Chapter 1630: Ambush

The qilin’s entire body shimmered with a dark glow, its surface slightly blurred, appearing as nothing more than a phantom.

Yet, facing this phantom, the young woman grew exceptionally solemn. With a single hand, she pointed toward it, and one after another, black runes eerily manifested before vanishing into the ink-black qilin.

Instantly, the once-ferocious ink qilin saw the malice in its eyes diminish. Finally, it pounced forward, transforming into a streak of black light that shot toward them.

With a soft *puff*, both the young woman and the cyan qilin were enveloped tightly within the black radiance.

“Heh heh, it’s fortunate I still remember the burial site of this ink qilin from back then. Only then could I refine this treasure using the lingering corpse qi from its remains. Because of our symbiotic bond, you also carry the aura of a qilin. Otherwise, with your current cultivation, not only would you be unable to wield this treasure, but you’d also suffer backlash,” the cyan qilin chuckled darkly.

“Precisely because it’s so rare that I can’t bear to part with it. Otherwise, with its power, it could at least save my life in a critical moment,” the crystal race woman sighed bitterly.

After saying this, she hesitated no longer. With a flicker of black light, her figure merged into the demonic qi.

Unbeknownst to them, shortly after they vanished into the demonic qi, a fist-sized grayish-white rock suddenly rose from the nearby mountainside.

Though small, the rock spun in midair before its surface cracked inch by inch, transforming into a golden, shimmering beetle. In a flash, it silently flew into the demonic qi passage.

At the same time, Han Li emerged from the demonic qi passage, quietly appearing at the entrance of a vast hall, his gaze sharp as he surveyed the interior.

The hall was circular, enormous, spanning over a hundred zhang in diameter.

At its center stood a golden formation, thirty zhang wide, surrounded by twelve towering black stone pillars. Carved upon them were grotesque, ferocious demonic patterns, spewing streams of inky demonic qi that drifted toward the formation’s heart.

At the formation’s core lay a blood-red bed, upon which rested a massive black ape, several zhang in length.

The ape bore exposed fangs, abnormally long limbs, and three bizarre, upward-curving horns on its head, gleaming with a yellow light. On its chest was a purple wound the size of a human head, through which several ribs and a pitch-black, faintly beating heart were clearly visible.

Strangely, the ape’s eyes remained tightly shut, its body absorbing the surrounding demonic qi as dark light flickered across its surface. Meanwhile, a layer of bloody mist churned beneath it on the crimson bed, continuously surging into the ape’s body.

Han Li stood at the entrance, coldly observing everything within the hall, showing no intention of acting yet.

At this moment, his body was completely ethereal, making it nearly impossible for anyone nearby to detect his presence.

However, facing a being at the mid-level of the Body Integration stage, Han Li wasn’t entirely confident that the Taiyi Concealment Talisman could fully deceive it.

Thus, he remained motionless at this distance, silently observing.

When the golden beetle outside the cave flew up from the mountainside, Han Li’s expression flickered briefly before returning to normal.

Before entering, he had left a Gold Devouring Beetle outside as a precaution, one infused with a trace of his divine sense and mutated after consuming a peculiar stone block.

Over the years, Han Li had discovered another innate ability of these mutated beetles: concealment and petrification!

This ability allowed them to blend seamlessly into earth and stone, making them undetectable unless someone knew their exact location or possessed specialized spiritual sight.

This was why Han Li dared to venture alone into the depths of the mountain.

Though the demonic qi blocked precise tracking, he could vaguely sense the crystal race woman’s movements through his divine connection with the beetle. He knew she wasn’t staying put outside but was up to something.

This didn’t surprise him.

From the moment she proposed exchanging Saint-rank demon materials for the repair of the Outer Realm Demon Armor, he had suspected she was hiding something. Otherwise, given her unusual status among the crystal race, even rare Saint-rank materials—lacking demon cores—wouldn’t justify such elaborate efforts, let alone gifting such a treasure.

After entering the Demon Gold Mountain Range, despite facing extreme dangers, she showed no signs of retreat, further confirming his suspicions.

Yet, Han Li felt no anger.

As long as her actions didn’t harm his interests and she fulfilled her promise to repair the armor with a Saint-rank demon core, he was willing to turn a blind eye to minor schemes.

Of course, if the stakes were high enough, he wouldn’t hesitate to intervene.

Given her low cultivation, Han Li was confident he could control the situation at any time.

After observing the hall for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he confirmed that aside from the formation and the twelve pillars, there were no other restrictions.

The ape before him was indeed severely injured and deeply asleep.

Thus, unless the crystal race woman’s intentions became clear, he saw no issue in securing the Saint-rank demon core first.

With a sneak attack, he was confident he could kill the demonic beast in one strike—provided he avoided direct confrontation.

With this in mind, Han Li’s eyes flashed coldly as he resolved to act.

Taking a deep breath, he flicked his sleeves.

In one hand, a green glow shimmered as over a dozen green orbs materialized, while the other hand produced a thick stack of talismans.

Tossing both forward, they floated before him.

Simultaneously, golden light flickered around him as two fist-sized golden beetles emerged.

Once prepared, Han Li formed a hand seal, and his ethereal form silently solidified.

Throughout this, his gaze never left the black ape on the blood-red bed, which remained motionless.

Relieved, he pointed at the stack of talismans, which silently dispersed to the hall’s perimeter before vanishing in flashes of silver light.

The green orbs drifted toward the black pillars, stopping just above them, inches from the formation, and hovered motionless.

The two Gold Devouring Beetles, guided by his divine sense, stealthily approached within ten zhang of the formation, hovering menacingly in midair.

After these preparations, Han Li glanced once more at the ape. Seeing no reaction, he hesitated before gesturing toward a corner of the hall.

A silver firebird materialized, its wings spreading before vanishing.

In the next instant, it reappeared above the formation, suspended silently.

Han Li’s expression was grave as he decisively activated his divine sense.

The firebird opened its beak, releasing a thin gold-and-silver thread—the Spirit Vortex Evil Light!

The thread shot forth with blinding speed, reaching the formation in an instant.

As expected, the formation wasn’t merely decorative.

A hum filled the hall as a blood-red barrier materialized above the formation, shielding the ape.

Yet, the gold-and-silver thread pierced through effortlessly, appearing above the ape’s head in a flash.

In the next moment, it would have drilled through the massive skull.

Watching this near-successful strike, Han Li held his breath.

*Clang!*

The ape’s seemingly unprotected body was suddenly encased in a full suit of purple armor.

The gold-and-silver thread struck the ape-faced visor, rebounding with a metallic clang!

Han Li’s expression darkened. Without hesitation, golden light erupted around him as a three-headed, six-armed golden Dharma Form materialized above him.

Muttering an incantation, two of the heads opened their eyes, revealing cold, piercing gazes. The six arms raised, then paired together.

In their golden hands, three indistinct yet massive swords appeared.

Though ancient in design and covered in glowing runes, each sword was unique: one paper-thin and golden, another slender and azure, and the last thick, blunt, and pitch-black.

“Slash,” Han Li uttered in a voice barely above a whisper.

Forming a hand seal, he pointed into the distance.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

Three colored sword beams shot forth, merging mid-flight into a single tri-colored streak aimed at the black ape.

Simultaneously, the green orbs atop the pillars dropped, erupting in deafening explosions.

Thunder roared!

In an instant, the twelve black pillars crumbled under the lightning’s force, and the formation was engulfed in azure arcs.

The purple barrier clashed with the lightning, shattering almost immediately as countless arcs rained down.

Seizing the opportunity, the two Gold Devouring Beetles and the tri-colored sword beam shot forward, striking at the exposed ape.