The white lotus didn't appear to be transformed from any treasure — it was formed entirely from the woman's own magical power, yet it possessed such formidable strength. This truly surprised Han Li.
However, the shock flashed through his mind only for an instant before his expression darkened. He took a sharp breath and abruptly raised his right arm, which was now shrouded in a layer of faint black qi.
The black qi writhed like a living thing, stretching and contracting ceaselessly, gradually growing denser and thicker. When it turned pitch-black as ink, a solemn look appeared on Han Li's face.
His entire arm swelled rapidly, in the blink of an eye becoming two or three times its original thickness. The surface even took on a layer of piercing bloody glow, and beneath the covering of black qi, it looked utterly bizarre.
This was none other than the "Yin Devil Slash" that Han Li had cultivated.
At that moment, Han Li cast a cold glance at the woman in green.
As it happened, she had also finished casting her technique at the same time. She raised her graceful head, her bright eyes flowing as she looked over, and when her gaze met Han Li's, it fell upon his eerie, transformed arm.
A cold light flickered in her eyes.
"Go!" Han Li uttered a low shout without the slightest hesitation.
His arm swept downward, slashing through the empty air.
A semicircular blade of black-and-red light shot forth from his arm. The moment it left his hand, it expanded to a width of several zhang.
A sharp tearing sound cracked through the air. The light blade trailed a long tail of radiance and arrived in an instant at the area enveloped by the white lotus's spiritual glow.
The woman in green's delicate brows twitched. She opened her mouth and spat a wisp of crystalline white qi onto the white lotus. Immediately, a phantom image of lotus petals materialized from the lotus, covering the woman within as solidly as though it were real.
A flash of light, and the blade struck the lotus shadow squarely. At first it sliced through easily, penetrating deep inside, but after cutting several zhang into the lotus shadow, its speed dropped dramatically and it became trapped, unable to move even a fraction.
A hint of satisfaction appeared on the woman's face, but the expression in her eyes suddenly shifted again.
Because across from her, Han Li had already hurled a dark object without a single word.
The moment it left his hand, the object ballooned wildly in the wind, and in the blink of an eye transformed into a black mountain peak over a hundred zhang tall, crashing toward the woman inside the lotus shadow with tremendous menace.
"Thousand Layer Peak!" the woman blurted out the moment she saw the colossal mountain descending upon her.
How could she not know of this ancient treasure, which was quite famous even among the cultivators of Mulan?
Even with her mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivation and the ancient Buddhist secret technique she was employing, she absolutely dared not take this mountain head-on.
Without a moment to spare, the woman in green formed hand seals with both hands, linking her body, the white lotus above her head, and the small yellow cauldron together in a flash of white light. In an instant, they transformed into a wisp of clear wind and vanished from within the lotus shadow.
The next moment, the light flickered over twenty zhang away, and the woman's slender figure reappeared within a green glow.
The faint white lotus shadow at the original location, deprived of the woman's magical power support, had already dimmed. Though it didn't disappear immediately, under the crushing weight of the black mountain it held on for only a brief moment before shattering apart and dispersing.
"Wind Escape Technique?" There was not a trace of joy on Han Li's face. Instead, he murmured softly, secretly cursing his luck.
He hadn't expected this woman to know such a bizarre escape technique on par with the Lightning Escape Technique.
In that case, unless he could trap her in a dead end, there was practically no way to defeat her.
Even so, Han Li still intended to try.
He didn't quite believe that her Wind Escape Technique could be executed as fluently as his Wind Thunder Wings. If he could get close to her, he was confident that with the terrifying power of the Qianlan Ice Flame, even if that white lotus was bizarre, he could easily inflict serious injuries on her.
These thoughts flashed through his mind, but his hands didn't hesitate for a moment. He pointed a finger at the black-and-red light blade that had finally freed itself, as well as the dozens of Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Swords, and the objects immediately shot toward the woman in green who had escaped to the side, pursuing her like shadows following their form.
At the same time, a crackling of thunder sounded behind Han Li's back as a pair of silver-white wings spread open, manifesting behind him.
He gestured with both hands, and the blue light shield before him rapidly shrank and flew into his sleeve. At the same time, the black-and-red giant hand above his head that had been gripping the great eagle released the eagle — which had already been frozen into an ice statue — and transformed into a ball of black light that shot straight toward the woman.
Han Li's eyes flashed as he raised one hand, and a tongue of blue flame appeared on his palm.
Instantly, his hand blazed with brilliant blue light, eerie and dazzling.
Silver lightning arcs flashed wildly, and amid a deafening boom, Han Li vanished.
While Han Li was making his moves, the woman in green, seeing Han Li produce treasure after treasure without end, was feeling quite exasperated.
She had originally thought that a mere early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator being this powerful was simply due to a few peculiar abilities. And since her abilities countered most of his, subduing him should have gone smoothly.
Yet she hadn't expected that in the span of a single blink, the opponent would have already unleashed four or five formidable treasures. And aside from the giant eagle transformed from her magic treasure at the very start, she had been on the defensive the entire time, suppressed under his relentless attacks. This stoked the fury within her heart — she who had always been held in high regard among the Mulan cultivators.
But she also knew that with so many treasures protecting him, relying on ordinary techniques and magic treasures alone would likely fail to inflict serious damage on him, let alone kill him.
Now, seeing Han Li manifest wings on his back and vanish instantly amid crackling thunder, she gave a cold snort and finally made up her mind — even at the cost of some of her vital essence, she would unleash her killing move and finish him off in one decisive blow.
For the time being, however, she naturally could not allow Han Li to use his Lightning Escape Technique to close the distance easily.
With this thought, the woman directed her will, and the white lotus above her head descended and suddenly sank into the crown of her head, vanishing without a trace.
At the same moment, Han Li's figure appeared amid a rolling clap of thunder, flashing with arcs of lightning, three or four zhang to the side of the woman in green.