Chapter 963: Not Simple

Shi Chuankong gripped the purple-black long staff, his body covered with bloody and terrifying wounds. Though he appeared calm on the surface, inwardly he was bitterly complaining.

The gap between them was too obvious. Even with the three of them joining forces, they were no match for Shao Ying, and that Elder Hu had carelessly lost his life to boot.

Seeing Shao Ying attacking, Shi Chuankong had no choice but to retreat a step, swinging the purple-black long staff rapidly, a loud whoosh arising.

A blurry mass of staff shadows spread out like a tightly woven defensive net, enveloping Shao Ying.

The latter merely extended one arm, and the bone claw in his hand instantly erupted with a powerful surge of star power, sweeping away most of the staff shadows, while his other arm slashed horizontally toward Shi Chuankong's waist.

If this strike succeeded, Shi Chuankong would inevitably end up like Elder Hu, torn in two!

Seeing this, Han Li was about to act when he saw Fang Chan's figure already charging in from the side.

A smile of successful scheming curled at the corner of Shao Ying's mouth. He halted his movement, directly abandoning Shi Chuankong and dodging backward to avoid Fang Chan.

Just as Fang Chan brushed past him, Shao Ying suddenly raised a palm. The apertures on his arm blazed with light, and the bone claw in his hand also burst into a brilliant stellar radiance, striking Fang Chan on the back.

With a muffled thud,

a dazzling starlight exploded on the pig-faced youth's back. A surging, mountain-toppling force erupted from it, blasting his back into a bloody mess and sending him flying away.

Fang Chan's massive body, unable to stop its momentum, crashed directly into the stone railing at the edge of the altar and fell into the pitch-black abyss below.

Shi Chuankong's expression changed at the sight, and he wanted to rescue him, but it was already too late.

“Don’t worry, you’re next,” Shao Ying turned his head to look at him and said with a smile.

With that, he crossed his hands in front of him and swept them apart, the two bone claws clashing with a clang.

Shi Chuankong frowned deeply, glanced toward the rear hall, and his eyes suddenly flickered. Gripping the purple-black long staff with both hands, he slowly spoke:

“Come on, then.”

Shao Ying chuckled. The apertures on his legs suddenly lit up. He stamped the ground with his toes, and his body shot forward, his speed even faster than before.

In the blink of an eye, he was before Shi Chuankong. The star apertures on both bone claws shone brightly as they thrust forward, straight at Shi Chuankong's chest.

Shi Chuankong reacted quickly, swinging his staff horizontally to block the bone claws, then abruptly twisting the staff, entangling the claws and spinning Shao Ying's body in midair.

He lifted his foot, his leg shining with white light, and kicked with the force of wind and thunder toward Shao Ying's heart.

Shao Ying's body boomed as star power surged from his apertures. He shook in the void, flew over Shi Chuankong's head, and flung the purple-black staff forward with both claws.

Shi Chuankong was yanked by a tremendous force and stumbled forward uncontrollably.

Before he could hit the ground, Shao Ying's figure had already caught up.

The speed gap between them was too great. Shi Chuankong had no time to defend before Shao Ying reached him, pierced his chest with a claw, and pinned him to the ground.

“Cough…” Shi Chuankong coughed dryly, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

As he struggled to rise, his other arm was also pierced with a “hiss” by the other bone claw.

Shao Ying looked down at Shi Chuankong pinned to the ground and sneered, “If the city lord didn’t still have great use for you, you’d have died countless times by now.”

Unexpectedly, Shi Chuankong also smiled, somewhat bitterly, and said, “Heh, actually, I know…”

With that, he suddenly flipped over, his legs shooting up and locking tightly around Shao Ying’s neck.

Startled, Shao Ying tried to break free, but his expression suddenly changed.

A figure flashed out from the shadows of the rear hall, moving at an inconceivable speed, almost instantly arriving behind him. The figure held a white bone curved blade and slashed down at his neck.

This person was none other than Han Li, who had been hiding for some time.

With danger imminent, Shao Ying struggled desperately, but Shi Chuankong, determined to die, refused to loosen his leg lock. Shao Ying’s bone claws were still pinned to the ground, and he had no time to withdraw them.

Just as Han Li was about to finish him with one blow, a cold gleam flashed in Shao Ying’s eyes. His back robe tore with a “rip,” and two sharp, blade-like bone wings suddenly thrust out from it.

Over a dozen apertures on them blazed with light, and the sharp edges flashed white as they slashed straight at Han Li.

Han Li’s pupils contracted sharply. He actually withdrew his blade and retreated to avoid them.

Where the bone wings swept, a twisted crack appeared in the void.

Shao Ying shook his shoulders, erupting with star power, and directly shook off Shi Chuankong’s legs.

He pulled out the bone claws embedded in Shi Chuankong’s arms, straightened up, and kicked Shi Chuankong away. Then, spreading his bone wings, he flew into the air and coldly looked down at Han Li.

“Boy, I’ve been waiting for you,” Shao Ying said with a smile.

Han Li first glanced at Shi Chuankong, seeing he was not in mortal danger, then turned his gaze to Shao Ying and said, answering the question indirectly:

“Are those on your back bone wings or a star artifact?”

Shao Ying gave a cold snort without replying. He simply spread his wings and dove down from the high sky.

As he approached, his hands, shaped like bone claws, thrust straight forward.

Han Li frowned slightly, but instead of dodging, he took a step back and swung the bone scimitar in his hand upward from a low angle, slashing at Shao Ying.

The latter's bone claws, the moment they touched the bone scimitar, bent sharply and grabbed the blade directly, while his two bone wings wrapped around and slashed toward Han Li.

Trapped in front and pursued from behind, Han Li showed no sign of panic.

He leaned forward, suddenly released his grip on the knife, and let Shao Ying take it.

Clenching his fist, he activated the Vajra Force Art. White light spiraled around his arm as he punched fiercely at Shao Ying's chest.

This close-range punch was extremely fast, putting some distance between him and the bone wings, and it struck Shao Ying's chest first with a resounding boom.

Shao Ying felt as if his heart had stopped for several beats, his chest heavy and stifled. Then a tremendous force, like a tidal wave, slammed into him. With a muffled grunt, he was sent flying backward.

But as he retreated, he still managed to slash his wings across Han Li's back.

Han Li's back was torn open, blood gushing out, revealing a section of white spine.

Yet he seemed oblivious, and while Shao Ying was still in midair, he activated the Feather Ascension Art and pursued him closely.

Thus, a scene almost identical to when Shao Ying had dealt with Shi Chuankong appeared.

Before Shao Ying could land, Han Li caught up and punched him in the chest.

However, Shao Ying's speed was much faster than Shi Chuankong's. He had already retracted his arms and crossed them in front of his chest to block Han Li's fist.

"Bam..."

Shao Ying's body crashed heavily into the edge of the altar, causing the entire altar to tremble violently.

E'kuai looked over, a flicker of doubt in his eyes. Was this human really this strong?

Shao Ying spat out a mouthful of blood and quickly swung his bone wings in front of him to block, fearing Han Li would continue his pursuit.

But as he swung, he realized his bone wings had hit nothing.

For some reason, Han Li had not taken the opportunity to attack continuously.

Just as he was puzzled, he caught a glimpse of a leaf-shaped jade talisman that had appeared out of nowhere on his bloodstained chest. Han Li had already retreated far away, smiling as he formed a strange hand seal, seemingly chanting something.

A chill of horror ran through Shao Ying, but by the time he tried to act, it was too late.

The jade talisman, stained with his blood, lit up with fine veins on its surface, emitting a dazzling light. The air around him suddenly contracted and solidified, and then a white sun rose.

"Rumble..."

A violent explosion sounded, and a blazing white light burst forth, turning into a white cloud that surged upward.

A狂暴 wave of air rushed in all directions. Half of the altar cliff shattered in a cloud of dust and slid "crashingly" into the abyss.

The barrier light curtain of the Blood Weeping Grand Array was buffeted by the gale, trembling violently. The blood-red light on it rapidly faded, seemingly on the verge of collapse.

E'kuai's expression changed. He quickly formed a hand seal and continuously channeled the power he had gained from the blood array to help the array resist the terrifying impact of the Voidburst Talisman.

Only after more than ten breaths did the fluctuation gradually subside and finally cease.

Half of the altar was completely destroyed, while the other half, protected by the blood array, survived unscathed.

Several large holes had been torn in the roof of the main hall, through which one could faintly see thick yellow clouds gathering in the deep sky above.

This sudden turn of events caught almost everyone present off guard.

After Zhu Ziyuan had just punched Duan Tong back, he instinctively sensed something amiss here. He immediately flashed over to Xuan Yuanxing, struck him back with a palm, grabbed Zhu Ziqing's arm, and pulled her back rapidly to the side of Madame Liuhua.

Xuan Yuanxing did not pursue but retreated to join Han Li, who was heading his way.

None of them had been affected by the Voidburst Talisman. Now, looking at the half-empty altar and Shao Ying, who had long since turned to ashes, their expressions were extremely complex.

Madame Liuhua was the first to recognize what the jade talisman was, so her gaze toward Han Li grew even more complicated.

Not far away, the black mist on Duan Tong's body had mostly dissipated. The runic light on his exposed body had become very dim, and he looked much thinner, with only his right arm, the Tongxuan Arm, still in its original state.

He had infused the deathly corpse poison into the Tongxuan Arm, consuming his physical strength to temporarily enhance his attack power. This was a method of robbing Peter to pay Paul, giving him an advantage only at the start.

After Zhu Ziyuan discovered this, their life-and-death duel turned into a protracted war of attrition. As time passed, Duan Tong naturally began to lose ground. If Han Li hadn't suddenly killed Shao Ying and scared off Zhu Ziyuan, he wouldn't have lasted much longer.

He did not approach Han Li but kept a sufficient distance from both sides, breathing heavily.

Zhu Ziqing had many wounds, but none were serious. Standing beside her brother, she couldn't help but look at Han Li with amazement and whispered, "Brother, you have good judgment. This guy is really not simple..."

She had never liked the gloomy Elder Shao, so she didn't feel she should hold a grudge against Han Li.

Zhu Ziyuan naturally knew that for them, Han Li's great strength was absolutely not a good thing. His eyes showed even more wariness and caution.