"Good, very good. Consider yourself lucky this time, but for this lord to catalyze another Heart Demon with a mere strand of thought — that's a trivial matter. There's no way you can destroy your second demon using the same method." The androgynous voice of the demon carried a note of anger and humiliation.
Ahead, a flash of black light erupted, and a mass of black qi condensed from thin air, roiling and vaguely taking on the shape of a silhouette.
"Next time? There won't be a next time! Since you dared to cast spells right in front of me and still think you can hide yourself, you're truly delusional." The three-headed, six-armed giant ape that Han Li had transformed into let out a deep, resonant hum, then suddenly opened its mouth and spat out a ball of green light.
The green light was a wisp of refined spiritual energy from within Han Li's body, but wrapped inside it was a stick of pale-yellow incense, exuding a faint fragrance of sandalwood.
The ape's central head flashed its blue-sight eyes, then both great hands seized the incense and rubbed it vigorously between them.
*Poof* — A ball of silver flame appeared between the two hands, and a plume of pale-yellow smoke instantly dispersed from the great ape's palms.
Almost simultaneously, the ape's other head opened its mouth wide, puffed out its cheeks, and blew hard.
A sharp crack rang out!
The pale-yellow smoke coalesced into a crossbow bolt, which shot through the air and vanished in a flash.
The next instant, a flash of yellow light appeared not far from Han Li. The crossbow bolt materialized and, like a bolt of lightning, plunged into the void.
A deep grunt!
From that seemingly empty stretch of void, a mass of black light twisted into existence, and the yellow crossbow bolt was embedded right in its center.
"Hmph, mortal brat, do you really think some trifling treasure can harm this lord? Things like this are beneath my notice." Within the black light stood a tiny figure, only inches tall, facing the crossbow bolt that had pierced clean through its body, yet letting out a contemptuous laugh.
The small figure's features were entirely blurred, impossible to make out in the slightest, but the eerie, sinister aura it radiated sent a chill through anyone who beheld it — as though they had plunged into an ice cave.
"When did I ever say this was an ordinary treasure? Whether your true body really is a Demon Monarch from Beyond or not, for a mere strand of demon thought, this is more than enough to purge you." Upon seeing the crossbow bolt strike its target, the ape's expression relaxed slightly, and it spoke in a cold human voice.
"What — this is..." The small figure in the black light shuddered, suddenly recalling something from its vast memories, its voice turning to alarm.
But none of that could change anything now. The yellow crossbow bolt let out a muffled boom and detonated.
Rich sandalwood fragrance billowed with the plume of yellow smoke, blanketing an area of several mu.
"Impossible — Black Nether Ice Incense, this demon-expelling divine incense! This substance should have gone extinct in this realm long ago. How could you possibly possess it? But don't celebrate too soon. The next time you attempt to advance to Mahayana, I will descend in person — I won't let you slip away so easily again!" Under the shroud of yellow smoke, the small black figure could no longer maintain its form. After one final cry of unwilling fury, its body riddled itself with holes and dissipated, ultimately vanishing completely from where it had stood.
Clearly, this strand of the Demon Monarch's demon thought had been forcibly expelled from Han Li's sea of spiritual consciousness.
The three-headed, six-armed ape witnessed this scene and rapidly formed hand seals with both hands. Its body swiftly shrank, and in the blink of an eye it dispelled its second transformation, returning to its original human form.
Han Li's face was slightly pale, his chest heaving lightly. The spiritual consciousness and Magical Power consumed by that technique just now had been considerable — this was the very reason he hadn't employed it from the start.
Han Li glanced at the spot where the demon had vanished, and his face showed no trace of relief. Without a word, he formed a one-handed seal, and his body dissolved into motes of green light.
Earlier, in order to prevent the Heart Demon from influencing the spiritual consciousness he had left outside his sea, he had completely severed the connection with his physical body. Now that the demon had been purged, he was naturally eager to return to his true body immediately.
The instant Han Li opened his eyes, he saw that the gray motes of light surrounding him had, at some point, condensed into five vague, shapeshifting phantom figures, each about three zhang tall, desperately assaulting the protective treasure-light he had left outside his body.
Each round of the five phantoms' charges sent violent tremors through the treasure's radiance, causing the protective barrier to shrink by more than half.
The five phantoms let out eerie, shrill cries as they circled Han Li, unwilling to retreat a single step, their bodies radiating an astonishing aura of berserk violence.
"Hmph, a handful of baleful demons condensed from evil qi, and you dare show your fury before me? Disappear!"
Han Li's expression darkened. Without a moment's thought, he let out a sharp shout, and golden lightning suddenly crackled across his skin. Countless golden arcs of electricity sprang from his body.
The five demons, born of baleful qi, were engulfed by a flood of golden light. Amid the roar of thunder, they were instantly reduced to ash — utterly powerless to resist.
Having dealt with the five demons, Han Li's face held no trace of joy. If anything, his expression grew even more somber.
Because at that very moment, several restrictions and spell formations he had specifically prepared to weather the heavenly tribulation had all been activated, manifesting as several layers of massive barriers of light that enveloped the entire stone tower.
Overhead, eighty-one black flood dragons commanded wind and rain, spewing arcs of multicolored, violent lightning.
The smallest of these bolts was barely a foot long, while the largest stretched to a full li in length, raining down from the sky in a torrential downpour.
As the lightning flashed, the restrictions were already showing signs of strain, emitting strained, low-pitched hums.
At that moment, the multicolored arcs of lightning raining from the sky suddenly converged in midair, instantly coalescing into a single colossal bolt as thick as a water pillar. It flashed downward and struck the barrier with devastating force.
A series of sharp cracks!