Chapter 1626: The Reappearance of the Strange Poison

From transforming into a multicolored phoenix to unleashing the spatial abilities of a phoenix-like spiritual bird, Han Li traversed dozens of yards in an instant, appearing directly above the battling Devouring Firebird and the demonic avian in the blink of an eye.

However, the demonic avian below had already been startled when its fine needles failed to affect Han Li, diverting part of its attention toward him. Thus, it witnessed Han Li’s transformation clearly.

The female face of the demonic avian immediately showed traces of fear.

After all, the True Spirit Heavenly Phoenix was renowned as the king of all avian creatures. Even the Golden Crow, another True Spirit, was naturally suppressed to some extent when facing the Heavenly Phoenix.

Of course, Han Li’s multicolored phoenix was merely an illusion conjured through a technique, far from matching a true Heavenly Phoenix. However, the Heavenly Phoenix True Blood within him was genuine, and the demonic avian was not a true Golden Crow either—it was merely a mutated form inheriting partial bloodline.

Thus, upon sensing the unique aura of the True Blood emanating from the multicolored phoenix, the demonic avian couldn’t help but feel fear. Moreover, the Devouring Firebird’s terrifying ability to devour Golden Crow True Flames had completely countered its previously unstoppable powers.

The demonic avian immediately considered retreating. Without hesitation, it let out a sharp cry and spat out a milky-white beam of light. The white flames around its body contracted as it attempted to withdraw.

But the Devouring Firebird, born from Han Li’s spiritual flames, shared an even deeper mental connection with him than a typical lifebound treasure. It would never allow the demonic avian to escape so easily!

With a mere thought from Han Li, the silver firebird opened its beak and spat out a thin golden-silver thread—the Spirit Vortex Evil Light refined by the Devouring Heavenly Flames!

The milky-white beam was as thick as a bowl’s mouth, while the golden-silver thread was as fine as silk. Yet when the two collided, the beam froze solid and was instantly reflected back toward the demonic avian.

Despite the demonic avian’s formidable cultivation, the sudden rebound of its own attack threw it into chaos.

With an enraged flap of its wings, two streams of white flames surged from either side, barely managing to block the reflected beam.

But by then, the golden-silver thread had already flashed to its forehead.

Knowing the strangeness of this thread, the avian dared not take it head-on and twisted its body to evade.

At that moment, a loud phoenix cry rang out above it, and a vast expanse of cyan light descended with eerie speed. Han Li, in his multicolored phoenix form, had fully emerged from the spatial rift. With a flick of his long feathers, the cyan spiritual light swept down silently.

Given the demonic avian’s agility, it might have barely dodged. However, the silver flames entangled with the Golden Crow True Flames suddenly retracted, exerting a tremendous force that disrupted the avian’s balance. Caught off guard, it was instantly enveloped by the cyan light.

Despite the white flames rolling off its body, they melted like snow in spring upon contact with the cyan light.

This cyan light seemed to be a technique specifically countering the Golden Crow True Flames.

Once trapped within the cyan light, the demonic avian felt its body tighten, becoming as heavy as a mountain.

Panic surged through it—not because of the restraint, but because the golden-silver thread had already reached between its brows, leaving no time to dodge.

Han Li and the Devouring Firebird’s coordination was flawless.

Left with no choice, the demonic avian’s face turned ashen. It suddenly opened its mouth wide and inhaled deeply.

The white demon core floating nearby flashed and instantly teleported before the avian’s face. It intended to use this core as a temporary shield.

The avian had full confidence in its core’s durability, believing it could withstand even a strike from a top-tier treasure unscathed.

Yet something unbelievable happened.

The golden-silver thread struck the core—yet passed through it as if it were nothing.

With a muffled *thud*, a small black hole appeared between the avian’s four eyes. The thread had pierced straight through!

A shrill, agonized cry erupted from the avian. The dimmed white flames on its body flared up violently, and with a flap of its wings, it shattered the surrounding cyan light into fragments.

No longer caring about the Devouring Firebird’s fierce assault, it severed the white flames locked in stalemate with the silver flames in an instant.

With several frantic wingbeats, a pillar of white fire erupted from its body, swirling into a vast sea of flames as wind and fire intertwined.

Amid the white inferno, the demonic avian flapped its wings furiously, its expression twisted with malice. Above, centered around the demon core, a colossal phantom of a strange bird over thirty feet long materialized. The phantom was pale gold with jet-black eyes, resembling a crow but with three claws.

“Golden Crow Dharma Form! It truly carries some of that True Spirit’s bloodline!” The multicolored phoenix above shimmered as Han Li reverted to human form, gazing at the phantom with a murmur.

At that moment, the demonic avian in the fire sea raised its head and let out a long cry. The surrounding white flames surged toward the Golden Crow phantom like moths to a flame, vanishing into it without a sound.

Within a few breaths, the phantom absorbed all the Golden Crow True Flames, its body glowing brilliantly as if solidified. Yet white flames still flickered across its golden feathers, with silver runes rolling within them, amplifying its aura severalfold.

The demonic avian below glared at Han Li with vicious intent, clearly preparing to unleash a devastating attack through the Dharma Form.

Yet strangely, Han Li glanced at the massive Golden Crow above, then down at the avian below, and suddenly chuckled. Raising a hand, he pointed at the avian and uttered the word “fall” three times.

The avian paused, then seethed with rage, its wings trembling as it prepared to strike.

But then—

A sudden mutation!

The avian shuddered violently, let out a mournful cry, and plummeted from the sky. Mid-fall, its body curled into a ball, its skin turning dark purple-black as a foul stench spread. In moments, it dissolved into a pool of toxic liquid, with no sign of its escaping soul. This was the result of the Spirit Vortex Evil Light’s lethal poison—a toxin so potent that its victims showed no symptoms until it was too late.

Compared to the strange moth from before, this Golden Crow’s resistance to poison was far weaker. Not only did it detect the toxin too late, but once it took effect, the avian melted into poison without any chance of resistance.

Seeing this, Han Li relaxed.

The silver firebird let out a joyful cry and swooped down, swallowing the toxic remains whole.

Han Li hesitated briefly but chose not to intervene.

Though Golden Crow True Blood was precious, the Twelve Earthly Branches Transformation he cultivated lacked a Golden Crow form, rendering the blood useless to him.

Thus, letting the Devouring Firebird consume it might yield some benefit.

After all, the firebird had developed sentience and only consumed things beneficial to its evolution. However, instead of returning, it soared higher into the sky.

Strangely, the massive Golden Crow Dharma Form did not dissipate immediately after the avian’s death. Only the intelligence in its black eyes vanished, leaving it as lifeless as a puppet.

The silver firebird plunged into the phantom and began devouring it voraciously. In moments, the entire Dharma Form was absorbed.

Whether due to time or the sheer volume of Golden Crow True Flames consumed, the firebird shrank back to its original foot-long size after swallowing the last wisp of white flame. Without hesitation, it shot back into Han Li’s body and vanished.

Below, only the white demon core and the gleaming needles remained.

Han Li wasted no time, flicking his sleeve to release a wave of cyan light that swept up the core and needles, storing them away.

Turning, he glanced at the cyan barrier formed by the Spring Thunder Sword Array and smiled faintly.

With a hand seal, the barrier shattered layer by layer, dissolving into seventy-two green flying swords that hummed as they hovered in the air.

At the center of the swords lay the dismembered remains of four demonic avians—all early Void Refinement Stage creatures slain by the array’s might after recklessly charging in.

Han Li showed no surprise. With a flash, he appeared beside the corpses and, after a brief pause, stored them all in his pouch.

Though their Golden Crow bloodline seemed faint, it was still present. Once the Devouring Firebird finished refining its recent gains, it could consume these remnants.

True Spirit bloodlines were exceedingly rare, even in the Spirit Realm. He wouldn’t waste a drop.

With everything settled, Han Li teleported back to his companions and said casually, “Done. Let’s move on.”

Yue Zong stood dumbfounded, struggling to process what he’d just witnessed.

In his mind, Han Li’s strength had peaked at the ninth tier of the Upper Clan. Yet here was a seventh-tier Upper Clan cultivator annihilating multiple high-tier demonic avians—some with ninth-tier power and True Spirit bloodlines—in mere minutes, and with such ease.

The sheer impossibility of it left Yue Zong staring at Han Li in stunned disbelief.