Demonic Transformation

“Don’t block it—dodge!”

The Steward Wang in Han Li’s grip shouted through gritted teeth, trying to warn the young prince.

His warning came too late.

Hearing this, the young prince instinctively twisted his body to evade the azure greatsword’s edge, but the blade suddenly changed from a chop to a sweep, grazing his leg in a single, light stroke. The black qi protecting him was severed instantly, offering no resistance whatsoever.

In the next moment, both of his lower legs were neatly sliced off. The young prince let out a sharp cry and fainted on the spot.

Though shrewd and calculating, he had lived a life of silk and luxury since childhood, never enduring real hardship. He could not bear the agony of his severed legs.

This turn of events startled Han Li. For a moment, he worried that his prolonged disuse of the Azure Origin Sword had caused him to accidentally kill the man.

Once he figured out what had happened, Han Li felt equal parts exasperated and amused. He picked up the unconscious man and flew toward the Meng Mountain Four Friends.

Han Li was in a good mood after his victory, but a trace of puzzlement lingered.

Given the dangerous sensation both the young prince and Steward Wang had given him at the start, the two should have been much tougher to handle. Yet he had captured them so easily—was his mysterious spiritual intuition beginning to fail him?

Han Li shook his head, finding the matter odd.

The remaining black-robed cultivators who had been hovering at a distance saw this scene. Knowing there was no point in staying, they exchanged glances and scattered in all directions, disappearing from sight in moments.

Han Li had no intention of chasing them. They were only peripheral figures, just like the Meng Mountain Four Friends—hardly worth the effort to hunt down.

As he thought this, he flew back to the Meng Mountain Four Friends and casually tossed his two prisoners to the ground. “Stop their bleeding. I need to question them later,” he said flatly.

The young man and the second brother among the four immediately caught the two prisoners, not daring to show the slightest delay.

At this point, the Meng Mountain Four Friends no longer regarded Han Li with mere surface respect. They felt genuine awe. His overwhelming display of power moments ago had left an indelible impression on them.

“Senior, your arts are truly profound! We have been privileged to witness such skill,” the dark-faced old man said, his face full of reverence.

“It’s nothing. A mere trifle,” Han Li replied.

Seeing the reverent expressions on the four, a hint of pride stirred within him, but he maintained an air of dismissiveness on the surface, making him seem even more unfathomable in their eyes.

Just then, a series of loud clang clang noises rang out, causing Han Li’s expression to shift slightly.

The Meng Mountain Four Friends hurriedly turned to look. The middle-aged woman among them cried out in alarm and pointed, “Senior, look—your magic tool!”

Han Li had already turned around and looked up. The “Sky-Covering Bell,” which had been trapping the bald giant, was now producing earth-shattering sounds from within, while its exterior was warping in an unbelievable manner.

With each resounding strike, a large bulge pushed out from the bell’s surface. After more than a dozen such impacts, the bell was completely deformed, its original shape entirely lost.

Worse still, the yellow light on the bronze bell had dimmed to near extinction. The bald giant inside seemed ready to burst out at any moment.

Han Li’s heart shuddered.

Though he had no idea what was causing this incredible phenomenon, it was clear the “Sky-Covering Bell” could no longer hold its prisoner. He would have to find another way.

With this in mind, Han Li recalled the dozen or so magic tools hovering above his head, then tossed out seven or eight beast-shaped puppets. Together with the four he had already deployed, they formed a line in front of him and the Meng Mountain Four Friends.

The moment he finished, a thunderous boom split the air. The “Sky-Covering Bell” was torn into pieces, and from its remains shot out a creature that was no longer human.

“What is that?!” the middle-aged woman blurted out in panic.

The other three of the four friends turned pale, their faces filled with disbelief.

Even Han Li’s eyes showed rare astonishment.

The bald giant that had emerged was now completely demonic in form and stature.

He stood over two zhang tall, fangs jutting from his mouth, a pair of pitch-black curved horns sprouting from his head, and a scaled, iron-hard tail trailing behind him. What was even more chilling was his body, covered in dark red demonic patterns that hid most of his now-naked skin, exuding an indescribable aura of slaughter.

Traces of the original giant’s face could still be faintly discerned, but his eyes now gleamed with a ferocious green light—pure, bloodthirsty, and utterly devoid of humanity. He cast an ice-cold glance at Han Li and the others, then suddenly lunged, shooting toward them like an arrow shot from a bow.

The Meng Mountain Four Friends’ hearts raced with terror. Just as they were at a loss, Han Li’s voice rang out in their ears.

“Deploy your magic tools!”

Following his command, the dozen beast puppets before them opened their jaws wide. A dozen beams of light shot out in an instant, striking the demonized giant before he could react, knocking him to the ground.

The four were overjoyed. Without a second thought, they released their magic tools and rained furious blows upon the fallen giant, hoping to finish off the nightmarish monster.

But their hopes lasted only a moment. A towering aura of slaughter erupted from the giant as he leaped to his feet in fury. All their magic tools struck him without leaving so much as a scratch. The eyes of the Meng Mountain Four nearly popped out of their heads.

The demonized giant threw his head back and roared. His arms spun like windmills, and in a flash, his razor-sharp fingers reduced the surrounding magic tools to shreds—mere metal scraps.

Before the four could even react, the green light in the giant’s eyes blazed brighter. His body flickered, then he appeared eerily before the protective barrier shielding Han Li and the others. He reached out with a claw, striking savagely downward.

Rip!

The dark-faced old man reacted swiftly, tossing out Han Li’s White Phosphorus Shield to block the blow. The shield held, but five deep gouges were left on its surface, and the old man’s face instantly turned deathly pale—a clear sign of depleted mana.

Seeing this, the giant let out a sneer and sent his other claw streaking toward the shield like a bolt of lightning.

But then, his expression changed. He abruptly retracted his claw and pulled his body back, crossing both arms into an X in front of himself.

At the same moment, a second volley of light beams struck him squarely in the chest.

This time, however, the prepared demonic giant was not knocked down. He only slid back a dozen zhang under the powerful impact. This brief reprieve allowed the dark-faced old man to catch his breath. Wiping cold sweat from his brow, he said urgently to his companions:

“His attacks are too fierce! One person’s mana won’t hold out long. Let’s channel the shield together!”

Hearing their elder brother’s words, the remaining three of the Meng Mountain Four immediately placed a hand on the old man’s shoulder, pouring their spiritual power into him.

The old man’s face instantly regained its color.

Twice now, the demonized giant’s assaults had failed, and his temper grew even more violent. As soon as the beast puppets’ light beams faded, he charged again with claws bared. But again, the White Phosphorus Shield blocked his strike, and he was blasted back to his original position by another volley of beams.

Han Li watched this scene with a deepening frown.

If this creature could even tear apart the Sky-Covering Bell and withstand the beast puppets’ beam attacks, then ordinary top-grade magic tools were useless against it. Only a Talisman Treasure would do.

With this in mind, Han Li did not hesitate. He ordered the Meng Mountain Four: “Hold the line with the beast puppets for a while. I need time to cast a spell.”

Without waiting for their reply, he pulled a cyan, hazy talisman from his storage pouch, held it solemnly in both hands, and sat down cross-legged, closing his eyes to begin his incantation.

He did not mention the Talisman Treasure directly. He knew that as rogue cultivators, the four had likely never even heard of such a thing—and now was not the time to explain.

His decisive, no-questions-asked approach left the Meng Mountain Four no room to object. They exchanged glances, and the dark-faced old man reluctantly agreed.

What followed was a series of eight or nine leaping assaults by the demonized giant, each ending in failure.

Han Li’s White Phosphorus Shield, though covered in scratches from the creature’s claws, was just enough to block those stone-shattering, metal-severing talons when driven by the combined mana of the four. Each time, the beast puppets’ light beams would blast the giant back a set distance, preventing him from pressing the attack. This gave the Meng Mountain Four a brief chance to recover their breath.