“Quick, unleash your thunderous methods! His aura is growing even more terrifying—it seems he’s recovering his strength!” The ancient-looking elder, alarmed by the previous events, scanned the skeleton with his divine sense and immediately cried out in shock.
His figure blurred and vanished, reappearing over a hundred zhang away. With a single slap to his crown, a burst of blue mist surged forth.
Within the mist, a small figure sat cross-legged, enveloped in blue light, its features identical to the elder’s.
The moment the tiny figure appeared, a series of blue orbs flew out from its body.
Each orb was no larger than a thumb, their surfaces smooth and an intense deep blue.
Under the elder’s perfected Nascent Soul technique, the orbs flashed and transformed into massive, wheel-sized spheres of light, roaring with wind and thunder as they smashed toward the enormous skeleton.
Meanwhile, the black-robed woman, hearing the elder’s words, clenched her silver teeth and suddenly rolled on the ground, transforming into a bloody mist that merged into the nine-headed serpent phantom behind her.
With a *boom*, the serpent’s nine heads swayed, and the spiritual energy of the abyss surged into its body like a tidal wave, solidifying its previously illusory form in an instant.
Now corporeal, the serpent’s scales shimmered in five colors, while its nine heads remained blood-red. It opened its mouths again, spewing nine streams of purplish-black filth flames, far more refined than before.
Though neither had seen the skeleton attack, the oppressive aura it exuded filled them with dread, driving them to fight with desperate resolve.
The skeleton, though standing, seemed far from fully recovered, its movements sluggish and awkward.
The dozen or so blue orbs flashed and struck near the skeleton in rapid succession.
Blue light erupted, accompanied by deafening explosions!
The space around the skeleton trembled as if heaven and earth were collapsing, the shockwaves surging outward like a tempest.
Though unassuming, each orb carried the force of millions of pounds, capable of flattening mountains and splitting the earth.
The skeleton crossed its arm-like limbs in front of itself, but with each impact, it was forced back a step.
After over a dozen steps, the invisible barrier before it shattered completely, and its once-jade-like limbs were left riddled with cracks and fissures.
Before the skeleton could react, the nine serpentine flames coiled around it, transforming into fiery chains that bound it tightly in place.
The purplish-black chains emitted an astonishingly corrosive aura, instantly searing deep black marks into the skeleton’s pristine white bones.
The blue orbs continued their relentless assault, circling and smashing into the skeleton.
Under their combined onslaught, the massive skeleton seemed on the verge of destruction.
The ancient elder and the black-robed woman exchanged a glance, their hearts lifting with hope.
Just then, a ripple appeared above the skeleton’s head, and a small figure materialized out of nowhere.
The elder and the woman focused their gaze and paled in shock.
The figure was none other than the female child—the transformed primordial spirit of the Mother Worm.
*Wasn’t she supposed to be held back by Bao Hua and the others? How did she get here?*
Their hearts sank, but they continued their assault on the skeleton while keeping a wary eye on the girl.
The girl’s face was noticeably paler than before. Upon appearing, she ignored the elder and the serpent-woman, instead fixing her gaze on the motionless skeleton below.
Her eyes rolled, and she suddenly spoke in a melodious yet incomprehensible language.
The sluggish skeleton stiffened at her words, a layer of white light flickering across its body. It withstood the blue orbs’ barrage, ignoring the corrosive chains, and slowly raised its head, its massive eye sockets locking onto the girl.
It responded in the same tongue, its voice deep and resonant.
After a brief exchange, the skeleton remained unhurried, while the girl’s expression darkened, her voice turning shrill as if in heated argument.
The elder and the woman exchanged bewildered glances.
Seizing the opportunity, they intensified their attacks.
The blue orbs blurred, their speed doubling as they streaked around the skeleton like meteors.
The purplish-black chains trembled, sprouting sharp spikes that dug deep into the skeleton, accelerating its corrosion.
To avoid retaliation, the elder and the serpent-woman silently retreated further away.
Yet, to their surprise, the skeleton paid them no heed, continuing its measured dialogue with the girl.
Their exchange—one calm, the other frantic—was eerily unsettling.
Suddenly, the girl’s face twisted with malice. She raised a finger, and a black dot of light appeared at its tip.
It spun rapidly, swelling into a blinding radiance that seemed to devour all surrounding light.
The abyss trembled as the spiritual energy boiled, and an overwhelming force of law descended.
“Time Law!”
The elder’s Nascent Soul, seated atop his body, turned ashen with fear.
The nine-headed serpent, spooked, severed its chains and shot hundreds of zhang away before hesitantly halting.
Had she not feared drawing the girl’s wrath by fleeing alone, the woman would have bolted outright.
Below, the skeleton shuddered slightly at the display of Time Law, its speech quickening as if wary of the girl.
But the girl only grew more insistent.
Moments later, the skeleton’s tone softened, as if yielding. It opened its mouth and spat out a pitch-black crystal the size of a house, which floated upward.
The girl brightened, retracting the black light from her finger as she descended toward the crystal.
Just as her feet were about to touch it, the unexpected happened.
The skeleton’s limbs moved simultaneously, bursting with terrifying energy as it shattered the chains.
With a lightning-fast slash, it cleaved the remaining blue orbs in half, triggering their explosive demise.
The girl’s face twisted in fury. Black light flared at her fingertip as she attempted to vanish.
But the black crystal below shuddered, morphing into a gaping maw lined with fangs.
In one swift bite, it swallowed the girl whole before shooting back into the skeleton’s mouth and disappearing.
The skeleton stiffened, freezing in place.
The elder and the woman stared in stunned silence. After a hurried exchange, the Nascent Soul returned to its body, and the serpent reverted to human form.
They shot upward, fleeing the abyss.
Having witnessed the skeleton effortlessly dismantle their trump cards, they knew they stood no chance. Survival was their only option.
Perhaps with Bao Hua, Han Li, and the others, they might dare face the skeleton again.
Yet, the moment they fled, the motionless skeleton emitted a sound.
Points of light gathered in its eye sockets, igniting into rolling black flames.
It let out a grating laugh, glancing at the fleeing duo before raising a limb and pointing twice upward.
Two streaks of black light vanished, and the Time Law descended once more, enveloping the elder and the woman mid-flight.
The impossible unfolded.
Though they raced forward, the scenery blurred. When they looked up, the massive white skull loomed right before them, its gaze malevolent.
Under Time Law, they had unwittingly reversed course, returning to the skeleton’s feet.
Before they could react, the skeleton’s maw gaped wide and snapped down.
—
Above the water’s surface, Han Li—now in a demonic form—pulled his silver-patterned hand from the body of a giant, armored insect with a human face.
The insect, over a hundred zhang long, had grotesquely oversized claw-like forelimbs, dwarfing its own body.
As Han Li withdrew his hand, the limbs deflated with a *pfft*, shrinking to normal size.
He examined his palm, frowning slightly at the absence of blood, a flicker of doubt crossing his mind.
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