As soon as the words fell, over a dozen bloody shadows suddenly surged out from the stone city, exploding into clouds of blood mist.
Instantly, rolling waves of blood shot into the sky, intercepting most of the incoming sword rays and the attacks from the three colossal mountains.
As a result, the dangerously strained barrier of the stone city stabilized once more.
The giant ape transformed by Han Li naturally grew furious at this sight. With a thunderous roar, it suddenly opened its mouth and spat out a golden lightning bolt as thick as a water vat, which flashed and struck the blood waves in an instant.
**Boom!**
Wherever the lightning touched, a scorched smell filled the air, and the nearby blood waves vanished in an instant.
“Evil-Suppressing Divine Lightning!”
A soft exclamation came from within the blood waves, followed immediately by a light chuckle. The surrounding blood waves swiftly converged into a single point, swirling and solidifying before transforming into a bewitching young girl in a short blood-red dress, accompanied by over a dozen monstrous creatures with wolf heads and bear bodies, each several zhang tall.
The girl appeared no older than fifteen or sixteen, holding a verdant flower basket in one hand. Her figure was slender and graceful, her face as enchanting as water, her skin as fair as snow and jade. With a single glance from her autumn-like eyes, she exuded an unparalleled allure.
Even someone as composed as Han Li felt his spirit waver slightly upon seeing her.
Han Li’s heart tightened, and he immediately activated the Soul Refinement Technique to steady his mind. However, his gaze toward the girl grew more solemn. With a flick of his divine sense, he swept it toward her.
“Late-stage Body Integration!”
Han Li couldn’t help but feel surprised.
The girl’s earlier display of power had rivaled that of an ordinary Mahayana cultivator, yet her actual cultivation was only at the Body Integration stage—something entirely unexpected.
As for the dozen or so wolf-headed, bear-bodied monsters, their bodies were drenched in blood, each possessing early to mid-stage Body Integration cultivation. Yet, when gathered together, they emitted a terrifying aura no weaker than that of an ordinary Mahayana cultivator.
Han Li’s thoughts raced as he secretly speculated about the origins of the blood-dressed girl. His attacks slowed slightly, and the countless sword shadows dissipated into thin air. The three colossal mountains, each hundreds of zhang tall, also froze in mid-air.
“Who are you? Another member of the Rakshasa Spider clan?” the giant ape boomed, its voice like rolling thunder.
The girl’s aura was extremely similar to that of the other Rakshasa Spiders, yet it also carried traces of another familiar presence. Upon closer reflection, it bore a striking resemblance to the aura of the Void Fish from the Dry Fire Land.
“This humble sister is indeed the young mistress of this city. Fellow Daoists must be outsiders. Has our clan offended you in some way that you must resort to violence? Why not sit down and talk? Perhaps we can turn hostility into friendship,” the blood-dressed girl said with a charming smile, her autumn-like eyes glinting as she addressed Han Li in a tone that treated him as an equal, showing no fear of his Mahayana-level cultivation.
“Turn hostility into friendship? Unless your clan is willing to hand over your race’s crystal cores, even if I were willing to agree, the other Daoists would never consent,” the giant ape replied coldly, its expression unreadable.
The girl’s expression shifted slightly at these words, but before she could respond, the Rakshasa Spider Matriarch shouted from afar, “Ying’er, why waste words on them? They covet our clan’s law-based divine abilities. This is a fight to the death—there is no room for negotiation. Attack now!”
With the girl’s appearance, the Matriarch had cast aside all restraint, her voice dripping with ferocity.
Hearing this, the blood-dressed girl frowned slightly. She glanced at the other two battlefields before sighing. “I had hoped to avoid further conflict, but it seems that is no longer possible. In that case, do not blame me for showing no mercy.”
Though her face remained enchanting, her voice turned icy as she spoke the last few words.
A sense of extreme danger surged in Han Li’s heart. Without hesitation, he kicked off the ground, his body transforming into a blur as he shot backward.
Almost simultaneously, a bloody glow appeared in the air above him. A massive claw wreathed in rolling blood qi descended like lightning, silent and without warning.
A flash of blood light later, the spot where Han Li had stood was engulfed in blood mist.
The mist swirled and condensed, revealing another blood-dressed girl, smiling faintly.
Meanwhile, the “Ying’er” inside the stone city’s barrier flickered and transformed into one of the wolf-headed, bear-bodied monsters.
Han Li was startled!
The giant ape’s finger shot forward, and a streak of azure light burst from its fingertip. In a flash, it transformed into a ten-zhang-long azure arc, then vanished and reappeared before the blood-dressed girl, slashing around her in a lightning-fast motion.
A shocking scene unfolded.
Instead of panicking, the encircled “Ying’er” gave Han Li a strange smile. Her delicate white hand flipped over, and her fingers spread as she reached out to grab the azure arc directly.
Han Li’s pupils contracted slightly, but he wasted no time in activating his sword art.
The azure light flared brilliantly, twisting into the form of a lifelike azure flood dragon that pounced with bared fangs and claws, swallowing the girl whole in one bite.
But the next moment, a deafening **boom** erupted from within the flood dragon. Countless blood threads burst forth, tearing the azure construct apart in an instant.
With a coquettish laugh, the blood-dressed girl reappeared faintly within the bloody glow.
The giant ape roared in fury, raising a furry hand and striking out from a distance.
A massive palm, spanning nearly an acre, tore through the void above, wreathed in countless golden lightning arcs, and slammed down with thunderous force.
A world-shaking explosion followed. Lightning flashed wildly, golden sparks scattered, and an unimaginable force swept downward.
Despite the girl’s extraordinary abilities, the moment she came into contact with this force, her smile froze as her body disintegrated, swallowed entirely by the golden lightning.
When the light and fluctuations faded, only a dim, small azure sword remained in the void.
At the same time, inside the stone city’s barrier, one of the wolf-headed, bear-bodied monsters exploded with a **bang**, dissolving into blood mist.
As the mist condensed once more, the blood-dressed girl reappeared, still smiling.
Witnessing this, Han Li’s eyes flickered with astonishment. The giant ape raised its hand, summoning the small sword back. With a flash, it vanished into its palm.
Han Li glanced down, his expression darkening slightly.
The Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Sword was now covered in bloodstains, its azure glow dimmed—clearly, its spiritual essence had been damaged.
The giant ape’s eyes gleamed sharply. It rubbed the small sword between its palms, and with a **rumble**, golden lightning crackled between its fingers.
When the lightning dissipated, the sword’s surface was pristine once more, its azure radiance restored.
“Blood Spirit Art! You cultivate one of the most sinister blood-path techniques—no wonder you dared to taint my lifebound flying sword,” the giant ape rumbled coldly, tossing the sword into the air before swallowing it back into its body.
“Fellow Daoist is indeed knowledgeable, recognizing the Blood Spirit Art. However, I hadn’t expected your lifebound sword to be forged from Golden Lightning Bamboo. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have wasted my efforts earlier. Since that’s the case, let me show you my true power,” the blood-dressed girl said with a light laugh, seemingly enlightened by how easily the ape had restored the sword’s spirit.
“Very well. I shall gladly witness the mysteries of the Blood Spirit Art. But before that, Fellow Daoist Yi, don’t just stand there—join the fight,” Han Li sneered.
The giant ape’s three arms simultaneously formed hand seals before pointing toward the sky above the stone city.
A buzzing sound filled the air as the three suspended mountains began to spin rapidly, swelling in size until they each reached over a thousand zhang in height.
One mountain released layers of gray light, solidifying into over a dozen massive tentacle-like appendages that lashed violently at the barrier below.
Beneath another mountain, **whooshing** sounds erupted as countless invisible sword energies materialized, forming a vast net of blades that joined the assault.
The final mountain shone with five-colored crystalline light, and rings of radiance appeared out of thin air, crashing down relentlessly.
The remaining barriers over the stone city flickered wildly, teetering on the brink of collapse once more.
Seeing this, the elderly Yi, who had been recovering his flesh on the city wall, paled. He swayed, preparing to halt his recovery and deal with the immediate threat.
But then, space rippled beside him, and the blood-dressed girl “Ying’er” appeared out of nowhere. Her delicate jade-like hand reached out and pressed lightly against his shoulder.
Startled, Yi instinctively tried to evade, but the hand somehow bypassed his defenses and movements, landing firmly on him.
Before he could react, the girl’s hand glowed emerald, turning crystal-clear and transparent. A familiar law force surged forth, enveloping his entire body in an instant.
An unbelievable sight unfolded.
The blood-streaked, mutilated arm and lower half of Yi’s body twisted and blurred under the law’s influence. A dark green light swirled around them, and in a flash, they were restored to their original, undamaged state.
The girl smiled enchantingly and withdrew her hand.
“**Material Spirit Reversion!**”
Han Li, witnessing this from afar, was truly horrified. He couldn’t help but exclaim aloud.
This was no mere technique akin to the Indestructible Body—it was a legendary ability only achievable after mastering the lesser stages of the **Time Law**!
Yi, naturally overjoyed, turned to the girl and asked excitedly,
“Fellow Daoist Ying, have you truly succeeded in comprehending that thing?!”
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