Eightfold Golden Light Mirrors

Han Li stared at the massive bell descending upon him. He lightly tapped the ancient blue basket treasure in front of him, and the white mist it had formed shot instantly toward his head.

At the same moment, the bell above issued a deep, muffled toll.

The sound was not loud, but Han Li, who was directly beneath the bell’s opening, felt his mind go heavy. His figure swayed, nearly collapsing.

Another sound-based attack—the kind he hated most!

Cursing inwardly, Han Li did not dare to hesitate. He urgently activated the ancient treasure in the air.

A flash of light. The white mist receded, revealing the basket in its true form.

The basket spun once, and from within it sprayed a white radiance that coiled around the silver bell, beginning to draw it downward.

The silver bell was not about to submit so easily. It blazed with blinding silver light, tolling again and again in quick succession. But because it was now wrapped in white mist, the sound reached Han Li’s ears as less unbearable. At least he no longer risked losing his footing.

Only then did Han Li stop paying attention to the two treasures clashing above him. He shifted his gaze back to the man across from him.

The young master of the Six Dao Sect had regained his composure. He was still reflecting on how his True Demon Avatar had been destroyed by a golden arc of lightning. His expression shifted, and he suddenly fixed his eyes on Han Li.

“Evil-Dispelling Divine Lightning! You possess a Gold Lightning Bamboo treasure!” Wen Tianren’s voice was filled with shock and fury.

Aside from the legendary Evil-Dispelling Divine Lightning—which was said to be the bane of all demonic techniques and evil arts—he could think of no other form of lightning that could so utterly annihilate his True Demon Avatar in an instant. Gold Lightning Bamboo! That material, which had once stirred a storm of bloodshed, had appeared again. And the man opposite him had even refined it into a magical treasure. The heir of the Six Dao Sect was deeply shaken.

Hearing Wen Tianren name the lightning, Han Li’s expression flickered. But he let out a cold laugh and kept his face unchanged, continuing to urge his basket treasure to deal with the silver bell first.

Seeing this, Wen Tianren knew his guess was correct. His face turned somewhat pale.

As the heir of the foremost demonic path master, his understanding of Evil-Dispelling Divine Lightning far exceeded that of ordinary cultivators. He held this lightning in the deepest dread.

And after watching his Six Extremes True Demon Art crumble without resistance under those lightning arcs, he knew the legends were no exaggeration. As long as his opponent possessed this lightning, it could neutralize eighty or ninety percent of his demonic techniques.

Wen Tianren took a deep breath. He studied Han Li, who stood expressionless, and his face became as dark as water. A flicker of unease passed through his mind.

He had a vague feeling that the man across from him might be the great enemy of his destiny. Not only were his cultivation and magical treasures on par with his own, but the possession of Evil-Dispelling Divine Lightning gave him a decisive edge over his techniques. This was something Wen Tianren could never tolerate.

“No matter the cost, I must not let this man leave the island alive. A Gold Lightning Bamboo treasure can only be secure in my own hands.” Watching Han Li, Wen Tianren made a ruthless decision in his heart.

Meanwhile, the stunningly beautiful young woman standing further away was watching the exchange of spells and treasures between Han Li and Wen Tianren with her mouth agape.

She had already guessed Han Li’s true identity when he unleashed the Gold Devourer Beetles. Naturally, she was astonished.

In just a few decades, Han Li had risen from early Core Formation to late Core Formation—a feat she could barely believe. But then she remembered that the legendary Void Heaven Cauldron was said to be in his possession, and that explained a part of it.

Even so, she had initially thought Han Li would be no match for Wen Tianren. She had expected him to barely hold out for a while before fleeing in defeat. But she had never imagined that, in the battle so far, Han Li would actually gain the upper hand. When his pale golden lightning arcs appeared and shattered Wen Tianren’s demonic technique in one blow, she was so shocked she felt her mind couldn’t keep up.

Evil-Dispelling Divine Lightning! She had recognized the golden arcs even before Wen Tianren did.

After all, she had been the one to personally hand Han Li that half-section of thousand-year Thunder Bamboo. But how had it become ten-thousand-year Gold Lightning Bamboo now? Could Han Li have obtained new Thunder Bamboo materials from somewhere else? That was the only explanation she could think of.

This stunning young woman was none other than Fairy Zi Ling, whom Han Li had last seen at the Void Heaven Palace.

Her appearance had changed completely, and she was now traveling with Wen Tianren, seemingly against her will. There was clearly a story behind it.

At this moment, Zi Ling bit her lip, her beautiful eyes fixed unblinkingly on the distant battle. She had the feeling this fight was far from over.

As Wen Tianren watched his silver bell being slowly drawn into Han Li’s basket, his expression finally shifted. The golden light between his brows suddenly flared, becoming almost solid as it stretched and elongated.

In the blink of an eye, a small, delicate horn emerged from Wen Tianren’s forehead. It was a brilliant gold and covered in profound, dense runes. It radiated not a trace of demonic energy, but instead seemed filled with pure, refined heavenly spiritual power.

Han Li squinted at the strange horn on the man’s brow, a sense of wariness rising in him.

Without hesitation, he pointed at the two green giant swords in the distance and sent two spell incantations flying toward them.

The green giant swords hummed and then disintegrated, reverting into over twenty smaller swords. He then used the Split-Image Sword Art, causing each sword to split into three phantom copies. Instead of advancing, these swords surged back to him in a swarm. In an instant, they had gathered around him, whirling and dancing in front of him, forming yet another layer of defense.

“Good. Very good. I never thought you would push me this far,” Wen Tianren said, his tone suddenly calm. He seemed completely indifferent to Han Li’s defensive preparations. “I had believed that, aside from those old monsters in the Nascent Soul stage, no one in the Core Formation stage could be my match. It seems I was arrogant and blind. But this is not a bad thing. To meet you now is my fortune. If I had waited until you reached the Nascent Soul stage, killing you would have been far more troublesome.”

With a golden horn on his forehead, Wen Tianren seemed filled with a new confidence. The faint unease he had shown earlier had vanished without a trace.

Han Li’s face revealed nothing. But he swept his spiritual sense over the man.

As far as he could tell, the golden horn on Wen Tianren’s forehead had not caused any sudden surge in cultivation or other strange changes.

Han Li frowned, a flicker of doubt rising in his heart. He became even more alert.

He did not believe the other man’s words were mere bluffs. That golden horn was definitely hiding something.

Before Han Li could puzzle out the mystery, Wen Tianren spread his arms wide. From his sleeves shot eight balls of golden flame.

Each of these flames was the size of a fist, brilliant and dazzling. They swiftly circled around Wen Tianren.

Han Li sighed inwardly, feeling a mix of frustration and annoyance as he watched the man release yet another set of items.

He knew that although he had more treasures than the average cultivator of his rank, he was still outmatched by someone of Wen Tianren’s status. As the young master of the Inverse Star Alliance and the heir of the foremost demonic master, acquiring rare treasures was a trivial matter for him.

He could not afford to keep trading treasures with this man one by one. He had to think of a way to either trap his opponent or strike a killing blow.

Han Li did not know that, at that very moment, an almost identical thought was running through Wen Tianren’s mind. He, too, was growing wary of Han Li’s endless array of tricks. So he decided to stop using other treasures and simply bring out his trump card. The eight balls of golden flame.

Now, the flames extinguished, revealing eight ancient mirrors that seemed to be forged from pure gold. These mirrors were the size of a palm. One side was smooth as water, with faint golden light flowing across its surface. The other side was wrinkled and uneven, looking ugly and rough.

Han Li’s eyes flickered as he saw this. He felt a sense of vague familiarity, as if he had heard of these ancient mirrors before, but he could not recall them at the moment.

“Eightfold Golden Light Mirrors!” A cry of alarm came from behind Wen Tianren, followed by a sudden cut-off sound. “Ah!”

Startled, Han Li glanced over. The stunning young woman had covered her mouth with one hand, her beautiful face filled with shock as she stared at the golden mirrors.

“Eightfold Golden Light Mirrors?” Han Li rolled the familiar name around in his mind. Then, in a flash, he remembered the origin of these mirrors. His heart sank like a stone.

“Since my companion has already named these mirrors, you must understand their power. Now, you can die without regret.” Wen Tianren tilted his head and cast a meaningful glance at Zi Ling before turning back and speaking coldly.

The golden horn between his brows flashed. A slender thread of golden light shot out, striking the nearest mirror. It then bounced rapidly to the next one.

In the blink of an eye, the light had bounced eight times, growing larger with each rebound. When it finally sprang from the last golden mirror, it had become as thick as a baby’s arm.