Chapter 786: Blood Demon and Stone Man

The Twin Devils were relatively fine; the eerily strange Ghost Dao cultivation techniques they practiced, combined with the corpse aura and chilly winds they jointly unleashed, still allowed them to barely protect themselves amidst the fierce blue flames.

However, the Seven Cultivators of Taizhen, whose magic power was severely depleted, finally could no longer hold on. Especially two of the elders: one's face was flushed crimson and his spiritual light flickered erratically, while the other's face was ashen white, with faint wisps of white air expanding and contracting around his mouth and nose. This clearly indicated an excessive expenditure of spiritual power, or even the use of extreme potential-unlocking secret techniques.

Han Li frowned. He glanced at the cultivators fiercely fighting in front of him, then looked at the woman named Le, who stood unmoving beside the ancient lamp in the distance.

"Keep a close eye on the Soulcry Beast; don't let anything happen to it," Han Li said calmly, his voice barely audible. "If there's real danger, retrieve it first. Here, you can borrow the Soul Resonance Pearl for now. I'll go and extinguish that ancient lamp first."

Then, with a flick of his wrist, he tossed a black-gray spherical pearl behind him. A faint white light flickered, and the pearl vanished instantly.

"Yes, Master! Please be careful," Yin Yue's worried voice was heard from the seemingly empty space behind Han Li. "That peacock's divine abilities are truly formidable."

Han Li nodded, his expression unchanged. When he saw that no one nearby had noticed him, his figure blurred slightly, and he suddenly disappeared from his spot.

Han Li's nameless Qi refining technique, derived from the demon race, might have been far inferior to Yin Yue's innate escape techniques in terms of concealment. However, when it came to suppressing his aura and breath, it was not inferior in the slightest. He pushed the nameless technique to its extreme. Not only was all the spiritual energy in his body perfectly concealed, but even his own emanating aura was forcefully restrained. He now needed to deceive not only the woman named Le but also the Mulan Sacred Bird, whose cultivation was unfathomably deep.

In the distance, the woman named Le saw that the withered elder and others were also entangled by cultivators like Long Han, and a hint of anxiety appeared on her face. Although she remained by the ancient lamp, she turned her head and loudly spoke a few words in an ancient language to the giant bird on the other side, a slight pleading expression on her face.

The demonic bird, which was currently spitting blue flames, paused its movements upon hearing these words, its body involuntarily halting. Then, it twisted its neck and squinted at the battle group where the withered elder and others were, a hint of disdain appearing in its bird eyes. It immediately turned back and fiercely spat out several more blobs of blue flames downwards, forcing the Seven Cultivators of Taizhen into another frantic struggle. Only then, with a clear cry, did it suddenly spread its wings and soar high.

After a single circle, the bird, facing the elder's direction, gently shook the glazed flame-like feathers on its body. Large swaths of blue feathers detached from its body, then, with a flash of light, transformed into numerous blue firebirds, each about a foot long. These hundreds of firebirds, without needing any command, after a flurry of chirping, spread their wings and shot towards the withered elder and others.

Upon seeing this scene, the woman named Le finally felt much more at ease. With the aid of these illusory spirit birds, the elder's side would surely be fine. Victory was only a matter of time!

Just as the woman's mind relaxed, a tremendous rumbling sound came from the center of the battlefield. The woman named Le, surprised and bewildered, hurriedly looked over.

Han Li, who had just used his escape technique, was cautiously approaching the vicinity of the woman named Le. Hearing the sound, he also looked over with some surprise. He saw that in the center of the battlefield, another crucial confrontation was underway.

Over there, the Myriad Soul Grand Formation, jointly activated by dozens of Ghost Spirit Sect disciples, finally halted. The ghostly mist it formed hovered motionlessly in the air. Blocking the ghostly mist was a Void Spirit Beast, condensed by the combined efforts of several Mulan Grand Sorcerers—a colossal stone figure like a sky pillar. This puppet-like stone giant, under the command of the Mulan Sorcerers, had defeated other Heavenly South cultivators who were besieging it. With no other enemies nearby, it naturally blocked the Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators hiding within the Myriad Soul Grand Formation.

And the loud rumble just now was this stone giant, propelled by the Mulan Sorcerers, slamming its palm down towards the ghostly mist. Before its palm even reached its target, countless millstone-sized rocks rolled down from between its fingers. Even if the Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators within the Myriad Soul Formation had absolute confidence in their restrictions, they would never dare to directly withstand these giant rocks. Immediately, with a whoosh, they manipulated the ghostly mist to dodge away.

However, after shooting dozens of feet away, it stopped again. As the Heavenly South and Mulan forces fought to this point, both sorcerers and cultivators understood that this battle had reached its most crucial juncture. Therefore, a Ghost Spirit Sect elder overseeing the Myriad Soul Formation, after a brief moment of thought, decided to use the formation's ultimate killer move, no matter the cost.

Before the stone giant could pursue again, the low chanting of the Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators resonated within the ghostly mist. A piercing scream erupted from the mist, and a beam of bloody light shot skyward from within. Then, as if infected, the eerie, dark mist suddenly turned blood-red amidst the chanting. The two Mulan Sorcerers standing on the stone giant's shoulders saw this scene, and surprise and doubt appeared in their eyes.

Moments later, the chanting abruptly ceased. After the blood mist churned for a while, dozens of escape lights of various colors shot out from the mist as if fleeing for their lives. These were precisely the cultivators of the Ghost Spirit Sect. This action further bewildered the two Mulan Grand Sorcerers.

At this moment, the blood mist, abandoned by the Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators, came to life on its own. It transformed into tentacles of various sizes, which began to wildly dance in place and rapidly shrink and condense in the center. Meanwhile, the Ghost Spirit Sect elder who had overseen the Myriad Soul Formation, after flying fifty or sixty feet away, made a turn and stopped. With a strange expression, he looked back at the blood mist and thought to himself: "Having absorbed so much sorcerer essence blood, and with a willing human cauldron for the blood sacrifice, this time, it shouldn't fail!"

Just as this Ghost Spirit Sect elder felt a bit uneasy, the blood mist had shrunk by more than half and was continuously writhing. Seeing this, the two Mulan Sorcerers controlling the stone giant hardened their resolve and, without further thought, were about to command the stone figure beneath their feet to stomp down hard.

Suddenly, a chilling wind arose from the ground. It was eerie, yellowish, and bone-piercingly cold, making it almost impossible to see. The stone giant's movements involuntarily slowed, but instantly, it returned to normal. When the Mulan Sorcerers regained their vision and looked again, they were surprised to find that the area of the blood mist was completely enveloped by a swirling yellowish, gloomy wind, making it impossible to discern anything inside.

But just then, the yellowish wind was forcefully torn apart with a ripping sound, and a blood-red shadow shot out from within. After the two Mulan Sorcerers clearly saw the shadow's face, their expressions changed, and they gasped in cold air. It was actually a blood-red malevolent ghost over ten zhang tall!

This malevolent ghost had two curved horns on its head, a horse's tail, and two rows of gleaming, exceptionally sharp fangs. Its arms, as thick as giant trees, were covered by a layer of translucent, tiny scales. Its ten fingers were pointed, like sharp daggers. However, compared to ordinary cultivators, this malevolent ghost was already enormous. But compared to the nearly hundred-zhang-tall stone figure, it was nothing.

But this ghost showed no fear whatsoever. As soon as it appeared, it let out a fierce howl towards the sky, then fixed its cold gaze on the stone figure. It slightly lowered its head, and its body shot out like a crossbow bolt, instantly reaching the stone figure's calf. With one ghostly claw, its five fingers spread open, and it fiercely clawed at the stone figure's leg. Large chunks of shattered stone immediately fell from it.

The two Mulan Sorcerers naturally would not let it continue. Instantly, the stone figure's two colossal hands clenched into fists and struck downwards fiercely, moving with lightning speed. The blood ghost was struck and sent flying over ten zhang away. Even half of its head was gone. But the ghost flipped over and stood up as if nothing had happened, its damaged head healing to normal with a flash of bloody light. Then, it charged towards the stone figure again.

The two Mulan Sorcerers controlling the stone figure were both surprised and enraged. While directing the Void Spirit Beast under their control to fight it, they also released their own magic treasures to assist in the attack. They immediately engaged in battle.

Meanwhile, the Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators who had previously fled now returned and unceremoniously joined the ranks besieging the stone giant and the Mulan Sorcerers. A continuous rumbling sound echoed there, and bloody light flickered incessantly.

Seeing this, the woman named Le frowned, her gaze flickering as she stared at the scene, without uttering a word. As a Mulan Grand Sorcerer, she naturally knew the immense power of this stone figure. Seeing that the Heavenly South cultivators had summoned a ghost creature that could actually contend with the stone figure without falling into disadvantage, she couldn't help but feel surprised.

However, she wasn't overly concerned about this. As long as the stone figure could hold on for a little longer, the Mulan Sacred Bird she summoned would be able to kill those opponents. By then, victory would be decided.

The woman thought this and glanced at the giant bird not far away. It seemed this demonic bird also knew it was a crucial moment and finally mobilized all its fire spiritual energy, transforming an area of a hundred zhang into a sea of blue flames. Moreover, with an unexpected flap of its enormous wings, the bird had broken the combined formation of the seven elders and the Twin Devils. The sea of flames beneath it instantly split into two sections, trapping the two groups separately within them. Then, a small portion of its attention was used to deal with the Twin Devils, while the majority of its attacks focused on the Seven Cultivators of Taizhen. This made the seven elders of Taizhen Sect secretly groan in misery. Their lives could be lost at any moment!

Upon seeing this situation, the woman named Le felt relieved. She looked back at the nine ancient lamps in front of her, seeing that there was still half of the lamp oil remaining, and felt much more secure.

Suddenly, the woman raised an eyebrow, and after narrowing her eyes, her hand, swift as lightning, plucked a lamp flame from one of the ancient lamps. With a gentle flick of her hand, the lamp flame vanished instantly amidst a blue light.

Meanwhile, at a spot over thirty zhang away, a blue light flashed, and a cry of alarm was heard. A figure materialized, enveloped in shimmering blue light, covered by a shield of blue light formed by the lamp flame. Then, without raising her head, the woman named Le formed a hand seal with one hand. With a "poof," the person self-ignited within the blue light, only managing a single tragic scream before being instantly reduced to ashes by the terrifying lamp flame.