But before the golden light on his body had even begun to flicker, a cry rang out from within his sleeve — a sound brimming with excitement and agitation.
Han Li started, his expression becoming extremely peculiar, but after his eyes flickered a few times, he decisively shook his sleeve.
A strange wailing sound emerged.
A jet-black ring flew out from the sleeve, circled once, and immediately a beam of black light shot out from within.
As the light receded, a small black monkey appeared in front of Han Li.
It was none other than the Weeping Soul Beast!
However, Weeping Soul at this moment was clearly vastly different from its usual self. Without waiting for Han Li to drive it with spiritual sense, it let out a furious roar. Black light swirled across its body as its frame surged wildly in size, transforming into a colossal black ape over thirty zhang tall.
Weeping Soul's eyes burned crimson. Its two massive fists pounded its own chest, and as its dark fur stood on end, fangs bared and strange horns sprouted from its head — it had transformed into a towering three-eyed demon ghost.
Three pitch-black bone spurs jutted from the ghost's back, exuding a sinister chill that was truly terrifying.
"The Punishment Beast!"
From the void came the strange face's terrified shriek. The skyful of zhi-tall black-robed figures instantly dissolved into billowing clouds of black mist, vanishing without a trace.
Han Li blinked, caught completely off guard and somewhat bewildered.
But by now, the giant demon ghost that Weeping Soul had become appeared to have lost its reason. After emitting a deep, sinister roar, its third demonic eye suddenly flashed with spiritual light and spat out a blood-red pillar of light. The pillar vanished in a blink.
A sharp clanging sound rang out, and something that startled Han Li occurred.
The blood-red pillar burst forth from a spot several dozen zhang away. The instant it appeared, it let out a clear ring and transformed into a blood-red chain.
The chain gave a single eerie shake in the void, forming itself into a massive noose that ensnared something invisible.
Immediately, thunderous rumbling erupted along the entire chain as arcs of blood-red lightning appeared on its surface.
Shrill screams poured out from the end of the chain. Amid the flickering blood arcs, a mass of black mist roughly several zhang in diameter materialized.
The blood-red chain, as though it had encountered a delectable morsel, wound around it seven or eight times in an instant, binding the mass of black mist tight.
The thunderous rumbling intensified, and the blood arcs grew even more fearsome.
The black mist seemed to dread these arcs terribly — not only did its screams continue without cease, but within the span of a few breaths it shifted through over a dozen different forms, desperately trying to break free.
Among these forms were unmistakably the black-robed figure and the dark qilin.
But all these efforts evidently failed. No matter what shape it took, each was shattered by the blood-red lightning in a flash, dissolving once more into roiling clouds of black mist.
The blood chain clung to the formless black mist like a parasite burrowing into bone, pinning it utterly so that it could not escape by even a hair's breadth. Apart from the screams, the black mist was punctuated by the strange face's furious roars from time to time.
Just then, the giant demon ghost that Weeping Soul had become moved again. A massive, fur-covered hand suddenly reached backward and seized at the void behind it.
One of the three black bone spurs on its back vanished without the slightest warning.
But in the next instant, the bone spur materialized eerily within Weeping Soul's grasp, gripped firmly by its five clawed fingers.
A chant that Han Li had never heard before rumbled out from the demon ghost's great maw. Rows of golden characters blazed to life along the surface of the originally pitch-black bone spear, radiating brilliant golden light and brimming with profound mystery.
Then the bone spear began to vibrate on its own, emitting a humming drone that grew louder and louder.
At the same time, a wave of golden light rippled outward from the spearhead backward, erupting with blinding golden radiance. Golden runes similar to the characters inscribed on the spear also appeared around it, drifting to and fro.
The instant these runes materialized, a soul-devouring surge of killing intent erupted from the bone spear, shooting straight toward the heavens.
"Golden Seal Script!"
"The Divine Punishment Spear!"
Two entirely different voices cried out simultaneously — one from Han Li, the other from the black mist.
Han Li's face was filled with shock, while the voice from the black mist carried extreme terror.
Han Li's mind raced, but before he could figure out what was happening, the mass of black mist restrained by the blood chain in the distance underwent yet another sudden transformation the moment those words left its mouth.
Dark light swirled erratically within the black mist. It shrank abruptly, then rapidly expanded.
A muffled boom!
The black mist had actually detonated itself. A halo of pitch-black light bloomed within the blood chain, stretching it outward by a full ring.
Seizing this fleeting opportunity, the sound of rushing air filled the air as countless streaks of black light shot out through the links of the chain.
It turned out the strange face, seeing the dire situation it was in, had not hesitated to self-detonate more than half its body to allow the remaining fraction to escape.
But then an incredible scene unfolded.
The blood chain gave a muffled hum, then blurred — and split into dozens of blood-red threads that shot outward in every direction. With a single flicker, every thread pierced through a streak of black light as though it had teleported.
After a mournful cry, the black streaks trembled and reverted to blobs of black mist, frozen in midair and unable to move a single inch.