Han Li waved his hand toward the massive black peak.
After a flash of light, the small mountain shrank down to a few inches in size, transformed into a streak of black light, and shot into his sleeve.
The blood-colored barrier's ceiling had also returned to its original shape — it really was extraordinarily tough.
Han Li turned around, extended a finger, and with a soft "pfft," a pale blue fireball the size of a walnut materialized at his fingertip.
"Go," Han Li murmured, flicking his finger lightly. The fireball shot straight toward the distant barrier wall.
With a muffled bang, the blue flames exploded outward, and layers of blue ice spread instantly across the entire barrier wall.
The temperature inside the blood barrier plummeted, turning the space into a frozen world so cold that one's breath would freeze mid-air.
Seeing this, Han Li's figure flickered, and he arrived in front of a section of the barrier wall shimmering with blue light.
He raised his hand and unleashed a streak of green sword Qi that slammed into the thick ice layer. A cracking sound rang out as crystalline ice shards scattered in every direction.
Han Li's expression darkened as he examined where the sword Qi had struck.
As the ice shards fell away, the blood-colored barrier wall behind them remained perfectly intact. The thick, viscous blood coating its surface had not been truly frozen at all — only a thin layer of blue frost had formed on top, while the blood mist continued to roil underneath.
After a moment's thought, Han Li raised his hand and gave it a wave against the wind. A layer of purple demonic flame suddenly engulfed his entire palm. Without hesitation, he pressed his hand gently against the barrier wall.
The Purple Skyfire was indeed a cut above the Qianlan Ice Flame.
The moment the purple flames neared the barrier wall, the blood mist and blood on its surface solidified instantly with a sizzling sound, blazing with dazzling purple light.
A look of delight appeared on Han Li's face.
He carefully controlled the Purple Skyfire, restricting its power to just this small section of the barrier wall. Then he opened his mouth, and amid a peal of thunder, a golden arc shot out and struck directly at this section of the wall.
After the golden light flashed, a fine crack appeared on the barrier wall.
But the blood light flickered wildly several times, and in the blink of an eye, the crack vanished without a trace.
Han Li was stunned!
This blood barrier really was full of tricks — even after being frozen, it could still repair its own damage.
No wonder the Mulan people were so confident in using this barrier. Even the Purple Skyfire couldn't break through it. It could truly trap an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator.
Though inwardly alarmed, Han Li immediately slapped his storage pouch, and a small, glossy green bead the size of a thumb appeared in his palm.
It was the lightning bead he had recently finished refining.
Since its completion, this item had never been used even once — now was the perfect time to test its power.
Moreover, after that clap of thunder, Han Li had been unable to sense the battle raging outside from within the barrier. But judging by the time that had passed, the initial phase of the battle should be over, and going out should pose no problem.
If he delayed any longer and failed to go out and help, and the cultivator army suffered a crushing defeat, he would be nothing but a bird in a cage — with no hope of escape.
With this thought, a flash of light blazed from his palm. The lightning bead spun rapidly, transformed into a streak of green light, and shot toward the barrier wall, while his body hurtled backward at the same time.
A deep, muffled clap of thunder sounded, followed by a sphere of golden-green light the size of a head rising on the barrier wall.
The entire barrier shuddered violently from the impact.
A flash of surprise crossed Han Li's face.
This bead's power seemed to exceed even his expectations!
The moment this thought arose, Han Li's expression shifted slightly. Brilliant green spiritual light erupted from his body, and he transformed into a green rainbow that shot outward at full speed.
The lightning bead's single strike had effortlessly punched a small hole through the barrier wall. Sensing this, Han Li wasted no time thinking and flew straight through.
The hole was already shrinking rapidly.
As Han Li's green rainbow burst through the blood barrier, he was naturally overjoyed. The lightning bead, forged from a blue lamp flame equal in grade to the Purple Skyfire, had broken through this barrier so effortlessly — it was truly beyond anything he had expected.
Originally, he had figured that if the lightning bead failed, his only remaining options would be the Devouring Gold Beetles and the Blood Fiend Sword.
The former could devour anything, but breaking through this barrier would likely take a considerable amount of time. The latter, on the other hand, came with endless troublesome consequences, and Han Li was extremely reluctant to use it.
But this newly refined, nameless lightning bead had actually managed to break through the blood barrier. This was, without question, an unexpected stroke of good fortune.
It seemed the reason the Purple Skyfire couldn't break this barrier was because its essential nature was ice-cold, unlike the lamp flame, which was a genuine fire-attribute spiritual flame — the two simply couldn't counteract each other.