Han Li did not put away the Skyfiend Corpse and his puppets. Instead, he released over a dozen giant turtle puppets along the way as he flew.
When the Venerable Linghu and the woman in white following behind saw this, they were both startled but also somewhat relieved. Although these puppets were nothing individually, if used cleverly and in large numbers, even an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator would have to retreat temporarily.
However, while they felt slightly reassured, Venerable Linghu couldn’t help but feel a surge of jealousy again, and even the woman in white muttered to herself, feeling that Han Li’s methods seemed endless and utterly unfathomable.
Covering a distance of over ten li in the blink of an eye, Han Li arrived near the battlefield and stopped about a hundred zhang away, observing everything clearly.
From this close, he realized that the so-called black-purple radiance was actually countless tendrils of black demonic energy wildly thrashing within a purple-red demonic light. The source of this demonic energy was a demonic creature at the center of the purple glow.
This demon had a single horn on its forehead and a ferocious face, resembling the two-headed, four-armed demon that had escaped earlier. However, its body was no different from an ordinary human’s, even with skin as translucent as fine jade.
At the moment, the demon’s face was expressionless, its eyes slightly closed as if still half-asleep. Strangely, despite its tightly sealed lips, thunderous roars occasionally erupted from its abdomen. The roars suggested extreme fury, yet its face remained utterly blank and wooden.
Its two arms mechanically hurled pitch-black fireballs downward, their movements stiff and sluggish.
Though the black fireballs seemed unremarkable, each one that exploded in the green mist below would unleash waves of black flames spanning over ten zhang, scattering the nearby green clouds.
Yet Wei Wuyi’s poisonous mist was no trifling matter either. After a brief recoil, it would swiftly extinguish the black flames and transform into countless green serpents, lunging upward to bite and tear, attempting to break through the sky and directly attack the demonic figure within the demonic light.
As a result, green mist, strange radiance, and black demonic flames intertwined, accompanied by intermittent thunderous booms in the air.
“What’s going on? That demon seems not fully awakened or perhaps bound by some restriction. This is a good opportunity,” Venerable Linghu, who had followed closely and stopped near Han Li, said with a mix of shock and delight upon seeing the demon.
“If it were that easy to kill, Fellow Daoist Wei would have acted long ago. Instead, he’s hiding in the poisonous mist, barely holding on. There must be something else at play. However, judging by the demonic energy, this demon is undoubtedly related to the one that escaped earlier—and far more powerful,” Han Li replied casually while scanning the surroundings with his spiritual sense.
He was puzzled by the absence of the demonized “Nanlong Hou,” who had arrived earlier. However, his gaze soon settled on the silver-haired elder and his companions not far away. Their arrival surprised him even more.
When the silver-haired elder surnamed Cheng saw Han Li, he was both shocked and delighted. For some reason, he merely nodded and smiled at Han Li from a distance, making no move to approach. Seeing this, Han Li inwardly sighed and sent a voice transmission:
“Senior Brother Cheng, why are you involved here? This demon is extremely dangerous—even Fellow Daoist Wei Wuyi below may not be its match. There should also be a two-headed, four-armed demon nearby, no weaker than the one here.”
“What? Wei Wuyi is down there? And another such monster? Junior Brother Han, you seem to know quite well—have you already fought them?” the silver-haired elder replied in alarm.
“I tested the other demon briefly. Though I couldn’t gauge its full strength, it should be at least on par with a late-Nascent Soul cultivator. It took the combined efforts of myself and two other fellow Daoists to barely hold it off. These demons can devour Nascent Souls, move like the wind, and excel at concealment. Be careful, Senior Brother! If we must fight, it’s safest if we all attack together,” Han Li quickly warned, emphasizing the demons’ lethality.
“Understood. I’ll discuss this with the two fellow Daoists here,” the silver-haired elder replied gravely before turning to relay Han Li’s words to Tianjing Zhenren and the unfamiliar elder beside him.
Tianjing Zhenren had already recognized Han Li and was visibly astonished by the twenty to thirty tiger and turtle puppets beside him. He smiled at Han Li while conversing with the silver-haired elder.
The wrinkled elder, upon hearing Han Li’s name, cast a few curious glances his way. Though he was a reclusive Nascent Soul elder who rarely interacted with the world, Han Li’s recent fame and his connection to a close friend piqued his interest. However, he merely nodded faintly at Han Li.
As for Venerable Linghu and the woman in white, though they were well-known, they had no ties to the trio opposite them. Thus, they allowed Han Li to communicate with the others. Against such a terrifying demon, a united front was best.
At that moment, Wei Wuyi’s voice emerged from the green mist—low and slightly hoarse:
“Fellow Daoist Han? It’s excellent that you and the others arrived in time. This demon is an ancient fiend that once invaded our human realm—a mortal enemy of cultivators. Who would have thought one was sealed in the Fallen Devil Valley and accidentally released by Sect Master Wang and his group.
“Sect Master Wang and Fellow Daoist Wang Tiangu perished in the spatial rift explosion when the demon broke free. I barely survived by exhausting all my abilities, but my vitality is severely depleted, and I can’t hold it much longer. Fortunately, a remnant of the ancient cultivators’ seal still lingers within it. The demon is currently refining the restriction with its inner demonic flames. You must stop it—if it fully recovers its demonic power, no one in the Fallen Devil Valley will be its match, and we will all fall victim to it.”
Wei Wuyi’s voice was urgent and anxious, clearly indicating heavy injuries. As he finished speaking, the green mist churned, revealing his figure bathed in green light—his face ashen, his eyes dim.
Hearing this, Han Li inwardly groaned. He had thought he was merely assisting Wei Wuyi, but now they were the main force. This was trouble.
Venerable Linghu and the silver-haired elder exchanged uneasy glances. If even Wei Wuyi, a great cultivator, was no match for this demon, how could they hope to prevail? Yet fleeing now would brand them as cowards, making it impossible to remain in the South Sky cultivation world.
“Don’t worry, fellow Daoists. I’ve sensed with my spiritual sense that others will arrive shortly. I also sent a message to the Mulan shamans—if they wish to establish themselves in the South Sky, they will come to aid us,” Wei Wuyi added, offering a sliver of hope.
Hearing this, Han Li and the others relaxed slightly. Though they might not defeat the demon, delaying it seemed feasible.
However, the demon floating in the black demonic mist seemed to understand their words. Its half-closed eyes flickered with a cold glint, and it ceased hurling demonic flames, slowly surveying its surroundings.
Wherever its gaze passed, black and purple demonic light shimmered, sending chills down everyone’s spines—as if prey under a predator’s stare. Only Han Li, with his formidable spiritual sense cultivated through the Great Development Art, met its gaze unflinchingly, his pupils contracting as blue light flashed in his eyes. Avoiding its gaze might leave psychological scars, weakening him in future confrontations.
The demon seemed surprised by Han Li’s defiance. After sweeping its icy gaze over the others, it fixed its attention back on Han Li, who stared back silently, his eyes half-lidded.
Venerable Linghu and the woman in white, originally standing beside Han Li, involuntarily stepped aside under the demon’s oppressive spiritual pressure. The others tensed, preparing for battle.
Suddenly, the demon raised a hand, and a black fireball swelled to the size of a human head before vanishing with a flick of its wrist.
Han Li stiffened, then frowned in confusion—the fireball hadn’t targeted them but instead exploded in midair above the demon, engulfing a ten-zhang radius in black flames.
Before Han Li could react, a figure flickered beneath the flames—a two-headed, four-armed monster emerged, its four arms waving as it condensed the black flames back into a fireball in one palm.
The monster’s front head then swallowed the fireball whole before glaring coldly at the horned demon below.
“So it’s you. You finally came,” the horned demon sighed, speaking in human tongue.
“You dare attack me? It seems you’ve grown bold. I wonder if releasing you to devour that cultivator’s soul was a mistake,” the two-headed “Nanlong Hou” sneered, its voice dripping with malice.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage