Chapter 826: Slaying the Beast

A sudden burst of crimson light erupted at the center of the water curtain, followed by a colossal pillar of flame that spontaneously coiled around the Fire Toad Beast.

Instantly, the water dragon, the ring, and the two blue long spears were all forcibly expelled from the fiery pillar. At the core of the pillar, the indistinct figure of the ancient Fire Toad Beast was faintly exerting its power.

As all attacks were repelled by the fiery pillar, the Fire Toad Beast, realizing it had fallen into a trap, seized the opportunity. It kicked backward, transforming into a searing ball of flames that shot out, aiming directly for the slowly closing hole.

Seeing this, Marquis Nanlong and the elder surnamed Lu were startled. They quickly commanded their treasures, hoping to catch up and prevent the beast from escaping the restriction.

But it seemed they were a little too late.

Just as the ball of flame neared the water curtain, about to flash through in the blink of an eye, a sharp cry suddenly echoed from afar. The Fire Toad Beast had barely extended a front limb through the opening when a black flash streaked past its vision, something brushing against it. Simultaneously, its front limb went from hot to cold, and a large portion of it was suddenly severed.

The Fire Toad's body convulsed violently, and an unbearable pain emanated from its severed limb.

Although the beast possessed considerable power, it couldn't help but let out a miserable shriek before tumbling from the air.

Outside, Marquis Nanlong and the other cultivator were overjoyed. They immediately directed their treasures to launch a furious barrage of attacks on the Fire Toad Beast, which was unable to stand.

The emerald ring shimmered, then transformed into hundreds of illusory duplicates that continuously tumbled around the Fire Toad, attempting to restrain it at close range. Meanwhile, the two blue long spears shimmered as well, turning into two blue ice pythons, each five to six zhang long, which immediately launched themselves forward.

However, this beast truly lived up to its reputation as an ancient creature that even Senior Cang Kun had once somewhat feared. Despite losing a limb, its cultivation and power were unaffected. In almost an instant, dense shields of light reappeared before it, intercepting all the incoming attacks.

The emerald ring illusions couldn't get close to the beast at all, making any form of restraint impossible. They could only rely on their basic power to continuously strike the light shields, but the effect was negligible.

The two ice pythons, whose attributes countered the fire-element light shields, shattered a small shield with every pounce. However, these shields seemed virtually endless, so their effectiveness was also limited.

But a moment later, six blue light pillars shot down from the sky, joining the assault. With every flash, a light shield was invariably shattered.

A tremendous rumbling instantly erupted, and the Fire Toad Beast, which had just begun to rise, was once again pressed to the ground.

Marquis Nanlong paused, glancing slightly.

He saw Han Li, who had arrived nearby at some unknown point, waving his hand to dispel the black energy on one of his arms. Behind him, six giant blue tortoise puppets were unleashing bowl-thick beams of light from their mouths, attacking the ancient Fire Toad Beast within the water curtain.

Han Li's gaze shifted, taking in the severed limb of the Fire Toad Beast that had fallen outside the water curtain.

Although separated from its original owner's body, it still emitted faint red light, floating near the water curtain as if possessing some residual sentience.

Han Li's eyes flashed with surprise at this sight.

He had seen the critical situation from afar just moments ago, with the Fire Toad on the verge of escaping the restriction. In a desperate move, he unleashed a 'Yin Demon Slash', which severed the beast's front limb.

To his surprise, the Fire Toad Beast remained so fierce even after losing a limb. Despite being attacked by two Nascent Soul cultivators and six giant tortoise puppets, it still managed to hold its ground. No wonder Senior Cang Kun had voluntarily retreated back then, knowing he was no match for it after suffering a severe loss of vitality.

“Fellow Daoist Han,” the elder surnamed Lu called out anxiously, seeing that whenever a small shield on the Fire Toad Beast was dispersed, it instantly transformed into faint fire clouds that were absorbed back into the beast, only for new batches of light shields to erupt again. “The fire-element spiritual shields on this Fire Toad are endless and inexhaustible. I'm afraid we'll need your cold-element divine ability to counter them. Otherwise, there's no telling how long this battle will drag on.”

Han Li had already observed this situation without the elder needing to point it out.

Without a word, he flicked his sleeve, and over ten golden flying swords shot out. After circling once, they converged into a colossal sword, a zhang long, under the impetus of Han Li's incantation.

This sword gleamed with golden light and exuded an intimidating chill.

This action left both Lu Weiying and Marquis Nanlong stunned.

They had expected Han Li to unleash that terrifying blue cold flame to deal with the Fire Toad, but instead, he had released numerous flying swords. Naturally, they were puzzled.

Seeing the giant sword fully formed, Han Li expressionlessly extended a hand and beckoned to it.

The golden light flickered, and the giant sword descended, coming to rest before Han Li.

Han Li opened his mouth, and a slender blue flame shot out, striking the giant sword precisely.

The golden sword trembled slightly, and then a layer of blue flame enveloped it, burning fiercely.

Han Li hesitated for a moment, then rubbed his hands together and cast another incantation, activating the Exorcism Divine Thunder within the sword.

Immediately, a low rumble of thunder sounded, and countless thin golden electric arcs flickered within the giant sword's blue flames.

Seeing this, Han Li's eyes flashed with cold light. He pointed a single finger at the Fire Toad Beast in the water curtain, uttering the word "Go!"

With a hum, the giant sword transformed into a golden rainbow and shot forth, slashing directly towards the Fire Toad Beast.

Meanwhile, after their furious attacks proved ineffective, Marquis Nanlong and Lu Weiying's assault momentarily slowed, allowing the Fire Toad to finally catch its breath.

The fiery-red spiritual light on its body flickered between dim and bright, and its abdomen suddenly began to swell rapidly, indicating it intended to unleash some divine ability for a counterattack.

Just then, the golden giant sword instantly flew above the Fire Toad Beast's head, descending with a terrifying thunderous roar for a decisive strike.

The Fire Toad Beast stared at the golden sword above, its emerald eyes blinking several times, seemingly sensing a great threat. Its belly, which had only swelled to some extent, stopped expanding. With a strange cry, it spat out a crimson, crystalline fire projectile that shot directly towards the descending golden sword.

This fire projectile was only fist-sized, yet its surface was smooth, and it pulsed with red light within, resembling a giant fiery pearl. The moment it was expelled, the air within the entire water curtain instantly grew scorching hot.

“A demon core? No! It’s not physical, it’s not,” Han Li exclaimed upon seeing the fire projectile. He was startled at first but then realized it wasn't a solid object, which put his mind at ease. After all, if it truly were the Fire Toad’s demon core, he would have had to exercise extreme caution.

Han Li activated his incantation, and the golden sword, without hesitation, slashed down onto the fire projectile. Given the sharpness of the Azure Bamboo Cloud-Swarm Swords and the combined power of ten flying swords, Han Li naturally expected to cleave the peculiar fire projectile with a single strike.

However, a scene that greatly astonished him unfolded.

With a “bang,” the fire projectile erupted with brilliant light, its red and golden rays intertwining. The giant sword only managed to cleave it halfway before its descent was abruptly halted by the projectile.

A hint of mockery flickered in the Fire Toad Beast’s eyes. It then let out a sharp shriek.

The half-cleaved fire projectile instantly burst apart.

A large expanse of crimson light poured forth, but then instantly coalesced into a two-zhang-long red light snake. With a sudden lunge, this light snake rapidly coiled around the giant sword, tightly encasing it.

The giant sword became momentarily stagnant, seemingly restrained.

Han Li paused for a moment, then a cold smile played on his lips.

He formed an incantation with both hands and lightly pointed at the giant sword. The sword immediately pulsed with wild golden light, and then a delicate web of electricity appeared on its surface. Countless electric arcs sparked and burst, forcibly repelling the light snake that had tightly coiled around the giant sword.

Seizing this opportunity, the giant sword trembled slightly, then abruptly vanished from its spot. The next moment, it reappeared above the Fire Toad Beast’s numerous light shields, slashing downwards. The blue flames on the sword suddenly surged by about a chi.

Sounds of cracking and shattering echoed.

As soon as the giant sword struck the light shields, they were instantly frozen into shimmering, crystalline ice shields by the blue cold flame, only to be shattered by the sword’s main body in an instant.

After breaking through more than ten small shields in one go, the giant sword appeared above the Fire Toad Beast’s main body, aiming for its prominent head, and slashed down fiercely.

The Fire Toad Beast had no idea the situation would turn so abruptly. It had just spat out the fire projectile formed from its essential True Fire and hadn’t even had time to catch its breath before the giant sword broke through its shields and reached its head. Even with its limited intelligence, fear now showed in its eyes.

With no other option, the Fire Toad could only open its mouth.

With a “swish,” a pitch-black long tongue suddenly shot out from its mouth, coiling directly towards the descending giant sword. Simultaneously, it kicked off with its two hind legs, attempting to leap up and evade the slash.

If it were an ordinary flying sword or dagger, the beast’s action wouldn’t have been wrong.

After all, the toad’s tongue was no less resilient than an ordinary magic treasure, and an average artifact could indeed be temporarily blocked by it.

However, this was the Azure Bamboo Cloud-Swarm Sword, refined with Geng Metal, and its sharpness was incomparable to ordinary flying swords. With just a slight flash of golden light upon contact, the giant sword effortlessly sliced the long tongue into two, then continued its descent without pausing.

With a “plunge,” the Fire Toad Beast had barely leaped about a zhang when its enormous head tumbled from its body.

All other surrounding light shields instantly vanished into dust.

“It’s done!” the elder surnamed Lu exclaimed with great joy upon seeing this.

Marquis Nanlong also let out a long breath, a smile appearing on his face. At the same time, he formed an incantation with both hands, about to part the water curtain and go investigate.

“Wait.”

Han Li, however, spoke coldly, stopping Marquis Nanlong from dispelling the water curtain.

“What is the meaning of this, Fellow Daoist Han?” Marquis Nanlong paused, a look of surprise and suspicion on his face, while his hand instinctively rested on the storage pouch at his waist.

Lu Weiying glanced at Han Li, shifting his body slightly, also showing a hint of vigilance.

“Nothing much. It’s just that this Fire Toad hasn’t been completely extinguished yet. Brother Nanlong is a bit too impatient.” Han Li said calmly, seemingly oblivious to their reactions.

“What? The Fire Toad is still alive!”

Marquis Nanlong and the elder were both startled by these words and quickly looked back into the water curtain.

Only then did they notice that the Fire Toad’s corpse within the water curtain indeed looked rather strange.

The body and head, now separated into two halves, still pulsed with spiritual light, floating in mid-air without any sign of falling.

(One more chapter tonight!)