Chapter 982

In terms of speed, Han Li’s golden light was clearly faster than the gray threads; with a few puffs, three golden little swords pierced the three corpses’ chests.

At the same time, the evil soul threads reached Han Li’s front, ready to coil around his body.

But Han Li let out a low shout, and instantly a seven-colored aura surfaced over his body; as soon as the gray threads struck it, they were repelled and kept outside.

“Seven-colored spiritual light?” The black-robed beauty, watching from afar, froze in surprise.

Han Li, expressionless, pointed remotely at the three corpses.

Three thunderclaps rang out; golden arcs shot simultaneously from the three little swords, instantly enveloping the three corpses in nets of lightning, sparks flying everywhere.

The three corpses didn’t even groan—they vanished in the bursting golden arcs, leaving behind three dark, murky energy clusters.

These clusters were continuously torn apart by the golden arcs, yet constantly re-fused themselves, as if indestructible under the Exorcism Divine Thunder.

Han Li frowned at this.

“These are the corpses’ true bodies—they’ve fused their corpse-evil qi with themselves. It’s unlikely we can destroy them right now. We must use sealing talismans to temporarily imprison them,” the black-robed beauty said, delighted at Han Li’s success, retracting her light barrier and flying over.

“No need for that. These ghostly things may have strange abilities—ordinary seals won’t contain them. Better to finish them off outright.”

“Finish them off outright?”

The beauty looked puzzled, still not understanding, when Han Li suddenly slapped his spirit beast bag; a streak of dark light shot out, circled once, then landed on the ground, revealing a small, glossy black monkey.

It was the Ti Hun Beast!

The beast, awakened by the corpse qi, had been in a state of excitement. Now that it appeared, before Han Li even gave an order, it snorted loudly toward the front.

Immediately, a wash of aurora burst from its nostrils, engulfing all the black qi within the golden arcs, then contracted swiftly, drawing it effortlessly back into its mouth.

After gulping several times, the Ti Hun Beast pounded its belly with both hands and leapt about joyfully, seemingly ecstatic!

The beauty beside him stared, utterly stunned.

Spirit beasts that could devour ghosts were rare, but not unheard of. Yet none she’d ever heard of could so easily swallow ghosts infused with corpse-evil qi. And spirit beasts resembling this little monkey, possessing ghost-eating powers, were said to exist only as legends—the Bi Jing Spirit Ape—but this creature bore no resemblance to it.

As the beauty stood frozen, Han Li glanced at the Ti Hun Beast, saw it showed no signs of harm or abnormality, and relaxed. He didn’t immediately recall it; instead, after a moment’s thought, he gestured to it.

Instantly, the Ti Hun Beast performed a neat backflip and settled quietly on Han Li’s shoulder.

“Let’s go. I wonder if Brother Fu has caught the Yin Zhi Horse yet?” Han Li glanced at the black-robed beauty and said calmly.

“Probably. The Corpse Wolf is already wounded by Brother Han and can’t have fled far. Besides, Masters Yuan and Bai are aiding them,” the woman said, forcing down her curiosity about the Ti Hun Beast and smiling in reply.

Han Li smiled, about to speak of setting off immediately, when he suddenly shuddered—and at the same moment, the beauty across from him paled.

The two exchanged startled glances; Han Li shook his sleeve, while the woman touched her storage bag, flipping her palm to reveal a formation disc in each hand, both staring intently at them.

“Yuan Daoist’s mark is gone. What about yours, Chang Daoist?” Han Li asked, drawing a deep breath, his tone grave.

“My mark on Yuan Daoist has vanished too. Could Yuan Daoist be in trouble? But they’ve only just parted from us!” The black-robed beauty looked incredulous.

“Unclear. Perhaps Brother Fu encountered a powerful enemy, or Yuan Daoist was caught off-guard by some seal. Certain seals can sever our magical markers.”

“You’re right, Brother Han. Let’s hurry over. According to the markers, Brother Fu hasn’t gone far.”

Han Li nodded without objection.

The two immediately transformed into two streaks of light and departed, flying toward the corridor ahead.

After turning through Qiba corridors and flying over ten miles, their vision suddenly brightened—they emerged into a vast open space littered with piles of discarded ore.

Carefully, they slowed their flight.

But after flying only a hundred zhang further, the ore piles vanished, replaced by a small plaza.

In the center stood a towering emerald bamboo, its top piercing the cavern ceiling out of sight, its base surrounded by a massive formation covering nearly the entire plaza. Around it, a dozen tall stone pillars stood sparsely, each bound with iron chains holding a pitch-black corpse—open-chested, just like the three Han Li had seen earlier.

What shocked Han Li and the beauty was a humanoid creature covered in green fur, sitting beneath the bamboo, one hand holding a headless corpse, intently gnawing on it. The corpse’s attire clearly identified it as the Yuan man.

Beside the green-furred creature loomed a massive beast—the Corpse Wolf, also eating. Beneath its claws lay the Yuan man’s spirit turtle, now utterly lifeless.

The Yin Zhi Horse still lay motionless atop the Corpse Wolf’s head.

Seeing this, Han Li’s heart turned cold.

The black-robed beauty paled, scanning the area, then let out a choked cry.

“Brother Fu!”

Her eyes fixed on the air, filled with terror.

Han Li followed her gaze and saw two gray cocoon-like objects suspended mid-air on either side of the plaza, layered with thick strands of gray threads—the same evil soul threads he’d seen before. But the density of these cocoons far surpassed anything the corpses had produced.

Inside one cocoon, thunderous explosions rang continuously; the other was silent, yet occasionally emitted faint glimmers of crystalline light.

It seemed Brother Fu and Bai Yaoyi were merely trapped inside—still alive.

Yet within moments, three mid-Nascent Soul cultivators were dead or trapped. Han Li kept his face calm, but his inner shock was immense.

Though anxious for Brother Fu, the black-robed beauty knew now was no time to rescue. After glancing at the gray cocoons, she turned away—but her sleeve subtly trembled, and her hand slipped the Buddhist Dharma Wheel back into her grip.

But the green-furred creature paid them no mind, continuing to devour relentlessly.

Two sharp cracks echoed as it tore off an arm with ease, chewing it down in seconds.

Seeing the mangled corpse of the Yuan man, Han Li’s pupils contracted, his eyes flickering with faint blue light.

At that moment, the Ti Hun Beast on his shoulder let out a piercing shriek, its back fur bristling, fixed on the green-furred creature in a clear attack stance.

Yet through the Ming Hun Pearl within him, Han Li faintly sensed the beast’s excitement—but also overwhelming fear, as if facing a primordial predator.

Han Li grew even more cautious.

But as soon as the green-furred creature heard the Ti Hun Beast’s shriek, its movements halted. It hurled the remains aside with a flick—*whoosh!*—the corpse flew twenty zhang before crashing heavily to the ground.

Han Li and the beauty both subtly paled.

This green-furred creature had tremendous strength!

The green-furred creature rose slowly, lifting its head to look at them.

Han Li now clearly saw its appearance.

At first glance, its face resembled a monkey—pointed snout, sunken cheeks—but on closer inspection, it was utterly different.

No monkey had fangs protruding inches long, razor-sharp. This creature’s mouth was caked in blood, yet its eyes glowed silver-bright, devoid of pupils—utterly grotesque.

Most striking was that as it stood, two high protrusions appeared on its back, like fleshy lumps.

The green-furred creature swept its gaze over the two, then locked onto the Ti Hun Beast on Han Li’s shoulder, its face twisting into a strange expression—surprise, mixed with confusion.

The Ti Hun Beast, under that gaze, didn’t just bristle on its back—its entire body’s fur stood on end.

Then it leapt forward, landing several zhang ahead of Han Li, pounding its chest twice, and erupted in a surge of black radiance as its body swelled violently.

In an instant, a monstrous, ten-zhang-tall ape stood in the cavern, its crimson demonic pattern on its back vividly clear, as if alive.

After transforming, the green-furred creature seemed to sense something, stepping back several paces, then shaking its shoulders.

*Zi-la!* Two massive, ten-zhang-wide fleshy wings burst from the lumps, gleaming blindingly silver.

“Silver-Winged Yecha!”

The black-robed beauty nearly moaned the creature’s name, her eyes wide with panic.

Han Li’s face also paled.

The Silver-Winged Yecha—this was the second-most powerful corpse known in the mortal realm, just below the Golden Body Moon Corpse. In other words, it was a terrifying entity comparable to a late-Nascent Soul cultivator.

Legend said that when a late-Nascent Soul cultivator fought one, the human usually lost.

Evolved from a Flying Corpse, this creature could flap its wings and soar to the highest heavens or plunge into the netherworld. Naturally gifted with the great Dao arts of Wind and Earth. Its body was impervious to blades and weapons, immensely strong, and skilled in illusions.

Its twin silver, pupil-less eyes could easily bewilder weak-willed cultivators, making them obey without realizing.

Information on the Silver-Winged Yecha flashed rapidly through Han Li’s mind; each detail recalled tightened his lips further.

“I didn’t expect three to come—and now two more have walked right in. I can’t even remember how many years it’s been since I last tasted fresh flesh. This time, I can feast to my heart’s content.” The Silver-Winged Yecha, after revealing its wings, no longer feared the Ti Hun Beast’s aura; instead, it grinned, speaking in clear human speech.

Its voice was perfectly clear, nearly indistinguishable from a human’s.

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