A soft chuckle rang out!
The golden hand gripping the crystal brick wavered for only a moment before suddenly swelling to a size of over ten feet. The five fingers clenched together, and a blinding burst of spiritual light erupted outward, sending concentric waves of air howling like hurricanes in every direction.
Whether it was the black ghost heads or the fierce streak of sword light, once swept up by the golden wave, they both swayed helplessly back and forth, their owners unable to maintain control.
Yang Lao'er and Golden Gourd Lord, who were commanding these treasures, turned pale with shock. They frantically channeled their incantations, desperately trying to recall their treasures.
But the spiritual pressure contained within that golden wave far surpassed anything the two had imagined. It ruthlessly severed their connection to their treasures, leaving them with no choice but to watch as the enormous golden hand moved slightly, sending over a dozen golden fist shadows screaming through the air with piercing booms. In the blink of an eye, they slammed into the ghost heads and the golden light.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Several thunderous explosions shook the air!
Yang Lao'er and Golden Gourd Devil Lord, their minds jolted by the impact, both retreated a step in unison and spat out a mouthful of essence blood each.
Those ghost heads and the golden light had been battered and damaged by what appeared to be ordinary fist shadows, and both devils, whose consciousnesses were linked to their treasures, suffered greatly from the backlash.
Fortunately, neither the ghost heads nor the golden light were either of their natal treasures, so the damage amounted to nothing more than a minor loss of cultivation.
Even so, Yang Lao'er and Golden Gourd Devil Lord were utterly terrified. They retreated warily, their eyes fixed on the golden giant hand, not daring to make another rash move.
As for the Blood Crow City Lord, while he too was startled by the sudden turn of events, he was confident that the area was already surrounded by the Seven-Kill Blood Fiends and the Black Bone Demon Insects. He showed no sign of anxiety, merely watching the proceedings with cold detachment from within his blood-red light.
At that moment, the golden giant hand's radiance dimmed and it dissipated into nothingness. In its place stood a young man in a green robe.
The young man had an unremarkable face. One hand still clutched the crystal brick, and his expression was utterly calm.
"Who are you? Why did you snatch that item from us?" Yang Lao'er stared at the young man and asked slowly, his face grim.
After their brief clash just now, he naturally knew that the person before him was extraordinarily powerful, which was why he had barely managed to suppress the fury in his heart.
"Since you were already planning to hand the item over, what objection could there be if I took it? Oh, and I believe Fellow Daoist Bing still has three more bricks on him — you might as well hand those over too." Han Li swept a glance over Yang Lao'er, spoke a light remark, then shifted his gaze to the silver-eyed elder.
"You've got quite the nerve — not only did you snatch the Holy Brick right under my nose, but you've now set your sights on me as well. It seems you overheard our earlier conversation. The remaining Holy Bricks are on my person. If you've got the guts to take them, then come and get them." The Blood Crow City Lord studied Han Li carefully. Finding that he could not perceive the latter's true cultivation level, a chill ran through his heart, but outwardly he showed not the slightest sign of weakness.
For this Blood Crow City Lord, with the Seven-Kill Blood Fiends and the Black Bone Demon Insects at his side, even a late-stage Devil Lord would have to give him a wide berth. He was naturally not about to fear some unknown stranger.
"Very well, since Fellow Daoist puts it that way, then I humbly accept." Upon hearing this, Han Li gave a yawn, whirled his body around, and took a single great stride toward the Blood Crow City Lord.
It appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary step, yet Han Li's figure flickered and mysteriously traversed several dozen zhang in an instant, suddenly materializing only a few zhang away from the Blood Crow City Lord.
The silver-eyed elder was startled. Without a moment's thought, he swept both sleeves inward with violent force. The surrounding blood-red light surged up over ten feet high and rolled toward the front, threatening to engulf Han Li entirely.
Meanwhile, he himself shot backward more than thirty zhang in an instant.
At the same time, the clone wearing the black robe blurred within the blood light and vanished without a sound.
"Trivial blood fiends, and you think they can harm me?" Han Li chuckled lightly. Golden light blazed from behind him as a golden dharma idol with three heads and six arms materialized in a flash.
The idol stood over ten feet tall. Six eyes across the three faces — each identical to Han Li's own — snapped open simultaneously. All six arms swept outward at once, and six spheres of golden light materialized in its palms. They flew forward and merged together before the idol, condensing into a golden vortex roughly ten feet in diameter.
A deep roar echoed forth!
Countless gold and silver runes danced and streamed from within the vortex, and an irresistible surge of tremendous force poured wildly from it, sweeping outward in every direction.
An astonishing sight unfolded.
The blood-red light, brimming with a thick, putrid stench, trembled the instant it drew near Han Li before hurtling madly into the golden vortex. In the span of just a few breaths, what had appeared to be an overwhelming tide of blood fiend energy had been reduced by several times over, as if it had simply vanished into thin air.
"Impossible!"
The Blood Crow City Lord's face changed drastically, and he cried out involuntarily. But he quickly regained his composure, his hands flying through a rapid sequence of incantation seals.
The blood light that had been surging into the golden vortex suddenly shuddered and erupted with a formidable force, desperately trying to tear itself free from the suction and escape.
Seeing this, Han Li's expression shifted subtly as he raised the Magical Power within his body.
The golden vortex emitted a muffled pop and suddenly ballooned several times over, expanding to roughly fifty or sixty feet in diameter. The pulling force it exuded increased tenfold in an instant.
A howling roar filled the air!
Every stream of blood light warped and twisted under the enormous force, and ultimately, inch by inch, they shattered apart, transforming into motes of blood-red luminescence that surged wildly into the vortex.