Chapter 1948: Separation

Seizing this golden opportunity, Han Li decisively rubbed his hands together and then flung them outward with a sudden motion!

A thunderous roar erupted!

Amidst flashes of golden lightning, countless arcs of electricity shot forth, transforming in an instant into a colossal net that enveloped the Stone Spirit, tightening abruptly around it.

By the time the spirit creature regained its senses from the cold snort, its body was already tightly bound by layers of crackling electric arcs.

Naturally unwilling to be captured so easily, the Stone Spirit let out a piercing shriek, and a surge of yellow demonic flames erupted from its body once more.

When the golden arcs of the Evil-Suppressing Divine Lightning met these flames, they began to dissolve with a series of low crackles.

The Stone Spirit was on the verge of breaking free!

But Han Li, having gone to such lengths to trap it, would not give it even the slightest chance. A cold smirk curled at the corner of his lips as he formed a hand seal with one hand, preparing to teleport right next to the Stone Spirit in an instant.

However, at that very moment, a somewhat urgent voice transmission from Frost Li the Transcendent reached his ears: “Fellow Daoist Han, hold on! Let my spirit insect subdue this creature.”

Startled, Han Li’s movements paused involuntarily.

The old man, who had been floating motionlessly in the air, suddenly twitched his eyeballs and let out a long, piercing cry.

Almost simultaneously, the azure flying scorpion blurred slightly, its phantom image flickering wildly as it split into over a dozen identical scorpions. With a flutter of their wings, these scorpions vanished in bursts of blue light.

In the next instant, spatial fluctuations rippled as the scorpions reappeared above the Stone Spirit. Their tails glowed with blue light, and the same blue radiance they had emitted earlier sprayed forth once more.

This time, the Stone Spirit, bound by the golden arcs, couldn’t move an inch. The blue radiance effortlessly penetrated its body.

A layer of blue mist instantly spread across the creature’s face, and the raging yellow demonic flames on its body dimmed as if encountering their nemesis, eventually dissipating with a muffled pop.

Witnessing this, the Yellow Millet Stone Spirit flew into a rage. Baring its teeth, it took a deep, forceful breath, causing its body to swell like a balloon while an incredibly fearsome aura radiated from it.

Sensing the eerie nature of this aura, Han Li’s expression changed as if recalling something. With a flicker of his body, he abruptly appeared over a hundred zhang away.

In that brief moment, the Stone Spirit’s body had already ballooned to its limit, straining the golden electric arcs to the point of snapping, as if it were about to self-destruct at any second.

“Wretched creature, still trying to self-destruct? I anticipated this move long ago!” Frost Li the Transcendent, having just broken free from the illusion, snorted coldly and made a grasping motion in the air.

Silver lightning flashed across the sky as an intricate, thread-like silver net materialized above the mountain peak. With a flicker, it descended to envelop the Yellow Millet Stone Spirit.

A deafening boom echoed!

The silver net tightly adhered to the Stone Spirit’s massive body, and under the old man’s incantation, it constricted rapidly.

Brilliant strands of lightning flared, and countless silver runes surged from the net, transforming the entire Stone Spirit into a blinding silver orb.

An incredible sight unfolded!

Under the tightening silver net, the Stone Spirit’s swollen body rapidly shrank.

Within a few breaths, it returned to its original size. No matter how hard it tried to activate any abilities, there was no response from within its body.

Though the Stone Spirit seethed with fury, it was utterly powerless now.

“Hehe, now that you’re caught in my Silver Frost Lightning Net, don’t even think about struggling. Come quietly with me to Sacred Island! Don’t worry—I won’t take your life. I merely need to borrow your body for a while.” Frost Li the Transcendent, overjoyed at successfully capturing the Yellow Millet Stone Spirit, couldn’t help but smile as he slowly descended from the air.

“Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Frost. It seems this mission has been successfully completed. I must admit, this humble monk wasn’t of much help. Without Fellow Daoist Han’s assistance, this little creature might have escaped.” The nearby Tianchan spoke up apologetically.

Clearly, the moment the Stone Spirit was captured, the illusion trapping him dissipated, allowing him to break free.

“Master, you’re too modest. Without your joint efforts with me, we wouldn’t have drawn out this creature’s illusion abilities so quickly. Fellow Daoist Han wouldn’t have been able to intercept it so easily either. But you’re right—we truly owe our success to Fellow Daoist Han’s help!” Frost Li the Transcendent laughed heartily.

“You two are too kind. I merely did what I could.” Han Li smiled faintly but said no more. With a single hand, he made a grasping motion toward the Stone Spirit, still tightly bound in the silver net.

A crackle of thunder sounded as countless golden lightning bolts shot from the silver net, transforming back into golden arcs that vanished into his body.

“That must be the Evil-Suppressing Divine Lightning. Tsk tsk, its demon-repelling properties make it an unstoppable weapon against low-tier demons!” Frost Li the Transcendent marveled before pointing a finger at the silver net below.

A thunderclap echoed in the clear sky!

Under the old man’s incantation, the net shimmered with threads of lightning and tightened once more.

This time, the silver net flashed wildly, mystically compressing the Stone Spirit into a fist-sized silver cocoon, which the old man then flicked into his sleeve.

“Besides the Evil-Suppressing Divine Lightning, there are a few other techniques exceptionally effective against demons. However, these are either notoriously difficult to master, making them impractical to spread, or long-lost, surviving only in rumors. Our human race possesses very few of such abilities. Otherwise, we wouldn’t struggle so much against the demons.” The monk drifted down from the sky, casting a meaningful glance at Han Li as he spoke with a sigh.

“Since such things are beyond our reach, why dwell on them, Master? Fellow Daoist Han’s acquisition of the Evil-Suppressing Divine Lightning is a testament to his fortune. I’ve heard that when combined with the true Lightning Summoning Art, its power can threaten even Body Integration-level demon lords. Sadly, Sacred Island only holds the latter half of the incantation. Fellow Daoist Han, if you ever get the chance, you might consider venturing into the wildlands to seek the rest. Some of the foreign races may still possess the complete art.” Frost Li the Transcendent offered this advice with a smile.

“Lightning Summoning Art! Only half the incantation?” Han Li’s heart stirred at these words.

He had once obtained a Lightning Summoning Art from the Four Great Demon Kings of the Abyss. Though potent, it was too time-consuming to activate, making it impractical for actual combat, so he had rarely used it.

“Indeed. The first half of the Lightning Summoning Art teaches how to control and summon the lightning’s power, while the latter half focuses on true manipulation and deployment. Both are indispensable!” Frost Li the Transcendent explained.

“I see. It seems I must indeed seek out the wildlands when the opportunity arises.” Han Li nodded calmly, though inwardly he cursed vehemently.

No wonder the Lightning Summoning Art had been so impractical—the Four Great Demon Kings had only taught him half of it! Unsurprisingly, they had done so deliberately.

But then again, he likely would have done the same in their place.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries on the mountaintop, Tianchan was the first to bid farewell: “Fellow Daoists, the situation in Sacred Emperor City is precarious, and I’ve been away for too long. I must return immediately to assist His Majesty in defending the city. I take my leave here.”

“In that case, I too must hurry back to Sacred Island with the Stone Spirit. The island’s inhabitants urgently need it. Fellow Daoists Han and Tianchan, may we meet again after the demonic tribulation. Ah, Fellow Daoist Han, you’ll be staying here a few more days, correct?” The old man, his ugly face breaking into a faint smile, clasped his hands in farewell.

“I still need to borrow the earthfire, so I’ll linger for a couple more days. Take care on your journeys. I won’t see you off.” Han Li smiled faintly and returned the gesture with composure.

Moments later, a dark light and a white light soared from the mountaintop, circling briefly before streaking off in different directions as two dazzling streaks.

After a few flashes, the two streaks vanished beyond the horizon, leaving no trace behind.

Standing atop a boulder on the mountain peak, Han Li watched the departing lights until they disappeared, his smile gradually fading. He murmured to himself, “The latter half of the Lightning Summoning Art… It seems a trip to Sacred Island is inevitable. But first, I must negotiate with that demon and secure the Primordial Chaos Qi.”

With that, his figure blurred, and he reappeared at the edge of the massive crater, peering down once more.

The crater had remained largely untouched during the earlier battle, preserving its original state.

Yellow mist still swirled at the bottom, obscuring visibility.

After scrutinizing it for a while, Han Li swept his gaze across the mountaintop and frowned slightly.

With a flip of his hand, a thick stack of formation flags materialized in his palm. A flick of his wrist sent dozens of streaks of light shooting in all directions.

Amidst flashes of spiritual light, the formation tools vanished into the void.

Soon after, a dense white mist spread across the mountaintop, swiftly engulfing both the crater and Han Li himself.

Remaining motionless, Han Li flicked his sleeves, releasing thirteen purple orbs that buzzed into the mist and disappeared.

Next, a green glow flashed around him as a green shadow emerged from his body, darting into the ground with an eerie motion.

Having completed these preparations, Han Li exhaled deeply and sat cross-legged beside the crater, his expression solemn. With one hand forming a seal and the other slapping the crown of his head, a golden light shimmered as a half-foot-tall infant spirit materialized above him.