The ghostly face was utterly horrified, its body writhing desperately. Yet, under the enveloping force of the law, it could only twist like dough into a faint shadow, unable to dissipate into black mist and flee.
“With my current strength, I can only wield a fraction of this Profound Heaven Sword’s power, and it grants me but a single strike. Had you acted earlier, you might have escaped its grasp. But now, after a hundred cycles of weakening, what means do you have left to evade?” Han Li spoke coldly, his emerald-green sword trembling slightly before vanishing into thin air.
The next moment, a soft *pfft* sounded above the ghostly face as a ring of cyan radiance silently appeared and descended, spinning downward with crushing force.
“No!”
The demonic apparition, now reduced to a ghostly visage, shrieked in terror at the seemingly ordinary cyan glow, as if facing imminent doom.
Yet no matter how it screamed or struggled, the cyan radiance descended without mercy. With a *zilū*, the ghostly face dissolved into a wisp of black mist, sucked into the cyan light.
A piercing wail!
The black mist was instantly shredded into nothingness within the radiance, utterly annihilated.
Almost simultaneously with the demon’s demise, the entire gray space trembled violently, the void around it shattering inch by inch, on the verge of total collapse.
A flicker of joy crossed Han Li’s face. Without hesitation, he gestured toward the void.
The cyan radiance vanished without a trace.
Then, a verdant glow shimmered on Han Li’s arm as the vanished sword mark eerily reappeared, sinking back into his flesh and disappearing.
At the same time, the entire space exploded with a deafening roar, dissolving into countless motes of spiritual light.
Han Li’s manifested form blurred, transforming into a golden streak that shot outward ahead of the collapse.
Outside, in the basin, the massive gray mirror in the sky shattered with a crisp *crack*, and a golden streak shot downward, vanishing into the motionless Spirit Infant below.
The previously still infant suddenly let out a dragon-like roar, its body erupting with golden light before transforming into a golden streak that returned to Han Li’s physical body.
The next moment, Han Li’s true form opened his eyes, and an overwhelming aura—one that seemed to merge with heaven and earth—burst forth.
A thunderous rumble echoed through the void as the oppressive dark clouds above dispersed instantly.
In their place, a tide of resplendent light surged from all directions, descending upon the basin and coalescing into a dazzling sea of five-colored radiance that completely submerged Han Li.
At the center of this luminous sea, crystalline threads imbued with mysterious energy materialized out of thin air, shooting forth like arrows.
Within moments, Han Li was tightly cocooned in a dense web of these threads, yet more continued to swarm in relentlessly.
In less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Han Li had transformed into a colossal luminous cocoon, faintly visible within the radiant sea, floating weightlessly.
The sea of light churned with swirling hues, accompanied by continuous, thunderous roars, as if something terrifying was being birthed within.
Far beyond the basin, not only did the horizon shimmer with endless light, but the seven blazing suns that should have dominated the sky had dwindled to only three—and even these three dimmed, their brilliance waning as strands of light cascaded downward like streams, vanishing into the radiant sea.
Tens of thousands of miles away, Crab Deity raised his head, observing the three suns’ anomaly with an expressionless face.
Nearby, the black-robed woman and the bearded man, meditating atop a dharma wheel and a massive gourd, gasped in shock. Exchanging glances, they simultaneously exclaimed, “Three Suns Baptism!” Their faces twisted with a mix of realization and disbelief.
“Three Suns Baptism—that Han kid has truly broken through to the Mahayana realm!” A similarly astonished voice echoed from another mountaintop.
The speaker was Shadow Fang, her wolf-masked face betraying no emotion. Yet the glint in her eyes confirmed the sincerity of her words.
“What? Brother Han has overcome the Heart Devil Tribulation?” Silvermoon, who had been anxiously watching the three dimmed suns, turned in delight.
“Indeed. He must have escaped the Heart Devil’s domain and is now reforging his body with the essence of heaven and earth and the sun’s true essence! Given his original strength, who knows how powerful he’ll become upon reaching Mahayana. At the very least, your ancestor would likely be no match for him now.” Shadow Fang’s reply was blunt, laced with wariness toward Han Li.
Silvermoon was overjoyed.
Meanwhile, in a nearby forest, Xu Qianyu stared at the celestial phenomenon, muttering in shock, “Three Suns Baptism… a Mahayana cultivator… How is this possible? Who could be breaking through the Mahayana bottleneck—and succeeding? And with demonic guardians… Could this be another Mahayana existence among the demons, following in Ao Xiao’s footsteps?”
The other Xu Clan cultivators behind her, lacking her knowledge, didn’t understand the significance of “Three Suns Baptism,” but the words “Mahayana cultivator” struck them dumb with awe.
No wonder they were so stunned!
To these Xu Clan members, a Mahayana existence was a distant legend—something rarely glimpsed, let alone encountered.
Now, Xu Qianyu claimed that a newly ascended Mahayana cultivator was nearby. How could they not be utterly astounded?
Despite their swirling thoughts, under the watchful eyes of Silvermoon and Shadow Fang, they dared not act rashly, remaining hidden in the forest, trembling with awe.
Time crawled by.
Though only two hours had passed, the wait felt like months to Silvermoon and the others.
Then, from the center of the radiant sea, the colossal cocoon stirred, releasing a rich, intoxicating fragrance that grew ever stronger.
*Crack!*
A thin fissure split the cocoon’s surface, and celestial music echoed forth as countless golden runes, resembling blossoms, swirled around it.
*Boom!*
The cocoon exploded, the music ceasing abruptly as the golden runes vanished in a gust of wind.
In its place stood a figure clad in violet-gold—Han Li, his reforged body complete.
Soon, the fragrance faded, and the light dimmed, revealing Han Li’s calm visage.
Outwardly, he appeared unchanged—same face, same robes—save for a slight increase in height.
Yet when Han Li examined himself and clenched his fists, he was overwhelmed with elation.
No wonder Mahayana cultivators could effortlessly crush those at the Body Integration stage. Not only had his magic power multiplied, but his reforged body was now nearly half again as strong as before.
But the greatest transformation lay in his Spirit Infant, now fully matured.
Within his dantian, the infant sat cross-legged, no longer childlike but bearing the visage of an adult, clad in a cyan dharma robe—a perfect miniature of Han Li himself.
After meticulously inspecting his body and finding no flaws, Han Li could no longer contain his excitement. Tipping his head back, he released a long, earth-shaking roar that soared into the heavens.
The sound rolled outward like tidal waves, growing ever louder, shaking trees and sending boulders tumbling down mountainsides.
Only after a full cup of tea’s time did Han Li finally cease, his exhilaration spent.
By then, streaks of light approached from the horizon—Silvermoon, Crab Deity, and the others, with Zhu Guo’er rushing to Han Li’s side, standing respectfully.
“Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Han, on your successful ascension to Mahayana. From this moment, you meet the basic conditions to become my master. Fulfill a few more requirements, and you may claim that title,” Crab Deity stated emotionlessly, stepping forward before the others.
“Become your master? Are you jesting, Brother Crab? If merely reaching Mahayana sufficed, wouldn’t the Demon Saints have long since claimed you?” Han Li’s eyes narrowed skeptically.
“To qualify, one must not only be Mahayana but also possess the energy to sustain my functions. The Demon Saints cannot. Shall I detail my other conditions now?” Crab Deity replied woodenly.
“I see. But this is no place for such discussions. We’ll speak privately later,” Han Li said cautiously.
“Very well. As you wish,” Crab Deity agreed.
Han Li nodded, though he couldn’t shake a strange feeling—had this pseudo-immortal puppet grown more intelligent since his breakthrough?
Meanwhile, Silvermoon and the others landed nearby, their expressions a mix of awe and reverence.
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