Every last white, ghoulish skull let out a shrill howl and shot straight toward Han Li, spewing green phosphorus ghost fire from its gaping mouth. Naturally, before they had even surged forward several zhang, countless golden threads materialized and flashed past at blinding speed.
But this time, the outcome was different.
Although the threads sliced across every skull and left several hairline cracks on their surfaces, a flash of green light sealed them right back up, as though they had suffered no damage at all. The ghost heads pressed on without the slightest impediment, lunging straight for Han Li.
Han Li started in surprise at the sight, but understanding dawned on him almost at once. These ghost heads were no longer flesh and blood — he had no idea what bizarre yin-ghost bodies they had been refined into. His sword threads were formidable, but since the enemy had become an intangible form, blades and edges could not touch them, let alone destroy them.
Even so, Han Li felt no panic. He cycled another spiritual-art activation through his mind.
Ahead of the oncoming ghost heads, a deafening peal of thunder erupted, and a golden net crackling with arcs of lightning materialized out of thin air, slamming down to meet them head-on.
Since these were ghosts, Han Li had naturally not held back from unleashing the Evil-Warding Divine Lightning woven into his flying swords.
Yet what surprised him was that the moment the ghost heads caught sight of the golden net, they all faltered, their forms wavering as looks of fear flickered across them. But under a piercing shriek from the leading horned skull, they opened their mouths one after another, and streams of green ghost fire surged upward toward the net like a massive, sky-rending rainbow.
The thunder boomed. Arcs of lightning danced across the golden net and incinerated a good portion of the ghost fire, yet the net's descent stalled — the relentless torrent of green flames had physically held it up, refusing to let it fall.
Han Li's brows furrowed, surprise evident on his face.
Ordinary ghost fire would have turned to ash the instant it touched the Evil-Warding Divine Lightning. But this ghost fire, though clearly still suppressed by it, was somehow able to just barely withstand the force of the arcs. That left Han Li genuinely startled. The Ghost Net Banner's reputation as the Yin Luo Sect's supreme treasure was apparently no empty boast.
On the other side, the black-robed youth saw that the demons within the banner could hold off the Evil-Warding Divine Lightning, and a grin of relief spread across his face.
He had looked confident on the surface, but inside his heart had been just as unsettled. Had the banner been undamaged and the demons within it at full power, he would have had little to worry about. But after the great battle last time, the banner had never had the opportunity to absorb a large number of yin souls and repair itself. Facing a divine treasure as mysterious as the Evil-Warding Divine Lightning, he had naturally been on edge.
Now, however, with his fears dispelled, the youth's face twisted into a savage smile. His fingers flew, sealing one hand-signal after another into the banner. The holes on the banner's surface — each a few chi wide — swelled under a wash of green light until they were a full zhang across.
Even more skulls poured out of the banner in a swarming flood, emitting every imaginable shrill cry. The ghostly aura surrounding them surged violently, filling the air with a wretched cacophony of wailing and shrieking.
With the front ranks of skulls holding the golden net at bay, the ghost heads that had emerged from the banner behind them charged straight through the sword formation without a moment's hesitation, hurtling toward Han Li.
In an instant, ghostly howls blared from every direction in front of Han Li.
He showed not the slightest alarm. Without a word, he raised a hand and gave a gentle pat to a spirit beast pouch at his waist.
A streak of black light shot out from the pouch, spiraled once through the air, and alighted on the ground. As the glow faded, a small monkey with a coat of pure black appeared — the Cry-Soul Beast.
The creature looked as though it had just woken from a nap. It blinked its somewhat vacant eyes, twitched its large nose a few times, and then its gaze suddenly snapped wide open.
It had spotted the cluster of ghost heads nearby, and it began to squeal with excitement.
The skulls had already surged to within a dozen zhang of Han Li, but the moment they laid eyes on the Cry-Soul Beast, they jolted to a halt and hovered in place, refusing to advance another half-step. At the same time, the ghostly wailing from their mouths dropped by more than half, replaced by looks of cringing fear.
The black-robed youth's heart lurched. The golden threads of the sword formation were flickering in and out of visibility, creeping closer to him. Panicking and with no time to think, he raised a hand, splayed his five fingers, and spat a wisp of grey light from his mouth that traced a quick circle around his palm.
Five blood-dripping fingers fell clean off his hand. Several muffled pops followed as they burst apart, transforming into five jets of blood mist that shot outward. Moments later, they reached the leading horned skull.
The ghost head's eye sockets flickered with yin fire. It immediately opened its massive jaws and inhaled every trace of the blood mist. The ghost fire around its body flared outward by a full chi, and a deep, rumbling roar of fury bellowed from its mouth.
Under its coercion, all the other skulls bared their ghastly teeth and spat out wave after wave of green ghost fire, directing the onslaught at the Cry-Soul Beast.
The Cry-Soul Beast responded by slamming a fist against its chest. Black light coiled around its body as it swelled in an instant to a height of several zhang. It huffed once through its great nose, and a swath of golden radiance unfurled outward.
The oncoming curtain of ghost fire met the golden glow and was swept inside it at once. The radiance did not slow — it surged straight into the mass of ghost heads behind.
Wherever the glow passed, every skull was sucked in without the slightest resistance.
The remaining ghost heads scattered in all directions.
Even the horned skull's furious bellowing could not change a thing.
By then, the golden glow had arrived directly above it and crashed downward.
The horned skull's eyes flashed green. A thick plume of green smoke erupted from its body and condensed into solid form.
Standing in its place was a wild-haired evil spirit two zhang tall, a curved horn protruding from its forehead. The moment it appeared, it raised both arms with a thunderous roar, and countless jets of pitch-black thunder-fire blasted from its palms, striking back at the golden glow.