Upon hearing this, Han Li’s lips twitched involuntarily, but he suddenly raised both hands in an unexpected move.
Two small swords shot out in a flash, targeting the two giant gray cocoons suspended in the air.
Realizing the formidable nature of the monster before him, Han Li immediately decided to rescue the other two first. With all four of them working together, their chances of victory would naturally increase.
The silver-winged nightfiend on the opposite side remained motionless but curled its lips into a cold smirk.
With a flash of eerie silver light from its eyes, two massive gray hands emerged from the cocoons, swiftly grabbing at the golden streaks. The movement was astonishingly fast.
Caught off guard, Han Li watched as the two flying swords were seized by the hands formed from soul-devouring threads.
Though startled, Han Li remained calm. With a thought, thunderous rumbles erupted from the gray hands, accompanied by flickering golden light. The evil-suppressing divine lightning released by the swords shattered the soul-devouring threads, dispersing them in an instant. It seemed the swords would break free in no time.
However, at that moment, dense gray threads shot out from the cocoons, layering over the swords again and again. Simultaneously, wisps of gray mist spread from the hands, reforming into new threads.
The two golden swords were momentarily trapped.
Frowning, Han Li clenched his fists inside his sleeves, causing his entire body to shimmer with golden light. A deafening roar followed as a dazzling golden lightning net enveloped him, making him appear like a thunder god descended from the heavens.
The silver-winged nightfiend, which had been fixated on the Soul-Crying Beast, now turned its gaze to Han Li, its expression flickering with surprise.
“Interesting. You actually broke my soul-devouring threads. So, it was you who destroyed my three corpse avatars,” the silver-winged nightfiend said emotionlessly.
“Indeed, it was me. You speak and act just like a human—your intelligence must be quite high, capable of weighing pros and cons. I won’t waste words. Hand over the Yin Zhi Horse and release my two companions, and we’ll leave immediately,” Han Li replied coldly, glancing at the remains of the Yuan clansman before pointing at the Yin Zhi Horse.
At that moment, the Soul-Crying Beast, now transformed into a giant ape, let out a low growl. The sinister pattern on its back glowed with a piercing bloody light, adding to the threat.
“You want this little thing? Fine. Releasing your companions and letting you leave isn’t out of the question,” the silver-winged nightfiend replied without hesitation.
“You truly agree?” The black-robed beauty, who had already summoned her dharma wheel into the air, brightened at the words.
Han Li, however, remained silent.
“I’ve agreed to so many conditions, yet you only need to fulfill one for me. You may leave, but this spirit beast must stay,” the silver-winged nightfiend said, pointing a green-furred finger at the black giant ape, its silver eyes glinting.
The black-robed beauty was taken aback.
“Leave my spirit beast behind? You’re dreaming!” Han Li sneered.
“Then none of you shall leave. Stay here and become blood offerings,” the silver-winged nightfiend snarled, its face twisting with fury. Its fangs elongated, and its eyes erupted with countless silver beams.
“Beware its illusions!”
A faint, barely audible warning came from one of the gray cocoons—likely the voice of the elderly Fu—before abruptly cutting off.
But the warning came too late.
The blinding silver light forced even Han Li, with his Clear Spirit Eyes, to instinctively shut his eyes. The black-robed beauty, struck by the light, swayed dizzily before also closing her eyes.
“Damn it,” Han Li cursed inwardly as his vision darkened.
When the two reopened their eyes, their surroundings had completely transformed.
The plaza, the cocoons—everything had vanished. They were now enveloped in a hazy mist, and the silver-winged nightfiend was nowhere to be seen.
“Illusions, and quite advanced ones at that,” Han Li murmured.
“Whether they’re advanced or not, we’ll only know after testing them,” the black-robed beauty retorted, her brows furrowed.
Concerned about the weakened state of the elderly Fu, she refused to wait any longer. With a flick of her finger, she activated the Buddhist dharma wheel above her head.
*Whoosh! Whoosh!*
The wheel radiated spiritual light, shooting out several seven-colored beams that vanished into the mist without a trace—like stones sinking into the sea, eliciting no reaction.
Her expression darkened. Without hesitation, she grabbed a spirit beast pouch from her waist and tossed it into the air, swiftly forming hand seals.
A crimson mist erupted from the pouch, transforming into a swarm of winged serpents.
These serpents were small, only about a foot long, but each bore a crown-like crest and shimmered with crystalline red scales—clearly no ordinary spirit beasts.
Chanting, the beauty fired several red incantations at the serpents.
Instantly, the serpents opened their mouths, spewing countless flames that rapidly expanded into a raging inferno, filling the space around them.
Han Li made no move to stop her. Instead, he took the opportunity to scan their surroundings with cold detachment, his pupils flickering with blue light.
As the towering flames surged, the gray sky abruptly darkened, turning pitch black.
A flash of silver light—two enormous demonic eyes, each the size of a house, emerged from the darkness. They radiated silver light, unmistakably the silver pupils of the silver-winged nightfiend, though now magnified to a terrifying scale.
A sinister cackle echoed from above as the giant eyes unleashed a torrent of silver light, crashing down onto the sea of flames.
A bizarre sight unfolded.
Wherever the silver light touched, the flames and serpents vanished instantly, as if evaporated into thin air.
The entire inferno was extinguished in an instant.
Han Li’s expression remained unchanged, but the black-robed beauty paled. She summoned a red flying sword, slashing repeatedly at the silver eyes, but her efforts were as futile as trying to scoop the moon from water—utterly ineffective.
Her heart sank.
The illusion’s potency far exceeded her expectations, and she had no confidence in breaking it.
The eerie laughter from above grew louder, soon booming like thunder. More and more silver eyes appeared, filling the sky and even flickering within the surrounding mist.
Then, in a flash, all the eyes transformed into gleaming crescent moons. Simultaneously, piercing shrieks erupted from the darkness, accompanied by heavy footsteps—as if monstrous beings were about to emerge from the fog.
“Brother Han, do you have a way to break this illusion?” the black-robed beauty finally asked, unable to contain her anxiety.
She had already resolved that if even the enigmatic Han Li had no solution, she would resort to a blood-draining secret technique.
Han Li didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he raised a hand, summoning a thick golden lightning arc from his arm.
With a thunderous crack, the arc struck one of the silver moons that had just materialized in the mist.
A deafening explosion followed as the moon and the lightning arc shattered simultaneously. The other moons instantly unleashed blinding silver light, flooding the surroundings with unbearable radiance.
The black-robed beauty felt the world spin, forcing her to blink. When she steadied herself, she found they were back in the plaza—the black mist and silver moons had vanished without a trace.
She exhaled in relief. Though startled, her experience kept her from overreacting.
Opposite them, the silver-winged nightfiend stood beneath the bamboo grove, seemingly unmoved. Yet one of its silver wings had extended forward, blocking a crackling golden lightning arc. Its cold gaze locked onto Han Li.
The beauty noticed something else—the monster now held a sinister black mirror in one green hand, aimed at them.
The mirror was small but pulsed with an eerie black glow, its aura so malevolent it seemed to suck in one’s very soul.
“Strange that you could locate me within the illusion. With the Phantom Moon Mirror amplifying my silver-pupil illusion, its power is at least doubled. Mere strong spiritual sense shouldn’t be enough to break it. Your eyes behaved oddly in the illusion—have you cultivated some special ocular technique?” the silver-winged nightfiend remarked casually, flicking its wing to deflect the lightning arc.
Han Li responded with a cold smirk, offering no answer. Instead, he flicked his sleeve, releasing a swarm of golden flying swords that circled before him like a golden storm. At the same time, thunder rumbled as silver-white wings sprouted from his back.
Still not done, Han Li took a deep breath and spat out a snow-white pearl wreathed in violet flame. It hovered before him, spinning rapidly. The moment it appeared, the temperature in the plaza plummeted, as if they had been plunged into a frozen wasteland.
When Han Li had first unleashed his emerald sword beams, the silver-winged nightfiend had shown no reaction. The emergence of his wings elicited a flicker of surprise. But now, with the appearance of the Frost Crystal Pearl—its terrifying power barely restrained by the Violet Heavenly Flame—the monster’s expression turned grave.
Han Li wasn’t finished. He tossed another spirit beast pouch into the air, releasing a cloud of golden beetles that buzzed ominously overhead. Forming hand seals, he enveloped himself in a seven-colored spiritual light. Then, with a flip of his palms, a purple mirror rose slowly, glowing with amethyst radiance.
At this point, Han Li had nearly all his treasures deployed—save for his ultimate, one-strike trump card.
Facing a foe potentially stronger than a late-Nascent Soul cultivator, he dared not hold back.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage