Chapter 2281: Spirit Chain and Punishment Thunder

The silver chains gleamed brightly, appearing semi-transparent, as if they were not corporeal.

The Mother of Scarabs twisted her body violently, but was unable to break free from the chains even after several attempts.

“These are Divine Sense chains, impossible! You... you also cultivate the Spirit Refinement Technique! How could this secret art have found its way to the lower realm?” After glaring at the chains for a few moments, the Mother of Scarabs' face showed an expression of disbelief for the first time, even a faint hint of fear.

At that moment, Han Li, in his giant ape form, remained expressionless and silent. Each of his six arms formed a hand seal, and a low, ancient incantation emanated from his mouth.

In an instant, the silver chains tightened abruptly, binding the Mother of Scarabs even more securely than before.

“Even if you know the Spirit Refinement Technique, what then? With your meager divine sense power, can you truly bind my True Extreme body?” The Mother of Scarabs was, after all, no ordinary being. She quickly recovered from her shock. After a sharp cry, five-colored runes surged across her body, and her two previously closed heads suddenly opened their demonic eyes, revealing sinister and cold gazes.

In an instant, two more utterly unfamiliar auras emerged from the Mother of Scarabs. Her spiritual power fluctuations, which had seemingly vanished, began to slowly revive within her body.

Witnessing the Mother of Scarabs' astonishing transformation, a peculiar expression flashed across the giant ape's face. Suddenly, he spoke a sentence that left the Mother of Scarabs perplexed.

“I never expected this divine ability to truly turn the tide, but to trap you for a moment is enough.”

“What do you mean?” The Mother of Scarabs was startled. Her gaze swept around quickly, but besides Daoist Xie, who remained seated motionlessly in the distance, there was no sign of a third person.

But just as she spoke, a rumbling sound, like muffled thunder, echoed from above the abyss.

A dazzling, vibrant ray of light flashed, and a five-colored pillar of lightning, interwoven with countless arcs, descended with overwhelming force.

“No, it's the Heavenly Punishment Lightning! Old Ghost Hekang, you're still alive?” The Mother of Scarabs, who had been relatively calm, screamed as if her soul had been scattered upon seeing the lightning pillar, her face filled with disbelief.

Her three heads suddenly shook, and a layer of ink-black flames billowed from her body. The dark crystal core within her hummed loudly.

In her desperation, the Mother of Scarabs did not hesitate to detonate her crystal core, fighting with all her might.

The silver chains, which had tightly bound the Mother of Scarabs, began to melt under the surge of black flames.

It looked as if the Mother of Scarabs was about to break free.

But at that moment, an ear-splitting roar echoed from high in the sky, and the five-colored lightning pillar descended with incredible speed, striking the Mother of Scarabs' massive body forcefully.

In an instant, countless arcs of lightning intertwined and enveloped the Mother of Scarabs in a shroud of five-colored lightning.

A piercing shriek!

The Mother of Scarabs' seemingly indestructible body shattered inch by inch under the five-colored lightning, turning to dust in a mere few breaths.

After flickering wildly a few times, the five-colored lightning pillar suddenly vanished, having lasted for only a very brief period.

And high above the water's surface, the five-colored cloud formation, resembling a newly opened giant eye, silently dissipated.

The entire sky turned a dull gray again, as if nothing had ever happened.

At the same time, on the stone platform within the mysterious stone forest of the underground palace, a muffled sound of pain emanated from the dark, round bowl. Several chains connected to an ancient lamp suddenly shook violently.

The single flickering ancient lamp placed on the bronze pillar immediately pulsed faintly, its light becoming even dimmer, as if it could extinguish completely at any moment.

“That was quite a strain! This single strike consumed ninety percent of my remaining soul-sense power. If this young man couldn't help me, I would have suffered a great loss this time. But being able to utterly erase that wretch counts as avenging the betrayal from all those years ago. That wretch probably never imagined I'd still be alive now. Haha, considering that, I still have to thank this young man from the lower realm... otherwise, who knows how long I would have had to wait to exact this revenge.” The man's voice erupted into a nearly insane laugh.

The laughter contained both a gnashing of teeth and a chilling sense of pity.

At this moment, Han Li paid no attention to how easily the Mother of Scarabs had been killed. His giant ape form was rolling wildly on the ground, clutching its central head, while simultaneously letting out roars of extreme pain.

As his massive body rolled, it rapidly shrank, retracting his Dharma Idol. His purple-gold armor visibly reverted to purple-gold scales, which then receded.

After a full quarter of an hour, Han Li returned to his original form. He struggled to his feet and swayed his incredibly heavy head dizzily.

The transformation he had undergone not only severely depleted his true essence but also almost entirely exhausted his divine sense power due to the illusory Divine Sense chains.

It had been a long time since he had fought such a brutal battle.

Thinking about it now, he couldn't help but feel a lingering sense of trepidation.

“Brother Xie, are you alright?” Han Li looked at Daoist Xie, who was still meditating with closed eyes in the distance, and asked, his voice slightly hoarse.

“I'm fine, I just need a good rest. However, I won't be able to engage in combat with anyone for the next few months. Otherwise, this body will sustain irreparable damage.” Daoist Xie opened his eyes and spoke slowly.

“I understand. In that case, you should rest in my spirit beast bracelet for a while. I'll handle everything from now on.” Han Li nodded in understanding and said.

“Very well. I don't have much self-preservation ability right now, so remaining outside would indeed be a burden.” Daoist Xie considered it for a moment, then spoke without objection.

He then immediately formed a hand seal with one hand, and a faint silver light shimmered around his body. He rapidly shrank, eventually transforming into a palm-sized miniature golden crab.

Han Li flicked his sleeve, and a five-colored radiance enveloped the golden crab, drawing it into his sleeve and into a exquisite spirit beast bracelet.

Only then did he turn his head and calmly speak toward a certain distant direction: “Fellow Daoist Baohua, you've been observing for quite some time now; it's about time you showed yourself. Although your secret art consumed a lot of vital energy, it surely didn't leave you with absolutely no ability to defend yourself, did it?”

“Brother Han, your divine sense is indeed far superior to ours. However, your recent words truly misunderstand me.” From the seemingly empty void, a ripple appeared, and Baohua emerged, her face exceptionally pale. As soon as she appeared, she gave a wry smile and spoke to Han Li.

“I truly have very little spiritual power left now. This concealment art was actually activated using a special talisman given to me by a friend.” Though her words were full of explanation, her gaze towards Han Li could not hide a trace of shock.

Clearly, the astonishing divine abilities Han Li displayed in his battle with the Mother of Scarabs had greatly astonished the Ancestor of the Far Demon Race, making her feel deeply inferior.

Therefore, when she now faced Han Li again, although her expression remained calm, a deep sense of apprehension had already taken root in her heart.

“Fellow Daoist should be well aware that killing this Mother of Scarabs was not my doing, but someone else's intervention.” Han Li shook his head, took out a medicine bottle from his robes, poured out several emerald-green jade-drop pills, swallowed them, and then slowly spoke.

“But if not for your astonishing divine ability, Fellow Daoist Han, and your method to trap this Mother of Scarabs for a moment, even the powerful Heavenly Punishment Lightning would never have been able to kill her. However, on that note, who exactly is this person capable of controlling Heavenly Lightning? Not only do they know everything that happens here, but they also have a way to directly transmit their voice to us both. If not for their timely message, we might truly have had to flee just now. Brother Han, do you have any thoughts on this person's identity?” Baohua furrowed her delicate brows, then said with a solemn expression.

“This is also the first time I've become aware of this person's existence. But since they can activate such astonishing Heavenly Lightning, they are clearly not from the lower realm. Furthermore, this is an ancient sealed land, and that person seems to have a thorough understanding of the Mother of Scarabs' situation. If that's the case, then their identity should be quite obvious. Fellow Daoist Baohua, with your intelligence, you've probably already figured this out, haven't you?” Han Li remained silent for a moment, then suddenly chuckled.

“It seems Brother Han and I are thinking along similar lines. That person is likely one of the two True Immortals who sealed this Mother of Scarabs in ancient times. Otherwise, none of this would make sense. However, this Mother of Scarabs now doesn't seem to be the original one; the primordial spirit within her also seems to have an unusual understanding of the Immortal Realm. Could it be the primordial spirit of another True Immortal from the Immortal Realm, occupying this Mother of Scarabs' body?” Baohua nodded, then murmured with a hint of doubt.

Han Li stroked his chin, a pensive look appearing on his face.

“If the two young friends wish to know the reason, why not pay this humble Daoist a visit? Then all will be clear.” Above the abyss, a faint male voice suddenly echoed, calm and gentle. It was precisely the same person who had transmitted a message to them earlier.

Upon hearing this, Han Li and Baohua's expressions subtly changed. They couldn't help but exchange wary glances.

“It seems you two are still a bit uneasy about this humble Daoist. But it doesn't matter; since the Mother of Scarabs is dead, the void created by her power will naturally collapse soon. You two will see this humble Daoist before long.” The man seemed completely unconcerned by Han Li and Baohua's hesitation, instead speaking with a light chuckle.

“Senior, what do you mean by that?” Baohua's heart tightened, and she quickly opened her mouth to ask.

However, the surrounding void became completely silent. The man's voice abruptly stopped, and no further words were transmitted.

Almost simultaneously, a muffled rumbling sound came from the bottom of the abyss, and the surrounding seawater began to churn violently.