Chapter 699: Ice Crystal and Black Peak

However, the next scene somewhat exceeded Han Li's expectations.

The moment the giant sword touched the silk net, the net immediately shimmered with blue light. Its crystalline, delicate threads proved to be surprisingly tough and resilient. After the giant sword furiously slashed several times within the net, not only did it fail to break through, but the net, controlled by the old man, began to wrap around it layer by layer. In moments, the sword was trapped inside. Though not completely subdued, it genuinely struggled to break free for the time being.

Han Li frowned. Just as he was about to cast another spell, the old man opposite him made the first move. A sinister chill flashed across his face as his hands moved like spinning wheels, forming various strange hand seals. Simultaneously, streams of multicolored incantations rapidly shot from his hands, all striking the spiritual light hovering above his head.

Instantly, the blue spiritual mass began to contract and deform, and amidst the obscure, indecipherable chanting, it burst open in an instant. Countless palm-sized, slender ice crystals then appeared out of thin air around the old man, glowing with blue light and spreading out within a radius of over ten zhang.

A fierce expression appeared on the old man's face. He abruptly swung his hands wide and pointed at Han Li, uttering a cold, "Go!" Immediately, the sky-full of ice crystals, like bolts from powerful crossbows, all shot towards Han Li simultaneously with his command. Dense, blue crystal rays instantly enveloped Han Li's position, presenting a truly terrifying display of power!

"Is this a spirit art?" Han Li was momentarily stunned, a look of surprise on his face. But his hands didn't pause for a moment. Without hesitation, he unleashed the ancient flower basket treasure he had just activated from his hand. At the same time, he slapped his spirit beast pouch at his waist, and another swarm of three-colored Gold Devouring Beetles surged out. Under Han Li's urging, they enveloped him.

This time, the Gold Devouring Beetles didn't condense into anything specific, but instead swirled wildly around him, forming an impenetrable beetle shield. Han Li's figure became blurred. As soon as the flower basket left his hand, it transformed into a streak of white mist and soared to meet the myriad ice crystals shooting towards him. As a result, the portion of ice crystals that it met head-on were all absorbed into the white mist as it swirled and contracted.

Seeing this, the other ice crystals seemed to possess intelligence, splitting to the left and right. They immediately bypassed the white mist from both sides and shot directly towards the beetle shield in front of Han Li.

Dull 'thudding' sounds echoed continuously! The prismatic ice crystals were briefly halted by the beetle shield, but they still tore open one hole after another, plunging into it relentlessly. The beetle shield then restored itself, and inside, there was no sound or sign, as if nothing had happened at all.

The old man, surnamed Mu, was startled by this sight. His "Ice Crystal Art" seemed similar to the "Ice Rain Art" among cultivators' Five Element Taoist spells, differing only in quantity. However, these ice prisms were actually formed from the Profound Essence Cold Qi he had cultivated himself, making them not only sharp and potent but also incredibly cold. Cultivators unaware of their true nature, even if they could temporarily withstand them with protective magical treasures, would still be unable to endure the subsequent freezing effects of the cold qi released upon the ice prisms' shattering. Yet now, after these ice prisms had penetrated, there was no trace of them. How could this not astonish him?

The old man hesitated for a moment. Just as he was about to use his divine sense to probe the situation inside the beetle shield, a sudden thunderous sound erupted above his head. He felt a sudden 'buzz' in both ears, then his vision went black. Caught off guard, he nearly plummeted directly from the sky.

In his shock and anger, the old man, surnamed Mu, hastily rubbed his hands together, then slapped his body several times, instantly causing a white protective barrier to appear around him. Only then did he regain his balance and look up.

Above him, the silver giant bell had appeared overhead sometime without him noticing. The tremendous sound earlier had come from this very bell. At that moment, the bell shimmered with silver light, and a second massive sound echoed out. This time, it wasn't directed at the now-cautious old man, but rather released rings of sound waves, targeting the blue giant net nearby and the struggling green giant sword trapped within.

"Oh no!" The old man was momentarily startled, but quickly came to his senses. He hastily tried to cast a spell to block it, but he was clearly a step too late. As a result, the blue silk net, impacted by the pale silver sound waves, snapped into pieces. The giant sword immediately broke free and unceremoniously slashed down at the old man once more. Before the sword's edge even arrived, immense pressure surged towards him.

Although the old man still had a protective barrier on him, how could he dare to directly face such an astonishingly massive sword? His face paled, and his body swayed. Enveloped in blue light, he shot backward several tens of zhang away, dodging the giant sword's strike.

Without hesitation, he then beckoned to the orb in the air. The magical treasure immediately flew to hover above his head. After he expelled a mouthful of vital energy onto it, a light curtain rose again to protect him. Only then did the old man, with a solemn expression, cautiously look towards Han Li. His face instantly changed, turning pale.

The beetle shield opposite him had already dispersed amidst buzzing sounds, reforming into a cloud of beetles that floated above Han Li's head. Han Li, meanwhile, held an azure-blue ice flower several inches in size in one hand, and was gazing calmly at him.

When their gazes met, the coldness in Han Li's eyes sent a shiver through the old man. However, his gaze then shifted, no longer on Han Li, but fixed intently on the small ice flower in Han Li's hand, a look of uncertainty and surprise on his face. Under the sunlight, the ice flower was crystal clear and exceptionally beautiful. But the old man paid no attention to its beauty. What concerned him was that despite the distance between him and Han Li, he, who had cultivated ice-attribute spirit arts for several centuries, could sense astonishingly cold spiritual energy emanating from the ice flower. Though somewhat unfamiliar, it surprisingly instilled in the old man a sense of inexplicable awe, leaving him secretly terrified.

In an instant, the old man pursed his lips and spoke with a grim expression: "Was the spirit art I just cast broken by you using this item? What kind of treasure is this? Would you mind telling me, fellow Daoist?"

Hearing this, Han Li chuckled softly. "Treasure? You could say that. As for what it is, if you're willing to tell me about the spirit art you just used, I might be able to share a thing or two." Han Li said calmly after his smile.

"What? You, a cultivator, are interested in our spell casters' spirit arts? That's quite interesting!" The shock on the old man's face gradually faded, replaced by his usual sinister expression. However, from the old man's flickering eyes, Han Li subtly discerned his apprehension towards the ice flower in his hand. A cold sneer touched Han Li's lips, and he gave the impression he couldn't be bothered to answer.

The old man saw Han Li's expression and was furious. After a cold snort, he slapped his storage pouch at his waist. Black light flashed in his hand, and an object suddenly appeared. It was dark and appeared to be a small, miniature mountain.

Han Li was momentarily stunned, and before he could examine the item closely, the old man had already begun chanting. He then tossed the small mountain into the air. Instantly, black light swirled on its surface, and its size rapidly expanded. In a blink, it grew to several tens of zhang, and was still increasing in size.

Witnessing this, Han Li drew a sharp breath. Without a second thought, he pointed a finger at the green giant sword. After the giant sword emitted a clear hum, it transformed into a green rainbow, shooting directly above the small mountain, and fiercely descended, striking the mountain's peak head-on.

With a colossal 'boom', shattered rocks flew, and brilliant light erupted. Green and black lights intertwined and collided. Han Li's eyes narrowed as he glanced at it. The top of the black mountain peak had a gash about seven to eight zhang long and one zhang deep from his sword strike, but it was clearly far from enough to split the mountain in half. Yet, right before his eyes, the gash rapidly mended at a visible pace. Before he could launch a second strike, it had already recovered by more than half.

By this time, the mountain peak had expanded to over a hundred zhang in size amidst the black light, making it indistinguishable from a real small mountain. Even with Han Li's daring and composure, seeing the colossal black mountain towering before him, his eyelids couldn't help but twitch twice, and his face instantly turned grim. He didn't need to think to realize that if he were to be directly hit by this mountain peak, no beetle shield or beetle armor could possibly withstand it. He would instantly be crushed to dust.

At this point, Han Li's giant sword struck the mountain peak several more times, but it was completely futile. After a sinister laugh, the old man pointed a single finger at the mountain peak. With a 'swoosh', the mountain peak suddenly appeared directly above Han Li in the next instant, and then ruthlessly plunged down.

Han Li was greatly startled, not having time to ponder how such a massive object could use instantaneous movement or escape techniques. With a clap of thunder behind him, he vanished without a trace in a flash of silver light. At a distance of several tens of zhang, Han Li's figure reappeared, only now with a pair of silvery-white Wind-Thunder Wings on his back.

"Huh!" Witnessing Han Li's instantaneous disappearance, it was the old man's turn to be greatly startled. His expression changed drastically, and he instantly shot backward again, increasing the distance between himself and Han Li, acting extremely cautious. His gaze at Han Li was filled with shock.

At this moment, the old man, surnamed Mu, finally understood something: the opponent was not an ordinary early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. With such instantaneous movement divine ability, it was impossible for him to keep Han Li here. It seemed his trip this time would likely be fruitless. After all, with his cultivation level, he could only use the divine ability to instantly move such a massive black peak a mere few times. Each use of the spell would significantly deplete his spiritual energy. He dared not use it too much.