As the silver radiance dissipated, a beautiful white-robed woman emerged—none other than the Bai woman Han Li had encountered before. She appeared mid-air, scanning her surroundings expressionlessly. Upon spotting Han Li and Feng Bing, her delicate brows twitched slightly.
Her sudden appearance caused the fleeing light transformed by Tian Zhong to halt abruptly, revealing his figure once more, his face flickering between uncertainty and wariness.
Feng Bing, seeing the Bai woman break free from the barrier, immediately perked up and called out, “Fellow Daoist Bai, your timing is perfect! This man is the Fourth Divine Master of the Mulan. Let us restrain him so Fellow Daoist Han can rescue the others!”
“The Fourth Divine Master? So you were part of this trap as well,” the Bai woman said coldly, her frosty gaze sweeping over Tian Zhong with a hint of killing intent.
“To think someone besides that brat could break the Blood Net Barrier. I knew those Yin Luo Sect fellows couldn’t be trusted,” Tian Zhong muttered darkly, ignoring her question.
“Seeking death!” Enraged by his disregard, the Bai woman’s face darkened. With a furious shout, she rubbed her hands together and flung them outward, unleashing a vast wave of icy mist mixed with countless crystalline snowflakes, surging toward Tian Zhong with terrifying momentum. Feng Bing, seeing this, also pointed at the Fire Spirit Vase in the air, sending raging flames to attack Tian Zhong from the other side.
Without hesitation, Han Li flapped his lightning wings, and with a few thunderous booms, he instantly left the green shadow behind, darting toward another blood barrier. Though he was confident he could destroy the green shadow after using the Spirit Subduing Talisman, rescuing the others to turn the tide of battle was far more urgent.
As the next blood barrier came into view, Han Li flipped his hand, summoning another thunder pearl.
“Master, be careful!” Just as Han Li took a deep breath to hurl the pearl, Yin Yue’s warning echoed in his ear.
A chill ran down Han Li’s spine, but he reflexively threw the thunder pearl anyway, sending it crashing toward the barrier as a ball of azure light. However, at that moment, a fist-sized green fireball shot out from nowhere and collided with the pearl mid-air.
With a muffled *puff*, the thunder pearl was silently devoured by the flames. The fireball then spun rapidly, transforming into a foot-long green firebird that hovered in the air.
Han Li’s expression darkened. He formed a hand seal, causing the pearl inside the firebird to explode with a *boom*. Yet the bird merely shuddered before stabilizing, its size even swelling slightly as it fixed its gaze on Han Li.
Cursing inwardly, Han Li looked up and saw a series of green fireballs shooting from the direction of the Mulan Sacred Bird, landing near the blood barriers and transforming into more firebirds, encircling and protecting them.
Now Han Li understood—these firebirds were spawned by the Sacred Bird, which shared an origin with the lamp flames. No wonder the thunder pearl had only nourished it, given that the pearl’s main ingredient was refined from those very flames.
Not far from the Sacred Bird, the Yue woman was staring coldly at Han Li, their eyes locking. Realizing she was the one controlling the firebirds, Han Li seethed with anger.
However, when his gaze fell upon the nine ancient lamps floating before her, his eyes narrowed. Watching the slowly burning green flames, he calmed down, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. The firebirds made no move to attack, merely circling the blood barriers.
A flash of white light signaled Yin Yue’s reappearance beside him.
“Master, please forgive me. This servant was useless in the battle. Those two Sky Tiger Beasts were too perceptive—I couldn’t get close enough to cast illusions or bewitchment,” Yin Yue apologized.
“It’s fine. You did your best,” Han Li replied evenly. “Take these two thunder pearls and see if you can infiltrate the other barriers to rescue people. Every life saved counts.” He tossed her the pearls.
“This servant will do her utmost,” Yin Yue said solemnly, accepting them before vanishing in another flash of white light.
Han Li glanced back at Tian Zhong’s location, where crimson flames and white frost clashed amidst flickering multicolored lights, making it impossible to discern who held the upper hand. The green shadow had also vanished—whether recalled by Tian Zhong under pressure or withdrawn after the Sacred Bird intervened, Han Li couldn’t tell.
Turning back, Han Li glared at the dozen green firebirds below. His eyes flashed with ferocity as his body radiated a mix of azure and crimson light, enveloping him completely. He summoned the Blue Light Shield, enlarging it to block in front of him, while his other hand produced yet another thunder pearl.
With a thunderous crackle, Han Li teleported above the barrier. Before he could throw the pearl, the firebirds shot toward him like arrows, engulfing the sky in green flames and obscuring his figure.
Meanwhile, Long Han’s gaze shifted away from Han Li. He had hoped Han Li’s group could quickly free the trapped cultivators to reverse their disadvantage, but seeing the Sacred Bird unleash so many firebirds, his heart sank—the odds were slim now.
His eyes turned toward the Mulan forces. The Seven Sages of Heavenly Truth, relying on their seven treasures, were barely holding their own against the Sacred Bird’s flames but were clearly on the verge of collapse. Despite being only at late Nascent Soul stage, the peacock’s Spirit Transformation-level power was too much for them.
“Release the Yin-Yang Twin Demons. Tell them to prioritize extinguishing those ancient lamps over killing,” Long Han ordered grimly, playing his final card.
“Yes!” A Hehuan Sect disciple behind him acknowledged and hurried off.
Amidst murmurs from the crowd, two eerie coffins—one black, one white—were carried out. Thirty-two Hehuan disciples (sixteen men and sixteen women) sat around them, chanting and forming seals to begin the unsealing ritual.
As the incantations rose, the talismans on the coffins trembled without wind, and eerie scratching sounds emerged from within. Long Han’s eyelid twitched—he had heard rumors about these Twin Demons.
Legend said they were once a pair of Hehuan Sect elders, both at early Nascent Soul stage, who later betrayed the sect to cultivate ghostly arts, becoming living corpses. After slaughtering scores of disciples upon their return, they were eventually captured, stripped of their wills, and refined into these infamous demonic puppets—reportedly even more formidable than in life.
As the noises grew louder and the talismans peeled away, the disciples’ chanting intensified, their faces tense. When the last two talismans fell, they scattered like startled birds.
The coffins exploded with a foul wind, and two blurred figures—one black, one white—shot out, chasing the fleeing disciples. The slowest pair were pounced upon, their throats torn open as the demons drank their blood. The other disciples, seeing this, sighed in relief and stopped fleeing.
Spectators from other sects paled at the sight.
“Now that the Twin Demons have fed on virgin blood, they won’t rampage further,” a disheveled elder declared calmly, stepping forward.
He raised two emerald-engraved bronze tokens, channeling spiritual power into them. Gray beams shot from the tokens into the demons’ foreheads.
The Twin Demons stiffened, then rose mechanically, floating toward the crowd. Up close, they appeared shockingly human—a handsome young man and a graceful woman, save for their vacant eyes and bloodstained lips. Only the faint stench of decay confirmed their undead nature.
The elder poured more energy into the tokens, enveloping the demons in gray light. After a series of spells, he fired thicker gray beams into their foreheads, igniting a fierce glow in their eyes.
“Go!” The elder pointed at the distant Sacred Bird, his voice icy.
The Twin Demons shot toward their target like vengeful specters.
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