Chapter 1550: Leaving Intentions

The bone bird was startled but not flustered. Its two gigantic claws, each the size of a house, suddenly swiped fiercely at the blue radiance. A series of sharp hissing sounds erupted as dozens of dark claw-streaks appeared in the void, slashing forward simultaneously like sword beams. They vanished in a flash, striking precisely at the blue light mist.

A rumbling sound reverberated! The moment the blue light mist and the dark streaks met, dozens of fissures appeared in both, as if they were torn fabric. However, with a flash of spiritual light, the blue light mended itself as if nothing had happened. The dozens of dark claw-streaks, conversely, were trapped within the blue light mist, and as the blue light pulsed, they were frozen into blocks of blue ice.

The light mist swirled again, enveloping the gigantic bone bird's head with menacing intent. The bone bird's central head let out a furious shriek, and its two enormous bony wings simultaneously flapped towards the sky. Two streams of gray gas shot out from the bony wings, striking the descending blue mist. Upon impact, the blue light and gray gas intertwined briefly, producing a muffled, thunderous sound. Immediately, the blue light intensified, and after a few surges, it swallowed the gray gas, transforming it into ice blocks of various sizes that floated in mid-air.

However, the blue light mist was consequently unable to descend, temporarily held at bay in mid-air by the continuous flow of gray gas. But an unexpected situation immediately arose! Amidst a sinister shriek from the nine-headed bone bird, all the ice blocks flashed with an unusual light. Their smooth surfaces suddenly became covered with countless tiny pores, from which gray gas surged out frantically, instantly engulfing the ice blocks and reducing them to nothing. This gray gas possessed an exceptionally strong corrosive property, devouring the airborne ice and dissipating the blue light in the air within mere moments.

“It seems it still possesses the malevolent aura it had in life,” the Fish-Eyed Man’s cold voice echoed from the distant blue light. “I wonder how much of its former power remains.”

Immediately, the blue light there began to tremble violently, emitting a brilliant glow and a loud tearing sound as countless blue light spheres shot out from within. These fist-sized spheres were crystal clear, as if solid. Once launched, they flew directly towards the bone bird with eerie, whistling cries.

The gigantic bone bird, having already witnessed the power of the blue mist, naturally no longer underestimated the enemy’s subsequent attacks. Its central head immediately opened its maw, spewing out a stream of identical gray gas. As its side bony wings flickered, three streams of gray gas combined and surged forward. Upon contact with the opposing attack, the blue light spheres were instantly engulfed, followed by a series of loud explosions. Inside, all the light spheres transformed into clusters of spiritual light resembling ice lotuses, but then, with a flash, they were completely swallowed by the gray gas, vanishing without a trace. They seemingly failed to exert much power! However, the blue light spheres were dense and seemingly endless. With so many spheres exploding simultaneously, the surging momentum of the gray gas was momentarily halted, stopping it dead in its tracks.

“Indeed, it possesses considerable malevolent aura,” the Unica Horned Youth’s voice came from the blue light. Immediately, the spiritual light within flickered, and a figure slowly emerged. It was precisely the handsome, unica horned youth.

At this moment, he formed a hand seal. The short white horn on his head instantly lengthened by more than double. Simultaneously, a phantom image flickered behind him, revealing the giant monster form he had previously transformed into.

A clap of thunder! An azure electric arc emerged from his horn. The youth lowered his head slightly, and the azure electric arc shot out from his horn, instantly growing to the thickness of a bowl and a length of over ten zhang. With another shake of his head, the enormous electric arc blurred slightly, instantly splitting into two, then four, then eight. In the blink of an eye, half the sky was filled with these azure electric arcs, which, amidst deafening roars, furiously struck towards the bone bird.

The gigantic bone bird was startled by this sight, but without hesitation, it altered the direction of the gray gas spewing from its central head, directing it to meet the astonishing electric arcs. The moment the two forces fiercely met, most of the electric arcs flashed and transformed into azure electric nets. Thunderous roars erupted. Azure light and gray gas entangled in mid-air. One side was hazy with gray gas and swept by chilly winds, while the other side flickered with electric arcs and continuous heavenly thunder. The two divine abilities were locked in a stalemate.

A moment later, the youth in the distance showed a hint of surprise. Forming a hand seal with one hand, he shot another electric arc from his horn. The same scene unfolded; hundreds more azure electric arcs struck simultaneously. The delicate balance was shattered in an instant. With the azure electric light surging in power, it immediately forced the gray gas to retreat steadily. As it roared, the azure electric light began to transform into electric dragons and thunder pythons, continuously rolling and lunging within the gray gas.

Seeing this, the gigantic bone bird's nine heads suddenly rose simultaneously, letting out a combined shriek. Then, all their maws opened wide, spewing out streams of black light pillars. Their speed was astonishing! Five of them shot towards the azure electric arcs in the air, and four aimed at the blue light below. As the light pillars passed, the nearby air emitted a scorching heat. Both the electric arcs and the blue light disintegrated and vanished upon being swept by the pillars, as if they were utterly fragile. In a mere flash, the nine light pillars appeared before the Unica Horned Youth and the Fish-Eyed Man hidden in the blue light, piercing through them simultaneously. However, the bodies of the two foreign beings disintegrated like foam the moment they were pierced by the light pillars, vanishing from sight. Both were merely illusions.

The next moment, a hundred zhang away, space rippled, and two faint figures flickered into appearance. They were the true forms of the two foreign beings.

“So, how much of its malevolent aura do you think remains from its living days?” the Unica Horned Youth exhaled slowly, asking his companion.

“Probably less than half, only about a third!” the Fish-Eyed Man replied without hesitation, his eyes narrowing.

“Hmm, just as I thought. If it had sufficient malevolent aura, it wouldn’t have resorted to the Soul Annihilation Divine Light so early,” the Unica Horned Youth said thoughtfully.

“It looks like Brother Min isn’t planning to give up on the True Spirit Yin Qi; you’re preparing for a full-scale battle,” the Fish-Eyed Man chuckled softly.

“Since this nine-headed bird cadaver has insufficient residual malevolent aura, I naturally won’t give up these True Spirit Yin Qi. But something is strange. Looking at this cadaver, it doesn’t seem powerful enough to generate such a large quantity and such pure True Spirit Yin Qi,” the Unica Horned Youth said, frowning as he gazed at the still boundless black mist sea.

“It is somewhat suspicious. But as long as there isn’t a second cadaver hidden within this True Spirit Yin Qi, what concern is it of ours? If there’s too little, it’ll be hard for us to divide it,” the Fish-Eyed Man chuckled.

“You’re right, fellow Daoist. I’ll go all out. Let’s try to kill this fiend as quickly as possible!” The Unica Horned Youth thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

“I share that sentiment,” a sinister expression flashed across the Fish-Eyed Man’s face, then vanished.

At this moment, seeing its attack miss, the nine-headed bone bird in the distance flew into a rage. Its wings suddenly flickered downwards, and its gigantic body plunged into the mist sea. Immediately after a long shriek, a massive black shadow soared up from below. The mist within several miles around it was completely swept up by the bone bird, transforming into a body of jet-black feathers that menacingly charged towards the Unica Horned Youth and his companion.

Seeing this, the two foreign beings, though confident of victory, couldn’t help but feel a chill in their hearts. Without a word, the Unica Horned Youth slapped the top of his head, instantly transforming into a hundred-zhang tall copper-armored monster. Countless azure electric arcs surged around him as he fearlessly met the charge.

Meanwhile, the Fish-Eyed Man grabbed at the void with one hand, and a gleaming golden trident instantly appeared in his grasp. He simply lifted the trident with one hand and gave it a gentle shake. Immediately, three distinct spiritual lights – blue, white, and yellow – appeared at the three prongs of the trident. The Fish-Eyed Man’s body also erupted in a blue glow, suddenly transforming into a giant monster with a fish head and human body. His body and the trident in his hand simultaneously expanded countless times, turning him into a colossal, mist-like giant. This colossal monster merely waved the trident in its hand, and immediately, three-colored light mists roared into existence in the surrounding space, subsequently transforming into three forms of power: blue waves, white gales, and azure lightning bolts. With a movement of its body, the trident-wielding monster also lunged into the battle raging ahead.

Immediately, earth-shattering roars, like crashing thunder, echoed over. The air and ground vibrated with a buzzing sound, and the sounds of conflict reverberated for tens of thousands of miles…

With such immense commotion, it seemed impossible for Han Li not to notice, unless he were deaf. With hardly any hesitation, Han Li once again activated the restrictions of the Myriad-Sphere Pearl in his cave dwelling, gaining a general view of the distant battle from over a hundred miles away. When he saw the gigantic form of the nine-headed bone bird appearing indistinctly within the black mist sea, Han Li gasped sharply. To think such a terrifying entity was hidden within this Black Nether Mist! He had walked out of this mist last time without disturbing it, which was truly a stroke of immense luck. Otherwise, if this bone bird, with its divine abilities capable of rivaling two Integration-stage cultivators, had attacked him, he would have had no chance of survival.

Observing the colossal spiritual wind vortex in the distance, which continuously grew larger due to the battle between the three Integration-stage entities, and the turbulent mist sea below, also affected by the conflict, Han Li’s pupils contracted. He stared intently at the three enormous beings in the battle, his expression fluctuating unpredictably. With his eyesight, it was naturally not difficult to discern that the two foreign beings seemed to have gained a slight advantage, and the battle was slowly moving in the direction of his cave dwelling.

“No, I can’t stay here,” Han Li thought rapidly, finally making up his mind. “Regardless of whether their battle truly affects my cave dwelling, now is the perfect opportunity to leave. Otherwise, once they determine a victor, it will be too late to depart.”

Without further hesitation, he flickered, instantly transforming into a streak of azure light that shot out. After a single rotation, he vanished without a trace from the main hall. A moment later, the azure light receded, and Han Li suddenly appeared in the herb garden. Before him, several rows of ten-thousand-year-old Golden Thunder Bamboo were conspicuously planted, each dripping with verdant green. Han Li took a deep breath, then vigorously shook his sleeves towards the bamboos.