Chapter 302: Tit for Tat

Chong Luan had clearly not expected Han Li to suddenly awaken. He instinctively dodged backward, but made no move to defend himself, allowing the crystal thread, taut as a steel needle, to shoot toward his forehead.

At the critical moment, the bronze forehead guard on his brow suddenly blazed with green light, and a phantom beast resembling a tiger but with four eyes emerged from it. Opening its mouth wide, a mass of pitch-black light appeared within, swallowing the crystal thread directly.

Seeing this, Han Li clenched his fist. Golden scales layered up his arm, and golden light blazed at his fist. He stepped forward and slammed his fist heavily toward Chong Luan's chest.

Suppressing his shock and anger, Chong Luan quickly placed one hand on the front of his blade and the other on the back, blocking Han Li's incoming punch.

A thunderous boom erupted!

A mass of golden light exploded in midair. Under the impact of a tremendous force, Chong Luan's body crashed heavily toward the sea like a meteor, stirring up a huge splash.

Han Li did not relent. He formed a sword seal with both hands and swept them forward.

A sharp, trembling sound rang out.

The seventy-two Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords immediately shattered the black crystal encasing their blades, tracing arcs of green light through the air as they plunged into the seawater, pursuing Chong Luan.

At the same time, a rapid sound like a shaken bamboo tube echoed through the air.

The surface of the Heavy Water True Wheel blazed with bright patterns, breaking free from its restraints as it spun rapidly and crashed toward the sea surface.

All of this seemed lengthy but took only a few breaths. It was only now that the enormous black crane, hundreds of zhang in size, reacted, flapping its massive wings downward.

Black flames flared intensely on its wings. With a single flap, two hundred-zhang-sized black fireballs hurtled toward the Heavy Water True Wheel.

Two loud booms rang out in succession!

A large burst of black sparks erupted on the surface of the Heavy Water True Wheel. Its trajectory veered, carving a water trail thousands of zhang long across the sea surface before it lifted again and flew back toward Han Li.

Han Li only glanced at the giant black crane before turning his gaze back to the sea surface.

In the depths of the sea, a dark shadow shot upward, and with a splash, burst out of the water. The black longsword in its hand was gripped tightly, and without looking, it swung fiercely backward.

The spiritual patterns on the black longsword blazed brightly, and layers upon layers of blade shadows surged forth like crashing waves, rolling on and on as they slashed toward the sea.

Immediately after, a series of splashes rang out as one after another cyan flying sword, flowing with green light, emerged from the water, precisely colliding with the layers of blade shadows, producing a series of piercing shrieks.

The black blade shadows shattered inch by inch, while the cyan longswords also froze one after another, their forward momentum nearly exhausted.

Chongluan, carried by the force of the rebound, flew back and landed once more on the black crane's back. A hint of gloom flashed in his eyes as he looked at Han Li.

"I didn't expect you to be able to break my baleful qi's invasion of your origin! Even if your divine sense far surpasses that of your peers, it should be absolutely impossible, unless... you have cultivated the forbidden art of the Soul Refining Technique?" Chongluan seemed to think of something and spoke with a somewhat moved expression.

Han Li's gaze was silent, and he paid him no heed at all.

He waved his hands in the void, and the seventy-two Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords immediately flew back, merging in the air into a single cyan longsword that landed in his palm.

"No wonder Fang Pan was so relentless in pursuing you before. It seems the secrets you carry are indeed numerous. I am now somewhat impatient to imprison your Nascent Soul and thoroughly investigate it." Seeing Han Li silent, Chong Luan chuckled.

"You talk too much, it seems," Han Li said calmly, his expression unchanged.

As he spoke, the Wheel of True Words within him reversed, and over forty Dao patterns lit up simultaneously. His figure vanished from the spot instantly, leaving no afterimage in the air, as if teleporting directly onto the back of the black crane.

The longsword in his hand blazed with cyan light, and he thrust it straight out, piercing through Chong Luan's left chest cavity.

The latter's eyes widened in utter disbelief. He lowered his head to look at his chest, where a large hole had opened, and black blood gushed out, instantly soaking his robes.

"Master..." The black crane let out a sharp cry.

Seeing this, Han Li without a word withdrew his longsword from Chong Luan's chest and retreated swiftly.

The moment he had just flown off the black crane's back, Chong Luan, whom he had pierced through the chest, suddenly shrank in stature and dissipated into a cloud of black smoke. It was merely a temporary substitute formed from condensed baleful aura.

In another part of the sky, a mass of thick black mist surged, and Chong Luan's figure reappeared. His gaze toward Han Li no longer held any trace of contempt.

Han Li, however, felt somewhat frustrated. The True Word Wheel, which had not yet recovered all one hundred and eight Dao patterns, could not unleash its optimal effect when the divine ability was reversed. As a result, when facing an enemy of the scorched-face man's caliber, he could no longer achieve the instant kill he had managed earlier.

"Excellent! I underestimated you. I didn't expect that, like Fang Pan, you too have comprehended the Law of Speed, and your speed even surpasses his. No wonder you were able to slay him." Chong Luan looked at Han Li and spoke seriously.

"The fact that you could dodge my earlier strike must have something to do with Fang Pan, right?" Han Li naturally would not correct his misunderstanding about his law power, but instead raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Indeed, you are perceptive. This move of mine was indeed prepared to guard against my junior brother. Who could blame him for being too favored by our master and too sharp? I had to be on guard. I just never expected to use it here today." Chong Luan's eyes flickered as he spoke.

While speaking, one hand behind his back was quietly forming hand seals.

In his palm, circles of strange patterns began to glow with a blood-red light. Under the cover of his black cloak, the skin on his body surface also started to turn a pale red.

Seeing this, the black crane's eyes flashed with fear. Two clusters of black light slowly flickered beneath its wings, clearly ready to dash away at any moment.

Han Li took all this in, but his expression remained unchanged. Before him, the Heavy Water True Wheel hung like a shield, blocking his figure. One hand gripped the green longsword tightly, while the other hand, hidden in his sleeve, flashed with black light as two Heavy Water Pattern Thunderballs rolled out.

As a faint chanting sound arose, Chong Luan's pupils turned blood-red. Wispy strands of pale red mist began to emanate from around his body. The black longsword in his hand also flashed with light, gradually staining with blood from top to bottom.

Han Li raised an eyebrow slightly. He noticed that the scorched-face man's aura was undergoing a distinct change. Although he could still detect a trace of baleful aura, it was not the same fierce and sinister aura he had sensed before.

"Time to end this," Chong Luan said, and his entire form turned into a blood shadow, vanishing from the spot.

In the next instant, he suddenly appeared at Han Li's lower right, his longsword slashing upward at an extremely tricky angle toward Han Li's ribs.

As if expecting this, Han Li twisted his wrist and brought his longsword down to meet the blood-colored blade with a fierce clash. He then used the force to fly backward, quickly putting distance between himself and Chong Luan.

As his figure retreated, the two Heavy Water Pattern Thunderballs silently slid down and landed in front of Chong Luan.

He saw that the surface of one of them suddenly lit up with purple lightning patterns, followed immediately by a thunderous "boom."

Then, a ring of violent purple arcs spread out in all directions, enveloping the sea area for hundreds of zhang around.

Before the sound had faded, another Heavy Water Pattern Thunder also glowed, but this time with a golden light.

"Boom!" Another explosion sounded!

Above the sea, two black suns, each a hundred zhang in diameter, rose in succession, with golden light bursting and purple thunder roaring within them, complementing each other.

As the suns exploded, Chongluan's figure was no longer visible. Only the shattered waves, steaming seawater, and countless black specks surging outward could be seen, forming a spherical airwave that rolled and pressed toward the sea, shaking the surrounding void.

The seawater in the nearby area churned into towering waves hundreds of zhang high, surging in all directions.

The black crane, sensing trouble, had already folded its wings and transformed into a black flame, fleeing rapidly. Now it hovered in the sky ten thousand zhang away, looking back in shock.

"The Evil-Repelling Divine Thunder is still more powerful..." Han Li muttered to himself, watching the sea where purple and golden arcs still flashed intermittently amidst the lingering aftermath.

The two Heavy Water Pattern Thunders he had just thrown were made: one from his time in the Thunderstorm Ocean, combined with the power of that purple crystal sphere; the other, after he had re-refined the Green Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords, combined with the Evil-Repelling Divine Thunder.

The former had been used up over the years during various missions for the sect and the Wuchang Alliance, leaving him with only a few. The latter was difficult to refine, so he hadn't produced many either.

From this simultaneous use, it was clear that the Heavy Water Pattern Thunder integrated with the Evil-Repelling Divine Thunder was more powerful.

As the commotion on the sea subsided, fragments of torn cloak could be seen floating on the water, along with patches of bright red blood and a hazy blood mist hanging over the surface.

Seeing this, Han Li's eyes showed no sign of relief but instead grew more solemn.

He could sense that the scorched-faced man's aura was scattered all over the sea area for thousands of zhang around.

Just then, a strange scene occurred!

On the sea, now stained blood-red, bowl-sized red bubbles began to emerge, one after another, packed densely, covering the sea area for hundreds of li in all directions.