Chapter 989: The Law-Breaking Strike

“No, stop! Your wind flood dragon has shrunk considerably.” Han Li suddenly turned his head and shouted at the black-robed beauty.

Indeed, even without his warning, the woman had already sensed something amiss. Upon hearing Han Li’s cry, she was startled and immediately formed a hand seal. The wind blades spewing from the dragon’s mouth ceased, and with a roar, the dragon shot out from the light sphere, hovering motionless in the air after a brief swirl.

Sure enough, both wind dragons had shrunk to nearly half their original size.

Meanwhile, the light sphere, which had been reduced to the size of a bean by the relentless wind blades, instantly reformed into a whole the moment the dragons withdrew.

By now, the colossal light sphere had expanded to over thirty zhang in diameter, occupying nearly a third of the trapped space within the barrier.

From within the sphere came a sinister chuckle as the silver-winged Yecha emerged, holding the Phantom Moon Mirror, his face twisted in a cold sneer.

Seeing this, Han Li sighed.

This situation reminded him of a battle he had fought in the Chaotic Star Sea against the young master of the Six Paths. Back then, Wen Tianren had used a peculiar treasure to conceal himself within a violet cloud, slightly distorting space and rendering Han Li’s flying swords useless. In the end, Han Li had relied on the overwhelming power of the Yin Devil Slash to forcibly break the restriction and sever one of Wen Tianren’s arms.

It seemed the silver-winged Yecha was employing a similar technique, though undoubtedly far more refined than what the Six Paths’ young master had used.

However, Han Li had not reforged the Yin Devil Slash due to his relentless cultivation. Still, he could likely break this technique with an equally domineering method.

Unfortunately, his Emerald Swarm Sword could no longer form the Great Geng Sword Formation. Otherwise, with the Yecha immobilized by his spell, even the bizarre light sphere would be no match for the formation’s lethal power.

Having assessed the situation, Han Li quickly devised a plan.

He took a deep breath and slapped his storage pouch with one hand. With a flip of his palm, a crimson talisman appeared in his grasp. The fiery runes on the talisman flickered restlessly, and a miniature red flood dragon seemed to flicker in and out of existence—this was a Spirit Subduing Talisman.

Han Li had crafted this talisman while refining the Three Flames Fan, using the essence of an eighth-grade Crimson Fire Flood Dragon. The process had delayed him slightly, nearly causing him to miss his meeting with Old Man Fu and the others in the Ten Thousand Poison Valley.

Thanks to his prior experience, this talisman was of much higher quality than his previous attempt, granting a far greater boost in spiritual power.

Without hesitation, he slapped the talisman onto his body. The fiery-red talisman vanished in a flash, and a phantom flood dragon materialized behind him, merging with Han Li in an instant.

Bathed in a crimson glow, Han Li underwent a transformation—horns sprouted from his head, and fiery-red scales emerged across parts of his body. Within moments, he had taken on a half-human, half-flood dragon form, his spiritual power surging to the peak of mid-Nascent Soul stage.

“Fellow Daoist Han!”

“Huh?”

Both the black-robed beauty and the silver-winged Yecha exclaimed in shock upon witnessing Han Li’s transformation. Clearly, neither had ever encountered a Spirit Subduing Talisman before.

The Yecha, sensing Han Li’s skyrocketing cultivation, immediately wiped the smirk off his face.

At that moment, Han Li formed a series of hand seals. The dozens of golden flying swords hovering outside the light sphere shot into the sky, emitting a chorus of clear chimes before each sword split into six.

Nearly two hundred golden sword lights materialized in an instant, converging into a single point.

In a flash, a radiant golden sphere appeared in the air, as dazzling as the midday sun.

As the light dimmed, a colossal golden sword, over ten zhang long, materialized above the light sphere. Its overwhelming aura made even the silver-winged Yecha below pale slightly.

Once the giant sword took form, Han Li tapped the Snow Crystal Pearl on his chest.

With a whoosh, the pearl transformed into a streak of violet light, shooting toward the giant sword.

Simultaneously, he sent a spell toward the sword with a flick of his divine sense.

A deafening thunderclap erupted!

Thick golden arcs, as thick as arms, erupted from the sword, enveloping the entire blade in a crackling storm of lightning. Golden light intertwined with violet flames, making the sword resemble an immortal artifact.

The silver-winged Yecha’s expression darkened further, his furry face turning slightly pale.

By now, the enormous light sphere occupied nearly half of the barrier’s space, forcing Han Li and the black-robed beauty to retreat slowly. Yet, as she gazed at the giant sword in the sky, the woman’s shock far surpassed the Yecha’s, her mind racing.

Even a late-Nascent Soul cultivator would hesitate to face such a terrifying attack head-on.

“Break!” Han Li uttered coldly, just as the woman was lost in her thoughts.

The giant sword descended with an ear-splitting roar, unleashing golden sword beams several zhang long.

Even before the blade touched the light sphere, its spiritual pressure caused the sphere to tremble violently.

A golden flash—the sword cleaved downward, shattering the light sphere into fragments with sheer force.

When the light dissipated, the Yecha was nowhere to be seen within the remnants of the sphere. Instead, he reappeared in the air some distance away, his face dark as he glared at the giant sword.

Under the sword’s overwhelming pressure, the Yecha had ultimately chosen not to take the blow head-on. At the last moment, he had used his silver wings to evade.

However, his Phantom Moon Mirror had ceased its emissions, and his technique had been forcibly disrupted. Thus, the shattered light sphere did not reform.

As the Yecha’s eyes darted about, contemplating his next move, a sharp whistling sound suddenly came from behind him. A red streak materialized just a zhang away, vanishing in a flash as it shot toward the back of his skull.

Though the Yecha’s divine sense was sharp, the red streak’s sudden appearance gave him little time to react. Without turning, he flicked a silver wing to block it.

With a thunderous boom, the red streak exploded into a massive fireball upon impact, startling the Yecha.

Yet, he soon realized the flames were merely an illusion, posing no real threat. Just as he relaxed, the fire dissipated, revealing nothing—the red streak had vanished without a trace.

Before the Yecha could investigate further, another thunderclap sounded in front of him. The giant sword soared into the air and came crashing down once more.

Meanwhile, the black-robed beauty, standing at a distance, activated her spell. The two wind dragons, which had somehow appeared above the Yecha, opened their maws and unleashed a dense barrage of wind blades.

Caught off guard, the Yecha had no time to dwell on the missing red streak. He tossed the Phantom Moon Mirror in front of him and raised both hands, summoning two enormous spectral hands formed from soul threads. Each hand was over a zhang wide, and they fearlessly swung at the descending sword.

Now that he was no longer immobilized, the Yecha was determined to test the sword’s might.

Simultaneously, his silver wings expanded, forming a shimmering canopy above him.

A rapid series of thuds followed as the wind blades struck the silver barrier, only to be deflected harmlessly aside.

When the spectral hands clashed with the giant sword, two thunderous booms echoed. The sword cleaved through the first hand effortlessly, though its radiance dimmed slightly. The second hand, however, sent both sword and itself flying backward in a stalemate.

At the same moment, the vanished red streak reappeared—this time right in front of the Yecha’s chest.

“Damn it!” The Yecha’s heart lurched. He instinctively reached out with a furry hand, but he was too late.

The red streak pierced through the Phantom Moon Mirror with a soft pop before being snatched mid-air by the Yecha’s lightning-fast grasp.

The black mirror shattered into fragments with a crisp crack.

“You dare destroy my treasure?!” The Yecha trembled with rage, his face contorted in fury. The mirror clearly held great significance for him, as he ignored the searing heat of the red needle in his grip, its flames blazing like molten iron.

Han Li was momentarily taken aback.

His sneak attack on the mirror had been a simple tactic—the Yecha’s illusions, combined with the mirror, were too troublesome to leave unchecked.

Now, faced with the Yecha’s wrath, Han Li felt a flicker of curiosity but wasted no time. With a swift hand seal, the dimmed golden sword exploded apart.

Nearly two hundred sword lights reformed into a vast net, descending upon the Yecha without mercy.

If the Yecha dared block with his wings, Han Li wouldn’t hesitate to slice him into pieces with his Geng Gold-infused swords.

Meanwhile, the Snow Crystal Pearl spun rapidly, releasing several fist-sized firebirds that drifted down gracefully.

Despite his fury, the Yecha was no fool. With a flap of his wings, he vanished, reappearing elsewhere with a savage glare, his silver eyes now blood-red.

“I had hoped to conserve my essence and subdue you with illusions,” the Yecha growled. “But now, I’ve changed my mind. I will capture you personally, extract your soul, and devour it bite by bite.”

With that, he vanished again, reappearing atop the corpse wolf’s head. Without a word, he stomped on the beast’s skull, his silver wings flapping rapidly as a yellow glow enveloped him.

Then, both he and the wolf sank into the ground like phantoms.

“Earth Escape!” Han Li frowned and recalled his swords and pearl with a wave.

At the same time, a series of rumbles shook the ground. The entire formation trembled violently as tendrils of yellow light and black mist seeped from its edges. From the depths below came the Yecha’s agonized howl, as if he were in excruciating pain.

The black-robed beauty’s expression flickered uncertainly. She glanced at Han Li, then down at the formation. After a brief hesitation, she gritted her teeth and shot toward one of the gray cocoons.

Mid-flight, she hurled a pair of scissors-like treasure, its edges gleaming with deadly sharpness.