Seeing this, the leader of the demonic birds, with its four eyes shifting simultaneously, swept its gaze over Han Li, who remained motionless in the distance, and faintly sensed something amiss.
After a brief hesitation, it suddenly let out a sharp cry, attempting to summon its four subordinates back.
But the slight delay had already made it too late.
Han Li’s sword formation spanned over a hundred zhang in radius, and the four demonic birds, with their swift flight, had flapped their wings only a few times before plunging headlong into the Spring Dawn Sword Formation.
With a flash of azure light, a curtain of radiance abruptly emerged, enveloping all four demonic birds within it.
Startled, the four demonic birds swiftly circled, their claws gleaming with cold light as they slashed at the curtain. However, as soon as their claws struck the luminous barrier, crisp cracking sounds rang out—
The curtain shattered like glass.
The four demonic birds rejoiced, only to be stunned the next moment.
For beyond the curtain was not the open sky they had expected, but a bizarre space filled with countless thumb-sized azure lotuses, densely packed before them.
Exchanging glances, one of the demonic birds suddenly opened its maw and spat out a milky-white beam of light.
The beam flashed and struck several of the lotuses—
With a dull thud, the lotuses not only remained intact but instead swelled several times in size, becoming as large as fists.
Horrified, the demonic birds watched as the entire Spring Dawn Sword Formation activated in response to the attack.
Not only the area before them, but the luminous barriers in all directions shattered and vanished, revealing endless azure lotuses.
The lotuses spun rapidly, their surfaces shimmering with strange radiance.
The four demonic birds felt their vision blur slightly before darkness descended upon them—they now stood at the base of a towering forest of colossal azure trees.
Each tree stretched over a hundred zhang high, their dense foliage blotting out the sky.
Trapped at the roots of these giant trees, the demonic birds panicked.
For flying creatures like them, being confined in forests or rivers was their greatest fear—restricting their movement would halve their combat prowess, no matter how formidable their abilities.
Without hesitation, the four demonic birds simultaneously flapped their wings, unleashing four blazing white flames from their bodies.
With a series of pops, the flames burst apart, transforming into hundreds of palm-sized white fire butterflies that swarmed toward the surrounding trees.
These white flames were the demonic birds’ trump card, capable of reducing ordinary obstacles to ashes in an instant.
Yet, when the fire butterflies touched the azure trees, they passed through as if encountering nothing, leaving no effect whatsoever.
“Illusion!”
Though these demonic birds were only at the early Void Refinement stage and lacked the intelligence of their leader, they were not fools. One of them, impatient, lunged at a nearby tree—
But the illusions conjured by the Spring Dawn Sword Formation were no ordinary tricks—they were a blend of reality and deception.
With a thunderous crash, the demonic bird rebounded upon impact, the tree as unyielding as refined steel.
Though its body was sturdy, the demonic bird staggered, its head throbbing and vision swimming with stars.
The other three demonic birds gaped in shock.
——
Outside the formation, the snow-white demonic bird watched as its four subordinates vanished behind the luminous curtain, its fury and alarm mounting.
With a furious screech, it spread its wings wide—
A white halo erupted from its body as its pristine feathers ignited into raging flames.
Unlike the black-and-white demonic birds, these white flames bore faintly shimmering silver runes, raising the surrounding temperature to an unbearable degree.
The concealed Spring Dawn Sword Formation flickered under the heat, revealing its azure radiance once more.
“Brother Han, be careful! That’s Golden Crow Trueflame—do not let it near you! This demonic bird may carry the bloodline of the Golden Crow!” Xianxian, initially relieved at Han Li trapping the four demonic birds, paled upon recognizing the eerie white flames.
“Golden Crow Trueflame!” Han Li’s expression remained neutral, but inwardly, he rejoiced.
By now, the demonic bird had fully transformed into a colossal firebird, charging toward Han Li with terrifying momentum.
Before it even closed the distance, waves of scorching heat rolled forth—countless crimson sparks materialized in the air, igniting the space within dozens of zhang around Han Li.
Yet Han Li paid no heed to the spectacle. Taking a deep breath, he suddenly spat out a silver fireball.
The fireball flickered and morphed into a foot-long silver firebird.
As soon as it appeared, the crimson sparks in the air surged toward it like moths to a flame, vanishing into its body.
The oppressive heat dissipated instantly.
The silver firebird swelled in size before darting toward the oncoming demonic bird.
Though the demonic bird’s fiery form dwarfed the silver firebird by seven or eight times, the latter showed no fear.
Upon seeing the silver firebird, the demonic bird’s expression twisted—fear, delight, and unbridled greed flashing across its four eyes.
After a moment’s hesitation, its gaze turned manic.
With two shrill cries, the flames around its body surged several feet higher as it lunged at the silver firebird.
A deafening explosion erupted as the two collided—white flames and silver fire intertwined, locked in fierce combat.
Despite its smaller size, the silver firebird held its ground, the two flames devouring each other in turn.
Yet after a brief observation, Han Li’s pupils contracted slightly.
Though his Spirit Devouring Heavenly Flame surpassed the demonic bird’s in potency, its limited quantity meant it would soon be overwhelmed.
He would not allow that.
With a swift hand seal, he pointed a finger into the distance—
A series of thumb-thick azure beams shot forth, merging into the silver firebird.
These beams, condensed from Han Li’s purest spiritual energy, triggered a startling transformation—
The silver firebird rapidly expanded.
Two chi, four chi, half a zhang, one zhang…
Within moments, it had grown to three or four zhang in length, surpassing the demonic bird in size.
Now, the white flames found themselves at a disadvantage, steadily consumed by the silver fire.
Panicked, the demonic bird spat out a milky-white orb—its demon core, cultivated over countless years.
The flawless orb radiated blinding white light, splitting into thousands of needle-thin rays.
Half pierced the silver firebird, riddling it with holes, while the rest shot toward Han Li, effortlessly penetrating the azure barrier.
Han Li remained still as the crystal shield before him flared, deflecting the needles harmlessly past him.
Simultaneously, he reached behind him—
Five skeletal phantoms emerged from his fingers, unleashing a multicolored flame that swallowed the stray needles whole.
Meanwhile, the silver firebird, though regenerating instantly under the barrage, weakened considerably.
The Golden Crow Trueflame and the silver fire reached a stalemate once more.
Han Li’s expression shifted.
Suddenly, he rolled onto the ground—
A brilliant five-colored radiance erupted as a phoenix’s cry pierced the heavens.
In Han Li’s place now stood a two-zhang-long five-colored phoenix.
With a sweep of its wing, a white line appeared in the air, twisting into a hazy rift.
The phoenix vanished into it.
At the same time, above the battling demonic bird and silver firebird, another white line materialized—
Silently parting, the upper half of the five-colored phoenix emerged.
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