However, what happened next was somewhat beyond Han Li's expectations.
The moment the giant sword made contact with the web, the net immediately shimmered with blue light. Those delicate, crystalline threads proved to be astonishingly tough and resilient.
After the giant sword slashed wildly inside the web a few times, it not only failed to cut through but was instead enveloped layer by layer by the net under the old man's control. Before long, it was completely trapped within. Though the old man couldn't suppress it entirely, for the time being, Han Li truly couldn't break free.
Han Li furrowed his brow and was just about to cast another spell when the old man opposite him struck first.
A cold, sinister look flashed across his face. His hands moved like a wheel, forming a series of strange hand seals in rapid succession. At the same time, multicolored strands of magical light shot forth from his palms, all striking the glowing orb of spiritual light above his head.
Immediately, the blue sphere of light began to shrink and deform. Then, amid guttural chanting, it violently burst apart.
Countless palm-sized, slender ice crystals materialized out of thin air around the old man, glinting blue as they filled the space within a radius of over ten zhang.
A fierce gleam appeared in the old man's eyes. His hands swept wide and then pointed sharply toward Han Li as he spat out a single frigid word: "Go!"
Instantly, the sky filled with ice crystals. Like arrows loosed from powerful crossbows, they all burst forth at once with that single command.
A dense curtain of blue crystal light completely engulfed Han Li's position, an imposing sight that was truly terrifying.
"This is a spirit technique?"
Han Li was momentarily startled, a look of surprise crossing his face. But his hands never stopped moving. Without a second thought, he released the blue ancient treasure he had just activated, while simultaneously slapping the spirit beast pouch at his waist. A swarm of tricolored Gold Devouring Beetles surged out in a frenzy, and under Han Li's direction, they immediately surrounded him in a tight formation.
This time, however, the beetles didn't condense into any particular shape. Instead, they simply whirled and danced wildly in the vicinity, forming an impenetrable shield of insects. Han Li's figure within blurred and became indistinct.
The moment the blue treasure left his hand, it transformed into a streak of white qi and shot toward the incoming barrage of ice crystals.
As it met the oncoming crystals head-on, a portion of the ice shards were swept up by the white qi in a flash, shrinking and vanishing as they were absorbed inside.
Upon seeing this, the remaining ice crystals seemed almost sentient — they split left and right, detouring around the white qi and immediately striking the insect shield surrounding Han Li.
*Thud! Thud! Thud!* Dull impacts rang out one after another.
The diamond-shaped ice crystals, blocked by the beetle shield, paused for the briefest of moments. But then they tore through, ripping open small gaps one after another as they pierced inward relentlessly. The insect shield promptly sealed itself back up, and inside all fell silent — as if nothing had happened at all.
The old man surnamed Mu couldn't help but be startled by this sight.
His "Ice Crystal Technique" appeared superficially similar to the "Ice Rain Technique" used by cultivators in their Five Elements arts, only far greater in number. But in truth, every one of those ice shards was formed from the profound yin frost energy he had cultivated himself. They were not only razor-sharp but also incomparably cold. A cultivator who didn't know what he was dealing with might be able to endure the initial volley with the help of a protective treasure, but they would have no way of withstanding the follow-up freeze that would come once the ice shards shattered and released their frigid energy.
Yet now, these ice crystals had shot in and vanished without a trace. How could he not be stunned?
The old man hesitated for a moment, about to probe the interior of the insect shield with his spiritual sense, when a tremendous boom suddenly rang out from directly above.
His ears went numb with a violent buzzing, and his vision went black. Caught completely off guard, he nearly plummeted from the air.
Panicked and furious, the old man hurriedly rubbed his palms together and slapped his own body several times in quick succession. A white protective barrier flickered into existence around him. Only then did he steady himself and look up.
Above him, that silver giant bell had somehow arrived overhead at some point. The tremendous sound just now had come from this very bell.
And now, its silver light flickered again as a second deafening peal rang out — but this time, it was not aimed at the now-wary old man. Instead, it sent out waves of sound that struck the blue giant net and the struggling cyan giant sword caught within it.
"Not good!" The old man realized in an instant what was happening and hurriedly tried to cast a spell to intercept. But he was clearly a step too late.
The waves of pale silver sound washed over the blue silk net, and it shattered apart strand by strand. The giant sword broke free from its bonds and, without the slightest courtesy, once again hurtled toward the old man in a furious downward slash.
Before the blade even arrived, a tremendous pressure bore down on him head-on.
Though the old man still had a protective barrier shielding him, how would he dare take such an enormous strike head-on? His face went pale and his figure flickered. Wrapped in blue light, he shot backward several dozen zhang, narrowly avoiding the sword's devastating cleave.
He wasted no more time, gesturing toward the round pearl floating in the air. The treasure immediately flew to a position above his head. After breathing a plume of pure energy into it, a new barrier of light unfolded to shield him. Only then did the old man gaze gravely toward his opponent.
His face turned deathly pale.