"Rest assured, all of the preparations are complete, and our army has also reached the predetermined destination. It's a pity that their realm is a main realm that we're unable to convert. Otherwise, we'd be able to directly invade their realm through that realm entrance. Having said that, it's a good thing that we can resolve this through this match. After all, aside from this small world, we have no other conflicts of interest with them," the final short figure replied in a voice akin to that of an infant.
"Through searching the souls of the living beings we captured, I discovered that their realm seems to belong to a cluster of realms that has already lost contact with the True Immortal Realm for countless years. If it weren't for an incident that occurred in this small world that just so happened to connect it with our two main realms, we wouldn't even be able to come into contact with them. It's exactly because of this that their cultivation conventions shouldn't have changed much since ancient times, and they could possess many cultivation arts and secret techniques that are very rare in other realms.
"This is why Brother Ming Xiong sent all five of us here at once. On one hand, he wants us to claim sole ownership over this small world, and at the same time, he also wants us to learn some things while battling our opponents. Haven't you realized that the five of us have all been stuck at bottlenecks for many years?" the authoritative shadow said.
The burly shadow's eyed immediately lit up upon hearing this. "In that case, we really have to thank Brother Ming Xiao for being so thoughtful. Hehe, it's a rare opportunity to witness ancient cultivation arts; hopefully they won't disappoint us."
"Alright, seeing as there are no other issues, let's end things here for today and go back to rest. Tomorrow, we'll send out some people to communicate with our opponents and set up the required restrictions in preparation for the upcoming match," the authoritative shadow declared.
All of the other shadows nodded in agreement.
The next morning, groups of armored warriors and menacing ghostly beings appeared on the five mountains, and they were all busy at work.
Only after half a day had passed did the formation masters on both sides complete the protective restrictions, and cross-examination took place thereafter.
Several hours later, all of the formation masters left the mountains, with each side leaving only a few guards at the location.
Another day passed, and just as Han Li was making his way toward the hall of the stronghold, he finally met the vastly renowned Xue Sha of the Blood Sky Continent.
This was a grey-robed middle-aged man with an ordinary appearance, but Han Li was able to clearly sense the extremely fearsome baleful aura within Xue Sha's body, which was quite alarming even to Han Li.
Before Han Li had a chance to say anything to Xue Sha, they were called out of the hall by Bi Ying and flew into one of the giant islands up above.
In the next instant, the massive flying treasure set off, and shortly thereafter, it stopped less than 10 kilometers away from the five mountains.
Immediately thereafter, Han Li and the others appeared directly above the island before peering into the distance.
A burst of rumbling rang out within the black Qi on the other side of the divisive line, and a giant bone mountain emerged before also stopping near the five mountains.
A burst of black Qi then emerged from the summit of the bone mountain, within which were several black shadows of different statures.
Bi Ying's pupils contracted slightly upon seeing this, and he glanced up at the sky before falling still again.
Han Li and the others were also appraising the giant mountain in an expressionless manner.
After a long while, the scintillating white sun in the sky suddenly dimmed slightly, and the armored warriors and ghostly beings near the mountains immediately scattered in unison, quickly retreating back to their own sides.
Bi Ying's expression changed slightly upon seeing this, and he said, "It's time, fellow daoists. Regardless of the outcome of this match, we'll be sure to issue all of you the promised compensation."
"That's all I needed to hear," Xue Sha said with a faint smile, then flew toward one of the mountains as a streak of crimson light.
"Have you prepared the item that I want as well?" the silver-armored man asked.
"Rest assured, Brother Lei; the item has already been tracked down and is awaiting your collection."
The silver-armored man was very pleased to hear this, and a dark cloud abruptly emerged beneath his feet amid a rumbling thunderclap before also carrying him toward one of the mountains.
As for Wen Xinfeng, she tossed the small beast in her arms forward, and it immediately transformed into a giant winged silver sable that flapped its wings and shot forth as a streak of silver light, carrying Wen Xinfeng on its back as it flew toward the distance.
Meanwhile, Han Li cupped his fist in a salute toward Bi Ying before taking a step forward, upon which he abruptly vanished on the spot.
In the next instant, he reappeared over 1,000 feet away, and after a few more flashes, he arrived above the second mountain from the left.
Everyone seemed to have intentionally left the mountain in the very middle for Bi Ying, whose sleeves expanded as he sprang forward, gently flying through the air as if he had transformed into a massive bird.
At the same time, five figures were also approaching the five mountains from within the black Qi on the other side of the divisive line.
As Han Li set foot on the peak of the second mountain, a ball of black Qi was already rapidly descending toward him.
A resounding boom rang out, and the mountain tremored slightly as a burly figure emerged within a huge crater up ahead.
Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly as he appraised his opponent, upon which he discovered that the burly man was enshrouded within a black shadowy barrier, making it impossible to glean his true features.
Han Li could only just barely make out a shadowy figure with a pair of massive curved horn on his head, and limbs that were far longer than that of the average person, as well as a pair of crimson eyes that were filled with boundless ferocity, resembling the eyes of a fearsome beast.
"You made the right choice by picking the mighty Netherworld Monarch Menace as your opponent, kid; I'm going to make sure you die a painless death," the burly figure chuckled coldly as he appraised Han Li intently with his ferocious eyes.
"Netherworld Monarch Menace, eh? I'm looking forward to seeing if you can back up your words with your actions," Han Li replied in a nonchalant manner.
Right at this moment, a buzzing sound rang out around the entire mountain, following which over 100 pillars of light rose up into the sky in unison, then transformed into a pair of massive five-colored light barriers that encompassed the entire mountain.
Han Li released his spiritual sense toward the light barriers, only for it to be immediately repelled. As a result, he was unable to keep any tabs on the battles on the neighboring mountains.
It seemed that this restriction was designed so that each pair of combatants could focus on their battle without being distracted by other battles.
Just as this thought crossed Han Li's mind, Netherworld Monarch Menace looked up at the light barriers before suddenly letting loose a low roar.
An extremely fearsome aura immediately erupted from his body before rising up into the sky as a black tornado.
However, the tornado was then quickly torn apart down the middle, and Netherworld Monarch Menace was fully revealed to be a giant figure that was over 30 feet tall with the head of a cow and a human body.
He had grey skin and was wearing a suit of black armor that was riddled with countless sharp spikes. He was wielding a red mace refined from some type of unknown material in one hand, and he was also wearing a shimmering golden nose ring.
"Interesting! You refined this body after possessing the body of a beast. In that case, you must be very confident in your physical body," Han Li remarked with a faint smile.
"Why don't you come and test the power of this body for yourself?" Netherworld Monarch Menace chortled as he swung his red mace through the air like lightning several times in succession.
A string of resounding booms immediately rang out above Han Li, and several pavilion-sized mace projections appeared out of thin air before crashing down in unison.
Even before they had actually arrived, the tremendous force imbued within the projections was sending gusts of fierce winds sweeping down from above.
However, Han Li didn't even bother to raise his head as he extended a shimmering golden fist upward in a casual-looking manner, releasing a golden fist projection that clashed with the enormous force crashing down upon him.
An earth-shattering boom rang out as white shockwaves and golden light intertwined, and the mace projections and golden fist projection were destroyed in unison.
Netherworld Monarch Menace's pupils contracted slightly upon seeing this. "Oh? Your physical body is quite powerful as well."
Even though he had used only around 10% to 20% of his full power, it was clear from Han Li's nonchalant display that he hadn't used much power, either in that punch, and that was rather surprising to Netherworld Monarch Menace, who had always been renowned in the Infernal Realm for his physical prowess.
Before he had a chance to do anything else, Han Li suddenly made a grabbing motion, and an azure longsword appeared in his grasp amid a flash of azure light before being slashed through the air, releasing countless azure threads that swept toward Netherworld Monarch Menace with ferocious might.
