Chapter 939: Layers of Trials

"Unexpectedly, I would encounter an illusion array here..." Han Li said with a smile, showing little sign of panic.

"Brother Li, you are quite calm. This illusion array is no simple matter. I just tried to break it with my clan's divine sense secret technique and failed. If you have a way to break it, it's best to act quickly before the illusion turns into a killing array." Shi Chuankong looked at Han Li and said with a bitter smile.

Han Li nodded, said nothing more, and silently began to circulate the Divine Refining Art.

As his divine sense power increased, he looked around and saw that the beautiful women with skin as smooth as congealed fat, who were dancing gracefully, had all transformed into hideous ghosts and withered skeletons with decayed faces, extremely eerie.

"Hiss..." Han Li let out a soft breath of surprise.

"What, can't you break it either?" Shi Chuankong asked.

"This illusion array does have some tricks, but breaking it shouldn't be too difficult." Han Li smiled, quite confident.

As soon as he finished speaking, a sudden change occurred.

The women who had turned into decayed ghosts seemed to sense that Han Li was breaking the array. They dropped their pipas one by one and extended their slender, claw-like fingers, rushing toward him.

"Break!"

Han Li fully activated the five layers of the Divine Refining Art and let out a thunderous roar.

A thunderclap seemed to resound through the entire hall. Even Shi Chuankong felt his heart jolt violently. The ghost women who had not yet reached him exploded one by one under the roar, turning into dark red sparks that dissipated.

However, after the ghost women disappeared, the surrounding anomalies did not completely vanish. They were still in the magnificent palace.

"It seems we can only leave the array by breaking its core... Brother Shi, you'd better steady yourself." Han Li said after a moment's thought.

With that, he steadied Shi Chuankong's shoulder and stomped down heavily with one foot.

A loud "boom" rang out!

The entire palace floor collapsed, turning into a bottomless black hole. Han Li and the other man fell straight into it.

After more than ten breaths, they felt the sensation of falling cease and steadied themselves. Looking around, they found themselves back in the divine hall.

But now they stood in the center of a dried-up pool, and the stone arch bridge beneath them had broken apart, clearly shattered by Han Li's stomp.

"So the core of the illusion array was this stone arch bridge." Shi Chuankong mused.

Han Li nodded and was about to speak when his expression changed. He turned to look behind the hall.

From the six statues of halberd-wielding warriors kneeling on stone platforms, faint "crackling" sounds came. Cracks like those on porcelain appeared on their surfaces, spreading all over.

Then, a red light flashed in their eyes. The six identical heads seemed to come alive, turning in unison to stare at Han Li and the other man.

"Here we go again..." Han Li shook his head.

The six halberd warriors made loud cracking noises as stone flakes peeled off, revealing the true puppet bodies beneath. They slowly stood up.

In their hands were black halberds, and some stone flakes remained on their faces, leaving mottled marks.

After standing up, they moved their necks in a very human-like manner, then gripped their halberds and leaped toward Han Li and the other man.

In midair, they split into two groups of three, charging at Han Li and Shi Chuankong respectively, separating them.

Han Li first stepped back to dodge a halberd thrust from one warrior, then stomped hard on the ground. The Star Moon Boots on his feet activated instantly, and his figure moved like a ghost, almost instantly closing in on that warrior.

He turned his wrist, reversed his grip on the curved blade, and swept it horizontally toward the warrior's neck.

But before his blade reached, halberds from the left and right thrust toward him—one aimed at his throat, the other at his dantian.

A bit surprised, Han Li changed his footwork, spinning like a top. He used his blade to deflect the halberd aimed at his throat and kicked away the one aimed at his dantian.

Just then, a gust of wind came from behind his ear. The first warrior's halberd was thrusting toward the back of his neck.

Han Li jerked his head aside, dodging the dangerous strike, but he was greatly astonished.

The coordination among these three puppets was even better than that of ordinary cultivators, a world of difference from those he had encountered earlier.

Fortunately, they were not too fast; otherwise, with such tight coordination, even Han Li might have been hit.

Despite his surprise, Han Li's hands and feet moved swiftly. He grabbed the halberd thrust past his ear, pressed it down hard, and using the force from his shoulder, flung the warrior away.

Before that warrior landed, Han Li's Star Moon Boots activated again. He flashed through the air, caught up to the puppet, and with a sweep of his blade like a white rainbow, cut it and its halberd in two at the waist.

On the other side, two warrior puppets had flanked Shi Chuankong and cornered him in a spot within the pool.

Their halberds crossed and thrust, but Shi Chuankong blocked them with his arms crossed in front of his chest. The halberd shafts pressed against him in a cross shape, pinning him in the corner.

The remaining warrior puppet leaped from the broken stone arch bridge, gripping its halberd with both hands, and thrust toward Shi Chuankong's chest.

Shi Chuankong, still severely injured, was far weaker in both strength and physique. Unable to break free or resist, he was about to be impaled.

Han Li let out a roar. The acupoints on his feet lit up. He stepped on empty air, twisted his body, and threw his curved blade. It spun in a white arc through the air toward that puppet.

Sensing the blade coming from behind, the warrior puppet abruptly withdrew its thrust and swung its halberd backward, deflecting the white blade.

But in that instant, Han Li had already flashed over.

He raised a fist, activating the Heavenly Fiend Prison Suppression Art. Acupoints on his arm lit up in rapid succession. He clenched his fist and punched down.

The halberd-wielding puppet only had time to turn half its face before Han Li's fist smashed into its head. The head burst like a ripe watermelon.

"Watch out!" Shi Chuankong suddenly shouted.

Hearing this, Han Li knew something was wrong. He instinctively ducked and felt a gust of wind sweep past the back of his head.

Before he could move away, a heavy, mountain-like force slammed onto his shoulder, smashing him into the ground with a loud boom.

The pool in the hall shattered instantly. Han Li was driven into the earth like a nail.

Without even seeing what had hit him, Han Li immediately used the force to dive downward, as if using an earth遁 technique, disappearing underground.

But then, the ground on the other side of the hall bulged and broke open, and Han Li's figure reappeared.

He frowned and glanced at the previous spot, but it was empty. No one was there. The statue of the demon man holding a staff on the stone platform was gone.

A flash of light in Han Li's eyes, and he fully activated the Star Moon Boots, shooting forward.

The next moment, an arm-thick purple-black staff slammed into the ground right behind him.

The earth shattered, sparks and rubble flying.

Han Li turned abruptly and saw the statue of the man with a sharp face and monkey-like features, resembling a thunder god, hovering in midair with the purple-black staff in hand. A pair of black wings flapped up and down behind him.

The thunder god puppet seemed quite intelligent. Seeing Han Li dodge its attack, its face showed a hint of anger.

Its wings flapped violently, and a barely visible whirlwind surrounded it. It instantly flashed over, even faster than Han Li at full speed with the Star Moon Boots.

Han Li raised an eyebrow. This time, instead of dodging, he raised his curved blade and slashed at it head-on.

The thunder god puppet's eyes showed a human-like glint of joy. It raised its staff with both hands, and a layer of hazy white light enveloped the staff, which seemed to be a star artifact.

It flashed over in an instant, swung the staff in a full arc, and struck down violently, colliding with the white curved blade.

"Clang!"

A deafening sound rang out as an overwhelming, mountain-toppling force bore down.

Han Li's arm shook violently. The curved blade was instantly suppressed, and his hand holding the blade trembled uncontrollably.

He had to raise his other arm, using both hands to support the blade and resist the blow.

Han Li's legs had broken through the floor, sinking half a foot into the ground. He was shocked—he hadn't expected this thunder god puppet to be not only extremely fast but also incredibly strong.

Before he could counterattack, another change occurred.

Star acupoints on the purple-black staff lit up one after another. With a "crackle," a thick white lightning bolt shot out from the staff and struck Han Li's forehead.

Han Li felt a burning sensation on his forehead, and his sea of consciousness trembled violently. His soul seemed shaken. His body swayed, his hands lost strength, and the purple-black staff knocked the curved blade away, smashing heavily onto his shoulder.

His legs buckled, unable to support him. He fell backward.

The thunder god puppet stepped forward, a cold look in its eyes. It turned the staff and prepared to smash it down on Han Li's forehead.

The moment he was hit, Han Li had already activated the Divine Refining Art. His eyes focused, and he regained clarity.

At this critical moment, he quickly pulled a small white shield from his bosom and held it in front of him, pouring his star power into it.

White starlight surged from the shield's surface, forming a three-foot-square white light barrier that barely protected his body.