Chapter 187: Thunder Annihilation

Though Han Li was greatly puzzled by Feng Yue's incredible speed, with many questions arising in his mind, now was not the time for investigation. Reluctantly, he put away the "Golden Light Brick" talisman he had just drawn out. Then, he swung the mother blade of his "Golden Cicada Mother-Child Blades," unleashing all the child blades in a swarm. They transformed into eight astonishing streaks of golden light, aggressively shooting towards Feng Yue. He wanted to see if the sheer number of golden blades could help him gain the upper hand amidst the chaos.

It would be ideal if Feng Yue recalled his yellow glow to defend himself, as that would at least maintain a stalemate. However, Han Li wasn't confident this would happen. Given Feng Yue's formidable reputation, his strength was certainly not limited to what he had shown. This attack was also meant as a test.

As expected, Feng Yue showed no panic when he saw Han Li's golden blades flying towards him. He chuckled coldly several times, then revealed something he had just taken out: a yellow umbrella-shaped magical artifact.

Feng Yue did not let go of the umbrella. Instead, he calmly opened it just as the eight streaks of golden light reached him. Immediately, a perfectly spherical yellow light barrier, resembling a protective shield, enveloped Feng Yue's entire body. When the golden blades struck the light sphere, a series of crackling sounds erupted, and all the golden blades were effortlessly bounced away. This, too, was a top-tier defensive artifact, and judging by its power, it was definitely superior to Han Li's Flying Sky Shield.

Han Li's expression changed dramatically, his face turning slightly pale. Feng Yue, meanwhile, burst into laughter, his face beaming with triumph. This was understandable; ever since he obtained the "Yellow Silk Umbrella," he had never been injured by a lower-level cultivator. Seeing Han Li's astonished expression now naturally filled him with immense satisfaction. Feng Yue valued this umbrella far more than the dagger talisman. After all, a talisman had a limited number of uses and became useless once its power was expended, whereas the "Yellow Silk Umbrella" could save him countless times!

Han Li sighed. He formed a hand seal and pointed, recalling all the golden blades, which returned to his hand and reverted to their original forms.

Feng Yue didn't know what Han Li was planning. However, confident in his own defense, he fully concentrated on directing the yellow glow, launching an incredibly fierce offensive. He manipulated the dagger like a bolt of lightning, ceaselessly darting up and down around Han Li, aiming to exploit any moment of Han Li's distraction, find a gap, bypass the shield, and directly enter the inner circle to strike Han Li down.

What Feng Yue didn't know was that while the "Flying Sky Shield" might be far less powerful than his "Yellow Silk Umbrella" in terms of defensive strength and range, its flexibility far surpassed that of ordinary defensive artifacts! As a result, no matter how frantically Feng Yue wielded the yellow glow or how skillfully it spiraled, the shield firmly blocked it. It was then that he realized he couldn't get close to Han Li without completely destroying the shield!

With a disgruntled expression, he resorted to his old tactic: using the dagger's yellow glow to slowly wear down the shield's defense. Although most of the black light on the shield's surface had been disintegrated, the remaining defense was still enough to hold him off for a while.

At this moment, seeing that he truly couldn't win, Han Li gritted his teeth and made a decision that caused him great distress. He put the golden blades back into his storage pouch. Then, he took out a small, dark green gourd, holding it high. From it, seven or eight black orbs floated out, drifting gently towards Feng Yue.

Feng Yue naturally observed Han Li's actions and was momentarily stunned. This was because the gourd artifact was too common; almost all lower-level cultivators knew of this inexpensive and practical artifact and had used similar items. Regardless of whether the container for these orbs was a gourd, a bottle, or a pot, the orbs themselves had a well-known name: "Primal Chaos Orbs." However, their power was minuscule compared to top-tier artifacts, barely qualifying them as mid-grade. Precisely because of this, Feng Yue grew suspicious.

Before the orbs could get close, he reached out and retrieved an "Ice Spear Technique" talisman. Then, with a flick of his wrist, the talisman instantly transformed into a crystalline, pure white ice spear, which fiercely shot forward to intercept them. With a crisp "bang," the ice spear shattered after successively striking and knocking away three or four orbs. White, shimmering ice fragments scattered through the air like falling flower petals, creating a small, exceptionally beautiful hailstorm.

Seeing this, Feng Yue finally relaxed and refocused his attention on Han Li. Han Li now held a large green banner, on which a green flood dragon appeared to be snarling and clawing, ready to leap forth as if alive. Feng Yue's experience was exceptionally rich; he knew at a glance that this was certainly a high-quality, top-tier artifact whose power absolutely could not be underestimated! Han Li was waving the banner, causing a dazzling green spiritual light to slowly gather on its surface, creating quite a formidable display.

Although Feng Yue was full of confidence in his Yellow Silk Umbrella, his cunning and cautious nature kept his eyes fixed on the green banner without blinking. He feared that this artifact might possess some unexpected, peculiar ability that could breach his defenses. As for the few Primal Chaos Orbs, he had long dismissed them as mere distractions released by Han Li to divert his attention. He naturally ignored them. With the pitiful power of the Primal Chaos Orbs, even if they orbited the Yellow Silk Umbrella for an entire day, they wouldn't be able to shake its defense in the slightest.

However, Feng Yue was also extremely wary and puzzled by Han Li's continuous display of one top-tier artifact after another. He speculated that Han Li, like the "treasure-hoarding girl," was also a descendant of some powerful master. His desire to kill Han Li grew even more urgent. He feared endless trouble if Han Li survived and left the area. Moreover, Han Li had witnessed the entire process of his murder and theft. If the treasure-hoarding girl's elders came looking for him later, he would face immense trouble regardless.

Just as Feng Yue was captivated by Han Li's Azure Flood Dragon Banner and his murderous intent intensified, the Primal Chaos Orbs finally reached him, striking the defense projected by the Yellow Silk Umbrella. After a few crisp impacts, the first few were easily repelled.

Upon hearing the sound, Feng Yue instinctively glanced down."Trying to attack me with these Primal Chaos Orbs? How overconfident! Forget them, even if...""Huh! Why is this one so small, and blue...?"Just as Feng Yue scoffed, he noticed that after one of the Primal Chaos Orbs was bounced away, it suddenly revealed a blue bead hidden behind it. It was only the size of a pill, far smaller than ordinary Primal Chaos Orbs.

Feng Yue was slightly taken aback. Before he could process any other thoughts, the blue bead already struck the spherical barrier.

"White light! A brilliant, dazzling expanse of white light!"

This was the last color Feng Yue ever saw in this world. Then, he felt a warmth spread over him, and he knew nothing more. From across, Han Li saw only that the blue bead, upon touching the yellow light, immediately erupted into a silver-white light mass about ten feet in size. It silently enveloped most of Feng Yue's body. Moments later, the white light vanished without a trace. It revealed Feng Yue's astonished face, seemingly unharmed.

Han Li's heart sank, but he hadn't yet acted. A gentle breeze swept through, and Feng Yue's body suddenly disintegrated with the wind, like sand, turning into ashes. Only his two lower legs, severed mid-calf, and the pair of boots still on his feet, remained standing eerily on the ground.

Upon seeing this scene, Han Li felt no fear; instead, he sank to the ground. He let out a deep breath, finally letting the heart that had been in his throat settle. After deploying his ultimate trump card, the "Heavenly Thunder Orb," and executing a series of feints and deceptions, he had finally made Feng Yue vanish from the world completely.

Yet, Han Li's face showed little joy; instead, it was filled with self-mockery and a wry smile. This was hardly surprising; it was only the second day of his journey into the forbidden land, and he had already used all his magical artifacts, even his final trump card. How could he possibly be happy? The thought of encountering countless more formidable individuals like Feng Yue over the next three days made Han Li's recently lightened heart feel incredibly heavy once more. Still, if he hadn't used the Heavenly Thunder Orb this time, he certainly wouldn't have escaped; his Flying Sky Shield was on the verge of breaking. Furthermore, after killing this fellow, he definitely hadn't suffered a loss; with Feng Yue's top-tier artifacts added to the treasure-hoarding girl's, he had made a substantial profit and gained a huge advantage!

Han Li reconsidered, and his spirits lifted. He quickly looked across again. However, what he saw made his mouth gape wide, leaving him speechless for a long time!