Chapter 2349: Formation
Mistress Wan Hua was quite alarmed to see this, and she immediately raised her head before opening her mouth to release a huge earthy yellow seal.
At the same time, the giant black lion behind her raised one of its paws before slas.h.i.+ng its claws upward amid a sharp tearing sound.
Five ma.s.sive claw projections were unleashed, but as soon as they came into contact with the crimson halo, they were instantly repelled amid a dull thump.
As for the giant seal, it was affected by the fearsome power being released by the halo, causing it to go out of control as it began to revolve aimlessly in mid-air.
As for the crimson halo itself, it didn"t pause even in the slightest as it continued to descend toward Mistress Wan Hua.
Mistress Wan Hua"s expression darkened even further upon seeing this, and she suddenly uttered a few strange sounds, following which the black lion behind her immediately released a black fireball amid a furious roar.
As soon as the fireball emerged, it swelled to a size that was no smaller than the crimson halo before surging up toward it.
A rumbling boom rang out as the fireball transformed into a cloud of scorching flames that swept forth in all directions, unleas.h.i.+ng such incredible power that even the crimson halo was beginning to flash erratically.
However, right at this moment, the Nine-eyed Blood Toad up above opened its mouth to expel a ball of crimson Qi, which vanished into the halo in a flash.
In the next instant, a loud buzzing sound rang out, and the halo tremored slightly before being restabilized by the new influx of energy, upon which it continued to forcibly descend through the fiery cloud.
The giant black lion was also releasing black flames out of its mouth to support the fiery cloud, but the crimson halo was clearly not something that it could resist.
Mistress Wan Hua was very alarmed to see this, and as the halo drew closer and closer, she was beginning to consider using her trump cards.
However, right at this moment, the crimson halo abruptly vanished on the spot.
"Thank you for the battle," the Nine-eyed Blood Toad said in a calm manner, then reverted back into its human form amid a burst of crimson mist.
"Your powers are very formidable, Brother Xiao; I concede this match," Mistress Wan Hua said in an indignant manner as she withdrew the fiery cloud and black lion projection with a dark expression.
"I was only able to seize the initiative due to my Nine-eyed Blood Toad transformation; I may not necessarily be able to defeat you in a battle of life and death. It"s your turn now, Fellow Daoist Han; I"m looking forward to seeing your abilities from another continent," Xiao Ming said.
He then flew out of the light barrier as a ball of crimson light before descending near Han Li.
"Would you like to take a rest first, Fellow Daoist Wan Hua? How about I spar with Fellow Daoist Qing Ping first?" Han Li asked with a faint smile.
"There"s no need for that. I didn"t expend much magic power during that clash, so I"m ready to face you right away," Mistress Wan Hua replied in a cold voice before Daoist Qing Ming could respond.
Daoist Qing Ming merely offered a faint smile in silence.
Han Li"s brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this, but he still accepted this arrangement. He made a hand seal, and his body blurred before vanis.h.i.+ng on the spot, then re-emerged within the light barrier amid a burst of spatial fluctuations.
"I"ll only be unleas.h.i.+ng a single attack, so I won"t be holding back much here," Han Li cautioned in an expressionless manner.
"Hmph, I"m well aware of that," Mistress Wan Hua snapped in response, following which the giant black lion reappeared behind her amid a flash of black light, and it seemed to be even more menacing than before.
It was clear that she was quite enraged by her loss in the previous sparring match, and that she intended to recover some dignity by defeating Han Li.
Han Li"s eyes narrowed slightly upon seeing this, and he took a deep breath before taking a step forward.
A dull thump rang out as if he had taken an incredibly heavy step, and in the instant his foot landed on the ground, a resounding boom rumbled throughout the entire arena.
Mistress Wan Hua"s heart jolted slightly upon seeing this, and she was then greeted by the sight of countless silver spirit patterns appearing all over Han Li"s body.
At the same time, he swelled drastically in size, while a layer of golden scales surfaced over his skin amid a flash of bright golden light.
In the blink of an eye, he had transformed into a golden-scaled devilish being with a single horn on its head.
Daoist Qing Ming"s expression changed drastically upon hearing this, and he hurriedly cautioned, "That"s the True Devil Physique that can only be attained by cultivating Devil Dao arts to the extreme! Be on your guard, Fellow Daoist Wan Hua!"
It was impossible to glean Xiao Ming"s expression due to his mask, but there was clearly a hint of astonishment in his eyes as well.
Mistress Wan Hua faltered slightly upon hearing this, and a grim look appeared on her face as she sensed the fearsome aura that Han Li was releasing.
She immediately swept both sleeves through the air to release countless black flying needles, all of which revolved through the air before forming a formation diagram that was releasing bursts of black Qi.
This flying needle formation diagram was her trump card, and it formed a protective barrier around her from all sides.
This formation was comprised of 360 Black Blood Needles, which had taken her several centuries to refine using a refinement method that she had stumbled upon in a set of ancient ruins.
She had never been defeated in battle against another Grand Ascension Stage being when using this formation diagram, and even if she couldn"t defeat an enemy, the formation diagram would always ensure that she wouldn"t lose.
The fact that she had summoned this formation diagram without any hesitation was a clear indication of how wary she was of Han Li"s True Devil Physique.
"True Devil Physique?" Han Li chuckled internally upon hearing this.
In reality, this was an incomplete form of his Provenance True Devil Physique. It did indeed have a very similar appearance to a True Devil Physique that could be attained from several types of rare devilish arts, but the power disparity was night and day.
Setting aside the fact that Han Li"s physical body was already comparable in power to that of the average true spirit being, even without unleas.h.i.+ng his 12 Awakening Transformations, this incomplete Provenance True Devil Physique would be more than enough to crush normal Grand Ascension Stage beings.
With that in mind, Han Li took a few steps forward to reach the formation diagram, then slowly reached out toward the center of the formation with a ma.s.sive scaled hand.
His fingers abruptly vanished into the s.p.a.ce before him in a flash, following which a s.h.i.+mmering golden hand that was several times larger than it had been before re-emerged above the formation amid a burst of violent fluctuations.
It was as if the ma.s.sive hand had torn through s.p.a.ce, and its fingers parted as it descended toward the formation diagram with a devastating aura.
The grim look on Mistress Wan Hua"s face became even more p.r.o.nounced upon seeing this, but she didn"t hesitate in the slightest as she made a hand seal, upon which all of the black Qi within the formation diagram surged up into the air as countless streaks of black light.
Each streak of black light was formed by a needle, and their tips were looking extremely sharp and lethal.
However, the giant golden palm displayed no intention of evading, and it continued to descend from above.
Thus, all of the streaks of black light struck the golden hand like a torrential storm.
A string of crisp clangs rang out, and countless b.a.l.l.s of black light erupted over the surface of the giant golden hand, following which all of the black needles were repelled, while the golden palm remained completely unscathed.
Mistress Wan Hua wasn"t too surprised to see this, and she took a deep breath before making a hand seal, upon which she suddenly began to rotate on the spot like a spinning top.
Countless incantation seals of different colors surged out of her body in a frenzy, then vanished into the formation diagram without a trace.
Black Qi surged violently within the entire formation, and around a dozen black chains suddenly shot forth before instantly binding tightly around the giant golden hand up above.
Immediately thereafter, a faint buzzing sound rang out, and countless black runes surged out of the chains before adhering themselves to the ma.s.sive palm.
"Seal!" Mistress Wan Hua yelled with a triumphant expression as she finally ceased in her rotation.
The black runes immediately began to glow brightly while writing incessantly, seemingly preparing to completely seal the giant hand.
However, right at this moment, Han Li uttered the word "shatter", and countless arcs of golden lightning suddenly sprang out of the black runes, shattering all of the runes to free the ma.s.sive golden hand.
In the instant that the golden palm was freed, it flipped itself over to grab onto all of the golden chains, then crushed them into powder with ease amid a string of dull thumps.
The giant golden hand then blurred before abruptly appeared no more than several tens of feet away from the formation diagram, then came cras.h.i.+ng down with devastating force.
The black formation diagram began to emit a sharp screeching sound as if it were being placed under immense pressure, and the black Qi within it immediately rose upward to form a black light barrier over the entire formation.
An earth-shattering boom rang out as the giant golden palm struck the black light barrier, resulting in an eruption of scintillating black and golden light that forced even Xiao Ming and Daoist Qing Ping to narrow their eyes slightly.
Once the light faded and they reopened their eyes, they discovered that the black light barrier had been completely shattered, while the mountainous golden palm had drawn to a halt right above Mistress Wan Hua"s head.