One world was filled with skeletons formed by black Qi wreaking havoc within a sea of crimson flames, while the other world was filled with lush greenery and countless five-colored butterflies.
The two worlds were seemingly divided by an invisible line, and they were clashing incessantly. Either the crimson flames were reducing the trees and butterflies to ashes, or the trees and vines were growing thicker and stronger before sweeping up countless skeletons as fertilizer. The clash between the vastly contrasting worlds was creating a giant vortex at the center that was revolving rapidly, but it was making no sound, as if it were nothing more than an illusion.
"Impressive! Both of them have begun to master spirit domains. Even though their grasp is very elementary, the average Grand Ascension Stage being would definitely be powerless against them. Jin Tong, go and kill that lizard; leave this Netherworld Monarch to me," Han Li instructed.
Jin Tong nodded in response before flying toward the two-headed giant lizard down below as a streak of golden light.
As for Han Li, he transformed into a giant Kun Peng that was over 1,000 feet in length with countless arcs of silver lightning flashing over his body, then plunged down from the heavens.
In the instant that the light barriers were shattered, both Wen Xinfeng and the skeleton had immediately noticed Han Li and Jin Tong's arrival.
Wen Xinfeng was naturally ecstatic, while the skeleton's heart sank slightly, and now that Jin Tong and Han Li were getting involved in this battle, it knew that he couldn't just sit around passively any longer.
Thus, green flames lit up within its eyes, and it tossed the bowl in its hand high up into the air.
The bowl released countless crimson runes in a frenzy, then swelled to the size of a small mountain before hurtling directly toward Jin Tong.
At the same time, a thunderous roar rang out within the sea of blood below the skeleton, following which around a dozen giant crimson wyrms emerged before hurtling directly toward the huge Kun Peng.
Meanwhile, the skeleton made a rapid string of hand seals before pointing a finger toward the two clashing worlds from afar.
All of a sudden, the world that was filled with crimson flames abruptly exploded without any warning, forming an enormous crimson sun that released a sea of flames toward the opposing world.
In the face of this self-destructive attack, the trees and vines within the green world warped and twisted violently, and most of the five-colored butterflies instantly exploded.
Wen Xingfeng was quite alarmed to see this, and she hurriedly made a string of rapid hand seals while flicking a series of incantation seals toward the green world. As a result, she was unable to work with Han Li to attack the skeleton together.
The enormous suction force released by the crimson bowl forced Jin Tong to stop cold in its tracks, and in retaliation, it immediately released two streaks of translucent light out of its eyes.
The two streaks of light struck the bowl in a crisscross formation, and two huge holes were immediately punched into the bottom of the bowl.
After being dealt such a heavy blow, the bowl began to rapidly shrink like a punctured balloon before being sliced up into countless pieces by the two streaks of translucent light at Jin Tong's behest.
After that, Jin Tong sprang and fused as one with the two streaks of light to form a thick pillar of light that reached the two-headed giant lizard in a flash, then quickly revolved around it like a bolt of translucent lightning.
The giant lizard knew that it was in great peril, but the giant flying sable prevented it from being able to take any evasive measures, so it could only release a crimson barrier of flames around its own body.Unfortunately, the flame barrier proved to be completely ineffective, and its body was sliced up into several sections.
However, the giant lizard possessed immense life force, and bursts of black Qi surged out of the cross-sections of its wounds, attempting to reconnect the severed parts of its body.
Right at this moment, the giant sable pounced toward it and locked its front limbs around a section of the lizard's body before biting viciously into it.
The giant lizard's body thrashed violently, but it only took a few mouthfuls for the massive sable to devour that chunk of its body before pouncing toward another section in an excited manner.
Meanwhile, Jin Tong reappeared nearby and appraised the unfolding scene with a cold expresion, displaying no intention of stepping in.
Thus, a short while later, the two-headed lizard was completely devoured by the giant sable.
Elsewhere, Han Li was facing the dozen or so crimson wyrms, and he flapped his wings to release thick bolts of golden lightning from his own body, forming a lightning net that descended toward the opposing wyrms.
A hint of derision appeared in the skeleton's eyes upon seeing this.
The sea of blood down below was refined from 81 types of filthy blood, and the wyrms it manifested were extremely powerful.
They couldn't compare with true wyrms, but they certainly weren't far away. As such, it was downright delusional to think that a mere net of lightning would be able to vanquish them.
These thoughts had only just crossed the skeleton's mind when a string of anguished roars rang out, and it hurriedly looked over in alarm to find that the crimson wyrms had been completely destroyed by the net of lightning in an instant.
Thus, without any further impediment, Han Li continued to swoop down from above with unstoppable might.
"That's Divine Devilbane Lightning!" the skeleton exclaimed as it quickly thrust a hand downward, upon which the river of blood below him rumbled before rising up into the sky as a giant wave.
At the same time, the black lotus platform down below transformed into a ball of black light that encompassed the skeleton before vanishing on the spot.
By the time Han Li's golden lightning vanquished the crimson wave, the skeleton was already nowhere to be seen.
Upon determining that there was no way that it could oppose Han Li and Wen Xinfeng at once, the skeleton had been extremely decisive and instantly fled.
Without the support of its magic power, the crimson sun was quickly destroyed by Wen Xinfeng, following which she rose to her feet with a smile on her face.
"Thank you for your assistance, Brother Han. If you hadn't stepped in, it would've definitely taken far longer for an outcome to be reached in this battle. However, we can't let that Buddha Bone Monarch get away; if it collaborates with the other ghostly monarchs, then our fellow daoists will be in severe peril."
"Of course, let's give chase right away," Han Li replied as he reverted back to his human form.
At this moment, Jin Tong and the giant sable returned to Han Li and Wen Xinfeng in a flash, and the sable's stomach was bulging from its recent meal.
Thus, the duo didn't waste any time and immediately rose up into the air with their respective spirit beasts.
They could already see that the fleeing Buddha Bone Monarch had flown onto the mountain in the middle, and the golden light above its head was releasing a torrent of devilish flames onto the light barrier down below.
The two light barriers only managed to resist for a brief moment before they were destroyed, following which the Buddha Bone Monarch descended onto the mountain down below.
Wen Xinfeng and Han Li immediately gave chase as two streaks of light, and after just a few flashes, they also arrived above the same mountain. However, the scene down below came as quite a surprise to both of them.
Contrary to their expectations, there was no sign of any battle taking place on the mountain. Instead, a refined middle-aged man was seated across from Bi Ying, and the two of them were playing a game of Go on a board positioned on a pristine white stone table.
The board was of a shimmering golden color, while the stones were black and white in color.
Bi Ying and the middle-aged were both staring at the board in silence, and it seemed that they had reached a critical juncture in the game.
The Buddha Bone Monarch was standing obediently behind the middle-aged.
Han Li and Wen Xinfeng exchanged a surprised glance with one another, then descended from above and made their way over to Bi Ying, while Jin Tong and the flying sable vanished up their sleeves.
"I'm glad to see you two, fellow daoists. I was slightly concerned, but it looks like I can rest assured now," Bi YIng said with a smile as he turned toward Han Li's duo.
"What's going on here, Brother Bi?" Wen Xinfeng asked as her brows furrowed slightly.
"After a brief clash, Fellow Daoist Reincarnation discovered that our cultivation arts directly suppress one another, so an outcome can't be reached unless we're willing to put our lives on the line. Thus, we decided to decide the outcome of our battle through this game. Of course, if the other battles are decided first, then there would be no need to finish this game," Bi Ying explained.
"Are you the one who killed Netherworld Monarch Menace?" Netherworld Monarch Reincarnation asked as he cast his gaze toward Han Li.
"I did. Do you intend to avenge him?" Han Li asked in a calm manner.
"Hmph, it's his fault for losing the battle; why would I go out of my way to avenge him?" Netherworld Monarch Reincarnation replied.
"Seeing as Fellow Daoist Han has already slain Netherworld Monarch Menace, the victory naturally goes to him. Fellow Daoist Buddha Bone has fled from his mountain, so this counts as a loss against him as well. Do you have any objections, Fellow Daoist Reincarnation?" Bi Ying asked as he placed a stone onto the board.
"I agree with that assessment. However, seeing as all three of them have appeared here, I can't allow them to leave and meddle in the remaining battles; I'll have to ask everyone to stay here until the outcomes of the other battles are decided," Netherworld Monarch Reincarnation said.
"Alright, I accept this arrangement on their behalf," Bi Ying agreed after a brief moment of contemplation.
