Chapter 1263: On the Verge of Collapse

Outside the Heavenly Gate, Han Li let out a miserable cry as his entire body flew backward, crashing heavily against the Heavenly Gate before falling to the ground in defeat.

The flesh on his sword-wielding hands had been completely stripped away, leaving behind a pair of ghastly white bone claws that looked terrifying.

On the other side, Yue Qing also lowered his arms and withdrew his greatsword.

Of the seven mountain-range runes on the blade, five had become blurred, leaving only two intact.

“To think that the Tongtian Sword Formation could display such power in your hands has made me see you in a new light.” Yue Qing frowned, and when he looked at Han Li, the previous contempt was gone, replaced by a hint of appreciation.

“This sword formation is already the pinnacle of the world, and I have yet to unleash even a tenth of its power. Otherwise, you wouldn’t still be standing here uttering such words of praise.” Han Li spat out a mouthful of clotted blood, struggled to his feet, and said.

White mist rose from his skeletal hands as flesh began to regenerate.

Yue Qing did not immediately attack upon hearing this. Instead, he looked at Han Li with a strange expression, as if surprised that Han Li would still speak such words at this point.

“I’m not boasting, Senior. If you had broken free from control a little later and allowed me to gather more power, you might not have been able to block that strike just now.” Han Li waved his hand and put away the already overexerted Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords, speaking casually.

The golden thunderclouds high in the sky and the majestic golden Heavenly Gate also dissipated into smoke.

“Heh, I gave you a compliment, and you turn around to praise yourself. That sword strike just now should have been your last resort, shouldn’t it? Why not surrender now and wait for what?” Yue Qing sneered.

Han Li looked at his hands, which had returned to normal, and a smile appeared on his face as he said:

“Not necessarily. I still have one more sword strike. I wonder if you dare to take it, Senior?”

Yue Qing frowned, about to speak, when his expression suddenly changed. He turned his gaze and looked around.

Han Li’s domain had not yet dissipated. The silver full moon still hung high behind him, and the fluctuations of time law power in the surrounding void were still clearly visible.

“I didn’t expect your half-baked Celestial Being domain to have such troublesome power. But unfortunately, this slight increase or decrease means nothing to me. Even if my cultivation were to regress by a million years, you still wouldn’t be my match.” Yue Qing’s gaze sharpened as he said coldly.

“In the end, I was still discovered by you, Senior. I had hoped to stall for a little more time, but it seems that won’t be possible.” Han Li sighed and said.

“Enough, spare me the nonsense. If you don’t bind yourself and beg for mercy now, I will no longer spare your life when I strike.” Yue Qing had indeed not intended to kill Han Li earlier, preferring to capture him alive.

“If you want me to surrender without a fight, please take one more strike from me, Senior.” Han Li curled his lips into a smile and said.

As he spoke, a golden light suddenly lit up in the ruins of Yuhu Peak, which had long been battered beyond recognition. Thirty-six golden lightning pillars shot into the sky, a patch of thunderclouds coalesced anew, and the majestic Heavenly Gate reappeared.

Seeing this, Yue Qing’s eyes flashed with surprise.

When Han Li was first struck down to the bottom of Yuhu Mountain by his sword, he had already left behind thirty-six Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords. After flying out, he used another thirty-six flying swords to set up the Tongtian Sword Formation.

He had originally planned to activate the second sword formation immediately when the first one exhausted its power, catching Yue Qing off guard and severely wounding him. But he hadn’t expected Yue Qing’s strength to be so overwhelming that his fierce counterattack caused him to miss that opportunity.

Now, after his hands had recovered, Han Li immediately began to secretly form hand seals and reactivate the second sword formation.

Han Li stood outside the golden Heavenly Gate, once again pressing his palms together and raising them above his head.

With a thunderclap, the Heavenly Gate behind him slowly began to open inward. From the golden sea of thunder above, clusters of golden thunderballs floated out and converged toward Han Li’s palms.

Seeing Han Li repeat the same trick, Yue Qing’s expression darkened, and a flash of anger appeared in his eyes.

Although he had spoken lightly earlier, Yue Qing was actually quite concerned about Han Li’s Tongtian Sword Formation. After all, judging by the momentum of the previous strike, if Han Li’s body could withstand it and he continued to absorb the lightning power from the thunder sea, it could indeed pose a threat to him.

Naturally, he would not give Han Li this opportunity now.

“Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit.”

Yue Qing snorted coldly, gripped his greatsword with both hands, stepped on the void, and suddenly shot forward, charging straight at Han Li.

Han Li’s eyes flickered, and his mind moved.

A rumbling sound echoed through the void. From the nine heavens, clusters of golden fireballs whistled down like a meteor shower, raining down on Yue Qing’s head.

With a “bang,”

Yue Qing cleaved apart one fireball coming at him, only for a third and fourth to crash down.

The fireballs had limited power and could barely withstand a single sword strike from him, but their numbers were overwhelming, each one carrying the blazing lamp flame of the Time Lamp and the time law power of the Flowing Time Fire.

After hacking through dozens of fireballs in one breath, Yue Qing suddenly realized that his sword-wielding speed was becoming slower and slower, as if he were once again bound by the True Word Treasure Wheel.

He did not know that the sparks from the shattered Flowing Time Fire, when splashed onto him, applied bits of time law power to his body. Accumulated to a certain extent, they caused his movements to slow down more and more.

A dazzling golden light had already begun to shine through Han Li’s hands, and threads of electricity started to entwine in his eyes. Arcs of lightning began to flicker all over his body.

But he knew in his heart that this power was still far from enough.

With a thought, Han Li caused the golden Heavenly Gate behind him to open a fraction more. The golden sea of thunder inside surged, and twice as many golden thunderballs floated out, converging toward his palms.

“Ah…”

He let out a painful roar. From his eyelids to the area behind his ears, the flesh began to split open with shocking cracks, revealing golden electric light shining through.

Hearing this cry, both Gold童 and Xiao Bai looked over, their hearts startled.

“Uncle, you can’t continue anymore! Your body can’t take it…” Gold童 shouted loudly.

Xiao Bai couldn’t even get a word out before being suppressed again by Po Feng.

Wu Hui, who had been firmly suppressed by Gold童, breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing this, he let out a sinister laugh and charged at Gold童 again.

“Still not enough… a little more…” Han Li gritted his teeth and roared inwardly.

A thousand zhang away, although Yue Qing’s speed had slowed considerably, he was still closing in step by step. He also noticed that the lightning power gathering on Han Li had reached a terrifying level.

“Boy, this is the end.” Yue Qing suddenly stopped his forward charge and declared loudly, having already formed the intent to kill.

As his words fell, he raised one hand and lifted it toward the sky.

A massive gray mountain peak materialized in the void. With his single hand supporting the sky, it flew high into the air, crashing into the falling Flowing Time Fire, instantly blocking all the golden fireballs.

At the same time, he turned his longsword, the runes on the blade glowing, and slashed horizontally at Han Li.

High in the sky, a yellow cloud suddenly spread out. A visible ripple appeared in the void, layering like crashing waves and surging toward Han Li.

Where the sword-light ripple passed, the void disintegrated inch by inch, and huge spatial cracks appeared in the sky, taking a long time to heal.

Just as the ripple was about to reach him, the lightning power Han Li had accumulated still hadn’t reached the level he had anticipated. He had no choice but to smile bitterly and give up. He turned his hands, about to change to a sword-gripping posture and strike down.

But at that moment, a golden talisman suddenly shot over from afar, flying up from an oblique angle and colliding with the sword-light ripple, exploding with a bang.

A dazzling golden light burst forth, emitting an extremely powerful primeval aura. It directly shattered Yue Qing’s sword-light ripple and, pressing the air waves, forced Yue Qing back step by step.

The air waves spreading in all directions directly flattened most of Tihu Mountain, including Yuhu Peak. All the rocks and trees were destroyed, turning the area into a desolate ruin.

“You really are a primeval true spirit!” Yue Qing was pushed back thousands of zhang by the powerful air waves. Shocked, his gaze immediately fell on Xiao Bai.

Xiao Bai ignored his words, but felt somewhat annoyed inside.

When Bai Ze had given him that golden talisman, he said it contained a strike with thirty percent of his power, yet it still couldn’t wound Yue Qing.

On the other hand, Po Feng, who was fighting him, was terrified by the scene. If that golden talisman had been used on her, she would have been reduced to bones by now.

Although Han Li hadn’t directly taken the strike, the explosion was too close to him, and he also suffered a tremendous impact.

His whole body trembled uncontrollably. Not only his entire face but also his arms were covered with cracks, through which threads of golden electric light could be seen surging.

However, his hands remained in their original position, and he did not withdraw the Tongtian Sword Formation.

His vision was blurry, and his divine sense was already somewhat chaotic.

“Can’t hold on anymore, can you? Come on, release me. With my power, even killing him is not impossible, hehe…” A sinister voice sounded in his sea of consciousness.

Han Li knew it was the Evil Corpse speaking, but he did not respond.

At this moment, his entire body was nearly numb. The golden lightning surging from the Heavenly Gate had spread all over his body, reaching the point of being out of control. Even if he wanted to withdraw the sword formation, he could no longer do so.

If this continued, it wouldn’t be long before his physical body was forcibly burst apart by the golden lightning.

Yue Qing had clearly noticed that Han Li was already on the verge of collapse. So he sneered, refrained from attacking immediately, and chose to stand by and wait for Han Li to explode and die on his own.