Chapter 782: Fighting the Twin Feathers

"Did you think you could avoid a close fight with me?"

Tong Yu let out a sneer, and a burst of black light flared from his body. Wisps of black qi seeped out from the gaps in his armor, coalescing into a black mist that shrouded his entire form, blurring his figure.

Meanwhile, the demonic qi permeating the surrounding heavens and earth also gathered in wisps, merging into that black mist.

In an instant, the black mist flashed over and enveloped Han Li.

Han Li frowned, and before he could react, a fist came hurtling toward his face, carrying the force of wind and thunder.

He raised his elbow to block, but another fist struck from the left.

Before he could fend it off with his other hand, a heavy blow landed on his chest. With a muffled grunt, he was sent flying backward.

Before he could steady himself, the black mist clung to him like a shadow, and several more fists rained down simultaneously, striking his temples, the back of his head, his chest, and his ribs—all vital points.

Each punch carried immense force, producing explosive sounds upon impact.

Han Li felt his immortal spiritual power immediately stagnate. Surprised, he quickly mobilized his true spirit bloodline and donned a suit of Xuanwu armor.

The fists pelted the armor like raindrops. Though the blows were no longer as unbearable, his internal organs still trembled violently, causing great discomfort.

He narrowed his eyes, a faint purple light flickering within them, and gazed at the black mist surrounding him.

To his astonishment, he could not find Tong Yu's figure within the mist. All he saw were countless black fists condensed from the mist—dense, numbering in the thousands—assailing him from all directions. No wonder he couldn't defend against them.

Could it be some kind of demonic mist law capable of materialization?

Han Li's mind stirred. Silently reciting the incantation of the True Word Wheel Sutra, a burst of golden light erupted behind him. A golden wheel spun and appeared, radiating beams of light.

The fists hurtling through the demonic mist slowed down under the illumination of the True Word Wheel's golden light. Han Li swept his gaze across them and saw that they numbered tens of thousands.

A hint of a smile curled at the corner of his mouth. He flicked his wrist, and golden lightning flickered in his palm as the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword materialized.

Han Li gripped the longsword and shot forward, flickering through the void. Lightning runes flashed along the blade. The integration of Evil-Repelling Divine Lightning and Bone-Washing Golden Thunder had birthed the power of lightning laws, making it even more formidable than before.

Crackling sounds rang out continuously in the void. Thick golden lightning trails appeared one after another, crisscrossing like iron chains spanning a river, slicing the black mist into shreds.

When those seemingly solid fists were struck by the golden lightning carried by the sword edge, they did not break bones or spill blood but simply dissipated like smoke, turning into black mist.

His aura seemed to vanish completely, and Han Li's divine sense could not detect him at all.

A faint purple light gleamed in his eyes as he scanned his surroundings, but all he saw were wisps of demonic qi scattered everywhere, omnipresent, all rendered sluggish by the golden light radiating from the True Word Wheel.

Han Li frowned, somewhat frustrated. Though he had trapped it with the True Word Wheel, neither his sword qi nor lightning attacks were effective, failing to harm its core.

With a thought, a silver flame figure suddenly appeared on his shoulder with a flash of silver light.

"Since I can't cut you, I'll burn you," Han Li said with a smirk.

At his command, the silver flame figure spread its arms, and its flames surged violently, transforming into a giant silver flame bird.

Just as it charged out, Han Li withdrew the True Word Wheel. The silver flames on the bird burst forth, rushing into the black mist.

The silver flames soared, and a massive wave of fire swept through. The vast black mist rapidly contracted under the scorching flames.

A miserable shriek rang out, and from the condensed black mist, a human figure solidified—it was Tong Yu.

At this moment, his entire body was covered in scorched wounds, looking utterly disheveled.

"What the hell is this thing?"

As he spoke, wisps of black mist from the surrounding void slowly seeped into his body, gradually repairing the wounds inflicted by the Essence Flame Firebird.

Han Li naturally did not reply. He shot forward, and the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword in his hand crackled with golden lightning. At the same time, he waved his other hand, and the sound of tearing air erupted around him.

The other seventeen Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords shot out simultaneously, leaving trails of azure sword marks in the air. As they neared Tong Yu, their sword light suddenly flared, blooming into hundreds of solid sword projections that surrounded him in the center.

The Silver Flame Firebird hovered behind him, its wings beating, its eyes flickering with flames as it gazed at him.

Han Li thrust forward from directly ahead, and the surrounding sword shadows immediately contracted, stabbing toward the Bronze Feather.

A flash of anger passed through Bronze Feather's eyes, and he suddenly let out a fierce roar. A layer of black light instantly expanded from his body, transforming into a demonic qi spirit domain that enveloped Han Li and all the flying swords.

The moment all the flying swords and sword shadows pierced into the spirit domain, their bodies trembled violently, layers of demonic qi clinging to their surfaces, one layer after another shrouding them, and they almost simultaneously lost control.

Those sword shadows condensed from sword qi, after being entwined by the black mist, soon became petrified, turning ashen gray, and then, their spiritual power exhausted, turned to powder and dissipated.

The seventeen Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords themselves were also entwined by the black mist, but golden electric light leaped within them continuously. Although their spiritual power consumption was equally immense, they struggled violently, trembling in the void.

At the same time, patches of black mist, like black python demon serpents, twisted and coiled as they surged forward, directly wrapping around Han Li and contracting bit by bit.

The thick black mist, like drying mud, gradually turned ashen gray, outlining Han Li's external contours bit by bit, making him look like a sculpture about to set.

Seeing this, the Essence Flame Firebird immediately surged with silver flames, its body shooting out, charging toward Han Li.

Bronze Feather sneered, formed hand seals before his chest, and suddenly clapped his hands together.

Within his spirit domain, two patches of black sand dust rose, condensing into two enormous hands in the void, which clapped together from left and right, trapping the Essence Flame Firebird in between.

Bronze Feather waved his hand casually, and a golden talisman flew out, landing on the black sand hands.

The talisman flashed with light and sank into the hands, while several extremely long, strange runes appeared on their surface, crawling around like living things, binding the two hands together.

Once the runes locked, black light surged, and a powerful binding force emerged from within.

No matter how the Essence Flame Firebird struggled, it could not escape; instead, its scorching heat was drained away by the strange fluctuations released from the runes, and the flames on its body were firmly suppressed.

On the other side, Shi Kongkong was forced back step by step by the powerful sword qi released by Silver Feather, having already distanced himself greatly from this area.

Catching a glimpse of this from the corner of his eye, his mind couldn't help but waver slightly.

"No need to look further. Although your companion cultivates a time technique, he is no match for Bronze Feather. Our king has also instructed us to capture you alive; your elder brother awaits you! If you surrender now, you may spare yourself some physical pain. But if you continue to resist stubbornly, I will first cut off your limbs, let you taste the pain of sword qi flaying your heart, and then take you back." Silver Feather paused his sword strikes, speaking with an indifferent expression.

"Shi Zhanfeng, it really is him... But I wonder what price he offered for my death? I am willing to pay three times that amount if you spare me. How about it?" Shi Chuankong forced a faint smile and said.

"If you want to discuss business, you can go back and talk slowly with our king. I only know how to kill." Yin Yu said coldly.

"Then could you ask Brother Tong Yu to stop first, and let me return with you together with my companion?" Shi Chuankong negotiated verbally, but his wrist hidden in his sleeve turned, and a silver pipa with a cracked head materialized.

"Since you refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!" Yin Yu's eyes suddenly turned stern, and he roared.

The long sword in his hand abruptly spun, and the sword light surged layer upon layer, condensing hundreds of snow-white sword beams, each higher and stronger than the last, as if forming a huge sword mountain, slashing down toward Shi Chuankong's head.

Shi Chuankong's heart tightened, and his figure flashed rapidly, trying to escape.

But as soon as he moved, a sharp pain shot through both his knees. Two transparent sword qi, like awls, emerged from nowhere, carrying two streaks of bright red blood, and instantly pierced through his knees.

With this momentary delay, it was impossible to dodge anymore.

Shi Chuankong had no choice but to steel himself. He raised the Luozha Pipa with both hands to block in front of him, and with one hand plucked the strings.

Silver light trembled violently on the pipa, and the void above instantly twisted. Space itself seemed to be pulled down by the curved strings, compressed together, blocking that massive sword light.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

In the high sky, explosions rang out continuously. The spatial force drawn by the Luozha Pipa collided with the massive sword light, shattering repeatedly, stirring up violent waves of air that rolled in all directions.

Yet that massive sword light had only worn away the outermost three layers.

Just as Shi Chuankong was about to be overwhelmed, a huge explosion suddenly came from afar.

Yin Yu frowned and looked in that direction.

He saw Han Li, who had been turned into a gray-white statue by the black mist, suddenly burst out from within. In one hand he held a Green Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword, and in the other a verdant gourd, charging straight at Tong Yu.

The latter was first startled, then reacted, shaking both arms and rapidly striking toward Han Li.

As he swung his fists, barely discernible demonic energy overflowed from the front of his fists, hammered and stacked by the force of each punch, condensing into a wall of demonic energy capable of distorting space, rolling straight toward Han Li.