A cold gleam flashed through the golden figure's eyes, and two beams of frigid, hazy crystalline light swept outward from within. In a single flash, they sliced through several golden fingers that had seized it. The figure then vaulted upward, transforming into a streak of startled radiance that tore through the void and fled into the distance.
"Marvelous! I never expected that a mere lower realm would produce a Gold Devouring Beetle that has cultivated to such a degree. If I could subdue it and bring it back to the Immortal Realm, wouldn't that make for a tremendous asset in the future?"
The giant that Ma Liang had transformed into lit up with a look of delighted surprise. He extended one hand and pointed a finger toward the distant streak of radiance. Immediately, specks of golden light coalesced all around it, conjuring several massive golden hands that clawed downward at the fleeing beam. At the same time, a wave of Law force descended like a shroud.
A thin, piercing shriek issued from within the streak of radiance. After a single spiraling turn, an intense hissing sound erupted from within as countless invisible sword qi burst outward — tens upon tens of thousands of blades slashing wildly in every direction.
After a volley of explosive cracks, the golden hands were chopped to fragments by the sword qi, but even more hands materialized in quick succession nearby.
At the same time, the small figure inside the radiance sank downward, caught and swept into the rift in the Laws, and its escape speed was instantly reduced to a crawl.
On the ground, the golden volcanic mountains let out a tremendous rumbling roar, and amid flashes of golden light they transformed into several dozen towering golden warriors.
A sharp whistling sound cut through the air as these warriors, faces devoid of any expression, charged straight toward the streak of radiance.
Under these circumstances, the chances of the Gold Devouring Beetle King managing to escape were virtually nil.
The giant Ma Liang had become, watching from afar, could not help but let a trace of a smile appear on his face. But the aura emanating from his body had clearly weakened considerably — the severe injuries he had sustained earlier, coupled with his repeated use of great divine abilities, had consumed a significant amount of his immortal spiritual power, and he was no longer in the same condition as at the start.
……
"It should be about time."
Tens of thousands of kilometers away, beneath a sacrificial altar, Han Li stared at a cyan ancient mirror floating before him and murmured to himself with a somewhat odd expression.
The scene displayed on the ancient mirror showed the Gold Devouring Beetle, which had transformed into a colossal golden insect dozens of zhang in length, spitting beams of crystalline light as it fought the golden warriors in a fierce struggle.
The reason the Beetle King had appeared at that location was, of course, because Han Li had secretly arranged it. Only in this way could he accurately monitor the situation there and guard against any unforeseen complications.
……
"It's time to act. I never thought I'd still have to resort to this final measure. After this battle, the Wind Origin Continent will suffer devastating losses. But for the sake of the entire Spirit Realm, there is no other choice."
In a dim, empty great hall high above the sky, a figure seated within a massive spell formation sighed and spoke to himself. He then flicked his wrist, and a palm-sized silver spell disc that he had been holding immediately erupted with radiant light. Countless silver runes drifted upward from it and poured in torrents into the formation below.
In the blinding silver glow, the figure's features were illuminated with perfect clarity — it was none other than another Ming Zun.
……
Yun Dan and Yue Shu, the two Mahayana cultivators, had been seated in meditation at the formation nodes under their charge when they suddenly sensed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth around them churn violently. The eight cylindrical pillars and the massive altar simultaneously emanated a terrifying wave of Law force.
Startled, the two of them opened their eyes in unison.
The thousand-odd merchant alliance guards nearby had naturally also sensed something amiss, and a wave of commotion rippled through them, most wearing expressions of alarm.
"Why has the ambient energy become so violent?" Yun Dan shot to his feet, his voice laced with shock and unease.
"Could it be that something has gone wrong with the Two Aspects Dust-Annihilation Formation?" Yue Shu's face carried a trace of hesitation.
"Something's wrong — why is this Law force converging above us? It seems to be targeting us specifically! We need to leave — now!" Yun Dan proved the more perceptive of the two. After his gaze swept rapidly across the sky, his expression changed dramatically.
As siblings, Yue Shu had always trusted Yun Dan's judgment. Alarmed by his words, she didn't hesitate for a second — with a flick of her sleeve, a ball of black light shot out, spun around, and resolved into a diamond-shaped flying chariot before the two of them. The chariot was entirely black, and on each side it bore three pairs of silver wing-like mechanisms that were clearly no ordinary apparatus.
But before Yun Dan and Yue Shu could board, the altar and eight pillars shuddered once and each unleashed a pillar of five-colored light that rocketed skyward.
A thunderclap rang out from the clear sky above!
High aloft, the waves of Law force converged and abruptly formed into a luminous formation over a dozen li in diameter.
With a deep, resonant hum, a five-colored vortex materialized at its center. A single rumbling boom echoed from within, and a spray of blood-hued iridescent light lanced downward, plunging straight toward the formation's node.
The blood light flickered, and a hemispherical curtain of crimson radiance abruptly took shape, encompassing Yun Dan, Yue Shu, and all of the merchant alliance guards beneath it like an enormous bowl.
At the same time, a force of Law saturated the entire blood barrier.
Yun Dan and Yue Shu felt a chill wash over their bodies, and the Magical Power within them immediately became nearly impossible to gather.
"Not good — we go underground!" Yun Dan let out a low growl. He seized Yue Shu's hand, and the two of them blurred simultaneously, reappearing inside the flying chariot.
Yue Shu hastily formed a series of hand seals, and the chariot transformed into a sphere of black light that dove straight toward the earth.
A muffled bang.
The black light bounced off a layer of cyan radiance that had silently materialized at the surface, and the chariot was knocked back into the air, reappearing in its original form.
Yun Dan let out a furious roar. His hand flipped over, and suddenly a golden halberd roughly a zhang in length appeared in his grip. He swung it downward with all his might, and it transformed into a streak of golden light that drove viciously toward the ground.