Han Li was naturally unaware of the events unfolding deep within the underground palace, but with the eerie sensation now gone, he couldn’t help but feel slightly relieved.
The four of them had just exited the garden and arrived at what appeared to be an ordinary small plaza.
On the opposite side of the plaza stood a grand hall spanning several acres, silent and devoid of any sound.
“Something’s odd. My divine sense can’t penetrate inside. Could the restrictions here still be active?” Lü Shi remarked with a trace of gravity in his tone.
“It’s not due to restrictions,” Xie Lian interjected with a light chuckle after scrutinizing the hall. “This hall is constructed from a special material from our Sacred Realm called ‘Nether River Sand.’ It naturally blocks divine sense, so it’s no surprise you can’t probe inside, Fellow Daoist Lü Shi.”
“No, that’s not it. There seems to be the aura of the Moth Insects inside!”
Lü Shi the Venerable, far from being reassured by Xie Lian’s words, suddenly sniffed the air twice before his expression darkened. With a single hand, he reached into the void and summoned a short blade wreathed in green mist, which silently materialized before him.
“The aura of Moth Insects? Fellow Daoist Lü Shi, you can’t be mistaken, can you?” Xie Lian exclaimed in alarm, swiftly drawing a finger through the air in front of her. Three faint silver rings shimmered into existence before her.
“Hmph! The Hundred Lives Unerring Technique I cultivate allows me to discern even the faintest auras from dozens of miles away. This is nothing!” Lü Shi the Venerable snorted with absolute confidence.
Han Li frowned slightly upon hearing this, his gaze fixed on the hall for a moment before he suddenly rubbed his hands together and flung them outward.
Two thunderous booms erupted as two thick golden arcs shot forth, coiling into golden pythons over thirty feet long. In a flash, they lunged through the hall’s entrance.
Within the hall, thunder roared as countless golden lightning bolts exploded in a dazzling display.
“Evil-Suppressing Divine Lightning!” Xie Lian’s expression shifted slightly at the sight of the golden lightning’s overwhelming power.
Though Evil-Suppressing Divine Lightning typically held little restraining effect on a Demon Saint like her, when wielded by someone of Han Li’s caliber, it still posed a significant threat.
Amidst the thunderous clamor inside the hall, several sharp hisses pierced the air. Then, with a series of muffled thuds, five shadowy figures shot out, landing in a row on the plaza, directly facing Han Li and the other Great Ascension cultivators.
“These accursed insects!” Lü Shi’s face turned icy as he recognized the figures.
The five shadows were massive human-faced insects, each standing thirty to forty feet tall, with grotesque male heads atop slender necks. Their forelimbs clutched crude, club-like weapons.
The largest of them, standing in the center, had a pale-blue carapace, while the other four were pitch-black, resembling the remains of the human-faced insect Han Li and the others had encountered earlier.
The blue leader locked its gaze on the four of them, its face twisting into a hideous grin as it spoke in a guttural voice:
“Gahaha… Wonderful… Outsiders… Another feast of flesh and blood… Gahaha…”
“Yes… How we’ve missed the taste of blood… It’s been so long… Gahaha…”
The other insects echoed with greedy expressions.
Han Li and the others took in the sight of these creatures. Xie Lian’s expression darkened as she flicked a finger, causing the three silver rings before her to hum and glow brilliantly.
Han Li, however, merely smiled and turned to Xie Lian and Lü Shi.
“Five at once—neither too fortunate nor too unfortunate. Brother Crab and I will handle three. The remaining two are yours. Any objections?”
“None at all. Fellow Daoist Crab and Brother Han are no ordinary Great Ascension cultivators. Consider it a case of the capable bearing more responsibility,” Xie Lian replied with a light laugh.
Lü Shi the Venerable naturally had no objections either. With a flick of his short blade, a surge of green mist coiled into a flood dragon, lunging at one of the insects.
The targeted insect showed no fear, spewing a stream of gray-white mist from its maw.
A deafening explosion erupted as the two gases collided, spiraling upward like intertwined dragons locked in combat.
Xie Lian’s three silver rings vanished in a flash, reappearing above another insect in a blur before crashing down with immense force.
The insect below snarled, swinging its two crude clubs upward. The air exploded as two immense forces collided with the rings, halting their descent momentarily.
The blue leader cackled wildly, vanishing into the void with a flick of its black club.
Crab Daoist’s eyes flashed as he muttered, “Leave it to me.” Silver lightning crackled around him before he vanished with a thunderclap.
High above, another thunderous boom echoed as Crab Daoist and the blue insect reappeared in a violent explosion of energy.
Without a word, Crab Daoist summoned two massive silver blades from arcs of lightning, his body swelling to over a hundred feet tall. With a thunderous step, he charged the insect, blades whirling like silver wheels.
The blue insect screeched, its body expanding as it met Crab Daoist’s assault head-on, its black club transforming into a swirling black mist. The two clashed in a storm of blows, neither yielding an inch.
Meanwhile, Xie Lian conjured a colossal green flower behind her, which dissolved into thousands of green blades that surged toward her opponent like a tidal wave.
Lü Shi the Venerable, now wielding a massive golden seal, directed it to crush his foe like a falling mountain. The insect, though resilient, could only dodge frantically under the relentless assault.
Han Li, seeing the two occupied, turned his gaze to the remaining insects.
The two hesitated, unsure whether to aid their comrades or attack the lone enemy before them.
Han Li smirked, forming a hand seal as golden runes erupted from his body, transforming into dazzling arcs of lightning that enveloped him.
With another gesture, the arcs coalesced into a roaring golden thunderball in his palm, radiating terrifying energy.
The two insects, sensing the threat, hissed in unison and lunged at Han Li, one spewing a noxious black fluid while the other hurled its clubs with bone-crushing force.
Han Li’s shoulders twitched as his form dissolved into motes of light, evading the attacks effortlessly.
The insects, realizing the deception, vanished in a blur, reappearing at the plaza’s edges.
But Han Li had never truly moved. His figure reformed from scattered light, his earlier disappearance merely an illusion.
Before the insects could react, Han Li hurled the thunderball skyward.
A deafening explosion followed as a colossal golden lightning bolt descended, vaporizing one insect instantly.
The remaining insect shrieked in fury, unleashing a sonic wave toward Han Li—
(Note: Translation continues as per the original text, maintaining the same style and detail.)
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage