Chapter 1972: New Great Enemy

The woman nodded faintly. Without a word, she flicked her sleeve, and two streams of white light curled out, each flashing into one of the giants. The giants' bodies rattled loudly as they deactivated their colossal transformation technique. Their forms rapidly shrank, instantly becoming two fist-sized, greyish-white stone spheres. These spheres flew towards the woman and vanished into her sleeve.

With a stomp of her foot, a black cloud materialized beneath the woman, enveloping her as she shot towards the horizon in a certain direction.

Simultaneously, beside the enormous pit, Han Li's physical body, which had been meditating cross-legged, stirred his eyelids, slowly opening his eyes with a peculiar expression. His Nascent Soul had already returned, and he had retrieved his spiritual sense avatar from the Demon Suppressing Lock.

"Judging by these two old devils, this chaotic energy is clearly of paramount importance to them, otherwise they wouldn't have nearly made a move while in their primordial spirit forms. They wouldn't be able to escape the Demon Suppressing Lock immediately upon obtaining the chaotic energy, would they? ...No, that's impossible! The Demon Suppressing Lock is indeed an unformed Profound Heaven Spirit Item. Even if chaotic energy is extraordinary, it couldn't have such an effect. These two old monsters must have other plans. However, since they both swore a heart-demon oath, it wouldn't be wise to break the promise easily." Han Li's face was grim as he muttered these words almost inaudibly.

"Heh, never mind! Once I distribute the chaotic energy to the two devils, I'll find a way to throw the Demon Suppressing Lock back into the Demon Realm. I'm going to the Demon Realm eventually anyway, so I can just deal with it there. After all, they're just two primordial spirits without physical bodies. Once the demonic tribulation ends, who knows how many tens of thousands of years it will be until the next opening? Who cares what these two devils stir up in the Demon Realm once they escape?" Han Li suddenly let out a cold laugh, seemingly having made up his mind instantly.

With this firm decision made, Han Li no longer hesitated. He pointed a finger at the white wooden box before him.

With a whoosh, the wooden box shot towards the center of the colossal pit, where it trembled and hovered in the empty space. Han Li then took a deep breath, formed a hand seal, and began to chant incantations. Moments later, a three-headed, six-armed dharma idol materialized behind him. Its six arms moved, forming various hand seals, as golden light swirled up from its body. The light flashed and then vanished, merging into the wooden box. Instantly, the milky white wooden box became resplendent with golden light, as if forged from pure gold.

Just then, a shimmer of green light flickered across Han Li's face. With a low shout, he pointed his finger at the wooden box once more, and a wisp of silver flame shot from his fingertip, striking and engulfing the box. At that very moment, the golden dharma idol behind Han Li opened its six eyes. Its form swayed, and it spontaneously strode forward, covering a distance of several dozen feet in a few blinks, reaching the fiercely burning wooden box. Its two massive hands reached out and embraced the box. Amidst a shimmer of golden light, the dharma idol, holding the wooden box, slowly descended towards the bottom of the colossal pit. Though not fast, within a few breaths, the golden dharma idol vanished into the mist.

Han Li's incantations continued without pause, and his hand seals remained active. However, moments later, his body trembled, and an indescribable chilling aura emanated from him. The ground around where he sat cross-legged shimmered with yellow light, and a faint layer of yellow frost miraculously materialized. A short while later, the green glow on Han Li's face gradually receded, and his entire body became enveloped in a yellow aura. His hair bun, face, and even his limbs were also covered by a layer of yellow frost.

Meanwhile, the yellow mist at the bottom of the pit churned violently, and continuous rumbling sounds echoed from underground, as if something was constantly exploding deep within, causing great bewilderment. Han Li's expression remained unchanged; he seemed utterly unaffected by the chilling cold and the roaring sounds from the earth fire. He simply continued to silently activate a secret technique, without a moment's pause.

Time passed by, little by little, continuing for seven days and seven nights. Han Li remained seated beside the pit without moving an inch. This was only possible due to his unfathomable magical power and his physical body and spiritual sense far surpassing ordinary beings; otherwise, he would have collapsed long ago from exhaustion. Even so, he felt his magical power had diminished considerably, and his body was quite fatigued. By then, the loud rumbling from the bottom of the pit had ceased, and the yellow mist churned much more slowly, clearly indicating that the secret technique was in its final stages, nearing completion.

Suddenly, a muffled, thunderous roar erupted from the bottom of the pit, and ten thousand streaks of golden light burst forth from below. They pierced directly through the layers of mist, instantly illuminating the entire colossal pit with extraordinary brilliance and splendor.

"It's done!" Han Li exclaimed excitedly, his spirit invigorated by the sight. If he could obtain this chaotic energy, advancing to the late Integration stage in a short time would be absolutely no problem. And if his cultivation could advance further, both his magical power and divine abilities would naturally increase significantly, enough to ensure his self-preservation during the demonic tribulation and his future journey to the Demon Realm.

As these thoughts ran through his mind, his hands moved without delay. With a soft whoosh, a layer of five-colored light flames erupted from his body. Wherever the flames passed, the frost on his face and body instantly melted away, allowing Han Li to return to normal in a flash. Then, he raised an arm and extended his hand towards the bottom of the colossal pit. The mist boiled violently, and amidst flashing golden light, the three-headed, six-armed golden dharma idol slowly re-emerged. It was still holding the wooden box, but within the vaguely shimmering form of the dharma idol, a hazy green orb of light had appeared. It appeared egg-sized and inconspicuous, yet within the green aura, two broad-bean sized black and white specks of light subtly hovered motionless.

As soon as Han Li saw it, a smile touched his lips. But the next instant, his expression hardened. He sharply raised his head, his face now a mixture of shock and fury.

Almost simultaneously, an earth-shattering boom erupted from high above, followed by an immense, unknown force that violently struck the aerial restriction. Under this colossal impact, the white mist of the restriction proved as fragile as paper. Not only did it shatter into countless pieces with a muffled crack, but the mist was also swept away by a fierce gale, completely clearing the high heavens. As this immense force dispersed, a slender figure silently materialized high in the sky, gazing down coldly at Han Li. Her gaze was icy and piercing; as it landed on Han Li's face, he felt a faint, needle-like sting.

"Good, very good! The intelligence I gleaned from soul-searching that human cultivator was indeed accurate. It truly is you..." The woman's eyes glinted with cold light as she uttered words that made Han Li's heart pound. Although he didn't know her identity, her tone clearly indicated she was a high-level demon, and she seemed to recognize him.

Though Han Li was filled with doubt and fury, this was clearly not the time to ponder the reasons. He abruptly retracted his outstretched fingers towards his chest. The three-headed, six-armed golden dharma idol flashed, transforming directly into a ball of golden light. It enveloped both the wooden box and the small green orb, then shot towards Han Li. The woman in the air watched this, first startled, but then her gaze shifted to the wooden box and the green aura. Her face abruptly changed, and she gasped.

"The Demon Suppressing Lock, chaotic energy! So you were using this yin fire to extract the two chaotic energies!"

This woman was clearly exceptionally decisive. Almost as the words left her lips, she instantly flicked her sleeve downwards. A shimmering white sash shot from her sleeve. In a flash, it spanned hundreds of feet, appearing directly above the golden light. After a brief pause, it wrapped downwards with lightning speed. It was a white silk handkerchief, roughly ten feet in size, its surface shimmering with silver light and covered in runes—clearly a wondrous treasure! Under the woman's urging, this treasure aimed to forcibly intercept the Demon Suppressing Lock and the chaotic energy mid-flight.

Almost simultaneously, two earth-shattering roars erupted beside the colossal pit where Han Li sat. Countless broken stones flew as two gigantic, greyish-white stone hands burst from underground and slammed fiercely towards Han Li from either side. The stone palms hadn't even struck Han Li yet, but two invisible, immense forces had already made his body stiffen, as if tens of thousands of pounds of pressure were bearing down on him simultaneously.

Witnessing all this, Han Li's shock and fury were immense, but he did not truly panic. With a cold snort, he formed a hand seal and suddenly uttered the word "Explode." The golden light that enveloped the wooden box and the two chaotic energies flashed wildly, then abruptly burst open into a radiant golden halo. Wherever the golden halo spread, the void twisted and blurred. Even the exquisitely mysterious white silk handkerchief couldn't help but stiffen and momentarily slow its advance. Seizing this opportunity, a large green hand suddenly flashed from the nearby void, grasping the wooden box and the green aura with lightning speed. The large hand then flickered and transformed into a faint human figure: the "Green-skinned Han Li," a manifestation of his spirit body. As soon as this spirit body appeared, it formed a hand seal with one hand, transformed into a ball of green light, and vanished from that spot in the void.

Simultaneously, Han Li, who had been sitting cross-legged on the ground, shimmered with golden light. Thick golden fur suddenly sprouted from his body, and he rapidly swelled in size. In a single breath, he transformed into a golden-furred giant ape over ten feet tall. The immense force that had been acting upon his body seemed to vanish in an instant. Not only that, but as soon as the golden ape completed its transformation, it let out a mighty roar and, with its fists clenched, fiercely delivered two resounding blows, smashing into the incoming colossal stone palms. After two earth-shattering impacts, the giant ape grunted and stumbled back several steps. Meanwhile, the two colossal stone palms shattered, sending fragments flying, and surprisingly, a significant portion of them vanished into thin air. At this point, space behind the giant ape rippled, and a faint green figure emerged, holding the wooden box and a ball of green light. It lunged forward, vanishing without a trace into the giant ape's body.