A crescent-shaped arc, similar to the previous one, shot forth from the giant sword!
As spatial fluctuations rippled, dense black threads instantly appeared around Bai Qi, coiling toward him.
Meanwhile, above the phantom of the white-robed elder, demonic energy surged, and a pitch-black demonic hand reached down menacingly.
Bai Qi clearly hadn’t expected the Yuan Yao Saint Ancestor to suddenly turn hostile. His expression changed as his body flickered, releasing a hazy white protective light. He then opened his mouth and spat out a small dark green shield.
The moment the shield left his mouth, it expanded with the wind, growing to a size of ten zhang. Its surface shimmered with green light, and the faint silhouette of a giant tortoise emerged, shielding Bai Qi within.
Not stopping there, Bai Qi’s body emitted a resonant hum as a massive silver bell surged out from within him.
The bell was about a zhang in size, its surface gleaming brilliantly, with countless silver runes faintly flickering across it.
With a tolling sound, layers of silver ripples erupted violently from the bell.
With his life hanging by a thread, Bai Qi had summoned his artifact spirit to resist.
However, just because Han Li had once managed to escape the Black Demon Dagger’s strike by exhausting all his abilities didn’t mean others could do the same.
As the black threads surged inward, a piercing screech erupted!
Both the silver ripples and the massive black tortoise phantom were sliced apart like paper the moment they touched the black threads.
With another tremor, all the black threads vanished in a flash.
The next instant, the silver bell trembled violently, its surface erupting with countless black streaks.
A look of horror had barely appeared on Bai Qi’s face before he and the silver bell were instantly shredded into countless fragments.
As for the phantom of the white-robed elder, though it contained a trace of a Mahayana cultivator’s soul, it had no actual power. The descending black demonic claw effortlessly crushed it into nothingness.
Both Han Li and the Long Family Ancestor were utterly stunned by this sudden turn of events.
Meanwhile, the black-robed youth expressionlessly flicked his sleeve toward Bai Qi’s corpse fragments, releasing a black mist that swept up several storage rings and returned them to his palm.
After quickly scanning the contents with his divine sense, the Yuan Yao Saint Ancestor’s expression darkened.
“That old monster was indeed cautious. The Fallen Realm Stone isn’t on this brat.”
Muttering to himself, the black-robed youth turned his gaze back to Han Li and the other two, a murderous aura flashing across his face.
“Which one of you three is hiding the Fallen Realm Stone? Hand it over obediently, and I might spare your life as an exception!”
Hearing this, the three exchanged uneasy glances.
“Senior must be mistaken. Since even our Spirit Tribe companion didn’t have what you seek, how could it possibly be with us?” After a long pause, Han Li sighed softly and replied slowly.
“In that case, none of you are necessary anymore. You can all vanish for this Saint Ancestor.” Though the Yuan Yao Saint Ancestor had anticipated this answer, a ruthless glint still flashed in his eyes.
As soon as he finished speaking, he swung the black giant sword horizontally before him and slashed upward into the sky.
Black runes surged across the sword’s surface as an ink-black sword light shot into the air.
“Not good! Stop him! He’s trying to break the restrictions here and draw in demonic energy!” The Long Family Ancestor’s expression turned icy as he shouted, immediately flicking his wrist to send three golden miniature tridents flying.
The tridents, mysterious treasures of unknown origin, traversed a hundred zhang in an instant, intercepting the black sword light.
A deafening explosion erupted!
The black sword light paused only briefly before slicing through the golden arcs like rotten wood.
The three golden arcs scattered apart, revealing six broken tridents that plummeted lifelessly to the ground.
But in that brief delay, a five-colored radiance carrying a crimson crystal shot forth, smashing into the sword light.
The feathered-robed girl had gritted her teeth and unleashed a one-time-use treasure she had been reluctant to part with.
As the crimson crystal collided with the sword light, a muffled boom resounded, followed by a crimson fire cloud spanning several acres, dyeing half the sky red.
Unlike ordinary fire and lightning, this cloud contained faint golden and silver threads flickering within. The very space around it distorted, and the pond below began to boil violently.
Even Han Li, standing mid-air, felt the surrounding air grow scorching hot, as if the entire Spirit Trapping Valley were about to ignite.
“Nirvana Pearl!”
Han Li murmured in surprise.
This pearl was renowned throughout the Spirit Realm, a treasure vastly different from ordinary fire or lightning pearls. It was forged by those with true bloodlines, refining a portion of their essence to condense Nirvana Fire—a flame only certain fire-attribute true spirits could wield.
The cost was the depletion of one’s true blood, making its power unimaginable.
Though Han Li had never seen it before, he was certain even late-stage Body Integration cultivators would struggle to withstand a single strike from Nirvana Fire.
This was likely the feathered girl’s trump card, but whether it could truly counter the sword light from the Black Demon Dagger remained uncertain.
Han Li’s thoughts raced as the two Extreme Mountains in his hands buzzed faintly. The transformed giant ape let out a thunderous roar, golden lightning arcing across its body and enveloping its massive form.
Under the golden lightning, the ape’s figure blurred.
Seeing the Nirvana Pearl, the black-robed youth’s expression shifted slightly. His grip on the black sword tightened, and a layer of crystalline black light seeped into the blade.
A shrill sword cry pierced the sky.
Boom!
The crimson fire cloud swirled violently at its center before parting, revealing the black sword light shooting upward toward the green barrier above.
Though slightly thinner than before, the sword light’s oppressive aura had intensified.
At that moment, space rippled beneath the green barrier, and the golden-furred giant ape materialized amidst crackling lightning. With a thunderous shout, it hurled the two zhang-tall Extreme Mountains downward with all its might.
With the strength of a Mountain Giant Ape and Han Li’s late-stage Body Integration cultivation, the two mountains transformed into massive orbs of azure and black light, each several zhang in diameter, streaking downward.
Where they passed, the world’s spiritual energy churned, and countless white fissures split the void. It was as if the sheer force of the mountains was tearing space itself apart.
The black-robed youth’s expression finally flickered with surprise.
As the black sword light clashed with the orbs, two deafening explosions erupted!
The front half of the sword light bent violently before shattering into countless black motes under the overwhelming force of the mountains.
Unimpeded, the two Extreme Mountains howled downward toward the black-robed youth.
“Such domineering body refinement techniques! They resemble our Demon Realm’s True Devil Arts, but trying to use them against me is laughable.” The black-robed youth sneered, clenching his free hand into a fist and punching twice toward the sky.
Two faint black fist shadows shot out, striking the two mountains mid-air.
With two earth-shaking booms, the mountains trembled violently before reversing course and hurtling back toward Han Li.
Shocked, Han Li’s giant ape form swung its arms wide, enlarging them further as it pressed against the returning mountains.
A thunderous roar echoed as the ape staggered backward over a dozen steps, each step causing the void beneath its feet to ripple as if stepping on solid ground.
A flash of astonishment crossed Han Li’s eyes. He now understood why the Yuan Yao Saint Ancestor was one of the three great progenitors—his physical strength far surpassed even Han Li’s.
At that moment, two figures appeared beside him—the feathered girl and the Long Family Ancestor. Fearing isolation, they had regrouped, though their expressions were grim.
It was clear that only Han Li could truly resist the Saint Ancestor; they could only assist from the sidelines.
After repelling the mountains, the black-robed youth let out a disdainful laugh. But just as he was about to speak, something unexpected happened.
Near Bai Qi’s forgotten corpse fragments, a nearly invisible white thread shot out from a piece of the silver bell, darting toward the “pseudo-immortal puppet” floating beside the Yuan Yao Saint Ancestor.
The Saint Ancestor froze momentarily before roaring in realization, his hand shooting out to grab the thread.
But despite his lightning-fast reaction, he was too late.
The white thread flickered once before silently merging into the puppet’s body.
The Saint Ancestor’s face twisted with fury as he redirected his grasp toward the puppet.
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