At the same time, the old man muttered incantations under his breath. A flash of light shimmered across his face, and suddenly, black-green spiritual patterns emerged, spreading at an unbelievable speed until they covered nearly every inch of his skin. These patterns then began to writhe and slither across his body as if alive.
From a distance, it looked as though countless slender green worms were entwined around the old man, creating an eerie and unsettling sight.
Meanwhile, the other two men acted swiftly. One of them summoned a blood-red copper gong. With a single strike, his white hair stood on end before breaking off and transforming into winged white-scaled flying snakes, which lunged at the bone-devouring butterflies chasing them from behind.
The other old man raised his hand and released a pristine white gourd. Inverting it, he unleashed a rolling mass of black mist that condensed into grotesque black palms, each with a strange mouth in the center. These palms let out eerie shrieks as they charged toward the skulls on the other side.
The four groups of creatures, bizarre and monstrous to outsiders, clashed violently upon contact. The air was soon filled with the dense, muffled sounds of bodies falling.
Despite their ferocious appearance, the black palms and white phosphorus flying snakes were clearly outmatched by the blood-red skulls and the bone-devouring butterflies. Under the onslaught of blood arrows spewed by the skulls and the green flames unleashed by the butterflies, the black palms and flying snakes fell from the sky one after another, suffering heavy losses in a short time.
In contrast, only a few dozen of the blood spirits and bone-devouring butterflies were destroyed in the skirmish.
With every loss of a black palm or flying snake, the muscles on the faces of the two old men twitched, their expressions filled with deep regret.
However, as their summoned creatures were nearly wiped out and the blood spirits and bone-devouring butterflies surged forward again, their expressions turned grave.
Exchanging a glance, one of them let out a loud shout. Behind him, the phantom of a massive octopus-like monster emerged and merged with his body. With a series of sharp hisses, over a dozen tentacles sprouted from his form.
Each tentacle was dozens of feet long, covered in dark-green runes. With a single strike, they could send swathes of blood spirits flying.
The other old man, facing the bone-devouring butterflies, flicked a finger, causing his nails to elongate and straighten like blades. He then slashed through the air above his shoulder.
A flash of blood!
His arm fell off as if severed by an invisible blade, then exploded into a shower of flesh fragments that hovered before him.
Next, he tore open his robe, revealing seven or eight terrifying insect tattoos on his chest. Through some hidden technique, these tattoos glowed brightly before detaching from his skin, transforming into monstrous insects, each about thirty feet long. These creatures devoured the floating flesh fragments in an instant.
With a cold glint in his eyes, the old man activated his secret technique. The giant insects twisted and contorted, sprouting silver spikes as their bodies turned golden, as if forged from indestructible metal. They let out hissing cries as they charged at the bone-devouring butterflies.
Meanwhile, every strike of the tentacles caused the runes on their surfaces to flash wildly, accompanied by thunderous roars, as if they could shatter the very void itself.
These two techniques were clearly their trump cards, temporarily holding back the blood spirits and bone-devouring butterflies.
Under their protection, the third old man, surnamed Yu, saw the dark-green patterns on his body intertwine and condense into an extremely bizarre eight-armed demonic figure that covered his entire body, as if he were clad in a ghastly green demonic hide.
Suddenly, he let out a roar, and countless green threads shot out from his body, wrapping around him to form a massive cocoon that began spinning wildly. The cocoon emitted horrifying wails, and the magic array beneath him buzzed violently, spewing thick clouds of dark-green demonic energy.
With a loud *bang*, the cocoon exploded, revealing a green-skinned, fanged eight-armed demon. Towering and grotesque, the demon slowly opened its eyes, revealing sinister green pupils.
The other two old men, however, seemed unable to hold their ground. Half of the tentacles of one were corroded by the blood spirits, dissolving into bloody water, while most of the giant insects of the other were devoured by the bone-devouring butterflies.
Yet, upon seeing the eight-armed green demon, their faces lit up with joy. They withdrew their techniques and rushed to the demon’s side.
With no opponents left, the blood spirits and bone-devouring butterflies surged forward, intent on surrounding the trio.
At this critical moment, the green demon finally acted. Its eight arms moved swiftly, raising four palms toward each side.
Golden light erupted from its palms, each bearing a golden seal script that expanded to ten feet in size. A chorus of Buddhist chants echoed as seven-colored light sprayed forth. The terrifying blood spirits and bone-devouring butterflies froze mid-air upon contact with the light before disintegrating into dust moments later.
The seven-colored light seemed to possess a peculiar power that perfectly countered the creatures. Within a few breaths, all the blood spirits and bone-devouring butterflies were eradicated.
As the green demon retracted its arms and the light faded, its body cracked apart like shattered porcelain, revealing the old man surnamed Yu inside. His face was deathly pale, his aura significantly weakened, as if he had expended a great deal of vitality.
“Fortunately, the three of us came together. If even one of us were missing, we might have suffered a great loss today,” Yu said with a sigh of relief, his face betraying a hint of lingering fear.
“Indeed. Though we knew the restrictions in the Blood Prison would be troublesome, we never expected to encounter blood spirits and bone-devouring butterflies. Alone, any one of us would have been in grave danger,” the old man surnamed Wu added solemnly.
“Still, the appearance of these creatures suggests we’re close to the true entrance of the Blood Prison. In a way, that’s good news,” the third old man remarked with a smile.
“Let’s hope so. Come, we must hurry back. With luck, we’ll obtain the legacy of the Heavenly Witch,” Wu said with a nod.
The three reactivated their escape lights and continued their journey.
—
Several days later, in a frozen wasteland, a hundred-foot-tall golden ape with three heads and six arms, each wielding a massive golden blade, clashed with two blue ice dragons in a whirlwind of golden fury.
The ice dragons, each five to six hundred feet long, were covered in shimmering blue scales. As they coiled and twisted, blizzards erupted around them, and waves of extreme cold spread, threatening to freeze the very air.
Yet the golden ape ignored the biting cold, focusing only on the dragons’ massive claws. After a few exchanges, the ape roared, merging its six golden blades into a single thousand-foot-long sword beam. With a flash, it cleaved both dragons in half.
But the severed halves rolled and transformed into four shorter dragons, lunging forward again. The ape responded by dissolving its sword beam into a golden ocean, engulfing the dragons and slicing them into dozens of pieces.
As the fragments glowed blue, attempting to reform into even smaller dragons, the golden waves relentlessly crushed them into nothingness, dispersing them as specks of blue light.
With a triumphant roar, the ape retracted its golden light and shrank back into human form—Han Li.
“The restrictions here are troublesome, conjuring ice creatures nearly at the Mahayana level. But after days of calculations, the exit should be ahead,” Han Li murmured, gazing at the snow-filled void before transforming into a golden streak and shooting forward.
Only his mastery of restrictions and immense spiritual power allowed him to navigate the illusions. Lesser cultivators would have long been lost.
Half an hour later, after dispatching several more ice beasts, Han Li arrived before a stone platform shrouded in a golden barrier. A small teleportation array was inscribed atop it.
A faint smile crossed his face, but upon scanning the barrier with his spiritual sense, his expression turned grave.
“A Five Elements Aura Shield? This complicates things. Ordinary methods won’t break it quickly. I’ll have to expend some vitality.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Han Li reached into the air, summoning a dark-green sword—the Profound Heavenly Spirit Cleaving Sword. The mere appearance of the blade caused the surrounding spiritual energy to tremble.
Gripping the sword, Han Li took a deep breath. Purple-gold light erupted from his body as a three-headed, six-armed Dharmic Form materialized behind him.
“Cleave!” he commanded, swinging the sword downward in a deceptively light stroke.
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