Chapter 998: The Agreement

"Since the Third Prince is so curious, why not go in and explore for yourself? But don't say I didn't warn you—the Scale Abyss Void is not as safe as the Demon Domain. It's quite possible to die in there if you're not careful. Isn't the Great Prince a case in point?" Han Li said with a slightly mocking tone.

"So Shi Zhanfeng is indeed dead. A pity, a pity." Shi Pokong frowned and said in a deep voice.

The two men beside him changed expression upon hearing this.

Han Li stood alone, looking at Shi Pokong, and said nothing more.

"Fellow Daoist Li, in truth, there is no deep enmity between you and me. I have always held you in high regard. Although the situation in the Holy Domain is still unclear, I believe Fellow Daoist Li is a wise man and can see who has the greater chance of winning between me and my thirteenth brother," Shi Pokong said after a moment of deliberation.

"I don't care what happens in your Demon Domain. As long as you don't interfere with the High Priest's efforts to save the Soul-Devouring Beast, I can overlook the matter of the Voidburst Talisman. Once this matter is settled, I will leave the Demon Domain and stop meddling in your family's troubles. What does the Third Prince think?" Han Li raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Fellow Daoist Li, don't say I'm making things difficult for you. You don't have to tell me everything that happened in the Scale Abyss Void, but I must ask you to give me a definite answer about my thirteenth brother—is he alive or dead? Has he returned to the Holy Domain?" Shi Pokong asked noncommittally.

"I've already made myself clear. Don't push your luck and be ungrateful." Han Li's expression suddenly turned cold as he said sharply.

With that, Han Li's figure blurred and vanished from where he stood.

The next instant, his figure suddenly appeared before a hall door on the left side of the main hall behind him.

He casually lifted a foot and stomped it on the ground.

With a thunderous boom!

The black stone square beneath his feet erupted in a violent blast of air, sending rolling dust and smoke surging up from the ground in a fan-shaped wave. The black stone slabs surged like tidal waves, layer upon layer, cracking and shattering.

A disheveled figure flew backward out of the rolling dust, his face covered in blood and his body caked with mud, fleeing into the distance.

If Han Li had not been afraid of damaging the hall behind him, he could have used only half the force of that stomp, and this man would have had no chance of escape; he would have been buried underground like the shattered stone slabs.

The figure was small and thin, covered in black scales, with blade-like claws on his hands. He was clearly an expert in earth遁 and stealth. After fleeing several hundred zhang, he reached out his hands to burrow into the ground again.

But in the blink of an eye, a figure appeared before him, raised a toe, and hooked his blade-like claws, flipping him into the air.

Then the man felt his throat tighten as an iron-clamp-like hand seized it.

"Your stealth skills are not bad; you almost made it through the door." Han Li held him by the neck with one hand, flashed back to the front of Shi Pokong and the other two, and said with a cold smile.

The man was suspended in midair like a chicken, trembling all over.

Shi Pokong glanced at Han Li, his gaze dark.

"How dare you, human! Release Yuan Sun..." the iron-tower-like demon man bellowed.

The gaunt old man, who looked like a tutor, frowned slightly, anger flickering in his eyes.

"Release him?" Han Li raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile.

Before the other could answer, he twisted his wrist, and with a crack, broke the man's neck.

Then he casually tossed the small demon man named Yuan Sun at the feet of the iron-tower man.

"You're asking for death..." The iron-tower man's eyes bulged as he roared.

With the roar, his body erupted with dazzling black light, rolling demonic qi, and his figure swelled, with sharp bone spurs protruding from beneath his armor, transforming into a demon-armored giant dozens of zhang tall.

The demon-armored giant raised a hand, and a black light flashed in his palm, revealing a black octagonal giant hammer wreathed in demonic qi.

He made a hand seal with one hand, and rings of red light patterns appeared on his body, radiating outward like ripples on a lake, spreading in all directions.

The area beneath Han Li's feet was covered by the light patterns, and his legs immediately felt sluggish, as if filled with lead, extremely heavy.

The demon-armored giant took a step forward, and the ground beneath him shook with a boom. The black stone floor within a dozen zhang around his feet shattered, sending up countless flying stones and dust.

He swung his large hand, and the runes on the giant octagonal hammer blazed with light as it came crashing down toward Han Li's head.

The void above Han Li's head seemed to be torn, collapsing inward, layering down with immense force, sealing off the surrounding space.

A fierce glint flashed in the demon-armored giant's eyes, and in his heart, he already regarded the insignificant human before him as a dead man.

However, just as he felt certain that a great feat was within easy reach, his vision suddenly blurred, and he saw the human step forward as if strolling leisurely in a courtyard.

Immediately after, he saw the human's body slightly bend, his robes billowing without wind, and patches of white light seemed to ignite on the skin beneath his clothes.

"That is..." The demon-armored giant wondered inwardly, but his hands did not stop moving.

"Not good, fall back!" At this moment, the withered old man suddenly changed expression and shouted loudly.

But by now, it was already too late.

Han Li's slightly bent body suddenly straightened, the Heavenly Fiend Prison Suppression Art activated, and a loud banging sound erupted from his arm. The star power within his acupoints burst forth completely, coalescing outside his arm into a massive white fist shadow that smashed upward.

A thunderous explosion rang out!

The eight-sided giant hammer wreathed in demonic qi was struck heavily, breaking apart directly at the joint between the handle and the head. The massive hammerhead flew backward like a shooting star, tracing an arc in the night sky before disappearing to an unknown location.

However, a tremendous force still spiraled up along the hammer handle, wrapping around the demon-armored giant's arm like a rope, climbing toward his shoulder and head.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

A series of explosions rang out continuously. The armor on the demon-armored giant's arm, along with his flesh, was twisted into shreds by the immense force. Even the exposed white bones were twisted and deformed inch by inch, contorted almost into a spiral.

At this moment, the green-robed old man suddenly flickered and appeared on the demon-armored giant's shoulder, raising a palm and striking heavily downward.

Green light gathered on his palm, seemingly without much outward power, but the force contained within was astonishing.

A thunderclap seemed to explode on the demon-armored giant's shoulder. The green light shot down from his shoulder, collided with Han Li's force, and burst apart with a bang, completely shattering the demon-armored giant's arm into dust.

However, it was precisely the violent impact of these two forces that completely neutralized Han Li's energy. Otherwise, if that force had continued upward, it would not have been just the demon-armored giant's entire arm that was twisted off.

"Thank you, Elder Qu..." The demon-armored giant's demonic qi contracted, and his figure quickly returned to its original state, speaking respectfully.

Although his expression was somewhat miserable, no matter how excruciating the pain from his shoulder wound, he never uttered a single cry.

"Although this man's fist force was almost entirely neutralized by me, there is still some residue at your wound. Do not attempt to regenerate flesh until this force has completely dissipated, or the consequences will be dire." The withered old man landed in front of him and admonished.

Han Li withdrew his hand, clasped his hands behind his back, and made no move to pursue further.

Fellow Daoist Li has struck and injured people twice—isn't that showing too little regard for our Night Sun City?” Shi Pokong stepped forward and said with a cold laugh.

“I spared their lives; the Third Prince should be grateful,” Han Li said with a smile.

“It seems Fellow Daoist Li has gained much in the Jilin Void Realm, enough to challenge our entire Holy Clan?” Shi Pokong’s expression grew more serious as he rubbed his fingers slowly.

“Third Prince need not intimidate me with the Demon Clan. I have no desire to be an enemy of the Demon Clan. But if the Third Prince insists on forcing me today, I wouldn’t mind causing a stir in Night Sun City. I know that as the capital, Night Sun City naturally has formidable seniors guarding it—for instance, this Elder Qu here is quite extraordinary.” Han Li glanced at the gaunt old man as he spoke.

The latter’s eyes were like stars, and his gaze fell on Han Li, growing brighter. His aura surged to its peak, and his entire demeanor transformed, no longer appearing as harmless as before.

“But so what? If I am determined to fight to the death, even if I can’t destroy half of Night Sun City, I can certainly destroy half of the Demon Palace’s imperial city. When that happens, Third Prince, as the one in charge, will hardly be blameless, will you? Moreover, when the First Prince was in charge, the realm was peaceful and orderly. How many years have passed since then? If the Third Prince destroys the imperial city, the comparison between good and bad will be clear. Well, I need not say more.” Han Li smiled nonchalantly and continued.

Shi Pokong’s expression remained unchanged, but inwardly he was deep in thought.

He had already considered what Han Li said and understood the outcome: his father would be furious, strip him of his governing position, and Shi Jingyan would surely seize the opportunity to rise.

If that happened, all his efforts to eliminate Shi Zhanfeng would be for someone else’s benefit.

His hesitation stemmed from one uncertainty: could Han Li truly destroy half of the Demon Palace’s imperial city?

“This man’s cultivation in the mystic arts far surpasses mine. Defeating him might not be difficult, but killing him would be very hard. What he said about destroying half of the Holy Palace’s imperial city is no empty boast…” At that moment, Elder Qu’s voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

After a moment of silence, Shi Pokong suddenly broke into a smile and said:

“Originally, I wanted to recruit Fellow Daoist Li to my side to create a glorious foundation. Now it seems I was being one-sided. Since Fellow Daoist Li insists, I won’t force you. But once this matter is settled, I hope you will keep your promise and leave the Holy Domain immediately.”

“Naturally. But I will need to borrow the cross-realm teleportation array of your clan,” Han Li said with a smile.

“Come to the Holy Palace tomorrow morning, and I will see you off,” Shi Pokong agreed, eager to send away this troublesome figure as soon as possible.

“Then I’ll trouble the Third Prince. Since there’s nothing else, please take your leave.” Han Li smiled and, as if he were the host, issued a dismissal.

Shi Pokong’s face stiffened. Gritting his teeth, he turned and left with his men.