Han Li was currently in a foul mood, half due to the two Sky Tiger Beasts being exceptionally cunning. They clung to him like stubborn glue, yet dared not engage him head-on, merely harassing him relentlessly from a distance.
Not long ago, he had deliberately left an opening to lure the two beasts closer, then suddenly struck, severing half of one beast’s paw with several sword beams. Since then, the two beasts had refused to fall for his tricks again, only attacking from afar with energy projectiles, never venturing within ten zhang of Han Li. Yet whenever Han Li tried to shake them off using his Wind and Thunder Wings, the beasts would instantly teleport after him, continuing their harassment. This forced him to halt his lightning escape and defend himself.
The other half of his frustration stemmed from the cyan shadow. Strangely, this shadow seemed entirely composed of pure wood-attribute spiritual energy. His Emerald Swarm Sword had no effect on it—no matter how many sword beams sliced it into fragments, it would immediately reform, utterly unafraid of Han Li’s attacks. This was the first time Han Li had encountered such a phenomenon since entering the cultivation world, and it was quite an eye-opener.
Naturally, Han Li resorted to his Dry Blue Iceflame, but to his shock, the cyan shadow spat out a blue bowl, which absorbed the iceflame the moment it flew toward it. Cold sweat broke out on Han Li’s back. Fortunately, the iceflame had long been refined into his body, and with a mental incantation, he managed to wrest it back from the bowl. Had he lost even a portion of it, the loss would have been severe.
Thus, Han Li dared not recklessly use his Violet Extreme Flame. As for treasures like the Silver Bell and Thousandfold Peak, he tried them as well, but none proved effective against the shadow.
Though the cyan shadow wasn’t truly immortal—its glow dimmed and its form shrank slightly with each heavy injury—it was far from an opponent that could be quickly dealt with. Fortunately, it lacked any particularly lethal attacks or treasures, only releasing strands of cyan spiritual threads, which Han Li easily countered. It seemed this so-called avatar was merely meant to stall him.
On the other side, the red-robed beauty Feng Bing, despite being at the peak of mid-Nascent Soul stage, was thoroughly outmatched by her late-stage opponent. Even with all her abilities unleashed, she was completely overwhelmed.
Meanwhile, the occasional cold glances from the Fourth Divine Master sent shivers down Han Li’s spine, making him deeply uncomfortable.
Then, a terrifyingly powerful sacred bird appeared on the side of the spell warriors, effortlessly suppressing seven Nascent Soul cultivators wielding rare treasures, leaving them barely able to defend themselves. Han Li’s heart sank. The only hope for victory now lay in rescuing the trapped cultivators—only then could they possibly turn the tide. Otherwise, this battle would end in utter defeat.
After a moment of deliberation, Han Li steeled himself and decided to act. He unleashed several sword beams, forcing one Sky Tiger Beast to retreat with a teleport, while his other hand slapped his storage pouch, producing a wooden box covered in talismans.
The cyan shadow let out a soft exclamation at Han Li’s actions but immediately raised its hand, sending countless wood-attribute threads raining down toward him.
Han Li remained motionless. With a thought, his sword beams transformed into a radiant glow, slicing all the threads into countless fragments. The wooden box’s surface flashed with cyan light as the talismans fell away, and a streak of bloody light shot out, circling once before landing in his palm—it was the Spirit Subduing Talisman.
Without hesitation, Han Li slapped the bloody talisman onto himself. A flash of crimson light later, the talisman vanished.
A faint cyan glow flickered across Han Li’s face as he exhaled softly. A massive flood dragon phantom, over ten zhang in size and entirely blood-red, materialized above him—the form of the eighth-grade Poison Flood Dragon.
The moment the phantom appeared, it coiled above Han Li’s head and let out a deafening roar that shook the nearby cultivators into stunned silence. Even the two locked in combat turned their heads in astonishment. Seeing the phantom, Tian Zhong frowned with a trace of gravity, while Feng Bing’s eyes sparkled with a hint of anticipation.
As the dragon’s roar faded, the phantom soared into the sky, circled once, then rapidly shrank before plunging back down, disappearing into Han Li’s back. A searing heat spread across his spine as a blood-red flood dragon pattern, a few inches in size and vividly crimson, emerged on his skin.
Now, Han Li’s entire body shimmered with bloody light. From his cheeks to his arms, uniformly sized crimson scales, as large as thumbs and crystalline in appearance, surfaced. A sharp pain shot through his head as a small, translucent horn sprouted from his forehead. His fingers elongated into razor-sharp claws. Han Li had become a half-human, half-flood dragon hybrid.
“This…” Han Li marveled at the astonishing surge of spiritual energy within him, both amazed and slightly horrified. The Spirit Subduing Talisman’s effects, briefly mentioned at the end of its refining incantation, claimed to partially overlay the refined demon soul’s cultivation onto the user, drastically boosting their power. However, it hadn’t mentioned the user would transform into this half-demon, half-human state, resembling a possession technique.
Of course, this demonic transformation was far milder than a true possession—at least he hadn’t grown fangs or a tail. It bore a striking resemblance to the Barbarian Beard’s Demon-Subduing Devil Art. Sighing, Han Li touched the horn on his forehead and fell silent.
Unbeknownst to Han Li, the so-called Spirit Subduing Talisman was actually developed by the founding ancestor of the Heavenly Talisman Sect, based on the possession technique. He had refined several flaws of the possession technique, ensuring the user retained their original consciousness, avoided the life-draining effects of mixed demonic and spiritual energy, and didn’t turn into a mindless monster. The only drawback was the extreme difficulty in crafting the talisman.
In this realm, not only were eighth-grade demon souls rare, but many cultivators would never even encounter an eighth-grade demon beast in their lifetime. Only the souls of shape-shifted eighth-grade demon beasts, once refined, wouldn’t harm the user. Lower-grade demon souls could also be used, but their impure energy made the resulting talismans as harmful as the possession technique itself. Thus, the refining method emphasized using only eighth-grade or higher demon souls.
Though surprised, Han Li felt his cultivation skyrocket, reaching the peak of early Nascent Soul stage. The talisman’s effects were indeed real.
With the flood dragon soul now merged into him, the two Sky Tiger Beasts sensed the Poison Flood Dragon’s aura and grew restless again. However, after a few low growls from the cyan shadow, they steadied themselves.
Han Li smirked coldly. With a flap of his Wind and Thunder Wings, he vanished from his original spot, reappearing over ten zhang away. The two beasts immediately teleported after him, one spitting out several energy projectiles.
Han Li’s eyes flashed with cold light. Thunder rumbled behind him as he disappeared again, reappearing behind one of the beasts.
The other beast, timing its attack perfectly, spat more projectiles. Normally, Han Li would block with his sword beams, allowing the first beast to escape.
But now, with his enhanced cultivation, Han Li didn’t bother with sword beams. His body shimmered with cyan and bloody light as he braced himself to block the projectiles with his protective aura. His form swayed slightly, but with a flick of his wrist, a cyan streak shot down like a celestial strike—unstoppable.
The Sky Tiger Beast, panicked and unable to teleport in time, spat out its greenish-yellow demon core to block the attack. The cyan shadow, sensing danger, rushed forward, unleashing a dense barrage of cyan threads at Han Li.
A thunderous explosion erupted as the projectiles detonated around Han Li, but he merely swayed, unharmed. Meanwhile, his sword strike not only split the demon core in half but also cleaved the beast’s body in two. Without time to teleport, the beast stood no chance against Han Li’s enhanced power.
The cyan threads wrapped around Han Li, but a flash of bloody light from his body turned them black upon contact, dissolving them instantly.
“Such potent flood dragon poison!” Han Li was first startled, then overjoyed. He had only intended to block the threads with his protective aura, but the poison effortlessly neutralized them. It seemed the cyan shadow feared potent toxins.
A shrill howl echoed as the remaining Sky Tiger Beast, driven mad by its mate’s death, teleported beside Han Li, its claws glowing with foot-long energy as it slashed wildly.
Han Li remained expressionless. Instead of using his sword beams, he raised his scaled claws, now tipped with sharp talons, and met the beast’s attack head-on.
Two soft *pops* sounded as the bloody light from Han Li’s claws pierced through the beast’s defenses. His arm blurred, driving straight through the beast’s body and yanking out its pea-sized demon core. The corpse plummeted downward.
From activating the Spirit Subduing Talisman to slaying both beasts, only a moment had passed. The cyan shadow hesitated, no longer pressing its attack. Han Li, however, flashed forward, now facing the shadow with a cold gaze.
Meanwhile, Tian Zhong, who had been overwhelming Feng Bing, witnessed everything with shock and fury. After a few fierce strikes with his Five-Colored Wheel, he abandoned his opponent and shot toward Han Li like a blazing rainbow.
Just then, a muffled *boom* erupted from below as the nearby blood barrier shattered. A surge of icy white mist burst forth, and within it, a silver streak shot out, circling once before halting near Han Li.
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