Chapter 1968: Besieging Shi Ling

**Volume 10: The War in the Demon Realm**

Black Rain Immortal and the monk naturally wouldn't let this spiritual object escape so easily. Immediately, the elder vigorously activated his treasure. With a jolt, the giant bell released a formidable wave of silver sound waves that swept forward. The monk, with a flip of his hand, caused a flash of spiritual light to reveal a jade-white formation disk. After quickly tapping it with his fingers several times, a rumbling sound erupted near the giant pit. Numerous light formations emerged, and dense waves of restrictive fluctuations surged out like a tide, instantly weaving into a large net that blocked the spiritual object's path of retreat.

What's more, the cry of a phoenix echoed above these restrictions. Three clusters of crimson flames flashed, and three crimson fire birds appeared. Without hesitation, they opened their mouths towards the sky, unleashing three fiery pillars that instantly transformed into a cloud of fire, enveloping the stone spirit. On the other side of the spiritual object, the translucent, azure flying scorpion also strangely materialized. With a flick of its blue hooked tail, a silent, azure poisonous beam shot forth.

In an instant, the Huangliang Stone Spirit was once again trapped in a perilous situation! This, however, seemed to utterly enrage the spiritual object. Golden light pulsed across its body, and a strange shriek suddenly erupted. Its third blood-red eye on its forehead opened wide, and a dazzling, sun-like white light surged forth, so blinding that it was impossible to look directly at it!

Black Rain Immortal and the monk, who were casting spells to attack the stone spirit, instinctively closed their eyes at this sight. But when they reopened them, their expressions changed drastically. Within a vast, murky yellow sea of fire, flames rolled everywhere—above, below, left, right, in the sky, and on the ground. Though seemingly burning fiercely, these flames gave the elder an eerie, bone-chilling sensation.

"Yellow Springs Underworld Fire! No, this is an illusion!" Black Rain Immortal's face changed, and he couldn't help but exclaim. Yet, being no ordinary person, he immediately reacted, though his expression remained grim. Before setting out, he had heard that the Huangliang Stone Spirit possessed astonishing illusionary abilities, capable of trapping even Integration-stage beings. But he had never imagined it would be so formidable, instantly plunging him into an illusion without the slightest warning.

Moreover, what it had conjured was the most troublesome Yellow Springs Underworld Fire! This spirit had lived within the underworld fire for untold tens of thousands of years, naturally achieving mastery in its illusions. Escaping by exploiting a flaw in the illusion would be far from easy. It seemed the only way to break free in time was to forcefully shatter it with brute strength. The elder quickly released several small black shields to protect his entire body, while brooding over this thought.

On the other side, when the monk opened his eyes, he found himself in a hazy grey space. Black Rain Immortal and the other spirit beasts were nowhere to be seen. Only a colossal creature, a thousand feet tall, floated several hundred yards in front of him. This gigantic creature also shimmered with golden light and closely resembled a toad. However, a row of seven golden-yellow eyes stretched from its head to its back, staring at the monk with emotionless gazes. The aura emanating from its massive body was utterly terrifying, giving a suffocating sensation.

"Seven-Eyed Golden Toad..." the monk murmured, his face changing drastically. But after uttering a Buddhist chant, a look of resolve appeared on his face. He made a grabbing motion in the air, and with a flash of spiritual light, a golden dragon-headed staff and a silver alms bowl instantly materialized.

Not only did the elder and the monk suddenly become still in the void, but the three fire birds also stopped their fiery breaths after a clear cry, their eyes showing alarm as they frantically flapped their wings in place, apparently having fallen into the illusion as well. Only the azure crystal scorpion, for some unknown reason, remained completely unaffected after the stone spirit's third eye swept it with white light. Its poisonous barb continued to furiously shoot out blue light.

However, without the assistance of the others, the Huangliang Stone Spirit, after fending off the previous barrage of attacks by spewing demonic fire, easily dodged the blue beams one by one. After glaring fiercely at the scorpion, it suddenly transformed into a ball of golden light and charged directly towards the restrictions below. This spiritual object was not unintelligent; it knew this was not the time to tangle with these people. Escaping back underground was the safest course of action.

But before it could truly collide with the restrictions, it suddenly opened its mouth and spewed out a continuous stream of skull-sized yellow light orbs. These light orbs vanished in a flash, striking fiercely at a specific point in the restrictions. A series of explosions erupted, and dazzling yellow lights burst forth. The restrictions at that point trembled and began to collapse. Seeing this, the stone spirit was overjoyed. It opened its mouth again, unleashing another dozen or so light orbs to completely shatter the restrictions.

But at this moment, a figure suddenly flashed above the restrictions. A cluster of hazy green light silently appeared, and with a ripple, instantly transformed into a young man in green robes. The young man looked up at the Huangliang Stone Spirit, smirked, revealing white teeth. Then, with a flick of his sleeve, a silver ruler shot out. With a blur, it instantly conjured countless ruler shadows, which, with a single strike towards the height, shattered all the light orbs. This person was naturally Han Li, who had been hidden until now. The illusion released by the Huangliang Stone Spirit had mostly targeted Black Rain Immortal and the monk. Therefore, although Han Li was slightly affected from afar, relying on his powerful spiritual sense, he easily broke free from the illusion and, with a spatial shift, appeared effortlessly above the restrictions.

The stone spirit, seeing its chance to break through the restrictions and return underground blocked by a new enemy, was predictably filled with rage. Rolling yellow flames suddenly erupted from the spiritual object's body. Surging high, they aggressively swept towards Han Li. These flames were the chilling demonic fire that it had refined over tens of thousands of years of cultivation underground.

"Excellent!" Han Li, seeing the flames approach, smiled instead of showing alarm. With a sudden flip of his hand, a small black mountain appeared. With a pat, the small mountain trembled and expanded to over ten yards in height! Han Li activated his magic art, and a row of silver runes appeared on the mountain peak. Following this, a large expanse of hazy grey light swirled out, rapidly forming a grey vortex that pulsed erratically in the void. The rolling yellow demonic flames, upon contact with the grey vortex, produced a thunderous roar and then vanished, flashing into the vortex. The grey vortex merely swelled slightly, then appeared completely unfazed.

Witnessing this, the Huangliang Stone Spirit's eyes flickered with strange light, and it let out a sharp shriek. With a "boom," a thunderous, earth-shattering roar suddenly erupted from the grey vortex. The vortex violently shook and then shattered into pieces. Immediately, yellow demonic flames surged out from within, transforming into a yellow fire toad that propelled itself towards Han Li. Even before it reached him, waves of extreme cold energy rolled forth, giving an eerie sensation that could seemingly freeze even one's soul.

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly at this sight. This demonic fire was indeed somewhat troublesome, but Han Li certainly wasn't truly afraid. He immediately raised his eyebrows, and a large hand suddenly reached out towards the fire toad. With a muffled thud, five-colored light mist churned in the void, and a bizarre white hand wreathed in five-colored cold flames eerily emerged, fiercely grabbing at the fire toad below. Its speed was like lightning! The fire toad, whether unable to dodge or simply unwilling to, was instantly seized by the five fingers of the large hand. Then, as the five-colored cold flames surged, the fingers squeezed tightly.

With a "crackle," enveloped by the five-colored cold flames, the fire toad instantly burst apart, transforming back into rolling flames that surged towards and enveloped the large hand in return. However, the five-colored cold flames were also a type of extreme cold fire. How could they allow the demonic flames to easily succeed? Immediately, the five-colored light mist surged, unceremoniously resisting the yellow demonic fire.

And in this brief moment, Han Li had already pointed a finger at the black mountain in front of him. Instantly, the mountain trembled and vanished into the void. The next moment, a ripple appeared above the Huangliang Stone Spirit. The black mountain strangely materialized in a blur and pressed down without ceremony, while the hazy grey light mist once again swept down. The stone spirit felt its body sink. An invisible, immense force, preceding the mountain, acted upon it, making its movements incredibly sluggish.

The Huangliang Stone Spirit naturally became extremely shocked and enraged. After struggling a few times to no avail, it immediately opened its mouth towards the sky without hesitation, spitting out a hazy yellow orb. This orb, merely thumb-sized and milky yellow all over, appeared insignificant, yet it was the demonic core that the spiritual object had nurtured since its birth. As this demonic core spun above the stone spirit's head, the invisible immense force was forcibly repelled. At the same time, with a hiss, countless yellow fire snakes surged out from the demonic core. They swayed in the wind, transforming into several yards long, then clawed and lunged upwards. As a result, the yellow flames and grey mist intertwined, forcefully blocking the black mountain high above, preventing it from descending even an inch.

But at this moment, Han Li, who had been below, his eyes flashing with cold light, formed a single-hand incantation. With a thunderous crack behind him, a pair of crystalline feathered wings appeared. Then, with a powerful flap, he transformed into a silver arc and vanished.

At this point, the stone spirit in the air had just shifted its body to dodge an azure beam attack from the crystal scorpion, its eyes narrowing menacingly, seemingly intending to launch a counterattack. However, a flash of lightning appeared in the void behind it, and Han Li, wreathed in lightning, flickered into existence. The Huangliang Stone Spirit was startled. Without hesitation, its third demonic eye lit up, about to unleash another dazzling white light. However, Han Li seemed to have been prepared for this. He suddenly let out a cold snort, simultaneously closing his eyes. A black light flashed between his brows, and his Eye of Destruction opened.

Black light flashed! A black line shot out from the Eye of Destruction. In a flash, it struck the spiritual object's third demonic eye, instantly extinguishing the white light that had just flared up. The instant the cold snort entered the stone spirit's ears, it felt a thunderclap in its head. A searing pain that pierced its very soul made its body tremble, causing it to totter precariously in the void.