Piercing through the light screen projected by the golden barrier was a milky-white bead the size of a broad bean — translucent and crystalline. It was nothing other than Ancestor Yuansha herself compressing and condensing her own divine sense until it had been solidified into physical matter.
The immense quantity of divine sense required to achieve such a feat was beyond imagination.
No wonder the demon statue could casually point a finger and repel even a level-ten beast or a late-stage cultivator without them putting up any resistance at all.
Han Li's heart lurched with alarm, but the Three-Flame Fan in his hand was already flickering with a three-colored glow. The surging flames instantly condensed, forming a fire shield that materialized before him.
Gold, silver, and red runic patterns flowed and danced across its surface, lending it an air of extraordinary mystery.
Then, without hesitation, Han Li opened his mouth and spat out a small cauldron wreathed in a ball of azure light.
Almost simultaneously, the golden barrier completely collapsed. The milky-white bead flashed once and slammed into the three-colored fire shield.
With a thunderous boom, the fire shield was shattered in a single blow without accomplishing a thing — the three-colored flames seemed to have absolutely no effect on the bead whatsoever. The bead plunged straight into the mass of azure light.
Inside the azure glow, the small cauldron trembled, and dense strands of azure filaments burst outward, weaving into a net. The moment the bead shot into the mesh, it was forcibly halted amid flickering azure radiance.
Han Li's face lit up with joy, while the demon statue froze, its purple-glowing eyes intensifying as they fixed upon the Void Sky Cauldron.
Xuan Qingzi and Corpse Bear wore looks of utter astonishment. They had both been certain that Han Li would be instantly destroyed by the self-detonation, just like the Silver-Winged Yaksha and the others before him.
Xuan Qingzi even already had a pale-yellow Space-Breaking Talisman in his hand, prepared for the chance that Han Li might risk breaking through this spatial barrier to escape. But he feared that doing so would immediately draw the demon statue's attack, and so he hovered in hesitation.
Meanwhile, the small fox that Silver Moon had transformed into had already darted to Tian Qi's side. A ball of silver light immediately emerged from the white fox's body, flashed, and merged into Tian Qi's form.
Tian Qi's body shuddered once, then hung motionless in midair.
"Interesting — it actually blocked a strike of my divine sense. Let this Sacred Ancestor see what treasure that is!" The demon statue spoke evenly, then thrust a single palm toward the distant Han Li through the void.
With a sharp crack, a colossal pitch-black palm materialized above Han Li's head like a miniature mountain, pressing down soundlessly.
A chill shot through Han Li's heart. Thunder rumbled behind his back as he prepared to use the Lightning Escape to flee.
But the instant the silver light appeared at his back, he felt the surrounding air congeal. Several streaks of black qi surfaced across his body, and the Wind Thunder Wings could not so much as flap.
Han Li was greatly alarmed. Only now did he understand why the various demonic creatures skilled in escape techniques before him had been unable to flee. With no other choice, he channeled his divine sense into the Void Sky Cauldron before him. Dense azure filaments immediately shot skyward to meet the incoming palm, while the humanoid puppet at his side raised a hand. With a rumble of thunder, a jade-green beam crackling with golden arcs shot toward the black palm.
The azure filaments produced by the Void Sky Cauldron were incredibly tough, but having only cultivated the first layer of the Spirit Treasure Technique, they clearly could not manifest much of the cauldron's true power.
In the end, they merely caused the demon palm to pause for a moment before snapping apart strand by strand.
The jade-green beam then struck the demon palm. Amid flickering golden arcs, it bored through a hole several feet wide — but with a flash of black light, the hole vanished without a trace.
The demon palm continued its descent without pause, clamped firmly around Han Li's body, and squeezed without mercy.
With a crack, azure light flickered — and Han Li's body exploded.
The demon statue, satisfied, relaxed its five fingers and reversed its hand to seize the Void Sky Cauldron.
But at that moment, a thunderous rumble suddenly erupted. A silver arc of lightning flickered wildly several times, teleporting out from beneath the demon palm. After several flashes, it materialized several dozen zhang away, revealing a figure — none other than Han Li.
His face, however, was deathly pale, clearly showing that his magical power had been severely depleted.
Meanwhile, the mangled corpse beneath the demon claw flickered with azure light, transforming into motes of spiritual luminescence that condensed into a cyan talisman. In a surprise move, the talisman curled around the Void Sky Cauldron and vanished from its original spot. The next instant, it reappeared above Han Li's head.
The talisman's glow had dimmed considerably — it was none other than the Spirit Transformation Talisman that Han Li had obtained from the Heavenly Talisman Sect.
Although Han Li had nurtured this talisman within his body for several years, it was still far from truly refined. However, having previously activated the Spirit Descending Talisman, and with the Spirit Transformation Talisman being of the wood attribute, he could barely channel its power at the cost of expending great magical energy.
That was how, at the very instant the demon claw reached him, he had used it as a substitute to survive the blow.
This scene left the others even more stunned.
But upon witnessing it, the demon statue let out a cold laugh, immediately raised one hand to aim at Han Li again, and slightly curled its five fingers.
Han Li's heart sank. He had now exhausted every treasure in his arsenal, with no confidence left to withstand another round of attacks.
With no other option, he clenched his teeth in silence and poured his remaining magical power into the Void Sky Cauldron. The treasure's body swelled wildly, expanding to over a zhang in size to shield him. At the same time, golden arcs and purple flames flickered across his entire body, forming a protective spiritual barrier that encased him completely.
The humanoid puppet also appeared before Han Li in a flash. Pressing both palms together, the five-colored radiance flowing continuously around its body blazed brilliantly as it transformed itself into a defensive treasure.
Upon seeing Han Li's desperate series of actions, a trace of contempt flickered through the demon statue's purple eyes. Five fingers lightly flicked outward.