The figure seated upon the ground was none other than Han Li, who had been in seclusion for a long time without venturing outside.
At this moment, his eyes were tightly shut, his body utterly still as he sat cross-legged. Yet from his expression alone, one could tell his condition was far from ideal.
The eerie motes of light drifting nearby swirled and fluttered, coalescing and scattering in turn. At times they morphed into vicious beasts and malevolent ghosts; at other times they condensed into phantom figures of men, women, the old, and the young. But regardless of the form they took, once shaped, they all lunged viciously toward the spot where Han Li sat — only to be effortlessly repelled by the terrifying power radiating from the Extreme Mountain, the Green Lotus, and his other treasures.
These entities, resembling some manner of evil spirits, could only hover beyond the protective aura of his treasures, buzzing ceaselessly. Yet with each successive repulsion, the strange cries they emitted grew increasingly shrill, their manner becoming ever more frenzied.
But Han Li never so much as twitched an eyelid, seemingly ignoring them entirely. Rivulets of hot sweat, however, rolled down his temples in torrents, and he appeared far more strained than before.
And that was precisely the reality of the situation!
In a mysterious space within his own sea of consciousness, his Primordial Spirit — manifested as a green-robed avatar — was locked in a critical battle against another figure.
His opponent wore a pitch-black robe and commanded seventy-two dark, glimmering flying swords. The face was unmistakably identical to Han Li's own.
Yet this black-robed "Han Li" had blood-red light flickering in his eyes, a dense shroud of black qi swirling between his brows, and a sinister, twisted smile plastered across his face. Every movement he made sent demonic qi surging skyward, as though an evil demon had descended into the mortal world.
Han Li formed hand seals with both hands. One hand drove seventy-two small green swords; the other launched continuous streams of golden lightning snakes. But the black-robed "Han Li" simply willed his black flying swords to transform into blossoming black sword-lotuses, easily neutralizing each attack with ease. Then, with a flick of his sleeve, bolts of black lightning — each thicker than the golden arcs — lashed out with devastating force, striking hard at Han Li.
Han Li's expression grew grim. Thunder boomed across the surface of his body as over a hundred golden arcs were simultaneously deflected outward, shattering the black lightning on impact.
"Hehe, it's no use, boy. This conjured Heart Demon is nothing less than a perfect copy of yourself — no, with the demonic augmentation bestowed upon it by my true self, it should be thirty percent stronger than your actual body. After fighting for so long, you should know this quite well by now." A sweet, youthful woman's voice suddenly echoed through the void.
"Hmph. Even if this conjured Heart Demon surpasses me by a fraction, expecting it to defeat me and devour my consciousness is nothing but wishful thinking. If I hadn't let my guard down for a moment and allowed your demonic entity to infiltrate my sea of consciousness, how could my mental state have given rise to a Heart Demon that now turns against me?" Han Li's face darkened. He pointed one hand at his opponent, and a short silver ruler materialized out of thin air. With a wave toward the black-robed figure, it exploded into countless ruler-shadows that slashed forward in a furious barrage. Only then did he reply in a grim, heavy tone.
"Indeed, your powers far exceed what I imagined. With this mere counterfeit Heart Demon avatar, dispersing your Primordial Spirit is quite unlikely. But don't forget — you still need to survive the Late-Stage heavenly tribulation. I don't know what countermeasures you've prepared, but with more than half of your Primordial Spirit's magical power tied up here, I highly doubt you can weather it unscathed. If you don't wish for both body and soul to be annihilated, you'd do well to hand over that demonic armor to my true self. Surrender the armor, and I'll withdraw from your sea of consciousness immediately — guaranteeing your smooth advancement to the Late-Stage Body Integration realm." The woman spoke again, her voice dripping with temptation.
This voice belonged to the extraterrestrial demon that Han Li had once scattered in Cloud City — a cross-realm demonic will he had fought and defeated previously.
No one knew what method it had employed, but at the critical moment of Han Li's tribulation, it had seized the opportunity to invade his sea of consciousness and catalyze a demonic Heart Demon with the aim of devouring his Primordial Spirit.
Had Han Li not reacted quickly and possessed a spiritual sense far more solid than that of an ordinary cultivator, his initial unguarded state might well have allowed the demon to succeed.
"If extraterrestrial demons could be trusted, then the sun could rise in the west. The moment I let even a sliver of submission enter my mind, the Heart Demon would seize that opening instantly, and my Primordial Spirit would be devoured. I've long heard that extraterrestrial demons are masters of temptation, killing without leaving a trace. And now I can see that it's entirely true." Han Li's expression remained flat and unmoved, utterly unaffected.
"Heh heh, you're quite vigilant after all. In that case, I shall simply wait for you to perish on your own. When your Primordial Spirit and physical body are reduced to ash under the heavenly tribulation, the demonic armor will still find its way into my hands regardless." The extraterrestrial demon's voice abruptly turned coarse and strange, as though it had transformed into a man.
The Heart Demon flicked its sleeve, and a short black ruler wreathed in rolling demonic qi flew forth, likewise splitting into a dense curtain of black ruler-shadows that intercepted every one of Han Li's previous attacks.
Seeing this, the grim, sinister look on Han Li's face deepened. By now, he had already received the report from the other small portion of his Primordial Spirit.
Outside, the heavenly tribulation appeared to be reaching its critical phase. With only the meager magical power and spiritual sense he had left behind, he would likely be unable to withstand the next wave of tribulation's might. He had to destroy the Heart Demon immediately so he could devote his full attention to facing the tribulation.
With that thought in mind, Han Li hesitated no longer. He let out a low roar, formed a seal with one hand, and golden light flashed across his body. His form blurred and then swelled a hundredfold in an instant, transforming into a colossal golden-furred ape as massive as a mountain.
"You can copy my techniques, you can copy my treasures — but I don't believe you can replicate this body-transformation technique as well! Take this fist first!" The great ape boomed in a deep, rumbling voice. Both fists swung forward in a devastating arc, hammering toward the Heart Demon opposite him.
Before the fists even landed, two waves of golden light — infused with staggering, monumental force — surged ahead, as if intent of crushing the Heart Demon into a bloody pulp on the spot.
But a strange, eerie smile flickered across the black-robed Heart Demon's face. Its arms flashed with black light, and layer upon layer of black scales materialized across them. It then thrust both hands upward in a savage grabbing motion toward the sky.
The shrill whistle of tearing air split the void!
Countless black claw-marks materialized above the Heart Demon's head like an enormous net of silk. When the golden light-waves struck the net, they were deflected aside and failed to break through.
However, when the two enormous fists that followed close behind came crashing down, the net could hold no longer and shattered inch by inch.
But in that brief window, the Heart Demon seized the moment — it grabbed with both hands, and seventy-two small black swords flashed and vanished entirely into its body. A strange sound rumbled from its throat, black qi surged violently from its surface, two massive black horns sprouted from the top of its head, and its body swelled to a colossal size.