In midair, Han Li saw the situation unfold and, without a word, formed a hand seal. Above the green flames, a ripple stirred, and two clusters of azure threads flickered into existence from the void.
The azure threads scattered and, in a fleeting flash, enveloped both balls of green fire.
The green flames immediately began wailing and writhing within the azure threads, but could not break free for the time being.
At that moment, a small azure cauldron mysteriously materialized from the nearby void.
A cold glint flashed through Han Li's eyes as he pointed a single hand at it from afar.
The silver fire bird flew forward, bursting with a muffled boom and splitting into two fireballs that shot outward.
With two soft pops, they struck the two trapped balls of green fire.
After two shrill shrieks, the green flames flickered within the silver fire, then unexpectedly condensed into two round objects resembling eyeballs. They seemed to blink at Han Li, and strange light appeared to flash within them.
Han Li's heart lurched, and almost instinctively, his figure blurred as he vanished from the spot in an instant.
The next moment, the two balls of green fire were annihilated within the silver light, completely erased from existence.
Over a hundred feet away, Han Li's figure flickered into view amidst a burst of azure light. His eyes stared fixedly downward, but his brow furrowed deeply.
The spirit souls of such high-rank monsters were naturally extremely useful, but without knowing the creature's true nature, he dared not let them survive, lest they cause endless trouble down the line. As for the Soul Search technique, it was even less suitable for use on beings of a higher rank than himself — if he tried, the backlash could very well destroy him instead.
Still, the fact that this monster possessed two independent spirit souls did catch him somewhat by surprise. Moreover, the bizarre form the spirit souls had assumed at the end seemed rather sinister. However, he had already carefully inspected himself and found nothing out of the ordinary. It seemed the spirit souls hadn't had time to activate whatever trick they'd been attempting before the Heavenly Spirit-Devouring Fire destroyed them first.
With these thoughts running through his mind, Han Li exhaled softly, waved a hand toward the distance, then gave his sleeve a shake.
Immediately, not only did the silver flames and the Void Heaven Small Cauldron fly back, but the Primal Chaos Divine Mountain in the distance and all seventy-two Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords also appeared before him in flashes, being drawn back into his body.
Only then did Han Li's body flash with azure light as he drifted lightly downward.
Little did Han Li know, at the very moment he destroyed the monstrous moth, in some immeasurably distant part of the pitch-black deep sea, there stood an underground palace built of fine white jade.
On the floor of a dark, sealed chamber in the deepest level of the palace, twelve bronze ancient lamps of roughly a foot in height stood in a row, each flickering with pale green flames of varying sizes. The largest flames were the size of chicken eggs, while the smallest were as thick as a thumb.
Before these ancient lamps, a tall, thin figure sat motionless, head slightly bowed, the entire body and face wrapped in a pale golden cloak. Spiritual light shimmered across the surface of the cloak, upon which strange patterns were inscribed.
At the very instant Han Li destroyed the two spirit souls of the monstrous moth, the medium-sized flame of one of the ancient lamps suddenly flickered and went out.
With a creaking sound, a strange crack emanated from the gaunt figure. The head, which had been bowed, slowly rose, and two balls of green fire appeared simultaneously, revealing its true face.
It was a skull, its face nothing but white, protruding bones, yet within those eye sockets two balls of green fire flickered and glowed, making for an exceedingly eerie sight.
The skull's head turned, its gaze fixing coldly on the extinguished lamp. From its nasal cavity came what seemed like a cold snort laden with fury, and then it suddenly opened its mouth, spitting out a ball of black light.
It was a square black seal! Its surface was remarkably smooth, yet inscribed upon it was a pitch-black true dragon, coiled around the seal several times over.
A string of unfamiliar incantations issued from the skull's mouth. A wave of luminous mist spiraled out from the black seal, and then something large and dark tumbled out from within the light with a flash.
In the dim lamplight, one could make out a monstrous beast three or four zhang in length, its body an extraordinary shade of jade-green, with a head resembling that of a great bull.
The beast lay motionless on the ground, and had it not been for the faint rise and fall of its chest, one might have taken it for nothing more than a corpse.
The skull opened its mouth once more, and a bean-sized wisp of green flame drifted slowly outward. It flickered and then vanished into the beast's body without a trace.
The beast's body shuddered, and a burst of crackling sounds erupted across its surface. Then, slowly, it opened a pair of enormous bull's eyes and rose from the ground.
At first, it appeared somewhat dazed, but after glancing around, its eyes suddenly cleared. Clenching both fists and tilting its head back, it let out a tremendous roar.
Thunderous sounds erupted as arcs of azure lightning materialized across the bull-beast's body, intertwining and swirling.
The skull, whose eyes had been flickering with green flame, suddenly let out a series of inhuman screeching sounds, as though issuing commands to the beast.
Immediately, the bull-headed beast moved, the lightning arcs across its body flaring into blinding brilliance. With a peal of thunder, the beast vanished into thin air, departing via lightning travel within a massive azure arc.
The sealed chamber returned to its dim, gloomy state.
The green flames in the skull's eyes flickered as its gaze fell once more upon the extinguished lamp. Then a single bony, skeletal finger pointed at it across the void.
With a barely audible pop, the lamp's extinguished flame reignited, though it was now no larger than a soybean — so feeble that a single breath could have blown it out.
After completing all of this, the green flames in the skull's eyes flickered several times. It tilted its head in thought, then shifted its gaze away from the lamp.