Chapter 456: Thunder Strike

Han Li felt his internal magic power solidify, unable to extract even a sliver. It was as if his true essence had been inexplicably restrained by these shadowy spirit threads.

A wave of horror washed over him, and he immediately concentrated his gaze on these black threads.

The black threads were densely wrapped around his entire body, dark and glistening, emitting a faint, sinister aura. A single glance revealed them to him as extremely bizarre and malevolent objects.

Han Li's face twitched almost imperceptibly.

When he first acquired the golden net, he had suspected the other party might have tampered with it. Yet, after repeated careful inspections, he found nothing out of the ordinary.

As he had no other pure gold magical artifacts, he grudgingly decided to use it.

However, after successfully capturing the spirit ginseng's avatar with the golden net, he had temporarily dismissed his suspicions.

To his surprise, the moment he turned against the other party, he was immediately ambushed with this very item, rendering even his magic power and true essence temporarily unusable.

The greenish tinge on Han Li's face, however, lasted only a moment before his complexion returned to normal.

He quickly realized that the protective array outside meant the other party couldn't harm him for the time being. This was sufficient time for him to devise a way to break free from the restraint.

With this thought, Han Li let out a cold laugh. Just as he was about to summon the swarm of Gold Devouring Beetles hovering above him, a soft "thump" echoed from behind.

The sound was incredibly subtle; had Han Li's spiritual sense not been fully extended across the entire array, he likely wouldn't have detected it. His hair stood on end. Without a moment's hesitation, he spun around sharply, simultaneously emitting a high-pitched cry from his mouth. The swarm of Gold Devouring Beetles overhead immediately surged backward, blanketing the air.

A thunderous "boom" erupted from behind him, and Han Li's expression grew grim.

He saw the Gold Devouring Beetles behind him desperately assaulting a bizarre, emerald-green figure, holding it at bay.

Although the figure's face was indistinct and its body was shrouded in ghostly aura, its hands had transformed into two furiously coiling emerald-green pythons. These pythons lashed out, swatting away any approaching Gold Devouring Beetles and preventing them from getting even half a step closer. The beetle swarm was momentarily unable to gain any advantage.

What astonished Han Li further was that the protective array barrier behind him remained completely intact. How had this ghostly figure managed to breach the defenses and appear behind him without triggering any prohibitions?

Before Han Li could fully recover from his surprise, a torrent of curses erupted from the green figure.

"What are these damned insects? They can even devour my ethereal form! This is just too sinister!" The voice belonged to the unfamiliar man from earlier, now sounding quite exasperated.

Only then did Han Li notice that while the green figure's two pythons had indeed flung the Gold Devouring Beetles away, the instant they made contact, the beetles managed to bite them once or twice, consuming small flecks of green light. No wonder the other party was so astonished and furious.

He had just been speaking from the clouds a moment ago. When did he manage to sneak up behind Han Li and launch such a sudden ambush?

Han Li was completely perplexed.

But this question was fleeting; now was not the time for contemplation.

He had no intention of engaging in conversation with the other party. The sharp cry from his mouth rang out once more.

Immediately, a small portion of the Gold Devouring Beetles detached from the main swarm and flew toward him, instantly covering his body and vigorously tearing at the black threads.

With his magic power lost, Han Li could only barely command the Gold Devouring Beetles using his voice.

He needed to break free before the other party discovered a way to counter the Gold Devouring Beetles. He still vividly remembered how the beetles had been severely weakened by a ghostly roar within the spectral mist.

He dreaded the possibility of the other party using a similar tactic, which would be disastrous.

Just then, the surrounding protective barrier seemed to be struck by something heavy. After a few flashes of yellow light, the luminous wall began to tremble.

Upon seeing this, Han Li cast a cold, indifferent glance over his shoulder.

It was the Profound Bone in mid-air, launching an attack to coordinate with the actions of the green light figure.

From the dark clouds, massive black energy spheres, each about a zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) in diameter, shot forth and struck the light barrier violently. It appeared the prohibition wouldn't last much longer.

A strange gleam flickered in his eyes, and Han Li surprisingly turned his attention back to the current situation, ignoring the outside.

He stared at the wildly dancing green figure, which was being held back by the Gold Devouring Beetles about ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) away. His lips were pressed tightly together, and his face was devoid of expression.

In that short span, a significant portion of the shadowy spirit threads on his body had already been torn apart by the flying insects. Han Li could feel his true essence magic power stirring, almost ready to be unleashed. A subtle hint of joy involuntarily flickered in his eyes.

As soon as his magic power recovered, he would have many techniques at his disposal.

At that moment, the green light figure let out a low growl. Its body suddenly spun, transforming into a giant, rapidly rotating top that plunged headfirst into the beetle swarm, pushing through several zhang and closing the distance to Han Li.

Nearly ten thousand Gold Devouring Beetles surged forward in successive waves. While most were rapidly flung off by the giant top, a small portion managed to cling on, significantly reducing the top's speed.

Witnessing this, the remaining beetles swarmed forward without hesitation.

Moments later, the green figure was completely covered in Gold Devouring Beetles, rendering it unable to move or rotate in the slightest. It appeared destined to repeat the scene of the insects devouring the ghost in the spectral mist.

But Han Li was surprised!

Faced with what appeared to be a suicidal act by the green ghostly figure, he felt not joy, but a profound sense of unease.

What happened next immediately confirmed Han Li's premonition.

The green figure, thoroughly covered by Gold Devouring Beetles, suddenly expanded in mid-air in a single breath. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a bulging, large sphere, simultaneously emitting a dazzling green light.

"This isn't good!" Han Li thought, intending to recall the Gold Devouring Beetles, but before he could utter a sound...

With a deafening "boom," the sphere exploded.

An incredibly chilling aura instantly engulfed all the flying beetles.

Then, from the very center of the explosion, where the green light was most dazzling, a faint green streak shot out in a flash, concealed by the deafening blast. In an instant, it appeared before Han Li, who was still partially bound by the black threads.

"Your body is now mine!"

Amidst this wild laughter, the green streak suddenly flashed, transforming into a ferocious, several-foot-tall ghost head that lunged forward.

The Profound Bone, observing this scene from above, allowed a faint smile to appear on its face and promptly ceased its attack.

Even though the protective barrier appeared on the verge of shattering after just a few more strikes.

Han Li stared at the ghost head lunging towards him, his expression utterly glacial.

But when it flew to within just a zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) of him, a malevolent glint flickered in his eyes, and a powerful, intense aura of malevolence suddenly erupted from his body.

The malevolent aura was so fierce, almost tangible, that it caused the onrushing ghost head to visibly falter and pause for a moment.

Han Li suddenly opened his mouth, and a thick, golden electric arc violently spurted forth, instantly piercing through the ghost face that was too close to evade.

The ghost head let out a wail, instantly dissolving into a cloud of green gas under the golden arc's impact. With a furious roar, it frantically retreated backward.

But at this point, Han Li was in no mood to let it escape so easily.

Immediately, pale golden electric arcs surged around his body, and the black threads binding him disintegrated completely in that instant.

Han Li's figure flickered without hesitation. After a few blurry afterimages, he surprisingly overtook the retreating green gas, arriving ahead of it despite starting later.

Then, with an expressionless face, he raised his right hand and forcefully grabbed forward.

Pale golden electric arcs instantly appeared on his five fingers, and the green gas vanished into thin air. In Han Li's hand now lay an emerald-green crystal bead, shimmering with an eerie light, seemingly alive.

Han Li merely cast a cold glance at it before unceremoniously closing his five fingers.

With a sharp "crack," the crystal bead disintegrated into powder under the impact of the electric arc.

Han Li, with his ability to unleash the Evil-Warding Divine Thunder without restraint, could dispatch even a Ghost King-level green figure in an instant, particularly when it lacked a physical body.

The ease of the kill even surprised Han Li himself.

Han Li then raised his head, looking at the Profound Bone in mid-air, and spoke with an unperturbed expression:

"Give me the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng, and I will consider this incident forgotten, allowing us to continue our cooperation! Otherwise, it will be either your demise or mine!"

Han Li's voice was remarkably calm, yet the chilling intent within it made the Profound Bone's expression in mid-air turn exceedingly grim.

"Good! Good! Good!" Master Profound Bone stared intently at Han Li, and after a long silence, unexpectedly uttered the word "good" three times.

This caused Han Li to narrow his eyes, his gaze fixed intently on the other party.

"Since he failed in his attempt at possession, it simply means he wasn't capable enough. Naturally, I will only cooperate with the victor. Here, take the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng." The Profound Bone in mid-air retracted the surrounding dark clouds, revealing its true form.

With a flick of its hand, a golden box shot directly from the air towards Han Li.