Just wait a little longer. The blood cloud remained a misty mass, silent and still. Any small ghost that dared approach the densest part of the fog was instantly shredded to pieces. Nothing could be probed inside.
This time, Wang Chan couldn't sit still. He formed a hand seal, and the floating skulls on the blood cloud's surface opened their jaws. Dozens of black beams, each as thick as a bowl's mouth, shot out simultaneously from all directions, aimed directly at Han Li's original position.
A soft *bang* echoed.
Within the mist, a faint white light flickered. As the black and white lights violently clashed, a white barrier shimmered into view, faintly visible within the fog. This made the Ghost Spirit Sect's young master pause for a moment, but he quickly remembered the pristine white scale shield Han Li had summoned at the start.
Wang Chan frowned, hesitated for a moment, then muttered to himself:
"For the sake of acquiring so many high-grade magic artifacts, I'll have to sacrifice some of my vital blood essence! Can't let this brat use some trick to escape."
As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Chan suddenly extended his right index finger to his lips, bit down lightly, and squeezed out a drop of incredibly thick, dark blood from the cut. He let it drip gently into the blood cloud beneath him. Then, he plunged both hands deep into the cloud and focused his attention on circulating his technique.
As the incantation slowly left Wang Chan's lips, the crimson blood cloud that had enveloped Han Li began to rotate, faster and faster, gradually pressing inward toward the center. The blood ghosts automatically dissolved and vanished.
The blue-green mist, caught in the blood cloud's vortex, was rapidly swept up and absorbed into it. This gradually cleared the center, revealing an enormous white barrier. It was shaped like an inverted bowl, centered around a white scale shield.
Under the barrier, Han Li stood at its center. In one hand, he held a strangely-shaped short-handled knife that radiated a startling yellow glow. In the other, he held a stack of shimmering talismans, poised as if to launch an attack. Flanking him were two floating orbs, one blue and one red, still billowing thick blue-green mist. All of this was perfectly clear to Wang Chan.
"You..." The Ghost Spirit Sect's young master sneered upon seeing this, about to deliver another mocking remark.
But he only managed to get the first word out before he saw Han Li below suddenly flick his wrist. The small knife flashed, transforming into a dazzling streak of yellow light several meters long that shot straight at Wang Chan. Simultaneously, the stack of talismans was hurled from his other hand, manifesting over a dozen roaring fire dragons that surged forward in unison.
"Brat, magic artifacts can't break my Blood Spirit Great Art, unless..."
Wang Chan, originally unconcerned, prepared to summon the skulls again to spew black gas. But just as he smugly uttered the words "unless," something suddenly struck him, and his expression instantly changed. He shot into the sky like a crane, fleeing the blood cloud.
At the same moment, the yellow light pierced through several blocking skulls with a series of *puff* sounds, then, along with the fire dragons, shattered the blood cloud and burst wildly from the spot where he had been meditating. Immediately after, a white light shot out from the breach, fleeing at incredible speed. The yellow streak then also reversed course, following closely behind.
"Talisman Treasure!" Wang Chan cried out in shock and fury.
He had been momentarily negligent, not realizing that Han Li's use of the mist was merely a ploy to buy time to activate the talisman treasure. Otherwise, even if the opponent possessed one, he would never have allowed the time to activate it. Moreover, the chance of a Foundation Establishment cultivator possessing a talisman treasure was indeed very small, which was why he had overlooked the possibility.
But even with a talisman treasure, as the young master of the Ghost Spirit Sect, how could he be afraid? He himself carried two talisman treasures, one of which was a particularly rare special-attribute treasure. Naturally, he would not let Han Li escape this easily.
Fuming with rage, Wang Chan dove back into the blood cloud, once again gathering it up and mounting a blood escape that shot after Han Li like a meteor.
About the time it would take for an incense stick to burn later, Han Li stood on his Divine Wind Boat, coldly watching the blood cloud closing in again. He suddenly waved one hand. The yellow streak following closely behind executed a sudden about-face, stabbing back in a surprise attack, aiming directly at the Ghost Spirit Sect's young master hidden within the blood cloud.
But Wang Chan was already on guard. He threw the object in his prepared hand, and a golden skull, radiant and brilliant, grew rapidly in the wind. Its enormous mouth clamped down on the yellow light, biting it firmly and stopping it from advancing even a fraction.
Han Li was startled and frantically tried to recall it several times, but the yellow light merely struggled a few times within the golden skull's mouth before becoming utterly powerless.
Wang Chan let out a few savage chuckles, and the blood cloud beside him surged upward again, sending a chill through Han Li's heart as he faced the prospect of being trapped once more. But just then, the recently agitated blood cloud suddenly subsided. The spell-casting Wang Chan's expression changed drastically; not only did his flying speed slow, but a faint layer of blue-black also crept over his face.
Han Li, who had been constantly watching his opponent, felt a jolt of surprise at this sight.