Chapter 1644: Strange Poison Reappears

In the blink of an eye, Han Li transformed into a vibrant phoenix and, using the spatial ability unique to phoenix-type spiritual birds, instantly crossed dozens of meters to appear directly above the ongoing battle between the Spirit-Devouring Firebird and the demonic creature.

The demonic creature below, however, had already been startled when the fine needles it launched earlier failed to affect Han Li, causing it to divert some of its attention to him. Consequently, it had a clear view of Han Li's transformation, and a hint of fear appeared on its female-like face.

After all, the True Spirit Heavenly Phoenix is renowned as the king of all birds. Even a Golden Bird, also a true spirit, is inherently somewhat suppressed when facing a Heavenly Phoenix.

Of course, Han Li's phoenix form, achieved through a specific technique, could not compare to a true Heavenly Phoenix. However, the Heavenly Phoenix True Blood within him was genuine. Similarly, the demonic creature was not a true Golden Bird, but merely a mutated entity that had inherited a portion of its bloodline.

Thus, as soon as it sensed the unique aura emanating from the phoenix's blood, the demonic creature instinctively felt a surge of fear.

Moreover, the formidable Spirit-Devouring Firebird, capable of devouring even the Golden Bird True Fire, had completely countered its previously invincible abilities.

The demonic creature immediately decided to retreat. Without hesitation, it shrieked, then suddenly spewed a milky-white pillar of light from its mouth. Its white flames instantly receded, and it attempted to pull back.

However, the Spirit-Devouring Firebird was formed directly from Han Li's inner spiritual flame, its connection to his mind being even more intimate than that of a typical life-bound magic treasure.

Han Li would not let the demonic creature escape so easily. With a thought, the silver firebird opened its beak and unleashed a golden-silver filament—precisely the Lingxuan Evil Light that the Spirit-Devouring Heavenly Fire had refined in ancient times!

Though the milky-white light pillar was as wide as a bowl and the golden-silver filament as fine as a thread, upon their collision, the light pillar instantly solidified and rebounded directly back towards the demonic creature.

Although the demonic creature possessed extraordinary cultivation, its own attack rebounding naturally threw it into disarray.

In a furious shock, it abruptly flapped its wings, sending two streams of white light flames sweeping out from its sides, barely managing to block the returning light pillar.

But just then, the golden-silver filament flickered and appeared directly in front of it.

Knowing the golden-silver filament was extremely peculiar, the creature dared not take it head-on. Its form shimmered as it attempted to evade.

At that moment, a loud phoenix cry echoed overhead, and a vast expanse of ethereal azure light swept down with astonishing speed.

It was Han Li's phoenix form, now fully emerged from the crack. As its long tail feathers fluttered, a silent wave of shimmering azure spiritual light swept downwards.

Given the creature's agility, it could have barely avoided the attack. However, the silver flames, previously entangled with the Golden Crow True Fire, suddenly condensed and recoiled, unleashing an immense force. This spiritual ability pulled the unprepared demonic creature, causing it to falter. In an instant, it was enveloped by the azure light. Though the creature's body was wreathed in white flames, they dissolved like snow in sunlight upon contact with the azure light. This azure light, whose exact nature was unknown, appeared to be a perfect counter to the Golden Bird True Fire. As the demonic creature's true form was held by the azure light, it felt its body tighten and become as heavy as a mountain.

The demonic creature was greatly alarmed, not by the initial restraint, but because the golden-silver filament had already reached the space between its eyebrows, leaving no time to dodge.

The coordination between Han Li and the Spirit-Devouring Firebird was impeccable.

In desperation, the demonic creature's face turned ashen. It then suddenly opened its maw and took a deep breath.

The white demonic core that had been hovering nearby suddenly flashed and instantly teleported before the demonic creature's face.

It actually intended to use the core as a temporary shield.

The creature's action stemmed from its immense confidence in the demonic core's hardness, believing it could withstand even a strike from a top-tier treasure without harm.

What happened next was unbelievable.

The golden-silver filament struck the demonic core, yet it passed through silently, as if it were incorporeal. With a muffled "thump," a small, black hole mysteriously appeared between the creature's four eyes; the golden-silver filament had pierced straight through.

A piercing shriek tore from the creature's mouth. The white flames on its body, which had considerably dimmed, flared up more than twofold with the cry. Spreading its wings, it instantly shattered the azure light that had confined it into tiny fragments!

The creature then disregarded the Spirit-Devouring Firebird's fierce attacks. Its white flames, previously intertwined and stalemated with the silver flames, instantly broke free.

It then frantically flapped its wings a few times, and a pillar of white fire erupted from its body, swirling. The powers of wind and fire were unleashed simultaneously, instantly transforming into a sea of white flames.

The demonic creature stood within the raging white flames, its expression ferocious as its wings beat ceaselessly. Above the sea of fire, centered around the demonic core, a massive phantom of a strange bird, over ten zhang in length, suddenly materialized. This phantom was pale gold with jet-black eyes, resembling a crow but possessing three claws.

The phoenix above shimmered with an unusual light, and Han Li transformed back into his human form. He appeared, gazing at the Golden Bird phantom in the sea of fire, and murmured, "A Golden Bird Dharma Idol! It truly possesses some of this true spirit's bloodline!"

At that moment, the demonic creature in the sea of fire lifted its head and let out a long cry. Four kinds of intensely burning white flames surged like moths to a flame, converging into the Golden Bird phantom in the air. Upon contact, these white flames silently merged into the phantom. In just a few breaths, after the massive phantom had absorbed the Golden Bird True Flames, its entire body radiated golden light, and its form solidified as if becoming corporeal. However, a layer of white flames also burned on the surface of its golden feathers, and within these white flames, silver runes flickered and rolled, amplifying its power severalfold.

The demonic creature below wore a fierce expression, glaring menacingly at Han Li, clearly poised to unleash a more potent attack by commanding its Dharma Idol.

Strangely, Han Li looked at the massive Golden Bird in the air, then glanced down at the demonic creature below, and suddenly chuckled. He then pointed at the creature with one hand, uttering the word "collapse" three times. The demonic creature paused in confusion, then surged with fury, flapping its wings, ready to strike. But at that precise moment, a sudden anomaly occurred!

The demonic creature suddenly shuddered, then let out a mournful cry as it plummeted from the sky. As it fell, its body coiled into a ball, turning an abnormal purplish-black, and a thick, putrid stench spread. In a blink of an eye, it dissolved into a mass of purplish-black liquid, its primordial spirit nowhere to be seen. This was the effect of the potent poison inherent in the Lingxuan Evil Light. This poison was not only incredibly potent but initially showed no symptoms after infection.

Compared to the strange moth from before, this Golden Bird was clearly far less resistant to poison. Not only was its reaction delayed, but once the poison took effect, it instantly dissolved into a puddle of toxic liquid, utterly unable to resist.

Seeing this, Han Li's heart eased. The silver firebird, however, let out a joyous, clear cry, spread its wings, and suddenly swooped down, instantly swallowing the toxic liquid that was once the demonic creature's body. Han Li was momentarily surprised by this but, after a brief hesitation, did not intervene.

Although Golden Bird True Blood was incredibly rare, the Startled Thunder Twelve Transformations technique Han Li cultivated did not include any Golden Bird transformation methods. Thus, even if he obtained it, it wouldn't be of much use to him. In that case, it was better to let the Spirit-Devouring Firebird consume it and see if it would undergo any changes.

After all, this firebird already possessed sentience, and anything it willingly consumed was generally beneficial for its own evolution. However, after devouring the toxic liquid, the firebird did not return; instead, it flew higher into the sky.

Strangely, the massive Golden Bird Dharma Idol did not immediately dissipate after the demonic creature's demise. Only the spiritual light that had flickered in its jet-black eyes vanished without a trace, leaving it motionless, like a puppet.

The silver firebird then plunged into the massive Golden Bird's body and, with rapid gulps, swiftly devoured the entire Golden Crow Dharma Idol.

It was unclear whether it was due to the allocated time expiring or from devouring too much Golden Crow True Fire at once, but as soon as the firebird swallowed the last wisp of white flame, the spiritual light on its surface flickered, and it reverted to its original size of about a foot. Without hesitation, it shot toward Han Li, ultimately disappearing into his body.

With that, the area below was empty, save for the white demonic core and hundreds of shimmering fine needles still hovering motionlessly. Han Li, without ceremony, swept his sleeve, and a wave of azure mist enveloped the area. The demonic core and hundreds of fine needles vanished in a flash under the shimmering azure light.

Han Li then turned, glancing at the azure light screen formed by the Spring Dawn Sword Array behind him, a faint smile gracing his face.

With a single hand sign, the azure light screen shattered piece by piece. Then, layers of azure lotuses dissolved into thin air, finally reforming into seventy-two azure flying swords, which hummed softly as they hovered high in the air in all directions.

In the very center of these hovering swords, the remains of four demonic creatures, each severed into dozens of pieces, floated silently.

These four early-stage Refinement Realm demonic creatures, having recklessly charged into the array, were all instantly slain by the might of the Spring Dawn Sword Array.

Han Li showed no surprise at this sight. With a flash, he flew to the shattered corpses and, after a brief contemplation, swept them all into his storage bag with a swirl of light.

Although he sensed that the Golden Bird True Blood within these demonic creatures was very diluted, a trace of it still existed. In that case, he could wait for the Spirit-Devouring Firebird to finish refining its previous gains before letting it continue to consume these. Such true spirit blood was exceedingly rare even in the Spirit Realm; he wouldn't waste a single drop!

Having completed all this, Han Li's figure flickered a few more times, and he mysteriously reappeared beside the other two, speaking with a casual tone:

"Alright, it's all taken care of. Let's move."

Listening to Han Li's nonchalant words, Yue Zong had been wide-eyed and dumbfounded for quite some time. In his mind, even if Han Li was formidable, he was at most comparable to a ninth-tier cultivator of the upper realms.

But what had just transpired? This individual, clearly only a seventh-tier cultivator, had annihilated so many high-level demonic creatures in the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, and done so with such ease. These demonic creatures not only included ninth-tier cultivators but were also mutated creatures possessing True Spirit Blood! All of this left Yue Zong utterly horrified, still struggling to believe what he had just witnessed. He simply stared blankly at Han Li, his face a mask of disbelief.