qian Talisman Han Li had prearranged here!
Despite being a hundred miles away, Han Li had somehow triggered this trap.
Meanwhile, the Nether Lightning Beast paused above the formation, its expression oddly shifting.
The blood puppet’s heart sank, sensing something amiss. Glancing at the beast above, it hesitated before descending toward the ground.
But as it dropped a few zhang, a clear, melodious cry rang out from below.
A silver firebird, only a foot in size, emerged from the void, spitting out over a dozen familiar-looking green orbs that shot toward the puppet.
The blood puppet’s heart lurched—it had just witnessed the destructive power of these orbs and had no intention of facing them head-on.
Dodging was impossible at such close range, so it could only retreat hastily to avoid the incoming projectiles.
Yet as it stepped back into the silver runes, the Nine Palaces Heavenly Qian Formation activated fully.
A flash of silver light, and the puppet found itself engulfed in a misty white haze.
Panicked, it scanned its surroundings—distant walls, palaces, and pavilions stretched endlessly, while the sky was entirely obscured by silver light.
The blood puppet froze.
With its knowledge, it recognized the formidable nature of this confinement. Breaking free in a short time would be nearly impossible.
Meanwhile, outside the formation—
Just before the green orbs could enter the formation, they suddenly halted midair, reverting to their original forms.
Their glow faded, and the orbs shot back into the silver firebird’s mouth.
With a few joyful cries, the firebird flapped its wings before dissolving into silver sparks.
The Nether Lightning Beast above let out strange, ape-like cries as its silver arcs dissipated.
With a flash of black light, it shrank rapidly into a half-foot-tall black monkey—Han Li’s Tihun Beast.
Seeing the formation successfully trap the blood puppet, the monkey wasted no time, transforming into a streak of black light and fleeing.
The silver firebird circled a few times before vanishing into scattered embers.
A hundred miles away, Han Li, carrying the two women within a radiant aura, continued his frantic escape.
Suddenly, his expression shifted, and a smile appeared on his face.
With a hand seal and a grab at the air, a silver flame materialized, swirling before transforming back into the silver firebird.
The bird spat out the dozen orbs, which Han Li promptly stored with a flick of his sleeve.
The firebird then merged back into his body.
A thoughtful gleam flashed in Han Li’s eyes as he slightly slowed his pace.
Moments later, a streak of black light descended from the sky—the Tihun Beast, now in its monkey form, landed on his shoulder.
Han Li smiled, stroking the little monkey.
Through a strand of divine sense hidden within the firebird, he had witnessed everything—the cooperation between the Tihun Beast and the Devouring Spirit Firebird had trapped the terrifying blood puppet far more easily than he had anticipated.
With another flick of his sleeve, the monkey vanished into the spirit beast ring concealed within.
Now, Han Li held nothing back.
His wings flapped wildly, and amid flashes of five-colored and cyan light, he transformed into a crystalline thread that shot through the sky.
In just a few blinks, the thread vanished beyond the horizon.
Meanwhile, deep within the underground palace—
Mu Qing remained trapped within the thundercloud, though her relentless attacks had nearly exhausted its power.
Above the green pool, the white-haired beauty, the blood-robed man, and the purple-blooded puppet were still struggling against the Five Dragon Guillotine’s assault.
Countless blades surrounded them, unleashing relentless slashes of cold light.
Despite pooling their efforts, they had already lost over a dozen treasures and could only rely on their own spiritual power to barely keep the attacks at bay.
The black formation in the sky loomed just ten zhang above them, ready to descend at any moment.
Meanwhile, the white-haired beauty’s hundred ghost soldiers were locked in fierce combat with the high-level ghost creature near the golden-armored puppet.
Through coordinated tactics, the ghost soldiers had gained the upper hand, trapping the creature.
The golden-armored puppet, however, stood with uncertain eyes, as if hesitating over its next move.
Amid this chaos—
A deafening explosion erupted from the golden formation sealing the green pool, shattering it completely and revealing the churning white spiritual mist once more.
From within the pool, a long cry echoed as a tall, shadowy figure shot into the air.
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