Han Li's eyes widened upon seeing those round pearls. Could these also be some kind of lightning pearls?
This thought flashed through Han Li's mind, but it did not slow his activation of the Great Geng Sword Formation in the slightest.
These golden threads were one of the Great Geng Sword Formation's supernatural abilities, somewhat similar to the sword cultivator technique of Transforming Swords into Threads — concentrating the astonishing sword qi from a hundred sword beams into slender threads.
Because the formation harnessed the power of the magic array and the flying swords had been infused with Geng essence, making them extraordinarily sharp, the sword threads produced were far more formidable than those of any ordinary sword cultivator.
Ordinary magic treasures and ancient treasures stood no chance against the cutting power of these golden threads.
As for things like lightning pearls, Han Li was not particularly worried about them.
So long as the thirty-six flying swords hidden at the formation's core remained unharmed, even if the sword threads were shattered, they could be continuously regenerated. There was no fear of attacks — this was precisely what made the Great Geng Sword Formation so terrifying.
Just as Han Li was pondering this, a golden light flashed as those round pearls also triggered the formation's restrictions. They were sliced into pieces by the multitude of golden threads before detonating.
To his great surprise, the pearls contained no hidden thunder or fire. Instead, once they burst apart, thick clouds of dark crimson blood mist billowed forth.
The moment this blood mist spread, it expanded rapidly, carrying with it a revolting and bizarre stench that was almost unbearable to smell.
These pearls were called "Blood Thunder Pellets," reportedly refined from the most vile and corrupted substances between heaven and earth. When used against an enemy, any treasure not refined through Demonic cultivation methods would suffer a severe drop in power and lose its spiritual resonance the moment it was touched by this blood mist. No matter how powerful or spiritually attuned your magic treasure might be, restoring its full power would require several days of re-tempering with Nascent Flame.
Of course, Blood Thunder Pellets were exceedingly rare even within Demonic sects. Not only were their raw materials extraordinarily scarce, but the success rate of refining them was pitifully low — far more difficult to produce than ordinary lightning pearls.
Those dozen or so pellets represented nearly a hundred years' worth of savings for the black-robed youth.
As an elder of one of the ten great Demonic sects in the Jin Kingdom, he was a man of extensive knowledge. The moment he recognized the sword formation Han Li had deployed, he immediately thought to use these Blood Thunder Pellets to corrupt Han Li's flying swords.
A sword formation required seamless coordination among its components to unleash its supernatural power. Once even a single flying sword in the formation malfunctioned, the entire formation would naturally collapse on its own.
This method was one of the most commonly employed countermeasures by Jin Kingdom's Demonic cultivators against sword cultivator sects that used sword formations.
Of course, something as precious as Blood Thunder Pellets would generally not be used in one-on-one duels. They were typically reserved for large-scale confrontations. After all, under normal circumstances, a sword formation could hardly be operated by a single person.
Seeing the blood mist, Han Li did not know exactly what it was, but he could clearly sense something sinister about it. Just as he was growing uneasy, a deep rumble of thunder suddenly resonated.
Within the blood mist, patches of golden light simultaneously materialized, and pale golden lightning arcs sprang forth. The moment these arcs made contact with the blood mist, they detonated on the spot. Both forces annihilated each other simultaneously.
In the blink of an eye, all ten-odd clouds of blood mist had been completely destroyed by Han Li's Evil-Repelling Divine Lightning.
Han Li was stunned.
The Evil-Repelling Divine Lightning had activated on its own from the flying swords without him having to trigger it — this was the first time that had ever happened. And that blood mist, which clearly belonged to some evil substance, had actually been able to neutralize the Evil-Repelling Divine Lightning. It was truly inconceivable.
What Han Li did not know was that the Blood Thunder Pellets' property of corrupting righteous-path treasures was almost exactly the same as the Evil-Repelling Divine Lightning's property of specifically counteracting Demonic cultivation techniques — the two were natural antagonists. Under normal circumstances, neither could overpower the other.
But the blood mist just now, though considerable in quantity, was still vastly inferior compared to the divine lightning concealed within the thirty-six flying swords. That was why the blood mist had been purged so cleanly and completely.
"Evil-Repelling Divine Lightning — these flying swords are all Golden Lightning Bamboo treasures! Impossible! How can there be so many Golden Lightning Bamboo swords?" The black-robed youth's face turned pale as he cried out in shock.
"You can find out the answer when you reach the underworld!" Han Li replied curtly. At the same time, he took a deep breath and once again urged the incantation in his mind.
The golden threads, which had temporarily paused due to the appearance of the blood mist, silently pressed inward.
Though the Great Geng Sword Formation was immensely powerful, it was still somewhat beyond what Han Li's current cultivation could handle.
He could activate the formation, but the consumption of Magical Power was truly staggering. Once the formation was running, he had no excess energy to accelerate the movement of the sword threads.
Otherwise, had he been able to snap the sword threads shut in an instant, he could have eliminated his opponent right away. He would not have had to stand by and watch the black-robed youth resort to yet another countermeasure.
Han Li estimated that, based on the formation's Magical Power consumption, a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator was truly the ideal level at which to begin mastering this technique. If not for the fact that he had only deployed half the formation, and his Magical Power far surpassed that of an ordinary early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, he would have been completely unable to wield this sword formation at his current realm.
"Hmph! Do you really think a mere sword formation can trap this Venerable one? Your sword formation may be sharp, but can it cut through this sect's treasure-protecting artifact?" A layer of black qi rose to the black-robed youth's face as he spoke in a sinister tone.
Glancing at the golden threads now less than ten zhang from his body, he raised his hand without another word and smashed his fist hard against his own chest.
With a muffled "pfft," a mouthful of black blood sprayed from his mouth, and mixed within the blood was a small green banner roughly an inch long.
Once out of his mouth, the banner flashed with green light and immediately absorbed all the surrounding black blood.
The banner turned a deep jade green.