Chapter 1339: Thousand Soul Bell

Although it is generally impossible to determine the rank and magical abilities of a treasure purely based on its appearance, certain special types of treasures, such as cauldrons, lamps, and mirrors, are known to possess unique and often unpredictable divine powers.

Especially after the Void Cauldron was activated, the spiritual pressure it emitted far surpassed that of ordinary treasures. This immediately made the stern-browed man highly vigilant, instinctively feeling that this battle might not be easy.

Despite his thoughts, the stern-browed man launched an attack without hesitation.

He formed a hand seal, and the blue light spots around his body converged, transforming into sparkling blue grains of sand that shot skyward. These sand grains then shimmered slightly, multiplying from one into ten, then from ten into a hundred. In an instant, a thick cloud of sand obscured a significant portion of the sky within the light barrier.

At the same time, the colossal silver wheel vanished within the sand cloud.

With a loud shout, the sand cloud shimmered with a strange deep blue light, pressing down ominously towards Han Li. As the sand grains rubbed and rolled against each other, faint sounds of thunder could be heard.

Upon seeing this, Han Li narrowed his eyes. Without any visible movement from him, the golden lotuses around him began to spin. They then surged upwards to meet the incoming attack, showing no signs of weakness.

As the lotus shadows shimmered, golden light radiated in all directions, and the momentum of the golden lotuses was no less than that of the descending blue sand cloud.

The moment the sand cloud and golden lotuses made contact, the lotus petals vibrated rapidly, and the lotus shadows instantly expanded by more than twofold. Each golden lotus transformed to a size of about ten feet, spinning rapidly in the air. Each petal acted like a sharp blade, forcefully tearing through the sand cloud as they rotated, sending sand grains scattering and producing a thunderous roar.

The seventy-two golden lotuses remarkably withstood the blue sand, which seemed to descend with the weight of Mount Tai.

The stern-browed man opposite showed a flicker of surprise in his eyes, but then he sneered and swiftly activated a spell in his mind.

Suddenly, a silver light flashed within the swirling sand cloud, and a massive silver wheel shot out. It spun rapidly downwards, instantly colliding head-on with one of the golden lotuses.

A sinister smile appeared at the corners of the stern-browed man's mouth.

His Gold-Severing Dharma Wheel was crafted from a rare material called 'Li Gold Sand' from the desolate world, making it incredibly sharp. The cutting ability of Dharma Wheel-type treasures far surpassed that of flying daggers or swords. Since its creation, this treasure had helped him sever countless enemy flying swords and similar artifacts.

Although the opponent's golden flying swords also seemed to possess some magical power, they should undoubtedly be severed in one strike by this unexpected attack from the wheel.

A continuous series of clanging sounds resounded as golden and silver light intertwined and flickered, emitting astonishing brilliance. For a moment, the two treasures seemed to be locked in a stalemate.

The stern-browed man's expression subtly changed.

But then, the golden lotus suddenly opened its petals wide, engulfing the entire silver orb within.

Immediately after, the silver orb emitted a wail, then abruptly shattered into countless fragments, disappearing within the lotus's shadow.

Before the stern-browed man in the distance could recover from his shock, Han Li silently pointed at the massive cauldron in front of him. Instantly, the cauldron lid flew off, and a loud hum emanated from within the cauldron. Countless streams of green mist swirled out, swept past the golden lotus shadows, enveloped the sky-filling blue sand, and then coiled back into the cauldron.

Han Li's action was as swift as lightning. By the time the stern-browed man regained his senses, a portion of the blue sand had already been forcefully drawn into the cauldron, severing its mental connection with its owner.

"Spirit Treasure!" the stern-browed man exclaimed, losing his composure.

Unlike the Gold-Severing Dharma Wheel, this blue sand was a magical artifact he had personally nurtured and refined.

How could ordinary treasures collect it, unless it was a Spirit Treasure? If all of it were taken, a century of his arduous cultivation would be ruined in an instant.

Without a second thought, he opened his mouth and spat out a fist-sized ball of vital essence blood, which floated before him.

With a flick of his index finger, he used the vital essence blood to swiftly draw a crimson rune in the air. Then, with a backhand motion, he struck it!

The rune shot forth with a 'puff,' vanishing in a flash. However, the next moment, it eerily reappeared about ten feet in front of Han Li. With a flicker, it transformed into a massive ghost head with two horns, a green face, and fangs, which then lunged forward.

It seemed the stern-browed man had a good plan: first, to cast a spell to unexpectedly interrupt his opponent's treasure-collecting action, and then immediately withdraw the sand cloud to use his magical abilities against Han Li.

Han Li, who was secretly forming hand seals to control the Void Cauldron to collect the blue sand in the air, saw the ferocious ghost head appear and lunge at him. His eyebrow twitched, and he opened his mouth, unleashing a golden electric arc that unexpectedly struck the ghost head. After a clap of thunder, amidst the bouncing of the slender golden arc, the ghost head vanished into thin air with a wailing sound.

The Expelling Evil Divine Thunder was so powerful that even the ancestor clones of the Ancient Demon Realm would not dare to take a direct hit. This unknown ghost head, regardless of what demonic entity it was, naturally disintegrated with a single blow due to its lack of precaution.

The stern-browed man was stunned. But then he seemed to recall something, and his face instantly turned exceptionally grim.

By this time, the green mist from the Void Cauldron had already forcibly absorbed half of the sand cloud in the air.

With a bone-chilling cold snort, the stern-browed man's eyebrows shot up. He formed a strange hand seal with both hands, while simultaneously chanting a mantra that sounded like Buddhist scriptures. Then, with extreme solemnity, he slowly pointed towards the air opposite him.

The sand grains, which had been swirling erratically under the impact of the green mist and golden lotuses, suddenly paused. Then, all the sand grains spun rapidly, and amidst a burst of spiritual light, their volume dramatically increased.

In the blink of an eye, these tiny grains of sand, originally the size of rice grains, transformed into head-sized blue crystalline rocks, shimmering translucently and emitting dazzling blue light. Immediately, these densely packed crystalline rocks pressed downwards with immense force. The golden lotuses, which had been spinning freely, finally became sluggish and still amidst a series of dull thuds. As for the green mist spewing from the Void Cauldron, it was suddenly unable to move these rocks even slightly.

Han Li was startled by this sight and swept his gaze across to his opponent.

He saw the stern-browed man's body radiating intense spiritual light, his hair bun swaying, and faint white light flickering around his mouth and nose, clearly indicating he was using his true essence power.

Han Li's expression darkened. He touched the top of his head with one hand, and instantly, a vast expanse of hazy gray light shot out across the sky. With a sweep through the air, the blue crystalline rocks, originally as heavy as mountains, instantly became weightless. Then, with a tremor, they all reverted to their original sand grain forms.

The gray light rapidly coiled and retracted, and the sand cloud in the air was instantly swept clean, leaving nothing behind.

"Hmm?"

This scene not only made the stern-browed man opposite turn pale and slowly relaxed the spell he was maintaining, but even the expressionless golden-armored cultivator observing the battle from outside the light barrier showed a hint of surprise for the first time, emitting a soft "hmm." Clearly, Han Li's divine power of Primordial Magnetic Light had greatly piqued the interest of this Void Refinement cultivator.

"What kind of divine power is that? How can you just take my 'Blue Crystal Sand' out of thin air?" The stern-browed man glared at Han Li, asking fiercely.

"Do you really think I'd tell you, fellow Daoist?" Han Li replied with a gentle, relaxed smile. In his view, the opponent was merely arrogant and overbearing because his cultivation far surpassed Han Li's. If Han Li hadn't yet fully ascertained the man's background and origins, and considering that the opponent seemed to have a Void Refinement stage master, Han Li would have already unleashed his killing intent. Otherwise, he would have long since launched a storm-like counterattack, giving the opponent no chance to breathe.

Naturally, this also stemmed from Han Li's extreme confidence in his current divine powers.

Possessing divine powers such as the Primordial Magnetic Light, the Spirit Devouring Heavenly Flames, and the Grand Geng Sword Formation, he felt no fear even when facing a late-stage Soul Transformation cultivator.

The stern-browed man opposite had an unpredictable expression, clearly surprised by Han Li's divine powers, which far exceeded his expectations. However, thinking of what was at stake concerning the spiritual land, his mouth twitched slightly. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and he abruptly flipped both hands.

Suddenly, a palm-sized yellow copper plaque appeared in one hand, shrouded in milky white mist that obscured its true appearance. In his other hand, a light silver talisman appeared, glittering with silver script, which was densely covered with ancient silver tadpole characters.

Upon seeing these two items, Han Li's pupils contracted, and he immediately formed a sword seal with one hand.

The golden lotuses hovering above his head simultaneously converged towards the center, and in an instant, the seventy-two lotuses coalesced into a colossal golden lotus more than ten feet in diameter. It then emitted a clear chime and slowly drifted towards the opponent.

As for the hazy gray light emanating from the top of his head, it suddenly coiled back, forming a layer of gray light barrier that completely shielded Han Li.

At this moment, the stern-browed man raised both hands, and the copper plaque immediately hummed as it floated up. Suddenly, the plaque emitted a bright white light, and a phantom figure projected from it, rapidly growing in size.

A giant man, bare-chested and about twenty-two feet tall, appeared before them.

This giant was bare-handed, with skin that was emerald green and translucent, and spiritual light flowing in his eyes, revealing him to be a humanoid puppet.

Meanwhile, the silver talisman transformed with a 'whoosh' into a foot-sized mass of silver mist.

The silver mist coalesced and deformed, then materialized into a gigantic black wolf. The wolf's eyes glowed with an eerie green light, staring emotionlessly at Han Li opposite.

After unleashing these two items, the stern-browed man still wasn't finished. He took a deep breath, and his face suddenly turned blood-red. He slapped his own scalp with one hand, and suddenly, blue mist shimmered above his head. A blue Nascent Soul appeared, holding a dark, inch-sized bell in its hands, its face solemn.

"Thousand Soul Bell! Has that Old Freak Ming gone senile? How could he lend such a powerful treasure to his disciple?" The golden-armored cultivator outside the light barrier, who had shown no reaction to the previous puppet and black giant wolf, frowned upon seeing the bell held by the blue Nascent Soul. He then spoke with a sudden grim expression.

"Senior! I temporarily borrowed this treasure from my master. This doesn't violate any rules, does it?" The blue Nascent Soul chuckled, speaking in a faint, childlike voice.

"Hmph, there are naturally no such rules for a spiritual land dispute."

"However, while the Thousand Soul Bell is indeed formidable, you can only barely control it by employing secret techniques. Even if you win this battle decisively, your vitality will be severely damaged afterward. Are you truly willing to pay such a price for a mere spiritual land?" The golden-armored cultivator rolled his eyes and spoke coldly.

"Thank you for the reminder, Senior. This junior has naturally considered it thoroughly," the Nascent Soul said with a grin. Immediately seeing the colossal golden lotus drifting overhead, it threw the black bell in its hand without hesitation.

At the same time, the emerald-green puppet suddenly lifted a leg and strode rapidly towards Han Li. With every step it took in the air, runes flickered around its body, and its size abruptly increased by about a foot.

By the time it had covered half the distance, the puppet was already more than twice its original height.

The black giant wolf flickered, then silently transformed into a wisp of black mist and vanished from its spot.