Chapter 1644: Punishment Beast

However, just as the golden light on his body began to flicker, a cry rang out from his sleeve, filled with excitement and agitation.

Han Li was taken aback, his expression turning extremely peculiar. But after a few flickers in his gaze, he decisively shook his sleeve.

A strange howling sound erupted.

A pitch-black ring flew out from his sleeve, circled once, and immediately shot out a beam of black light.

As the light dissipated, a small black monkey appeared before Han Li—it was the Soul-Crying Beast!

But at this moment, the Soul-Crying Beast was clearly far from its usual self. Without waiting for Han Li to command it with his divine sense, it suddenly let out a furious roar. Black light swirled over its body as it rapidly expanded, transforming into a thirty-zhang-tall black giant ape.

The Soul-Crying Beast’s eyes turned blood-red. It pounded its massive fists against its chest, its black fur bristling, revealing sharp fangs and sprouting strange horns—it had morphed into a three-eyed demonic ghost!

This ghost had three sinister black bone spikes on its back, exuding an eerie and terrifying aura.

“Xing Beast!”

A terrified shriek suddenly echoed through the void. The countless foot-tall black-robed figures in the sky instantly turned into wisps of black mist, vanishing without a trace.

Han Li blinked, utterly surprised and bewildered.

Meanwhile, the demonic ghost transformed from the Soul-Crying Beast seemed to have lost its sanity. After letting out a deep, sinister roar, its third demonic eye suddenly flashed with spiritual light, shooting out a blood-red beam that disappeared in an instant.

A strange clanging sound startled Han Li.

The blood-red beam reappeared dozens of zhang away, but as soon as it manifested, it transformed into a blood-red chain with a clear chime.

The chain twisted strangely in the void, forming a massive loop that ensnared something invisible.

Thunderous rumbles erupted from the chain as crimson arcs of lightning crackled across its surface.

A scream came from the end of the chain. Amidst the flashing blood-red arcs, a mass of black mist several zhang in diameter emerged.

The blood-red chain, as if seeing a delicious meal, instantly coiled around the black mist seven or eight times, binding it tightly.

Amidst the deafening thunder, the blood-red arcs grew even more terrifying.

The black mist seemed deathly afraid of these arcs. Not only did it scream incessantly, but it also morphed into over a dozen different forms in mere breaths, desperately trying to break free.

Among them were the black-robed figure and the ink-black qilin.

But all its efforts were in vain. No matter what form it took, the blood-red arcs shattered it instantly, reducing it back to wisps of black mist.

The blood-red chain clung to the black mist like a persistent parasite, preventing it from escaping even slightly. The black mist alternated between screams and the furious roars of the strange face.

At this moment, the demonic ghost transformed from the Soul-Crying Beast took further action. A furry, massive hand reached into the void behind it.

One of the three black bone spikes on its back vanished without warning.

But in the next instant, black light flashed in the beast’s hand, and the bone spike reappeared, firmly grasped in its grip.

A chant Han Li had never heard before rumbled from the beast’s mouth. The originally pitch-black bone spear suddenly lit up with rows of golden characters, glowing brilliantly and exuding an air of profound mystery.

The bone spear then began vibrating on its own, emitting a humming sound that grew louder and louder.

Simultaneously, a golden wave spread from the spear’s tip, bursting with dazzling radiance. Golden runes similar to those on the spear floated around it, flickering unpredictably.

The moment these runes appeared, an overwhelming killing intent erupted from the bone spear, soaring into the sky.

“Golden Seal Script!”

“Heaven’s Punishment Divine Spear!”

Two completely different voices—Han Li’s and the black mist’s—exclaimed simultaneously.

But while Han Li’s face was filled with shock, the voice from the black mist was laced with extreme terror.

Han Li’s mind raced, but before he could make sense of the situation, the black mist trapped by the blood-red chain underwent another bizarre transformation.

The black mist swirled violently, shrinking abruptly before rapidly expanding again.

With a muffled *bang*, the black mist self-destructed!

A dark halo emerged within the blood-red chain, forcibly expanding it.

Seizing this opportunity, countless black streaks shot out from the chain.

The strange face, realizing the dire situation, had chosen to self-destruct most of itself to allow a small portion to escape.

But an unbelievable scene unfolded immediately.

The blood-red chain let out a dull sound before splitting into dozens of blood-red threads that shot out like lightning. In an instant, each thread pierced through a black streak.

A mournful cry later, the black streaks trembled and reverted into clumps of black mist, frozen mid-air.

All the blood-red threads glowed and retracted, forcibly reassembling the black mist. The threads then merged back into a thick blood-red chain, binding the now halved black mist once more.

At that moment, the bone spear in the beast’s hand transformed into a golden crystalline streak and shot out.

Though not particularly fast, the trapped black mist had no means of evasion. As it writhed, an unfamiliar face emerged from within.

Unlike the previous white strange face, this one had two horns, a face divided into five colors, and was enveloped in blazing blood flames. Its pitch-black eye sockets contained two rapidly spinning silver lights that induced dizziness upon a mere glance.

If the previous strange face somewhat resembled a human, this one was a demonic visage Han Li had never seen before.

“Immortal, spare me! Call off the Xing Beast! My true form is a fragment of the Outer Realm Demon Monarch’s soul. I am willing to submit and serve as your demonic slave!” the demonic face cried in desperation, as if clutching at its last lifeline.

“Outer Realm Demon Monarch!” Han Li was startled, his heart pounding. But a glance at the transformed Soul-Crying Beast left him helpless.

The beast had completely severed its mental connection with him, seemingly acting unconsciously from start to finish. How could he control it now?

The golden crystalline streak pierced through the demonic face’s despairing expression.

A thumb-sized hole appeared between its brows, from which blinding golden light surged forth.

In an instant, the demonic face was engulfed, its expression freezing as if petrified.

With a crisp *crack*, the face shattered into countless five-colored fragments, floating motionlessly within the black mist.

The Soul-Crying Beast’s eyes flashed strangely. With a snort, it exhaled a yellow mist that effortlessly swept up the black mist and the demonic face’s fragments before swirling back into its gaping maw.

The blood-red chain let out a low hum before vanishing into thin air.

The bone spear that had been shot out reappeared on the beast’s back in a flash, but the golden seal script was gone, and the black light it emitted had dimmed to near invisibility.

*Thud!*

To Han Li’s astonishment, the Soul-Crying Beast, having just devoured the demonic face, retracted the blood-red glow in its eyes, revealing a dazed expression. After blinking a few times, it collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Its massive body shrank rapidly, reverting to its original small black monkey form in an instant.

At the same time, Han Li’s severed mental connection with the beast was abruptly restored.

Han Li was stunned but immediately scanned the monkey with his divine sense—only to be shocked once more.

The Soul-Crying Beast’s physical and spiritual energy were completely depleted, as if it had just fought a fierce battle for three days and nights.

Han Li’s expression darkened, his mind a whirlwind of confusion.

The beast’s bizarre transformation and the revelation that the strange face was an avatar of the Outer Realm Demon Monarch left him deeply puzzled.

The demonic face’s recognition of the Soul-Crying Beast as the “Xing Beast” only added to his bewilderment.

But he knew now was not the time to seek answers.

For at that moment, the earth shook violently, and the black void began crumbling apart as beams of white light pierced through.

Han Li’s gaze swept the surroundings, but he found no trace of the so-called True Kirin’s Origin. Frowning, he flicked his sleeve, storing the unconscious Soul-Crying Beast within.

Then, with a flash, he vanished from the spot.

A moment later, a spatial ripple appeared several hundred zhang in the air, and Han Li emerged, enveloped in azure light.

Below him lay a massive, broken gray-white stone face hundreds of zhang in size, its hollow interior rapidly weathering and collapsing.

After a quick scan, Han Li’s eyes narrowed.

Not far below, Xian Xian, who had been immobilized earlier, now stood gracefully in mid-air, several gleaming white flying knives hovering before her as she looked up in astonishment.

Nearby, the Gui Surnamed Man stood with his hands behind his back, a faint silver dragon phantom flickering above his head.

The two seemed locked in a tense standoff.

“Brother Han, did you… kill that Cave Spirit?” the Crystal Clan woman asked slowly after taking a deep breath.

The Gui Surnamed Man also fixed Han Li with a dark, suspicious gaze.

“What, is it so hard to believe that I killed this thing?” Han Li replied calmly, his expression unreadable.

“Of course not. It’s just that Brother Han’s abilities are truly extraordinary, to have slain it so quickly. This is beyond my expectations,” Xian Xian said with a fleeting smile.

Han Li chuckled but offered no further explanation.

At that moment, the Gui Surnamed Man spoke coldly:

“Since you’ve killed the Cave Spirit, where is the True Kirin’s Origin? Has it fallen into your hands?”