Chapter 1053

Having experienced a spatial rift swallowing once, Han Li still felt great apprehension toward the rift in his heart, but he did not panic. With the Spirit-Summoning Talisman empowering him, his magic power had reached the peak of mid-Nascent Soul stage, and he immediately poured spiritual power frenziedly into the Yuan Gang Shield, turning it into a dazzling bank of silver light.

This rift is so vast that as long as one does not graze its edge, the Yuan Gang Shield's power should suffice for the time being.

Han Li could only think this anxiously.

The darkness lasted only a moment; after a bout of dizziness and blurred vision, his eyes brightened and he found himself in a void.

Fortunately, Han Li, having experienced light once, instantly regained his composure and hastily glanced around in alarm. His heart gave a start.

"The ninth layer!" Han Li muttered almost without thinking, needing no judgment.

This place is clearly another independent space; in the center lies an expanse of empty ground several li in size. The surroundings are yellow and hazy, with mist rolling incessantly, rendering the place dim and obscure, and it is impossible to tell how vast it truly is.

Beneath him, however, stands a colossal altar over a hundred zhang high, broad at the base and narrow at the top, forming a four-sided trapezoid, carved from flawless white jade, magnificent and exquisite beyond compare.

Encircling the altar is another ring of towering stone pillars forming a super array that encloses the altar; each pillar radiates brilliant light, as if activated, and atop the altar stands a wolf the size of a small mountain with two heads. One black wolf head spews boundless black mist, facing several suspended opponents in midair, locked in fierce confrontation.

These so-called opponents are precisely the cultivators and demonic beasts who vanished from the eighth layer.

Not only does the Dream Demon Consort possessing Hua Tianqi dance with her palms, a pair of large, milky-white hands frantically smash downward into the black mist. The Great Elder of the Ye Family, the Ten-Thousand-Year Corpse Bear, the Silver-Winged Yecha, and others are all present without exception. The only one missing is the big-headed weirdo of the Jia family.

What surprised Han Li was that beside the giant wolf stood a human cultivator manipulating a silver shuttle flashing with spiritual light to assist the wolf. This person was none other than the lovely maiden from the Huaxian Sect.

At this moment, her face masked by black mist, her eyes dull and wooden, she directs her treasure in a fierce struggle against the extremely angry and startled Wood Lady, as if she had lost her nature through delusion.

As for the others, each unleashes their divine powers, desperately attacking the giant wolf before them. Above the wolf, yellow winds swirl violently, within which a black flood dragon lurks hidden, exhaling black wind to resist a silver-colored giant lotus and eight phantom demonic beasts.

The silver lotus hovering motionless in midair shines brilliantly all over; from its petals continuously flow dense streams of Buddhist sutras in Sanskrit. Each palm-sized rune, upon colliding with the black wind exhaled by the flood dragon, inevitably emits a thunderous boom before shattering on its own, scattering the seemingly ferocious black wind in all directions.

Black Wind Banner, Eight Spirit Rulers!

Han Li instantly recognized the two heavenly spirit treasures, and simultaneously felt great astonishment at the condition of the two Huaxian Sect maidens.

Originally, Gui Ling had previously informed him that the two maidens seemed to be setting up some spell formation underground, as if harboring some scheme. Had he not been eager to escape from the black-colored teleportation array, he would surely have sneaked over to investigate. But now, how could one maiden appear to have her mind bewitched by the ancient demon sage ancestor?

What further astonished Han Li was that, despite facing so many opponents, the giant wolf still held the upper hand, forcing those who roared at it to retreat step by step, unable to approach the altar by even a hair's breadth.

The black mist spewed from the giant wolf's maw is glossy and pitch-black, seeming as thick as liquid. Besides the blood-light formed by the Ten-Thousand-Year Corpse Bear's blood blade, which frenziedly hacks and slashes within the black mist, others—both human and demon—merely shield their bodies with treasures, daring not to touch the mist at all, let alone unleash long-range attacks against it. They rely solely on various arts and long-range assaults to continually disperse the approaching black mist.

Thus, they are naturally bound hand and foot, at a great disadvantage.

Were it not for "Hua Tianqi" and the Corpse Bear absorbing most of the giant wolf's attacks, and the silver lotus transformed from the Eight Spirit Rulers above also diverting much of the wolf's attention—requiring it occasionally to spit a mouthful of black mist to aid the black python—those people and demons would likely have long been unable to endure.

After all, the murderous soul threads of the Silver-Winged Yecha and the golden waves spat from the lion-beast's mouth seem utterly ineffective against this pitch-black demonic aura.

However, a flash of Han Li's gaze revealed something peculiar.

This twin-headed giant wolf appears unable to leave the altar, fighting while airborne. It merely clings desperately to the altar's summit, not budging an inch.

This made Han Li inwardly astonished.

At that moment, a voice of extreme shock and anger came from not far away.

"Not good, the seal has indeed been opened. How could this ancient demon possess the artifact to unseal this?"

Han Li startled, then followed the sound with his gaze.

Only see, at a point over twenty zhang away, Xuan Qingzi stares fixedly at some spot on the altar and cries out in alarm; beside him, the Seven Marvels True Person also wears a similarly grim expression.

Han Li then noticed that not only these two, but Lin Yinping, Lingxi Kong Que, Guiling, and the humanoid puppet, whether far or near, have appeared within the ninth-layer space, all seemingly unharmed.

It seems the earlier spatial rupture was not an accident at all, but rather triggered some restriction, thereby transporting everyone on this entire layer here.

However, Lin Yinping's jade-like countenance is somewhat pale; it seems the earlier anomaly still frightened her considerably.

Han Li's gaze merely swept over, then immediately fell upon the spot where Xuan Qingzi and the two were looking.

Upon closer inspection, Han Li could not help but utter a soft "yi."

Behind the giant wolf, there are actually two stone steles several zhang high, gray and dull, utterly unremarkable in appearance.

But upon seeing these two steles, Han Li's face flickered with surprise, a sense of familiarity immediately flashing in his mind as the name "Chiling Soft Jade" surfaced. He had seen similar steles before in the Ten-Thousand-Zhang Magic Abyss of Tiannan.

However, the steles he saw that day had already shattered into several fragments, whereas these two are intact and flawless; moreover, one stele bears a half-inlaid cyan-green seal, causing the stele to emit a faint black glow, trembling incessantly.

Han Li's expression shifted; he noticed the spiritual light flashing on the stele resonating with the array surrounding the altar, as if it were the nexus of this array. And the giant wolf also seems to be guarding this stele precisely because it refuses to leave the altar.

Han Li stared blankly at the stele, his mind momentarily somewhat confused.

"Xuan Qingzi, Seven Marvels Brother, your arrival is most timely. This ancient demon sage is now undoing the altar's seal restriction, and beneath the altar something is being suppressed—though I know not what it is, but this demon must not be allowed to succeed." Upon seeing Xuan Qingzi, Han Li, and others appear, Wood Lady instantly rejoiced and cried out.

"This True Person has already seen it. Xuan Qing Daoist, we must act quickly, for the situation seems unfavorable." The Seven Marvels True Person's face sank like water; after greeting Xuan Qingzi, he immediately flicked his sleeve.

Instantly, various colored spiritual lights flashed from within his sleeve, and seven treasures flew out simultaneously—a saber, a sword, a pearl, a mirror, and others of various kinds. One of the bronze mirrors was precisely the Miao Yin Treasure Mirror that Lin Yinping had once borrowed.

These are precisely the Seven True Treasures of the Middle-Aged Scholar that once shook the Great Jin, transformed into seven bands of strange light, shooting straight downward toward the giant wolf.

Xuan Qingzi sighed, then without hesitation plunged his hand into his sleeve and directly drew forth a yellow-colored ancient sword in its scabbard.

As soon as the sword left its scabbard, it appeared dim and lusterless, as if extremely aged, but when the old Daoist opened his mouth, a spray of essence blood struck the blade, and the sword instantly revived as if just awakened.

A dragon's roar piercing the nine heavens rang out; the sword blade blazed dazzlingly bright,

The old Daoist pinched the seal with one hand, two fingers solemnly touching the sword blade, then lightly waved downward.

A tremendous sword aura over ten zhang in length shot forth from the ancient sword as if a heaven-supporting divine sword, its momentum astonishing as it slashed straight downward.

The deep-yellow sword aura, as thick as a bowl's rim, had not yet fallen when it emitted a thunderous boom like rolling thunder; wherever it passed, even the vast heavens seemed to be cleaved in two, carving a long white trace.

The giant wolf formed by the Yuan Cha Sacred Ancestor, having noticed Han Li and others appear, naturally paid them heed.

Upon seeing this astonishing sight, the wolf head's demonic eyes flashed a hint of grim color; immediately, its body trembled, and a layer of black mist flew swiftly from its four claws planted on the altar, then flashed and vanished into its body. Almost simultaneously, the wolf opened its maw wide, and a vast expanse of thick, liquid-like black mist surged skyward in rolling billows.

"Be careful, this demonic aura is extremely potent; magic treasures must not be tainted by it, or they will immediately be demonized and lose their powers." Wood Lady suddenly shouted a warning.

At this moment, the seven bands of strange light and the colossal sword aura were about to collide head-on with the demonic aura.

Upon hearing this, the Middle-Aged Scholar's expression changed; without hesitation, he clutched his treasure in the void.

Instantly, the seven bands of strange light paused just before contact, then linked as one, and actually released sheets of various colored spiritual radiance once more, sweeping toward the demonic aura.

But at this moment, the colossal sword aura had already struck first into the demonic aura.

Sword light and black mist intertwined and entangled, emitting a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering roar; countless yellow rays burst and scattered within the black mist, piercing that mass of demonic aura with countless holes. Subsequently, the Seven Marvels True Person's seven treasures' spiritual radiance likewise swept in, as if instantly capable of dispersing this mass of demonic aura, then proceeding straight to strike the giant wolf below.

But with a few "pupu" sounds, the twin-headed giant wolf below showed no courtesy, spewing forth several more mouthfuls of black mist in succession.

Instantly, the dark, murky demonic aura surged in a wave, engulfing the yellow rays and spiritual radiance entirely; after the spiritual light flickered faintly and flashed wildly a few times, it immediately vanished into silence, falling utterly quiet.

The old Daoist saw this in midair, his heart jolted, and he hastily made a hand seal with one hand, intending to activate the sword energy below, but there was no response at all, as if it had truly vanished into thin air.

The old Daoist's face changed slightly.

At this moment, the black energy below surged upward without mercy toward those in the air, covering the sky and earth, its momentum extraordinarily vast. Even Han Li and the others were caught in the attack together.

Seeing the situation turn dire, the Seven Marvels True Person hastily made a hand seal, recalling the Seven Treasures. Xuan Qingzi, however, swung his ancient sword several times, finally managing to temporarily block the surge of demonic energy before him beneath a curtain of yellow, hazy sword light.

He immediately turned and said solemnly to the scholar:

"Brother Seven Marvels, it seems ordinary treasures cannot deal with this demon. Quickly use that treasure. Opening this seal still seems to require some time—we cannot delay any further. I will protect you, Dao friend."

"Understood. Thank you, Brother Xuan Qing." The Marvels True Person had no hesitation, immediately nodded in agreement, then slapped his storage pouch with one hand; instantly, white light flashed, and several palm-sized emerald-green rings appeared in his hand.

At the same time, Han Li also released dozens of golden-colored flying swords, which transformed into a blade-like shadow. Before the demonic energy could approach, golden arcs flashed wildly, thunderous sounds erupted, and all the demonic energy was shattered and dispersed.

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