Suddenly, black mist surged around Han Li’s body, and a dark battle armor emerged, with countless black runes flickering across its surface.
The seemingly eerie blood light collided with the black mist, but with a *bang*, it was repelled away as the runes flashed.
The blood shadow staggered and tumbled backward, revealing its true form.
A blue glint flashed in Han Li’s eyes as he finally saw the blood shadow clearly. Despite having weathered countless storms, his expression still changed involuntarily.
At first glance, the blood shadow’s face was a grotesque, fanged ghostly visage. But after a slight flicker, the ghostly face transformed into Xiang Zhili’s countenance, then blurred again into the face of another man.
Han Li recognized this man—it was none other than Old Devil Hu, who had entered the spatial node alongside Xiang Zhili back then.
The blood shadow’s face rapidly cycled through these three appearances, shifting like flowing water, impossible to fixate on.
“*Heavenly Demon Armor?! Impossible! How could you possess armor only a Heavenly Demon should have?!*”
The blood shadow swayed a few times before steadying itself in the distance, its voice filled with shock and fury. The voice somewhat resembled Xiang Zhili’s, but it carried an eerie unfamiliarity that unsettled Han Li.
Han Li snorted coldly, his skin suddenly turning golden, as if forged from pure gold, while scales of golden armor emerged across his body.
“*You think just because you wear the Heavenly Demon Armor, I can’t do anything to you?!*” The blood shadow let out a strange cry as its face twisted through several expressions, then spun rapidly.
In an instant, a crimson tornado erupted from the blood shadow, soaring dozens of feet into the sky.
The tornado roared with thunderous noise, crackling with violent arcs of bloody lightning, its momentum terrifying.
After chanting a few bizarre incantations, the tornado shrank rapidly, condensing into a blood-red rune the size of a human head, floating motionlessly before the blood shadow.
Sensing the violent fluctuations emanating from the rune, Han Li’s expression hardened.
With a thunderous crack, the blood-red rune spun and transformed into a crimson lightning bolt, striking forward.
*Boom!*
The moment the lightning bolt collided with the black runes, they shattered under its force, allowing the bolt to strike the black demonic armor directly.
A muffled sound followed as the crimson lightning vanished, leaving behind a palm-sized hole in the black armor.
The blood shadow’s face twisted into a vicious grin before it transformed into a streak of bloody light, shooting toward Han Li at blinding speed, aiming straight for the hole in the armor.
But at that moment, space rippled nearby, and a golden hand materialized over the hole, its fingers snapping shut like lightning, capturing the blood-red streak mid-flight.
The bloody light dispersed, revealing the blood shadow trapped in the golden grip, its face filled with terror. Desperate, it opened its mouth and spat a stream of blood flames directly at Han Li’s face.
This attack was vicious—Han Li couldn’t move, and at such close range, it should have been impossible to miss.
Yet, the corner of Han Li’s lips curled into a cold smirk.
A black vertical eye suddenly opened between his brows, and with a flash of dark light, a beam of black energy shot out like lightning, striking the blood flames with pinpoint accuracy.
*Pfft!*
Space twisted slightly as the two forces clashed, vanishing into the void without a trace.
The blood shadow shuddered, its body glowing crimson as it tried to unleash another ability—but it was too late.
Silver flames erupted from the golden hand’s fingers, engulfing the blood shadow in an instant.
A piercing shriek rang out from within the silver flames as the blood shadow writhed violently, its form stretching and contorting unnaturally.
But no matter how it struggled, the golden hand held firm like a parasite clinging to bone, leaving it no chance to escape.
After a few breaths, the screams ceased, and the blood shadow was utterly incinerated within the flames.
Truth be told, this blood shadow was simply unlucky.
Normally, its intangible form would render most treasures and techniques useless against it. But the golden hand was forged from Han Li’s Vajra Arhat body, refined and enhanced through his cultivation breakthroughs, granting it the miraculous ability to seize even intangible entities.
As for the Devouring Spirit Flames, they were already adept at consuming natural energies. After absorbing several other flames, they became even more effective against demonic and evil forces, making the blood shadow’s destruction effortless.
Watching this, Han Li relaxed slightly as the Destruction Eye between his brows slowly closed and vanished.
Muttering an incantation, golden light swirled around him before he spat out a fist-sized orb.
The orb was encased in golden light, its interior a tangled mass of gray-white threads—the foreign energy that had invaded his body, forcibly compressed and expelled by his refined cultivation.
Only now, with his Vajra Arhat Demon Subduing Technique nearing perfection, could he achieve such a feat.
Once the gray-white orb was expelled, his body returned to normal.
Without hesitation, Han Li pointed at the silver flames, and the Devouring Spirit Flames surged, wrapping around the orb.
The golden hand flickered before dissipating into nothingness.
The gray orb flickered a few times within the silver flames before vanishing completely.
Han Li then turned his gaze to the mangled remains on the ground a few yards away and sighed softly.
Though he still didn’t understand what calamity had befallen Xiang Zhili, leaving his body infested with such an evil entity, there was no doubt the corpse was his.
Moreover, the blood shadow’s shifting faces suggested it had devoured and assimilated the souls of both Xiang Zhili and Old Devil Hu.
Had it not been for the restless stirring of the Soul Devouring Beast when he first met “Xiang Zhili” in Cloud City, Han Li might never have noticed the anomaly.
Even if this “Xiang Zhili” had been problematic, Han Li wouldn’t have bothered unless provoked.
But in both encounters, “Xiang Zhili” had harbored ill intent, prompting Han Li to act.
Still, lacking absolute certainty, he had waited for the other to strike first.
With his heightened vigilance and newfound power from the Azure Frost Realm, Han Li was confident he wouldn’t fall prey to the blood shadow’s schemes.
In truth, even without the Vajra Arhat body or the Devouring Spirit Flames, he had other means to counter the threat and eliminate the entity.
After all, the possessed Xiang Zhili’s cultivation was far inferior to Han Li’s. Even if the blood shadow had detonated Xiang Zhili’s body and absorbed most of its essence, it couldn’t unleash much power.
Han Li stood silently, his thoughts turbulent.
Xiang Zhili—once a pinnacle existence among humans in the mortal realm—had met such a wretched end. It was truly lamentable.
Had he and Old Devil Hu perished in the spatial node, or had the blood shadow claimed them only after entering the Spirit Realm? If the latter, it was even more tragic.
With another sigh, Han Li flicked his sleeve, unleashing a wave of crimson flames that reduced the remains to smoke.
As for the so-called “Giant Spirit Talisman,” it had already crumbled to ash alongside the blood shadow.
Though intrigued by the gray-white threads, Han Li abandoned further study.
He wasted no time lingering. With a few gestures toward the surrounding peaks, faint ripples spread through the air as over a dozen colored lights shot out, vanishing into his sleeves—the formation flags he had deployed earlier.
The simple array they formed had masked the spiritual fluctuations of the battle. Otherwise, despite being a hundred miles from Flood Dragon City, the commotion would have been detected by its powerful inhabitants.
Now, though traces remained, high-level beings would struggle to discern the details.
With a flash of light, Han Li transformed into a cyan streak, circling the peak once before streaking toward Flood Dragon City.
Soon after, a patrol of armored guards arrived but found nothing noteworthy and left frustrated.
Back in the city, Han Li secluded himself in his residence, rarely venturing out.
Over the next ten days, the trio of Qian Jizi and the others delivered the remaining promised materials, which Han Li accepted without hesitation.
A month later, Han Li finally emerged, heading straight for the tallest peak in Flood Dragon City.
Rumors held that this peak housed the city’s most important structures and guarded secrets unknown to outsiders.
Half a day later, the entire mountain trembled as a massive beam of light erupted from its depths, piercing the heavens.
After a few flickers, the beam vanished as abruptly as it had appeared.
Though the spectacle stirred curiosity among nearby non-humans, the commotion soon faded into obscurity as life resumed.
Meanwhile, on another distant continent, far from the Thunderstorm Continent, an identical beam of light shot skyward from a hidden location.
As the light dissipated, a figure appeared at the center of a colossal formation.
**Volume 10: The Demon Realm War**
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage