"Are you human or ghost?" Jin Qing forced down the fear in his heart and asked, somewhat unnaturally.
"Human? Ghost? What do you think?" The strange shadow laughed darkly, its words dripping with mockery.
Hearing this, Jin Qing's face turned grim.
Han Li said nothing. Without any warning, he swiftly unfurled the scroll in his hands.
Countless fire birds surged forth, rushing toward the strange shadow in a swarm. At the same time, the giant bird that had been battling the enormous serpent let out a sharp cry, abandoned its opponent, and transformed into a ball of searing white flame that shot straight at the shadow.
The strange shadow snorted coldly through its nose, and a disdainful voice rang out.
"Fat Sun Bird? If this were truly the bird's original form appearing, this venerable one might feel a sliver of fear. But right now, it's nothing but a wisp of remnant soul, and it dares to emulate others in devouring ghosts and exorcising demons?"
The words had barely left its mouth when the green shadow raised both hands. The black qi surrounding its body instantly condensed onto its palms, followed by two soft "pfft" sounds.
The black qi shot forth from both hands, transforming into two single-horned ink pythons that dove into the flock of fire birds and began slaughtering them indiscriminately. With every snap of their massive jaws, several fire birds were swallowed whole, while the threads of white flame spewed by the fire birds couldn't harm the two demonic serpents in the slightest.
At that moment, the white fireball transformed from the giant "Fat Sun Bird" had already arrived. But it ignored the two ink pythons entirely, instead shooting straight toward the green shadow's true body.
The green shadow's eyes flashed with red light, turning even more crimson.
Though its body didn't move, an air of solemnity emanated from it.
Clearly, facing the Fat Sun Bird's remnant soul, this shadow was not as casual as its words suggested.
With a "boom," the green shadow shook both hands, and the two single-horned serpents detached from its palms, moving on their own.
Then it clenched both fists and struck them together. Brilliant green ghostfire blazed to life on both fists. The shadow's figure flickered as it lunged toward the white fireball, throwing a devastating punch.
To Han Li and Jin Qing's astonishment, the white fireball shattered on impact, scattering in all directions before vanishing in the blink of an eye.
On one of the green shadow's fists, a milky-white crystalline bead had materialized.
The strange shadow grinned ferociously and, without a moment's hesitation, swallowed the bead whole. Then its cold gaze turned back to Han Li.
At that moment, the scroll in Han Li's hands spontaneously combusted. He hastily threw it away, and it disintegrated into ash in an instant.
The fire birds still entangled with the two ink pythons vanished one by one as the scroll crumbled to ash.
Han Li drew a deep breath.
He had known all along that these avatars of the Fat Sun Bird were no match for the enemy — he'd only used them to gauge his opponent's strength.
But he hadn't expected the green shadow to neutralize this treasure specifically designed to counter evil spirits with a mere wave of its hand, all without revealing a shred of its true power.
The only certainty was that this opponent was no mere specter!
Han Li fixed his gaze on the green shadow, expressionless, silently calculating his odds of victory should he engage in combat.
"Not bad, you'll do! I've grown quite interested in your body. The other two can leave!" The green shadow stared at Han Li and spoke these words slowly.
It seemed Han Li's earlier attack had provoked it.
Qu Hun naturally remained motionless, but Jin Qing's mind was racing with mixed thoughts, his expression shifting between light and dark.
Though they hadn't exchanged blows yet, the opponent was unfathomably deep. Even joining forces with Han Li, Jin Qing estimated their chances of winning were slim.
Now, hearing the strange shadow tell him he could leave, Jin Qing felt himself waver.
Having witnessed so many cultivators die miserably before his eyes today, this cultivator who had always prided himself on a clear conscience experienced for the first time the desire to preserve his life, thinking there would be other opportunities down the road.
"What? You don't even want a chance to walk away alive? Then this venerable one will simply take a bit more effort and turn you both into desiccated corpses!" The green shadow snorted coldly, its voice sinister, and swept its gaze over Jin Qing and Qu Hun.
Hearing the strange shadow speak with such murderous intent, Jin Qing's face flushed and paled several times before he finally cupped his fists toward Han Li and said, shamefaced:
"Brother Han, I'm not ready to perish here. Forgive me for this."
With those words, he fell silent and hurried toward the stone steps without another glance at Han Li.
Han Li's expression remained unchanged, showing no sign of being abandoned or angered. Only a faint hint of coldness lingered in his eyes as he watched Jin Qing's retreating figure.
The green shadow's red eyes gleamed with a hint of smugness.
But as Jin Qing sprinted past the scattered pile of white bones, another sudden change erupted.
The bones strewn about launched themselves at him like crossbow bolts, hurtling through the air with tremendous force.
Jin Qing cried out in shock and fury. Silver light flashed around his body as a protective barrier enveloped him.
But before he could question the shadow or release his own treasure, the white bones blazed with brilliant white light and pierced straight through his silver barrier as if it were nothing at all.