The manifested Gui Ling was not surprised by the appearance of the Xu-clan youth, the Silver-winged Nightfiend, and others nearby, but after glancing at Han Li, she murmured a few words via voice transmission.
Han Li’s previously calm expression immediately showed a trace of astonishment.
“What is it? Did Fellow Daoist Gui discover something below?” Lin Yinping, the Heavenly Lasso Saintess, noticed Han Li’s reaction and asked with bright eyes.
“Nothing much. It seems the two fellow Daoists from the Hua Xian Sect are also searching for a way out down there,” Han Li replied indifferently, his expression quickly returning to normal.
“Oh, is that so?” The woman’s eyes flickered, her lips curling into a faint, ambiguous smile. Clearly, she did not believe Han Li’s words.
But Han Li remained expressionless, clearly unwilling to elaborate.
Though the others were also inwardly startled, they were about to collaborate and thus chose not to press further.
They immediately began discussing their next steps.
All of them were seasoned in battle, and after a brief discussion within a soundproof barrier, they quickly devised a concrete plan. Soon, spiritual light flickered around them as they vanished into the raging winds, commencing their operation.
Han Li nodded at Gui Ling, who then burrowed back underground.
At his command, Silvermoon transformed back into a small fox and flew into his sleeve.
Han Li glanced toward the direction of the black teleportation formation, stroked his chin, and tapped his storage pouch with one hand. A silver flash later, a faint silver silhouette appeared before him—the humanoid puppet.
With a light wave of his hand, the puppet’s glow shifted to an inconspicuous yellow hue. Then, its eyes suddenly flared with violet light before it vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.
This battle was no trivial matter. To ensure safety, Han Li could no longer afford to hold back.
With the puppet supporting him from the shadows, he could fight with peace of mind.
Given the puppet’s previously demonstrated mastery of concealment, even the ancient demon would likely fail to detect it. As for the black-robed woman, Han Li had never encountered a demon of Yuan Cha’s caliber before, so he was less confident about evading her spiritual senses.
One hand gripped the Three Flames Fan, while the other formed a seal. Behind him, the Wind and Thunder Wings unfurled.
With a silver flash, Han Li disappeared from his original position.
In another corner of the space, above the black teleportation formation, the twin-headed ancient demon hovered mid-air with its four arms crossed. Below, a set of gray-glowing formation flags enveloped the area.
One of the demon’s heads stared intently toward the palace, its expression grave, while the other head scanned its surroundings vigilantly.
Its four demonic claws held a pair of purple-ringed cyan halberds and a fiery-red brick-like treasure.
Though the malevolent winds stirred by the Black Wind Banner were fierce, they seemed to have little effect on the demon. Its palace-facing head remained unblinking.
Suddenly, a strange glint flashed in its eyes as a deafening roar erupted from the center of the space. A golden blade aura shot into the sky, splitting the thick clouds in its path with astonishing force, momentarily silencing even the howling winds.
The demon’s brow twitched, and a trace of hesitation crossed its face. It seemed torn between rushing to assist and lingering due to caution.
But it soon relaxed.
After the dazzling blade light faded, an enormous wind pillar surged forth. The pillar, dozens of feet in diameter, resembled a black wind dragon, swallowing even the lightning in its path. The violent turbulence distorted the surrounding air, as if threatening to tear the very fabric of the realm apart.
Seeing this, the demon’s expression eased. But without warning, its other head suddenly widened its eyes, and one massive arm swung forward.
A streak of red light shot through the air, transforming into a colossal brick several feet wide before crashing down.
Before it even landed, crimson flames coiled around it, manifesting several ferocious fire serpents.
“Hmph! I didn’t expect you to be so alert!” A cold snort echoed from the winds as two figures materialized.
One of them casually raised a hand, releasing a blue streak that transformed into a jade umbrella several feet wide, intercepting the falling brick.
A series of explosions erupted. The jade umbrella, an ancient ice-attribute treasure, clashed with the fiery brick amidst a surge of blue cold energy.
Blue light and crimson flames clashed violently between the two treasures. Though the fire serpents tore and bit relentlessly, their attacks were nullified by the umbrella’s opposing attribute.
The two figures stood unmoving, coldly gazing at the ancient demon in the sky—Xu the youth and Lin Yinping.
The demon’s two massive heads turned, all four eyes locking onto the pair below.
“I recognize you. You’re from the Heavenly Lasso Grasslands. Trying to leave now? Too late!” One head sneered, its voice booming like thunder.
Xu the youth’s face darkened with killing intent. Without a word, he slapped his spirit beast pouch.
A phoenix-like cry rang out as a five-colored peacock emerged in a flash of radiance, spreading its wings to hover above him.
Miraculously, wherever the peacock’s five-colored light shone, the malevolent winds subsided, leaving only calm in its wake.
The demon observed this with keen interest.
“A Spirit Rhinoceros Peacock! You actually possess such an ancient spirit beast. Pity its cultivation is too shallow. If it were mature, even I might fear it.” The demon sounded mildly surprised.
“Is that so? Then try the might of its five-colored light first,” Xu the youth retorted coldly. With a sharp cry, the peacock raised its neck in response before flapping its wings fiercely.
A torrent of five-colored radiance surged forth.
The demon snorted. The two hands holding the purple rings clapped them together, producing a piercing hum that unsettled the mind and disoriented the spirit.
The rings then shot out, multiplying into countless purple shadows that blotted out the sky. Not stopping there, the demon formed hand seals, its body erupting with layers of black demonic energy as it prepared to augment its attack with demonic arts.
Meanwhile, Xu the youth and the Heavenly Lasso Saintess each summoned a treasure—one hurled a sphere of azure light, while the other unleashed a barrage of silver threads from a brocade handkerchief.
At that moment, two faint wisps of smoke—one purple, one green—drifted unnoticed through the wind, stealthily approaching the demon’s head. Their movements were utterly silent, a testament to their concealment prowess.
The purple illusions clashed with the five-colored light, scattering bursts of spiritual sparks. Meanwhile, the demon’s black energy morphed into several dark pythons, lunging forward aggressively.
Suddenly, the two wisps of smoke erupted with blinding light as two figures pounced, their claws and a net of gray threads descending upon the demon’s head. At the same time, the attacks from Xu the youth and Lin Yinping arrived perfectly in sync, creating a seamless assault.
The sudden ambush from such close range startled the demon, though it did not panic. With a thought, the demonic pythons shifted from offense to defense, intercepting the azure sphere and silver threads. Simultaneously, both heads tilted back—one spewing black demonic flames, the other releasing a fleeting streak of dark light.
But another surprise followed. Just as the demon’s attention was fully occupied by the ambush, a golden flash erupted at the edge of the gray formation flags below. A massive sword, crackling with thunder, shot up from the ground, slashing toward the demon with lightning speed.
The sword was so fast that it reached the demon almost the instant it noticed. The purple flames and golden lightning arcing along the blade were vividly clear to the demon.
“You!” The demon instantly recognized the sword’s owner and roared in fury. But with the sword’s speed and its own distraction, it could only hastily swing its four arms downward. Dozens of crystalline claw streaks formed a net to intercept the blade.
Such a hasty defense was no match for the sword.
In an instant, the sword pierced through the net and slashed toward the demon.
But that brief delay was enough. Just as the sword was about to strike, a layer of black demonic barrier enveloped the demon. A deafening explosion followed as a blinding light sphere erupted around it, obscuring all details.
On the ground, a silver arc flashed as Han Li emerged via thunder teleportation, frowning as he looked skyward.
He sensed clearly that while the sword had struck the demon, it had not landed squarely, instead glancing off something.
As he pondered this, something moved within the radiant sphere. With a sharp “whoosh,” a black shadow shot out like an arrow, vanishing before reappearing directly above Han Li.
“Die!” The massive figure bellowed like thunder as a pitch-black greatsword, humming ominously, descended upon Han Li with lightning speed.
Though startled, Han Li had already prepared. Before the sword could land, his Wind and Thunder Wings flared, and he vanished in a burst of lightning. The blade missed by a hair’s breadth, embedding itself into the ground with a dull thud, leaving a deep gash.
Twenty yards away, thunder rumbled as Han Li reappeared, his gaze fixed on the original spot.
The massive figure was, of course, the ancient demon.
But now it looked utterly disheveled—only three of its four arms remained intact, one severed at the forearm. A fist-sized hole gaped at its shoulder, and deep gashes marred its chest, nearly gutting it.
Clearly, under the combined assault of Han Li and the others, the demon had suffered a significant blow.
Seeing Han Li escape, the demon’s four eyes burned with fury as it glared at him. With a sudden motion, its hands split apart.
A black flash later, the humming greatsword divided into two slightly smaller blades, still shrieking menacingly.
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