Chapter 657: Fierce Battle at the Water Evolution Palace

"Eh!"

Han Li quickly swept his gaze across the square and couldn't help but let out a soft exclamation.

His figure suddenly shot forward, soon landing before a massive palace on the opposite side of the square.

This palace was much larger than the others, built entirely from a translucent deep blue crystal, with a faint blue light rippling over its surface, resembling an underwater crystal palace.

Han Li recognized this blue crystal as sea-blue crystal, a water-attributed crystal known for its sturdiness. Although not a top-tier material, it was quite precious, and using it to construct an entire hall was indeed a lavish undertaking.

However, his eagerness to rush over was not due to the material of the hall but rather what lay inside.

Though faint, Han Li could sense a fluctuation of time law deep within the hall.

Perhaps because the hall was entirely built of sea-blue crystal, it had remained largely intact despite the damage, and even the plaque on the door was undamaged.

"Water Evolution Palace..."

Han Li looked at the plaque, his mind stirring slightly. Just as he was about to step into the hall, something by the door caught his attention.

It was a black-blue stone statue lying on the ground, over a hundred zhang tall, depicting a strange child with a large head and a slender body.

The base of the statue was broken, as if severed by a single sword strike. Han Li's gaze shifted to a giant stone pier nearby, which had been cut off and whose surface matched the break on the statue's base. It seemed the statue had originally stood there.

Han Li looked at the statue of the big-headed child and felt a vague sense of familiarity, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

"Right, it's him!" He examined the statue again and suddenly recalled.

That time when he had observed the big-eared monk, also known as Patriarch Mi Luo, giving a sermon through the crystal wall, there were five people sitting around him. Among them was a strange child with a large head and a small body, whose appearance was essentially the same as this statue.

But why would a statue of that person appear here? Could this Water Evolution Palace be related to that big-headed child?

Han Li pondered for a moment, then quickly set aside these thoughts and stepped into the hall.

As soon as he entered the hall, the surrounding light dimmed, giving an unusual sense of oppression.

He frowned slightly but did not stop.

The interior of the hall was quite empty, with nothing but several giant sea-blue crystal pillars. There were also many signs of battle here, and one pillar had even been cut clean through.

Han Li searched the hall but found nothing, so he continued deeper, soon reaching the innermost part.

On the left and right walls here were two large doors, behind which were long, black corridors winding into the depths, dark and bottomless.

Earlier, when he was outside, he had seen that behind this blue hall stood a cluster of palaces, forming a large architectural complex.

Han Li looked at the two passages and sensed the location of the time law fluctuation, which was ahead and somewhat to the right. Without hesitation, he stepped into the right corridor.

The corridor was built of a black stone material, emitting a faint, cold aura, the nature of which he could not identify.

There were also many traces of battle here: scratches from sharp weapons on the black walls and numerous cracks on the ground.

It seemed the black walls were extremely sturdy and had not been destroyed in the fighting.

Additionally, one or two corpses of True Word Sect disciples or Heavenly Court cultivators could be seen from time to time in the corridor. Perhaps because the corridor was relatively enclosed, the surrounding yin-sha energy gradually grew denser, and gusts of yin wind blew from ahead, accompanied by faint wailing sounds.

Han Li frowned slightly. With the baleful energy currently缠绕 his body, he instinctively disliked such an environment, but he would not retreat over such a trivial matter.

The black corridor was surprisingly long. Han Li walked for nearly half a quarter of an hour without reaching the end. On the contrary, the corridor gradually became wider and taller.

The deeper he went, the denser the baleful energy in the air became, stirring the baleful energy within him.

Han Li quickly activated his technique to protect his entire body, isolating the external baleful energy.

He walked a bit further, then suddenly changed expression slightly and stopped.

Though faint, there came several rumbling sounds from ahead, and the ground trembled slightly, as if someone was fighting.

Han Li's gaze flickered, and he began to mutter incantations under his breath.

A layer of dim light emerged, enveloping his body, and he transformed into a shadowy figure, silently darting forward.

After flying for a short while, the corridor ended, and ahead appeared a gloomy stretch of palaces, one after another.

Between the various palaces, there were connecting passages, crisscrossing in a dizzying array.

Han Li oriented himself slightly and followed the sounds of battle, passing through over a dozen palaces until he quickly found the source: a hall covering an area of several thousand zhang.

Inside this hall stood numerous thick stone pillars, each requiring over a dozen people to encircle, inscribed with various runes of unknown purpose.

Most of the pillars in the hall had collapsed, revealing a large open space.

In that open space, three cultivators were locked in fierce combat with five or six black shadows.

Among the three cultivators, one was a burly man built like an iron tower, wearing a blue cloak and wielding a giant blue sword the size of a door panel.

Another was a graceful woman in a purple robe, her face veiled, surrounded by dense demonic energy—she was a member of the demon race.

The last was a handsome man in red robes, his face seemingly powdered, giving him an androgynous appearance.

Han Li raised an eyebrow. He recognized the handsome man in red: it was Feng Qingyuan, whom he had met briefly at Wild Crane Valley. He hadn't expected to encounter him here again.

It seemed that the Reincarnation Palace was not the only one coveting the True Word Sect ruins; the Heavenly Court had also made preparations long ago. He wondered from where and how they had entered this place.

The black shadows fighting the three were humanoid monsters, several zhang tall, covered in black fur like black apes.

These monsters also had two dark red horns on their heads, blood-red eyes flashing with fierce light, fangs protruding from their mouths, and they let out piercing roars from time to time.

"What are these..." Han Li hid behind a stone pillar, somewhat surprised at the sight of these black ape monsters.

These black ape monsters were unremarkable in appearance but quite formidable. Their massive bodies moved like the wind, and they were extremely tough, directly clashing with the immortal artifacts of Feng Qingyuan and the others without any damage.

The black apes occasionally spat out streams of black flame, which the three seemed to be wary of, rarely blocking them and mostly dodging repeatedly.

Although Feng Qingyuan and the others were at a disadvantage, they were clearly seasoned veterans. They remained calm and steady, holding their ground against the fierce attacks of the black apes.

Han Li glanced at the battle for a moment, then shifted his gaze to survey the hall, finding no treasures.

It seemed the three were not here for treasure but had been unlucky enough to encounter several ape monsters and were now entangled by them.

Since there was no treasure here, Han Li had no intention of intervening. He moved to leave quietly.

Just as he moved, a gust of foul wind struck from behind. A black beast claw materialized behind Han Li, aiming for his heart.

Han Li's expression changed. He shot forward like lightning while swinging his arm.

A cyan sword light shot out from his sleeve, then appeared behind him, swiftly slashing at the black beast claw.

With a loud bang!

The cyan sword light trembled and shattered, revealing a cyan flying sword that tumbled forward.

The black beast claw was also slashed with a long wound, nearly splitting the palm in two.

A huge black ape monster emerged from the darkness nearby, letting out an enraged roar at Han Li.

This ape monster was twice as large as the previous ones, with blood-red patterns covering its black fur, adding to its ferocity. Black qi swirled around its massive body, and within the black qi floated a black banner, shimmering with spiritual light and emitting a faint but not insignificant law fluctuation—it was an immortal artifact.

As the black ape roared, black light flashed in its palm, and the surrounding yin-sha energy converged into its body.

The wound on its palm healed at a visible rate, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Seeing this, Han Li's face showed a trace of surprise. He waved his hand to recall the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword and landed on the ground.

This exchange happened in the blink of an eye. Feng Qingyuan and the others also noticed Han Li's commotion, surprise showing on their faces.

The blood-patterned giant ape let out a roar, its massive body turning into a black shadow as it pounced toward Han Li.

"Hmph!"

Han Li snorted coldly, waving his sleeve. A thick golden arc of lightning shot out, striking toward the blood-patterned giant ape—it was the Evil-Repelling Divine Lightning.

Where the golden arc passed, the nearby yin-sha energy dissipated like snow under the sun.

The blood-patterned giant ape, however, showed no fear. It opened its mouth and spat out a stream of black flame.

With a loud crash!

The lightning and flame collided, then twisted and coiled together like a golden and a black dragon intertwined, biting at each other without either gaining the upper hand.

Han Li raised an eyebrow slightly and opened his mouth to spit out.

Another cyan flying sword shot out like lightning, its surface wrapped in a layer of golden arcs. It flashed through the lightning and flame with incredible speed.

With a dull thud, the black flame burst apart, scattering into residual embers.

The cyan flying sword continued to shoot forward, blurring as it appeared before the blood-patterned giant ape and slashing down fiercely.