All the ghastly white skulls let out a shrill cry, spewing eerie green ghost flames as they charged straight toward Han Li. Naturally, as soon as they surged forward several zhang, countless golden threads appeared and flashed past.
However, this time, something unexpected happened. Though the golden threads left behind several fine cracks on the skulls’ surfaces, a flash of green light immediately sealed them, restoring them as if they had never been damaged. The skulls continued their assault unimpeded, still lunging toward Han Li.
At first, Han Li was stunned by the sight, but he quickly realized that these skulls were no longer flesh-and-blood entities—they had been refined into some kind of sinister ghostly form. While his sword threads were formidable, they were ineffective against intangible beings, rendering them useless for slashing such foes.
Yet, Han Li remained unshaken. With a mental incantation, thunderous crackles erupted in front of the charging skulls, and a golden net crackling with lightning suddenly materialized in the air, descending directly upon them. Since these were spectral beings, Han Li unhesitatingly activated the Evil-Suppressing Divine Lightning within his flying sword.
To Han Li’s surprise, though the skulls hesitated momentarily upon seeing the golden net, showing signs of fear, they quickly rallied under the command of the horned skull leading them. Opening their mouths wide, they spewed torrents of green ghost flames like a sweeping rainbow, colliding with the net.
A deafening thunderclap erupted as arcs of lightning flickered across the golden net, extinguishing many of the ghost flames. However, the net’s descent was halted, forcibly held back by the relentless surge of flames.
Han Li frowned in astonishment. Ordinary ghost flames would have been obliterated upon contact with the Evil-Suppressing Divine Lightning, yet these skulls’ flames, though still suppressed, managed to resist the lightning’s power. This truly surprised him. The Ghost Luo Banner, hailed as the Yin Luo Sect’s treasure, was indeed no mere boast.
On the other side, the black-robed youth, seeing the banner’s demonic skulls withstand the divine lightning, couldn’t help but smile in relief. Despite his outward confidence, he had been inwardly anxious. Had the banner been undamaged and its demonic spirits at full strength, he wouldn’t have worried much. But since the last great battle, the banner had lacked the chance to replenish its yin souls for restoration. Facing something as formidable as the Evil-Suppressing Divine Lightning naturally unsettled him.
Now that his fears were dispelled, the youth grinned viciously, continuously channeling incantations into the banner. The hole on the banner’s surface, originally several chi wide, expanded to a diameter of over a zhang amid a surge of green light. More skulls poured out, emitting shrill cries as ghostly energy surged, filling the air with wails and howls.
With the initial wave of skulls holding back the golden net, the newly emerged skulls bypassed the sword formation and lunged straight for Han Li, their ghostly shrieks deafening.
Han Li, however, remained calm. Silently raising a hand, he lightly tapped a spirit beast pouch at his waist. A streak of black light shot out, circling once before landing on the ground. As the radiance faded, a small pitch-black monkey appeared—the Soul Devouring Beast.
The beast, seemingly just awakened, blinked its dull eyes before sniffing the air. Suddenly, its eyes widened in excitement as it spotted the skulls nearby, letting out a series of eager squeaks.
The skulls, which had been charging ferociously toward Han Li, halted abruptly upon seeing the Soul Devouring Beast, hovering in place as if paralyzed. Their ghostly cries diminished, replaced by fearful whimpers.
The black-robed youth’s heart sank. The golden threads of the sword formation flickered closer. In desperation, he spat out a gray beam from his mouth, which coiled around his outstretched palm. With a sickening crunch, five bloody fingers dropped to the ground, exploding into crimson mist that flew toward the horned skull.
The skull’s eyes flickered with ghostly fire before it opened its maw, inhaling the mist. Instantly, its ghostly flames surged, and it let out a thunderous roar. Under its command, the other skulls spewed more green flames toward the Soul Devouring Beast.
The beast thumped its chest, its body enveloped in black light as it swelled to several zhang in height. With a snort, a yellow mist erupted from its nose, sweeping up the incoming ghost flames effortlessly before surging into the skull horde.
Where the mist passed, the skulls were helplessly sucked in. The remaining skulls scattered in panic, ignoring the horned skull’s furious roars. The mist descended upon the horned skull, which transformed into a towering, horned demon wreathed in green smoke. The demon hurled black thunderbolts at the mist, but they vanished without a trace upon contact.
The demon turned to flee, but it was too late. The yellow mist swallowed it whole. The mist then retracted into the beast’s mouth before being expelled again, clearing the sky of skulls in moments.
The black-robed youth, witnessing this, was both shocked and enraged. He had heard of Han Li’s monstrous ape devouring corpse energy, but he never imagined it could consume the Yin Luo Banner’s demonic spirits with such ease. Had he known, he would never have come alone.
Regret flooded him as the golden threads closed within three zhang. In desperation, he flung out seven or eight treasures from his storage pouch, but the sword formation shredded them instantly.
Pale-faced, he abandoned all thought of preserving the sect’s treasure. With a snarl, he summoned the Ghost Luo Banner, merging with it into a sinister green mist that shot skyward, hoping to escape.
Han Li, seeing his opponent’s desperation, spat out a golden lightning sphere that exploded into a vast net, covering dozens of zhang. The youth’s mist was trapped at the formation’s edge, golden threads whittling it away relentlessly.
“Must you annihilate me? Don’t you want the Soul-Sealing Curse’s release?” the youth’s voice rang out from the thinning mist.
“Rest assured, I’ll extract what I need from your soul,” Han Li replied coldly.
“Search my soul? Never—AH!” The mist dissipated, and the youth’s body was shredded. Only his nascent soul, encased in green light, burst forth.
But the golden net awaited. Han Li commanded it to shrink, trapping the soul. “Touch me, and I’ll self-destruct!” the soul shrieked.
Han Li paused. The soul pressed, “Spare me, and I’ll tell you how to save your companion!”
As Han Li hesitated, a purple net suddenly descended from above, ensnaring the soul. At the same time, Silvermoon appeared behind it, exhaling pink mist and firing silver beams.
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