At the moment the Green Hornet’s primordial spirit was extinguished, hundreds of feet away, the demonic hornets buzzing and flying in the mist flickered with light on their surfaces.
A series of “pfft” sounds erupted as they exploded one after another.
From the destruction of the giant green hornet’s body to the annihilation of the two demonic beasts’ souls, it had taken only an instant.
Han Li didn’t even glance at the falling corpse of the demonic eagle. Instead, his gaze shifted toward the last high-tier demonic beast in the distance, his eyes icy and piercing.
The Twin-Horned Demon had already witnessed everything that had happened. His face turned pale with terror.
Although the giant hornet and the demonic eagle were not as powerful as him, the gap was not insurmountable. Yet, in just one encounter, both had been effortlessly slain, their primordial spirits unable to escape. This sent a chill down his spine.
Even if the opponent had succeeded partly due to the element of surprise, he knew that under the same circumstances, he could never have dispatched his two companions so cleanly.
However, this demon was also puzzled. What exactly was that golden figure that had lured them earlier and was later smashed to death with a single strike?
They had clearly sensed a strong spiritual pressure from it—otherwise, they wouldn’t have been so easily deceived.
Regardless, engaging alone would almost certainly mean death. It would be better to wait for reinforcements before devising another plan to kill the enemy.
If all else failed, he could risk violating the agreement between the mountain range and the outside world by ambushing the intruder at the entrance.
Surely, the top-tier beings from the outside wouldn’t make a fuss over a single individual and confront the mountain range’s Saint-tier lords.
The Twin-Horned Demon was remarkably cunning. After recovering from his shock, he quickly formulated a countermeasure.
Thus, the moment Han Li looked his way, he suddenly clawed at the air with both hands.
With two “whooshing” sounds, the two iron hammers shrank to normal size and flew back into his grasp. Then, he opened his mouth and spat out the triangular bronze mirror again, swiftly tapping it with a finger.
The mirror buzzed and emitted a cold light that enveloped the area below.
A bizarre scene unfolded.
As the cold light descended, the Twin-Horned Demon’s towering figure vanished into thin air.
The bronze mirror trembled, then transformed into a blurry shadow and disappeared into the void.
This unexpected turn of events momentarily stunned Han Li in the distance.
But his expression quickly darkened. A blue glow flashed in his pupils, forming a vortex-like spectacle that seemed capable of drawing in even one’s soul.
As if discerning something, Han Li formed a hand seal and tapped his forehead with two fingers.
A wisp of black energy emerged, coalescing into an ink-black eyeball—the Annihilation Dharma Eye!
As soon as the eerie eye took shape, its pupil shifted, swirling with dark radiance and faintly flickering runes.
With a soft sound, a finger-thick beam of black light shot from the Annihilation Dharma Eye and vanished into the void.
Moments later, a deafening explosion erupted near a spot in the void over a hundred feet away. A black halo appeared, followed by violent spatial fluctuations.
A muffled thud sounded as a dim, cold light was ejected from the halo, flying over ten feet before staggering to a stop.
The light dissipated, revealing the Twin-Horned Demon, his face a mix of shock and fury.
Almost simultaneously, a thunderclap boomed above him, and a green-white lightning arc flashed into existence, within which a shadowy figure could vaguely be seen.
“Damn it!”
Before the Twin-Horned Demon could steady himself, his heart sank as he glimpsed the figure above. Instinctively, he jerked his hands.
The two massive hammers in his grip howled as they hurtled toward the figure overhead. At the same time, a blue banner shot from his chest, unfurling into a shimmering azure barrier that encased him.
The Twin-Horned Demon himself was enveloped in black light, his body shooting backward like an arrow from a bow, desperate to put distance between himself and Han Li.
But Han Li had no intention of letting him escape. The green-white lightning in the sky rumbled and exploded, its hue shifting to a brilliant silver.
Then, with a sudden expansion, it transformed into a massive cyan roc, its wings spanning several feet. Streaks of silver lightning as thick as bowls crackled around it as it swooped down with terrifying speed.
The moment the silver light flashed, the roc’s talons clamped onto the incoming black hammers.
Thunder roared!
The hammers were torn apart like paper, shattering with a mournful cry under the barrage of silver arcs.
Without pause, the talons struck the blue barrier around the Twin-Horned Demon.
Surprisingly, the seemingly ordinary barrier shimmered and solidified into a crystalline shield.
Both the lightning and the roc’s immense force were absorbed like mud sinking into the sea, leaving no effect.
Relieved, the Twin-Horned Demon inside the barrier allowed himself a faint smile.
But before he could react further, a shrill screech erupted outside the barrier. The roc’s hooked beak transformed into streaks of cyan light, pecking relentlessly.
Three thunderous booms struck the same spot on the barrier. A crisp cracking sound followed, and the crystalline shield shattered into blue motes of light.
“Ah!”
The Twin-Horned Demon inside was horrified. He swung both arms upward.
A storm of black claw marks materialized, weaving into a dense net above him.
Yet the roc’s beak moved again, and another cyan streak shot down, effortlessly tearing through the claw net.
The Twin-Horned Demon’s body shuddered violently. His arms froze mid-swing as he looked down at his chest.
A gaping hole the size of a bowl had appeared, silver light flickering within.
His face twisted in disbelief and terror. Before he could scream, thunder rumbled from the hole, and silver arcs erupted, engulfing him in a storm of lightning.
The thunderclaps lasted for a long while before finally subsiding.
The Twin-Horned Demon’s body and primordial spirit had long since been reduced to ashes, vanishing without a trace. Only the strange triangular bronze mirror remained on the ground.
The cyan roc shrank rapidly, its form shifting back into Han Li amidst a flash of spiritual light.
Han Li glanced at the mirror and waved a hand. An invisible force pulled the unclaimed treasure into his grasp. He examined it briefly but found nothing remarkable in his cursory inspection.
Still, he was intrigued.
This mirror could link multiple cultivators’ mana and even allow its user to escape into the void—clearly no ordinary artifact. He wondered how the demon had obtained it.
With a flick of his wrist, the mirror vanished in a burst of yellow light.
Earlier, to swiftly eliminate his foes, he had used the Taiyi Concealment Talisman and two Armor Origin Talismans in one go. But now that he had acquired this treasure, the loss wasn’t too severe.
With these thoughts, Han Li saw no reason to linger. His body blurred into a cyan streak, shooting deeper into the sea of mist.
A full quarter-hour later, a dark demonic wind howled in from the horizon.
After circling above the mist, it dissipated, revealing five bizarre-looking demonic beasts.
“The last traces of the three of them are indeed here,” said a small beast that resembled translucent glass, scanning the mist.
The other four beasts eyed the mist warily.
“With the combined strength of Lord Wuqi and the other two, how could they vanish so abruptly? Did they encounter other trouble along the way?” muttered a serpent-headed beast.
“Unclear. But regardless, stay sharp. We must proceed with caution,” the glass-like beast declared firmly.
“Yes!” the others chorused respectfully.
With that, the five beasts summoned the demonic wind again and plunged into the mist.
Half a quarter-hour later, they reappeared at the site where Han Li had slain the Twin-Horned Demon, their eyes darting around in suspicion.
One of them, resembling a duck but with a single white horn, suddenly shot downward as a streak of white light and vanished.
The others exchanged puzzled glances.
Moments later, the duck-like beast emerged from the churning demonic mist, clutching two broken horn fragments the size of fists in its webbed claws.
“These are Lord Wuqi’s spirit horns! How did they end up here? Has he truly fallen?” murmured a tiger-like beast, his expression grave.
“It seems all three of them have perished. The pursuer must possess extraordinary power,” the glass-like beast muttered, narrowing its eyes.
“What do we do now? The outsider is long gone. We can’t track him further,” the serpent-headed beast said uneasily.
“Humph! Even if we could locate him, I wouldn’t pursue. If this person could kill Wuqi and the others, we’d likely meet the same fate. We’re turning back!” the glass-like beast snapped decisively.
“But returning empty-handed… Our master will be furious,” another beast voiced hesitantly.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage