Chapter 775: Battle at the Border (3)

The black-robed figure opposite, seeing the light barrier reappear, stopped speaking and formed a hand seal. Low, ancient, and obscure incantations emanated from his mouth. The chilling demonic energy around him surged several feet, transforming into dark, ink-like tentacles that writhed ceaselessly.

Han Li narrowed his eyes, staring motionlessly at his opponent. However, a faint crackling sound, accompanied by a subtle golden glow, emanated from his hands, which were concealed within his sleeves. Han Li was already confident in instantly eliminating cultivators of the same cultivation level who practiced demonic arts. He only needed to seize an opening during their attack to strike them down.

But in that instant, the black-robed figure's pupils turned crimson, and a beast-like roar escaped his lips. Then, his demonic energy dissipated, and the body beneath his black robe began to swell. In a flash, his body swelled to more than twice its original size.

“Oh!” Han Li was slightly taken aback by this sight. It wasn't the change in his opponent's physique that surprised him, but rather the sudden disappearance of the demonic energy, which was replaced by an unsettling, peculiar aura.

The black-robed figure's blood-red eyes revealed a look of madness. His swollen body suddenly shrank, transforming in an instant into a dwarf about three feet tall. His figure then shot backward, hitting the barrier behind him.

Han Li was startled. His mind raced as he felt a faint sense of foreboding. He raised both hands, and two thick golden arcs shot out, transforming into a huge golden net in mid-air that swept towards the black-robed figure. Immediately after, he flicked his sleeve, and a small blue shield flew out from his cuff, expanding into a large shield that blocked his front. With his other hand, he slapped his storage pouch at his waist, and a forbidden bead fell into his palm.

As soon as something seemed wrong, he would immediately activate this bead, break through the restriction, and leave. Knowing his opponent was about to play a trick, he wouldn't be held back here.

However, just as Han Li's thoughts raced, the black-robed figure, now covered by the golden lightning net, let out a mournful shriek. With a loud 'bang,' he inexplicably exploded. Every inch of his body turned into bloody foam, scattering in all directions.

Han Li was startled at first, but then his expression turned to one of astonishment. He had initially thought his opponent was attempting some sort of brutal self-detonation secret technique. However, all of his opponent's flesh and blood splattered onto the barrier, not affecting Han Li's side at all, and seemingly possessing no power.

Confused, Han Li grew suspicious. But then he immediately noticed something unusual. All of the opponent's bloody foam and shattered flesh stuck to the opposite barrier, with no sign of falling off. Furthermore, as he watched, the blood and flesh eerily began to writhe on the barrier.

Upon seeing this, Han Li was somewhat dumbfounded. A few 'pffft' sounds emerged. The flesh and blood suddenly transformed into masses of bloody mist, spreading rapidly along the barrier. Its speed was astonishing; in the blink of an eye, it turned most of the white light barrier blood-red, emitting a nauseating, pungent, bloody stench.

Han Li was horrified. He immediately slammed the forbidden bead in his hand against the barrier behind him. With a 'bang,' the forbidden bead instantly burst into a dark, black light upon contact with the barrier. Subsequently, that section of the barrier flickered erratically, and the entire light barrier began to tremble slightly.

Han Li was overjoyed. He rapidly flicked his fingers in quick succession, sending ten streaks of green sword qi striking the same spot one after another. After several rapid flashes of white light, the barrier appeared to be on the verge of shattering. Just as he was filled with joy, a flash of bloody light appeared before him, and a large expanse of bloody mist instantly covered the barrier in front, turning it blood-red.

Han Li's heart suddenly sank. He looked up and around, only to find that the entire light barrier had turned blood-red. Bloody mist churned on its surface, and viscous drops of blood condensed out of thin air. The bloody stench intensified immediately. Without time to think, he opened his mouth. A thunderous roar erupted, and a golden arc as thick as a bowl shot out, striking the blood-colored barrier in front of him.

After the golden light exploded, the bloody mist briefly dispersed but immediately returned to its original state, seemingly unharmed. This greatly surprised Han Li. His Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords, which he had been about to unleash, paused, and a solemn expression appeared on his face.

At the same time, the scenario of opponents self-destructing to turn the light barriers blood-red was playing out simultaneously across all ten arenas. The ten Nascent Soul cultivators participating in the wagered battle, caught off guard, were all trapped within the altered light barriers.

The ten Core Formation cultivators overseeing the formation's operation below naturally knew the situation was dire. While remaining vigilant against the Mulan spellcasters opposite them, they hurriedly formed hand seals, attempting to stop the formation. However, to their great surprise, upon seeing the light barriers turn blood-red, the Mulan spellcasters remained silent, immediately turned around, left the formation, and flew straight back to their main encampment.

This sudden action not only failed to reassure the ten cultivators, including the woman named Song, but instead made them realize the gravity of the situation. It became clear that the alteration of the light barriers was definitely a trick orchestrated by the spellcasters.

As they had predicted, although the formation was halted by their spells, the bloody barriers in the air remained eerily present. The bloody mist began to thin, revealing thick layers of blood coating the entire barrier, as if the blood of hundreds of people had been used to cover it. The sight was truly horrifying!

Witnessing this scene, Venerable Zhiyang and the others were naturally startled. Seeing that the ten cultivators were unable to stop the formation, they could no longer remain calm. Suddenly, they transformed into three dazzling streaks of rainbow light and soared away.

“Descend! This is beyond your ability to handle.” Upon flying above the formation, Venerable Zhiyang cast a grim look at the altered light barriers and spoke with a dark expression. The cultivators below exhaled in relief upon hearing this and hastily flew back to their main encampment.

Meanwhile, the woman named Song glanced at the bloody barrier containing Han Li, a flash of worry crossing her face before she, too, reluctantly departed. In the opposing spellcaster camp, the gaunt old man and his companions had initially shown a trace of excitement upon seeing Han Li and the others trapped. Now, witnessing the three Venerables arrive at the formation together, their expressions remained perfectly composed, as if they had no concern that the three powerful cultivators could break through the bloody barriers.

Behind them, a man and a woman, both clad in black robes, had appeared at some unknown point.

“Sect Master Fang, it was a success indeed. I hope the Bloodnet Barrier is truly as formidable as your sect claims, capable of trapping ten Nascent Soul cultivators for half a day. Should the Tiannan region lose these ten individuals, its strength will naturally be significantly diminished. And half a day is ample time for us to decide the victor against the Tiannan cultivators without further ado.” The gaunt old man turned his head and chuckled dryly to the black-robed man.

“Rest assured! This Bloodnet Barrier is one of our sect’s six great secret arts. Not only does it require the sacrifice of ten blood-corpses cultivated for a hundred years, but to avoid arousing suspicion from the other side, we even had these blood-corpses consume Demonic Spirit Pills. Furthermore, ten of us, including myself, had to collectively use our divided consciousness to control them, thus evading detection. Having gone to such lengths, even sacrificing a wisp of my divine sense, I naturally have full confidence. Even late-Nascent Soul cultivators would find it impossible to break this barrier without expending a great deal of cultivation energy and spending at least half an hour. And will you grant them that opportunity?” The black-robed man glanced at the old man and sneered.

As if to confirm the black-robed man’s words, Venerable Zhiyang, from a distance, aimed at one of the bloody barriers below him. He then made a light gesture, and a dazzling streak of sword qi slashed down. After a rumbling, violent tremor, the bloody barrier merely quivered slightly before returning to its original state.

Witnessing this, Venerable Zhiyang’s expression immediately turned grim. Wei Wuya and the Old Devil of Joyful Harmony, who were also present, saw this scene and no longer had any intention of attacking. With their discernment, although only one of them had tested it, they could immediately gauge the barrier’s restrictive strength. This eerie bloody barrier was incredibly resilient, and it seemed to possess some other strange properties, making it truly difficult to break.

However, after that single slash, the three also realized that this barrier primarily focused on trapping enemies and had no offensive capabilities. This made the three exchange a bitter smile. They had initially thought their opponents would unleash powerful killing moves to severely injure the ten wagered cultivators during the battle. However, they hadn't expected that from the very beginning, their opponents intended only to temporarily trap the ten individuals. This caught the three old monsters off guard, causing a miscalculation. Most of their prior preparations had suddenly become ineffective.

“Brother Yi, what kind of demonic cultivation technique is this? Your Six Demonic Sects don't have such a technique, do they? To think it requires self-detonation to activate this method. That's truly something we hadn't anticipated,” Wei Wuya sighed and slowly asked.

“No, I'm also seeing such a peculiar secret art for the first time. It seems the cultivators from Jin Country are indeed not to be underestimated!” the Old Devil of Joyful Harmony said, his brow furrowed.

Feeling frustrated, the three had no inclination to question their opponents further. This was because war drums began to pound from the opposing Mulan spellcaster army. Some spellcasters rose into the air, hovering mid-flight, while those on the ground began to shift their positions, accompanied by bursts of incantations, clearly adopting an offensive stance. Although the cultivator army behind them had witnessed the bizarre scene of the wagered battles, they did not panic under the guidance of their high-ranking cultivators. Their corresponding formations also began to move, and various spiritual lights started to flash within the cultivator ranks.

“This time, we've suffered a significant setback. Fortunately, they are only temporarily trapped and are not in mortal danger. As long as we prolong the battle, they will still have a chance to escape. Our high-ranking cultivators already outnumber the Mulan people. Even without these ten, we won't be much weaker than their spellcasters,” Venerable Zhiyang said after some thought.

Although the Old Devil of Joyful Harmony and Wei Wuya knew that Venerable Zhiyang's words were mostly self-consoling, given the circumstances, they could only accept it helplessly. Naturally, both of them harbored considerable anger.

“Alright, we don't need to direct the battle below. We just need to do our best to stall the Mulan Divine Masters!” the Old Devil of Joyful Harmony said ominously, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.

Then, ignoring the other two, he raised his head and fiercely shouted towards the opposing Mulan spellcaster army: “It is said that the Mulan Divine Masters possess unfathomably profound spiritual arts. I, Yi, and my two companions wish to experience them firsthand. Are you Divine Masters willing to step forth and fight?”

The Old Devil of Joyful Harmony's loud cry, clearly amplified by some secret art, was like a bolt of lightning on a clear day, causing the sky and ground for several miles around to hum with resonance. The chanting from both camps was momentarily suppressed. Even some of the airborne spellcasters with lower cultivation levels swayed several times, nearly plummeting to the ground.