Chapter 17: Destroying Two Cultivators

"Be careful, True Man, that bone blade is extremely formidable; it was under this very blade that the Red Robe Superior met his end!" the Seventh Miss called out in warning.

True Man Baishi, already greatly alarmed by the bone blade's might, turned even paler upon hearing the Seventh Miss's words. But thinking of Han Li, he gritted his teeth, spat out a serpent-shaped flying sword, and urgently urged his hand seals.

With a "crackle" sound!

The sword's body blazed with black light, like a massive black python, coiling around the bone blade.

A cold smile curled at the corner of the sinister youth's mouth. He changed his hand seals and pointed a finger.

The bone blade's light flared up, and it twisted violently.

With a "bang," the black sword light shattered, and the serpent-shaped flying sword broke into several pieces, scattering down.

The old Daoist Baishi waved his hands urgently, and a coin-shaped green shield shot out to meet the attack.

The bone blade's light dimmed slightly, but its momentum was undiminished as it struck the green shield heavily.

Crack!

Though with some difficulty, the bone blade split the green shield in two, paused briefly, then its light flared again as it continued its slash toward the old Daoist.

Greatly startled, the old Daoist took advantage of the green shield's momentary resistance to flicker and hide behind Han Li.

If it had been before, he might have been able to contend with the sinister youth for a while, but now his effective treasures had been mostly destroyed during his earlier clash with Han Li, leaving him powerless against the bone blade.

With a flash of blade light, it appeared before Han Li in the blink of an eye, and a chilling gleam swept in, intending to cut both Han Li and True Man Baishi in two at the waist.

"Senior..." True Man Baishi exclaimed softly.

Han Li remained calm, but the next moment he raised a hand, and a golden halo flickered on his palm as golden scales emerged. His five fingers shot out like lightning to grab.

With a soft "clang"!

The dazzling blade light and the wailing sounds suddenly vanished entirely, transforming into a grayish-white short blade a few inches in size, held in Han Li's hand. It twitched and bounced between his fingers like a small fish, but could not break free.

"How is that possible..."

The sinister youth's eyes bulged, hardly believing what he saw.

This bone blade, though seemingly ordinary, was actually a replica of the sect's treasured "Heavenly Ghost Blade," forged by his clan elders with countless precious materials. It was immensely powerful, and even late Core Formation experts dared not face its edge. Yet now, someone had caught it with a bare hand.

Everyone else present was dumbfounded, their mouths hanging wide open.

"Liu Shi..." the Seventh Miss exclaimed, her pretty face shocked, her beautiful eyes flickering with a strange light as she looked at Han Li.

True Man Baishi was also stunned. He had guessed that Han Li might be able to block the bone blade, but he never expected such an effortless catch.

Just how powerful was this "Senior Han"!

Amid his shock, he also felt some relief.

Fortunately, when the two had fought earlier, Han Li had not used his full strength; otherwise, he would surely be dead by now.

Liu Le'er, aside from her small face brimming with excitement, did not find it too surprising. In her eyes, "Stone Brother" had always been incredibly powerful, and nothing he did was strange.

"Such a low-level evil treasure; I haven't encountered one in a long time," Han Li said indifferently, glancing at the object in his hand. Then his five fingers suddenly clenched.

With a "bang"!

The miniature bone blade was instantly crushed, scattering into specks of gray light on the ground.

"No!"

The sinister youth's face turned white, and he spat out a mouthful of blood on the spot.

This blade was his lifebound treasure; its destruction was like cutting off one of his arms.

"You dare destroy my precious treasure! Then you'll pay with your life!" the youth said with venomous eyes. He formed hand seals and roared, as streams of black qi emerged around him, quickly coalescing into a dark cloud mass, within which countless blurry ghostly figures flickered indistinctly.

Not only that, but the sinister youth also slapped his chest three times in quick succession, spitting out three mouthfuls of essence blood. With each spittle, his face grew paler. After the third, his face was as white as paper, without a trace of color.

The essence blood, upon leaving his mouth, turned into a thick, rich blood mist that merged into the black cloud.

The black cloud instantly turned into a blood cloud, churning violently and expanding several times in size. The blurry ghostly figures within also solidified several times over, letting out shrill roars.

The sinister youth shrank and silently disappeared into the blood cloud.

All this, though complicated to describe, happened in the blink of an eye.

The moment the blood cloud appeared, the entire courtyard seemed to plunge into an icy abyss, the temperature dropping sharply.

Even True Man Baishi, with his cultivation, shivered involuntarily. He quickly activated a white-glowing jade pendant treasure, shielding himself and the nearby Liu Le'er, and retreated far away.

The surrounding black-clad men, the Yu family members, and the three retainers were all frozen pale, their bodies trembling violently.

Liu Le'er felt a sudden chill, but then a warmth enveloped her as a white hazy light shield protected her.

It was True Man Baishi, who had somehow appeared beside her and activated the white-glowing jade pendant treasure, shielding her as well.

Seeing the girl look at him, the old Daoist smiled ingratiatingly and, protecting her, retreated more than ten zhang away.

Han Li looked at the blood cloud in the sky, a strange expression crossing his face. Then he suddenly threw a punch at a certain empty space nearby.

"Boom!"

A faint ghostly figure flew backward from the spatial distortion, but midair it let out a mournful cry and exploded into gray mist.

But at that moment, a hissing sound arose from beneath Han Li, and several black chains shot out like venomous snakes, instantly binding him tightly.

Then a gray-clad man emerged silently from the ground nearby, forming hand seals. He was the same companion who had appeared with the sinister youth in Mingyuan City earlier.

The aura emanating from this man was even stronger than that of the sinister youth. His entire body was covered by a black ghostly shadow, as if the two had merged. His body also became semi-transparent, as if he could vanish into the void at any moment.

"Haha, Brother Fan, perfect timing! Let's destroy this man together!" The sinister youth's wild laughter came from the blood cloud, followed by his incantations.

A foul wind arose, and the blood cloud rolled in like giant waves.

Han Li stood expressionless, unmoving, allowing the blood cloud to sweep over and envelop him.

The ghostly figures in the blood cloud, their eyes filled with bloodlust, bared their fangs and howled as they pounced, seemingly intent on devouring Han Li.

The sinister youth was overjoyed at this sight.

These blood souls were refined using a special secret method, existing between spirit and physical forms, extremely difficult to kill. Once they latched on, they were like clinging parasites, leaving only a slow death by attrition.

"Whoever you are, daring to oppose my Heavenly Ghost Sect, I'll make sure your soul is utterly destroyed!" the gray-clad man said with a cruel expression, though he was surprised that Han Li had seen through his hidden ghostly creature earlier.

Then he flickered, appearing above Han Li within the blood cloud. He clapped his hands together, and two huge black ghost claws emerged, their tips wreathed in green light and emitting a foul stench, clearly poisonous, as they struck downward fiercely.

"Brother!" Liu Le'er, seeing this, was about to rush over regardless of the consequences.

"Don't go! Senior Han is immensely powerful; he will surely find a way to escape!" True Man Baishi grabbed Liu Le'er in alarm.

Though he said this, he was also somewhat anxious. Another powerful enemy had appeared, seemingly more formidable than the first. He wondered if "Senior Han" could truly handle it.

In the distance, the Seventh Miss, the three retainers, and the others all changed expression drastically. Everyone's heart was in their throat.

Han Li, however, chuckled. Without any visible movement, a series of muffled explosions like firecrackers sounded from within his body. His form suddenly swelled, and golden scales emerged on his skin.

"Crack!"

With a mere shrug of his shoulders, the black chains binding him snapped apart section by section. Then, with a blur of his arms, countless golden fist shadows appeared, raining down like a storm on everything around.

A continuous series of "bang bang" sounds.

The black ghost claws, upon the slightest contact with the golden fist shadows, shattered like broken porcelain. The gray-clad man, caught off guard, was struck by countless fist shadows. The black ghostly shadow on him shattered, and his body was sent flying like a tattered sack, crashing heavily onto the ground, a bloody mess. His physical body and soul were instantly destroyed, leaving no trace of life.

At the same time, the entire blood cloud, along with the ghostly figures within, was swept clean by the golden fist shadows. Amid thunderous booming, the sinister youth's figure was revealed.

He stood dumbfounded, but upon meeting Han Li's icy gaze, he shuddered violently. Without a word, he changed his hand seals, and a large black cloud surged from his body. He turned and shot away into the distance.

Han Li narrowed his eyes, took a deep breath, puffed out his chest, and then spat out.

With a "whoosh," a white light shot from his mouth, and in a flash, it vanished into the black cloud.

After a miserable scream, the black cloud suddenly collapsed. A corpse fell from the sky, a bloody hole in its forehead—it was the sinister youth.

A profound silence fell, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"A sword cultivator..." a small voice suddenly sounded, from no one knew where.