A chill shot through Han Li's heart!
Those scarlet eyes were brimming with savagery — the gaze of no normal human, but that of a beast consumed by bloodlust and madness.
Han Li's mind raced as he wondered whether this was truly the target he had come looking for. But before he could finish the thought, the dark figure's roar cut off abruptly. Its body blurred, and it vanished without a trace into the demonic qi below.
Han Li's expression shifted, but he remained composed. With a flick of his sleeve, a silver shield materialized, then expanded into a shimmering silver barrier that enveloped him completely.
He had barely completed his defenses when the demonic qi behind him surged violently. A demonic arm covered in coarse black fur shot out like lightning and seized the barrier.
With a thunderous boom, the claw punched more than half a foot into the silver shield.
Han Li felt the barrier shudder wildly as an enormous force crashed into him. His face changed slightly. He shifted his weight and took two quick steps forward, barely dissipating the tremendous impact.
At the same time, his hand flashed, and a golden sword several feet long materialized out of thin air. He seized it without even turning around and slashed backward in a swift backhand arc.
A streak of golden light blazed — and half of the fur-covered arm was lopped clean off.
The dark figure let out a furious howl, staggering back several steps before it could steady itself. Those blood-red eyes locked onto Han Li with naked ferocity, brimming with murderous intent.
"So it is you after all. But it seems the body infusion didn't go well — you've become half-demonized and lost your mind." Han Li finally turned around, studied the dark figure for a moment, and let out a soft sigh.
The dark figure was now barely ten zhang away, so he could see it clearly.
It still roughly resembled the Heavenly Fiend Demon Corpse he remembered, but most of its black robe had been torn away, exposing long corpse hair beneath. Fist-sized plates of pitch-black armor had sprouted over its vital areas, gleaming with a cold, sinister light. Its skull-like face was shrouded in a thin haze of black qi, and through it one could just make out features twisted into something thoroughly grotesque.
The demon corpse's arm had been severed by his strike, yet not a single drop of blood leaked from the wound — as if its body contained none at all.
It let out a low, guttural growl but only stared at the golden sword in Han Li's hand, making no further attempt to charge.
Clearly, Han Li's earlier strike had given it pause. Though it yearned to tear Han Li to shreds, some primal instinct held it back. A storage pouch was plainly visible at its waist, yet it stood there empty-handed, unable to even retrieve a weapon — the behavior of something with not a shred of intelligence remaining.
It turned out that the demonic qi within this ten-thousand-zhang Abyss of Demons may not have been as potent as the demonic energy suppressed beneath Mount Kunwu, but its degree of corruption far exceeded what Han Li's Second Nascent Soul had anticipated. Moreover, during the final stages of the qi infusion, the Second Nascent Soul — anxious that Han Li might come looking — had hastily accelerated the process.
Though the Second Nascent Soul had the Grand Eclipse Art at its disposal, it had only cultivated it to the second layer, being preoccupied with practicing the Mysterious Yin Great Art. Its spiritual sense was indeed somewhat stronger than that of cultivators at the same level, but using it to resist demonic qi for a prolonged period was simply too much to ask.
As a result, while the demon corpse's body withstood the demonic transformation, the Nascent Soul within failed to repel the demonic qi at the very last stage of infusion. Its consciousness had been overrun.
Now the demon corpse had become nothing more than a half-demon entity that knew only slaughter and instinct. It was no smarter than those beasts that had never awakened spiritual intelligence.
After a thorough examination, Han Li confirmed that the creature's mind was truly gone. A wave of relief washed over him, followed by a sense of the absurd.
He had treated this opponent as a mortal threat, rushing here through the dead of night with such gravity — only to find this utterly unexpected result. It left him at a loss for words.
Still, facing such an opponent made things considerably easier. Capturing it should be effortless.
With that thought, Han Li raised his hand without further hesitation, and the Three Flames Fan materialized in his palm.
Since the creature had lost all reason, there was no need for courtesy. He would simply use the Three Flames Fan to forcibly destroy its demonic body. Without its physical shell, the Second Nascent Soul would have no choice but to submit.
But just as the Three Flames Fan began to glow with its three-colored radiance, the demon corpse opposite him let out a sudden roar. A gale of demonic wind whipped up around its body, and the pure demonic qi in the surroundings surged madly toward its severed arm, shifting and coalescing without cease.
An incredible sight unfolded — a pitch-black arm, identical to the one that had been cut off, formed in the blink of an eye, as if it had never been severed at all.
"An Indestructible Body!"
Han Li blinked in surprise, then let out a cold laugh and poured even more spiritual energy into the fan.
The Indestructible Body was a rare ability, but it was not the first time he had faced a creature blessed with such a talent — he had slain more than one.
As long as he struck with overwhelming force and obliterated it completely, the opponent would have no chance to regenerate.
With a phoenix-like cry, a fiery bird several feet in size erupted from the fan. Surrounded by swirling three-colored runes, it hurtled straight toward the demon corpse. Wherever the three-colored flames touched the demonic qi, it was annihilated instantly — the display was nothing short of terrifying.
The demon corpse seemed to sense the danger. Had the Second Nascent Soul still possessed its wits, it would never have tried to meet the Three Flames Fan's overwhelming might head-on and would have fled long before. But now, stripped of its reason and consumed by rage, it roared as the demonic qi around it churned and flooded into its body in a torrent.
Its frame surged upward by more than a foot. Then it opened its mouth and unleashed a beam of light black as ink, aimed squarely at the approaching three-colored firebird.
A heaven-shaking explosion thundered through the depths of the demon abyss as a three-colored halo and a sphere of black light detonated simultaneously, their energies weaving together in a furious stalemate that neither side could break.