The scholar gave a low shout, and every demonic butterfly flapped its wings in unison. Torrents of five-colored powder surged outward amid the vibration, then, activated by an incantation seal, coalesced into a mass of five-colored toxic cloud roughly an acre in size, hurtling straight toward Han Li to engulf him.
At the same time, the scholar muttered an incantation beneath his breath and opened his mouth to spit out a pale red bamboo scroll.
The scroll glowed with flowing light and unfurled, immediately unleashing a burst of red radiance as numerous crimson-gleaming runes flew out from within.
These runes appeared extraordinarily mysterious the moment they emerged, but they twisted and transformed one after another, becoming red firebirds that surged toward Han Li in a sky-filling swarm, closely following the toxic cloud.
Although Lao Ai was merely an early-stage Body Integration cultivator, his opening attack was nonetheless impressive.
No wonder he still dared to step forward and challenge Han Li, even after witnessing his ability to stand against mid- and late-stage cultivators.
However, such measures were utterly trivial to the current Han Li.
Seeing the ferocity of the oncoming attack, Han Li showed no alarm — instead, he laughed.
He deployed no treasures. His hands simply formed a rapid series of seals before his chest. With a flash of golden light, a golden phantom with three heads and six arms materialized behind him.
The phantom likewise formed seals with each of its six hands. As brilliant spiritual light rippled across its surface, it solidified into a resplendent physical golden form.
Three faces, each identical to Han Li's own, were all clearly defined as if they belonged to a living person. At the same time, all six arms were covered in a layer of golden scales, with runes faintly appearing and disappearing upon them — looking exceedingly mysterious.
This was precisely the Sacred Dharma Golden Body that Han Li had condensed.
"A Dharma Golden Body!"
On the platform below, Patriarch Long caught sight of the Sacred Dharma aspect in its solidified form and involuntarily blurted out in shock. His previously expressionless face now betrayed a trace of astonishment.
Not only Patriarch Long — the two mid-stage Body Integration cultivators from the Ye and Lin families clearly knew something about the Golden Body as well, and they were equally alarmed.
The instant the Golden Body behind Han Li took shape, the toxic cloud and sky-full of firebirds reached him, threatening to engulf him completely.
But a cold gleam flashed in Han Li's eyes, and he gave a sudden, thunderous shout.
The Golden Body behind him swerved forward, somehow positioning itself directly in front of him. Its golden radiance blazed as its frame surged several times over, growing to a height of several zhang. At the same time, all six arms rose and slapped lightly toward the toxic cloud and the firebirds.
"Phut! Phut!" Sounds rang out in rapid succession.
Within each of the six golden hands, a sphere of golden light appeared, spinning ceaselessly within the palms.
Then the arms moved, and all six spheres of light shot out simultaneously. In midair they merged into a single golden vortex.
At the same time, all three heads of the Golden Body opened their eyes in unison, each uttering a completely different incantation. The three voices overlapped and resonated outward from their mouths.
Thunder boomed within the vortex, and the faint sound of sacred chants drifted from within. With a flash, the vortex expanded to three or four zhang in size.
Then a visible wave of golden light surged outward from the vortex. Everything in its path — the falling toxic cloud and the firebirds shooting in from every direction — was swept up without the slightest resistance and devoured into the vortex.
In a short while, the previously overwhelming assault in the sky was completely swept clean, without the slightest trace remaining.
Seeing this, Lao Ai was naturally horrified!
He urgently moved the giant golden brush in his hand, attempting to launch another round of attacks, but there was no chance.
With a single command from Han Li's divine sense, the Sacred Dharma Golden Body before him suddenly swung all six arms toward the scholar and launched six punches from a distance.
"Bang! Bang!" Several sounds erupted.
Six fist-shadows, blazing with blinding golden light, flew from the Golden Body — but they vanished in a flash and disappeared without a trace.
"Not good!"
The scholar was a battle-hardened cultivator. Seeing this scene, he immediately cried out in alarm. The giant golden brush he had intended to attack with suddenly retracted and drew a circle through the void.
Golden light flickered, and a golden round shield materialized before him.
At the same time, the red bamboo scroll he had spat out transformed of its own accord into a layer of red light-screen, wrapping his body within it.
Combined with the black radiance that the black ruler had initially turned into, he had instantaneously deployed three layers of seemingly formidable defense.
But almost the instant his defenses took shape, six fists of dazzling golden light materialized from the void right before him.
They had been merely palm-sized, but with a flash they suddenly swelled to the size of heads, shrieking piercingly as they hammered into his defenses in rapid succession.
Golden light blazed. The first three fist-shadows detonated on impact, and all three layers of defense shattered and collapsed in an instant, revealing Lao Ai's true body.
The scholar was terrified out of his wits. Without a moment to think, he pressed his palms together and pulled them apart, and a white, hazy bone hammer appeared in his hands.
He gripped it with both hands and held it before him in a flash of lightning.