All of a sudden, spatial fluctuations erupted in the distance, and a humanoid figure stumbled out of thin air; it was none other than Han Li, who had already undone his Holy Nirvana Physique.
At this moment, his face was completely devoid of color, and his azure robes were charred black and hanging off his body in tatters.
The dark green patterns on the arm in which the Profound Heavenly Spiritslash Sword was sealed had completely vanished, but the faint green sword mark on his skin was still far more visible than it normally was.
On top of that, his aura was significantly diminished, clearly indicating that he had to expend a lot of energy to withstand that last attack.
A vicious look immediately returned to the golden-robed man's face, and he clenched his fists before abruptly vanishing on the spot.
As for the giant golden crab, it didn't immediately go back into hibernation after unleashing that second attack, but it merely hovered in mid-air in a completely still manner, displaying no intention to attack again.
Han Li had only just managed to steady himself, but he still managed to detect what the golden-robed man was doing, and he immediately transformed into a five-colored phoenix that was around 10 feet in length.
The phoenix flapped its wings, and five-colored light surged out of its body in a frenzy as it disappeared into thin air.
In the next instant, two massive black devilish hands emerged around the space where the phoenix had just been a moment ago, and the hands clapped together violently, causing the entire space within an area of around an acre to tremor and twist violently.
Immediately thereafter, a fiendcelestial-like figure that was over 300 feet tall appeared nearby amid a burst of surging black Qi.
It was none other than the golden-robed man, who had undergone devilfication.
Not only had his body swelled to several tens of times its original size, black scales had appeared all over his skin, and a single azure horn had appeared on his head; his appearance and aura were both very similar to when Han Li had unleashed his First Nirvana Transformation.
The golden-robed man seemed to be rather surprised that Han Li had managed to evade his attack, but he immediately harrumphed coldly as he said, "I didn't think that you'd still have enough power to flee into space. Even though you had to rely on this phoenix transformation, I still must commend you for this."
As soon as his voice trailed off, Han Li appeared amid a flash of five-colored light above the golden crab, then reverted back to his human form.
However, following that transformation, his aura had weakened slightly yet again. A peculiar look appeared in his eyes as he appraised the golden-robed man, then said in a calm voice, "From the sounds of it, you must be a powerful being who stands at the very pinnacle of the Elder Devil Realm. Among the devilish patriarchs, I've yet to encounter Liu Ji and Nie Pan. I've heard that Liu Ji is a woman, while Nie Pan is the only one who has attained full mastery of the Holy Nirvana Physique. As such, your identity is quite obvious. However, you're only slightly more powerful than a late-Body Integration Stage, so I assume you're only a clone."
"Hmph, I didn't think that someone aside from me would be able to cultivate the Holy Nirvana Physique to the Second Nirvana Transformation, especially at only the Body Integration Stage. However, you've already been severely wounded after withstanding two attacks from the sacred crab, so there's no way you'll be able to escape from me; surrender and I'll grant you a painless death," the golden-robed man harrumphed coldly.
Immediately thereafter, a vast expanse of black light erupted from his body, which began to expand again at an incredible rate. In the blink of an eye, he had grown to over 1,000 feet tall, and the devilish Qi erupting from his body was surging directly into the heavens.
Han Li's expression changed slightly as he made a grabbing motion, upon which a black bracelet appeared in his grasp; it was none other than the spirit beast bracelet that was filled with Gold Devouring Beetles!
Han Li's spiritual sense was currently still as powerful as ever, so he would be able to control his Gold Devouring Beetles and Purple-striped Gold Devouring Beetles.
On top of that, he still had the golden body, spirit body, and Leopard Kirin Beast up his sleeve, so he would still stand a good chance against this Sacred Ancestor Nie Pan clone even after he had unleashed his Holy Nirvana Physique.
As such, Han Li was still quite calm.
However, a thought suddenly occurred to him, and he paused momentarily before asking, "Sacred Ancestor Nie Pan was able to get you to attack twice by offering that Faux Immortal Elixir to you; would I be able to offer you something in exchange for your assistance as well?"
"Of course. Regardless of who it is, as long as you can offer me something I need, I'll be willing to help you," the golden crab immediately replied.
Han Li was ecstatic to hear this. Even though he was still very skeptical about whether the green liquid produced by the mysterious small vial was Heavenly Fortune Elixir, it certainly couldn't hurt to try it in this situation.
However, before he had a chance to do anything, the golden robe man suddenly burst into raucous laughter again. "Haha, keep dreaming, brat! How could you possibly have anything that the sacred crab requires? I'll end your life to spare you the disappointment of rejection!"
Immediately thereafter, the golden-robed man swept a massive sleeve toward Han Li, and black light flashed within his sleeve, following which a burst of thick black light that was in the form of a sharp spike appeared over 100 feet away from Han Li without any warning.
Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly, and as opposed to taking evasive measures, he summoned his golden body amid a flash of golden light, and it lashed out toward the oncoming spike with its six arms in unison.
A resounding boom rang out as a ball of piercing golden light exploded in front of the golden body, sending powerful shockwaves sweeping in all directions.
The golden body's six arms tremored before shattering all at once, but the burst of black light had also been repelled.
Blue light flashed within Han Li's eyes, and he was able to identify the projectile as a small section of an inky-black fingernail that was around a foot in length.
As soon as the fingernail was repelled, it immediately began to hurtle toward Han Li again.
Golden light flashed, and the golden body's six arms instantly regenerated before it unleashed a series of golden fist projections.
The fist projections formed a golden barrier that kept the black fingernail at bay, not allowing it to approach Han Li.
The golden-robed man was rather surprised to see this, but his expression then instantly darkened as he swept his sleeve through the air again to unleash more fingernails.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Han Li raised a hand as he yelled, "This is my offering!"
Immediately thereafter, he reached into his own chest before withdrawing his hand like lightning.
A drop of green liquid had appeared on his fingertip, and he immediately flicked it downward as a ball of green light.
The golden crab focused its gaze on the drop of green liquid and immediately opened its mouth to release a burst of golden light, which instantly drew the drop of liquid into its mouth.
As soon as the giant crab tasted the drop of liquid, its eyes abruptly widened.
At this point, the other black fingernails had also reached Han Li, and they were hurtling toward him like a series of flying swords.
However, Han Li had immediately released his spirit body after flicking that drop of green liquid downward, and the spirit body had joined forces with the golden body to keep the fingernails at bay, but they were clearly being forced onto the back foot.
Meanwhile, the golden-robed man flipped a hand over to produce a giant white bone flag with countless skulls embedded into its surface.
Han Li didn't know what type of devilish treasure the flag was, but he certainly didn't want to test it out. He didn't know if the mysterious green liquid could satisfy the golden crab's requirements, but he immediately yelled, "Help me kill this clone!"
In the next instant, the giant golden crab gave a reply that allowed Han Li to heave a massive sigh of relief. "The offering you have given me can be exchanged for three attacks from me. This is the first attack." The golden crab brought two of its giant pincers together in an unhurried manner as it spoke.
The golden-robed man was stunned to hear this, and he immediately began to panic at the sight of what the golden crab was doing.
He had witnessed the golden crab's power on several occasions, and he knew that it was definitely far too fearsome for a mere clone of his to oppose.
As such, his expression changed drastically as he tossed his giant flag forward, then stomped a foot down onto the mid-air before rushing back as a gust of black wind.
Almost as soon as he did this, four massive streaks of golden light appeared on either side of the bone flag, then sliced it into several pieces amid a loud crack.
"This is the second attack!" The giant crab's voice was still as indifferent as ever as it opened its mouth to expel a pillar of golden light.
The pillar of light was as thick as a water tank, and its speed was virtually indescribable in Han Li's eyes. It reached the golden-robed figure in a flash, then passed through his body before he could even begin to react.
