Chapter 439: The Limit

Han Li let out a cold snort at the sight.

His figure blurred slightly, then shot toward the azure coiled dragon with a series of afterimages, his palm holding the rapidly spinning Heavy Water True Wheel, its black light swirling as it slashed toward Xiong Shan's waist.

"Ha!"

Xiong Shan roared, and a blur of dark red sword light immediately shot out from his black armor, shattering the azure dragon's sword aura and dragon fangs in an instant.

He raised his arm and swung his longsword, striking the Heavy Water True Wheel heavily.

A sharp clang rang out.

The entire Azure Coil Sword Formation collapsed, all the flying swords scattering in all directions. Xiong Shan's figure flew backward from within, retreating over a hundred zhang before hovering in midair.

"What, want to compare who has more flying swords?" he sneered at Han Li.

With that, he tossed his longsword into the air with one hand, formed a strange hand seal with both hands, chanted silently for a moment, then suddenly spread his hands and beckoned toward the void.

The dark red patterns on his black armor flashed again, and on the chest plate, a strange pattern resembling the ancient seal script character "劒" appeared.

As this pattern emerged, an indescribable aura of primeval desolation radiated from Xiong Shan.

Seeing this, Han Li's heart tightened. He immediately contacted the Crab Immortal through his spiritual sense, informing him to join forces when necessary.

The entire sky suddenly became extremely quiet, as if even the wind had frozen.

"Clang, clang, clang"

A series of metallic scraping sounds suddenly rang out, sharp and jarring.

Han Li looked over and saw that the swords in the Sword Sea, which had been hovering motionless, were now moving again.

Unlike before, this time all the flying swords in the Sword Sea stirred, breaking free from the area above the sea. Shrouded in a layer of dark red sword light, they surged toward Han Li like an awakened ancient beast.

"Taste the agony of being sliced by ten thousand swords!" Xiong Shan roared with a ferocious expression.

"Go!"

At his command, the sound of sword chimes in the sky grew deafening. Tens of thousands of flying swords of all kinds poured out, covering the sky like a surging flood or a swarm of locusts.

Han Li's expression changed drastically. Such a massive number of swords, such sharp sword light—neither his Truth Dharma Wheel nor his Heavy Water True Wheel could possibly withstand them.

After a moment's thought, he made up his mind:

Flee!

After all, he had come here only to retrieve his natal treasure, the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords. Since his goal was achieved, why continue fighting?

Never mind that after this, Xiong Shan would surely become a formidable enemy; he would escape first and think later.

Having decided, Han Li immediately recalled all his treasures, formed a hand seal, and thunderclaps began to sound around him. A golden lightning array quickly took shape, about to activate.

But things didn't go as planned. To save time, he didn't use the Roc's lightning power but directly employed the Bixie Divine Lightning, yet he was still a moment too late.

With a crackling sound,

A dark red sword light slashed down from above, and the newly formed golden lightning array collapsed.

In an instant, countless flying swords of all colors surged down, swallowing Han Li.

Han Li's expression changed slightly, but he didn't panic. A silver light shot out from his sleeve, turning into a silver bell that flew into the sky and began to ring.

Dense rings of silver light waves emerged around him, expanding outward to form a silver wave zone dozens of zhang in size.

At the same time, he spat out seven star rings. They spun rapidly like lightning, interlocking to form a larger ring that shielded him from above.

Dazzling starlight radiated from the Seven Luminaries Star Rings, forming a starry curtain that covered him, with countless star patterns flickering. Together with the silver wave zone, it protected him in the center.

Just as he released these two treasures, the torrent of ten thousand swords surged before him.

In an instant, his head and surroundings were surrounded by dense sword tips. The silver bell rang continuously, but the silver wave zone was compressed inch by inch, gradually shrinking toward Han Li.

The starry curtain from the Seven Luminaries Star Rings emitted sharp sounds, and one by one, the star points went out, their light growing dimmer.

Han Li frowned, then waved his hands again. The Heavy Water True Wheel and the Truth Dharma Wheel appeared on either side of him, one in front and one behind.

He formed a hand seal and struck the Heavy Water True Wheel heavily. The wheel's black light trembled, and the water dao patterns flashed rapidly. A vast, mighty water aura surged out, turning into a black water dragon that charged into the sea of swords.

The massive black water dragon, like a surging black river, soon carved a gap in the sword sea. Han Li moved and shot toward the gap.

"What's the point of this desperate struggle?" Xiong Shan sneered.

With that, he wiped his face expressionlessly, and his hand came away stained red.

Forcing the Ten Thousand Swords Iron Token with a secret technique came at a cost; blood had already trickled from the corners of his eyes, nostrils, and ears like earthworms.

But to him, as long as he could kill Han Li and retrieve the seventy-two flying swords, it was all worth it.

"Close!" Xiong Shan roared.

The gap opened by the black water dragon in the sword sea suddenly closed as the countless sword tips on both sides converged like two high walls, pressing toward Han Li.

"Clang, clang"

Sharp, unusual sounds came continuously, and the dark red blood light on the sword walls grew denser.

Before Han Li could fly a hundred zhang, the sword formation ahead had already closed. The black water dragon collapsed under the heavy pressure, turning into water vapor that flowed back into the Heavy Water True Wheel.

Trapped again in the forest of ten thousand swords, his situation grew worse. The protection offered by the silver bell and the Seven Luminaries Star Rings was nearly exhausted.

Soon, these two treasures would inevitably collapse under the ever-increasing pressure of the sword light.

"Crack, crack, crack"

A faint sound came from above. The starry curtain, pressed by hundreds of sword tips, had developed hair-thin cracks and was about to shatter.

Han Li's gaze sharpened. He beckoned with his hand, and the Seven Luminaries Star Rings flashed, their starlight instantly retracting as they flew back to him.

At the same time, the silver bell trembled, spun in midair, and returned to him.

The next moment, purple-gold light flickered all over his body. Layers of purple-gold scales emerged, covering his entire body. Two heads appeared on his shoulders, and two additional scale-covered arms grew from each side of his ribs.

Then, Han Li summoned the Heavy Water True Wheel with one hand, holding it like a shield in front of him, while his other five arms each gripped an Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword.

Inside his body, the long-unused Black Tortoise bloodline was also activated, forming a dark green armor embedded with ancient runes that protected his torso.

Han Li had always excelled in physical combat. Now, having cultivated the True Immortal technique and with various enhancements, his body's toughness rivaled many defensive spiritual treasures.

The Truth Dharma Wheel flashed and returned to his body, immediately beginning to spin rapidly in reverse.

Han Li's figure flickered. Instead of defending, he went on the offensive, charging into the torrent of ten thousand swords rather than retreating.

His figure moved like lightning, leaving a blur of afterimages barely visible to the naked eye as he swiftly weaved through the sword sea.

His six arms spun like a windmill. The five Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords flashed with golden lightning, and with each slash, dozens of zhang of electric light burst forth, scattering the approaching flying swords.

Throughout the sword sea, golden light flickered everywhere, and thunderous roars continued. For a time, the sword sea could not harm Han Li.

Han Li knew in his heart that this situation couldn't last long. Activating so many techniques at once consumed an enormous amount of mana. Once his mana ran out, he would surely die.

His reckless assault wasn't born of irrational desperation but only to buy time for the Crab Immortal to recover.

Earlier, when he activated the lightning array, he had intended to have the Crab Immortal make another move to gain some time.

But when the Crab Immortal tried to act, he found that his fused puppet body was failing, unable to support large-scale techniques.

After about a quarter of an hour, Han Li's figure slowed down in midair. His dark green armor was covered in sword marks, and the scales on his six arms were cracked and bloodied.

Clearly, even Han Li's formidable physical body was nearing its limit.

"Fellow Daoist Crab, are you ready yet?" Han Li called out urgently in his mind.

"Almost, just hold on for another half quarter of an hour..." the Crab Immortal replied through spiritual connection.

Han Li's heart felt bitter, but he said nothing and gritted his teeth to endure.

However, Xiong Shan was unwilling to give him any more time.

Not because he saw through Han Li's plan, but because he himself was nearing his limit.

Blood flowed from his seven orifices, impossible to wipe away, and his mind grew drowsy.

"Die..." Xiong Shan forced himself to rally, roaring with a slightly twisted face.

Before the sound faded, his entire figure blurred, turning into a blood-red light that merged with his natal flying sword, becoming a massive blood-colored sword light. With the force of a thunderbolt, it shot straight toward Han Li.

The blood-colored sword light was extremely fast, instantly piercing into the sword sea. All the flying swords parted ways, forming a huge tunnel for it to reach Han Li.