Only now did the old demon see it clearly: the black wind that had been enveloping him had, at some unknown point, been split open by a slender, elongated gash.
Judging by its position, it was right where his severed arm had been. He hadn't detected even the faintest warning beforehand.
At this, the old demon was naturally both alarmed and furious. His remaining arm hastily pointed toward the descending fiery-red shield.
The shield bounced once and instantly transformed into a layer of crimson light that enveloped him in a barrier. At the same time, he released his spiritual sense outward in a burst, his eyes frantically scanning every direction in search of Han Li's whereabouts.
Just then, the white thread shot out once more from the void some ten-odd zhang behind the old demon. It circled briefly, paused for a moment, and then condensed into a human figure.
It was Han Li himself.
He could be seen glancing himself over, the twin wings behind his back fluttering gently, while the purple light-blade still rested in his hand.
"This Gale of Nine Transformations — its power is considerable, but the strain on the body is far too heavy. With my third-layer Bright King Art, I've only used it once and already feel utterly drained," Han Li murmured in a low, quiet voice.
"That's only natural. This technique was originally created to complement our avian demon cultivators. You're a human — even with the Wind Thunder Wings to assist you, you can't truly execute this movement technique with ease. Forced use places a far greater burden on the body than ordinary demon birds. The third-layer Bright King Art can only let you perform it two or three times at most. Push it any further while forcing yourself into that extreme speed state, and your entire body will collapse. If you wish to use this technique freely, you'll need to advance the Bright King Art by another layer." The child's indifferent voice echoed in Han Li's ear.
"So that's how it is! When I was practicing in the sealed chamber, I used it several times, but because the space was so limited, I never realized that executing it over such long distances would place this kind of strain on the body." Han Li sighed and waved a hand. The purple light-blade dissipated and vanished.
This time, the child let out a chuckle but said nothing more.
The instant Han Li appeared, the old demon across from him immediately spotted his figure.
However, what the child transformed from the Skyflood Beast had used was a voice-transmission technique — the old demon couldn't hear a single word of it. From a distance, it simply looked as though Han Li were talking to himself.
His gaze flickered with suspicion. The old demon's lone arm suddenly slapped a spirit beast pouch at his waist.
A flash of black light erupted, and a pitch-black, two-headed serpent materialized. The serpent was not particularly large — only around three zhang in length — but its pair of triangular dual heads and the wisps of green gas spewing from its mouths all indicated that it was an exceedingly venomous creature.
Six Paths Extreme Saint then opened his mouth once more and spat out a glob of black light enclosing something.
The sphere of light spun around and revealed a small white banner, only a few inches long. Under the old demon's incantations, it billowed wildly in the wind and, in the blink of an eye, expanded into a ghastly white banner roughly a zhang tall.
The moment Han Li saw the banner's appearance, he couldn't help but freeze for an instant.
The entire banner was crafted from human bones. Its surface was shrouded in a murky black haze, with grayish-white runic characters flickering in and out of visibility. At the banner's crest, three skull heads of varying sizes were embedded. The instant they appeared, their fangs gnashed together wildly, producing a series of blood-curdling, eerie cackles that unsettled the mind and set the blood roiling.
The old demon gave a low shout and pressed his palm down on the bone banner.
The three skulls immediately quivered violently and sprayed black radiance, swallowing the half-severed arm that had been floating beneath the old demon's feet. A frantic scramble ensued, and within moments the arm had been devoured clean.
Immediately after, the three skulls flashed with a brilliant blood-red glow and swelled to more than their original size.
With this, the terror on Six Paths Extreme Saint's face receded by more than half, and he fixed Han Li with a dark, cold stare.
It seemed the old demon's mind was still remarkably clear.
He understood that with the bizarre movement speed Han Li had just displayed — combining wind and thunder into one — there was absolutely no chance of escape. If he tried to flee with single-minded determination, he would likely fall even faster. Better to grit his teeth and fight to the bitter end; perhaps in doing so, he might still seize a sliver of a chance to survive.
And so, without hesitation, he brought out another treasure he had kept hidden all this time — one he had never once revealed to anyone.
Han Li frowned slightly at the sight. He had never seen this particular treasure before, but judging by the astonishing wave of sinister yin energy emanating from it, he didn't dare take it lightly.
It was at that very moment that an astonished voice suddenly reached Han Li's ear.
"The Three-Spirit White Bone Banner? I never imagined someone in this world would know how to craft such an evil artifact. Truly inconceivable!"
"Daoist Skyflood, you recognize this object?" Han Li asked, surprised.
"In our Spirit World, this banner is quite renowned — one of the Seven Great Evil Treasures, no less. Of course, the one opposite you seems to have grasped only the barest fundamentals of its crafting. Its power doesn't hold a candle to the real Three-Spirit White Bone Banner — not by a long shot. But the process of creating it is extraordinarily bloody. Nearly every human or demon beast who forges one meets a terrible end in the end. The one before you may not possess much power, but it must have required the blood sacrifice of quite a few cultivators to make." The child chuckled, his tone carrying a mix of admiration for the banner's might and deep wariness toward the crafting of such a thing.
"I see! Tsk, tsk — worthy of being the number one demonic cultivator of the Scattered Star Seas. There really is nothing he wouldn't dare do. Since it's such an infamous evil treasure, let me first test exactly how powerful it truly is." Han Li felt a moment of understanding, but his voice carried a cold laugh. He reached to his waist with one hand, then raised it, and a jet-black jade bottle was sent flying into the air.
The bottle spun once in midair, then tilted its mouth downward, and the cap opened of its own accord.
A torrent of gray-white yin energy sprayed forth from inside, and five pale, humanoid skeletal figures wobbled as they materialized — none other than the Five Heartlinked Devils that Han Li had previously subdued.