Although startled by the opponent’s bizarre transformation, Han Li swiftly glanced behind him, a cold sneer appearing on his face.
The gray ghostly figure behind him had already been devoured by more than half, leaving only a third of its body struggling weakly. Even if it were allowed to escape now, it would surely be severely weakened and utterly incapable of rejoining the fight.
These Gold Devouring Beetles truly lived up to their ranking on the Exotic Insect List. Not only did they devour spiritual energy, but they also feasted on sinister ghosts and fierce spirits—utterly ferocious! Though their devouring speed seemed a bit slow.
Just as Han Li was pondering this, the tiger monster opposite him, after a moment of confusion on its human-faced tiger head, revealed an expression of joyous awakening, as if rousing from a deep dream. It glanced at Han Li, then at the other ghostly figure behind him, and finally at its own body before letting out an extremely unpleasant, strange cackle!
The laughter started small but grew louder and louder, continuous and seemingly endless, shaking the nearby ghostly mist into rolling waves.
At first, Han Li paid it no mind, merely watching the tiger monster’s actions coldly. However, after a short while, his face turned somewhat pale, and a grave expression emerged.
Contrary to his expectations, the tiger monster’s bizarre laughter did not weaken but instead grew more vigorous and resonant. Even with the Great Development Art guarding his mind, Han Li felt as though he were walking alone in a wilderness while countless thunderclaps roared in his ears, leaving him dizzy and disoriented.
Not good! Just as Han Li cautiously observed the opponent, he seemed to recall something, and his expression changed dramatically.
He hurriedly turned to look behind him, his heart sinking. The gray ghostly figure had vanished without a trace, and the tens of thousands of Gold Devouring Beetles lay scattered on the ground, listless, only occasionally fluttering their wings, completely devoid of their earlier vigor.
In frustration, Han Li quickly summoned several spirit beast pouches and swiftly collected the half-dead beetles. Then, gritting his teeth against the deafening strange laughter, he glanced toward the other battle.
What he saw surprised him at first but then put him at ease.
Fairy Zi Ling and the black-robed man were locked in fierce combat with the ghosts. Although the black-robed man, whose magical treasures had lost their power, was far stronger in cultivation than these evil spirits, his techniques did not give him an overwhelming advantage.
As for Fairy Zi Ling, she relied on a rectangular stone stele, hiding within its protective light, merely trying to defend herself.
Both of them seemed completely unaffected by the strange laughter. This puzzled Han Li, but after a moment’s thought, he understood the reason.
Clearly, the dual-headed possessed monster had confined the power of its strange laughter to a small area, which explained its astonishing potency. Even the Gold Devouring Beetles, difficult to harm with magical treasures, couldn’t withstand it and were shaken off the ghostly figure.
On one hand, these spirit insects hadn’t fully advanced yet; on the other, it showed just how powerful the strange laughter was.
If not for the soul-stabilizing effects of the Great Development Art, he might have already been rendered weak and captured under the influence of this laughter!
The more he thought about it, the more alarmed he became. Han Li was now certain that even if this monster hadn’t reached the Nascent Soul stage, it was definitely no weaker than a late Core Formation cultivator. Could this be the so-called Ghost King? Han Li felt somewhat doubtful.
At that moment, the monster opposite him, seeing that Han Li remained standing unaffected by the strange laughter, finally stopped its loud cackling. All four of its sinister eyes fixed on him.
Han Li felt uncomfortable under its gaze but narrowed his eyes and stared back unflinchingly.
Just then, the mangled gray ghostly figure emerged from behind the monster and flew straight to the front of the dual-headed creature without pause.
Han Li was taken aback, his eyes flickering with uncertainty.
Why would this ghostly figure, already in such a state, return instead of fleeing far away?
As Han Li pondered, something unexpected happened again. The dual-headed tiger demon’s eyes flashed with a strange light before it grabbed the gray ghostly figure. Then, the black tiger head opened its bloody maw and devoured the gray figure in a few swift bites.
Han Li watched in utter astonishment! But what happened next immediately resolved his doubts.
The monster roared at the sky several times, and amidst bulging movements around its neck, another gray tiger head emerged beside the human-faced head. This tiger head also had a human face, but it belonged to a rather plain-looking woman.
Han Li was stunned for a moment but quickly regained his composure.
The gray tiger head initially had tightly shut eyes and an extremely pale complexion, as if severely injured. But soon, it opened its blood-red eyes and fixed an intensely venomous gaze on Han Li, sending chills down his spine and making him shudder slightly.
Then, the central male-faced head let out a fierce screech and strode boldly toward Han Li.
With each step, black light flashed around its body, and its size increased severalfold. After more than a dozen steps, the monster had grown to over twice its original size, as tall as a two- or three-story pavilion, leaving Han Li visibly alarmed.
Without further thought, Han Li waved both hands, summoning over a hundred giant ape puppets around him. These apes simultaneously raised their hands, releasing dense, multicolored beams of light.
Han Li then pointed at the massive green sword in the air, which joined the beams of light, transforming into a long, dazzling streak aimed at slicing the tiger demon into several segments.
Seeing this, the three-headed monster showed a hint of surprise on its central human face but soon let out a cold “hehe” laugh.
The two heads on either side opened their mouths simultaneously—one spewing the previously seen black light spheres one after another, the other releasing hazy gray ghost flames that shot out in all directions.
The ghost flames and light spheres intertwined, forcefully blocking the barrage of light beams. Even the few attacks that slipped through and struck the monster’s massive body only sparked briefly before proving ineffective.
Han Li frowned, a cold glint flashing in his eyes as he swiftly formed a sword seal. The green streak of light glowed even more brilliantly, its speed suddenly increasing by threefold!
In an instant, under the cover of the puppet apes, it broke through the barrier of ghost flames and light spheres, swirling around the monster’s waist with a flash of light, ready to slice it apart on the spot.
But Han Li stared in disbelief.
At that moment, all three heads of the monster let out a simultaneous strange roar. Then, two fan-like tiger claws, moving at a speed invisible to Han Li, swiftly reached out and grabbed the massive sword bare-handed.
The furry tiger claws seemed completely unafraid of the sword’s razor-sharp glow. Watching the massive sword struggle futilely in the monster’s grasp, Han Li almost wondered if his eyes were deceiving him.
Although these Emerald Swarm Swords hadn’t been refined for long and couldn’t yet display their full power, being grabbed bare-handed was simply unbelievable. Had the opponent’s claws been refined into magical treasures?
Han Li couldn’t help but entertain this bizarre thought.
Seeing that it had control over Han Li’s flying sword, all three heads of the monster wore sinister expressions. The central head grinned ferociously before spewing a stream of ink-black Yin energy, thick as a bowl, onto the struggling sword, gradually eroding its green spiritual light.
Seeing this, Han Li’s heart sank.
This three-headed monster was not only ruthlessly cunning but also unfathomably powerful. Prolonging the fight would only put him at a disadvantage—he had to take a risk and end it quickly!
With this thought, Han Li glanced back at the other battle. The black-robed man and Fairy Zi Ling were fully engrossed in their struggle against the demons, completely unaware of what was happening here.
Seeing this, a strange light flashed in Han Li’s eyes as he slowly turned back.
The monster’s left and right heads were still happily engaged with his puppet apes, while the central head desperately spewed black energy in an attempt to corrupt his Emerald Swarm Sword.
A fierce killing intent rose in Han Li’s heart! Muttering “Seeking death!” under his breath, he formed a strange sword seal with his hands and pointed fiercely into the void toward the flying sword.
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