Beside him, Zhu Guo'er stood with her small mouth agape, too stunned to close it for a long time.
Clearly, this girl had never imagined that the moment Han Li broke free from the formation, he would immediately turn hostile and order the Golden Giant Crab to launch such a devastating attack.
Han Li witnessed this scene and merely smiled faintly as he addressed the Golden Giant Crab: "Many thanks, Brother Crab. Anyone else would have been unable to spot the weakest point of the Six Severance Azure Thunder Grand Formation and strike it down in a single blow."
"If the Six Severance Azure Thunder Grand Formation were complete, or if I were inside the formation, I wouldn't have been able to do it either. Under these circumstances, it was nothing more than a trivial effort. But don't shortchange me on my Spirit Liquid tribute after this." The Golden Giant Crab's voice buzzed out, utterly nonchalant.
"Rest assured, Brother Crab. No matter how many times you intervene, I will make sure you receive every last drop you're owed." Han Li replied with a light laugh.
"Regardless of how much Spirit Liquid you can provide in the future, once the accumulated reserves from your previous tributes are used up, I will stop immediately." The Golden Giant Crab said bluntly.
"Very well. Since you won't make any exceptions, then we'll stick to the original arrangement. But the tributes given thus far should be enough to secure your full assistance for some time." Han Li let out a bitter laugh, somewhat helpless.
No matter how spirited the Golden Giant Crab appeared, the moment the supply of the mysterious Green Liquid came into play, it became rigidly inflexible, with not the slightest room for negotiation.
This time, the Golden Giant Crab said nothing in response. Its cold, clear gaze simply fixed on the void below.
By now, the gap that had been punched through the formation was rapidly sealing itself shut, and from a distance the sky below was turning azure once more — the sea of mist that had momentarily appeared had vanished again.
Just at that moment, a ripple appeared beside the flying chariot. A flash of pink luminescence, and a graceful figure silently materialized — her face pale. It was Bao.
The moment this woman appeared, she glanced at Han Li once, then without a word produced a small fiery-red vial, swiftly poured out an emerald-green pill, and swallowed it down.
But before Han Li could raise an eyebrow and say anything to her, the scenery of the sky below changed abruptly. The illusory barriers that had been concealing everything flickered and vanished entirely, replaced by rolling seas of white mist.
And almost simultaneously, two furious howls erupted from within the mist.
One gold and one blue — two figures merely swayed and instantly appeared above the sea of mist.
When the two figures solidified and became clear, a blue-robed woman and a young woman revealed themselves.
However, at this moment, the gazes they directed at Han Li — one was supremely gloomy, the other brimming with venomous hatred.
"Good, very good! I originally intended to let you go. I never imagined you would seek your own deaths!" The young woman spat out each word, then without any further hesitation tossed the silver Buddha in her hand high into the air. It transformed once more into a silver Buddha statue over a dozen zhang tall. She formed a one-handed seal, and black demonic flames suddenly roiled across her body. Condensing behind her, they took the shape of a demonic beast — something like an ox yet not an ox, like a horse yet not a horse.
This demonic beast was composed entirely of pitch-black flames, with a pair of thick curved horns atop its head and countless long strands of mane formed from wisps of black demonic flame along its neck. From a distance, it cut an imposing and majestic figure.
On the other side, the blue-robed woman's expression was cold as ice, and she didn't want to waste another word on Han Li. She rubbed her palms together, and suddenly stream after stream of blue radiance swept forth from her body. Then, with a flash of crystalline light, a colossal ice mountain hundreds of zhang tall materialized with her at its center.
The blue giant turtle beneath her feet let out a deep, resonant roar, and its body rapidly swelled to enormous proportions, transforming in the blue light into a colossal beast rivaling the ice mountain itself. After its eyes flashed with a scarlet glow, it radiated an aura no less terrifying than that of a late-stage Body Integration existence.
Seeing this, Han Li didn't dare slack off. He let out a clear cry, and golden light blazed from his body as he transformed directly into a golden-furred giant ape six or seven zhang tall. Then his hands grasped at the empty air, and two extreme mountains — one azure, one black — bizarrely materialized in his grip.
At the same time, after shimmering with golden and emerald light on either side, two more tall figures appeared simultaneously.
One was resplendent in gold, the other wore dark-green robes — but both had faces identical to Han Li's true body.
These were the materialized Vajra Sacred Body and the Zhixian Spirit Body.
Han Li was confident that after his physical body had undergone its transformation through the Spirit Washing Pool and the Spirit Cleansing Lotus, with the aid of these two avatars, dealing with a single Ancestral Patriarch clone would be more than sufficient.
As for the Blue Waterfall Sacred Ancestor, that was naturally left for the Golden Giant Crab to handle.
He didn't expect the giant crab, now far from the Demon Source Sea, to easily kill an established Sacred Ancestor — but pinning her down should pose no problem at all.
And then, a crack of thunder rang out from the Golden Giant Crab's body. Dense silver lightning bolts instantly sprang outward in all directions. Its two great pincers gave a slight shake, and with two thunderous booms, two golden orbs of light appeared between its claws, emitting a startling hum.