Chapter 325: Slaying Demons

Rewriting the content to be clear, natural, and grammatically correct in English:

The activation of a true treasure is far more difficult than that of an ordinary talisman treasure, which is why Liu Jing had others act as protectors; he didn't want to suffer the same fate as his tragically deceased junior sister. Therefore, only after releasing a yellow circular magic artifact to encircle himself did he feel truly at ease to sit cross-legged and infuse spiritual power into the firebird true treasure.

The fiery red talisman in Liu Jing's palm began to glow brighter, and the firebird depicted on it flew more flexibly and joyfully, looking as if it could leap out of the talisman at any moment. It seemed that the moment this bird transformed and flew out would be the moment of successful activation.

Although Han Li was locked in a struggle with the ice demon on the ground, he understood that his fellow disciples were performing other techniques and immediately felt relieved. He was most afraid that these disciples would lose courage and abandon him, leaving him unable to retrieve the item from the Black Fiend Sect Master alone.

With no need to be distracted, Han Li's full attention returned to his current opponent. While employing the Ethereal Smoke Step at his mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation level was strenuous, he knew he couldn't prolong this high-speed battle any further. He had to risk a full-force strike.

As Han Li considered this, he continued to wield his silver sword, his body flickering, pressuring the ice demon until it could barely breathe. With his other hand, he silently hooked an object from his storage bag with his finger and tightly wrapped it around his ring finger.

After preparing, a murderous glint flashed in his eyes. He brought his hands together, adopting a broad, two-handed sword stance, and suddenly, with extreme ferocity, he brought both himself and the sword down in a head-on cleave. The speed and intensity of this strike far surpassed all previous attacks, causing the ice demon's heart to tremble. It quickly shot backward while raising its crystalline ice claws to cross and block the attack.

"Clang!" It was fast; the distance between them was about to widen, but a hint of mockery appeared on Han Li's face.

Just as the ice demon sensed something was amiss, Han Li released one hand from his sword and yanked it back abruptly.

As a result, the ice demon's backward flight inexplicably stalled. Then, it uncontrollably shot towards Han Li, who, by this time, had regripped his sword with both hands, ready to strike, his face devoid of any emotion.

Seeing this, the ice demon was greatly alarmed. It struggled desperately, but it was too late. In the blink of an eye, it was directly in front of Han Li. Han Li's silver sword vibrated slightly, and countless dense silver lights flashed and disappeared in an instant. The two figures passed each other in a flash, then both their forms reappeared under the moonlight. Han Li stood holding his sword, while the ice demon fell heavily to the ground.

This scene was clearly witnessed by Song Meng and others observing from the air, who couldn't help but become extremely tense.

The ice demon wobbled to its feet, a sinister grin on its face as it looked at Han Li's back. Just as it was about to say something, its expression suddenly froze.

A series of clear cracking sounds emanated. The ice demon's translucent, ice-like body developed countless fine cracks. In an instant, the cracks grew wider and longer, and the entire ice demon disintegrated into a pile of sparkling ice shards on the ground amidst the cracking sounds.

Among the crystalline fragments, a complete sharp claw protruded halfway, its sharp tip still emanating a chilling aura. Only this object withstood Han Li's rapid cutting without any damage.

Han Li coldly glanced at the shattered ice demon, then looked up at the three blood-colored cocoons, which glowed even more brilliantly. He furrowed his brows tightly.

Silently, he waved his hand and pulled, and an ice claw flew directly towards him.

Only under the reflection of moonlight could one vaguely discern a transparent thread tightly connecting Han Li and the claw—this was the fatal cause of the ice demon's demise.

While engaging the ice demon again, Han Li manipulated the transparent thread on his ring finger, silently wrapping it around the demon's claw. Sadly, despite its demonized ice body becoming transparent and tough, it had also lost its acute sense of touch, allowing Han Li to easily succeed and cause its death.

Han Li lowered his head to examine the ice claw, hesitated for a moment, then casually discarded it.

Although he knew this ice claw, having withstood a silver sword forged from "silver essence" without damage, was certainly an excellent material for artifact refining, the thought that it was originally a human hand still made his skin crawl. He simply couldn't overcome his mental block to keep it.

He took a few steps to the ice demon's corpse, haphazardly stirred the ice shards with his silver sword, and retrieved a storage bag. After a quick glance, he carefully put it away. Then, without a word, he flew into the sky. He wanted to see what tricks his fellow disciples were up to, as the three blood servants were about to transform.

Han Li was unaware that at the very moment the ice demon died, in a secret room beneath a rockery, a clean-faced, closed-eyed middle-aged man suddenly opened his blood-red eyes and muttered:

"The ice demon is dead? Good, it saves me the trouble later."

After speaking, he calmly closed his eyes again.

Before him lay a skeletal remains, all skin and bone. It appeared as if no flesh remained except for a layer of skin. From its attire, it seemed to be a cultivator from the Yellow Maple Valley.

As Han Li flew into the air, before he could even speak, Song Meng and the others quickly surrounded him, each expressing admiration with astonished looks, even hinting at reverence in their words and actions. The cultivation partner of 'Senior Sister Xuehong' had reddened eyes filled with immense gratitude.

Han Li modestly replied, then curiously pointed at the strikingly red talisman in Liu Jing's hand and asked a question.

Immediately, one person explained the "true treasure" to Han Li, which filled him with pleasant surprise and complete relief.

Of course, Han Li had heard about true treasures, but he hadn't expected Senior Brother Liu to possess one, let alone be willing to use it now. Under normal circumstances, these were life-saving measures reserved for critical moments of life and death.

Han Li's experiences differed from Liu Jing's, so he couldn't understand Liu Jing's complex mindset and the anxiety of potential gain and loss.

For Han Li, how others perceived him was irrelevant. As long as his interests weren't touched, he wouldn't lose a single hair.

Of course, if there was an opportunity to leave a good impression on others without much effort, Han Li was willing to do it. But to maintain such an impression by using treasures like a "true treasure"—he wouldn't be so foolish, not even if it killed him.

However, Liu Jing's actions genuinely moved Han Li, even making him wonder if his past views were mistaken. Could there truly be "good people" in this world who would disregard their own safety to eliminate evil?

Just as Han Li felt a pang of self-reproach, a furious roar suddenly came from below, filled with bloodthirsty intent.

Han Li and the others were startled and quickly looked down.

They saw that one of the three blood-colored cocoons had begun to expand and deform continuously, as if the blood servant inside was about to emerge.

Han Li's heart tensed. It seemed he would have to fight the other blood servants first to buy Senior Brother Liu some time!

As he considered this, just as Han Li was about to act, a calm voice came from behind them.

"Senior brothers, please step aside. Allow me to eliminate these three demonic cultivators."

This voice brought a look of joy to everyone's faces. Han Li quickly turned to look.

He saw Liu Jing smiling at them. In his palm, there was a small, exquisite red bird, fluttering about ceaselessly, utterly adorable. The scorching heat that had previously permeated the area had vanished without a trace.

"Is this the true form of the true treasure?" Han Li asked with some surprise, gazing at the red bird.

"Thank you all for protecting me!"

Liu Jing slowly stood up and lightly flew to stand before Han Li and the others. Then, under their astonished gazes, he unhesitatingly blew gently on the small bird in his hand. The fiery red bird immediately let out a clear cry and flew out of Liu Jing's palm, soaring lightly downwards.

At this moment, the changing cocoon below burst open with a muffled "puff" sound, and a demonic creature shrouded in green light emerged from within. Its form was strikingly similar to the half-demonized appearance of the ice demon, only its color had turned deep green.

The demonic creature's face was clearly that of the Daoist Qing Wen, but at this moment, his face was contorted with madness, as if his mind was unclear.

He roared twice, and upon raising his head, he spotted the lightly flying fiery red bird. His body immediately stiffened, and the madness on his face actually receded, replaced by an expression of extreme fear.

Immediately, he looked around frantically. Suddenly, the green light around him intensified, and he shot into the air, attempting to escape.

But at that very moment, the red bird let out a "hissing" sound and rapidly expanded, transforming into a giant flame bird about a *zhang* (approx. 3.3 meters) in size. Then, with a flap of its wings, it appeared as if by instantaneous movement, suddenly materializing behind the demonized Qing Wen from dozens of feet away, lightly pecking him with its sharp red beak.