Chapter 2274: Skeleton Phantom

"Quickly, unleash your most powerful attacks! His aura is becoming more terrifying, as if he's regaining his strength!" The ancient-looking elder was greatly alarmed by the preceding events, but after sweeping his spiritual sense over the skeletal figure again, he immediately cried out in shock.

His own figure blurred, disappearing instantly and reappearing over a hundred *zhang* away. Then, with a single hand, he slapped the top of his head, and a swathe of blue light immediately billowed forth.

Within the shimmering light, a small figure, enveloped in blue glow, sat cross-legged, its face identical to the elder's.

The moment the small figure appeared, a string of blue orbs flew out from its body.

Each orb was no larger than a thumb, but its surface was incredibly smooth and an extremely deep blue.

Under the elder's perfected Nascent Soul secret technique, the orbs flickered and transformed into gigantic, carriage-sized light spheres, which then slammed violently towards the massive skeletal figure with the sound of wind and thunder.

On the other side, after hearing the elder's words, the black-robed woman's expression changed several times. With a resolute clench of her teeth, her body suddenly rolled on the ground, transforming into a bloody mist, which then instantly merged into the illusory nine-headed monstrous serpent behind her.

With a 'boom', the monstrous serpent's nine heads swayed in unison, and the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi from the abyss surged into its body like a raging tide, instantly solidifying its previously illusory body.

The now corporeal monstrous serpent had scales of vibrant, multi-colored hues on its skin, while its nine heads were blood-red. It then opened its mouths again, spewing nine streams of purplish-black putrid flames, several times more potent than before.

Although the two had not yet witnessed any offensive moves from the skeletal figure, the profound sense of oppression it exuded was deeply unsettling. They simultaneously resolved to fight with all their might.

Though the skeletal figure had stood up, it did not seem to have fully recovered, and its movements appeared very clumsy.

The dozen-odd blue light spheres flickered once, then consecutively slammed into the vicinity of the skeletal figure with loud 'booms'.

Blue light burst forth, and continuous roars echoed!

The space around the massive skeletal figure vibrated as if the sky was falling and the earth cracking, and energy waves, like raging tides, surged outwards in all directions.

These light spheres seemed unremarkable, yet each possessed the force of tens of millions of *jin*, their power vast enough to flatten mountains and cleave the earth.

The skeletal figure raised its two arm-like forelimbs to block in front of itself, but its body trembled, involuntarily retreating a step with each impact from the light spheres.

After more than a dozen consecutive steps backward, the invisible barrier in front of the skeletal figure completely collapsed. Moreover, its two forelimbs, originally crystalline like jade, were now battered and covered in countless fine cracks.

Before the skeletal figure could take any further action, nine serpent-like lines of fire coiled in, rapidly circling it several times, and astonishingly transformed into fiery chains, firmly binding the skeletal figure in place.

These purplish-black fire chains emitted an incredibly corrosive aura, instantly branding deep black marks onto the jade-like skeletal body.

The dozen-odd light spheres also circled the skeletal figure, ceaselessly battering it.

Under their combined assault, the massive skeletal figure appeared to be on the verge of being destroyed on the spot.

Seeing this, the ancient-looking elder and the black-robed woman felt a surge of joy in their hearts.

Just then, a ripple suddenly appeared in the space above the massive skeletal figure's head, and a small figure eerily manifested.

The ancient-looking elder and the black-robed woman focused their gaze and couldn't help but turn pale with fright.

That small figure was none other than the young girl who was a spiritual manifestation of the Mother of Deep-Sea Insects.

"Hadn't this girl been entangled by Baohua and the other two? How could she appear here?"

The elder and the woman inwardly cried out in dismay. While continuing to cast spells to trap the skeletal figure, they simultaneously became exceedingly cautious of the young girl.

The young girl's face was noticeably paler than before. Upon appearing, she did not look at the ancient-looking elder or the woman transformed into a monstrous serpent. Instead, she stared at the motionless skeletal figure below. After her eyes rolled, she suddenly spoke in a language that was very melodious and pleasant to hear, yet incomprehensible to the elder and the woman.

Upon hearing this, the slow-moving skeletal figure suddenly straightened its body, and a layer of white light abruptly appeared on its surface. It actually withstood the furious impacts of the blue light spheres and completely ignored the corrosion of the purplish-black fire chains. Instead, it slowly raised its head, its two massive eye sockets fixed upon the young girl in the air. From its vast mouth, it uttered words in the same language, but its tone was exceptionally deep.

The two exchanged only a few sentences. The massive skeletal figure maintained an unhurried demeanor, but the young girl's small face sank, and she suddenly showed an exasperated expression. Her voice also became sharply piercing, as if she were arguing with the skeletal figure.

Seeing this, the elder and the black-robed woman couldn't help but exchange bewildered glances, both completely lost.

However, the two naturally seized this opportunity to furiously channel their magical power and intensify their attacks on the skeletal figure.

The blue light spheres blurred, their flight speed instantly doubling. They then danced wildly around the skeletal figure like meteors.

Meanwhile, the nine purplish-black fire chains trembled, and sharp spikes suddenly emerged from their surfaces. These spikes dug deep into the skeletal figure's surface, causing the rate of surface corrosion to visibly accelerate.

Naturally, to prevent the skeletal figure and the young girl from suddenly attacking them, the ancient-looking elder and the black-robed woman (transformed into the monstrous serpent) silently glided further away.

However, to their great surprise, the skeletal figure showed no reaction at all. It merely continued to converse unhurriedly with the young girl in the air, using the unknown language.

Their conversation alternated between slow and rapid, and their expressions varied between still and dynamic. From a distance, it appeared exceptionally strange!

Suddenly, a sinister expression appeared on the young girl's face. She raised a finger and pointed downwards. A point of black light glowed into existence at her fingertip, and after swirling rapidly, it instantly expanded to enormous size and became extremely bright, as if it could directly absorb all nearby light.

The entire deep-sea abyss rumbled. The surrounding Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi instantly surged, boiling, and an extremely terrifying power of Law descended.

"The Law of Time!"

The perfected Nascent Soul, seated cross-legged on the ancient-looking elder's body, instantly changed its expression dramatically, a hint of panic appearing on its face.

As for the nine-headed monstrous serpent, which the black-robed woman had transformed into, upon seeing this strange phenomenon, it instantly broke the fire chains it was spewing, like a startled bird, and its massive body abruptly shot several hundred *zhang* further away. Only then did it hesitantly stop its escaping light.

Had it not been for her fear of being isolated, which might provoke the young girl's killing intent, the woman would likely have fled in one breath.

The massive skeletal figure below, seeing the young girl unleash the Law of Time, trembled slightly. The words it uttered accelerated slightly, seemingly revealing a hint of apprehension towards the young girl.

However, the young girl's words became even more hurried.

A moment later, the massive skeletal figure's words suddenly slowed, as if it had yielded somewhat. After saying something else, it opened its mouth and spat out a colossal crystal, black as ink. It was as large as a house, and it slowly flew upwards into the sky.

The young girl finally showed a joyful expression. After the black light at her fingertip receded, her body slightly sank, and she slowly descended towards the crystal.

Just as the young girl was about to step onto the crystal with both feet, an unexpected scene unfolded.

Below, several of the skeletal figure's limbs moved simultaneously. It suddenly erupted with a terrifying aura, breaking free from the purplish-black fire chains binding it. Then, with a lightning-fast sweep through the nearby space, the blue light spheres still circling and flying were astonishingly cleaved into two pieces each, and exploded with rumbling sounds.

Seeing this, the young girl's face instantly showed an expression of extreme shock and fury. The black light at her fingertip flashed and reignited, and simultaneously, her body blurred, about to vanish above the crystal.

However, the dark crystal below suddenly vibrated and astonishingly transformed into a black giant mouth filled with fangs. With a single bite, it unexpectedly swallowed the young girl. It then reverted to a ball of crystalline light, shooting back and re-entered the massive skeletal figure's mouth, disappearing in a flash.

The massive skeletal figure's body shook, and all its movements froze, remaining motionless.

From a distance, the ancient-looking elder and the black-robed woman witnessed this scene and were naturally dumbfounded. But after exchanging quick glances and speaking a few words, one Nascent Soul instantly flashed back into its body, and the other, with a sway, reverted to human form.

Simultaneously, their escaping lights ignited, and they shot upwards out of the abyss.

After witnessing the skeletal figure effortlessly dismantle their ultimate attacks, they knew they were powerless to fight against it. Naturally, they chose to flee for their lives first.

Perhaps only by joining forces with Baohua, Han Li, and the others above, would they regain the courage to fight this skeletal figure.

However, the moment the two shot out, the previously motionless skeletal figure let out a sound. Crystalline light gathered in its two massive eye sockets, and astonishingly, two swirling black flames appeared. It then chuckled eerily, glancing at the two escaping lights in the distance, and suddenly raised its head, pointing upwards twice in succession.

After two flashes of black light disappeared instantly, the power of Law that had just vanished reappeared with a hum, descending into the abyss once more. It precisely enveloped the ancient-looking elder and the black-robed woman who were in the midst of their escape.

An incredible situation unfolded.

The ancient-looking elder and the black-robed woman were desperately fleeing, but they merely felt their surroundings blur. Upon raising their heads again, they astonishingly found a massive white skull right before them, staring at them with malicious intent.

Under the effect of the Law of Time, they had unknowingly retreated to a position directly beneath the skeletal figure, completely unaware.

The two were greatly alarmed and turned pale. Before they could react, the skeletal figure opened its massive mouth and unceremoniously bit downwards.

In the void above the water surface, Han Li, who had transformed into a demonic appearance, was pulling a hand covered in silver patterns out from the body of a human-faced giant insect, which was entirely covered in green, sharp armor.

This giant insect was roughly over a hundred *zhang* long, but its pair of ghost-claw-like forelimbs were immensely large, several times larger than its body. It appeared incredibly ferocious.

And as Han Li pulled his hand out, the giant insect's massive forelimbs, with two "poof" sounds, rapidly deflated and shrank, instantly returning to a normal size, similar to its other limbs.

Han Li raised an eyebrow, withdrew his hand, and glanced at it. Upon finding no bloodstains, his brow subtly furrowed, and a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes.