The old man only managed to let out a few screams before his body was devoured clean by the Devouring Gold Insects, leaving behind only a Nascent Soul wrapped in a shell of blood-light. It frantically spurted essence blood to drive eight black command tokens, barely holding on for dear life.
And this was only because Han Li had ordered the Devouring Gold Insects to hold back, not using their full power.
The old man's Nascent Soul was now utterly terrified, crying out to Han Li repeatedly in desperate pleas for mercy.
But Han Li paid it no heed, simply beckoning with one hand.
With a sharp "whoosh," a blood-colored ring shot toward him and was snatched into his palm.
It was the storage bracelet the old man had left behind after his body was consumed by the insect swarm.
Han Li swept his spiritual sense through it and furrowed his brows slightly.
Though it contained some treasures, the other three Holy Bricks he sought were nowhere to be found.
"Fellow Daoist, if you release me, I will willingly hand over the Holy Bricks with my own hands!" The Blood Crow City Lord's Nascent Soul cried out shrilly, grasping at a last straw.
"As if I need you to hand them over — can't Han find them himself?" Han Li swept a cold glance toward the Nascent Soul, his eyes suddenly erupting with blinding blue light.
The moment these words left his lips, the mass of Devouring Gold Insects that had been held in reserve suddenly surged with a deafening buzz, swarming without restraint toward the old man's Nascent Soul.
Those eight black command tokens, no matter how mystical, could not withstand the fully matured Devouring Gold Insects that devoured all things. In an instant, they cracked apart one after another and vanished.
The Nascent Soul let out a mournful wail before being devoured clean by the golden insects. But when the swarm pulled back, three translucent rectangular bricks, each several inches long, lay where it had been.
"So he really did hide them inside the Nascent Soul. If I hadn't checked with my Spirit Eye first, he might have actually gotten away with it." Han Li murmured with a hint of a smile as his spiritual sense swept over the crystal bricks.
Then with a flick of his sleeve, a wave of azure light shot out and swept up the three crystal bricks.
These four crystal bricks together contained a complete set of mystical techniques from the Demon Realm, along with a map to a hidden treasure — now that he had stumbled upon them, there was no way he would let them go.
At that moment, a series of booming sounds came from behind him, growing steadily louder.
Han Li's expression shifted, and he slowly turned around, his gaze sweeping over the scene.
Dozens of zhang away, Second Brother Yang and the Golden Gourd Master were being tightly pinned in place by a massive purple cauldron hovering high above, from which several ancient characters the size of large cups drifted through the air.
As those ancient characters flickered and danced through the sky, they released countless gold and silver runes, while ring after ring of purple radiance spread in layers around the two.
It was the Purple Word Cauldron!
Han Li had secretly deployed this treasure while turning to deal with the Blood Crow City Lord.
Second Brother Yang and the Golden Gourd Master had planned to seize the opportunity to flee while Han Li fought the Silver-Eyed Elder, but before they could react, they were caught off guard and trapped in place by the Purple Word Cauldron.
In their shock and fury, they employed every means at their disposal, struggling desperately.
One sent green flames rolling across his body, conjuring green fire dragons that lashed through the air with bared fangs and clawing talons, while the other held the golden gourd aloft with both hands, projecting brilliant bursts of golden radiance that swirled around his body.
No matter how fiercely they activated their techniques and poured their power into their treasures, the ancient characters emitted by the purple cauldron possessed even more wondrous power. A few flickers high in the sky were enough to reduce all their attacks to nothing and lay down layers upon layers of restrictions in the surrounding void, making it impossible for either of them to move a single step.
A flicker of satisfaction crossed Han Li's face at the sight.
As expected of a treasure refined from a fragment of Profound Heaven material, the Purple Word Cauldron had easily trapped two Body Integration stage demon lords with its power alone. And this was without Han Li actively driving the treasure himself — otherwise, its power could have been amplified severalfold.
Second Brother Yang and the Golden Gourd Master had witnessed everything — Han Li collecting the Blood Essence, slaying the demon insects — and when they saw him destroy the Blood Crow City Lord's Nascent Soul and begin turning his gaze toward them, their hearts sank completely.
Under these circumstances, they dared not harbor any hope that Han Li would let them off. And Han Li's overwhelming power made it impossible for either of them to even contemplate resistance.
"Brother Jin, if we don't leave now, we never will!" Second Brother Yang suddenly cried out to his companion, his face deathly pale.
Then the green flames on his body suddenly surged, and over a dozen multicolored high-grade demon artifacts shot out from his body simultaneously, detonating all at once with blinding flashes.
A chain of earth-shaking, heaven-rending explosions thundered forth!
The tremendous shockwaves generated by the self-destructing artifacts forcibly tore through all the nearby restrictions, sweeping them away entirely.
Second Brother Yang felt the weight on his body lighten as if a mountain had been lifted. Without the slightest hesitation, he transformed into a streak of green light and shot away at full speed.
On the other side, after hearing Second Brother Yang's words, the Golden Gourd Master gritted his teeth and unleashed his own life-saving technique.
With a violent shake of his arms, the massive golden gourd in his hands suddenly transformed amid a burst of radiant light with a muffled boom, becoming the phantom of a resplendent golden qilin.
The qilin phantom opened its gaping maw and directly unleashed terrifying torrents of golden, shimmering flames.