Chapter 1054: Reclaiming the Old Treasure

This time, the ancient demon's attention was completely drawn to Han Li, who had suddenly appeared behind him. When the flying saber reappeared, its sensing was noticeably slower than before.

Given the flying saber's bizarre speed, by the time the ancient demon's face registered shock and he tried to evade again, it was already too late.

The same scene unfolded again at the ancient demon's neck: a bloodline appeared, and the demon's other head cleanly rolled off.

Seeing this, Han Li was naturally overjoyed. However, before a smile could appear on his face, the headless ancient demon's dual sabers did not dissipate. Instead, they flared up, transforming into two streaks of black light that shot towards Han Li. Immediately, a strong wind erupted, and the headless demon's body exploded into a dense cloud of demonic energy.

Han Li was startled, but how could he let his prey escape? Without a second thought, he quickly formed hand seals, and the purple fire dragon he had previously sent out also self-destructed with a roar.

Tiny purple flames, an inch in size, covered an area of about ten feet, falling like rain.

Meanwhile, dozens of golden miniature swords churned densely together, instantly annihilating the two black blades. Following this, the multitude of flying swords scattered, and golden electrical arcs shot out from them, forming a massive golden net that followed the purple flames and descended from above.

A loud "Zzz-la" sound!

More than half of the demonic energy hadn't even had a chance to escape far before it was forcefully frozen within large chunks of purple ice. The remaining black energy crashed into the golden electrical net, and after a series of crackling sounds, it naturally vanished.

Seeing this, Han Li remained cautious. With both hands, he softly uttered the word "Explode."

The entire golden net burst open, and numerous fine electrical arcs struck downwards. The purple ice immediately shattered and disintegrated beneath them.

The black energy trapped within the ice, along with the countless hidden strands of the ancient demon's essence, were naturally swept away.

Several treasures fell from the demonic energy.

Han Li's eyes lit up when he saw two items wrapped in black threads.

He flicked a finger, and two golden arcs shot out, instantly dispelling the black threads. Two golden miniature swords appeared, looking slightly dim, as if their spiritual essence had been considerably damaged.

These were precisely the two Azure Bamboo Cloudswords that Han Li had lost for many years.

Overjoyed, Han Li quickly tried to activate them with his divine sense. The two flying swords immediately shot up and landed in his hands.

The burden on Han Li's mind finally lifted.

Fortunately, although the flying swords had been sealed by the ancient demon for many years, their spiritual essence within the swords had not been completely lost. With a little re-refinement, they could instantly be restored to their original state.

Meanwhile, Xu and the Silver-Winged Yaksha, witnessing Han Li wound the ancient demon, then pursue it, and quickly dispatch it without even its primordial spirit escaping, exchanged glances. They all saw a hint of fear in each other's eyes.

As for the newly appeared humanoid puppet, these individuals were naturally bewildered, wondering where Han Li had summoned such a powerful cultivator from. When they had teleported in earlier, this person was not present. Could this person's escape technique be so profound as to simultaneously evade the senses of so many people?

Thinking this, these individuals naturally felt even more uneasy.

However, they were not ordinary people. They immediately suppressed these thoughts and, by mutual agreement, began to attack the restrictive spell below.

Around the black teleportation array were several array flags, forming a grey light barrier that enclosed it.

It was this restriction that also rendered the teleportation array at the other end ineffective.

Various attacks whistled downwards.

Spiritual light flickered, and after a rumbling sound, much to everyone's surprise, the grey light barrier formed by the array flags proved exceptionally tough. Neither the Silver-Winged Yaksha's malevolent soul threads, the Lion-Bird Beast's sharp claws, nor even the round bead from the green light cluster summoned by Xu, did more than create faint ripples when they struck the barrier. The seemingly simple seven or eight grey banners merely swayed within the restriction, as if nothing had happened.

This scene made the few individuals who had previously assumed their path out was clear now that the ancient demon was gone, feel a sudden tightening in their hearts.

The Lion-Bird Beast, being the most ill-tempered, saw that its sharp claws were ineffective. Its eyes flashed with fierce light, and without hesitation, it opened its gaping maw. Golden sound waves rushed out first, finally causing a section of the barrier to deeply indent, as if struggling to hold.

Seeing this, Xu's divine sense stirred. The spiritual rhinoceros peacock hovering above his head flapped its wings, and five-colored spiritual light swept out in a strong gust. Lin Yinping, on the side, formed a hand seal with her jade fingers, spewing out silver light orbs that struck the light barrier in a continuous volley. Additionally, the Silver-Winged Yaksha suddenly condensed countless malevolent soul threads into a giant python, delivering a fierce final strike.

Everyone knew that their escape depended on this single attack, so they naturally gave their all, holding nothing back.

In an instant, dazzling spiritual light completely submerged the restriction.

The greyish-white light barrier finally emitted cracking sounds. Just then, Han Li and Gui Ling flew back to the spot on their escaping light.

The humanoid puppet, however, had concealed itself, its whereabouts unknown.

Han Li's arrival, though seemingly calm, made everyone else extremely wary. As the array flags let out a collective moan and snapped into two, several figures moved, simultaneously rushing towards the formation.

But after several bursts of spiritual light exploded amongst them, several figures simultaneously stumbled back.

They had unexpectedly attacked each other at this crucial moment, repelling their companions.

"Fellow Daoist Han, what is the meaning of this?" Xu's face was ashen. He held the green round bead in one hand, glaring at Han Li with anger.

"What meaning? You should ask yourself, Fellow Daoist Xu," Han Li replied with a half-smile, several golden swords hovering motionlessly in front of him, while one hand gripped the three-flame fan that filled others with dread.

"The first group to be teleported must include me. I don't trust you human cultivators!" The Silver-Winged Yaksha wrapped its fleshy wings around its body, speaking coldly to Han Li and Gui Ling.

"Haha, that's difficult. This small teleportation array can only transport two people at most. If the first ones out destroy the formation outside, wouldn't those remaining here be waiting for death?" Han Li's smile vanished, his voice turning chilling.

As he spoke, the Lion-Bird Beast and Gui Ling also arrived, somewhat slower, and surrounded them.

Under mutual apprehension, the three parties found themselves in a stalemate.

Just then, a cold, sharp cry came from the distant palace!

"To kill someone from my Sacred Race right before my eyes. None of you shall escape!"

The voice was piercingly cold. Though seemingly not loud, it clearly resonated in everyone's ears from afar. It was indeed the voice of the black-robed woman.

The incarnation of Sacred Ancestor Yuansha had sensed the ancient demon's death the moment it happened. But she had only just recovered her hands and was now furious.

At this moment, the Black Wind Banner in her hand unleashed nearly half of its power, shattering the Nine True Devil-Subduing Formation. Even the Eight Spirits Ruler above the palace buzzed, summoning eight phantom spirit beasts near the demon to join the siege. However, under the Black Wind Banner's almost heaven-defying offensive and defensive capabilities, the Sacred Ancestor's incarnation could not inflict any damage.

This woman had originally planned to first deal with the Devil-Subduing Formation, then proceed to subdue the Eight Spirits Ruler. However, upon seeing her sole subordinate unexpectedly perish, the Sacred Ancestor's murderous intent was immediately ignited.

The black-robed woman's face was ashen. She spat several mouthfuls of vital blood onto the small flag in the air, then rapidly flicked her fingers, unleashing one magic art after another.

The small flag emitted blinding black light, its size abruptly swelling. In a blink of an eye, it transformed into a gigantic flag, over ten feet long and as thick as a bowl. Purple runes flowed ceaselessly across its surface, enveloped in black energy.

The nearby hurricane, sensing this transformation of the flag, also dramatically increased in power. Wherever the malevolent wind swept, it even ripped apart the altars within the Nine True Devil-Subduing Formation. Several golden blades spun wildly in the wind, and it seemed the Nine True Devil-Subduing Formation was on the verge of breaking!

As for the Eight Spirits Ruler, its full power would not manifest until this woman truly approached the palace. Only the eight illusionary beast phantoms it conjured continued to attack the woman, but they too were sent sprawling and unstable by the sky-reaching wind pillars under the Black Wind Banner.

On the other side, Xu and the Silver-Winged Yaksha heard the black-robed woman's chilling words and sensed the sudden, immense change in the strong winds. Their hearts tightened. If not for the mutual apprehension between the three parties, they would likely have rushed into the teleportation array to escape immediately.

"Let Fellow Daoist Gui Ling and Fellow Daoist Lin teleport first. Fellow Daoist Gui Ling is a beast, and he is acquainted with Fellow Daoist Silver-Winged Yaksha. And I am confident that Fellow Daoist Gui Ling will not abandon me and leave. If Fellow Daoist Lin goes first, Fellow Daoist Xu can also be more at ease. The second batch will be Fellow Daoist Lion-Bird Beast and Fellow Daoist Xu, and Fellow Daoist Silver-Winged Yaksha and I will leave last. Let's begin quickly, lest things change!" Seeing the deafening roar from the palace direction, dark clouds filling the sky, and over a dozen black wind pillars intertwining and merging, even the surrounding air began to subtly tremble, Han Li had a faint bad premonition. Without thinking further, he suddenly urged.

Xu and the Silver-Winged Yaksha also sensed the anomaly in this space. Even if some still had misgivings, there was no better plan now. If they delayed further, they might truly be wiped out. They could only exchange glances and nod slightly.

Immediately, under Han Li's instruction, Gui Ling and Lin Yinping darted forward, preparing to step into the teleportation array.

However, just as they each took a step in, a white light flashed in the teleportation array, and a figure appeared in the center of the formation. Someone had actually teleported in from the outside at this moment.

This left Han Li and the others dumbfounded!

Just then, the black-robed woman's cold voice suddenly came from the center.

"Chaos Genesis!"

As her words fell, a jet-black beam of light shot up from afar, breaking through the air. Then, this light beam mysteriously paused in mid-air, and the entire sky, using this light beam as a boundary, suddenly split into two halves. One side remained sunny and bright, while the other was engulfed by an endless black curtain, instantly covering most of the sky and, in a blink of an eye, reaching above Han Li and the others.