The 13 Purple-striped Gold Devouring Beetles immediately pounced toward the two rainbow puppets, and a series of resounding clashes ensued.
The two puppets had released silver arcs of lightning and bursts of yellow light that both seemed to be imbued with incredible power.
In the face of the puppets' attacks, the Purple-striped Gold Devouring Beetles were completely fearless and swarmed directly into the lightning and yellow light.
Loud thunderclaps instantly rang out as the arcs of lightning exploded, and even the surrounding air was giving off a slightly charred scent.
As for the yellow light, there were countless runes swirling within it, and it instantly swept up the Purple-striped Gold Devouring Beetles before becoming significantly brighter.
However, these 13 Purple-striped Gold Devouring Beetles were all beetle monarch candidates that had arisen from tens of thousands of Gold Devouring Beetles, so they were far more powerful than the average being could imagine.
Regardless of whether they were struck by lightning or swept up by yellow runes, the Purple-striped Gold Devouring Beetles managed to remain completely unscathed, and they quickly flew over to the two puppets before pouncing on them in a vicious manner.
The two rainbow puppets didn't possess any emotions, so they naturally had no fear. Rainbow light swirled around their bodies, and one of them produced a pair of long transparent blades, while the other summoned a rainbow spear that was around 20 feet in length.
As the three weapons were swung through the air, countless blade and spear projections emerged to sweep up the 13 Purple-striped Gold Devouring Beetles.
A string of erratic clangs rang out, and even though the Purple-striped Gold Devouring Beetles remained completely unharmed, they were unable to approach the two puppets, either.
Han Li's expression darkened slightly as he looked on from the distance, and all of a sudden, he let loose a long roar, and the Extreme Essencefused Mountain in the air above instantly vanished on the spot.
In the next instant, spatial fluctuations erupted above the two puppets, and the black mountain emerged before sending a burst of grey light raining down from above.
The two puppets were completely fearless as they continued to sweep their weapons through the air while raising their heads to face the oncoming grey light.
They then opened their mouths to unleash two pillars of rainbow light, and rainbow and grey light intertwined with one another as the two clashed.
Right at this moment, a pair of translucent wings appeared on Han Li's back, and his enormous ape body instantly vanished with a flap of those wings amid a flash of silver lightning.
Almost at the exact same moment, spatial fluctuations erupted behind the two puppets, and the giant ape abruptly emerged before swinging its arms through the air.
The rainbow light in front of the two puppets shuddered, and two furry golden fists emerged, both of which were radiating shimmering golden light.
The giant ape had plunged its massive fists straight through the bodies of the two puppets at an incredible speed.
The two puppets did indeed possess early-Body Integration Stage power, but they didn't possess high-level intelligence, nor the spiritual sense of living cultivators, so they were unable to immediately react to Han Li, who had appeared behind them.
At the same time, the unique advantages of being a puppet shone through here. If a normal living being were to sustain such a severe wound, they would most likely lose the ability to continue to battle. However, the two puppets seemed to have been completely unaffected, and they immediately swung their weapons toward the giant ape behind them.
A cold light flashed through Han Li's eyes upon seeing this, and a dull thump suddenly rang out from his fists, releasing two bursts of silver flames that completely enveloped the pair of rainbow puppets.
This was none other than his Spirit Engulfing Heavenly Flames!
At the same time, Han Li shot back like an arrow and evaded the puppets' attacks with ease. However, the scenes that unfolded next were rather surprising to Han Li.
Even after being engulfed by the silver flames, the two puppets showed no signs of melting, and there were only slight traces of charring on their bodies that indicated that they were being affected at all.
This naturally wasn't what Han Li had envisioned would happen.
Even so, there wasn't any need for him to intervene any further.
Even though these puppets were still able to retaliate, they were clearly far slower than before. The 13 Purple-striped Gold Devouring Beetles immediately pounced on them and began to munch on their bodies.
The two puppets unleashed all types of abilities to rid themselves of the beetles, but were simply unable to do so.
They were able to withstand incineration from the Spirit Engulfing Heavenly Flames, but they were no match for the powers of the Purple-striped Gold Devouring Beetles. After just a few moments, they had been toppled and were only able to roll around on the ground.
A short while after that, close to half of their bodies had been devoured, and they finally fell completely still.
As the two puppets were being devoured, Han Li made a hand seal and reverted back to his human form before looking on in a cold silence.
After the remains of the two puppets had been completely consumed, Han Li whistled to instruct Purple-striped Gold Devouring Beetles to return to him.
After devouring the two puppets, the purple stripes on the bodies of the beetles seemed to have become even more vibrant. On top of that, they were extremely excited, and were rather reluctant to follow Han Li's orders.
Han Li's expression darkened upon seeing this, and he abruptly injected more spiritual power into his whistle. Only then did the 13 beetles reluctantly return to him before disappearing up his sleeve.
"It looks like it'll be rather risky for me to continue to use these beetles in battle; I'll have to refine them a few times when I get back," Han Li murmured to himself. He then turned and cast his gaze toward an item in the distance. There, the small purple cauldron was hovering in mid-air in a stationary manner, and it had completely dimmed now that it had lost its former owner.
A hint of elation appeared on Han Li's face, and he waved a hand toward the cauldron from afar.
The abilities displayed by this cauldron were truly incredible; if he could obtain this treasure, then his powers would be even further enhanced.
The small purple cauldron immediately flew toward Han Li as a ball of spiritual light, yet just as it was about to reach him, a loud thunderclap suddenly erupted without any warning.
A bolt of purple lightning then crashed down from above to strike the small cauldron, and it abruptly vanished amid a dull thump.
Almost at the exact same moment, an infuriated voice reverberated through the surrounding space.
"Not only have you taken my Devil Sealing Lock, you're even going after my Purple Word Cauldron now! Looks like those two useless buffoons were unable to kill you even with the treasures I gave them. So be it, I'll be coming to meet you in person soon. I'll show you how it feels to wish you had never been born!"
The voice seemed to have been imbued with some kind of indescribable mysterious power, and even though it wasn't very loud, it sounded like a rumbling thunderclap to Han Li.
Even with his astonishing spiritual sense, he was still struck by a rush of dizziness, and he swayed unsteadily before righting himself.
However, his face had become very pale.
"That was the spiritual sense of a Grand Ascension cultivator! Could it be that Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang's clone transmitted his voice to me? That can't be; that clone can only be at the late-Body Integration Stage at most, so how could its spiritual sense be this powerful? That voice should've come from Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang's true body! What does he mean when he says that he'll come to see me in person? Could it be that he's able to descend into this realm? Otherwise, he should know that a mere clone of his won't be able to do anything to me, either."
Han Li was very bewildered by that ordeal, and he knew that he had to get out of this place as quickly as possible.
Thus, he temporarily cast aside his chaotic train of thought and withdrew his spirit body and Provenance Golden Body. He then stomped a foot down onto the ground and shot forth into the distance as a streak of azure light.
…
In the giant devilish city not far away from Deep Heaven City, there was a crimson-robed young man sitting by himself on a golden chair in a massive hall. He had a contemplative look on his face, which then suddenly gave way to one of confusion.
"What's going on? It feels like…"
The young man's expression changed drastically as he stood up from his chair with incredulity in his eyes.
"Could it be that another clone is descending into this realm? No, the feeling is too intense; it feels like my true body is forcing its way into this realm! How could this be? Did he unleash that cultivation art?" the crimson-robed young man exclaimed.
……
Han Li made a hand seal, and a pillar of black light erupted out of the Law Destruction Eye on his glabella, hurtling directly toward the head-sized crystal on a tall platform that was several tens of feet above him.
At the same time, the golden Provenance True Devil Projection also emerged behind him, then unleashed a series of balls of golden light toward the crystal.
He seemed to have been attacking the crystal for some time already, and it dimmed significantly with cracks running all over its surface.
The sound of cracking porcelain rang out, and the crystal finally shattered, upon which the pillar of light struck the crystal's core.
A faint buzzing sound rang out, and a white hole that was around 10 feet in size emerged.
Han Li's eyes lit up upon seeing this, and he immediately withdrew his abilities before flying directly into the hole.
