An even stranger sight unfolded.
The five crystalline long swords flashed with brilliant light, and a ripple of law energy surged forth. The two mountains trembled, then suddenly shot backward. When the explosive roar sounded once more, the two mountains flickered and materialized above Han Li's head, smashing down with vicious force.
Despite Han Li repeatedly urging his spiritual sense forward, he found himself unable to communicate with the two treasures and command them to stop — for a moment, it was as though his connection to the Twin Extreme Mountains had been completely severed.
A chill ran through Han Li's heart, but not the slightest change crossed his face. The giant ape he had transformed into raised both massive hands, spread all five fingers apart, and gently pressed them toward the two mountains. The instant both palms thrust outward, silver light flickered across their surfaces, layer upon layer of silver formation patterns emerging and stacking more than a dozen layers deep.
Two thunderous booms shook heaven and earth!
Two tornadoes erupted from before the giant ape and tore skyward, while the surrounding void shuddered in a tsunami-like tremor. But the Twin Extreme Mountains, driven back by two tremendous forces, came to an abrupt halt — then, in a flash of silver light, vanished into the void without a trace.
The moment Han Li's palms made contact with the Twin Extreme Mountains, his spiritual connection to the two treasures was restored, and without a second thought, he immediately stowed them away.
Meanwhile, the old man surnamed Yi in the distance merely allowed the five crystal swords to hover before him, remaining perfectly motionless in his original posture — he had not seized this opportunity to launch another attack.
The giant ape that Han Li had become raised its head to cast another glance at the distant elder, and suddenly uttered a remark that made the old man's expression shift subtly: "Time-related divine abilities — you can actually wield this power of law. Though it seems you must be relying on external means to do so, otherwise you wouldn't be struggling this much to use it."
"Hmph. The Law of Time is among the most exalted of all great powers. Even a mere sliver of its manifestation is enough to render one invincible. You recognized it at a glance — could it be that you have encountered this same power of law somewhere before?" The bird-headed monster that the elder had become flashed a glint of malice in its eyes, gave a cold snort, and fired back with a question of his own.
Then he extended a finger and tapped the air before him. The five crystal swords shuddered with a low hum, and only then did the ripples of law energy that had manifested finally dissipate and vanish from the surrounding area.
The giant ape stared fixedly at the five crystal swords without looking away. After sweeping them with his spiritual sense, a look of understanding crossed his face. He let out a cold laugh and spoke in human voice: "I have indeed encountered similar law-based divine abilities in other places before. However, upon arriving in this realm, I assumed only the Asura Spiders possessed the ability to wield time-related powers. I never expected that you, sir, could do the same. It seems you have been here for quite some time and have earned the deep trust of those Asura Spiders — otherwise, you could never have obtained such an extraordinary boon! But if you believe this small measure of time-related power is enough to serve as your trump card, you are gravely mistaken."
The words had barely left his mouth!
The giant ape pounded both fists against its chest, and a brilliant purple-gold radiance blazed across its body as its frame swelled to an even more colossal size in an instant, expanding to a full hundred zhang in the blink of an eye.
What was even more astonishing was that the giant ape opened its mouth once more, a prismatic glow flashing within, and suddenly expelled several multicolored orbs of light. After the orbs spun rapidly around the giant ape, clear cries and deep roars issued forth from within them as several powerful auras radiated outward. Then, in a single flash, they transformed into the colossal phantom images of a Celestial Dragon, a resplendent Phoenix, an Azure Luan, a Thunder Roc, and several other mighty apparitions.
The giant ape itself threw back its head and let out a long, piercing howl. Layer upon layer of purple-gold scales erupted across its body, and after a brief shimmer at its shoulders and ribcage, two additional savage heads and four purple-gold arms sprouted from its sides.
All six eyes of the three great ape heads opened simultaneously, and after light flickered across their foreheads, each one sprouted a short horn of faint silver.
Upon learning that his opponent could actually wield the power of time, Han Li finally ceased holding back. He unleashed the Sacred True Devil Art, manifesting the Nirvana Sacred Body, and pushed it to its absolute limit in a single burst.
With the Three-Origin Nirvana Transformation complete, Han Li's physical body had reached a level of ferocity so formidable that even a Mahayana cultivator would find it terrifying. The three heads grinned fiercely, and all six arms blurred into countless afterimages as they surged forward in a frenzied barrage toward the enemy.
In an instant, a deafening howl erupted!
Dense, tightly packed phantom golden fists materialized throughout the void, flickering wildly before blurring and vanishing without a trace.
The next moment, violent fluctuations erupted all around the old man surnamed Yi as layer upon layer of phantom golden fists burst forth, transforming into clusters of blinding golden light that hurtled inward from every direction.
The old man surnamed Yi was struck with alarm. His bird head let out a piercing shriek, and his two hands blurred through hand seals at a dizzying speed. The five crystal swords before him began spinning furiously in midair. After a brief shimmer, the five crystal swords merged into a translucent, five-colored light barrier that enveloped the old man from head to toe in a seamless shell. At the same time, faint runes scattered across its surface, and the law energy that had previously vanished reappeared once more.
In an instant, within a radius of more than ten zhang centered on the old man where the law's power held dominion, every phantom fist that appeared froze motionless in the void — yet the subsequent waves of attacks pressed onward, slamming into the barrier without impediment.
Outside the five-colored barrier, deafening booms erupted as massive clusters of golden light detonated on contact, transforming into wave after wave of violent shockwaves that surged desperately toward the barrier. Yet the moment these attacks drew near the five-colored light curtain, every last one froze solid in midair as though flash-frozen.
For a moment, it appeared as though an invisible ring-shaped wall had manifested around the five-colored barrier, blocking every golden fist and every resulting shockwave from the detonations with brute, immovable force.
The destructive power contained within those golden fists was truly staggering, and with all six of the giant ape's arms swinging wildly, their sheer number far exceeded anything an ordinary person could have imagined.