On one side, a world of rolling blood flames churned as countless skeletal figures conjured from black qi whirled and shrieked within, baring fangs and brandishing claws.
On the other side, a world of verdant green sprawled in every direction, brimming with the silhouettes of trees and vines as innumerable five-colored butterflies drifted and soared above and below.
The two worlds clashed against each other like colliding tides along some invisible boundary, sometimes the blood flames igniting the trees and swarms of butterflies into ash, sometimes the trees and vines growing thicker and sturdier within the blood fire, drawing countless skeletons into their grasp and converting them into nourishment. The crushing collision of these two entirely different realms had formed an enormous vortex at the center, spinning madly without cease, yet utterly silent—as though all of it were nothing more than an illusion.
"Interesting. Those two are quite formidable—they've already touched upon some of the methods for wielding a spirit domain. It's only the barest rudiments, to be sure, but no ordinary Mahayana cultivator could contend with it. Jin'er, go kill that lizard beast. I'll take this Ghost King." Han Li's eyes lit up as he murmured a few words to himself, then his voice turned cold as he issued his command.
The small golden figure beside him flashed a cold gleam in its eyes, nodded, then launched itself into the air, transforming into a streak of golden light that dove straight toward the two-headed giant lizard below.
Han Li himself rolled in place, and amid a storm of silver lightning arcs, transformed into a thunder roc over a hundred zhang in length. With a single flick of its great wings, it became a howling hurricane and hurtled straight toward the blood sea below.
The instant the barrier of light shattered, Wen Xinfeng and the white skeleton—who had been locked in combat—immediately noticed the arrival of Han Li and the Gold-Devouring Beetle King.
Wen Xinfeng was overjoyed.
The white skeleton, which was the manifestation of the Netherworld Ghost King, felt its heart jolt with alarm at the sight. And when it saw the Gold-Devouring Beetle King and Han Li's colossal roc descending from the heavens, it certainly had no intention of simply sitting still and awaiting its fate as before.
A green flame blazed within its eye sockets as one hand hurled the blood-colored alms bowl high into the sky. Immediately, countless blood-red runes surged forth from within, tumbling through the air and expanding to the size of a small mountain before sweeping toward the golden figure's streak of light. At the same time, a roar erupted from the blood sea beneath the skeleton, and over a dozen enormous blood dragons burst forth from its surface, fangs bared and claws outstretched, hurtling toward the giant roc.
The skeleton's other hand rapidly formed a series of seals, then pointed gravely toward the two conjured worlds in the distant void.
A thunderous boom erupted. The blood-flame world, which had been deadlocked against the green world, detonated without the slightest warning. An incomparably massive blood-red sun burst forth from the collapsed void, hurtling madly toward the opposing side as countless tongues of blood flame curled outward from its surface.
Beneath this suicidal onslaught, every tree and vine silhouette in the green world twisted and blurred, and more than half the butterflies trembled before disintegrating into powder and exploding into nothingness.
Wen Xinfeng's heart lurched with alarm at the sight. She hurriedly formed seals with both hands, her ten fingers dancing like wagon wheels as she continuously pointed toward the green world, unable to spare any attention to coordinating with Han Li's attack on the white skeleton.
With two muffled pops, the enormous suction force within the blood-colored alms bowl wrenched the golden figure out of its streak of escape light. Two startling beams of crystalline light shot from the golden figure's eyes and swept outward.
The colossal alms bowl, struck by the dragon-like crystalline light in a cross-cut, had two gaping holes blasted clean through its base. Suffering such devastating damage, the vessel immediately began to spin and shrink rapidly as though deflating. After the golden figure drove the twin beams of light into a furious barrage of slashes, the bowl shattered into countless fragments and exploded apart.
The golden figure wasted not a moment. With a surge of spiritual energy, its body leaped and merged with the two beams of crystalline light, transforming into a single massive rainbow of light that swept forward. In a single flash it arrived at the two-headed giant lizard and blurred around it in a frenzy of rotations.
The two-headed giant lizard knew it was in grave danger, but with the giant marten pinning it down, it had no way to dodge. It barely managed to project a layer of crimson fire screen across its body before the rainbow of light cleaved it into several sections.
Yet this giant lizard possessed tremendous vitality. The severed pieces of its body writhed and squirmed, and from the wounds billowing clouds of black qi surged forth, attempting to fuse the pieces back together.
At that moment, the giant marten opposite seized the opening with a burst of foul wind, lunging forward to reach the lizard first. It pressed one forelimb down to pin a severed section in place, lowered its massive jaws, and began tearing into it.
Even as the lizard's body thrashed wildly, the giant marten devoured the entire section in just a few bites, then whipped its head around and bit eagerly at another nearby piece.
A flash of crystalline light!
The golden figure materialized out of the nearby void, watching the scene below with cold detachment, making no move to intervene.
And so, in the span of mere moments, the two-headed giant lizard was mercilessly devoured clean by the giant marten…
On the other side, the moment the dozen-plus blood dragons closed in on Han Li's thunder roc, the great bird flicked both wings. A tremendous roaring erupted across its body as bolt after bolt of thick golden lightning arcs sprang from its form, weaving into a net of lightning that descended upon the blood dragons.
The white skeleton, perched upon its black lotus, saw this and felt nothing but contempt. If the opponent believed these blood dragons were mere illusory constructs that could be easily dispatched, they were sorely mistaken.
The blood sea beneath it had been refined from ninety-nine-and-eighty-one varieties of defiled blood. The blood dragons conjured from it were far from ordinary—though they might not compare to true Jiaolong, their fearsome power was not far behind.
But the very instant this thought flickered through the skeleton's mind, the thunderous crashes in the sky intensified, and it could not help but startle as it hurriedly looked up.
There, it saw the dozen-plus blood dragons, wreathed in golden lightning arcs, shrieking mournfully as they disintegrated into flying ash—not even lasting the span of a single breath.
With no further obstruction, the thunder roc descended with terrifying ferocity.
"True Devilbane Divine Lightning!"
The green flames within the skeleton's eye sockets contracted sharply. One hand slapped down beneath it with lightning speed, and the blood river beneath its seat erupted with a deafening roar, transforming into a towering tidal wave that surged skyward.