Chapter 993: That Battle Back Then

E Kuai sneered, and the Manlong Sword in his hand transformed into a black whirlwind that spun around his body, blocking all attacks from the puppets.

At the same time, sword qi surged forth, entangling the five puppets and Sha Xin, preventing them from leaving.

The other Yanlong Guards formed a combined attack formation, firmly blocking the people from the Jilin Kongjing side, not allowing them to enter the gate.

Seeing this, Han Li's mind raced, and the next moment he darted out, turning into a black shadow that lunged toward the entrance of the hall.

Three Yanlong Guards ahead immediately noticed Han Li and struck out simultaneously—a golden sword beam, a gleaming saber light, and a cyan spear shadow all shot toward Han Li.

Han Li did not slow down at all; instead, he stomped hard on the ground, increasing his speed by a third, and charged headfirst into the attack range of the three ahead.

But at the same time, he swung his arm, and a cyan shadow shot out from his sleeve, flexible as a snake, instantly wrapping around the three's weapons—it was a cyan long whip.

This item had been taken from a dead Yanlong Guard on the way here.

Entangled by the cyan long whip, the three's weapons immediately stalled.

Han Li stomped the ground again, a faint blood color appearing on his skin. His body swayed left and right, once again splitting into several blurry afterimages, moving even faster than before. He flashed past the three and continued charging toward the Thousand Mechanisms Hall.

He had long made up his mind not to waste time fighting anyone, and he forcibly tapped into all the potential of this physical body to strive for entry into the Thousand Mechanisms Hall.

But at that moment, the figure ahead blurred, and a purple-black figure appeared out of thin air.

This person was extremely tall, a full two heads taller than an ordinary Yanlong Guard, and on the chest of his purple-black armor was a golden dragon head pattern, marking him as a leader.

He drew a circle in the air with one thick arm, and a substantial black light radiated from his hand, enveloping the several figures that Han Li had transformed into.

The figures, shrouded in black light, immediately slowed down greatly, as if frozen.

"Hmph! Such trivial movement techniques, and you dare show off!" The Yanlong Guard leader sneered, turning his right hand from a claw into a fist and striking down fiercely.

A violent black fist wind erupted from his fist, and the figures, like bubbles, rapidly dissipated upon contact with the black fist wind.

But Han Li's figure did not appear either, as if he had vanished.

"This..." The Yanlong Guard leader was momentarily stunned.

"Above!" E Kuai's voice came, and the Yanlong Guard leader quickly looked up.

A blurry figure appeared several zhang above the head of the Nightmare Dragon Guard leader—it was Han Li.

His body was now even more blood-red, as if about to drip blood, but his speed was greater, leaving afterimages as he whooshed past above the Nightmare Dragon Guard leader.

The Nightmare Dragon Guard leader wanted to intercept but was too late.

"Since when did Wu Xuan have such strength?" Sha Xin also noticed this, a flicker of surprise in her eyes, but she immediately waved her hand.

"All useless!" In midair, E Kuai saw this and flew into a rage, waving his arm.

Nearly a hundred acupoints on his arm suddenly lit up, faintly revealing traces of blood light.

The next moment, the Brutal Dragon Sword in his hand turned into a black blur, shooting out and instantly appearing half a zhang behind him, stabbing toward Han Li's back.

Han Li's expression changed slightly; he shifted sideways to dodge, but the Brutal Dragon Sword was too fast to avoid completely, and his left arm was about to be struck.

His eyes flickered, but he did nothing more, letting the sword fall as he shot forward.

But at that moment, a golden shadow shot in from the side, instantly blocking behind Han Li—it was a golden eagle puppet, its two golden claws grabbing at the Brutal Dragon Sword.

The Brutal Dragon Sword easily destroyed the two golden claws, and with a "pfft," it pierced the eagle puppet's chest, running it through, but the sword's force was also exhausted, and it stopped there.

Han Li's face showed surprise, but his body did not pause at all. With no obstacles ahead, he flashed into the gate of the Thousand Mechanisms Hall.

E Kuai's face turned furious, and he abruptly looked toward Sha Xin.

A smile appeared at the corner of Sha Xin's mouth as he looked at E Kuai with satisfaction.

"Send a few men into the hall to kill that thief. He must not be allowed to hinder His Majesty the Saint Emperor!" E Kuai, ignoring Sha Xin, roared.

E Kuai seemed to have considerable authority. Four Yan Dragon Guards immediately broke away from the battle formation and chased into the hall. The Yan Dragon Guard leader, his face ashen, also rushed inside.

Sha Xin shifted his gaze and moved his ten fingers rapidly. The eagle puppet that had been pierced by the Man Dragon Sword opened its eyes wide.

Two beams of golden light shot from its eyes and flashed into the stone wall beside the hall gate.

With a bang, the two originally open doors of the hall slammed shut.

The Yan Dragon Guard leader and the others could not stop in time and crashed into the doors. The tall hall doors only flickered with a faint white light but remained unmoved.

"You..." E Kuai's eyes gleamed coldly as he looked at Sha Xin with murderous intent.

"The gate of the Thousand Mechanisms Hall is already closed. There are restrictions set by the master himself on the door. You won't be able to open it even if you try. E Kuai, you have miscalculated this time!" Sha Xin suppressed his inner surprise and said with a cold laugh.

……

Han Li looked at the palace gate that had suddenly closed behind him, slightly startled, then paid it no further heed and began to survey the hall.

The situation inside the Thousand Mechanisms Hall was exactly the same as what he had seen many years later—everywhere were broken fragments of tables and chairs, along with some shattered bone-armor puppets, clearly the aftermath of a fierce battle.

At the moment, there was not a single person in the hall, but it was filled with a bloody mist that gave off a sweet scent.

This blood mist was not harmful; on the contrary, Han Li's body, which had been slowed down by the earlier exertion of his potential, immediately eased considerably upon contact with the blood mist.

Though surprised, he did not dwell on it and, with a flicker of his form, dashed to the rear of the hall.

As he expected, the black stone chair was still there.

Delighted, he grabbed the chair and twisted it hard.

With a "crack," a black passage leading underground was revealed on the floor behind the stone chair.

Han Li was overjoyed that the mechanism here had not changed.

He activated the Ten-Thousand Aperture Emptiness Art, shot down into the passage, and, familiar with the way, quickly advanced along the stone stairs inside until he reached the doorway at the end.

Behind the doorway was the enormous underground cavern, from which came booming sounds, each like a thunderclap, shaking the entire cavern.

Han Li silently approached the doorway and cautiously peered out.

The underground cavern was not much different from later times; it contained a huge blood lake that was now churning violently.

But in the center of the lake, instead of a crystal coffin, there floated a blood-red square stone platform.

Around the platform stood nine tall blood-red jade pillars, inscribed with countless patterns, emitting dazzling blood light that coalesced into a thick blood-red light shield, enveloping the platform.

On the platform sat a figure, cross-legged, who was none other than the Crab Immortal, his entire body wrapped in dazzling golden light.

His eyes were tightly shut, his brows furrowed and twitching, as if enduring great agony.

The Crab Immortal's body trembled slightly, and wisps of phosphorescent gray-white mist flew out from all over his body, drifting toward the top of his head.

There, a mass of gas about ten feet in size had already formed, roiling and churning, faintly taking the shape of a human figure.

Meanwhile, on the open ground beside the blood lake, three figures were intertwined in fierce combat.

The rumbling sounds were caused by their fighting.

The three figures were one black, one white, and one purple. The black and white ones were unmistakably the Crab Immortal's two severed-corpses puppets, while the purple figure was a middle-aged man in purple armor.

Han Li had seen this man's appearance before—it was the Demon Lord Shi Kongyu.

"No, this feeling is not of a real person; it's also a puppet!" Han Li thought, quickly judging Shi Kongyu's true nature after a couple of glances.

It made sense—the Jilin Void Realm forbade entry to those above the Daluo stage, so Shi Kongyu's true body could not enter and could only possess a puppet.

The three moved with lightning speed, mostly visible only as blurry shadows. Even Han Li's reaction speed could barely keep up with their movements.

The three figures separated and converged, each clash producing thunderous roars and intense spatial tremors.

The underground cavern seemed to have restrictions; the spatial shocks striking the cavern walls only caused it to shake without much other effect.

The blood lake churned like a raging tide, emitting thick blood mist that filled the entire underground space.

Shi Kongyu's purple puppet was extremely powerful, its body wrapped in purple arcs of lightning. As it moved, it was like a purple electric dragon streaking across the void, producing low roars and easily carving out twisting spatial cracks wherever it passed.

The Crab Immortal's two severed-corpses puppets were also quite powerful, and their bodies, wrapped in a layer of golden light, were not suppressed by the Jilin Void Realm, allowing them to use demonic energy and law attacks.

Unfortunately, the puppet possessed by Shi Kongyu was too formidable, and the two severed-corpses puppets could not defeat it.

However, Shi Kongyu could not overcome the two severed-corpses puppets either, and the battle was a stalemate.

After a violent collision, both sides retreated.

"Fellow Daoist Shi Kongyu, stop trying. Your puppet, though extraordinary, cannot defeat us. I suggest you withdraw. Fellow Daoist Shi no longer cultivates spatial laws and poses no threat to you. Why not find a way to resolve past grievances and coexist peacefully? After all, we are all from the Holy Domain; the Celestial Court is our enemy," said the white Crab Immortal.

Shi Kongyu snorted, paying no heed to the white Crab Immortal's words. With a flicker of his form, he vanished.

The white Crab Immortal's expression changed, and he quickly sidestepped to dodge. Just as he moved two or three zhang away, a fist shimmering with lightning appeared and struck the spot where he had been standing.

"Pfft!"

Where the fist struck, the space trembled and burst like a lake's surface, collapsing directly into a black hole the size of a water vat.

At that moment, a black shadow flashed above Shi Kongyu's head—it was the other black Crab Immortal appearing out of nowhere.

He held a black war blade, and with a series of "shrieking" sharp sounds, countless black blade rays burst forth, coalescing into a black lotus that descended toward Shi Kongyu.

Where the blade rays passed, the void was easily cut open as if made of paper!