"So it's true. Among those demon cultivators I killed earlier, one must have had quite a close connection with you. Only a bloodline secret technique of this sort could have planted a tracking mark on me without my noticing. However, your state of mind just now was rather unstable — you even triggered this bloodline mark inadvertently. Otherwise, how could I possibly have detected your presence?" Han Li said with a faint smile, flicking his sleeve toward the mass of cyan qi. A silver fireball shot forth and reduced the cyan cloud to ashes in an instant.
"Given your cultivation, you can't be a nobody among the demon race. State your name first," Fairy Silverlight said, a glint of killing intent flashing through her eyes.
"Hmph. This old man is Venerable Li, seated under Sovereign Xue Guang. Human — you killed my grandson. Today I will slice you into a thousand pieces and extract your soul for refining!" Despite facing two Body Integration stage cultivators, the one-horned elder showed not the slightest trace of fear. Instead, his eyes blazed with fury as he stared fixedly at Han Li.
"Is that so? That depends on whether you have the ability," Han Li chuckled, utterly unconcerned.
And why wouldn't he be? With his power, a mere early-stage Body Integration demon cultivator was hardly worth his attention.
"You think you can fight the two of us alone? Brother Han, no need to waste any more words with him. This demon has shown up here by himself — it's the perfect opportunity to cut him down."
Fairy Silverlight's voice cut like ice. The two silver hooks before her blurred, suddenly splitting into a dense storm of silver hook shadows that surged toward the enemy in an overwhelming wave.
Seeing this, a faint smile tugged at the corner of Han Li's mouth. Fairy Silverlight's words aligned perfectly with his own intentions. Without hesitation, he rolled up his sleeve and swung the silver ruler in his hand once more.
Under a blinding silver gleam, a ruler shadow several dozen zhang long shot forth. In a flicker, it arrived before the one-horned elder ahead of the hooks, slashing down without the slightest courtesy.
Venerable Li let out a low roar. The black staff he had been holding in one hand jerked violently, and layer upon layer of black staff shadows materialized, shielding his body so tightly that not even wind or rain could penetrate.
The silver ruler shadow struck the staff barrier and actually trembled before bouncing off. Under some bizarre force, it disintegrated inch by inch, utterly unable to breach the staff's defense.
By now, the countless hook shadows had also arrived. But against the fierce black staff barrier, they flickered wildly with silver light before being snuffed out one after another.
In the end, with two clear chimes, the two silver hooks were also deflected and reverted to their original forms.
Fairy Silverlight's expression darkened at the sight. Her hand seals shifted.
The two silver hooks circled once, then transformed into twin streaks of silver light that shot skyward. They vanished in a flash, disappearing into the void.
The next instant, the entire sky trembled violently. The ambient spiritual energy within a radius of dozens of li surged into motion in a bizarre fashion. In the blink of an eye, countless white and crimson runes poured out of the void, spinning rapidly before coalescing into two hazy spheres of light, each roughly an acre in size.
One radiated a silent, shimmering white glow. The other churned with crimson radiance, accompanied by thunderous rumbling. Both sank downward simultaneously.
The one-horned elder's heart lurched at the imposing momentum of the two spheres. His hands shook the staff, and the black shadows it cast transformed into a pitch-black hurricane that roared upward toward the two spheres of light, apparently intending to shatter them with brute force.
But at that precise moment, Han Li, standing in the distance with a calm expression, suddenly rubbed his palms together. The short silver ruler in his hand flashed with radiance and vanished into thin air.
The next instant, a faint glimmer appeared behind the one-horned elder. The short silver ruler silently emerged, and in a flash it unfurled into a broad band of light that shot forward like a bolt of lightning.
Caught off guard, the one-horned elder was instantly enveloped by the silver band and wrapped layer upon layer in the blink of an eye.
He let out a roar of fury. Black light erupted from his body as he tried to burst through the silver binding, but for the moment it was clearly a futile effort.
Meanwhile, the black hurricane formed by the staff shadows collided with the spheres of light above.
A heaven-rending, earth-shattering boom shook the entire sky. The black hurricane split into two identical colossal pillars that drove狠狠ly into the two spheres of light, sinking halfway in.
As the two spheres of light swirled and scattered, a pristine white crescent moon and a blazing crimson sun emerged from within them. They radiated a blinding glow, encasing the two pillars and trapping them firmly.
Despite the one-horned elder's constant roaring and the tremendous force surging through his arms, he could not extract the two black pillars in the slightest — as if they had taken root within the crescent moon and the crimson sun.
Han Li watched the scene unfold, a cold smile playing at the corner of his lips. He pointed a finger at the elder through the air.
The silver band wrapped around the elder's body immediately began to hum loudly. Silver runes of varying sizes surfaced across it, and a tremendous constricting force bore down on Venerable Li, crushing more than half of his protective black aura in an instant.
Seeing this, the one-horned elder knew he could not afford to cling to his weapon a moment longer. Reluctantly, he released the great staff. But then a savage gleam flashed through his eyes. His hands flew through a rapid series of seals, and a sharp cry escaped his lips.
A terrifying sight appeared.
The already massive body of Venerable Li swelled violently once more. Two fleshy bulges protruded from either side of his shoulders, and after a series of ghastly cracking sounds, they morphed into two additional heads identical to the one in the center.