Under the assistance of the formation’s corpse puppets, hundreds of cultivators managed to temporarily trap the seven or eight demon lords in place.
Not only that, but after a flash of light in Tianyuan City, over a hundred stone towers, thousands of feet tall, suddenly rose from the ground and hurtled toward the demon army with a thunderous roar.
On the demon side, the massive war vessels and triangular demon towers hovering in the rear naturally retaliated without hesitation. With a low hum, they unleashed countless black beams of light from afar.
However, the human towers shimmered with a five-colored radiance, effortlessly deflecting the beams. As they neared the demon forces, doors on every level of the towers swung open, releasing swarms of puppet warriors and various spirit beasts that surged toward the demons like locusts.
The demon vessels and towers clearly housed a large number of demon soldiers as well. Amid eerie shrieks, waves of demonic warriors and monstrous birds poured out in dark masses.
For a moment, streaks of light and dark energy blotted the sky, and the void erupted into another storm of blood and carnage.
Han Li had already withdrawn his divine sense and was thus unaware of these events. He simply waited quietly at the center of the formation.
He knew full well that the battle had reached such a critical point that their intervention might be required at any moment.
Indeed, the wait was not long—merely half an hour later, the massive formation beneath them suddenly buzzed loudly. A hazy white light enveloped each male cultivator, swallowing their figures whole.
Startled at first, the cultivators quickly retrieved triangular jade tokens from their robes and activated them.
Multicolored spiritual light emerged from the tokens, transforming into faint purple runes that swirled around them.
Han Li’s heart stirred at the sight, but before he could ponder further, the white light of the formation surged several times brighter, accompanied by a clear, resonant chime.
His vision blurred, and in an instant, the formation’s power teleported him away.
Moments later, when the chime ceased and the white light dissipated, all thirty-six male cultivators and Han Li had vanished without a trace.
At the same time, high above a certain battlefield near Tianyuan City, a massive light formation materialized out of thin air. With a flash of spiritual light, the thirty-six male cultivators and Han Li reappeared.
Their positions seemed meticulously arranged—scattered in seemingly random clusters, yet forming an intricate formation that encircled Han Li and four others.
The moment Han Li appeared, black mist roiled over his body, and a dark, eerie battle armor materialized on him. Simultaneously, faint green glimmers flickered as seventy-two small emerald swords silently emerged from within him, coalescing into a swirling lotus of blades beneath his feet.
Only then did he solemnly raise his head to scrutinize the other four figures.
Two of them were the silver-haired elder and Monk Jin Yue, though both appeared severely injured despite being shielded by multiple treasures—one deathly pale, the other bloodstained.
The silver-haired elder, in particular, had his robes torn open at the chest, and one of his arms was missing at the shoulder.
Opposite them stood a blood-robed youth and a burly man clad only in a beast-skin apron, his bronzed upper body bare.
The man wielded a spiked club wreathed in emerald flames in one hand, while the other clutched a severed, bloody arm—clearly the elder’s—his face twisted into a savage grin.
The arrival of Han Li and the thirty-six cultivators eased the tension on the elder and monk’s faces, while the blood-robed youth and the burly man instantly fixed their gazes on Han Li.
Upon recognizing him, the youth’s eyes burned with venomous hatred, while the man narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint flashing within.
“Late-stage Body Integration! No—his cultivation is far denser than the average late-stage. Blood Light, is this the target you wanted me to deal with? His realm isn’t quite what you described,” the man growled, turning to the youth.
“It’s undoubtedly that Han brat. But his cultivation was only mid-stage before. Ah, I see now—the celestial phenomenon from days ago must have been his breakthrough. Rest assured, Brother Xiong, he’s only just advanced to late-stage and hasn’t even stabilized his realm. That should make him easier prey,” the blood-robed youth replied after a brief scan, his expression shifting from shock to realization.
“You’re saying he’s the one who broke through? You’d better not be mistaken. If another late-stage cultivator shows up, you’ll be in deep trouble,” the man named Xiong sneered, his murderous aura flaring.
“Should another appear, I’ll handle it myself. Just focus on capturing that Han brat—leave the rest to me,” the youth retorted coldly.
“Fine, if you say so. I’ll take care of this human whelp. But don’t blame me if that formation gives you more trouble than you bargained for,” Xiong replied with a smirk, eyeing the layers of cyan light barriers conjured by the thirty-six cultivators.
The barriers not only concealed the cultivators but also enveloped several miles of terrain, their surfaces rippling with silver patterns hinting at hidden profundities.
“A makeshift formation set up by a bunch of Nascent Soul cultivators? Hardly a threat,” the Blood Light avatar scoffed.
“That formation and this brat are likely their trump card against you. It’s hardly as simple as it looks,” Xiong countered, his expression cryptic.
“Oh? I forgot you dabbled in formations. Spotted something?” the avatar asked, surprised.
“Not in this short time. But I’d wager it’s tied to spatial restrictions,” Xiong chuckled.
“Spatial restrictions? That complicates things. Thanks for the heads-up—I’ll repay the favor later,” the avatar replied, his face darkening.
Meanwhile, Han Li frowned at the silver-haired elder. “Brother Gu, what’s going on? Why are you two here in such a state? And why is there an extra late-stage demon lord trapped in the formation?”
The moment Han Li laid eyes on the demon, his skin prickled with instinctive alarm, though his expression remained calm.
“Brother Han, we’ve hit a snag. This late-stage demon lord appeared out of nowhere—our intel had no record of him. Monk Jin and I tried to separate him from the Blood Light avatar, but… his power is monstrous. He crippled Jin Yue in one strike and tore off my arm. I’ve seen my share of battles, but never a Body Integration existence this terrifying. It’s almost…” The elder’s voice trembled with lingering fear.
“Almost half-step into the Mahayana realm! Brother Han, be extra cautious. He might be even deadlier than the Blood Light avatar. But we’ve exhausted all our reserves—even the secluded elders and envoys from Sacred Island have joined the fray. If we fail here and these two demons break free, the battle is lost,” Monk Jin Yue interjected grimly.
Han Li’s gaze swept the distant battlefield, where unfamiliar auras of five or six Body Integration cultivators clashed fiercely with three-headed, six-armed abyssal fiends.
“True Demons!” Han Li exclaimed, recognizing the pure-blooded ancient demons of the Demon Realm.
“Indeed. Their bloodline grants them superior strength even among demon lords. If not for their sudden appearance, we wouldn’t have had to summon you prematurely,” the elder said grimly.
“So you want me to handle this late-stage demon lord? What about the Blood Light avatar?” Han Li asked after a pause.
“We still have tricks up our sleeves, and with this spatial formation’s support, we can stall the avatar for a while. Focus on the demon lord,” the elder and monk declared in unison.
Han Li’s eyes gleamed azure as he locked gazes with the demon.
The demon’s pupils shimmered with silver threads, his grin widening into a manic leer.
Suddenly, he vanished, reappearing at the formation’s center. He tossed the severed arm into the air and smashed it with his club.
With a thunderous boom, the arm exploded into a bloody rain, drenching the demon’s torso. The stench of blood instantly saturated the barrier.
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