The crystal shield suddenly blazed with light, attempting to block the incoming fist.
But the instant the golden fist smashed into the shield, a blinding burst of purple light detonated upon its surface. The crystal shield shuddered and then shattered inch by inch in the purple radiance.
And the old man's protective spiritual light, pierced through as though it were paper the moment the fist blurred forward, took the full blow squarely against his body.
Old Man Yi's face drained of color in shock. He frantically activated a secret technique, pouring the full force of his true essence into the battle armor on his body without the slightest reservation.
Boom!
The blood-red patterns on the surface of the silver battle armor surged outward, transforming into a storm of runes that coalesced into a blood-red barrier, enveloping the old man within.
Seeing this, the giant ape's eyes flashed with a hint of mockery. Its purple-gold fist spread its five fingers wide, and the palm suddenly blazed with silver light. Over a dozen layers of silver rune formations, long since overlaid upon one another, detonated simultaneously in a flash, and a blinding streak of silver light swept outward from within.
The giant ape itself, however, blurred and vanished on the spot without a trace.
"No—"
The old man froze for an instant, but the moment his spiritual sense registered the power contained within the silver light, his face went completely white. With a desperate cry, the crown of his head suddenly split open, and a shadowy figure about a foot tall shot out and fled.
And just at that moment, the streak of silver light had already struck the blood-red barrier squarely.
A deafening roar that seemed to pierce the nine heavens erupted in the sky above.
A silver sun slowly rose from the spot where Old Man Yi had been standing, its surface covered with densely packed silver runes that vaguely coalesced into light formations of various sizes.
But in the next instant, the sun and the light formations on its surface simultaneously flashed and detonated once more. A massive pillar of light surged outward, churning the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, while rings of silver ripples swept in all directions like a raging tempest. Wherever they passed, the void roared without cease, as though heaven and earth were truly splitting apart.
Over on the other side, the blood-colored wolf head and the Brahma Saint Golden Body, after briefly reaching a stalemate, were also engulfed by the billowing silver radiance.
Such a stunning celestial spectacle caused Blood Burn, the Asura Spider Matriarch, and the others — who had been locked in fierce combat nearby — to change expressions. They simultaneously withdrew their respective techniques and retreated to a safe distance, lest they be caught in that terrifying wave of power.
When both sides reappeared on the horizon and cast their gazes toward Han Li's direction, their expressions were varied, to say the least.
Blood Burn and Black Scale were naturally a mix of joy and surprise, though a trace of horror also flickered in their eyes. They both considered themselves far from ordinary Mahayana cultivators, yet they knew they could never unleash such world-destroying power. The sheer magnitude of Han Li's abilities had utterly exceeded their expectations.
The Asura Spider Matriarch gazed at the pillar of light soaring into the sky in the distance, her expression shifting between light and shadow, and for the first time, a sliver of fear took root in her heart.
But after a moment, Blood Burn and Black Scale exchanged a glance, then without a second word drove their treasures and techniques at the woman once more.
The woman flew into a rage at this. No longer able to concern herself with what was happening on Han Li's side, she rolled on the spot and instantly transformed into three identical, monstrous spiders that charged toward Blood Burn and Black Scale.
In the blink of an eye, the combatants were once again locked in a battle that neither side could decisively win.
As for Mo Jianli and those four adult Asura Spiders, they had long since vanished without a trace, their battlefield having shifted to some unknown location.
With a muffled boom, the massive pillar of light flickered and vanished.
The silver waves that had spread outward in all directions also swept away and dissipated into nothing.
For a moment, aside from the lingering waves of scorching heat, everything in the void seemed to have returned to calm.
However, where Old Man Yi had been standing, the area was completely empty, without the slightest trace remaining.
As if this Mahayana cultivator of the Five Lights Clan had truly perished completely in that single blow.
The girl in the blood-red skirt watched this scene clearly, her bright eyes narrowing slightly as a peculiar chill flickered through them.
Just at that moment, from a spot roughly five or six hundred zhang away from where the old man had been standing, a ripple stirred, and a tiny figure shimmering with five-colored light appeared in a flash.
The figure wore armor that resembled glazed glass and clutched a small cyan seal in both hands. Its features were unmistakably identical to the old man's — it was none other than his perfected Nascent Soul.
The tiny figure cast a look brimming with venomous hatred toward the spot where its physical body had vanished, then without a word, the glazed-glass light around its body flared, and it transformed into a streak of rainbow light hurtling toward the stone city.
But the moment its escape light took off, spiritual light suddenly blazed in the void ahead, and a golden figure with three heads and six arms materialized in a flash, directly blocking its path.
Startled, the tiny figure abruptly veered, the rainbow it had become shooting downward.