The person seated on the ground was none other than Han Li.
Judging from his current expression, he didn"t seem to be in a very good condition.
The grey specks of light were constantly drifting around him, occasionally taking on the forms of malicious monsters, as well humanoid projections of both genders and all ages. However, regardless of what form the grey specks of light took, all of them immediately pounced viciously toward Han Li, only to be forced into retreat by the treasures hovering around him.
As such, these malicious apparitions could only continue to buzz around the area encompa.s.sed by the treasures. However, as they were forced back over and over again, these beings were gradually becoming more and more violent and impatient.
Han Li paid no heed to these beings at all, but the situation seemed to be becoming more and more strenuous for him.
In reality, that was indeed the case.
Within a certain mysterious s.p.a.ce within his mind, an azure-robed spiritual sense clone of his was currently locked in battle with someone else.
The opponent wore an inky-black robe and was controlling 72 black flying swords. The black-robed figure"s appearance was completely identical to Han Li, but there was crimson light s.h.i.+mmering within his eyes, and he had a sinister smile on his face. His entire body was also enshrouded in devilish Qi, making him resemble an almighty fiendcelestial
Han Li made hand seals with both hands, controlling his 72 azure flying swords with one hand while releasing bolts of golden lightning with the other. However, the black-robed Han Li was able to easily counter the azure flying swords with his black flying swords, and he also released bolts of black lightning that were even thicker than the oncoming bolts of golden lightning in retaliation.
Han Li"s expression darkened upon seeing this, and over 100 arcs of golden lightning erupted from his body at once to eradicate the oncoming bolts of black lightning.
All of a sudden, an extremely sweet and pleasant female voice rang out. "Hehe, resistance is futile, brat; this inner demon is a complete replica of yourself. No, in fact, with the enhancements it"s receiving from me, it"s even more powerful than you; I"m sure you"ve also realized this after battling it for so long."
"Hmph, this inner demon is indeed slightly more powerful than I am, but you"re delusional if you think it can defeat me. You only managed to sneak into my soul during a lapse of concentration. Otherwise, this inner demon wouldn"t even exist," Han Li said with a dark expression as he flipped his hand over to reveal a short silver ruler, which he swept through the air to release countless ruler projections toward the inner demon.
"You are indeed far more powerful than I imagined, and it would be unrealistic to expect a mere inner demon to destroy your soul, but don"t forget that you"re transcending your late-Body Integration Stage tribulation. I don"t know how you"re protecting yourself, but with most of your spiritual sense and magic power dedicated to this battle, there"s no way you"ll be able to successfully transcend the tribulation. If you don"t want to die, then you"d better hand over that suit of devilish armor. Once you do that, I"ll leave right away so you can transcend your tribulation in peace," the woman said in the voice of a temptress.
The owner of the voice was none other than the Heavenly Devilish Monarch, whose devilish intent Han Li had once encountered in Cloud City.
It had somehow managed to sneak into Han Li"s spiritual sense during this critical juncture in his tribulation transcendence, then created this inner demon to try and devour his soul.
If it weren"t for the fact that Han Li"s spiritual sense was far more condensed than the average cultivator, there was a good chance that the inner demon would have succeeded.
"You think I would believe the words of a Heavenly Devilish Monarch? I"m guessing that as soon as the thought of making a concession crosses my mind, the inner demon would immediately pounce on me and devour my soul. I had always heard that Heavenly Devilish Monarchs were most adept in coercion and could often kill their targets without even needing to battle them; it seems that this is true," Han Li replied in a completely expressionless manner.
"Hehe, you sure are alert. In that case, I"ll wait for you to fall to your own demise. After your body and soul gets destroyed during the heavenly tribulation, I"ll still be able to recover the suit of devilish armor." The Heavenly Devilish Monarch"s voice suddenly turned into an extremely rough and husky male voice.
The inner demon swept a sleeve through the air and also released countless black ruler projections to nullify all of Han Li"s attacks.
Han Li"s expression darkened even further upon seeing this, and right at this moment, the other minority portion of his spiritual sense transmitted a message to him, stating that the heavenly tribulation was about to reach a critical stage, and that the magic power and spiritual sense he had left behind most likely wouldn"t be able to withstand it.
As such, he had to kill the inner demon right away so he could focus wholeheartedly on his tribulation transcendence.
With that in mind, Han Li immediately let loose a low roar, and he made a hand seal as golden light flashed from his body, following which he transformed into a mountainous golden ape.
"You may be able to replicate my cultivation arts and treasures, but let"s see if you can replicate my transformation technique as well!" Han Li roared as he swung his fists toward the inner demon.
Two incredible powerful bursts of golden shockwaves surged forth, threatening to pulverize the inner demon into mincemeat.
A peculiar look flashed through the inner demon"s eyes, and black light flashed from its arms as a layer of black scales appeared over its skin, following which it abruptly made a grabbing motion upward.
Countless black claw projections appeared above the inner demon, forming a giant net that managed to keep the golden shockwaves at bay.
However, once the two giant golden fists arrived, the net was completely shattered.
During this split-second delay, the inner demon had withdrawn its 72 black flying swords back into its body, then let loose a guttural snarl as black Qi surged out of its body in a frenzy. A pair of thick black horns appeared on its head, and at the same time, its body swelled drastically in size.
In the blink of an eye, it had transformed into a giant black-scaled devilish minotaur that was just as ma.s.sive as the golden ape, and it reached directly toward the ape"s fists with its bare hands.
Two resounding booms rang out, and the giant golden ape was forced back several steps, while the inner demon was forced to plummet down from above, smas.h.i.+ng a ma.s.sive crater into the ground.
Following that single exchange, Han Li immediately realized that the minotaur wasn"t as powerful as his Giant Mountain Ape form, but there wasn"t a large disparity between them.
At this rate, even if he could secure victory, it would definitely take a very long time. Under these circ.u.mstances, he naturally couldn"t afford to delay any further.
A hint of urgency appeared in Han Li"s eyes, and he finally gritted his teeth before making a decision.
The ability that he was going to unleash next was going to expend a lot of spiritual power, which would be extremely detrimental to his tribulation transcendence, but he had no choice.
Once he steadied himself, he immediately let loose a long cry, upon which a golden projection with three heads and six arms appeared behind him.
The projection opened its six eyes before instantly flying toward the giant ape as a faint shadow.
A layer of golden light swirled over Han Li"s body, following which two more furry heads appeared on his shoulders alongside four additional arms.
The giant golden ape had also taken on an appearance with three heads and six arms, and its body then swelled even further to several times its original size.
At the same time, Han Li took a deep breath, and a ball of golden light abruptly appeared over each of his six palms.
In the next instant, the six b.a.l.l.s of golden light began to rapidly expand, and in what seemed like nothing more than the blink of an eye, they combined as one to form a gigantic ball of light that was over 1,000 feet in size.
Han Li"s three heads then began to chant in unison, and countless runes emerged from within the golden ball of light before rapidly revolving around it.
An enormous golden vortex instantly took shape in mid-air before being hoisted higher upward by Han Li"s six giant hands.
A burst of tremendous suction force erupted out of the center of the vortex, and the devilish minotaur stumbled as it was forcibly dragged toward the vortex.
It immediately let loose an enraged roar, and a horrified look appeared on its face for the first time.
It was a replica of Han Li"s body, but due to its inability to replicate true spirit blood, the 12 Awakening Transformations was the only ability it was unable to mimic.
Thus, it was naturally rendered completely powerless in the face of the attack unleashed by the combined powers of Han Li"s Giant Mountain Ape form and Provenance True Devil Arts.
In its desperation, the devilish minotaur released all types of treasures, including its 72 black flying swords, two extreme mountains, and short black ruler to attack the giant vortex, all to no avail.
As soon as the treasures reached within the general vicinity of the vortex, it would be swept up by the countless golden runes surging out of the vortex, then forcibly drawn into it before disappearing without a trace.
At this point, the devilish minotaur had also been drawn to no more than 300 to 400 feet away from the vortex. All of a sudden, it summoned a crimson trident amid a flash of black light, then plunged it down into the ground, using it as an anchor to just barely arrest its own momentum.
An elated look immediately appeared on the devilish minotaur"s face.
However, right at this moment, Han Li let loose a low cry and hurled the golden vortex downward like a giant mountain. The inner demon only had a chance to let loose a howl of anguish before it was completely inundated by golden light.