In the next instant, after the crystal threads flashed, they immediately transformed into a pillar of white, incandescent light that detonated violently.
Amidst the tremendous, rolling thunder, the surging white light swept frantically in all directions, instantly submerging everything within a ten-thousand-mile radius.
Those golden armored warriors crumbled and dissipated one after another amid the flickering white light. The small golden figure at their center, however, rolled in place and once again revealed its true form — a colossal golden beetle — while simultaneously curling its body into a gleaming golden sphere, with lines of purple-gold spirit patterns surfacing across its exterior.
The giant transformed by Ma Liang barely managed to flee a short distance before his face twisted in terror and he too was swallowed by the white light.
……
With a resounding boom!
The ancient azure mirror before Han Li shattered apart, yet the dazzling white light it had displayed moments ago still seemed to flicker before his very eyes.
Han Li's expression grew grave. He raised his head and gazed toward the center of the Mingsha region, where rumbling continued without cease in the distant sky, and faint flickers of white light could still be seen.
Waves of fluctuations drifting from that same direction reached him, and after a brief probing sense, his expression shifted between light and shadow, uncertain.
"What a formidable Two-Pole Dust Array! Had I been caught within it without prior warning, I'm afraid even I would have found it nearly impossible to escape with my life," Han Li murmured with a long sigh.
"If it were the true Two-Pole Dust Array, Fellow Daoist would indeed be unable to withstand the force of its self-detonation. But because of the alterations made to this formation, its power is only a tenth of the original. With Brother Han's abilities, there would still be a considerable chance of preserving your life," Crabe's voice drifted calmly to Han Li's ear.
The words had barely fallen when silver lightning flashed behind Han Li, and Crabe's figure appeared in a flicker.
"Oh, so even I might have a chance of surviving — then wouldn't the True Immortal's odds of escaping be that much greater?" Han Li said without turning his head.
"That is indeed the case!" Crabe replied, his face expressionless.
"According to Fellow Daoist's estimation, if this immortal does manage to escape, how much of his strength would remain?" Han Li asked thoughtfully, stroking his chin.
"That is difficult to judge with certainty, but his current True Immortal body most likely cannot be sustained. There is an eight or nine in ten chance he will be forced back into his original form, and will also suffer a certain degree of backlash. Although I do not know what secret technique he employed to break through the suppressive force of a realm's laws, it is now unavoidable that he is gravely injured," Crabe said mildly.
"In that case, Brother Crabe is suggesting I go take a look?" Han Li said slowly.
"Whether or not you go is, naturally, Brother Han's own decision. However, this is no ordinary immortal. The chances that he carries a True Soul Pill on his person are not small. If Fellow Daoist could obtain one, your tribulation of ascension would be considerably easier to endure," Crabe replied after a brief silence.
"With Fellow Daoist putting it that way, I suppose I'll have to take a bit of a risk this time. Fortunately, given his current state, even if I prove no match for him, slipping away unscathed should be more than within my means," Han Li chuckled. With a flick of his great sleeve, arcs of silver lightning crackled and sprang from his body, while beneath him, a thunderous roar shook the heavens as a faint silver lightning formation materialized.
The lightning within the formation surged violently, and then Han Li and Crabe vanished without a trace amid the swirling arcs.
The center of the Mingsha region.
Once the white light had fully condensed and dissipated, the terrain within a ten-thousand-mile radius had been flattened by more than ten zhang, forming a super basin-like depression out of thin air.
Across the entire basin, the ground was smooth as a mirror, without the slightest imperfection.
Yet suspended motionless in the high air above the basin's center, two objects remained.
One was a colossal sphere, but the golden, gleaming shell covering its surface had turned pitch black throughout, faintly emanating a scorched smell — as if more than half of it had been roasted through.
The other was a massive purple-gold crystal, within which a hazy glow swirled, vaguely enveloping a blurry human silhouette.
With a crack.
The colossal crystal shattered inch by inch first, and Ma Liang emerged naked from within.
At this moment, he had not only returned to his ordinary human form but was completely unclothed, his face deathly pale without a trace of color. After his gaze swept slowly across his surroundings, his expression turned even more unsightly.
"The Two-Pole Dust Array — so it was this immortal realm's secret formation. No wonder it possessed such power. Heh, how unfortunate it was nothing more a defective copy, otherwise…"
Ma Liang muttered a few words to himself before suddenly cutting off, his expression shifting as his gaze fell upon the golden sphere.
The golden sphere trembled slightly, and pinkish-red cracks surfaced across its exterior. Then chunks of cooked flesh sloughed off one after another, and within, another golden beetle roughly a zhang in size was revealed.