Madam Wan's heart lurched with alarm. She immediately let out a sharp cry, throwing her head back as she spat out an enormous earth-yellow seal toward the sky. At the same time, the phantom of a giant black lion behind her surged into action, raising one massive claw with a tearing roar as it swiped upward at the heavens.
A thunderous boom rang out.
The five colossal claw shadows had barely made contact with the blood-colored halo before a muffled impact knocked them scattering.
The seal fared even worse — after wobbling several times in the air, it was caught in a terrifying gravitational pull from the halo and sent spinning several circles before losing all control, whirling around endlessly in midair.
The blood-colored halo, meanwhile, showed not the slightest hesitation. It continued its unhurried descent straight toward Madam Wan.
The old woman's face took on a sickly greenish hue, but after a string of strange guttural sounds burst from her throat, the black lion behind her let out a furious roar and suddenly spat out a black fireball.
The instant the fireball left its maw, it surged outward in rolling billows, expanding in the wind until it had grown to a size no less imposing than the blood-colored halo, and it hurtled straight toward it.
Amid a rumbling crescendo, the fireball dissolved into a churning sea of black flames that roared outward in every direction. Its sheer destructive force was such that even the blood-colored halo, upon being struck, began to flicker wildly.
But at that very moment, high above, the Nine-Eyed Blood Toad opened its enormous jaws and expelled a dense cloud of blood-colored qi, which flashed once and vanished into the halo.
The next instant, the colossal halo buzzed with a deafening hum, trembled several times, and then — bolstered by a fresh surge of tremendous power — regained its stability. It pressed down upon the sea of flames and drove inexorably downward.
Even though the giant black lion, too, was spewing jets of black flame into the fire, the blood-colored halo's might was clearly beyond anything it could withstand.
With fury and shock warring in her heart, Madam Wan watched the blood-colored halo closing in — and hesitated over whether to finally resort to her ultimate trump card.
But just then, the blood-colored halo flashed once and vanished into thin air.
Only then did the Nine-Eyed Blood Toad speak a single calm phrase: "Well fought." Its body rolled upon the ground, and a cloud of blood mist surged into existence around it.
The masked man emerged from the mist, having restored his human form.
"Brother Xiao, splendid technique. This exchange — this old woman admits defeat." Madam Wan's face was a grim sight as she withdrew both the aerial fire and the dark lion manifestation behind her, speaking with barely concealed reluctance.
"I merely had the advantage of the Nine-Eyed Blood Toad's true form. In a genuine life-and-death battle, I'm far from certain I could truly overcome Fellow Daoist Wan." Xiao Ming did not utter anything cutting, offering only a few measured words before turning to address Han Li. "Fellow Daoist Han, you're up next. I would very much like to see what techniques the other continents have to offer."
Then his body shimmered with escaping light, transforming into a streak of blood radiance that shot out through the barrier and materialized near Han Li.
"Fellow Daoist Wan, won't you rest a moment first? Perhaps Fellow Daoist Qingping and I could exchange a few moves in her place?" Han Li smiled faintly, turning his head toward the young Daoist.
"There's no need. I barely used any true essence just now — how much Magical Power could I have possibly expended? Fellow Daoist Han, you may simply enter." The old woman cut in before the Daoist could respond, her voice cold and clipped from within the barrier.
Daoist Qingping merely smiled and said nothing.
Han Li's brow creased slightly, but he gave a single nod, formed a one-handed seal, and his figure blurred before vanishing from the spot.
The next instant, the empty air within the barrier rippled, and Han Li's form materialized silently.
"Since you need only withstand a single strike, I won't be holding back." Han Li's face was expressionless as he spoke.
"Hmph — I hardly need you to remind me of that." The old woman's reply was brusque. A flash of dark light behind her brought the enormous black lion back into existence once more, its fangs bared and claws flexing — its aspect somehow even more savage and menacing than before.
It was clear that the earlier defeat had left a knot of rage in her chest, and she fully intended to reclaim some measure of her dignity at Han Li's expense.
Han Li narrowed his eyes slightly upon seeing this, then took a deep breath and suddenly stepped forward.
A muffled thud rang out — and that single step seemed to carry the weight of ten thousand jin, for the instant his foot touched the ground, a thunderous boom erupted from the point of impact.
The old woman's heart clenched. Then she saw Han Li's body suddenly blaze with countless silver spirit patterns as a torrent of golden light erupted from within. His frame swelled to monstrous proportions even as shimmering gold scales bloomed across his skin.
In the blink of an eye, he had transformed into a fearsome demon with a single horn jutting from its forehead and golden scales covering its entire body.
"That's the True Demon Body — the ultimate manifestation of demonic cultivation! Fellow Daoist Wan, be careful — do not take this lightly!" Outside the barrier, Daoist Qingping's expression changed drastically at the sight of Han Li's transformation, and he hurriedly called out a warning.
Beside him, Xiao Ming's face was hidden behind his mask, but the unmistakable glint of surprise flickered through his eyes.
Madam Wan had already been briefly stunned. The moment she heard the words "True Demon Body" and felt the terrifying aura erupting from the figure before her, her expression turned profoundly grave.
Steel settled over her heart. She gave both sleeves a sudden shake, and a dense storm of black flying needles shot from them, whirling through the surrounding void before linking together as one to form a formation diagram wreathed in rolling black qi — placing her squarely at its center.
The old woman had finally brought out her ultimate trump card: a flying-needle formation diagram.