The golden ape’s arms suddenly flashed with golden light, instantly thickening by a full circle. Then, with a sudden bend, it hurled the two extreme mountains like projectiles.
As soon as the two small mountains left its hands, they emitted a resonant hum and expanded several times in size, transforming into colossal peaks over forty to fifty zhang tall. In a flash, they appeared above the blood-colored peacock, crashing down with a thunderous roar.
Even before the mountains truly descended, the nearby space erupted with piercing shrieks, unleashing waves of invisible fluctuations.
An almost suffocating sense of dread instantly descended from the sky. Though the blood-colored peacock felt a slight shock, it did not take the threat too seriously. Instinctively, it flapped its wings violently toward the sky.
A crimson mist surged upward like a hurricane—it intended to directly withstand the two extreme mountains hurled by Han Li’s giant ape.
While this blood light might not match the profound transformations of the Five-Colored Divine Light, the sinister aura hidden within its radiance was exceptionally venomous, capable of corrupting the spiritual essence of any treasure. No matter how powerful an ordinary treasure might be, once entangled by this blood light, it would be rendered helpless.
Naturally, Shopkeeper Yu never expected that the forging method of these two mountains did not originate from the Spirit Realm. Instead, they were part of the renowned Five Extreme Mountains from the True Immortal World. Moreover, the terrifying attack of these two mountains did not rely on their inherent power but rather on their immense weight and the colossal strength of the giant ape itself.
As soon as the black and green mountains were engulfed by the crimson radiance, two muffled *pops* resounded. With a dazzling burst of spiritual light, they tore through the mist like paper.
“Ah!”
Shopkeeper Yu let out a startled cry. The blood peacock swiftly darted to the side, attempting to evade the attack from above.
However, the two mountains had already enveloped an area of over a hundred zhang below, and their momentum was too ferocious to escape in an instant. In the blink of an eye, the black mountain descended with overwhelming force.
The blood peacock’s eyes flashed with terror, but with no other choice, it gritted its teeth and spat out a rolled-up painting scroll.
As soon as the scroll left its mouth, it unfurled with a flourish!
Under a dazzling array of multicolored light, a mirage of pavilions and palaces emerged from the painting, each exquisitely vivid and lifelike. Upon closer inspection, they exuded a profound and mysterious aura, as if leading into an unfathomable void.
These illusions intertwined, forming a dense five-colored barrier that shielded the blood peacock beneath it.
Judging by the intense spatial fluctuations caused by these illusions, this treasure was an exceedingly rare spatial-class artifact.
In Shopkeeper Yu’s view, this spatial-class lifebound treasure, reserved as his trump card, would undoubtedly withstand the seemingly formidable mountain before him.
No matter how immense the mountain’s power might be, it would pale in comparison to the profound laws of spatial manipulation.
Of course, to be cautious, the blood peacock showed no intention of lingering. With another flap of its wings, it would escape the danger in the next instant.
But at that moment, the two mountains suddenly erupted with blinding radiance. A surge of gray mist cascaded down like a tidal wave, accompanied by sharp *whooshing* sounds as countless invisible sword energies rained down like a storm.
The combined force struck the five-colored barrier with devastating impact, producing an earth-shattering explosion!
The illusions of pavilions and palaces within the barrier were torn apart one after another. As the two mountains descended, they crushed all remnants of the illusions, utterly failing to halt the peaks’ advance.
The blood peacock didn’t even have time to let out a cry before the black mountain smashed squarely onto it, instantly exploding its body midair, scattering chunks of flesh in all directions.
Seeing this, Han Li couldn’t help but reveal a faint smile. However, in the next moment, his expression darkened once more.
The shattered flesh beneath the mountain suddenly trembled violently, followed by a series of sharp *whooshes*!
All the scattered flesh fragments shot toward a single point, coalescing into a grotesque, writhing blood sphere that seemed on the verge of reforming a new body in moments.
A cold glint flashed in Han Li’s eyes. Without hesitation, he pointed a finger at the black extreme mountain from afar.
The gray mist radiating from the peak abruptly condensed, transforming into countless gray threads that shot downward like arrows. In an instant, they pierced through the blood sphere, then flickered with a chilling light as they began to churn violently.
The half-formed sphere was instantly shredded into countless fragments under the gray radiance.
Yet the gray threads showed no sign of stopping. The fragments were soon reduced to a bloody mist, rendering any further reformation impossible.
*Whoosh!*
A five-colored phantom shot out from the bloody mist, within which a miniature peacock, no larger than a fist, could faintly be seen.
This was none other than Shopkeeper Yu’s nascent soul, which had narrowly escaped through a secret technique.
But Han Li had no intention of letting it flee. The golden ape took a deep breath, then opened its mouth, within which thunder rumbled. A thick golden lightning bolt, as wide as a bowl, erupted forth.
With a single flash, the golden lightning traversed dozens of zhang, striking the five-colored phantom squarely.
A thunderous crack!
The miniature peacock let out a final shriek before being reduced to ashes within the golden lightning, vanishing from the world for good.
The golden ape then raised its head and let out a triumphant roar, pounding its chest with its fists. Its massive form rapidly shrank amidst golden light, soon reverting to Han Li’s human form.
Having regained his original appearance, Han Li exhaled deeply and glanced at the bloody mist below. After a brief contemplation, he raised a hand and beckoned downward.
A golden and a silver storage ring shot out from the mist, landing in his palm after a single flash.
Han Li examined the two rings briefly before they vanished in a flicker of spiritual light.
He then turned his gaze to the now-calm bloody mist below, his pupils flickering with an unusual glint. With a flick of his sleeve, he sent a silver flame downward.
*Bang!*
The silver flame struck the bloody mist, igniting it like oil. In moments, the mist was engulfed in silver fire, emitting a faint, acrid stench.
Below him, a sea of silver flames had formed!
Han Li narrowed his eyes and reached out again, grasping at the void below.
The silver flames churned violently before coalescing into a fiery dragon that soared upward.
All the flames were swiftly drawn into his sleeve, leaving behind only a small, egg-sized liquid sphere in his palm, faintly glowing with five-colored radiance.
Staring at this liquid, Han Li’s face betrayed a trace of astonishment.
“Even after only a rough refinement, the purity of this true blood is astonishing. He was no ordinary Five-Colored clansman! With further refinement, one might even suspect he was a direct descendant of the Five-Colored Peacock. Could he truly have had a deep connection with that legendary being? No matter—his origins are irrelevant now.”
Muttering to himself in confusion, Han Li eventually shook his head.
He then flipped his hand, producing a small crimson vial. Chanting an incantation, he directed the vial toward the liquid sphere.
The vial trembled slightly before releasing a white mist that enveloped the sphere, drawing every last drop inside.
With another flicker of spiritual light, Han Li stored the vial away. Then, with a hand seal, he recalled the two extreme mountains as well.
From today’s battle, the terrifying might of the extreme mountains, combined with the divine strength of the Mountain Ape transformation, had become another deadly trump card in his arsenal.
If he could forge one or two more extreme mountains, the lethality of this technique would multiply.
A green glow enveloped Han Li as he vanished from the spot.
In the next moment, space rippled near the still-gigantic form of the Tihun Beast in the distance. Han Li silently appeared before it, raising his head to scrutinize the creature with a complex expression.
Though he had known that Tihun’s transformation would grant unimaginable power, witnessing it slay a Mahayana-level two-headed avian in a single strike left him speechless for a long while.
Hadn’t this beast only been effective against ghosts and demons?
Moreover, just days ago, he had inspected it within the spirit beast ring, finding no signs of awakening. Yet the moment that strange bird appeared, Tihun had sprung to life on its own.
While this had delighted him, it had also given him quite a fright!
But now, the mental connection between him and the reawakened Tihun had grown faint and unstable, as if he had lost most of his control over it.
This left him somewhat uneasy. Frowning slightly, he found himself at a loss for how to handle the beast—especially after witnessing its terrifying power firsthand.
Just then, Tihun, who had been toying with the Thunder Beast core in its hand, suddenly tossed the core into the air. With a loud *crunch*, it bit into the core and swallowed it whole before lowering its gaze to Han Li. Its crimson eyes gleamed with an eerie light.
“Master, are you worried?” Tihun suddenly rumbled.
“Worried? Why should I be? Has your intelligence fully awakened?” Han Li’s heart tightened, but his expression remained calm.
“Heh, my mind has indeed gained many new insights. And Master, there’s no need to hide it. Even if our connection has weakened, I can still sense your concerns,” Tihun replied with a grin.
“What do you mean by ‘new insights’? And regardless, what exactly are you now? Are you truly the so-called ‘Punishment Beast’ they spoke of?” Han Li was taken aback before letting out a wry smile.
“This… I’m not entirely sure. After this long slumber, my mind has gained much knowledge. I seem to resemble the Punishment Beast they described, yet there are differences. But one thing is certain—Master need not worry. I fear I will soon leave this realm,” Tihun sighed, delivering words that made Han Li’s expression shift.
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