Chapter 496: Evil-Repelling Divine Thunder and Asura Sacred Fire

“Tighten!” Han Li formed a spell sign with both hands and unhesitatingly activated the ancient treasure.

Instantly, the five copper rings rapidly tightened, deeply embedding themselves into the old devil’s neck, hands, and feet, binding him tightly.

“Hehe! Five Elements Rings! While this ancient treasure is quite famous among ancient treasures, it’s useless against cultivators with unusual spiritual roots, those whose cultivation far exceeds the activator’s, and us unorthodox cultivators,” Xuan Gu said with a sneer, despite suffering from the tight grip of the five rings.

Then, as expected, he moved unimpeded, raising a hand and slapping the glowing orb on his chest.

The surface of the orb flickered erratically, and with a “sizzle,” it spontaneously split open into a large mouth.

Blue light swirled unsteadily within the opening, followed by a long, blue flame jetting out from inside.

This flame was incredibly sentient; after it lightly swept over Xuan Gu’s neck and limbs, the previously tightly bound copper rings instantly solidified with a thick layer of frost.

Then, after Xuan Gu’s body twisted and shook in an unbelievable manner, the now crystal-clear copper rings fell onto the stone platform with several clear clanging sounds, like lifeless objects.

Han Li’s heart sank. Without a moment’s thought, he opened his mouth, and nine small green swords spurted out in quick succession. They then merged into a single giant sword in mid-air, which he unhesitatingly brought down on Xuan Gu.

Upon seeing this, a hint of solemnity appeared on Xuan Gu’s face.

He immediately cupped the glowing orb with both hands, then raised it high, widening the opening further. Large swathes of blue ice flames shot out from its center.

These flames instantly transformed into a five-clawed ice dragon, transparent and glistening with blue cold light. It used its two front claws to block the green giant sword and unceremoniously spewed blue breath, striking the sword body fiercely.

After only a few strikes, the giant sword’s brilliance dimmed, and faint crystal frost began to appear on its surface. Its movements became noticeably sluggish and slow.

With a “boom” of thunder, several pale golden arcs of lightning appeared on the giant sword’s surface, striking the ice dragon fiercely. This instantly freed the giant sword from its restraint and repelled the ice dragon back a few meters.

“Still trying to run? I’m claiming this set of Golden Lightning Bamboo artifacts for myself. Your Spirit-Repelling Divine Thunder must be almost depleted, right? I wonder how many more times you can activate it,” Xuan Gu said with a sneer, his lips twitching.

He then pointed at the ice dragon, signaling it to pounce on the green giant sword again.

Upon hearing this, Han Li’s heart stirred.

Although the other party spoke nonchalantly, Han Li subtly sensed a hint of apprehension toward the Spirit-Repelling Divine Thunder in his words.

However, Han Li didn’t have time to ponder the issue. He swiftly unleashed a green spell sign, which shot towards the giant sword.

Then, with a gesture towards the sword, it blurred and shook violently, suddenly splitting into two identical giant swords—this was precisely the “Sword Shadow Splitting Light Art” of the Azure Essence Sword Chant.

Both giant swords simultaneously shot out thick, pale golden lightning arcs. One charged directly at the blue ice dragon, while the other flashed instantly, slashing diagonally towards the old devil Xuan Gu.

“Oh!” Xuan Gu exclaimed softly in surprise.

It was unclear whether he was surprised that Han Li had enough power to unleash such potent Spirit-Repelling Divine Thunder, or if he was astonished that the “Sword Shadow Splitting Light Art” could manifest two physical flying swords simultaneously.

But Xuan Gu’s surprise quickly vanished. Unhurriedly, he slapped the glowing orb in his hand again, and the Azure-Blue Ice Flames spurted forth once more.

This time, after flickering several times abruptly in front of him, the ice flames transformed into a triangular ice shield, directly blocking the incoming giant sword.

The pale golden lightning arcs and the blue, cold light on the ice shield’s surface intertwined and clashed. Neither side retreated a single step, resulting in an immediate stalemate.

Upon seeing this, Han Li, instead of panicking, felt pleased.

This indicated that while the Spirit-Repelling Divine Thunder could not completely suppress the coldness of the Azure-Blue Ice Flames, conversely, the extreme cold of the Azure-Blue Ice Flames also could not overcome the Spirit-Repelling Divine Thunder. As for which would ultimately prevail, it would simply depend on their respective power.

Thinking this, Han Li slapped the storage pouch at his waist, and a blood-red cloak automatically appeared on his body.

Although he wasn’t yet at the end of his rope, it was still necessary to prepare some essential backup plans beforehand.

Without daring to delay, Han Li then brought his hands together, his expression solemn, and slowly pulled them apart.

A crackling thunderclap sounded. Between his palms, a pale golden lightning orb appeared, with tiny arcs of electricity flickering and jumping on its surface.

This electric orb was only a few inches in size, but as Han Li channeled the remaining Spirit-Repelling Divine Thunder from his Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords, the orb rapidly expanded with a slight hum, growing to about a foot in size in an instant.

Across from him, Xuan Gu, who was manipulating the Azure-Blue Ice Flames and attempting to break through the two green giant swords in one go, caught sight of this scene. His face first paled, then his eyes showed an expression of disbelief.

He truly couldn’t believe what he was witnessing: Han Li still had the ability to create such a large lightning orb. Just how many Golden Lightning Bamboo flying swords did his opponent possess?

Xuan Gu became somewhat uneasy!

He knew that the reason his attitude had suddenly changed, making him believe that eliminating Han Li would be effortless, was his newfound confidence in the immensely powerful Azure-Blue Ice Flames he had just acquired.

Although these ice flames had only just been obtained and had not yet been refined or merged into “Asura Sacred Flame,” he could, at least, barely manipulate them under the intense pressure of his Profound Soul Yin Fire and the Spirit-Repelling Divine Thunder.

Xuan Gu naturally knew that Spirit-Repelling Divine Thunder could resist the cold attacks of the Azure-Blue Ice Flames, and that Han Li, with his Golden Lightning Bamboo flying swords, could also unleash divine thunder.

But precisely because of this, he felt he had to kill Han Li now.

Because, by his estimation, Han Li’s Spirit-Repelling Divine Thunder should have been almost completely depleted by now. Even if some remained by chance, it wouldn’t be much. With that, Han Li couldn’t possibly withstand the attacks of the Azure-Blue Ice Flames.

And Golden Lightning Bamboo! No one could possess too many artifacts made from this material.

The number of Golden Lightning Bamboo flying swords Han Li possessed was already utterly astonishing to Xuan Gu!

Each time Spirit-Repelling Divine Thunder was released, its quantity decreased. Golden Lightning Bamboo artifacts couldn’t regenerate divine thunder without a period of rest and recovery. Xuan Gu vowed he wouldn’t give Han Li that chance to recover!

As for his treacherous disciple, Extreme Yin, whom he hated even more, Xuan Gu’s ambition surged when he acquired the Azure-Blue Ice Flames and confirmed that they could indeed be cultivated into Asura Sacred Flame. As long as he could master the Asura Sacred Flame, dominating the entire Starfall Sea would not be impossible.

Compared to this, Han Li, with his Golden Lightning Bamboo artifacts, naturally became his primary target for elimination. After all, Spirit-Repelling Divine Thunder had always been the greatest bane of their Ghost Dao cultivators.

And after he later contacted Barbarian Beard, eliminating Extreme Yin would become even easier, whether Han Li helped or not.

When Han Li initially activated powerful arcs of lightning on both giant swords simultaneously, it had already surprised Xuan Gu somewhat.

Now, seeing such a large Golden Lightning Orb appear in Han Li’s hand, Xuan Gu was truly bewildered.

This was completely beyond his expectations!

A cultivator at the early Core Formation stage, yet seemingly possessing an endless supply of Golden Lightning Bamboo artifacts—this filled Xuan Gu with secret regret, but even more so with profound shock and disbelief.

Just how many Golden Lightning Bamboo artifacts did Han Li have? This perplexing question now weighed heavily on the old devil’s heart like a massive mountain.

Just as Xuan Gu hesitated for a moment, the electric orb in Han Li’s hand rapidly expanded to several feet in size, hovering a few feet above his head. Its humming became deafening.

The old devil, having recovered his senses, had a somewhat pale face.

Compared to this lightning orb, the previous Spirit-Repelling Divine Thunder was utterly insignificant.

“Good, very good! Although I don’t know why you possess so many Golden Lightning Bamboo artifacts, from the day you acquired them, you were destined to be a mortal enemy of us Ghost Dao cultivators. Today, I, this Venerable One, will show you the true power of the Asura Fire, renowned as the Sacred Flame of the Ghost Dao!” Xuan Gu said through gritted teeth.

Now, he was in a difficult situation, caught between a rock and a hard place. He decided to bite the bullet and temporarily merge the three energies into the fabled Asura Sacred Flame.

He hoped to use this flame to shatter Han Li’s Spirit-Repelling Divine Thunder in one fell swoop, thereby completely resolving this major threat.

Of course, forcibly synthesizing the Sacred Flame through such a secret art in a short time was naturally very dangerous, with the constant possibility of a backlash.

But Xuan Gu, in his current state, could no longer afford to care about such risks.

Perhaps he had other means to slowly deplete Han Li’s divine thunder, or temporarily use secret arts and artifacts to escape the barrier and hide. But he also didn’t have much time. Either he let Han Li go, or he had to eliminate Han Li before others returned.

So, with a determined bite of his teeth, he threw the glowing orb in his hand forward, then his hands danced like spinning wheels. Various spell signs continuously struck the orb before him.

Instantly, the orb came to life. The blue flame at its center began to spin rapidly inside, while the outer layers of Profound Soul Yin Fire and black lightning arcs rotated in the opposite direction.

A moment later, the entire orb emitted dazzling radiance.

Then, with a muffled thud, countless icy, gray-white sparks furiously streamed out from the orb, surging towards Han Li in an overwhelming barrage.

Han Li’s expression first froze, then his face turned cold.

Although he had never heard of the Asura Sacred Flame, he knew this fire was definitely more formidable than the Azure-Blue Ice Flames, if not even more so!

With an extremely solemn expression, he shook his hands, no longer channeling divine thunder into the enormous lightning orb above his head. Instead, his ten fingers continuously flickered, forming various spell signs, and incantations murmured from his mouth.

The pale golden lightning orb began to deform and stretch, instantly transforming into a golden electric net, forming a shield of electric light that enveloped Han Li from head to toe.

Immediately afterward, the gray-white sparks from the opposite side ruthlessly shot onto the golden net.

Instantly, golden light and white flames intertwined, and the roar of thunder and sharp shrieks sounded simultaneously.