Li Hong laughed disdainfully, "How shameless! To dare call this place a temple! What kind of gods are you? Brothers, keep bombing!" He ignited a series of Fire Phoenix talismans, directing them forward under his mental command, unleashing a torrent of True Fire.
The blazing flames illuminated the entire Underground space, also revealing the direction from which the voice came.
There lay an abyss, where the stone peaks abruptly ended, exposing a vast and unfathomable dark chasm.
Above the abyss, ten figures floated in the air.
These ten individuals wore luxurious embroidered robes of various colors, adorned with golden crowns and jade belts. At first glance, they appeared to be nobles from the Mortal Realm who had wandered into the Underground. Standing with their hands behind their backs in a proud manner above the dark Abyss Above, they lined up in mid-air, their faces seemingly ordinary, yet their auras were restrained, making them appear as just ten common people.
Li Hong's pupils suddenly constricted—danger! Extreme danger! The cultivation levels of these ten were already at the Transformation Realm, having returned to their true essence; the weakest among them was at the Late Stage of Nascent Soul, with most nearing the Heavenly Fusion Stage, and two appeared to have already reached that level.
The Heavenly Fusion Stage is nearly the strongest level among mortals. To find eight experts at or near this level here was alarming! Li Hong quickly calculated in his mind and pulled out Spirit Talismans, rapidly setting up Fire Walls and Fire Shields in front of his team.
"Ah, so it's the Nine Li Sect!" One of the ten stepped forward, pointing his delicate fingers at Li Hong's Fire Walls and Fire Shields. Black lights shot silently from his fingertips like arrows. With each hit, one of Li Hong's Fire Walls was extinguished immediately.
"Child's play! You dare present such a Mid-Level Spirit Talisman?" The man sneered.
Jiang Xuanzi and others were seasoned fighters and showed no intention of mocking Li Hong; instead, they focused intently on this man's movements. They noticed that Li Hong's speed in deploying Spirit Talismans couldn't keep up with his speed in breaking them, causing them to feel a chill inside.
To be able to break Li Hong's Mid-Level Spirit Talisman with a mere finger meant this man was already at the Heavenly Fusion Stage!
Li Hong had already ceased his attempts. The Mid-Level Spirit Talisman he used for testing was indeed fragile. His purpose had been achieved; there was no need for unnecessary waste.
The rumbling sounds behind him had ceased; Sister Sheyu did not bring anyone up but continued to thoroughly destroy the Blood Pool. Yet these ten remained motionless, seemingly unconcerned about the Blood Pool at all.
After a moment, one of them said lightly, "Let's begin; it's been a while since I've fought. I need to stretch my muscles." In an instant, he moved before Jiang Xuanzi and declared, "You are mine!" A palm strike unleashed countless illusions in the air, manifesting millions of hands that floated lightly towards Jiang Xuanzi from afar.
Jiang Xuanzi blinked oddly at him and vanished in an instant.
The man nodded slightly, "Interesting." Suddenly retreating casually, he cast out a strange silver-black net into the sky. The area beneath it appeared empty until Jiang Xuanzi's figure suddenly became visible beneath it. If it had caught him... everyone held their breath. Jiang Xuanzi's body vanished once more.
The net caster felt something amiss after casting an empty net; he pulled back as the net transformed into steel ropes that swiftly lashed towards the void behind him. Jiang Xuanzi reappeared again, seemingly holding nothing in his hand but actually wielding an invisible weapon pressed against that bizarre artifact that had transformed from net to rope.
The sound of crackling sparks erupted as Jiang Xuanzi vanished once again.
At the same time, the other nine moved, charging towards the group of Beast Cultivator Elders. Ten battle formations immediately appeared above the abyss, with four or five Beast Cultivator Elders surrounding one of the ten.
Only Li Hong remained still; he couldn't intervene in such a high-level battle. Instead, Li Hong stepped back, contemplating the abyss beneath him. There was something down there, with intense Yin Energy Fluctuations emanating from below. It turned out that this seemingly bottomless abyss was the true Yin Spirit Eye.
This Yin Spirit Eye abyss seemed to absorb light. The True Fire Phoenix continued to soar in the sky, but behind and below it lay an unfathomable Black Veil. It felt as if they were on a gigantic stage, where the battling Beast Cultivator Elders and the ten Demon Sect experts appeared minuscule against the backdrop of the abyss. Everything seemed like a performance, their movements slowed down, lacking the earth-shattering intensity of an external battle.
Could the abyss absorb sound as well? What exactly lay beneath? Where was Yun Jiuzi? Many questions raced through Li Hong's mind.
Suddenly, brilliant flashes of color exploded above the abyss, dazzling to the extreme, yet the sound was muffled.
Then came a crackling noise as large blocks of cold, piercing white ice appeared out of nowhere, spreading rapidly across the area. Everyone vanished instantly, including Li Hong who was a hundred feet away.
Li Hong felt an icy chill envelop him and suddenly found himself unable to move. He realized he was encased in a massive block of ice.
In shock, Li Hong thought, what kind of power is this? His Awareness surged forth as he concentrated; flames erupted from his body, causing the ice to crack. With a powerful strike, Li Hong shattered the ice and stumbled out awkwardly.
What he saw next astonished him: at some point, the Abyss Above had transformed into a world of ice and snow. Everyone was frozen inside, their original postures still visible through the crystalline ice. The massive blocks extended into an unseen darkness on the opposite side.
High above this icy world floated a Robe-Clad Figure, manipulating a peculiar object between his palms that also appeared to be ice. A wave of extreme cold energy radiated from it, turning the void into ice and snow as this icy world continued to expand backward.
Li Hong suddenly turned around to see Shooting Jade Fairy and all the Beast Cultivator Elders extending their hands in unison. An invisible wall of energy resisted the extreme cold emanating from that object. Before this energy wall, Blood Pool and Walking Corpse were completely frozen, becoming mere decorations embedded in this world of ice and snow.
Sister Sheyu's dark hair billowed high behind her as her garments fluttered wildly; her delicate face had turned pale as paper.
Sister Sheyu's lips moved as a faint voice pierced through the clashing energy walls directly into Li Hong's ear: "Stop staring like an idiot! Quickly kill him! Otherwise, Du Yizi and the others will surely perish!"
Li Hong slapped his forehead in realization. Gritting his teeth, he unleashed Yue Que with a flash of golden light aimed straight at the hovering Robe-Clad Figure.
The figure immediately noticed; its eyes glinted with an eerie silver light. Li Hong suddenly felt an intense chill as an ice wall appeared out of thin air directly in front of Yue Que's path. Yue Que slowed down significantly, almost inching forward as it struggled to pierce through the ice wall.
Li Hong's pupils suddenly contracted. He shouted and transformed into a streak of fiery light, gripping the center of Yue Que with all his strength and thrusting upward.
His entire body trembled as the Golden Core Group spun rapidly, flames infused with celestial energy coursing through Li Hong. In a moment of crisis, Li Hong unleashed his potential, truly activating the Emperor Yan's Celestial Body Fire Flame, Heavenly Candle Fire Dragon Essence Blood, and Yin Li'er's Vermilion Phoenix Blood that he had absorbed from Green Lotus. Now, these four forces were completely unified with Li Hong himself.
But Li Hong was oblivious to this. Yue Que grew increasingly hot, and a wave of invigorating warmth surged from his heart. The bond between him and the treasure deepened; Li Hong exerted all his strength, his eyes fixed solely on the increasingly close Robe-Clad Figure.
His figure rapidly enlarged and approached. Li Hong thought of nothing but killing him!
Li Hong thrust Yue Que into the center of the man's palms.
Before him, the world shook, darkness enveloped everything, and the treasure trembled violently. Suddenly, a loud cracking sound echoed as the icy world beneath them melted away, revealing figures leaping up.
The Robe-Clad Figure's body jolted violently, a trickle of Purple Blood flowing from his mouth. He stared at Li Hong in disbelief and rasped, "You... you actually broke my ice barrier. Are you human or divine?"
Li Hong felt invigorated, sensing an endless surge of power within him. With a flick of his right hand, Yue Que shot out swiftly. The Robe-Clad Figure retreated rapidly but could not escape Yue Que's speed. In a flash of bloodlight, one of his arms was severed at the shoulder, prompting several others behind him to shout in unison: "Chu Jiang!"
They flew up to catch him.
The two sides reformed their formations, gazing across the abyss at each other.
Jiang Xuanzi and the others were unharmed; they quickly swallowed several Supplementary Spirit Pills to replenish their demon power. Breathing heavily, they flew up to Li Hong. Jiang Xuanzi patted Li Hong on the shoulder and praised him greatly: "Well done!"
Across the abyss, the blood on the Robe-Clad Figure's arm had stopped flowing. He seemed unconcerned about his injury and continued to stare at Li Hong in disbelief. He could tell that Li Hong's cultivation was very low—far below his own level—but it was this seemingly insignificant person with such low cultivation who had broken his ice barrier.
Li Hong had already checked himself and found no significant injuries. At that moment, Little Fei curiously poked its head out from his chest pocket, further reassuring him. He sneered: "So it turns out you're my peer; I'm from Nine Li Sect's Chu Lineage, and you are also from Chu Lineage. Could it be that you are a little traitor from our Nine Li Sect? Otherwise, how would I not know you?"
With this reminder, Jiang Xuanzi and the others' expressions changed instantly as they exchanged glances and slowly uttered four words: "Purgatory Ten Kings! You are Purgatory Ten Kings! He is Chuyang Wang!"
Chuyang Wang sneered: "You actually know our ten brothers' names; quite impressive. Since you know that, you should also know that you won't be going back this time! Just now, it was merely me acting alone; have you ever seen us brothers join forces? Well then, let me show you now!"
Jiang Xuanzi was alarmed and couldn't help but shout: "Retreat!" He grabbed Li Hong and turned to run.
At that moment, Little Fei suddenly darted out from Li Hong's arms and rushed toward the left side of the abyss. The small golden body moved freely in the air, as if the void beneath was solid ground.
Li Hong shouted, "Little Fei!" pushing Jiang Xuanzi aside as he chased after Little Fei.
Jiang Xuanzi and the others were anxious; just as they were about to pursue, the Purgatory Ten Kings began to take action.
Chuyang Wang's bizarre ice mountain-like treasure flew out again, while the other nine kings also summoned their unique and strange treasures.
They glanced at Li Hong's figure, which was getting farther away, and Jiang Xuanzi and the others gritted their teeth and shouted, "Let's go for it!"
Little Fei ran swiftly across the void, its small golden figure resembling an arrow released from a bow. Suddenly, it seemed to sense something; its little ears twitched as it stopped mid-air. Then, it dashed back directly into Li Hong's arms.
Li Hong was baffled but relieved nonetheless. He gave Little Fei a hard slap, causing it to meow plaintively.
There was no time to settle accounts with it. Li Hong turned around just in time to see those ten strange treasures soaring into the sky.
The Purgatory Ten Kings floated high up, their lips moving as waves of intense energy surged throughout the Abyss Above, forming an invisible net. The atmosphere darkened ominously, and a chilling cold penetrated to the bone. Suddenly, everything around them turned black, as if only these ten people and their ten treasures existed in the world.
Jiang Xuanzi shouted, "Purgatory Barrier!" his eyes filled with deep fear.
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