After the old man took a look at the scroll, his face turned an ashen blue. The item in his hands was riddled with holes, now resembling nothing more than a sieve. It was clearly ruined beyond repair.
"What a waste! If Fellow Daoist Ku Yao hadn't been in such a hurry to break free, and had held on a bit longer inside without using his Fire Spirit Essence, that cultivator would most likely have been forced to withdraw the formation diagram due to insufficient magical power. Now Fellow Daoist Ku Yao has also suffered considerable loss of vitality. Neither side can claim the upper hand anymore." The black-robed figure spoke with a touch of regret. The tall, thin magic practitioner started at these words, glanced downward, and a look of understanding crossed his face.
Old Man Ma's complexion shifted between blue and white several times, but he still couldn't bring himself to discard the scroll. After stowing it in his storage bag, he shot a venomous glare at Ku Yao across the way.
Seeing the old man's expression, Ku Yao snorted coldly, stomped on the fire flood dragon beneath his feet, and once again flames rolled across his body as crimson light blazed forth.
"Master Ku, cease! How about we call this bout a draw? Both of you have expended far too much magical power. If you keep fighting, nothing will come of it." The tall, thin magic practitioner suddenly called out from high in the sky, halting Ku Yao's actions. The latter part of his words was directed at the scar-browed big man and the other Tian Nan cultivators.
The scar-browed big man was somewhat surprised by this, but after exchanging a glance with Gu Shangpu, he nodded in agreement.
"Very well. Let this end here."
Hearing the words of the tall, thin magic practitioner and the scar-browed big man, Old Man Ma was unwilling but knew that continuing would be futile. He could only fly back in helpless resignation.
Across the way, Ku Yao was equally frustrated. He retracted the fire flood dragon and flew back up in bitter vexation.
The moment Old Man Ma returned below, the scar-browed big man naturally offered a few words of comfort, which finally eased the old man's expression somewhat.
But just then, on the magic practitioners' side, the black-robed figure and the tall, thin elder exchanged a few whispered words. The black-robed figure then drifted lightly downward and came to a stop at the spot where the fierce battle had just taken place. His gaze was dark and menacing as he swept it across the assembled cultivators.
"Your opponent this round is me. Let me say this upfront — this will be a fight to the death. Don't harbor any delusions that someone will suddenly halt the duel." The black-robed figure spoke in a hoarse, muffled voice, a flash of contempt passing through his eyes.
The black-robed figure's arrogance naturally sent a change of expression across the scar-browed big man and Gu Shangpu's faces, anger flickering in their eyes. But neither of them truly dared to rashly step forward and accept the challenge.
After all, they both knew that the two Nascent Soul cultivators who had perished in battle before had both died at the hands of these unfamiliar magic practitioners. However confident they might be, when their very lives were on the line, they couldn't help but hesitate.
"I'll go and face him." Han Li suddenly spoke in an even tone.
"You're going? ...Fellow Daoist Han, please be extra careful. If anything seems amiss, the three of us will step in to help." The scar-browed big man was initially startled when Han Li volunteered, but inwardly he breathed a secret sigh of relief. Outwardly, of course, he offered a stream of cautionary words.
Han Li smiled faintly at this and said nothing more. Cyan light rippled across his body as he shot into the sky, transforming into a streak of azure radiance.
In the blink of an eye, the azure streak arrived near the black-robed figure. The light receded, and Han Li stood there with his hands clasped behind his back, his face utterly expressionless.
The black-robed figure's eyes flickered as he studied Han Li from head to toe. His gaze gradually turned icy, and his eyeballs began to shift from black to green, looking extremely uncanny.
Han Li's eyes narrowed. He suddenly posed a question: "Are you a demon or a ghost?"
"Heh heh! Do I not look human to you?" The black-robed figure was not angered by Han Li's question. Instead, he let out a cold laugh. At the same time, wisps of ink-black qi began to seep from his body, and the wailing of ghosts rose in accompaniment. In an instant, yin winds howled on all sides, as though they had entered a realm of the dead.
"So you're human after all. Good. It seems you're a heretic cultivator who follows the demon and ghost path." Han Li exhaled lightly, his expression unchanged.
"Hmph! Junior, you talk far too much. Stop trying to probe my origins. Once I destroy you, you won't need to scheme about anything." The black-robed figure rasped, and simultaneously the black qi around him surged explosively. His silhouette became indistinct within the darkness.
"I have no patience to dally with you. Hand over your life now!" The black-robed figure let out a sinister laugh from within the black qi, formed a seal with both hands, and his body suddenly swelled to double its size. In an instant, he transformed from an ordinary-looking man into a giant standing two zhang tall. Although the obscuring yin energy made it difficult to see clearly, the black-robed figure — whose clothes had been torn apart by the expansion — appeared to have twin horns growing from his head and fangs jutting from his mouth. No wonder so many cultivators believed these unfamiliar magic practitioners were all transformed non-human entities.
A flash of blue light passed through Han Li's pupils, and the giant's green-faced, fanged demonic form was clearly imprinted in his mind.
"What is this?" After Han Li got a clear look at the giant's transformed demonic appearance, a hint of surprise appeared on his face for the first time. This giant's devilish form was identical to one of the illusory figures from the "Six Extremes True Devil Art" that the Six Paths successor had unleashed during their fight that day.
"What is your relationship with the Six Paths Supreme Saint?"