Chapter 1327: Initial Battle of Refining Emptiness

The blood cloud churned, instantly coalescing into a blood lotus. With a swift spin, it absorbed more than a dozen sword lights.

Meanwhile, the small bottle shot out over ten *zhang*, then vanished from sight in a flash.

This sight momentarily stunned Huan Tianqi, who was flying closer. However, he immediately opened his mouth in a furious roar, unleashing a swirling grey demonic wind that kicked up sand and stones. It surged directly towards Han Li's hidden location.

Although the demon couldn't see Han Li, his combat experience allowed him to instantly discern that someone was casting an invisibility spell nearby, having retrieved the small bottle.

Han Li's expression shifted slightly as he saw the fierce wind approaching.

In his hidden state, he couldn't immediately fly out of the wind's attack range. If caught by the demonic wind, the power of his Grand Unity Cleansing Talisman would instantly be broken.

At that instant, Xu Tian, who was nearby, grimaced. With a serious expression, he formed a hand seal and pointed it at the approaching demonic wind.

With a *poof*, a bloody sword light, like a dazzling rainbow, shot forth from Xu Tian's hand. In a flash, it sliced the demonic wind in two and continued directly towards Huan Tianqi.

Startled, Huan Tianqi quickly made a grabbing motion in the air with one hand.

A grey demonic claw appeared above his head and lunged towards the bloody light. Grey and red lights intertwined, resulting in a momentary stalemate.

Han Li was delighted by this. Remaining hidden, he immediately floated gracefully upwards, attempting to escape.

But just then, Han Li suddenly heard a cold snort from behind him.

"Where do you think you're going!"

Immediately afterward, he felt a flash of yellow light in the air. A white jade seal eerily appeared above his head, expanding to over ten *zhang* in an instant. It then smashed down, perfectly engulfing Han Li.

The attack was lightning-fast; even Xu Tian didn't have time to intervene, letting out a low cry.

Han Li had long known the power of this jade seal; it could even withstand a direct collision with the one-eyed giant's stone club, which was half the size of a small boat, without suffering any damage.

He knew he absolutely could not easily withstand this attack.

His expression shifted several times before he let out a soft sigh.

Below the jade seal, where it had appeared empty, a silver light flashed, and Han Li's figure suddenly materialized.

He patted the top of his head, and a small cauldron, enveloped in green light, emerged. The cauldron's lid opened, emitting a clear ringing sound, followed by countless threads of green light shooting out. These threads interwove and shimmered, instantly forming a net of light that perfectly met the descending jade seal.

The large seal mercilessly landed on the green net of light.

A rumbling explosion resounded. The jade seal was indeed extraordinary; upon contact, the green threads began to break inch by inch. Nevertheless, the Void Sky Cauldron was a Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure; with a single sway of its emitted light threads, it still managed to momentarily halt the jade seal's descent.

Seizing this opportunity, Han Li formed hand seals with both hands. A thunderous sound erupted from behind him, and bluish-white feathered wings materialized.

Then, with a twist of his body, he transformed into a streak of white light and vanished along with the small cauldron above his head.

By the time the great seal finally broke through the green net and smashed down, it naturally landed on empty space.

At that moment, thirty *zhang* away, a bluish electric arc flashed, and Han Li's figure silently reappeared. "How can you wield these treasures? You are not Shi Yan!"

Xu Tian's incredulous voice suddenly echoed from within the blood cloud. Immediately, the blood cloud churned, and a figure several inches tall emerged atop the cloud.

He looked at Han Li with a face full of shock and fury; it was indeed Xuanling Xu Tian.

"You're not a Spirit Race member; you're a Human cultivator!" exclaimed Monarch Huang Liang, whose figure appeared with a shimmering light behind Han Li's previous position, his face filled with surprise.

Huan Tianqi also seized the opportunity to control his demonic claw, dispersing the bloody sword light with a grab. He then flashed several times, appearing beside Monarch Huang Liang, and likewise scrutinized Han Li with surprise and doubt.

Facing three astonished Void Refinement stage cultivators, Han Li showed no intention of saying another word. Instead, he formed hand seals with both hands and opened his mouth, spraying a ball of vital blood from his body.

The dense blood mist instantly engulfed his figure.

"Trying to run!" Xu Tian exclaimed, greatly annoyed, having instantly recognized it as a sophisticated escape technique.

Then the blood cloud beneath him stirred, and he was about to pounce.

"Hmph, why are you so impatient, fellow Daoist Xu Tian? I'd like to experience your Blood Fiend Spirit Lotus again. Brother Huang Liang, since he's a Human cultivator, I'll leave him to you." Huan Tianqi instantly transformed into his demonic form, his body flickering into a streak of light as he pounced on Xu Tian. Simultaneously, Monarch Huang Liang stared at Han Li without blinking and calmly declared, "Don't worry, a mere Core Formation cultivator, even with a spirit treasure, will never escape my grasp."

He had recognized Han Li's Void Sky Cauldron as a spirit treasure at a glance.

No sooner had Monarch Huang Liang finished speaking than he opened his mouth, and a small green sword, like a flood dragon, shot out. In a mere flash, it was above the blood mist and mercilessly struck downwards.

With a light *clang*, a golden light also shot out from the blood mist. Though deflected, it managed to block the green rainbow with a single strike.

It revealed a golden flying sword about a foot long.

Monarch Huang Liang sneered and pointed a finger at the green rainbow with one hand.

The green rainbow swooped down, immediately intertwining with the golden flying sword, its brilliance overwhelming the golden light. Then, the green rainbow spun, transforming into a green sword wheel about a *zhang* in size. As it rotated rapidly, it seemed poised to grind the golden flying sword in its center into dust.

A harsh metallic grinding sound emanated. The golden flying sword was almost completely dimmed, yet despite the sword wheel's furious assault, it remained perfectly intact, without the slightest damage.

On the contrary, this flying sword stubbornly entangled the green rainbow, preventing it from falling further.

Monarch Huang Liang let out a soft "Eh?", showing a hint of surprise.

Although his flying sword wasn't forged from any heaven-defying materials, it had been successfully refined with immense effort when he first achieved the Grand Dao. After thousands of years of nurturing, its power was no less than that of ordinary spirit treasures. Yet, it couldn't even sever the flying sword of a Core Formation cultivator at this moment, which was truly bizarre.

Monarch Huang Liang was inwardly astonished, but his face remained expressionless. He quickly formed a sword seal with both hands, and the green rainbow emitted a clear ringing sound, then blurred, transforming into thirty-six identical streaks of green light. These densely packed lights shot towards the blood mist, as if intending to slice Han Li into pieces. But what Monarch Huang Liang didn't expect was that Han Li, within the blood mist, merely twitched his shoulder, and dozens of golden small swords flew out from behind him. These transformed into streaks of golden sword light that similarly blocked the green lights in mid-air, preventing them from falling at all.

By this time, the blood mist was violently churning. Han Li was chanting incantations, his ten fingers constantly shifting hand seals, appearing as though he was about to complete his spell.

Monarch Huang Liang's face showed even greater surprise at this sight. But then, a cold glint flashed in his eyes, and a yellow haze instantly surrounded him as a brilliant radiance erupted, causing him to vanish from his spot.

Han Li took a deep breath. Suddenly, a bloody mark flashed between his eyebrows, and a dark, black eyeball appeared, immediately shooting out a thin, dark light beam that vanished in a flash.

A sudden loud bang came from the void more than ten *zhang* away. Following a flash of yellow and black light, Monarch Huang Liang's figure flickered into appearance, and he immediately cried out in disbelief:

"An Annihilating Magic Treasure! You actually possess such a treasure!"

The Void Refinement stage cultivator's expression became completely solemn, but his surprise gave way to a zealous determination.

He raised one hand and slowly made a grabbing motion in the air before him.

A *chi-chi* sound of tearing air erupted directly above Han Li's head. A fierce wind swept through the vicinity as countless wisps of light mist appeared out of thin air, instantly coalescing into a single mass. A crystalline jade axe, about a *zhang* long and resembling a jade carving, eerily materialized.

Monarch Huang Liang closed his five fingers, swung his hand downwards, and softly uttered, "Slice!"

The five-colored jade axe trembled and slowly cleaved downwards. Before it even reached the blood mist, a low rumble of thunder emanated from beneath its blade.

Clusters of green electric light pulsed and leaped, while the surrounding space twisted and deformed, demonstrating the unimaginable power of this axe! Han Li, who was casting a spell with his eyes closed within the blood mist, naturally saw this scene, and his expression changed dramatically.

Without thinking further, he opened his mouth, and a small, dark mountain sprayed out. With a slight tremor, it emitted rings of grey light. Strangely, wherever these light rings passed, the green sword lights, which were suppressing the golden flying swords and had no power to retaliate, all let out a wailing tremor and became unstable, as if their power had instantly diminished greatly.

However, the huge jade axe was clearly not comparable to those green sword lights. After being swept by the waves of light rings, it merely trembled slightly and easily dispersed the first few rings, its descent entirely unaffected.

Han Li's heart was filled with urgency. Driven by his spiritual sense, the dozen or so light rings that had burst forth from behind the small mountain suddenly paused and condensed, forming an extraordinarily thick light ring. It vanished with a tremor, but the next moment, it suddenly reappeared near the jade axe. Tightening, it actually encircled the jade axe.

The five-colored spiritual light on the jade axe's surface flickered unsteadily, causing it to involuntarily halt in mid-air, as if on the verge of losing control.

Monarch Huang Liang, far away, was horrified. Without time to think further, he let out a low roar and rapidly formed several hand seals with both hands.

Instantly, the jade axe thundered loudly. Streaks of green electric arcs erupted, and after a powerful cleave, it finally sliced the grey light ring into fragments.

With this delay, Han Li's figure in the blood mist blurred, and he suddenly transformed into a streak of bloody light that shot out from the blood mist. With a tremor, he unbelievably appeared a hundred *zhang* away from the enemy, turning into a mere black dot.

And those flying swords and the small black mountain also vanished into thin air.

This was Han Li's life-saving escape technique, the "Blood Shadow Escape." With his Core Formation stage cultivation and formidable physical body, this escape technique had naturally become even more miraculously effective. After a few flashes, the escaping light vanished without a trace into the horizon.

At this, not only Monarch Huang Liang but even Xu Tian and Huan Tianqi, who were fiercely battling in the distance, were stunned.

But immediately, the three of them roared in anger, almost simultaneously forming hand seals and transforming into three astonishing rainbows, each over ten *zhang* long. They then pursued him furiously.

After a few more flashes, they too vanished from sight at the horizon, their escape lights appearing to be not much slower than the Blood Shadow Escape.