Chapter 1086: Ancient Sword

Amid the deafening roar, the cave was struck by the black-red light mass and immediately collapsed with a thunderous crash. As the ground shook, countless huge rocks fell, burying Han Li and the others.

Fortunately, Han Li and the others knew some earth escape techniques. The moment the cave collapsed, they immediately cast spells and dove into the ground.

But just as they were going underground, a cackling laugh came from below, making everyone's heart tighten.

Then, a black giant claw as large as a house reached out from deep underground and grabbed at the group like lightning.

The owner of the giant claw was a huge monster, resembling a lizard but far more bloated.

This beast lurked underground, its aura indistinguishable from the surrounding soil and rocks. It launched a surprise attack on the group without any warning.

Lei Yuce and the others had not detected such a monster lurking underground. It was too late to defend, and they were about to be caught by the black giant claw.

A cold glint flashed in Han Li's eyes, and he pointed a finger.

With a "chi" sound,

a dazzling golden lightning bolt shot out and struck the black giant claw.

Compared to the black giant claw, this golden lightning bolt was insignificantly small, but upon contact, the black giant claw was easily torn apart like paper.

The golden lightning bolt shattered the black giant claw without stopping, flashed, and struck the black monster's chest. With a "pu" sound, it pierced a blood hole the size of a water vat.

The lizard monster let out a miserable shriek, its huge body suddenly shrank, and it tried to dive underground.

But by then, Lei Yuce and the others had also reacted. Various attacks rained down like a storm, hitting the lizard monster's body and turning it into a sieve, causing it to fall dead.

Like the wolf-type monsters, its corpse turned into a puff of black gas with a "pu" sound. Even underground, it rapidly spread in all directions, turning the soil and rocks it passed through pitch black.

Han Li and the others were right next to it and were all affected by the black gas. They quickly opened their protective light shields to block the black gas.

Xiong Shan, standing at the very back of the group, also had a layer of golden light appear around him, protecting his entire body.

The black gas surged forward but was blocked by the golden light.

But at that very moment, an extremely faint black light shot out from the surrounding black mist, silently piercing Xiong Shan's protective golden light, and with a flash, vanished into his body.

In the panic, Xiong Shan was completely unaware of this, and the others also noticed nothing.

After killing the lizard monster, the group did not linger. They moved forward stealthily for a while, only emerging above ground once the surrounding collapse had subsided.

"I apologize. Because of me, you all were placed in danger and nearly injured. I am truly sorry," Wen Zhong said apologetically.

"Fellow Daoist Wen, there's no need to blame yourself. None of us recognized that wolf-like monster; who would have thought those beads would explode upon contact? By the way, Fellow Daoist Han seems to know what those things are. What is their origin?" Su Quanxi comforted him, then asked Han Li.

The others, hearing this, also looked over.

"Those wolf-like monsters are a type of demon beast from the Demon Realm, called Corpse Demon Wolves. It's not surprising that you don't recognize them. These beasts condense Corpse Fire Pearls within their bodies, which cannot come into contact with other types of spiritual energy, or they will immediately explode," Han Li said after a moment's hesitation.

"Demon Realm demon beasts? No wonder." The others suddenly understood.

But since Han Li recognized this beast, could it be that he had been to the Demon Realm?

The others were curious but dared not ask, and this was not the time to get to the bottom of things. They soon continued along the cave passage.

After advancing for another quarter of an hour, the path ahead suddenly brightened. A vast open space appeared before them, more than a hundred times larger than the previous cave.

In the open space were piles of golden ore, large and small. The largest were dozens of zhang high, like hills, while the smallest were only a bit taller than a person. They seemed to have been deliberately stacked here, vaguely forming a stone formation.

The group exchanged glances, seeing caution in each other's eyes. They advanced more carefully, stepping into the stone formation.

Fortunately, after entering the stone formation, nothing around them changed, which slightly eased their minds. After a brief pause, they continued forward.

Soon, the group had walked more than ten li.

The piles of ore ahead suddenly disappeared, and a small square appeared before them.

The square's floor was paved with golden bricks, dazzling with golden light. In the center of the square stood a hundred-zhang-high golden altar, divided into three levels. It was made entirely of a golden-yellow material, seamless and without any trace of masonry.

At the top of the altar was a one-zhang-wide golden platform, engraved with a golden Taiji pattern. On one side of the Taiji pattern was inserted a dark golden ancient sword. The sword's blade was actually triangular, with one side carved with sun, moon, and stars, another with mountains, rivers, and plants, and the last with dragons and phoenixes.

Bright golden light radiated from the dark golden ancient sword, containing waves of golden law fluctuations. When it shone on Han Li and the others, they immediately felt a stabbing pain, as if they were being cut open.

On the other side of the Taiji pattern floated a ball of golden flame the size of a human head, emitting strong fluctuations of the law of time.

Golden runes spread out from the golden taiji pattern, covering the entire altar and forming a cage-shaped formation.

The laws of gold and time intertwined, not conflicting but exceptionally harmonious, enveloping the entire altar.

However, a huge crack had split open on the altar, pitch black inside, from which gusts of dark, chilly wind emerged, howling eerily as if blown from the depths of the underworld.

The stone array around the square seemed to shield their aura. Earlier, while inside the array, the group had not sensed the altar at all. Now that they had left the stone array, a vast aura surged toward them, freezing their bodies in place.

"What is this? A seal?" Su Qianxi stared at the golden altar, her beautiful eyes wide, murmuring.

Hu San and Jiao San also gazed at the golden altar, momentarily speechless from shock.

Han Li, equally astonished, examined the altar, his gaze quickly moving to the ancient sword and golden flame at its top.

"Isn't the material of this ancient sword the same as the celestial gold diamond I saw before? No wonder it has such a sharp aura! And that golden flame contains a very peculiar power of the law of time, giving a sense of fleeting years, completely different from the five laws of the Grand Five Elements Illusory World Technique..." Thoughts raced through his mind, his attention drawn to the two objects on the altar.

Compared to the others, Lei Yuce and Wen Zhong appeared calmer. They exchanged glances, a hint of joy flashing in their eyes.

At the very back of the group, Xiong Shan stared at the golden ancient sword atop the altar, frozen in place, an intense longing burning in his eyes, his breathing becoming heavy.

He swept his gaze over Han Li and the others, then suddenly shot forward, his body blazing with golden light. Spinning, he transformed into a giant golden hand, shooting toward the golden ancient sword like a meteor.

"Fellow Daoist Xiong, don't be rash!"

Seeing this, everyone's expressions changed drastically. Lei Yuce and Wen Zhong, especially alarmed, cried out and leaped into the air to block Xiong Shan, but it was too late.

With a loud bang!

The golden hand grabbed the ancient sword, but the sword suddenly burst forth with streaks of golden sword light, cutting into the golden hand and easily shredding it.

Not only that, the golden ancient sword seemed angered. Its blade hummed and vibrated, emitting sword cries as crystalline sword qi emerged, shooting in all directions.

Han Li and the others were instantly enveloped by an overwhelming, sharp sword intent. Their expressions changed, and they quickly cast defensive spells.

The Lan siblings immediately stood facing each other. Lan Yuanzi opened his mouth and spat out a blue orb inscribed with eight blue dragon-shaped runes.

He pointed at it with a spell, and with a "puff," the blue orb transformed into a blue spherical light shield several zhang in size, covering himself and Lan Yan.

Seeing this, Jiao San and Hu San reacted. Without hesitation, Jiao San raised his hand, and a small white shield shot out, shimmering with light.

The shield instantly expanded, turning into a white light barrier that protected the two of them.

Lei Yuce and Wen Zhong also acted together. Waving their hands, they shot out numerous small golden flags that landed around them, forming a circle.

Dazzling golden light burst from the flags, creating a golden light array that enveloped the two.

"Fairy Su, quickly enter the formation!" Lei Yuce called out to Su Qianxi, who was nearby and about to cast a spell, as he made a hand seal.

The golden light array immediately extended to the side, covering Su Qianxi as well, turning the originally round array into an oval shape.

A flicker of complex emotion passed through Su Qianxi's eyes, but she did not evade, allowing the golden light shield to cover her.

However, she waved her jade hand and summoned a large blue banner.

A blue ripple flew out from the banner's surface, forming a blue light shield that covered the three of them, adding another layer of defense.

Han Li also let out a low shout. The light of over nine hundred apertures on his body brightened, then flickered intensely.

As the light flickered, a thick crystalline film formed around Han Li—the True Extremity Membrane.

Not only that, but he made a hand seal and waved his sleeve. Golden lightning flashed repeatedly as thirty-six Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords flew around him, forming a golden sword curtain crackling with arcs of electricity.

No sooner had Han Li finished these preparations than the sharp, crystalline sword qi arrived, slashing into the golden sword curtain.

Boom, boom, boom!

The golden sword curtain fluctuated violently, emitting continuous explosive sounds and shooting out countless dazzling sparks.

Sparks flew from the thirty-six Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords. Though not destroyed, the originally orderly sword array trembled, on the verge of collapse.

Han Li's expression changed. He and his sword array shot backward, while he shouted and spread his hands. Thick golden arcs of lightning appeared around him, then merged into the surrounding sword array.

The nearly collapsing sword array immediately stabilized, but several crystalline sword qi managed to slip through before the array steadied, striking his body.

The True Extremity Membrane shimmered with crystalline light, its surface becoming as smooth as a mirror. With a few dull thuds, it blocked those sword qi.

The power of the True Extremity Membrane increased with the number of apertures opened. Now that Han Li had opened over nine hundred apertures, its defensive strength surpassed that of any immortal artifact he possessed.

At this moment, he had also flown out of the sword qi's range. With a few leaps, he landed on a pile of stones outside.