Chapter 851

In the instant he was swallowed by the spatial rift, Han Li felt blinding auroras all around, too intense to see anything—he could only shut his eyes tight. At the same time, with his magic power gone, he felt dizzy and nauseous, his body agonizingly unwell.

He believed that if not for his now half-dragon, half-human body's resilience, he would have fainted long ago.

But after a moment, Han Li felt his spiritual power stir, instantly flowing smoothly—he had regained his magic power. He instantly brightened with surprise, regaining control of his body and stabilizing his floating form.

At the same time, the nearby auroras flickered wildly a few times, then dissipated, revealing everything around.

Han Li glanced around and in an instant shot away over ten zhang from his original spot, for the demonic soul floated in midair—almost right next to him.

This startled Han Li, and he hastily moved away.

Han Li didn't examine the scene closely, nor did he need to—this space was only dozens of zhang wide, and everything was fully visible.

No one else was here—only him and the demonic soul. This made his heart sink.

A slight sensing revealed astonishingly dense spiritual energy here; around him grew some spiritual herbs, and there stood a complete stone pavilion and half a corridor. The walls and sky above were a hazy gray, nothing else.

This place resembled a partially ruined herb garden.

Han Li was puzzled, but with a deadly enemy before him and his life in peril, he had no time to investigate further. He coldly stared at the demonic soul, whose body glowed with blue light; he clenched his fists, golden lightning arcs flickering across his skin, while a purple fireball descended from above, spinning above his head.

This cluster of Purple Vortex Heaven Fire had followed him into this space moments after he was swallowed by the rift, its consciousness surging in. This gave Han Li slight relief—he wouldn't be utterly defenseless.

The demonic soul had also surveyed the place; its two faces showed surprise, but soon a strange expression appeared.

"Hah! Who would've thought this was a remnant of a Lingmiao Garden's space? Fortune in misfortune indeed—it saved this Demon Sovereign from disaster!"

The demonic soul threw back its head and laughed wildly; then the laughter faded, and both heads twisted simultaneously, gazing at Han Li with eerie intent.

Han Li snorted, shook his sleeve, and dozens of golden flying swords shot out, forming a wall of blade shadows before him.

Only then did he notice two of his Gengjing Diqing Bamboo Bee Cloud Swords were missing. This shocked him deeply.

These swords were his life-linked magic treasures—he had no sensation of their whereabouts. Clearly, those two had been left outside the space, unable to enter in time.

He couldn't help but smile bitterly.

If it were other magic treasures, it wouldn't matter—but the Bamboo Bee Cloud Swords were forged as a complete set.

Without these two swords, not only could he not form the Great Geng Sword Array, but the entire set's power would plummet drastically.

This left Han Li helplessly frustrated. With the sword array out of the question, he could only rely on the Spirit-Calling Talisman and the Exorcising Divine Thunder for self-preservation.

Seeing Han Li on full alert, the demonic soul's ghastly face split into a grin, its long tongue flicking in and out, its expression turning ferocious.

Demonic energy surged skyward, instantly engulfing most of this confined space. The small area filled with rolling demonic qi and chilling winds.

Han Li took a deep breath, summoning all his remaining Exorcising Divine Thunder. Golden light erupted from his body; over a hundred golden arcs shot out from every part of him, then instantly coalesced into several golden lightning serpents, each as thick as a bowl's mouth, circling him, heads raised in defiance.

"So much Exorcising Divine Thunder?"

The demonic soul showed surprise, then sneered, raising both hands without a word.

Two torrents of demonic wind burst from his palms, intertwining with the airborne demonic qi, instantly forming countless thick and thin black tentacles that whipped wildly through the air.

Though Exorcising Divine Thunder could suppress demonic energy, if the demonic qi was too abundant, it could not be destroyed entirely.

Both Han Li and the demonic soul understood this perfectly. Seeing this, Han Li's expression darkened.

Most frustrating of all: in this sealed space, his Blood Dash technique—his last resort for survival—was useless.

With a shrill cry, the demonic soul sent all the tentacles surging upward, then lunging toward Han Li like monstrous black vipers ready to devour flesh—fierce and overwhelming.

Han Li gritted his teeth; the golden lightning serpents coiled around him roared, preparing to charge head-on.

As for the Purple Luo Tian Fire, at his spiritual sense's command, it transformed into a massive wall of flame blocking his front.

Just as Han Li was about to clash with the demonic soul, the entire space trembled without warning, humming loudly—the hazy sky suddenly blazed with blinding white light, then turned silver-white.

Both Han Li and the demonic soul were stunned, their movements halting.

At that moment, the clouds above churned violently, transforming into vast sheets of silver flame, rolling endlessly. Then, under Han Li's gaze, a thunderous boom echoed—a colossal silver beam shot down from the flames, striking precisely where the demonic soul stood.

Where the silver light passed, all demonic energy dissolved and melted; the demonic soul was instantly engulfed.

Han Li could clearly see the terror on the demonic soul's two faces; its body was instantly wrapped in silver-white flame, vanishing in an instant.

The beam blazed brightly, then exploded. Countless silver sparks flew everywhere, sweeping clean all nearby demonic qi. Where the demonic soul had stood, only a few damaged magic treasures floated in midair—rings, banners, and other artifacts among them.

With the demonic soul gone, the silver flames swiftly retreated, the sky returning to its hazy gray.

Han Li stood frozen, eyes wide, face filled with disbelief.

"Silver flame! Such a powerful restriction—this doesn't seem like a technique from the mortal realm. That's interesting."

As Han Li stood bewildered, the voice of the Great Expansion Divine Lord echoed in his mind.

"What do you mean? What is this silver flame? Does it have a great origin?"

Han Li finally snapped back to himself, his face glowing with joy. Such a deadly enemy had been obliterated by the space's restriction without him lifting a finger—he was overjoyed.

He raised his hand, retrieving the golden arcs, the purple flame, and all his flying swords.

"This space's restriction is so powerful it effortlessly annihilated an Ancient Devil—clearly beyond any array from the mortal realm. And that silver flame carried no evil aura, targeting only the Ancient Devil. Only a Spirit Realm cultivator could wield such power. It seems the ancient cultivators who defeated the Ancient Devils were indeed aided by Spirit Realm beings!"

The Great Expansion Divine Lord fell silent for a moment, then sighed. "You mean the owner of this space knew a Spirit Realm cultivator?" Han Li's expression shifted.

"Likely. This should be the ruins of the famed Lingmiao Garden from ancient times. Legend says ancient cultivators with great power could use certain treasures to create small spaces filled with spiritual energy far exceeding the mortal realm, to cultivate rare herbs. But such places were exceedingly rare. Later, something happened—every Lingmiao Garden vanished from records overnight, and no cultivator since has ever found one. Who would've thought one existed here, in the Fallen Demon Valley? But this Lingmiao Garden seems to have suffered some calamity, splitting into several fragments. This is likely one small portion."

"Lingmiao Garden! I've read mentions of it in ancient texts, but always thought it was just legend. I never imagined it truly existed." Han Li murmured, his gaze involuntarily sweeping the surroundings again.

But after a moment, his eyes fell on the few magic treasures left by the demonic soul. His heart stirred—he pointed at the floating objects, and they instantly transformed into glowing orbs, flying into his hand.

He glanced at them briefly, then frowned, a look of regret crossing his face. These treasures had been tainted by demonic qi, then scorched by the silver flame—their spiritual essence was nearly destroyed. Even if he could still refine and use them, their power would be a fraction of what they once were—useless trinkets.

Han Li shook his head, casually stowing them in his storage pouch. Then a flash of blood light erupted from his body—he dispelled the Spirit-Calling Technique. A blood-colored talisman shot out from within his body, which he caught and examined closely.

"At most one more use left. The Spirit-Calling Talisman's uses are truly few." Han Li muttered, then carefully tucked it away and floated gently down to the ground.

As his feet touched the earth, he shook his sleeve, and a small white fox shot out. A flash of white light followed, revealing a graceful, alluring woman—Yin Yue.

"I thought Master would summon this servant to assist during the earlier battle. Why only now call Yin Yue out?" Yin Yue curtsied, smiling sweetly.

"Your fox spirit cultivation is too low—what use would you be in battle? But you excel in evasion—scan this place for hidden mechanisms or restrictions. Help me explore it."

"Yes, Master!" Yin Yue nodded, her form flashing silver and vanishing into the ground.

Han Li sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and slowly extended his spiritual sense, meticulously scanning every inch of the space, searching for hidden secrets or exits.

Han Li's expression grew calm, but after a while, with no results, faint anxiety crept in. Then, after another moment, his eyelids flickered—he suddenly wore a strange expression, and his eyes snapped open.

He stood up at once, strode to a corner of the space, and halted before a cluster of strange spiritual herbs bearing purple berries, a hint of excitement on his face.

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