The ancient demon shook his two swords, and instantly the blade light transformed into countless palm-sized black crescents. This monster seemed determined to ignore all the other cultivators, fixated solely on Han Li as his opponent, intent on pursuing him relentlessly. It was no surprise—among them, Han Li and that daylan holy maiden had the lowest cultivation levels, and Lin Yinping was floating in the air with the Xu-family youth. Thus, Han Li, standing alone, appeared the most vulnerable and thus the most likely target. Of course, this was because the current ancient demon was not the original magical soul from years ago; he had never faced Han Li before, and thus could not help but feel a sense of regret at such a decisive pursuit. Seeing the ancient demon charge with such vigorous momentum, Han Li did not show any signs of surprise. Instead, he merely waved his sleeve, sending a small silver shield soaring forth, which swiftly expanded into a massive shield, now firmly in front of him. He glanced at the demon, sighed lightly. At the sight of Han Li’s composed expression, the ancient demon paused, momentarily startled, but soon sensed an unusual spiritual pressure emanating from beneath his feet. Before it had time to lower its head and look, a soft "pffft!" sound echoed, and a cluster of yellow light suddenly lifted a human figure from the ground, emerging several zhang away behind. At once, the figure roared softly, raised both hands, and hurled a massive silver axe with a fierce gust of wind, delivering a powerful downward strike. This figure was Gui Ling, the ugly woman who had been quietly concealed beneath Han Li's feet. With the formidable power of a ten-tiered spirit beast, and having stored up her strength for a decisive blow, her attack was both potent and well-prepared. Though the axe had not yet reached the ground, the immense spiritual energy radiating from its blade caused the nearby terrain to rumble violently, collapsing several cun deep beneath it. A surge of hot and cold energies rushed outward in all directions, momentarily halting the downward momentum of the great axe, causing the blade's brilliance to dissipate and fade. Seizing this opportunity, the ancient mage promptly activated other magical techniques. With a swift gesture of his hands, a series of crisp bone-cracking sounds erupted from his body, causing it to suddenly expand in height. Simultaneously, the exposed skin revealed patches of large, dark, glossy scales—shining as if instantly clad in a smooth, battle-ready armor—while the previously injured areas were now enveloped in a shimmering layer of black magical energy, where fresh tissue continued to pulse and regenerate, healing rapidly. After the ancient demon had circled around once, a flash of fierce light flashed in his eyes. He drew a deep breath and, as he opened his mouth, waves of pulsating energy surged forth, tangible and powerful. The massive axe that had fallen upon the ground instantly froze, as though blocked by an invisible force, unable to descend any further. Suddenly, a strange incantation echoed from the demon's mouth. His scales glowed darkly, and from them rose a black-purple flame several inches long, enveloping the entire figure in a blazing, eerie glow—so intense and unusual it seemed as though he were about to unleash a powerful secret spell. This change in Gui Ling clearly surprised the ancient demon. Gazing at the hulking, grotesque woman who towered over him, the demon was taken aback, had to pause his incantation, and swiftly raised his black blades upward with both hands as he drifted backward. Upon contact between the black blades and the great axe, a thunderous roar erupted, and a surge of spiritual wind spread out in all directions. Yet, having anticipated this, the ancient demon remained unharmed, even gaining momentum from the gust, shooting backward with increased speed without sustaining any injury. However, as he reversed, the ancient demon snarled with a grim smile, and the jade-long spear held in his third arm suddenly flared with a layer of black magical flame. With a swift motion, he sent it hurtling like a meteor toward Gui Ling's massive form. The attack was so swift—like lightning and thunder—that it struck Gui Ling's broad body and armor almost instantly, producing a brilliant flash of light. Before Gui Ling could stabilize his position, the ancient demon resumed his incantation, preparing to unleash the spell he had already been readying. It seemed he也不 believed that a single strike earlier could truly annihilate a ten-tiered, fully-formed beast. Yet at that very moment, an unexpected turn occurred! A faint black glow flashed a few feet behind the demon, and suddenly, a blade of translucent, ink-like clarity, about an inch long, materialized silently. Then, a black line flashed, and the blade vanished as if it had never been there. Almost simultaneously, the ancient demon, with his extraordinary senses, sensed something was amiss and prepared to surge forward. But in an instant, as though pierced by a sharp cone, his head suddenly experienced a sharp, searing pain in his consciousness. Even with his formidable awareness, the unexpected blow caused him to hesitate, his movements momentarily stalling. This brief pause was enough: a delicate, almost imperceptible line of blood appeared on the neck of his head, and then, without any prior sign, his head rolled gently to the ground, spilling a fountain of blood several feet high. At this moment, Han Li, far away, had grown pale and released the hand seal he had been pressing and clutching, his expression now noticeably weary. The strike delivered by Gu Mo's divine consciousness a moment ago was a simplified version of the "Shocking Spirit Piercing" technique from the Dàyǎn Decree, which he had adapted and refined through his own study and slight modifications. Although, due to not having fully cultivated the final layers of the Dàyǎn Decree, its power fell far short of the authentic "Spirit Piercing," it still produced a profound impact—anyone not specifically alert would inevitably be affected upon its sudden emergence. For this reason, he named this secret technique the "Lost Spirit Piercing" to distinguish it from the genuine "Shocking Spirit Piercing." Nevertheless, even though he had deliberately weakened its potency, the initial strike still left him feeling dizzy and drained, rendering him unable to launch a second one. The remaining skull of the ancient demon blinked several times, seemingly still unable to believe what was unfolding, before suddenly emitting a sharp, startled roar. Instantly, countless streams of magical energy surged from his body, enveloping him completely. As the magic energy rippled and surged, the figure of the demon blurred and vanished entirely. At that very moment, an unusual disturbance rippled through the space some thirty to forty paces away! Suddenly, a strange black mist surged forth, and the ancient demon stumbled, emerging clearly visible within the mist. Though his head had been severed, the blow had not truly killed him—yet it had certainly dealt him a severe wound. From the moment Guiling stepped forward and delivered a single blow, until the ancient demon was struck down, his head severed, and fled in panic, the sequence of events unfolded with the speed of lightning—mere moments passed. Yet this left Xu, the young man above, and the silver-winged night hawk utterly stunned! This was far from what they had originally planned. Their initial strategy had simply been to combine forces and drive the demon back temporarily from the vicinity of the teleportation array. Whether or not they could actually wound the demon had never even entered their minds. Now, after being driven down to the lower level, while Han Li had indeed executed the same surprise attack with Guiling as they had planned, the subsequent developments were entirely unexpected. Han Li now appeared truly determined to eliminate the demon, displaying a fierce resolve to finish him off. As for how that strange flying dagger appeared behind the ancient demon—despite their lofty positions, they had failed to notice its arrival at all. If it had appeared behind them, would they have detected it? The very thought of this sent a chill down the spines of the Xu youth and the silver-winged night warrior, causing both of them to visibly stiffen and change their expressions. After all, it must have been quite unfortunate for the ancient demon! With so many opponents of high cultivation level launching attacks one after another, it had scarcely any chance to catch its breath. Though it possessed astonishing powers, it simply couldn’t muster even a fraction of them before suffering a sudden and severe blow. If it had truly unleashed its remarkable magical prowess, even with Han Li and the others working together, it would have taken far more than a brief moment to seriously injure the demon. Thus, as the ancient demon materialized and its remaining head turned with bitter resentment, it fixed a fiercely hostile gaze upon Han Li before black mist surged again, and it swiftly began to retreat toward the black-robed woman. It knew well that, in its current condition, it could no longer hope to secure any advantage against Han Li and the others, and thus showed absolutely no intention of Yet Han Li's gaze upon this ancient demon bore a tone of scorn. Suddenly, a burst of silver light erupted near the ancient demon, and then, with a flicker, a strange figure materialized. Startled as if a startled bird, the ancient demon immediately adopted a defensive stance, swirling and rolling waves of magical energy around himself. Only then did he turn to make eye contact with the other—yet as soon as their gazes met, he felt a sudden vertigo, his mind instantly filled only with two strange, ethereal purple lights, with no other sensations remaining. "**A technique!"** The ancient demon's consciousness was exceptionally strong, surpassing even that of a Yuan Ying stage cultivator. It had once stunned the Qian elder demon's luminous crystal, causing only a brief moment of disorientation before the demon quickly regained his composure. However, during that brief lapse, a jade-green flash suddenly appeared before the demon's magical aura, its interwoven golden arcs clearly visible even to the newly awakened ancient demon. "Divine-Defeating Thunder!" the ancient demon exclaimed, instantly recognizing the golden arcs—those very arcs that had once caused great suffering to numerous ancient demons. Had he not been injured, he still had the means to activate his secret arts and withstand a few blows. But now, unwilling to absorb the impact directly, he feared further depletion of his vital energy. At that moment, the demon, with a mere flick of his hand, caused a sudden gathering of energy before him, instantly forming a small, dark shield that met the green glow head-on. He then stepped back, his body shifting to a location several zhang away. Yet, precisely as the demon settled into his new position, a thunderous roar erupted from behind him. "Unfortunate!" the demon exclaimed, his mind instantly alert. Before he could react, a silver arc surged forth, and Han Li's wings spread out behind him. With a swift motion of his sleeves, a purple flame dragon and a dozen golden swords shot forth toward the demon. At this precise moment, Han Li's timing was impeccable—so precise that even the ancient demon, though attempting to evade, could not fully avoid the onslaught. At last, this monster's only head suddenly rotated 180 degrees, facing Han Li directly, and as it opened its mouth, a series of unusually powerful black shockwaves burst forth. With a swift motion of its two arms, two black blades instantly appeared and were then swiftly swung forward to meet the attack. Yet the monster could not have imagined that, at the very moment its head began to turn, the original wave of energy emanating from its front side suddenly shifted—and the black flying blade that had previously severed one of its heads reappeared, vanishing in an instant. (First update!)