After the radiance faded, the silver streak of light revealed a graceful woman dressed in white robes — none other than the woman surnamed Bai, whom Han Li had encountered before. She materialized in midair, her face blank as she swept her gaze across the surroundings. The moment her eyes fell on Han Li and Feng Bing's group, her slender brows twitched slightly.
Her sudden appearance caused Tian Zhong's escaping light to halt abruptly. He materialized once more in his true form, his expression shifting between dark and uncertain.
Feng Bing's spirits soared at the sight of this woman breaking through as well, and she called out:
"Fellow Daoist Bai, your timing couldn't be better! This man is the Fourth Divine Master of Mulan. Let's keep him pinned down so that Fellow Daoist Han can go rescue the others first."
"The Fourth Divine Master? So this trap — you had a hand in it too." The woman surnamed Bai fixed Tian Zhong with her icy gaze, her voice carrying a hint of killing intent.
"I didn't expect that besides that brat, someone else could break through the Blood Luo Barrier. I should've known the Yin Luo Sect's people weren't reliable." Rather than answering the woman's question, Tian Zhong muttered darkly to himself.
"Courting death!" Seeing that he had no intention of responding, the woman surnamed Bai's face turned livid. With an angry shout, she rubbed her palms together and thrust them outward. A vast wave of frigid energy, laced with countless fine snowflakes, swept toward Tian Zhong in a blinding white torrent. The momentum was truly terrifying.
Feng Bing, seizing the moment, tapped her finger toward the Fire Spirit Bottle hovering in the air, and fierce flames surged from the other side to attack Tian Zhong in a pincer assault.
Han Li wasted no more time. The wings on his back flashed, and amid several peals of thunder, he left the green phantom in the dust, hurtling straight toward the blood barrier on the other side.
Although with the Spirit Descending Talisman active, he was fairly confident he could destroy the green phantom, rescuing people and turning the tide was the higher priority.
Seeing the next blood barrier right before him, Han Li flipped his hand and produced another Thunder Bead.
"Master, be careful!"
Just as Han Li drew a breath and prepared to hurl the Thunder Bead, Silver Moon's warning voice suddenly rang in his ear.
Han Li's heart lurched, but without a moment's hesitation, he threw the Thunder Bead. It transformed into a streak of blue-green light and smashed toward the barrier below.
But at that very instant, a blue-green fireball the size of a human head shot out from somewhere unseen. Han Li's face twisted in alarm as it streaked toward him like a meteor chasing the moon, striking the Thunder Bead dead-on.
With a soft "pfft," the Thunder Bead was silently swallowed by the fireball. The fireball then spun in a circle before transforming into a blue-green flame bird roughly a foot across, hovering in midair.
A flash of cold fury crossed Han Li's face. He formed hand seals with both hands, and the Thunder Bead detonated with a muffled boom inside the flame bird.
But the bird merely swayed violently, then acted as though nothing had happened — it had in fact grown slightly larger. It fixed its gaze squarely on Han Li.
Han Li cursed inwardly and looked up.
From the direction of the Mulan Sacred Bird, another stream of blue-green fireballs shot forth, each one landing near the blood barrier. In the blink of an eye, they likewise transformed into blue-green flame birds, surrounding the barrier and shielding it completely.
Now Han Li understood — these flame birds were exhaled by the Sacred Bird, which shared a deep connection with the lamp flame. No wonder the Thunder Bead had only served to feed it.
After all, the primary ingredient for forging Thunder Beads was refined lamp flame.
Near the Mulan Sacred Bird, a woman surnamed Le was gazing coldly at Han Li. Their eyes met across the distance.
So it was this woman controlling the demonic bird. Han Li immediately grasped what was happening, and fury surged within him.
But when his gaze settled on the nine ancient lamps floating before the woman, his eyes narrowed as he studied the slowly burning blue-green flames. He composed himself, a contemplative look crossing his face.
The blue-green flame birds showed no intention of attacking Han Li. They simply circled and danced around the blood barrier.
At that moment, Silver Moon's figure materialized beside Han Li in a flash of white light.
"Please forgive this servant, Master. I was useless — I couldn't be of any help during the fight. Those two Heavenly Tiger Beasts have far too keen senses. The moment I drew near, they detected me. I couldn't even get close enough to use illusions or soul-bewildering techniques." Silver Moon's voice was tinged with shame.
"Forget it. You did your best." Han Li shook his head, his expression calm.
"However, here are two Thunder Beads. Take them and see if you can sneak near the other blood barriers and rescue people! Right now, every soul saved counts." Han Li tossed the two Thunder Beads to Silver Moon.
"This servant will do her utmost." Silver Moon extended her slender jade hand to catch the Thunder Beads, her expression solemn. Her graceful figure vanished once more into the white light.
Han Li glanced behind him.
In the direction where Tian Zhong was, scarlet flames and white frost entwined, with flashes of five-colored radiance interspersed among them. For the moment, it was impossible to tell who held the upper hand.
The green phantom had vanished at some point without a trace — whether Tian Zhong had been forced to recall it under the combined assault of two mid-stage cultivators, or whether he had felt reassured enough by the Sacred Bird's personal intervention to withdraw the avatar.
Han Li turned his head back and looked down at the dozen-odd blue-green flame birds. A flash of killing intent crossed his eyes. Blue and red spiritual light blazed from his entire body, wrapping him in a protective cocoon. He raised one hand and released the Blue Light Shield, then channeled qi to enlarge it, positioning it as a bulwark before him. His other hand flipped, and yet another Thunder Bead materialized in his palm.
Behind him, thunder crackled to life. Han Li's figure flickered, and amid arcs of lightning, he appeared more than ten zhang above the blood barrier. Before he could hurl the Thunder Bead, the flame birds shot toward him from all sides like arrows.
Blue-green flames instantly engulfed the sky above the blood barrier, swallowing Han Li's silhouette within.