The Four Blood Servants

“Not necessarily!” Han Li’s cold laugh cut through the air.

He formed a series of hand seals, then suddenly drew them closed. The swarm of magical tools that had been hammering the azure light shield let out a unified shriek and soared upward, converging into a single dense cluster high above.

This move caught Green Pattern off guard. He had no idea what Han Li was planning. But the man was old and crafty—he had no intention of letting Han Li complete his spell unmolested. With a flick of his wrists, two gleaming golden rings appeared in his hands, radiating a bitingly cold aura that marked them as no ordinary treasures.

“Go.”

Green Pattern’s voice was flat. Without a moment’s hesitation, he hurled the rings forward. They transformed into twin streaks of golden light, shooting straight at Han Li.

Han Li’s brows shot up. A murderous look flashed across his face as his hand dropped to the White Phosphorus Shield.

But before he could throw the defensive tool, three foot-long streaks of green light shot in from the side, intercepting the golden beams mid-flight. The two sides immediately became locked in a tangled battle.

“Fellow Daoist, you haven’t forgotten about me, have you?” the cultivator called Senior Brother Wang called out, guiding the green lights with one hand while flashing Han Li an amicable smile.

Seeing this, Han Li felt his tension ease slightly. He returned the smile.

Green Pattern, however, was not so at ease. His expression darkened. His gaze began to flicker restlessly.

For the moment, he was helpless.

Controlling both the Azure Wood True Shield and the Lock-Gold Rings had already consumed seven or eight-tenths of his divine sense. He had not practiced the Great Derivative Art like Han Li, nor could he manipulate so many tools at once with such effortless ease.

Though he still had a few useful tools on his person, he did not dare deploy them lightly. Tying all of one’s divine sense to the operation of magical tools was a cardinal sin for a cultivator. Doing so would leave the tool’s master unable to perceive any approaching danger.

As for the rare sight of Han Li driving over a dozen tools in unison, that was only possible because these tools were designed as a matched set—in practical terms, they consumed no more mana than three individual pieces. If they had been more than a dozen different top-grade tools, Han Li, despite his formidable divine sense and soul-splitting ability, simply would not have had enough mana to drive them.

Five or so was Han Li’s true limit. That was precisely why he favored matched sets: they allowed him to fully leverage the power of the Great Derivative Art.

As for his Qi Condensation days, when he could drive the eight sub-blades of the Golden Cicada Mother-and-Child Blades, that had never been true tool control. He had relied entirely on the Mother Blade to command the children—the difference in power and flexibility between then and now was night and day.

Just as Green Pattern hesitated, wondering whether to try another approach, Han Li completed his spell.

“Giant Sword Art.”

The words fell from Han Li’s lips like chips of ice.

In the next instant, every tool hovering above Green Pattern erupted with blinding radiance.

As the multicolored lights merged into one, they coalesced into a single colossal sword of light—gold, black, and red interwoven—suspended in the air. It was over ten zhang in size, truly monstrous in scale.

This Giant Sword Art, a technique for commanding swords, came from the golden page that had recorded the complete Azure Origin Sword Light technique. It was the only sword art Han Li, at his Foundation Establishment cultivation, could currently use. Its power was naturally extraordinary.

Green Pattern and Senior Brother Wang, despite still having their tools tangled in combat, both showed expressions of shock. Even an imbecile could see the terrifying might of Han Li’s technique.

Green Pattern cursed inwardly. Abandoning all thought of his two golden rings, he flipped his hands and produced a gleaming bronze mirror.

But by then, Han Li, his face like frost, pointed a single finger at the enormous sword of light.

The giant sword descended from the heavens without a sound, cleaving downward with the crushing momentum of a blade that meant to shatter both shield and man in a single stroke.

Seeing this, Senior Brother Wang forgot to seize the moment to destroy Green Pattern’s tools while he was distracted. He, too, stared at the terrifying momentum of the descending sword, his mind briefly drifting.

All he could think was: if that sword were aimed at him, could he possibly withstand it?

Green Pattern, standing directly in the sword’s path, wore an expression of utmost gravity. He quickly tossed the bronze mirror upward.

The mirror rose swiftly above the light shield. A flash of yellow light later, a mass of yellow cloud the size of a zhang sprayed out, blocking the sky above Green Pattern. In the blink of an eye, the yellow cloud solidified into a giant bronze shield, spinning endlessly above his head.

Han Li’s expression darkened. He twisted his hand seal violently.

The giant sword of light let out a thundering roar. Its downward momentum grew even fiercer. In a flash, it crashed down onto the bronze shield.

A thunderous explosion rang out. The bronze shield flared with intense yellow light, but under the giant sword’s ferocious assault, it lasted only a moment before letting out a mournful wail and shattering into pieces.

With nothing left to block it, the sword of light fell without pause onto the azure prism, emitting a screeching, grinding sound of immense pressure.

At the sight of the nameless giant sword’s astonishing power, Green Pattern’s composure finally cracked.

A green light flickered in his hands. He quickly pressed both palms against the inner walls of the shield on either side, furiously pouring spiritual power into it, trying to reinforce the Azure Wood True Shield’s defenses.

The three-colored light of the giant sword clashed against the azure shield below. Crackling explosions began to sound. With Green Pattern’s desperate reinforcement, the shield actually managed to halt the giant sword’s descent.

And so, the two sides became locked in a stalemate.

Han Li drove his technique, trying to force the giant sword through the shield to kill his enemy and settle the old score from that ambush years ago. Green Pattern, in turn, poured spiritual power into the shield with everything he had, trying to last until Han Li’s technique exhausted its power and his own life could be preserved.

At this point, the cultivator called Senior Brother Wang finally snapped out of his daze. He swiftly smashed the two golden rings to pieces and directed his three streaks of green light to charge at Green Pattern with overwhelming force.

He understood clearly: with Han Li and Green Pattern deadlocked, a small push from him would be the final straw. He could easily kill this formidable Blood Servant. And when that happened, he could rightfully claim a generous share of the man’s treasures.

The thought made his heart burn with eagerness.

But just as Senior Brother Wang was lost in his pleasant daydream and Green Pattern’s face was twisting in alarm, a streak of yellow light flashed past Green Pattern’s side like lightning. The next instant, the Daoist vanished from his original position. Han Li’s three-colored giant sword, having lost its target, slammed into the ground, leaving a pit a full zhang deep.

Senior Brother Wang’s three green streaks naturally missed as well. Furious and alarmed, he spun around to track the direction the yellow light had fled.

Sure enough, Green Pattern appeared some twenty zhang away, his shield still intact. Beside him stood a young man in yellow robes, wearing a thoroughly lazy expression. Seeing Senior Brother Wang’s glare, the young man spoke without the slightest concern:

“This man once saved my life. I can’t let you kill him so easily.” Having said that, he turned to Han Li with a grin:

“Brother Han, I never thought we’d meet again. Wu Jiuzhi pays his respects.”

This youth, who wore an utterly carefree expression, was none other than Wu Jiuzhi—the teenage cultivator who had once tried his thieving tricks on Han Li all those years ago and had been seen through. Now, his body faintly radiated a strange yellow light, and his cultivation was at the early Foundation Establishment stage.

“Jiuzhi, this man walks a different path from us. Why waste words on him? Now that you’re here, the four of us can finally fight with everything we have.” Green Pattern, having recovered from the earlier brush with death, shot Han Li a venomous glare and spoke with bitter hatred.

Hearing this, Wu Jiuzhi sighed softly and said nothing more to Han Li.

Seeing this, Green Pattern suddenly let out a whistle—two short lengths and one long.

Tie Luo and Bing Yao, who had been locked in battle under Liu Jing’s group assault, heard the signal and showed delighted expressions. They immediately broke free from the melee and flew over to join Green Pattern and Wu Jiuzhi.

“What’s this? Another one. This is going to be troublesome.”

Liu Jing, seeing Wu Jiuzhi’s sudden appearance, immediately grasped the situation and furrowed his brow.

Just moments ago, the five of them had been fighting two Blood Servants and had only managed a slight upper hand—they couldn’t even land a real blow. It was obvious that these Four Great Blood Servants were no ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators. Now that all four were assembled, they would be even harder to deal with.

With this thought, Liu Jing called out a cautious warning, and the others gathered at Han Li and Senior Brother Wang’s side.

Han Li stared at the newly arrived Wu Jiuzhi from across the field, his heart a tangled knot of emotions. All those years ago, he had taken a genuine liking to this clever, mischievous youth. But fate played cruel tricks. Now, the two of them were forced to face each other as enemies, locked in a fight to the death.

“Demonic Transformation.”

The Blood Servants, led by Green Pattern, understood that relying on ordinary magical tools and techniques would not bring them victory against Han Li’s group. After all, Yellow Maple Valley had the numbers—they could afford to send two against one and still have reserves.

So the moment the four gathered, at Green Pattern’s icy command, crimson light erupted from their bodies. They transformed into four blood-colored cocoons of varying sizes, beginning their Demonic Transformation.

It seemed they intended to annihilate Han Li’s entire party in one fell swoop.

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