Chapter 805: Caught

"Apologies, the situation was urgent. Though I sensed something amiss, it was too late to hold back." Han Li said with some remorse, raising his hand again in a summoning gesture.

As his voice fell, a ball of silver flame shot out and landed beside him. With a splash, a body fell from it—the black-faced old man.

His severed body had been rejoined, but his aura was weak.

The black-faced old man seemed to have some禁制 placed within him; he lay on the ground unable to move, glaring at Han Li and Shi Chuankong with hatred.

The silver flame rolled and condensed into a精炎火鸟, which flashed and vanished into Han Li's body.

Shi Chuankong seemed not to hear Han Li's words. He looked at the black-faced old man on the ground with a complex expression, then turned his gaze to fix on the yellow-robed man not far away.

"Your eyesight is excellent, sir. To deduce so much from just a few clues—admirable, admirable." The yellow-robed man looked Han Li up and down, clapping his hands with a smile.

As he spoke, the yellow light on his face quickly dissipated, revealing his features.

He wore a half-silver mask covering the left side of his face. The exposed right side was fair and smooth, making him appear a young man of twenty-five or twenty-six.

Upon closer inspection, that half-face was powdered, with rosy cheeks and red lips, giving him an androgynous, eerie look.

"Hua Jing, it's you!" Shi Chuankong seemed to recognize him, shouting harshly.

Then his whole body began to tremble, bloodshot veins appearing in his eyes, revealing extreme pain. His aura became violently disordered, threatening to erupt.

Han Li frowned slightly. His figure flickered, appearing beside Shi Chuankong. He waved his hand, sending a burst of green light into his body.

The disorder in Shi Chuankong's aura immediately calmed somewhat, the bloodshot in his eyes receded, and his expression eased slightly.

"Fellow Daoist Shi, I understand your feelings, but now is not the time for grief. This man is not weak, and his law is strange... You seem to know him. Do you know his background?" Han Li transmitted his voice quickly.

The masked man's cultivation was profound, having reached the late Taiyi stage, and his demonic treasure was far more powerful than those of Qi Lao and the others.

In their brief exchange, Han Li had used six Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords and still failed to gain the upper hand.

"This man is named Hua Jing, a capable subordinate of my fifth sister, Shi Jingyan. He cultivates a law similar to hypnosis, capable of manipulating one's five senses without being noticed. Qi Lao and the others were likely ambushed by him, as you guessed." Shi Chuankong took a deep breath, barely regaining his composure, and replied via voice transmission.

Han Li frowned again upon hearing this.

Earlier, in the Ten Calamities Mountain Range and Xiongju City, it was the eldest prince, Shi Zhanfeng. Now, in Renshan City, another Shi Jingyan appeared. Shi Chuankong's siblings in the Demon Realm were clearly no pushovers!

"Did my fifth sister send you? What is her goal?" Shi Chuankong stepped forward, a hint of bloodlight in his eyes as he looked at Hua Jing, his voice cold.

"Thirteenth Prince, why feign ignorance? Though the Fifth Princess ordered me to retrieve both the Luo Zha Pipa and your head, I see you have a formidable expert by your side, and I am not certain of victory. How about a deal? Hand over the Luo Zha Pipa, and I will leave immediately. What do you say?" Hua Jing pinched his fingers in an orchid gesture, glanced at Han Li, and chuckled softly.

Han Li heard this but said nothing.

"Nonsense! You broke into my Renshan City and killed many of my men. Today, you will not leave here alive!" Shi Chuankong said word by word, killing intent spilling out.

"Tsk tsk, just an old servant and a few dogs dead. Why is the Thirteenth Prince so furious? Such a loss of composure damages the dignity of your noble bloodline." Hua Jing covered his mouth with one hand, chuckling strangely.

Shi Chuankong said no more. His figure shot forward like lightning.

A silver light flashed from his chest, and the Luo Zha Pipa appeared. His ten fingers plucked rapidly, sending countless silver runes like musical notes flying out. They condensed into hundreds of silver wind blades, their speed doubling, emitting a terrifying hissing sound as they rained down on Hua Jing like a storm.

These silver wind blades were not only extremely fast but also flickered in and out of visibility like ghosts, giving a dizzying, unavoidable feeling.

Hua Jing's eyes lit up at the sight of the Luo Zha Pipa, a flash of greed passing through them, but his body shot backward like the wind.

At that moment, a flash of lightning appeared behind him, and three golden flying swords emerged silently. With a slight tremor, they transformed into a dense mass of golden sword shadows, pressing down like a blanket, blocking his retreat.

Hua Jing's expression remained unchanged. He raised his hand and waved.

A yellow light flashed above his head, revealing a delicate earth-yellow bell. With a loud chime, a dazzling earth-yellow light radiated from the bell. It spun rapidly, forming a giant bell phantom that enveloped his body.

The next moment, countless golden sword shadows and dense silver wind blades shot over, striking the giant bell phantom.

In an instant, the surface of the giant bell phantom rippled with spiritual light, but it stood firm as a mountain, easily blocking both attacks.

Seeing this, Shi Chuankong's expression darkened. He changed his hand seals.

The hundreds of silver wind blades immediately flew up, circling around the earth-yellow giant bell like hundreds of silver swallows.

Shi Chuankong's fingers plucked the pipa rapidly. Amid the twanging sounds, the hundreds of silver wind blades converged toward one point, instantly forming two silver crescent moons several zhang in size.

The two silver crescent moons gleamed with silver light, emitting a rumbling roar. They seemed slow but were fast, striking the earth-yellow giant bell.

Seeing the momentum of the two silver moons, Hua Jing frowned slightly. He waved both hands, and the earth-yellow giant bell phantom around him suddenly brightened, doubling in thickness.

At the same time, countless earth-yellow runes densely appeared on its surface, emitting a heavy, mountain-like earth law power.

The next moment, two silver crescent moons struck the giant bell phantom.

As spatial fluctuations arose, the two silver crescent moons silently merged into it.

The almost substantial earthen-yellow giant bell, along with its immensely heavy law power, seemed to be completely nullified.

"What!"

Seeing this, Hua Jing's heart tightened. He stomped the void, and his body transformed into a yellow streak shooting backward.

But at that moment, a figure flickered behind Hua Jing. Han Li's form materialized out of thin air, and he punched the void, striking the earthen-yellow giant bell.

A loud "clang" echoed!

The earthen-yellow giant bell buzzed. Though not shattered, its yellow radiance trembled violently, forming ripples that struck Hua Jing's body.

Hua Jing's backward momentum instantly slowed, and the two silver crescent moons caught up.

The two silver crescent moons crossed and slashed into him, unleashing two sharp spatial law powers.

With a muffled "pfft," Hua Jing's body exploded, flesh and blood flying, turning into a pile of pulp.

"Old Qi, I have avenged you. Rest in peace..." Shi Chuankong relaxed and murmured to himself.

"No!" Han Li's expression turned extremely grave as he shouted.

Shi Chuankong looked up and his expression also changed.

The burst of flesh and blood suddenly flickered, turned transparent, then rapidly faded and vanished—it was merely an illusion.

Han Li's eyes blazed with purple light as he swept his gaze around, while his immense spiritual sense spread out.

"Thirteenth Prince thinks you can kill me just like that? How heartbreaking! But if I, Hua Jing, only had such meager skills, the weeds on my grave would be over ten feet tall by now." A sinister voice drifted from hundreds of feet away, and Hua Jing's figure flickered into view, a mocking expression on his face.

A yellow light flashed atop his head, and a hazy yellow bronze mirror rose slowly.

The mirror was about a foot in size, radiating crystalline light all over. Its edge was carved with tadpole-like patterns, while at its center was a vivid red flower, blooming exceptionally brilliantly.

Han Li looked at the yellow bronze mirror, and his gaze was immediately drawn to the red flower.

The bronze mirror rotated gently, and the bright red flowers on its surface turned along with it, as if they had come to life.

"Not good!" He suddenly woke with a start, and the vast divine sense in his mind trembled violently before surging into motion.

Unbeknownst to him, red shadows had appeared in his mind, entwining around his soul and beginning to seep inward.

However, Han Li's immense divine sense surged like a raging tide, immediately sweeping the red shadows into its grasp.

With several tearing sounds, the red shadows were shredded and swallowed, vanishing without a trace.

Han Li's mind suddenly cleared, and he let out a light breath, then fixed a sharp, knife-like gaze on the Flower Mirror.

"Eh, I didn't expect your divine sense to be so powerful, able to forcibly break free from my Flower Mirror technique. Admirable, but..." A flicker of surprise passed through the Flower Mirror's eyes, followed by a sinister grin.

Han Li's heart tightened, and he became fully alert.

At that moment, two sharp whistles sounded as two white streaks shot from left and right, striking toward his body like lightning.

Han Li's expression changed, and with a flash of golden light on his body, he instantly turned into a blur as he dodged to the side, narrowly evading the attack of the two white streaks.

His figure flickered and appeared several hundred zhang away, his expression grim as he looked at Shi Chuankong, who now stood in his original position. He said in a deep voice, "Fellow Daoist Shi..."

"Villain, accept your death!"

At this moment, Shi Chuankong's eyes were wide with rage. He charged at Han Li again, strumming the Luo Zha pipa in his hands. Countless silver notes surged forth, then coalesced into a sky full of silver wind blades, shooting toward Han Li.

Meanwhile, the two beams of white light circled in midair and struck at Han Li again, revealing themselves to be two white jade rulers.

Shi Chuankong opened his mouth and spat out two clumps of essence blood, which flashed and vanished into the two jade rulers.

Countless white runes surged wildly from the jade rulers. Spinning rapidly, the two rulers instantly transformed into two hazy white masses of light the size of palaces, emitting a rumbling sound like muffled thunder as they pressed down toward Han Li.

Han Li frowned. Golden lightning flickered around him, and he vanished without a trace, reappearing in the next instant not far behind Shi Chuankong.

"Fellow Daoist Shi, wake up now!" he bellowed in a deep voice, his voice as loud as thunder, like the roar of a lion or tiger, and faintly carrying a hint of Buddhist chanting.

This was a Buddhist lion's roar technique he had learned before, possessing the power to shake the soul and break illusions.

But Shi Chuankong showed no reaction to Han Li's lion's roar technique. He turned around in a flash and swung his five fingers.

Five streams of purple-black demonic qi shot out from his fingertips, forming a purple-black demonic claw wrapped in clusters of purple-black flames. It struck swiftly and fiercely at Han Li's vital chest area.