Chapter 855: 魔幕

"Since I am you, and you are me, why should I obey you now that I have gained independent consciousness? Moreover, in the Holy Realm, it's not rare for a separated soul to re-absorb its origin. You should have anticipated this when you let me become independent." The ancient demon, possessing a human head, spoke with unusual calm.

"True. I did anticipate this to some extent. However, I didn't expect that after gaining independence, you would lead human cultivators to seize my sealed body. You even resorted to dismemberment and transformation to reconstruct it, all to break the seal. Didn't you realize that while this method could forcibly lift the seal, it would severely damage this body's vitality, causing it to lose at least one-third of its cultivation? Do you understand the implications of that?" The faces on both heads of the demonic soul simultaneously turned cold, their expressions filled with malevolence as they spoke.

"Hmph! 'Your body'? I was originally a part of your primordial spirit; what's wrong with me occupying this form? Besides, even if the body loses one-third of its cultivation, as long as I, the main entity, devour you and avoid those cowardly individuals in the Human Realm, this world will still be mine to dominate freely. Then, I will reopen the ancient passage between the Holy Realm and the Human Realm, performing a great service for the Holy Ancestors. Perhaps I might even become one of them. What does losing a bit of cultivation matter then?" The ancient demon with the human head scoffed, speaking with disdain.

The demonic soul, with two heads and four arms, heard this and realized that at this point, further words were useless.

Since the second demonic soul, cultivated earlier, had begun its rebellion, it was clear that only one of them could exist independently in the world. The other's consciousness had to be obliterated; there was no doubt about it.

If he hadn't been forced, with his main primordial spirit unable to escape the restrictive spell, he would never have risked sending out a separated soul that might not return. Although he had now escaped confinement, the separated soul had indeed gone astray.

Although the opponent had taken over the demonic body, its cultivation far surpassed any temporary demonized body it might have found. However, as the original primordial spirit, he had naturally placed certain restrictions on the separated soul he released. While he didn't know how many of these restrictions had been broken, in a direct confrontation, it was truly hard to say who would emerge victorious.

With this thought, one of the demonic soul's heads abruptly turned, surveying the surrounding cultivators. Then, it spoke coldly:

"Who devours whom, we can discuss later. First, let's both devour these cultivators' Nascent Souls for a significant power boost. After that, we can find a secluded place to settle our dispute over dominance. I have no desire for these human cultivators to benefit as bystanders. You have no objections, do you?"

"Of course I have no objections. The remaining restrictions on me are almost entirely refined. Even if you don't intervene, I alone can eliminate them all." The ancient demon with the human head spoke calmly, then its eyes suddenly blazed with blinding purplish-red demonic light, opening wide.

"Heh heh. Don't speak too soon. Some of those cultivators are quite troublesome," the demonic soul sneered, its gaze instinctively flicking towards Han Li.

The ancient demon with a human head opened its mouth, and a long purple tongue flickered out before retracting. Yet, its face remained dismissive.

The cultivators were startled when the two-headed, four-armed ancient demon appeared. After overhearing the two demons' unreserved conversation, they were utterly dumbfounded.

Judging by the demons' conversation, they were originally a primary and secondary primordial spirit. Now, the secondary spirit had gained independence and had usurped the demon's body, putting the two entities at fierce odds.

Old Ancestor Linghu and the silver-haired elder secretly rejoiced, assuming the two demons would fight each other first, allowing them to exploit the chaos. However, to their surprise, the conversation abruptly shifted, and the two demons suddenly decided to combine forces against *them*. Everyone's expression changed dramatically.

"Fellow Daoist Wei, I'll need you to hold off the opponent, with Fellow Daoist Linghu and his companion assisting you. The others and I will deal with the other demon first. For now, our priority must be self-preservation." Han Li calmly stated this to Wei Wuya after a moment's thought.

"I'll do my best! However, the opponent has lifted many of their restrictions. I don't know how long I can hold on while injured." Wei Wuya was momentarily stunned, then gave a wry smile, understanding Han Li's intent to buy time.

Other cultivators were currently en route, so the longer they could stall, the better.

Old Ancestor Linghu and the white-clad woman offered no resistance to Han Li's commanding tone. After all, the cultivation world prioritized strength. Han Li's cultivation greatly surpassed theirs, and his proposed strategy was perfectly sound. Thus, neither of them had any objections.

At that moment, the two demons in the air gave the human cultivators no time to strategize. Han Li had barely finished speaking and hadn't yet communicated with the silver-haired elder and the others when the two demons immediately struck.

The ancient demon with the human head spun around, its form flashing with demonic light. Suddenly, the entire sky darkened as black-purple demonic light surged wildly, rapidly expanding in all directions and instantly painting the nearby sky an eerie hue.

The demonic soul hovering above showed no inclination to evade the light barrier. Instead, after both its heads displayed strange expressions, its form flickered and vanished without a trace within the light barrier.

Upon seeing this, the cultivators immediately understood that the battle had commenced. Regardless of their prior intentions, they now had no choice but to face it head-on.

Wei Wuya's body erupted with green light, then his figure vanished again within the poisonous mist. The previously calm mist began to surge and churn, releasing over a dozen emerald poisonous dragons, condensed from the toxic vapor. These creatures lunged into the sky, claws bared, and surprisingly managed to temporarily hold back the surging demonic light.

Seeing this, Old Ancestor Linghu and the white-clad woman exchanged glances before transforming into two brilliant streaks and flying directly towards Wei Wuya. The white-clad woman then produced her purple-light treasure mirror, unleashing an extraordinarily thick five-colored beam that instantly pierced through the light barrier, allowing her to pass through without hesitation.

Old Ancestor Linghu's original circular ancient treasure was lost, so he retrieved the jade Ruyi he had used previously to protect himself. He then released a small emerald seal, which transformed into a cloud of green mist and slammed into the colored light barrier with considerable force.

In their minds, even severely injured, Wei Wuya—a grand cultivator who had dominated Tiannan for centuries—was more reliable than staying by Han Li's side. At the very least, the demonic soul's invisibility technique was too uncanny. They weren't confident they could perceive it, so it seemed safer to confront the other demon while protected by Wei Wuya's poisonous mist.

The two flew into the green mist in an instant. Wei Wuya had already created an opening, allowing them safe passage.

Han Li didn't dwell on Old Ancestor Linghu and the woman. Instead, he calmly glanced towards Elder Cheng and his companions.

However, he was slightly taken aback by what he saw!

The three individuals, caught unprepared, were instantly enveloped by the black-purple light barrier formed by the demonic light. Yet, given their advanced age and status as Nascent Soul cultivators, they naturally possessed their own methods for confronting enemies.

Immediately, the three cultivators and two additional figures converged, forming a back-to-back plum blossom defensive formation. They each retrieved their defensive treasures, which transformed into swirling clusters of spiritual light, instantly erecting five to six layers of dense protective shields.

The two ghastly puppets even simultaneously opened their mouths, exhaling thick, grayish-white ominous energy that completely submerged the five figures.

Concurrently, the silver-haired elder's voice transmission reached Han Li's ear:

"Junior Brother Han, this demon appears exceptionally formidable. It might be safer if we group together."

Han Li heard this and let out a wry chuckle.

It seemed these three truly possessed unique methods if they could reach this point without a map; he needn't worry too much about this "Senior Brother Cheng" after all.

While such an approach seemed safer, it also severely restricted their movements. Effective cooperation would demand perfect synchronization from all of them. Yet, he wasn't adept at collaborating with others, preferring to act independently.

As he pondered this, the demonic curtain descended directly above Han Li.

Han Li frowned. With a flash of green light, a layer of verdant spiritual energy enveloped him.

He then raised both hands, flicking his fingers repeatedly at the light barrier.

Over a dozen green sword energies, several feet long, crisscrossed and shot forth, effortlessly tearing the black-purple light barrier into fragments.

Han Li was momentarily surprised by this outcome, but after scanning his surroundings, he sighed resignedly and lowered his arms.

Although the light barrier directly above him had been shattered, the surrounding area was now enveloped in flashing black-purple demonic light. He realized he was already within the ancient demon's demonic curtain.

The ancient demon's demonic curtain now covered an area of at least ten li in radius, its power truly astounding.

Han Li's hand movements faltered slightly, and the demonic curtain in the sky flickered before reforming and descending once more.

This time, Han Li made no superfluous movements; he merely flicked his sleeve to release the blue-light shield and added another protective layer. He was instantly enveloped by the black-purple light barrier.

His eyes flickered a few times. Nothing outwardly appeared to be happening, yet Han Li frowned.

He didn't believe the ancient demon would unleash such an expansive light barrier for no purpose. A moment later, under his careful scrutiny, he finally detected something, and his expression immediately darkened.

Although his body felt no abnormality, both layers of protective shields he had deployed were experiencing a subtle but continuous drain of spiritual power. Though very slight, the cumulative loss would be considerable. These black-purple light barriers were apparently capable of directly absorbing a cultivator's spiritual energy.

Filled with alarm and anger, Han Li briefly contemplated, then clenched his fists. Following several claps of thunder, two brilliant golden arcs suddenly manifested from his hands and shot out with a flash of lightning. They swiftly entered the two protective shields before erupting.

A loud crackling sound filled the air as countless thin electric arcs danced and flashed across the surfaces of the green and blue shields. The encroaching demonic light immediately recoiled several inches, seemingly in fear. The strange phenomenon of spiritual power drain instantly ceased.

Only then did Han Li breathe a sigh of relief. With a mental command, the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Corpse and the various puppets stepped forward, instantly surrounding him in the center. The backs of the dozen or so giant turtles immediately emitted intense cold air, and countless crystalline, enormous ice cones instantly materialized.

While these actions seemed extensive, they actually transpired in mere moments.

With an impassive expression, Han Li's eyes flickered with blue light as he activated his Bright Sight Spiritual Eyes.

However, after sweeping his gaze left and right, his heart sank once more.