Chapter 340: Luring the Enemy

Ninety zhang,

eighty zhang,

seventy zhang...

Under the pressure of the gray light released by Yuanhe Wuji Mountain, the golden ripple zone emitted by the True Word Wheel was continuously compressed, and the speed of that white light also increased steadily.

If this trend continued, it would not be long before this eerie white light broke through the shackles of time and landed on Han Li.

Sweat beads the size of soybeans began to appear on Han Li's forehead. He could clearly feel that as the white light approached, his divine soul experienced a continuous stabbing pain.

His expression darkened. As he mobilized his magic power in a surging torrent, he continuously injected it into the True Word Wheel, but this only slightly slowed the compression of the golden ripples.

The young man in splendid robes could not help but reveal a hint of complacency. He opened his mouth and spat out a mass of black light, within which countless black runes danced.

He quickly formed a hand seal with one hand, and the black light split into two, transforming into two black shadows that respectively sank into the giant inkstone and Yuanhe Wuji Mountain.

Both the giant inkstone and Yuanhe Wuji Mountain blazed with light simultaneously.

The gray space enveloping Han Li nearly solidified. Countless gray ripples flickered and surged, and the golden ripple zone around Han Li was once again rapidly compressed, shrinking to less than fifty zhang.

The white light grew even brighter, with countless white runes leaping within it, as if about to break free from the golden ripples' restraint. It began to dye the nearby golden ripple zone white and slowly approach Han Li at a visible rate.

Han Li's face turned pale, but no matter how he urged, the golden ripple zone enveloping him continued to shrink under the gray light's pressure.

At this moment, the white light was less than twenty zhang away from him.

The young man in splendid robes seemed to see victory within reach. He formed hand seals again, and the black light on his body brightened once more.

Just then, a sudden change occurred!

Behind him, a tremendous boom erupted from the void. Amidst swirling black mist, a house-sized, pale-golden crab claw phantom materialized, entwined with countless golden arcs of lightning, radiating a terrifying fluctuation of law power, and fiercely snipped at the young man with lightning speed.

The young man's expression drastically changed. He quickly formed hand seals.

The black light on his body roiled, and in an instant, a suit of armor appeared on him.

This armor was purple-black in color, with a rather ferocious design. The helmet was shaped like a dragon's head, and several spikes protruded from the shoulders and knees. Its surface was covered with black patterns, exuding a soaring baleful aura.

"Bang!"

The golden crab claw fiercely struck the purple-black armor, producing an earth-shattering roar.

The young man in splendid robes was sent flying, and shallow cracks appeared on his purple-black armor.

Although the armor had absorbed some of the impact, a terrifying force still transmitted into the young man's body, causing his internal organs to churn. He spat out a mouthful of blood with a "wa" sound.

After he was sent flying, the giant inkstone, lacking its controller, saw the white light beam it emitted finally dissipate weakly when it was less than ten zhang from Han Li.

Yuanhe Wuji Mountain still hovered above Han Li's head, but the gray light it cast began to flicker unsteadily.

The gray space around Han Li also fluctuated, suddenly dimming considerably, and the binding force greatly decreased.

Light blazed from his body, and several masses of light of various colors flew out, transforming into true spirit phantoms such as the Heavenly Dragon, Azure Luan, and Thunder Roc.

They spun around his body and then all the true spirit phantoms sank into his body.

Suddenly, a soaring purple-gold light emerged on Han Li's body surface. His body expanded wildly, transforming into a three-headed, six-armed purple-gold giant.

Golden scales and silver spirit patterns appeared on his body surface, and seven star patterns emerged on his lower abdomen, emitting dazzling starlight that intermingled with the purple-gold light on his body.

An immensely vast aura erupted from him, causing the surrounding gray space to tremble.

One hand of the purple-gold giant grabbed at the void. A burst of azure light blazed in his palm, and an azure giant sword materialized, slashing down fiercely.

A colossal crescent-shaped azure sword light shot forth, entwined with thick bolts of lightning, striking fear into the hearts of onlookers as it cleaved into the gray light barrier.

With a loud "rip" sound!

This time, the gray space was directly split open, creating a crack that connected to the outside world.

The purple-gold giant twisted its body, transforming into a purple shadow that shot out through the crack with incredible speed. A slit opened on its forehead, revealing a pitch-black vertical eye.

"Swoosh!"

A crystalline beam shot out from the vertical eye, directly transforming into a blurry small sword that vanished in a flash.

The next moment, the sword appeared behind the young man in splendid robes and slashed down.

This series of actions was as smooth as flowing water, incredibly fast.

Although the young man in splendid robes was sent flying and injured, his reaction was still extremely quick. He waved his hand, and a black light palm materialized above his head, grabbing at the blurry small sword.

With a soft "chi" sound!

The moment the black light-claw seized the blurry small sword, the sword's shadow flickered and vanished into thin air.

The young man was slightly startled. Before he could understand what had happened, a glimmer of light flashed in his mind, and the blurry small sword appeared out of nowhere, slashing fiercely at his soul.

"Ah!"

The richly dressed young man clutched his head with both hands, letting out a most miserable scream.

At that moment, a golden lightning shadow flickered, and Crab Dao Ren's figure appeared on the other side behind the richly dressed young man, his hands spreading wide.

Boom!

Two enormous golden thunderballs materialized before Crab Dao Ren, each as large as a small hill, with thick golden arcs of electricity leaping and crackling atop them, a truly terrifying sight.

On the surface of the thunderballs, golden lightning runes emerged one after another, each the size of a tabletop, flashing wildly and emitting a strong aura of law.

Crab Dao Ren brought his hands together, and the two massive thunderballs instantly merged, with a thunderous crash, transforming into a colossal lightning giant sword.

A ring of golden interwoven lightning arcs instantly spread outward from the giant sword, sweeping in all directions, and wherever they passed, all the black mist was swept away as if by a whirlwind.

The void within dozens of li began to hum, and countless five-colored light orbs, formed from the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, emerged and surged like a tide toward the giant sword.

The surface of the lightning giant sword was wreathed in five-colored rosy clouds, radiating a dazzling light that caused the surrounding void to ripple.

In an instant, the heavens changed color, wind and clouds surged wildly, and the sky within nearly a hundred li suddenly darkened.

Before the richly dressed young man could react, the giant sword crashed down, cleaving into his body.

A thunderous roar!

Countless cracks instantly appeared on the young man's purple-black armor, and then it burst apart with a bang.

The richly dressed young man's body was then engulfed by the massive lightning and exploded into a shower of flesh and blood.

Not far away, Han Li had already reverted to his original form. Seeing this, he let out a soft sigh of relief.

At that moment, a very faint black light emerged amidst the scattered flesh, then instantly vanished into the void.

Seeing this, Han Li's eyes flickered with blue light, and the vertical eye on his forehead flashed.

A streak of black light shot out, and in a flash, it struck a spot in the void, disappearing into it.

A soft "puff" sound was heard!

The void there immediately trembled, then spewed out a large swath of pitch-black light. Amidst the interweaving and tumbling, a figure several inches tall, surrounded by swirling black light, stumbled out.

From the features of the figure's face, it was unmistakably the Nascent Soul of the richly dressed youth from before.

He had been struck by the light from the Annihilation Eye and exposed, but had not been seriously injured. However, his face was full of shock and anger. His small hands quickly formed a hand seal in front of him, as if about to do something more.

At that moment, the void near him rippled slightly, and a crystalline chain silently flew out, lightning-fast binding itself around him.

The chain emitted a translucent silver light, and its form was faint and indistinct, as if it were not solid, exuding a spiritual sense aura.

The young Nascent Soul was greatly alarmed. Black light radiated from his body as he struggled fiercely.

But no matter how hard he tried, the crystalline chain did not move an inch, as steady as a rock.

A figure flickered, and Han Li and the Crab Daoist appeared one after the other near the young Nascent Soul. The latter held an object in each hand—the Yuanhe Five Extremes Mountain and the black inkstone.

Without the richly dressed youth to activate them, the two treasures had dimmed and were easily collected by the Crab Daoist.

The young Nascent Soul seemed to realize that escape was impossible no matter what. He stopped struggling, glanced at Han Li, then fixed his gaze on the Crab Daoist.

"I never thought you would have such a trump card hidden away. And this chain—if I'm not mistaken, it should be a Spirit Sense Chain. To be able to use such a divine ability, you must have cultivated some forbidden art, right?" the young Nascent Soul said in a calm tone.

Han Li paid him no heed. With a wave of his hand, he sent out a patch of azure light flying downward. Moments later, it lifted two storage artifacts—the belongings of the fat and thin men he had killed earlier.

He then released a stream of crimson flame, enveloping the richly dressed youth's corpse. It burned fiercely, quickly reducing the remains to ashes. The flame then rolled back, carrying a black ring within it.

Han Li unhurriedly put away these items, then turned his head to look at the young Nascent Soul and said slowly, "Speak. Who exactly are you, and why have you come after me time and again? Satisfy me, and I'll let you die a quick death."

"Heh, kill me if you want. Don't expect me to answer your questions!" the young Nascent Soul sneered.

Han Li said nothing more. He raised a hand, spread five fingers, and grabbed the Nascent Soul's head.

A dark black light burst forth from his hand, enveloping the young Nascent Soul and seeping into him.

The young Nascent Soul's face instantly twisted in pain, but a mocking look appeared in his eyes. Gritting his teeth, he said, "A mere True Immortal... trying to soul-search a Golden Immortal... how utterly... overestimating yourself!"

Han Li turned a deaf ear, fully activating the secret soul-searching technique.

Rings of black light radiated from his palm, enveloping the black Nascent Soul. However, as the other had said, no matter how hard he pushed, he could not reach the depths of the Nascent Soul's spirit.

"Fellow Daoist Han, don't waste your effort. From True Immortal to Golden Immortal, the soul undergoes a transformation. At your current cultivation level, it is indeed impossible to soul-search a Golden Immortal. And I am merely a puppet, unable to perform soul-searching techniques either," the Crab Daoist said.

Hearing this, Han Li slowly released his five fingers from the young Nascent Soul.

"To tell you the truth, if you dare kill me, Xiao Jinhan will surely pursue you relentlessly! If you release me, I can swear a soul oath, and the grievances between us will be wiped clean. Besides that, I can also give you some benefits," the young Nascent Soul said, relieved, then sneered and spoke thus.