Chapter 57: The Jingzhe Change

The Blood Sky Ghost, seeing that its earth-shattering grip had failed to crush Han Li, showed a flicker of surprise in its blood-red eyes.

"Hmph, overestimating yourself!"

It let out a low shout, and thick blood-colored veins emerged on its body. Its arms swelled another size, and it squeezed with all its might, pressing down with a force that could overturn mountains and seas.

Yet this only caused a trace of pain to appear on Han Li's face; his flesh was like indestructible refined iron, no matter how hard it squeezed, it could not be crushed.

At that moment, a burst of golden light erupted from Han Li's body, and pale golden scales appeared on his skin. On his chest and abdomen, where the ghost claw gripped, five faint blue lights flickered.

He let out a low shout and suddenly pushed outward with both hands, unleashing a force several times greater than before.

The Blood Sky Ghost's face showed shock as Han Li slowly pried its ten fingers apart.

Han Li's form flickered, and he shot out from the ghost claw as a golden shadow. As he moved, his body rapidly expanded, and thick, coarse golden fur grew all over him, including his face, while two snow-white fangs protruded from his mouth.

In the blink of an eye, he had transformed into a golden giant ape over ten zhang tall.

A violent aura emanated from him, and black baleful energy swirled around his body.

"This... the legendary Mountain Ape!" The Blood Sky Ghost was somewhat surprised.

The giant ape Han Li had become steadied itself in midair over a hundred zhang away, pounded its chest with both hands, feeling the surging power within, and let out a long roar.

Although his Nascent Soul was sealed, the bloodline powers of several true spirits he had refined remained. With his physical body fully restored, he could finally use the Jingzhe Art.

Using this divine ability again filled him with myriad emotions.

"No wonder you have such astonishing divine strength—it's related to this true spirit. Truly, I searched high and low without finding it. If I can refine my Blood Sky Ghost Banner anew with your blood, it will advance another level and greatly increase its power!" The Blood Sky Ghost grinned ferociously and lunged forward, its massive body flying out.

Its right claw clenched into a fist, and it smashed down at the giant ape with a fist the size of a house, erupting in a blaze of blood-red light.

The golden giant ape snorted coldly and punched back, its fist bursting with golden light.

The two fists, vastly different in size, collided!

A thunderous roar like mountains crumbling and earth splitting echoed across the sky, causing the blood sea below to churn violently, sending waves surging upward.

The Blood Sky Ghost's body trembled and was sent flying backward. Its right arm exploded inch by inch, flesh and blood splattering into countless blood mists, revealing the crystalline, jade-like arm bone beneath.

Splash!

The ghost crashed into the blood sea, raising a towering blood wave.

The golden giant ape only swayed slightly before steadying itself, lowering its head to look below.

After a moment of churning, the sea surface calmed.

But the next moment, with a thunderous boom!

The blood sea behind the giant ape suddenly exploded, sending rolling blood waves flying. The Blood Sky Ghost emerged, drenched in blood, its previously shattered arm fully restored. Its eyes blazed with blood light, as if its inner savagery had been fully ignited.

It grabbed at the void with one arm, and a massive wave of blood below condensed into a thirty-to-forty-zhang-long blood spear, which it grasped. Then, swinging its arm, it hurled the spear fiercely at the golden giant ape in midair.

A piercing shriek rang through the void!

The giant ape suddenly turned and dove downward instead of retreating. One furry hand reached out like a giant palm descending from the sky, slapping at the blood spear.

With a deafening bang!

The blood spear, barely thrown, was smashed aside and, with a mournful cry, shattered inch by inch, reverting into a mass of blood plasma.

The Blood Sky Ghost was momentarily stunned. Before it could dodge, the golden giant ape had already closed to within a hundred zhang, its two golden fists hammering down in a blur.

The ghost raised its left arm to block without hesitation.

Another thunderous crash!

Its massive body was sent flying backward, the flesh on its left side nearly shattered, revealing blood-drenched crystalline bones.

Just as the golden giant ape let out a low roar and prepared to pursue, a sudden change occurred in the blood sea below!

A giant wave surged up from the blood sea, twisting and deforming in an instant into a colossal, ferocious dragon head. Its bloody maw opened and closed, and with lightning speed, it swallowed the giant ape, which was not far above the sea, in one gulp.

Then the blood dragon soared upward from the sea, brandishing its claws. It was a full hundred zhang long, its massive body coiling and winding above the sea surface. Blood light flowed over its body, and rolling blood mists emerged.

The Blood Sky Ghost nearby had already steadied itself. Runes flickered on its bone surface, and thick streams of blood flew from the sea, wrapping around its damaged half-body. Flesh buds writhed wildly, visibly regenerating.

Seeing the giant ape swallowed by the blood dragon, it quickly formed hand seals and chanted abstruse, obscure incantations.

The dragon's eyes blazed with blood light. Its long body coiled into a massive blood sphere, its surface flashing with dazzling blood light, rapidly expanding like an inflating balloon.

A cruel grin appeared on the Blood Sky Ghost's face. It abruptly stopped its hand seals and spat out the word "Break!"

But in that instant, countless golden threads pierced through a spot on the blood sphere's surface, bulging into a large lump. Then, with a thunderous boom, a golden light shot out from within, charging toward the Blood Sky Ghost.

Wrapped in the golden light was the giant ape Han Li had become.

He had barely flown twenty or thirty zhang when, with an earth-shattering roar, the massive blood sphere exploded violently, turning into an enormous blood-colored halo. It flickered and expanded to a hundred zhang in width, spreading outward with fury.

Terrifying waves of energy radiated outward, stirring up a fierce gale that swept over a dozen li. The sea surface erupted into monstrous waves. At the very center of the explosion, even the void rippled with visible distortions that vanished in an instant.

Although the golden giant ape had broken out in time, it was still caught in the blast. Its bright golden fur was damaged in a few places, sustaining minor injuries, but nothing serious. If not for its quick reaction, even with its physical strength, it would have suffered significant damage.

Seeing the giant ape rapidly approaching, the Blood Sky Ghost flapped its pair of purple-black bat wings, summoning two whirlwinds beneath it. Its massive body turned into a blurry blood shadow, retreating swiftly into the distance, visibly increasing the gap between them.

The giant ape's physical power far exceeded its imagination, and it had no desire to face its edge directly.

The giant ape Han Li had become frowned at this.

The Mountain Ape was known for its immense strength but was not adept at speed; it simply could not catch up.

Suddenly, the distant ghost let out a strange howl!

With a series of popping sounds!

The blood sea around the giant ape bulged into numerous humps several zhang in size, and then countless blood shadows shot out from them, densely packed, numbering in the hundreds, swarming toward the giant ape.

They were blood-colored ghostly creatures with single horns on their heads, green eyes, sharp claws, and blood mists swirling around them.

The giant ape paused, its golden light intensifying. Its massive body blurred and rapidly shrank, disappearing into the surrounding blood mists.

The next moment, a clear, resonant cry rang out, followed by tens of thousands of dazzling green beams piercing through the blood mists. Countless green winds materialized around, blowing the blood mists away again.

Whoosh!

A huge green shadow shot out like lightning—a massive green bird.

It was seven or eight zhang in size, with bright green feathers, a green crest on its head, and broad wings that were longer than its body when spread. Three long tail feathers trailed behind, making it look extremely majestic.

The green giant bird flapped its wings fiercely, summoning countless howling winds. Within the winds, numerous long green streaks appeared, over a hundred of them, slashing at the charging blood ghosts.

Pfft!

Dozens of blood ghosts were easily cut into several pieces by the green streaks, exploding into puffs of blood mist.

The green giant bird spread its wings again, turning into a blurry green shadow that nimbly broke through the encirclement of the remaining blood ghosts and shot toward the Blood Sky Ghost.

"The sacred bird Qingluan! Who are you?" The Blood Sky Ghost's expression changed drastically. It flapped its wings and turned to flee.

But the green shadow was extremely fast, reaching the ghost in an instant. A green light flashed past.

Pfft!

Blood spurted from the Blood Sky Ghost's chest as three deep, bone-deep gashes appeared, blood splattering out.

The ghost suddenly turned, raising its arms to do something, but the green shadow flickered and appeared behind it, flashing past.

Pfft!

Three huge gashes appeared on the ghost's back, and one of its bat wings was severed, blood gushing out.

Roar!

The Blood Sky Ghost's eyes blazed with red light. It turned its head sharply to look at the green shadow, letting out a furious roar, and its ghost claw shot out.

Countless blood-colored claw marks materialized, forming a dense net of blood claws in front of it.

But the green shadow suddenly blurred and vanished from its spot, then, as if teleporting, appeared to the ghost's right and lunged again like lightning.

Pfft!

Three deep, bone-deep gashes appeared on its right arm, blood spurting like a fountain.

The Blood Sky Ghost roared in fury, trying to counterattack.

But it could not keep up with the green shadow's speed at all, nor could it even catch a glimpse of its opponent.

Blurry green shadows danced around the Blood Sky Ghost like ghosts, with no solid form visible.

The ghost's body quickly became a bloody mess, and its movements slowed.

If not for the extreme hardness of its blood-colored bones, which even the Qingluan's attacks could not sever, it would have been cut into countless pieces.

Fear finally flickered in the ghost's eyes. It covered its head with its arms and shot downward toward the blood sea, while a massive, viscous blood wave rose from the sea to meet it.

A clear, resonant cry suddenly rang out!

The green shadow flickered, accelerating again, turning into afterimages that swiftly circled the ghost.

Rumble!

A fierce wind arose in the nearby sky, and countless long green streaks materialized in the wind, filling an area several li in radius, madly cutting everything.

The viscous blood wave had just risen from the sea when it was struck by dozens of green streaks and collapsed back with a boom.