Chapter 430: Deception

Jin Qing, suppressing the fear in his heart, asked somewhat unnaturally, "Are you human or ghost?"

"Human? Ghost? What do you think?" the strange shadow said with a sinister laugh, its voice full of mockery.

Hearing this, Jin Qing's face turned extremely grim.

Han Li, on the other hand, said nothing. Without the slightest warning, he swiftly unfurled the scroll in his hand. Countless firebirds surged forth, swarming directly towards the strange shadow. At the same time, the giant bird, which had been battling the monstrous python, let out a sharp cry. It abandoned its fight and transformed into a ball of scorching white flame, shooting fiercely towards the strange shadow.

Seeing this, the green shadow let out a cold snort, and a contemptuous voice followed.

"A Zhiyang Bird? If its true form were to appear, perhaps I would be a little wary. But now it's just a wisp of a residual soul. And it dares to emulate others in devouring ghosts and banishing demons?"

No sooner had these words left its mouth than the green shadow raised its hands. The black mist on its body instantly condensed onto its hands, followed by two distinct "poof" sounds. The black mist from its hands shot out, transforming into two one-horned black pythons. They flew into the flock of firebirds and began to devour them mercilessly. With every lunge of their two gaping maws, several firebirds were inevitably sucked into their mouths. And the wisps of white fire spat out by the firebirds surprisingly failed to harm the two demonic pythons in the slightest.

At this moment, the giant white fire mass formed by the "Zhiyang Bird" had also arrived. But it ignored the two black pythons, instead shooting directly towards the green shadow's main body.

Seeing this, the green shadow's eyes flashed with red light, becoming even more vivid. Although its body remained still, a subtle hint of solemnity emanated from it. Evidently, facing the residual soul of the "Zhiyang Bird," this shadow was not as at ease as its words suggested.

With a "bang."

The green shadow's hands twitched, and the two one-horned pythons detached from its hands, beginning to move independently. Then, it clenched its hands into fists and brought them together forcefully. Verdant green phantom flames surged fiercely on its fists. Its figure then flickered. Meeting the white fire mass, the green shadow delivered a ferocious punch. As a result, under Han Li and Jin Qing's astonished gazes, the white fire mass was instantly scattered in all directions and vanished in the blink of an eye.

On one of the green shadow's fists, a milky-white crystal bead suddenly appeared. The green shadow let out a sinister chuckle and, without hesitation, swallowed the crystal bead. Then its icy gaze once again turned to Han Li.

At this moment, the scroll in Han Li's hand spontaneously ignited without cause. He hastily threw it away, but it instantly turned to ash. And the firebirds still entangled with the two black pythons vanished one by one as the scroll turned to ash.

Han Li took a deep breath. Although he knew these "Zhiyang Bird" clones were certainly no match for his opponent, he had only used them to gauge his opponent's strength. But he hadn't expected that the green shadow would effortlessly neutralize this treasure specifically designed to counter specters, and he still hadn't figured out its true nature. The only certainty was that his opponent was definitely not a mere specter.

Han Li calmly stared at the green shadow, silently calculating his chances of victory if he were to fight.

"Alright, you it is! I'm very interested in your body now; the other two can get lost!" the green shadow said slowly, staring at Han Li. It seemed Han Li's previous attack had infuriated it.

Qu Hun, naturally, didn't move an inch. But upon hearing these words, Jin Qing was filled with conflicting thoughts, and his expression became uncertain. Although he hadn't personally engaged in combat, the opponent was truly unfathomable. Even if he teamed up with Han Li, Jin Qing estimated there wouldn't be much chance of victory. Now hearing the strange shadow tell him to leave, Jin Qing's resolve wavered. Today, he had witnessed so many cultivators suffer miserable deaths before his eyes. This cultivator, who normally prided himself on having a clear conscience, for the first time entertained the thought of valuing his life and living to fight another day.

"What, you don't even want the chance to live? Then I'll just take a bit more trouble and turn both of you into dried corpses too!" the green shadow snorted coldly, saying chillingly. It then cast a glance at Jin Qing and Qu Hun.

Hearing the strange shadow speak in such a murderous tone, Jin Qing's face flushed and paled several times before he finally clasped his hands towards Han Li and said shamefully: "Brother Han, I don't wish to perish here. Please forgive me this time."

Having said this, he rushed towards the stone steps without another word, not looking back at Han Li.

Han Li's expression remained as usual, showing no signs of abandonment or anger, only a subtle, almost imperceptible coldness in his eyes as he watched Jin Qing leave. Meanwhile, a hint of smugness appeared in the green shadow's red eyes.

As Jin Qing sprinted past the scattered pile of white bones, an alarming change occurred again. The scattered skeletons nearby suddenly launched an attack on him, shooting towards him like crossbow bolts. Jin Qing was filled with shock and rage. A silver glow flashed around him, enveloping his body. But before he could question the strange shadow or unleash his magic tools, the white bones shot out a brilliant white light, shockingly piercing through his protective silver glow as if it were nothing. Instantly, Jin Qing's body became tattered beyond recognition. Without uttering a single word, he heavily collapsed onto the ground.

Han Li stared blankly at the corpse on the ground and shook his head lightly. Then, with a flip of his hand, a spirit beast pouch appeared. At the same time, the two flying swords in front of him trembled, emitting a faint green glow.

"Interesting! Aren't you going to ask why I didn't keep my word?" the green shadow said with a cold laugh.

"If Your Excellency truly wanted to speak, you would have volunteered the information without being asked," Han Li said expressionlessly. "If you don't want to speak, then it would be a waste of breath."

"Indeed! You truly are to my liking, young man. Had I not suffered such a great calamity, I might have taken you as a disciple. But now, I will never again take another disciple in this lifetime. And I will grind all my former rebellious disciples to dust, extracting their souls and refining their spirits!" The green shadow was first somewhat surprised, but then its voice turned chillingly cold as it spoke.

Han Li's expression remained unchanged. With a wave of his hand, Qu Hun, standing behind him, unleashed a protective crimson glow and took two steps to stand shoulder to shoulder beside Han Li. He no longer intended to waste words, preparing to defeat the enemy with a single, thunderous strike. At the same time, the other Green Bamboo Cloud Swarm Swords within him were also eager to be unleashed at any moment.

"Blood Refinement Divine Light! Good, good! Are you disciples of Grand Yin or Grand Brilliance?" As soon as the green shadow saw the crimson glow on Qu Hun, its body trembled slightly, then it burst into furious laughter.

Han Li frowned, and his expression changed slightly. "Grand Yin? Are you referring to Grandmaster Grand Yin of Grand Yin Island?" Han Li said faintly. He had a vague feeling that he might be able to unravel the secrets of the Blackfiend Sect and Grand Yin Island's cultivation techniques.

"Grandmaster Grand Yin! That rebellious disciple dares to call himself a Grandmaster?" As soon as the green shadow heard Han Li's words, it immediately flew into a furious rage and began to hurl curses.

Han Li was somewhat stunned! This ghostly figure was actually Grandmaster Grand Yin's master; this was too bizarre!

As Han Li was utterly astonished by the opponent's words, a green light flashed on the shadow's body, followed by a muffled sound from behind Han Li.

"Oh no!" Almost instantly, Han Li realized he had been tricked. He hastily turned his head back and, without thinking, unleashed the other seven flying swords, which together guarded his front. Controlling nine Green Bamboo Cloud Swarm Swords at once, this was Han Li's current limit. Sure enough, the moment he turned his head back, the sword light formed by the nine flying swords unleashed pale golden "Evil-Dispelling Divine Lightning," and a fist-sized green light sphere instantly vanished under the electric arcs.

Cold sweat poured down Han Li's back. He had almost fallen victim to his opponent's scheme.

"Golden Lightning Bamboo," the voice exclaimed. "You're using flying swords refined from Golden Lightning Bamboo!"

At this moment, the green shadow let out a voice filled with disbelief.

Han Li let out a cold laugh, and just as he was about to mock his opponent, he felt an unusual fluctuation in the air beside him. He almost instinctively tilted his body, but then his chest was struck. A familiar crimson glow pierced him through, chilling him to the bone, and blood instantly gushed out. Immediately after, another yellow light fiercely struck him.

A crisp clang sounded as several flying swords simultaneously deflected the yellow light, revealing its true form: it was the Primordial Bowl.

"Qu Hun!" Han Li cried out in alarm and rage towards the side. First attacked by the Blood Spirit Drill, then fiercely assailed by the Primordial Bowl, it was clear Qu Hun was in serious trouble. But a figure flashed beside him, and Qu Hun shot towards the green shadow as if he hadn't heard anything.

Under Han Li's mental connection, although his divine sense was still within Qu Hun's body, for some unknown reason, he had completely lost control of Qu Hun's body. The green shadow burst into maniacal laughter and likewise transformed into a green rainbow, rushing to meet Qu Hun.

Han Li's face was deathly pale, but then he gritted his teeth, fiercely formed a hand seal, and spat out the word "Retrieve" with force. From the top of Qu Hun's head in the distance, a small ball of green light flew out as the word was uttered, rapidly shooting back towards Han Li, merging into his body and disappearing.

At this moment, the green rainbow formed by the green shadow had also merged into Qu Hun. Han Li pressed his hand against the wound on his chest, while glaring fiercely at the "Qu Hun" opposite him. The "Qu Hun" slowly opened its eyes, revealing a pair of eyes as crimson as blood.