Chapter 1060: Spirit Bird and Nascent Soul

At that moment, a golden arc, appearing as if a celestial being had descended, flashed and struck. With a resounding "boom," the golden light exploded.

The ghost face shrieked horribly, instantly disintegrating by more than half. However, the remaining portion grew even more ferocious. Seizing the moment while the young man, surnamed Xu, was overcome with joy, it abruptly pounced down and bit his neck. Layers of bloody light enveloped him, appearing as if it would swallow the young man whole in an instant.

The young man felt his body rapidly being corroded by the bloody light. Startled, he hurriedly murmured a strange incantation. Immediately, his entire remaining body glowed with a layer of yellow light, which pulsed and then exploded. The bloody light was instantly pierced by several rays, shattering into fragments. Immediately, a several-inch-tall Nascent Soul flashed out, teleporting from within. In the blink of an eye, it reappeared high in the sky, dozens of feet away. Its protective spiritual light then flashed again, transforming into a yellow rainbow, ready to escape.

“Trying to run?” the Corpse Bear sneered, then fiercely clawed at the empty air. Instantly, a ball of black mist materialized above the Nascent Soul. With a flash of light, it transformed into a gigantic hand, reaching for the Nascent Soul. Even before it descended, the immense power emanating from the hand enveloped an area of over ten *zhang*.

Seeing this, the young man surnamed Xu felt a surge of despair. Had he not been ambushed, he could have continuously teleported and even relied on the Nascent Soul's inherent abilities to forcibly break through such profound restrictions. After all, a late-stage cultivator's Nascent Soul is fully formed, far surpassing those of early- or mid-stage cultivators. Even without a physical body, they retain the ability to contend with opponents. However, his current Nascent Soul had already overdrawn its spiritual energy during the earlier struggle in the blood sea. How could it possibly have the strength to break through the opponent's technique again?

At that moment, Han Li stood dozens of feet away, hands clasped behind his back, his expression indifferent. It seemed he had only been willing to unleash that single golden arc and nothing more.

Left with no alternative, the young man surnamed Xu had no choice but to fight with all his might. He suddenly mobilized his remaining magic power. The Nascent Soul opened its mouth and spat out a token that was neither gold nor entirely non-gold. It was preparing to use its Natal Magic Treasure for a desperate, life-or-death strike.

But just then, a silver light flashed above the black gigantic hand. A figure mysteriously materialized there and raised a hand. Instantly, a clear cry like a dragon's roar echoed. A green light flashed, and a jade-green ray, imbued with golden light, shot forth with the speed of lightning, striking the hand formed by black mist.

With a resounding "boom," the golden arc flashed wildly, instantly piercing a large hole through the gigantic hand. Under the fierce assault of countless slender electrical arcs, the hand disintegrated into black mist and vanished. The figure in the silver light flickered and, defying belief, instantly crossed a distance of over ten *zhang* to appear near the young man Xu's Nascent Soul.

Having just narrowly escaped death, the young man Xu's Nascent Soul was both startled and overjoyed. Without a moment's hesitation, its entire body glowed with spiritual light, transforming into a startling rainbow that flashed far away. Although the figure in the silver light appeared to be his rescuer, he absolutely dared not let his Nascent Soul fall easily into anyone else's hands. Fortunately, the figure in the silver light paid no attention, merely turning a cold gaze towards the distant Corpse Bear and the others.

At that moment, the Spiritual Rhinoceros Peacock, seemingly having received a command from the young man surnamed Xu, shuddered. Several of its exceptionally vibrant long tail feathers shot forward from its tail and exploded. The five-colored radiance surged, startling the Lion-Bird Beast, which dared not meet it head-on and retreated. Under the illumination of the five-colored spiritual light, the purple mist immediately dissolved and disintegrated, creating a gaping hole several *zhang* wide.

Seizing this opportunity, the spiritual beast flapped its wings frantically a few times. Its form twisted like a wisp of smoke before it mysteriously reappeared outside the purple mist. Without looking back, it then shot directly towards the young man Xu's Nascent Soul, reaching it in the blink of an eye. The young man Xu was overjoyed, and his Nascent Soul unhesitatingly flew towards it, converging with it at once.

An unbelievable sight unfolded! The spiritual beast opened its mouth, and the young man Xu's Nascent Soul vanished into it without a trace. Immediately, with a clear cry, the remaining long feathers on the Spiritual Rhinoceros Peacock's tail suddenly fanned out. Suddenly, blinding five-colored spiritual light erupted, instantly engulfing the spiritual beast's form and making it impossible to discern anything clearly.

Almost simultaneously, above the battle between the Silver-winged Yaksha and Lin Yinping, a surge of black and white qi suddenly appeared, from which Gui Ling's figure emerged. Upon seeing the unsightly woman, the Silver-winged Yaksha's expression immediately hardened. Gui Ling, however, swept her gaze over the demon with an impassive expression. She made no overt move, but her lips subtly shifted as she transmitted a few words.

The Silver-winged Yaksha's expression shifted slightly. After a moment of contemplation, he let out a long sigh. With a sudden wave of his hands, the dense, Soul-binding Threads that had tightly ensnared the Heavenly Azure Saintess reeled back, releasing Lin Yinping, who had been trapped for a considerable time.

Overjoyed, Lin Yinping was just about to flee when Gui Ling's face revealed a hint of a cold smile. Her figure flickered, and she abruptly appeared beside the woman. A giant silver axe, transforming into a streak of silver light, chopped down fiercely. This strike utterly shocked the Heavenly Azure Merchant Girl. Without a moment's thought, she pointed at the brocade handkerchief in front of her, intending to use it to block the attack in mid-air. But with a flash of strange light, a phantom of a one-horned giant tiger emerged from the axe and pounced down.

With a "zzzzt" sound, the brocade handkerchief was astonishingly sliced in two by the silver light. Immediately, the tiger phantom flickered and instantly transformed into a cloud of yellow mist, engulfing the woman within. Lin Yinping felt a foul, fishy odor assailing her. Realizing things were dire, her head slumped, and she toppled over. Gui Ling unceremoniously formed a hand seal with both hands, instantly causing the yellow mist to transform into a hand that tightly bound the woman. Then, the black and white mist swirled, enveloping Lin Yinping, who instantly vanished from her spot. After a few flashes, she reappeared beside Han Li.

Throughout this process, the Corpse Bear surprisingly made no move to intervene, merely watching silently with an unreadable, cold expression. As soon as Gui Ling retreated, the humanoid puppet in silver light rigidly shifted and shot to stand behind Han Li.

Han Li, however, didn't spare a glance for the captured Heavenly Azure Saintess. Instead, he looked towards the other side with a surprised expression. There, the five-colored spiritual light was dazzling and had grown to more than double its previous size.

“Fellow Daoist Han! What is the meaning of this?” A voice like rolling thunder boomed from within the spiritual light. It sounded somewhat like the young man Xu's voice, but it was much rougher and hoarser, filled with a wild intensity.

“Nothing much! Didn't I, Han, help rescue Fellow Daoist Lin?” Han Li replied indifferently, his expression unchanged.

“If that is the case, then I, Xu, must have been overthinking things.” The man's voice from within the five-colored spiritual light softened, and the light receded, revealing the Spiritual Rhinoceros Peacock. However, the spiritual beast was noticeably larger than before, and on the peacock's head, a faint, milky-white luminous face, like a phantom, had appeared — it was unmistakably the young man surnamed Xu. However, this face was gazing at the unconscious Lin Yinping, a hint of anxiety subtly appearing on its features.

“Rest assured, I won't harm Fellow Daoist Lin. However, I have a few matters I need to ask you about first. I trust you won't disappoint me, Han,” Han Li asked calmly, without a change in expression.

“Brother Han, are you attempting to threaten me?!” The phantom-like face suddenly darkened, revealing a hint of anger.

“Threat? That's hardly the word. Have you forgotten so quickly what you just promised me, Fellow Daoist? Fellow Daoist Lin is here simply to ensure that Brother Xu doesn't do anything untoward. Do you truly intend to go back on your word?!” Han Li scoffed coldly, his expression suddenly turning menacing.

“If you truly wish to ask something, you must first defeat these demons before us,” the young man surnamed Xu finally said, his eyes subtly shifting on the phantom face, having calmed down after hearing Han Li's words.

“Fight them? Excellent! I was just thinking the same thing.” Han Li stroked his chin, agreeing without hesitation. Han Li's seemingly casual demeanor, however, surprised the young man surnamed Xu, leaving him momentarily speechless.

Han Li smiled faintly. After giving Gui Ling a quick instruction, he immediately flew out shoulder to shoulder with the humanoid puppet accompanying him. Upon reaching the vicinity of the bloody sea, their escape light halted. After a moment of gazing at the Ten Thousand Year Corpse Bear, Han Li spoke indifferently: “Fellow Daoist, as the Vice Valley Master of Myriad Demon Valley, you must undoubtedly have other pressing matters here in Kunwu Mountain. These two individuals are still useful to me, so I shall temporarily take them. Do you have any objections?” Although his words were phrased as a question, Han Li's tone was exceptionally firm, infuriating the Silver-winged Yaksha and Lion-Bird Beast facing him.

“You are called Han Li, a cultivator from Heavenly South, aren't you?” The Corpse Bear, who had remained silent until then, unexpectedly spoke, asking a somewhat cryptic question.

Han Li was momentarily taken aback, but then a languid expression appeared on his face: “That's right. Why, do you intend to seek revenge against me in Heavenly South later?”

“I have no interest in revenge. Brother Han, you rescued these two from Heavenly Azure this time, and I can choose to overlook it and let them go, but this is a one-time exception. Next time, if you interfere again and spoil the affairs of our Myriad Demon Valley, I will not be so lenient. Even if Brother Han truly has these two to assist him, he will absolutely not return to Heavenly South alive.” The Ten Thousand Year Corpse Bear's eyes flared with green flames before quickly returning to normal as it spoke.

Upon hearing this, Han Li's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. He merely offered a faint smile and remained silent. The Ten Thousand Year Corpse Bear, however, impassively formed a hand seal with both hands, then abruptly pointed towards the distant bloody light. Instantly, a bloody light flashed. All the blood-light, after swirling once in the air, coalesced into a colossal blood-red blade. After a swift spin, the blade plunged into the bloody sea below.

The bloody spiritual light shot straight into the sky, and the ghost face that Han Li had previously dispersed reappeared on the colossal blade. It grinned sinisterly, opening its massive maw. The bloody sea below immediately transformed into a pillar of blood, which was entirely swallowed into its mouth, completely absorbed by the colossal blade in a flash. The blood-red blade appeared no different from before, yet its reeking, bloody stench was so overwhelmingly pungent it made one's stomach churn.

Following this, the Ten Thousand Year Corpse Bear beckoned to the Silver-winged Yaksha and Lion-Bird Beast beside it, and without another word, they headed straight for the palace. After a flash, the escape lights of the three demons grandly vanished into the palace, making it seem as if the Corpse Bear truly had another objective in mind. It was unclear how this demon managed to convince the Silver-winged Yaksha and the other beast to follow its lead, seemingly becoming its subordinates. It appeared there was something else of significance within this palace.

Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly, a flickering cold light within them.

“Alright, Brother Xu, you can answer my questions now, can't you?” Han Li suddenly turned and calmly asked the Spiritual Rhinoceros Peacock behind him.