“Do not parry, dodge quickly!” Manager Wang, held in Han Li’s grasp, cried out through gritted teeth, enduring immense pain as he tried to warn the Young Prince.
Clearly, his warning came a bit too late.
Upon hearing this, the Young Prince instinctively shifted his weight to the side, attempting to evade the sweep of the massive azure sword. However, the sword abruptly changed its trajectory from a downward slash to a horizontal sweep, lightly grazing past his legs. The dark energy shielding him was instantly dispersed upon contact, offering no protection whatsoever.
As a result, both of his lower legs were cleanly severed. The Young Prince let out a blood-curdling scream before collapsing into unconsciousness. Having been raised in luxury and comfort since childhood, even with his cunning mind, he had never experienced such excruciating pain. Naturally, he couldn’t endure the agony of having his legs severed.
This scene, however, gave Han Li quite a fright. He initially thought that his long-unused Green Origin Sword Aura had accidentally killed the Young Prince!
Once he realized what had actually happened, Han Li felt both annoyed and amused. He hoisted the unconscious Young Prince and flew toward the Four Friends of Meng Mountain.
Though pleased with his overwhelming victory, Han Li couldn’t help but feel somewhat puzzled.
Based on the sense of danger he had felt from the Young Prince and Manager Wang earlier, he had expected them to be far more troublesome opponents. Yet, he had captured them with such ease. Could it be that his mysterious intuition was starting to fail him?
Han Li shook his head, finding the situation rather strange.
Meanwhile, the remaining black-robed cultivators lingering in the distance witnessed this scene and realized there was no point in staying any longer. After exchanging glances, they began to scatter in all directions, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye.
Han Li had no intention of pursuing them. These individuals were merely peripheral figures, much like the Four Friends of Meng Mountain, and not worth the effort of hunting down.
As he flew back to the Four Friends of Meng Mountain, he casually tossed his two captives onto the ground and said calmly, “Stop their bleeding. We still need to extract information from them.”
The young man and the second brother among the Four Friends immediately caught the two captives, not daring to show the slightest negligence.
At this moment, the Four Friends of Meng Mountain felt not only superficial respect but genuine awe toward Han Li. His display of divine power earlier had left an indelible impression on them.
“Senior, your techniques are truly mystical. We juniors are in awe!” the black-faced elder said with deep reverence.
“It’s nothing, just a minor trick,” Han Li replied. Though inwardly pleased by their awe, he maintained an air of modesty, further deepening their perception of him as an unfathomable expert.
Just then, a series of thunderous “clangs” echoed through the air, causing Han Li’s expression to shift slightly.
The Four Friends of Meng Mountain hurriedly turned to look. The middle-aged woman among them, upon seeing the source of the noise, pointed in panic and exclaimed, “Senior, look! Your magical instrument!”
Han Li had already turned around and raised his head to look. The “Veil Heaven Bell,” which had trapped the bald man, was emitting earth-shattering booms while undergoing bizarre deformations on its surface.
With each resounding clang, a large section of the bell’s wall would inexplicably bulge outward. After more than a dozen such booms, the bell had become completely unrecognizable, bearing no resemblance to its original form.
To make matters worse, the yellow glow enveloping the bronze bell had dimmed significantly. It seemed as though the bald man inside could break free at any moment.
Han Li was horrified!
Though he didn’t understand why such an unbelievable phenomenon was occurring, it was clear that the “Veil Heaven Bell” could no longer contain its prisoner. It seemed he would have to resort to other methods.
With this thought, Han Li recalled the more than ten magical instruments hovering above his head. In their place, he summoned seven or eight beast-shaped puppets, which lined up alongside the four puppets he had already deployed, forming a defensive barrier between himself, the Four Friends of Meng Mountain, and the impending threat.
No sooner had he done this than a deafening “boom” erupted. The “Veil Heaven Bell” magical instrument shattered into pieces, and from within, a creature that was neither fully human nor fully monster shot out.
“What is that?” the middle-aged woman exclaimed involuntarily. The other three members of the Four Friends turned pale, their faces filled with disbelief.
Even Han Li’s eyes revealed indescribable astonishment.
The bald man who had emerged had undergone a complete demonic transformation in both form and appearance.
He now stood two zhang tall, with fangs protruding from his mouth, two pitch-black curved horns sprouting from his head, and a scaly, iron-like tail dragging behind him. Most alarming of all, his entire body was covered in dark red demonic patterns, obscuring most of his naked form and exuding an unspeakable aura of malice.
Though his facial features still faintly resembled those of the bald man, his eyes now glowed with a vicious green light, filled entirely with bloodthirsty and murderous intent, devoid of any trace of humanity. He cast a cold, icy glance at Han Li and the others before suddenly crouching down and shooting toward them like an arrow.
The Four Friends of Meng Mountain were terrified, unsure of how to respond, when Han Li’s voice suddenly rang in their ears: “Activate your magical instruments!”
Following Han Li’s command, the more than ten puppet beasts in front of him simultaneously opened their mouths, firing over ten beams of light that struck the demonized bald man with lightning speed. Caught off guard, the demonized man was sent tumbling to the ground.
Overjoyed by this sight, the Four Friends of Meng Mountain unleashed their magical instruments without a second thought, bombarding the fallen man in hopes of swiftly eliminating this terrifying monster.
Unfortunately, their hopes were short-lived. An overwhelming aura of malice erupted from the fallen man, who then leaped to his feet in a rage, completely unharmed by the magical instruments assaulting him. The Four Friends of Meng Mountain stared in disbelief, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
The demonized man let out a furious roar to the sky and suddenly began swinging his arms like a windmill. In an instant, the magical instruments surrounding him were torn to shreds by his razor-sharp fingers, reduced to mere scraps of metal.
Before the Four Friends of Meng Mountain could even react, the demonized man’s green eyes glowed intensely. With a few eerie movements, he appeared before the protective barrier shielding Han Li and the others, thrusting a clawed hand downward with vicious force.
With a sharp “screech,” the black-faced elder swiftly summoned Han Li’s White Scale Shield, barely blocking the strike. However, five deep gashes were left on the shield’s surface, and the elder’s face turned deathly pale, clearly due to depleted spiritual power.
Seeing this, the demonized man grinned ferociously and immediately lashed out with his other claw toward the shield.
But then his expression changed abruptly. He retracted his claw and crouched down, crossing his arms in an X-shape in front of his body.
At that very moment, the second volley of light beams from the puppet beasts struck him squarely, landing with full force.
This time, however, the prepared demonized man was not knocked to the ground. Instead, he was forcefully pushed back over a dozen zhang by the powerful impact. This gave the black-faced elder, who had barely withstood the first strike, a moment to catch his breath. Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he urgently addressed the other three: “His attacks are too fierce! One person’s spiritual power won’t last more than a few strikes. We must combine our efforts to control this shield!”
Hearing their leader’s words, the remaining three members of the Four Friends of Meng Mountain immediately placed a hand on the elder’s shoulder, channeling their spiritual power into him without hesitation.
The black-faced elder’s complexion instantly regained its color.
Having failed to achieve anything after two attempts, the demonized man grew even more enraged. As soon as the light beams from the puppet beasts faded, he charged forward again, claws bared. Yet, once again, the White Scale Shield blocked his attack, and he was forced back by another volley of light beams.
Watching this scene, Han Li frowned deeply.
Since this demonized creature could even shred the “Veil Heaven Bell” and withstand the light beam attacks from the puppet beasts, it was clear that ordinary top-grade magical instruments would be useless against it. Only a Treasure Talisman would suffice.
With this thought, Han Li no longer hesitated. He instructed the Four Friends of Meng Mountain, “Hold him off temporarily with the puppet beasts. I need some time to cast a spell!”
Without waiting for their response, Han Li retrieved a faint blue talisman from his storage pouch. Holding it reverently with both hands, he sat cross-legged and began channeling his energy with closed eyes.
Han Li did not explicitly mention the Treasure Talisman, as he knew that given their status as rogue cultivators, they likely had no idea what it was. Now was not the time for explanations.
His decisive actions made it clear that he would not tolerate any objections from the Four Friends of Meng Mountain, a fact they well understood. After exchanging uneasy glances, the black-faced elder reluctantly agreed.
For the next several attempts, the demonized man lunged forward repeatedly but was repelled each time, forced to retreat in frustration.
Though Han Li’s White Scale Shield was left scarred and battered by the creature’s claws, it managed—under the combined efforts of the Four Friends of Meng Mountain—to block the shatteringly powerful strikes. Each time, the light beams from the puppet beasts would immediately follow, driving the demonized man back and preventing him from launching consecutive attacks. This finally gave the Four Friends of Meng Mountain some breathing room.
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