Chapter 786

All the white skull heads let out a howl and spat emerald ghost fire straight at Han Li. As Fang Yi rushed out several zhang away, countless golden threads appeared and flashed swiftly.

But this time, something different occurred.

After the golden threads passed over, each skull head's surface showed several fine cracks, yet with a flash of green light, they healed instantly, as if undamaged at all. The ghostly heads faced no obstruction and continued charging toward Han Li.

Han Li saw this and paused in surprise, then immediately understood. These ghost heads were no longer flesh and blood; they had been forged into some strange yin ghost body. Though his sword threads were powerful, the enemy had become formless and immune to blades—no wonder they could not be cut.

Yet Han Li remained calm, and he urged his spell further.

Before the ghost heads could reach him, thunder roared and a golden net shimmering with lightning suddenly materialized in midair, descending straight down.

Since the enemy were ghosts, Han Li had no hesitation—he activated the exorcising thunder within his flying sword.

But to Han Li's surprise, when the ghost heads saw the golden net, though they hesitated and showed signs of fear, under the piercing shriek of the lead horned skull, they all opened their mouths and spat emerald ghost fire like a colossal rainbow straight toward the net.

Thunder boomed as the golden net crackled with lightning, extinguishing much of the ghost fire—but its descent stalled, held firmly in place by the endless stream of fire, unable to fall further.

Han Li frowned, showing surprise.

Ordinary ghost fire would have been reduced to ash the moment it touched the exorcising thunder. Yet though these skull heads' fire still showed signs of being suppressed, it could barely resist the lightning's power—this truly startled Han Li. The Ghost Net Banner was indeed no empty boast as the Sacred Treasure of the Yin Luo Sect.

On the other side, the black-robed youth, seeing the demonic heads resist the exorcising thunder, could not help but smile, exhaling a sigh of relief.

Though he appeared confident on the surface, his heart had been equally uneasy.

Had the banner remained undamaged and its demonic spirits fully restored, he would have had little worry. But since the last great battle, the banner had never had the chance to absorb many yin souls for repair. Now facing such a divine artifact as the exorcising thunder, he naturally felt some unease.

Now that his fears were gone, the youth's face twisted into a cruel grin. He continuously channeled spells into the banner, and the several-chi-wide hole on its surface swelled under green light to a diameter of over ten chi.

More skull heads poured out of the banner in a swarm, emitting piercing shrieks. The ghostly aura surged violently, filling the air with wails and howls.

With the front ranks of skull heads holding back the golden net, the others emerging from the banner rushed forward without pause, breaking through the sword array and lunging fiercely at Han Li.

For a moment, ghostly wails filled the space before Han Li.

Han Li saw this and remained calm. Without a word, he raised his hand and lightly tapped a spirit beast bag at his waist.

A black light shot out from the bag, circled once, then landed on the ground. The glow faded, revealing a small, jet-black monkey—the Ti Hun Beast.

The beast looked as if it had just woken up. It blinked its dull eyes a few times, then sniffed deeply with its large nose—suddenly, its eyes widened fully.

It spotted the ghost heads not far away and let out excited, shrill squeals.

The once-ferocious skull heads, now only ten or so zhang from Han Li, suddenly trembled. They halted in place, refusing to advance a single step. Their ghostly shrieks dropped by more than half, revealing clear fear and retreat.

The black-robed youth saw this and his heart lurched. The golden threads of the sword array flickered, drawing closer to him. In panic, he didn't think—he raised his hand, spread his fingers, and spat a gray light from his mouth, circling it lightly around his palm.

Instantly, five bloody stumps fell from his hand, severed at the roots. With a series of "puff-puff" sounds, they exploded into five streams of blood mist, which shot outward and quickly reached the lead horned skull head.

The ghost head's eyes flickered with yin fire, then it opened its mouth wide and sucked in all the blood mist. The ghost fire surrounding it surged upward by a chi. A thunderous roar of rage erupted from its mouth.

Under its coercion, the other skull heads all opened their mouths again and spat waves of emerald ghost fire toward the Ti Hun Beast.

Seeing this, the Ti Hun Beast slammed its chest hard. Black light swirled around its body, and in an instant, it swelled to several zhang tall. It snorted, and a sheet of yellow mist shot out from its nostrils.

The torrent of ghost fire, sweeping down like a flood, met the yellow mist and was instantly drawn into it. The mist continued forward without slowing, plunging straight into the ranks of ghost heads behind.

Wherever the light passed, every skull head was helplessly sucked in without resistance.

The remaining ghost heads scattered in panic.

Even the horned ghost head's furious roars were useless.

At that moment, the yellow mist reached the ghost head's head and descended upon it.

Seeing this, the horned ghost head's eyes flashed green. Suddenly, thick green smoke erupted from its body, coalescing into a shape.

A two-zhang-tall, long-haired demon with curved horns appeared on the spot. As soon as it manifested, it raised both hands. Thunderous roars erupted as countless dark thunderfire bolts shot from its palms toward the yellow mist.

Silent and invisible. Every thunderfire bolt that entered the mist vanished without a sound.

The demon, seeing this, turned to flee with fear on its face—but it was too late.

As the yellow mist descended, it was instantly sucked inside. The spot where it stood became empty.

The mist shot back into the Ti Hun Beast's mouth, then spewed out again from its nostrils. In a few swift repetitions, all the skull heads in the air were wiped clean.

The black-robed youth in the sword array saw this and was both shocked and furious.

He had heard that Han Li possessed a monstrous ape capable of devouring the corpse qi of corpses—the majority of Yin Luo Sect's Bronze Armor Corpses had been devoured by this ape. But he hadn't taken it seriously at the time. He never imagined this spirit beast could directly devour the yin demonic heads of the Ghost Net Banner—even the main demon head offered no resistance, swallowed whole by the giant ape. How could this not fill him with terror?

Had he known the spirit beast possessed the ability to devour demons and devour ghosts, he would never have volunteered to come alone. If the other Elders of the sect knew of this ability, they would be unable to rest. This threat surpassed even the Jin Jin Leizhu to the Yin Luo Sect.

The black-robed youth's thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant, and deep regret surged within him.

Now, seeing the golden threads only two or three zhang away, with death looming, he could no longer remain composed. He frantically slapped his storage bag with both hands.

Seven or eight treasures flew out of the bag, varying in size, transforming into colored light orbs that shot in all directions.

As soon as the sword array's seal activated, countless golden threads flashed past—all treasures were sliced into shards, reduced to worthless scrap metal, and fell to the ground.

The youth's face turned deathly pale.

In his panic, he no longer cared for the sect's Sacred Treasure. He suddenly reached out, grabbed the Ghost Net Banner before him, and it turned into a black light as he seized it. Then, gritting his teeth, he gripped the banner with both hands, spun rapidly in place, and merged with it—becoming a dense, sinister green mist that suddenly shot upward into the sky.

He now placed all his hope on the Sacred Treasure's power to momentarily resist the sword array's seal and help him escape.

Otherwise, with this sword array's power, staying put meant certain death.

Han Li saw this and knew the youth was desperate, cornered and lashing out. He moved his spiritual sense and spat out a golden electric sphere from his mouth.

The golden sphere shot into the sky and exploded upon release.

A massive golden net descended from above, covering an area of dozens of zhang in diameter.

At that moment, the black-robed youth's mist was trapped at the edge of the sword array, surrounded by hundreds of golden threads weaving and flashing around it. Each flash sliced off a portion of the mist—within moments, more than half of its protective aura was gone.

The mist darted wildly, trying to escape—but the golden threads were too numerous and dense. There was no path out. Each time it charged forward, a dozen threads simultaneously blocked and rebounded it.

The black-robed youth had become a trapped beast.

"If you truly intend to slaughter me to the last, you won't want the sealing spell's release method!" A furious, desperate shout came from within the thinning mist.

"Rest assured. Han Mou will learn everything I wish to know from your primordial spirit." Han Li's expression remained calm, his voice indifferent.

"You want to use soul-searching? Never! Ah—" The youth, terrified, managed only two more words. His final layer of protective mist was finally sliced away by the golden threads. He screamed as his body was instantly shredded into fragments. Only a green light, wrapped around his Nascent Soul, shot out in the chaos.

But outside, the exorcising thunder's golden net had already been laid. Han Li uttered a single word: "Recover." He pointed at the net, and the massive golden net shrank rapidly.

The youth's Nascent Soul dashed and thrashed within the net. Each time it touched the net, lightning crackled, striking it with agonizing screams—it had no escape.

"If you try to use soul-searching, I'll self-destruct my Nascent Soul—you won't get what you want!" The Nascent Soul suddenly shrieked in a thin, venomous voice.

"Self-destruct your Nascent Soul?" Han Li frowned. The golden net instantly halted its shrinkage.

Seeing this, the Nascent Soul was overjoyed and quickly shrieked again:

"Release me, and I'll give you the method to break the seal—so you can save your cultivation partner. Otherwise, since I'm doomed anyway, I'll never let you get the method!"

Han Li said nothing, but his eyes flickered uncertainly, as if weighing the pros and cons. Yet at that moment, light flashed above the Nascent Soul—a purple net suddenly spread down, instantly enclosing it and tightening.

Simultaneously, white light flickered behind the Nascent Soul, and the Silver Moon's figure appeared silently.

Her red lips parted, and a pink mist sprayed out. At the same time, her ten fingers flicked, launching over a dozen silver beams.

Net