Chapter 322: Breaking the Cocoon

Liu Jing and the other cultivators from Yellow Maple Valley, having already learned about this from Han Li, immediately understood what their opponents were doing when they saw the scene. Without hesitation, they unleashed a barrage of magical artifacts and spells towards the four cocoons of light. They knew that before the Blood Servants could fully transform and emerge, these cocoons were excellent stationary targets, and they naturally wouldn't miss such an opportunity to strike down their enemies.

Unfortunately, just as Han Li had warned, these light clusters were incredibly resilient. After enduring a torrential downpour of attacks, they remained standing perfectly intact, showing no signs of damage whatsoever.

Liu Jing and the others' expressions grew grim.

"Everyone, don't hold back! Unleash your most powerful techniques now!" Liu Jing commanded sternly, his face resolute. "If we don't use them now, it will be too late once they complete their transformation and emerge!"

After speaking, he promptly retrieved his magical artifact and solemnly pulled out a golden talisman, holding it between two fingers. He then began to chant an incantation, and as the mystical words echoed, the golden talisman gradually emitted a dazzling golden light.

Han Li was secretly surprised by this sight. Although he didn't know the talisman's rank, the fact that Liu Jing, a Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivator, needed to use an incantation to activate it indicated that it was no ordinary item.

Seeing this, the other cultivators exchanged glances and then began to display their own unique abilities.

Most notably, Chen Qiaoqian's senior sister and Song Meng each produced a Talisman Treasure depicting a magical artifact. They immediately sat down and concentrated on activating them. Lumps of blue and gray light emanated from their Talisman Treasures, causing the others to look on with envy.

Talisman Treasures were not something every Foundation Establishment cultivator could easily possess. The fact that these two had them indicated either significant backing from powerful families or deep favor from their sect elders. Otherwise, they wouldn't have had the means or opportunity to acquire such items on their own.

Despite their envy, the others were not to be outdone. They either cast potent spells or unleashed even more wondrous magical artifacts, initiating the next round of attacks. Immediately, dazzling light shot into the sky, and artifacts danced wildly.

Han Li, however, did not use his Talisman Treasure, nor did he employ the incredibly powerful "Great Sword Art" from earlier. Instead, he opted for the most energy-efficient method. With a light wave of his hands, several thuds resounded as four beast puppets appeared before him.

As soon as the puppets opened their cold, lifeless eyes, they opened their wide mouths and unleashed several beams of light, like long white ribbons, which shot out fiercely. Han Li stood behind them, taking the opportunity to recover the spiritual power he had expended in the previous battle.

He hadn't even met the Black Fiend Sect Master yet. He was unwilling to use all his spiritual power now and risk exhausting it prematurely.

Conserving spiritual power as much as possible for contingencies was a decision Han Li had made before this battle. Otherwise, if his spiritual power ran out, no matter how many skills and methods he possessed, he wouldn't be able to use them.

The appearance of the beast puppets initially caused a slight surprise among the other cultivators, but they quickly returned to their own tasks.

After all, the cultivation techniques and spells one used were personal secrets, and no one would be so tactless as to inquire about them.

Those who had some knowledge of the origins of 'Puppet Arts' assumed that Han Li had obtained the technique from Li Huayuan. Given Li Huayuan's cultivation level, it wasn't unusual for him to have killed some cultivators from the Thousand Embroidery Sect and acquired their cultivation methods.

Therefore, the others were, at most, simply curious about Han Li's beast puppets.

At this moment, Liu Jing's golden talisman successfully activated. With a slight tremor, it transformed into a ray of golden light and soared above the blood-red cocoons.

Then, with a "whoosh," a burst echoed, and the golden light exploded into countless glittering particles that rained down like a dream, astonishingly dazzling.

Yet, beneath this tragically beautiful spectacle, a deadly intent lay hidden. After Liu Jing rapidly made a series of hand seals, the scattered light particles strangely morphed, gradually contracting and elongating, transforming into countless golden miniature swords. Though only about an inch long, each one exuded a bone-chilling cold and was incredibly sharp.

"Thousand Blades Art!"

It was then that Liu Jing quietly uttered the name of this gold-elemental spell.

This scene caused everyone, except for the two still activating their Talisman Treasures, to pause in astonishment.

Gold-elemental spells were already among the rarest of the Five-Element Daoist arts, and most of them were auxiliary spells like "Golden Armor Art" or "Iron Skin Art." The fact that Liu Jing's talisman activated an offensive gold-elemental spell, and one that was an area-of-effect spell of at least mid-level, deeply surprised several cultivators, including Han Li. Their attacks instinctively slowed, as they wanted to see the marvel of this spell.

At this moment, thousands of gleaming golden swords hung suspended above the cocoons of light, presenting an astonishingly imposing sight.

As Liu Jing activated his incantation, the miniature golden swords rained down like hail, piercing directly towards the blood-red light clusters below.

Next, Han Li and the others heard a series of dull, stabbing sounds. Golden light and blood-red light intertwined, splashing brilliantly like fireworks.

The cocoons, which had shown no change under previous attacks, began to undergo a transformation under this fierce assault. The blood-red light swelled rapidly, as if sensing the danger.

The thickness of the blood-red light intensified, clashing more violently with the continuously assaulting light swords.

Seeing this, Liu Jing was not anxious but rather pleased. The fact that his attack had forced a change in the cocoons meant it was effective. He believed that with increased offensive power, they could still break through the blood-red light.

However, at this point, most of the small swords in the air had already fallen, yet the blood-red glow on the cocoons remained as vivid as ever, looking perfectly unbothered.

"Senior Brother Liu, let me lend you a hand!"

It was Song Meng who shouted.

The gray talisman in his hand had transformed into a several-foot-long gray spear, emitting an eerie gray aura.

"First, let's concentrate our efforts on eliminating the Blood Servant on the far left," Liu Jing said with great joy upon seeing Song Meng's Talisman Treasure manifest its true form. "Don't spread your attacks."

He then pointed towards the remaining small swords that hadn't yet fallen.

Immediately, all the golden swords suddenly clustered together and flew, concentrating their piercing attacks on the light cluster formed by the Blood Servant known as "Ice Demon" on the far left.

After a rumbling sound, everyone looked closely and saw that the blood-red light of this cocoon seemed to have significantly shrunk.

Seeing such effectiveness, Han Li and the others simultaneously unleashed their spells, magical artifacts, and beast puppet attacks. Song Meng's gray spear, emitting a shrill whistle, also followed closely behind.

To Han Li, the once impenetrable blood-red cocoon was instantly worn down by the "Thousand Blades Art" and the other attacks, leaving only a thin layer. The figure inside was now vaguely visible.

Finally, the gray spear pierced through with a single strike, followed by an enraged roar that made everyone's ears buzz. Then, two crystalline white sharp claws suddenly emerged from the blood-red light, wildly tearing apart the remaining blood-red aura, revealing the true form of the figure within.

It was a white monster, only half-transformed into a demon.

At first glance, the person had an incredibly handsome face, clearly a refined young man. However, two small white horns slightly protruded from his head, and a foot-long pure white tail, subtly shimmering with white scales, had grown from his backside. Not to mention the two incredibly sharp claws and layers of translucent milky-white demonic patterns covering his body.

On his shoulder was a gruesome, bowl-sized bloody hole, and the surrounding flesh was continuously wriggling and contracting, a horrifying sight. Yet, in a blink of an eye, the wound appeared to be closing and healing.

"You seek death!" the Ice Demon, only halfway through its transformation, still retained enough consciousness and snarled viciously at the cultivators.

For him, even without fully completing the demonization, the characteristics of his demonic body were sufficient. It was enough to stall until his companions also completed their transformations.

Liu Jing and the others, who had never witnessed a demonic transformation, blanched at the terrifying sight of the opponent. Although Han Li had mentioned the strange appearance of Blood Servants after demonization, seeing it in person still left them profoundly shocked and uneasy.

Several streaks of white light flashed and shot forth, hitting the Ice Demon's upper body and sending it tumbling heavily, appearing utterly disheveled.

This was an attack launched by Han Li's beast puppets, as Han Li had no intention of listening to the demon's bluster.

Seeing this, the others snapped back to reality. Their paused offensive resumed with a renewed storm of attacks.

However, the fallen Ice Demon suddenly emitted a cloud of cold mist from its body. When the mist dissipated, the figure had vanished from its spot as if into thin air.

This sent a jolt of horror through the others, and they hastily began searching in all directions.

Based on their experience, such a situation usually meant the opponent had used some kind of escape technique to flee rapidly from the spot, but never too far.

Apart from the three faintly glowing cocoons, there wasn't a single person to be seen anywhere around. The ordinary disciples of the Black Fiend Sect weren't foolish either; they had already fled.

Han Li's heart sank at this sight, and he suddenly realized something. He hastily slapped his storage pouch, and both the White Phosphor Shield and the Tortoise Shell artifact flew out simultaneously, rapidly spinning around him. At the same time, he shouted loudly:

"Senior Brothers, be careful! He's gone into hiding!"

No sooner had Han Li's words left his mouth than a woman's terrified scream suddenly rang out, causing everyone to look over in shock.

They saw Senior Sister Chen Qiaoqian, who had been sitting on the ground activating her Talisman Treasure, now lying on her back. A gaping hole had inexplicably appeared in her chest, as if someone had plunged a hand in and crushed her heart.

Lying in a pool of blood, her beautiful face was twisted in agony, her limbs convulsing uncontrollably. Her eyes were filled with an expression of disbelieving terror, but after a flicker of unwillingness, her gaze became vacant, and she breathed her last.