Chapter 1534: Intent to Retreat
The skeletal bird was startled by this, but remained unflustered as it swiped its massive talons toward the oncoming blue light.
Dozens of inky-black claw projections appeared before hurtling forth like sharp swords, striking the blue light amid a resounding boom
Dozens of rifts were instantly sliced into the blue light by the claw projections, making it appear as if it were a shredded rag.
However, the blue light returned to its original condition following a flash of spiritual light, but all of the claw projections were trapped within the blue light before being sealed in chunks of blue ice.
The blue light then swept into the air above the skeletal bird's head before crashing down with devastating might.
The skeletal bird's central head let loose a sharp cry of shock and fury as it abruptly flapped both of its massive bony wings at once.
Two bursts of grey Qi erupted from the wings before striking the descending blue light, and as the two clashed and intertwined amid bursts of rumbling akin to loud thunderclaps.
The blue light then intensified in brightness before quickly engulfing the grey Qi, then transforming into blocks of ice of different sizes that hovered in mid-air.
However, the blue light was also unable to descend any further as a result, and was kept at bay by the relentless grey Qi.
Just as a stalemate was beginning to eventuate, a startling turn of events unfolded.
The skeletal bird let loose an eerie cry, and light flashed within the blocks of ice before countless holes suddenly appeared on their smooth surfaces. Grey Qi then surged out of those holes in a frenzy before instantly engulfing the blocks of ice and reducing them to nothingness.
The grey Qi possessed powerful corrosive attributes, and it took only the span of a few breaths to completely eradicate the blocks of ice and blue light up above.
"As expected, this Nine-headed Bird still possesses some of its baleful Qi from when it was alive, but let's see just how much of that it's managed to retain!" the crimson-haired being mused in a cold voice.
Immediately thereafter, the blue light began to tremor violently, then increase significantly in brightness, following which countless balls of blue light shot forth from within.
These were fist-sized balls of light that appeared to be almost substantial, and as soon as they appeared, they hurtled toward the skeletal bird amid an unsettling screeching sound.
The skeletal bird had witnessed the power of the blue light already, so it naturally wasn't going to make the mistake of underestimating its enemy's attacks again. Thus, its central head immediately spread open its beak to expel another burst of grey Qi.
This stream of grey Qi combined with the other two that were gushing from its wings, and they swept toward the blue balls of light in unison, following which loud explosions erupted.
All of the balls of light transformed into ice lotus flowers, only to be completely inundated by the grey Qi before they could do anything.
However, there seemed to be no end to these balls of blue light, and with so many of them exploding in rapid successions, the grey Qi was completely stalled, unable to advance any further.
"It has indeed retained a lot of its baleful Qi. Let me give it a try as well!" The white-robed man's voice sounded from within the blue light, following which he emerged from within.
At this moment, he was making a hand seal, and the horn on his head instantly elongated to around twice its original length. At the same time, the massive monstrous projection that had been summoned once before appeared behind it again.
A bolt of azure lightning appeared on the man's horn, and he lowered his head slightly to blast the arc of lightning through the air.
The bolt of lightning became as thick as a large bowl mid-flight and elongated to over 100 feet.
The man shook his head from side to the side, and the massive bolt of lightning blurred before it was instantly split into two, then into four, then into eight...
Countless arcs of this azure lightning had covered half of the entire sky in the blink of an eye, and all of them were sent hurtling toward the skeletal bird amid a burst of earsplitting rumbling.
The skeletal bird was quite startled to see this, and it immediately switched the direction toward which it was blasting its grey Qi, aiming it toward the arcs of lightning instead.
In the instant that the two came into contact with one another, most of the arcs of lightning flashed before forming an azure net of lightning.
A loud thunderclap erupted, and the azure lightning intertwined with the grey Qi, nullifying each other to result in another stalemate.
Moments later, a peculiar look appeared on the young man's face, and he made a hand seal to send another arc of lightning flying from the horn on his head.
The same process repeated itself, and several hundred more arcs of azure lightning shot forth at once, instantly shattering the fragile balance that had been established.
The new influx of azure lightning instantly forced back the grey Qi, and the lightning transformed into lightning wyrms and pythons that wreaked havoc relentlessly within the grey Qi.
The giant skeletal bird raised all nine of its head in unison upon seeing this, then opened its beaks at once to blast forth pillars of black light that shot forth at a rapid speed.
Five of those pillars of light surged toward the azure lightning up above while the remaining four shot forth toward the blue light down below.
A scorching aura erupted from the pillars of light, and the arcs of lightning and waves of blue light were all vanquished with ease by this black light.
The nine pillars of light appeared in a flash before the white-robed man and the crimson-haired being, who was hiding within the blue light, then punctured through bothe their bodies at once.
However, the bodies of those two beings vanished as soon as they were punctured by those pillars of light, revealing them to be mere projections.
In the next instant, spatial fluctuations erupted over 1,000 feet away, and two humanoid figures appeared.
They were none other than the two beings engaged in battle with the skeletal bird.
The white-robed man turned to his companion, and asked, "How much of its baleful Qi do you think it's retained?"
"It should be less than half; around a third," the crimson-haired being immediately replied.
"That's what I think as well. If it had sufficient baleful Qi to support it, then it wouldn't have unleashed its Soul Vanquishing Divine Light so early," the white-robed man mused.
"Does that mean you're going to fight for the True Spirit Yin Qi now, Brother Min?" the crimson-haired being chuckled.
"Seeing as the remains of this Nine-headed Bird doesn't have much baleful Qi left, I certainly won't give up on this True Spirit Yin Qi. However, what's troubling me is that a nethercorpse of this caliber shouldn't be capable of producing so much True Spirit Yin Qi of such a high degree of purity," the white-robed man replied with furrowed brows.
"That is indeed rather suspicious, but what does it matter to us unless there’s a second nethercorpse within this True Spirit Yin Qi? If there were too little of this Yin Qi, it wouldn't be enough to split between us, so this is ideal," the crimson-haired being chuckled.
The white-robed man contemplated his companion's words momentarily before nodding in agreement. "You're right, I was merely overthinking things. Let's go all-out and kill this thing as quickly as possible!"
"My thoughts exactly!" A cold expression immediately appeared on the crimson-haired being's face.
At this moment, the skeletal bird had flown into a thunderous rage upon seeing its attack fail to hit its enemies. It suddenly plunged headfirst into the sea of mist before letting loose a long cry, and all of the black mist within a radius of several kilometers surged toward it. The black mist converged to form inky-black feathers that covered its entire body, and it surged toward its two opponents with devastating might.
The two beings were confident in their ability to win this battle, but their hearts still jolted upon seeing this.
The white-robed man immediately laid a hand onto his own head and transformed into that massive armored monster. At the same time, countless arcs of azure light erupted from his body to meet the oncoming bird.
Meanwhile, the crimson-haired being made a grabbing motion, and a shimmering golden trident immediately appeared within his grasp.
He raised the trident into the air, and blue, white, and yellow spiritual light appeared on the three respective tips of the trident.
Brilliant blue light also erupted from the crimson-haired being's body, and it abruptly transformed into a massive monster with the head of a fish and the body of a human. His new body then expanded countless times along with the trident in his hand, and he resembled a towering giant as he waved his massive trident through the air.
Spiritual light of three different colors immediately appeared in the surrounding space before transforming into blue waves, fierce white winds, and azure lightning.
The trident was then plunged forward to join the battle.
Earthshattering booms erupted one after another, and the ground tremored violently as the battle raged on, creating a thunderous commotion that was audible even from thousands of kilometers away.
Unless Han Li was deaf, there was no way that he wouldn't have detected what was happening outside his cave abode.
He immediately activated his Myriad Dragon Bead formation without any hesitation, thereby allowing him to witness the battle taking place near the sea of black mist.
When he witnessed the gargantuan Nine-headed Bird sweeping through the sea of black mist, Han Li couldn't help but draw a sharp breath.
To think that such a fearsome being was lurking within the mist; he was truly fortunate that he hadn't alerted this thing as he was rushing out of the sea of mist back when he'd just been teleported out of the infernal river.
This skeletal bird was able to take on two Body Integration Stage beings at once, so if he were to face it in battle, he'd be dead for sure.
A massive spiritual tornado was taking shape due to the battle between the three Body Integration Stage beings, and the tornado was only expanding as it stirred up the sea of black mist beneath it.
Han Li looked on as the battle was being broadcasted on the light screen before him, and an indecisive look appeared on his face.
He was naturally able to tell that the two foreign beings held the upper hand, and that the battle was slowly approaching his cave abode.
"I can't stay here any longer!" Regardless of whether their battle was actually going to impact his cave abode, this was the ideal opportunity to leave. Otherwise, once the battle was decided, it'd be too late. Thus, Han Li instantly made his decision, and he no longer hesitated as he shot forth through the air as a streak of azure light, quickly disappearing from within the hall.
Moments later, the azure light faded, and Han Li appeared within the medicine garden.
Before him stood several rows of Myriad Year Golden Lightning Bamboo, all of which were quite lush and exuberant.
Han Li took a deep breath before sweeping his sleeves toward these bamboo plants.