His heart sank. Han Li naturally had no intention of being trapped under the might of the Ten Thousand Demon Banner. Without hesitation, he suddenly pointed at the Five Ghosts and uttered an incantation while simultaneously activating the demon-controlling spell.
The Five Ghosts pounced into the air, their gray light flickering as their skeletal forms merged together, forming a colossal skeleton over ten zhang tall.
In the next moment, green light flashed in the hollow eye sockets of the skeleton. Its two bony hands reached out and grabbed at its own ribs, pulling two sections free. In an instant, the ribs transformed into two massive bone blades, each over ten zhang long. With a roar, the skeleton swung them in a cross-shaped slash toward the sky.
A cross-shaped blade aura, shimmering with terrifying cold light, shot toward the massive banner in midair, slicing through the descending gray mist and striking the Ten Thousand Demon Banner directly.
A deafening explosion erupted as demonic energy and cold light intertwined, momentarily locking in a fierce struggle.
The colossal skeleton then soared into the air, its twin blades dancing wildly, unleashing a barrage of crescent-shaped cold light that engulfed nearly half the sky. It seemed intent on destroying the banner in one fell swoop.
From within the Ten Thousand Demon Banner, the furious roar of the Elder Che echoed. The massive banner trembled and rapidly shrank, transforming into a mere foot-long object in the blink of an eye.
A child-like figure flashed into view, grabbing the banner before instantly teleporting dozens of zhang away.
It appeared the Elder Che had realized that enlarging the banner made it an easy target for the skeleton’s blades. Returning it to its original size made it far more maneuverable.
Seeing this, the white skeleton shuddered and also shrank within the grayish-white demonic energy, reducing itself to a mere two zhang in height. With a strange cry, it exhaled a cloud of grayish-white demonic energy and brandished its now-shrunken bone blades, charging straight at the child-like figure.
The child was somewhat vexed by the Five Ghosts.
These five demons had undergone special refinement, rendering them immune to the Ten Thousand Demon Banner’s suppression. Without specialized demon-subduing artifacts or eliminating their master, they were practically immortal—no matter how many times they were shattered, they could regenerate on the spot.
While the Ten Thousand Demon Banner was formidable, its power was primarily effective against human cultivators. Against these highly capable demons, it was far less effective. Even if other techniques were employed, subduing them would take considerable time.
However, with the skeleton charging relentlessly, the Elder Che’s avatar had no choice but to frown and wave the Ten Thousand Demon Banner, releasing streams of black demonic energy to temporarily hold the skeleton at bay.
Yet, six-tenths of his focus remained on Han Li, leaving only four-tenths to deal with the Five Ghosts.
Meanwhile, Han Li stood side by side with his humanoid puppet, his expression shifting uncertainly as he remained motionless.
The silver-robed woman stood steadily on the platform, showing no intention of attacking.
It seemed she preferred to maintain the stalemate or feared that any movement might give Han Li an opportunity to slip away through the teleportation formation.
As for the two four-winged centipedes, they hovered above the smaller teleportation formations, watching Han Li with predatory intensity.
The Ice Phoenix was well aware that these two teleportation formations were the only means of escape from this hall.
Han Li’s reluctance to act stemmed from his wariness of the Ice Phoenix’s spatial-tearing abilities. Despite his numerous techniques, he had yet to devise a way to repel the demon and make a safe escape.
Just then, a raucous laugh erupted from the center of the hall behind him.
“Hahaha! Finally out this time! I’m going to have some fun! Let me make this clear—I won’t go back until I’ve had my fill!” The voice, though unmistakably female, was gratingly coarse. Han Li’s spiritual sense swept backward, and his face revealed surprise.
The beautiful woman who had been battling the two Ice Phoenix clones had abruptly abandoned the fight and was now speeding toward Han Li, leaving the two elderly men to hold off the phoenixes.
Behind her, a mass of greenish Yin energy clung like a shadow, within which another female figure flickered incessantly. The laughter had come from within that green mist.
“What is this?” Han Li immediately sensed the overwhelming Yin energy emanating from the ghostly figure—another late-Nascent Soul cultivator.
However, this woman was enveloped in Yin energy, marking her as an exceptionally powerful ghost cultivator.
“Fellow Daoist Han, do not panic. This Palace Master will not allow them to gang up on you. I shall lend you my aid!” the beautiful woman suddenly declared.
Hearing this, Han Li was speechless.
It was clear she feared that if the two demons first eliminated him, they would then turn their full attention to the Small Extreme Palace. Yet she framed it as if she were helping him.
These tenth-grade demonic cultivators had come for the Small Extreme Palace from the very beginning.
Still, the fact that she recognized him so readily surprised Han Li, though he naturally refrained from commenting.
Having two late-stage cultivators on his side was more than welcome. Even if the Small Extreme Palace’s Palace Master was far weaker than the two demons, the ghost cultivator within the green mist was clearly extraordinary, exuding an overwhelming pressure—likely at the peak of the late-Nascent Soul stage.
“Yellow Springs Ghost Mother! You dare interfere in my affairs?” The child-like figure battling the giant skeleton paled upon seeing the woman in the green mist and shouted angrily.
“Hehe, if it were your true self here, this old woman wouldn’t dare meddle. But a mere Wood Spirit avatar? Do you think I fear you’ll devour me?” The woman in the green mist let out an unpleasant laugh, utterly unafraid of the child.
“Yellow Springs Ghost Mother? The ghost cultivator who single-handedly annihilated several immortal sects in the past?” The silver-robed woman’s expression shifted slightly upon hearing the name, as if she knew of the ghostly woman’s origins.
“How rare! The ruler of the Ice Sea actually knows of this old woman’s name! I’ve heard that you could have advanced to the Deity Transformation stage long ago, back when I first underwent corpse liberation. Yet you remain at the tenth-grade level, suppressing your cultivation out of fear of disrupting the world’s spiritual balance and losing your essence. But forcibly restraining your realm must be quite unpleasant. And even with your Ice Phoenix longevity, without advancing soon, you won’t last much longer, will you?”
The ghostly woman seemed intimately familiar with the tenth-grade Ice Phoenix’s circumstances, immediately exposing the silver-robed woman’s greatest secret.
The silver-robed woman’s face darkened instantly, while Han Li inhaled sharply, finally understanding why this Ice Phoenix was so formidable.
“I released you not to engage in idle chatter!” the beautiful woman suddenly interjected coldly.
“Relax. As long as there are no Deity Transformation cultivators present, protecting your life is child’s play. But don’t forget what you promised me. And without a Soul Stone, forcibly summoning me will inevitably result in Yin energy poisoning—prepare for a severe illness afterward.” The Yellow Springs Ghost Mother sneered from within the green mist.
The beautiful woman’s expression darkened, but she said nothing in response.
In the span of these few words, the beautiful woman and the Yellow Springs Ghost Mother had arrived near the platform, halting their flight and positioning themselves in a triangular formation with Han Li and the two demons.
“Brother Han, shall we join forces to eliminate this ruler of the Ice Sea first?” the beautiful woman turned to Han Li, speaking amiably.
“Very well. I have no objections,” Han Li replied, stroking his chin with an inscrutable expression.
Delighted, the beautiful woman was about to signal the Yellow Springs Ghost Mother to attack when the silver-robed woman below suddenly let out a cold laugh. With a flick of her hand, a blinding white streak shot forth.
A thunderous explosion followed as one of the smaller teleportation formations behind her was cleaved cleanly in half.
Both Han Li and the beautiful woman’s expressions changed drastically.
“If you intend to gang up on me, don’t blame me for destroying the remaining one as well!” the silver-robed woman declared leisurely, gazing at the two above.
“What is the meaning of this? Destroying the teleportation formations means none of us can leave the Void Spirit Hall!” the beautiful woman retorted, struggling to maintain composure.
“Have you forgotten how I infiltrated the Void Spirit Hall in the first place?” The silver-robed woman chuckled lightly, her laughter delicate yet her eyes chillingly cold.
Han Li’s expression turned grim.
“Fellow Daoist Han, do not fear this! Even if the teleportation formations are destroyed, as long as we join forces, we can break the restrictions and exit through the main gate in due time,” the beautiful woman reassured after a moment’s thought.
Han Li’s brow furrowed, his expression fluctuating.
Had he not slain the three Small Extreme Palace’s Cold Flame cultivators in the Profound Jade Cave, he might have allied with the beautiful woman to eliminate the demons before slowly breaking the restrictions. But now, with the palace’s cultivators likely discovering the cave’s anomalies soon, he couldn’t afford such delays.
Seeing Han Li’s hesitation, the beautiful woman’s heart skipped a beat as she recalled something.
Han Li’s solitary appearance, without the other Nascent Soul cultivators who had entered the Profound Jade Cave, had already given her an ominous premonition. But with enemies at hand, she had feigned ignorance.
Now, her expression darkened. Suddenly, her eyes flashed with ruthlessness, and her lips moved slightly as if transmitting a soundless message.
Behind her, the Yellow Springs Ghost Mother’s figure within the green mist blurred indistinctly.
A hair-thin green thread silently shot forth from the mist, vanishing in an instant.
Despite its stealth, the Ice Phoenix below seemed to detect it, letting out a sharp cry.
“How dare you!” The demon flicked five fingers toward the remaining small teleportation formation, sending five white sword beams roaring forth. Simultaneously, one of the hovering four-winged centipedes abruptly lowered its head, spewing a torrent of icy mist that completely enveloped the formation.
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