Chapter 946: Each with Their Own Thoughts

"Leave these three talisman spirits to me, Sun. You help Fellow Daoist Chen eliminate those puppets." Sun Tu, seeing the commotion over by Chen Yang, flickered his gaze and let out a long laugh.

As his words fell, his figure shot out like lightning. The bone sword in his hand blazed with black light, and streaks of black sword shadows shot from his hand, blooming like a peacock's tail, simultaneously stabbing toward the three Tiankui Xuanjiang.

The three Tiankui Xuanjiang immediately swung their long halberds to engage, and the two sides clashed in battle.

Seeing this, Han Li and the others immediately rushed toward the remaining puppets.

Xuan Yuanxing now held two five-foot-long black rods, wrapped in burnt yellow cloth strips, looking very much like the funeral sticks of mortal folklore.

He opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood, which split in two and merged into the two funeral sticks.

The funeral sticks immediately emitted bursts of black light. Xuan Yuanxing moved his arms, and countless rod shadows emerged, striking at the puppets.

The rod shadows howled, producing sounds like ghosts wailing and wolves crying, enveloping the puppets.

The movements of those red puppets seemed to falter, as if affected by the ghostly cries.

At the same time, Fang Chan's chest and abdomen contracted and expanded, and with a "buzz" from his nose, a large swath of white sound waves surged out, also enveloping the puppets.

With the two joining forces, the puppets' movements froze, and the surging force like angry waves also slowed slightly.

Seizing this opportunity, Han Li shot forward. The white light on his curved blade blazed, and he slashed through the void.

A mountain-like blade glow over ten zhang long shot out, striking the surging force formed by the puppets.

Shi Chuankong followed closely behind. The purple-black long rod in his hand rolled, the star apertures on it blazing with light. A thick rod shadow emerged, and together with the mountain-like blade glow, smashed into the surging force condensed from the immense power.

With a thunderous "boom!"

The surging force of immense power, already weakened and affected by Xuan Yuanxing and Fang Chan, now withstood the full-force strike of Han Li and the other, and was finally breached, opening a gap.

Han Li and Shi Chuankong's faces lit up with joy. Their figures shot through the gap and, in a flash, appeared behind the many puppets.

"Good! Fellow Daoists, put in a bit more effort. Once we break the puppets' united front, the rest will be nothing to fear!" Chen Yang, seeing this, was overjoyed.

The white light on his fists blazed. With a shake, countless white fist shadows shot out densely, like meteors smashing into the puppets.

Han Li and Shi Chuankong naturally understood the situation. Large swaths of blade glow and rod shadows appeared again, slashing at the backs of the red puppets.

Only ten of these red puppets remained. One of them, noticeably taller, let out a low growl from its mouth.

Immediately, two of the ten puppets turned around like lightning to meet Han Li and Shi Chuankong.

The remaining eight puppets swung their fists and feet, and the fist force they emitted suddenly changed, crisscrossing and interweaving to form a huge force net, blocking Chen Yang and the other two.

The force net spread out, and within the hall, a great wind arose, sand and stones flying, forcing the three to keep their distance.

The two puppets charging at Han Li and Shi Chuankong had their fists flash with red light, swelling like balloons, then struck out fiercely.

Two halos of red light bloomed from their fists, smashing into the blade glow and rod shadows.

With two loud "boom!" sounds,

the blade glow and rod shadows were shattered, exploding and scattering inch by inch.

The two puppets' attacks did not stop. Their hands suddenly changed from fists to palms, reaching out like lightning, and actually grabbed hold of the white curved blade and the purple-black long rod.

Han Li sneered, letting the red puppet grab the curved blade and rod. He pulled hard on the handle, while at the same time tapping his foot, leaping into the air, and in a flash, landed on the red puppet's shoulder.

Before the red puppet could react, he bent his arm, and his elbow turned into a blur, smashing heavily into the puppet's head.

With a dull "thud!"

The red puppet's head burst open like a watermelon, splattering silver liquid everywhere.

Han Li kicked off the headless puppet's shoulder, his figure turning into a blur as he shot toward the eight puppets.

But at that moment, a white light shot down from above—a white long halberd aiming for Han Li's head.

An extremely sharp aura approached, and the nearby void let out a "hiss" as the white light left a visible trace.

Han Li raised an eyebrow, spun his body, and the apertures on his feet lit up. He suddenly shifted sideways by a zhang, dodging the strike.

A white flash, and a Tiankui Xuanjiang descended from the sky, blocking Han Li's path.

Beside them, Sun Tu roared in anger, the sword glow of his bone sword flashing wildly, but he was tightly entangled by the other two Tiankui Xuanjiang and couldn't break free.

"Well met!"

Han Li grinned, his figure instantly turning into a blur as he shot forward, reaching the Tiankui Xuanjiang in the blink of an eye.

The Tiankui Xuanjiang seemed startled but did not dodge. The white light on its halberd blazed, turning into a long, cold, sharp light, slashing down at Han Li's head.

"Fellow Daoist Li, dodge! That talisman spirit's attacks are strange, formless and intangible, impossible to block!" Chen Yang, seeing this from afar, immediately shouted a warning.

But Han Li did not dodge. The apertures on his hands and feet suddenly blazed with light, emitting a dazzling white glow that enveloped himself, the Tiankui Xuanjiang, and the surrounding area of over ten zhang, making it impossible to see what was happening inside.

A soft "puff" came from within the white light, followed by another explosive sound.

The dazzling white light vanished in a flash, revealing Han Li's figure, but the Tiankui Xuanjiang had disappeared without a trace.

Everyone in the hall, except Shi Chuankong, showed expressions of surprise.

Ignoring their reactions, Han Li's figure flickered and vanished, reappearing like a ghost behind the eight puppets. His arms shot out like lightning in rapid succession.

Five dull thuds exploded in quick succession!

Five puppets, including the tallest one, had their heads burst open. Their movements immediately ceased, and their massive bodies collapsed like five great mountains, crashing to the ground.

Han Li's series of actions were as fast as lightning. Chen Yang and the other two only reacted now, letting out a cheer as they rushed toward the remaining three puppets.

Han Li turned his gaze to Sun Tu beside him, and his figure flickered and vanished again.

The next moment, he appeared behind a Tiankui Xuanjiang, raising his palm to strike.

A surging force erupted from his palm, along with a dazzling white light, enveloping the Tiankui Xuanjiang's body.

The Divine Thought Chain was a unique ability of the Divine Refining Art, and he did not want it to be seen by too many people.

Sun Tu was knocked back by the force from Han Li's palm. By the time he steadied himself, the white light from Han Li's palm had disappeared, along with the Tiankui Xuanjiang.

His expression changed slightly, then he saw Han Li's gaze turn to the last Tiankui Xuanjiang. Anxious, he let out a loud shout, and the bone sword in his hand blazed with black light.

With a series of hisses,

several black rays shot from the bone sword, like black ropes, instantly binding the last Tiankui Xuanjiang.

A strange roar came from Sun Tu's body, and then a misty black light rose from his bone sword, forming a hazy black beast shadow. It opened its bloody mouth wide and swallowed the Tiankui Xuanjiang in one gulp.

The black beast shadow immediately vanished, and the misty black light on the black bone sword also disappeared.

Han Li, seeing this, raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

By now, Chen Yang and the others had also killed the remaining puppets, and the hall fell silent.

Everyone looked at each other, none speaking for a moment.

Perhaps because several had just revealed some of their trump cards, or perhaps because Han Li's devastating attacks had unsettled them, the atmosphere in the hall became somewhat strange.

"Heh, with Fellow Daoist Li and his companion joining us, things are indeed different. We've quickly cleared these obstacles," Sun Tu broke the silence first, laughing.

His laugh eased the atmosphere, and the others turned their gazes to Han Li and his companion.

"We just happened to pass by. It seems we are fated to meet you all," Han Li said with a smile.

"If I'm not mistaken, this Fellow Daoist Shi was with City Lord E. It seems Fellow Daoist Li and Fellow Daoist Shi are old acquaintances?" Sun Tu glanced at Shi Chuankong standing beside Han Li, then at Chen Yang, and said.

"Heh, that's a long story. Indeed, Fellow Daoist Li knows Fellow Daoist Shi, but now we are all in the same boat, with only one goal: to find what we seek in this Great Ruin," Chen Yang said with a laugh before Han Li could speak.

"By the way, Fellow Daoist Chen mentioned earlier that there are heavy treasures in this altar. Have you discovered something?" Han Li asked.

"Fellow Daoist Xuan and I happened to meet City Lord Sun and his companion at the entrance of this altar. We felt that this altar seemed unusual and likely contained heavy treasures, so we decided to cooperate and explore it together. As for what exactly is inside, I'm afraid we'll need to go deeper to draw conclusions," Chen Yang said, glancing at Sun Tu.

"Indeed. Now that Fellow Daoist Li and his companion have joined us, even if we encounter more trouble ahead, it should be no problem," Sun Tu said with a hearty laugh.

"Everyone must be quite exhausted after all that. Let's rest here for a while before setting off again," Chen Yang said, looking at the large door not far away.

Xuan Yuanxing and Fang Chan, their faces pale, immediately nodded at this. They each took out pills and swallowed them, then sat cross-legged to circulate their blood and energy to refine them.

Shi Chuankong did not feel tired, but since Chen Yang said so, he also sat down cross-legged to one side.

Sun Tu, however, did not rest. He turned and walked toward the red puppets, took out a black dagger, and cut open a puppet's body, as if searching for something.

Seeing this, Han Li's heart stirred. He recalled the puppet fragments in the earlier hall. He found a spot to sit cross-legged and rest, while secretly keeping an eye on Sun Tu's actions.

Sun Tu quickly dismembered a puppet, a glint of joy in his eyes. He took something out and immediately put it away.

Han Li's eyes moved. Although Sun Tu's movements were fast, they did not escape his notice. What Sun Tu had taken from the puppet's body was a white crystal, the size of a bean, of unknown nature.

Sun Tu quickly went to the other puppets, dismembered them one by one, and retrieved the white crystals, storing them away.

After resting in the hall for about half an hour, the group set off again and arrived at the green stone door deep within the hall.