In the blink of an eye, the white light that Han Li had transformed into and the blood cloud behind him were chasing each other, one after the other, but the distance between them had gradually narrowed by more than ten zhang.
While Han Li secretly cursed inwardly, he didn't know that Wang Chan, who was controlling the blood cloud behind him, was also greatly surprised!
One had to know that although the Blood Escape technique of the Blood Spirit Grand Technique couldn't claim to be the fastest among the six sects, its speed definitely ranked in the top five among the secret techniques of various sects, far faster than ordinary top-tier flying artifacts. Yet now, with his full-speed escape, he still couldn't catch up to Han Li who was fleeing on the small boat. Wang Chan was surprised, but the killing intent in his heart grew even stronger.
Han Li knew that if they continued like this, he would definitely be caught within the time it took to drink a cup of tea. He had to do something!
So he reached into his storage pouch and pulled out a stack of low-grade Fireball Chain Talismans. Without hesitation, he flung several of them backward while continuing to flee at top speed, and immediately, rumbling explosions sounded from behind.
Han Li couldn't help but turn his head to look back!
He saw that the front of the raging blood cloud seemed to have been scattered somewhat by the blasts, becoming sparser, and he could faintly make out the figure of the Ghost Spirit Sect's Young Master within.
Han Li was delighted and was about to activate the remaining talismans when Wang Chan in the blood cloud suddenly raised his hand, and a green light grew from small to large as it flew straight toward Han Li—it was actually the flying fork artifact that Wang Chan had been standing on earlier.
Helpless, Han Li immediately redirected his talismans from the blood cloud toward the green fork. The explosions of twenty or thirty consecutive fireballs sent the giant fork, which was emitting black qi, tumbling several times, unable to approach him for the moment.
But in this brief delay, the blood cloud opposite had already restored its original appearance and was once again dancing wildly with furious flames.
Just then, Wang Chan suddenly let out several piercing shrieks that shot toward the sky. With these sky-rending howls, the blood cloud violently expanded, spreading across the sky in the blink of an eye. It seemed to have the momentum of blotting out the sun and sky.
Immediately after, the surging blood cloud suddenly accelerated several times, surging like a massive tidal wave from behind to the front of the Divine Wind Vessel, and rapidly spreading outward. In an instant, it completely surrounded Han Li and his artifact in mid-air.
Han Li was startled and hastily stopped the Divine Wind Vessel that was about to crash into the blood cloud. He then pulled out a pair of black claw-like artifacts from his storage pouch. At this moment, that eerie green fork silently attacked again from behind.
"Go!"
As if he had eyes on the back of his head, Han Li let out a low roar and threw the pair of artifacts backward! The moment they left his hands, the claws immediately transformed into giant claws about a zhang long, striking fiercely at the incoming green fork.
The green fork showed no sign of weakness, releasing several streams of black qi from its tip, which in an instant wrapped around the giant claws layer by layer, threatening to immobilize them completely.
Seeing this, Han Li formed a hand seal, and the pair of giant claws suddenly erupted with black light several chi long. With several swift movements, they shredded the black qi surrounding them until it could no longer take shape.
"Not bad! Not bad! As expected, these aren't ordinary top-tier artifacts. To be able to break through the Yin Soul Threads on this Jade Yin Fork so easily, it seems my personally taking action wasn't in vain!" Wang Chan's voice drifted uncertainly from outside the blood cloud. At the same time, the green fork let out a series of whimpering sounds before retreating backward, disappearing into the blood cloud without a trace.
Han Li also recalled the pair of top-tier artifacts forged from flood dragon claws, the "Black Dragon Seizure," back to his front and vigilantly surveyed his surroundings.
Now he was completely enveloped in the blood-red that blotted out the sky, with not a single gap left to escape. The air was filled with a nauseating smell of blood everywhere.
It seemed that without forcibly opening a path, escape would be impossible. With this thought, Han Li was about to release the "Black Dragon Seizure" again.
But before he could put his plan into action, the blood cloud before him suddenly churned violently, and then two blood-red monsters about a zhang long, with bared fangs and brandishing claws, leaped out. These two monsters had short horns, dragged sharp tails, and their eyes were the same blood-red as Wang Chan's. They brandished their sharp claws and lunged at Han Li.
"What are these?"
For the first time, Han Li saw such creatures. Their appearance was identical to that of the little ghosts in legends, which made his heart tremble with unease. He hastily released the Black Dragon Seizure, and with a grab and crush, easily smashed the little ghosts to pieces, causing them to revert to blood clouds and return to their original location.
Han Li felt somewhat relieved—they weren't that hard to deal with after all!
But no sooner had this thought surfaced than Wang Chan's mocking voice came from all directions.
"Heh heh! My friend, don't relax too early! The Blood Ghosts of my Blood Spirit Grand Technique aren't so easily dispatched. The real show is just beginning!"
Hearing these words, Han Li's heart sank.
However, his willpower was as solid as bedrock and wasn't easily swayed by the opponent's words! Regardless of the consequences, he wielded his artifact to spin and strike fiercely at the blood cloud.
Just as Han Li felt a glimmer of hope, the pair of Black Dragon Seizure suddenly became sluggish, trembling and on the verge of losing control. Horrified, Han Li hastily recalled the artifacts with all his might, managing to pull them out of the blood cloud and back to his side just before completely losing control.
"Hmm? Your artifacts actually aren't very susceptible to my Blood Spirit's corruption? This Young Master wants them even more!"
Wang Chan first let out a slight sound of surprise, but then unrestrainedly revealed his greedy intent.
At the same time, the blood clouds in all directions began to churn and roll simultaneously, and from within them, one Blood Ghost after another crawled out. They scrambled over each other to lunge at Han Li.
Han Li's expression remained impassive as he wielded the Black Dragon Seizure so that not even a drop of water could penetrate. Any Blood Ghost that collided with them was immediately sliced to pieces, reverting to blood clouds.
When Han Li had killed over a hundred Blood Ghosts in succession and saw that creatures from all directions were still endlessly spawning, he sighed inwardly. As he had feared, the worst-case scenario had materialized: these monsters were endless. Kill one, and another would be born from those blood clouds, always maintaining a count of around thirty.
It seemed the Young Master of the Ghost Spirit Sect intended to wear him down to death here.
With this thought, Han Li naturally refused to continue like this.
He slapped his storage pouch and pulled out several dozen low and mid-grade talismans—nearly seventy or eighty in total. Then, without taking a breath, he threw them all toward one side of the blood cloud. Instantly, fireballs, ice cones, and other such things hurtled through the air, and Han Li himself also released several fire serpents that followed close behind.
After seeing that the Fireball Chain could somewhat scatter this blood mist, Han Li had already memorized this fact. Now he placed his hope that these spells could help him open a passage.
"Wishful thinking!"
Wang Chan hissed in a sinister voice. He hadn't expected Han Li to carry so many talismans on him. After all, aside from the high-grade ones, low-grade talismans weren't much use to Foundation Establishment cultivators.
But although the Ghost Spirit Sect's Young Master was arrogant, he truly didn't dare let his blood mist directly withstand these spells. After all, his Blood Spirit Grand Technique had only been cultivated to the second layer and couldn't withstand such a relentless bombardment of spells. As for artifact attacks, because of the blood mist's corrupting properties, he wasn't particularly afraid of those.
Several black skull heads suddenly squeezed out of the blood cloud ahead of these spells as Wang Chan gave the order, then simultaneously opened their mouths, spraying out several streams of black qi that immediately blocked the incoming spells. As a result, after a fierce bombardment, aside from these skull heads shaking a few times, the blood cloud behind them remained completely undisturbed.
Han Li's face darkened involuntarily as he glanced toward several other directions. But before he could make a move, black skull heads similarly emerged from the blood clouds in the other directions. At the same time, Wang Chan's cold laughter reached his ears:
"You think there's still an opportunity? Be a good boy and become food for the Blood Ghosts! I really want to see what happens when you're torn apart by the Blood Ghosts. That blood-soaked scene must be absolutely exquisite—I can hardly wait to see it!"
Then the Ghost Spirit Sect's Young Master's wild laughter rang out again, with an unmistakable hint of madness.
"Madman!"
While wielding the Black Dragon Seizure to deal with the Blood Ghosts that had once again taken form, Han Li's forehead was covered in cold sweat as he desperately racked his brain for a countermeasure.
At this moment, Han Li had already taken out a mid-grade spirit stone and gripped it in his hand, beginning to replenish some of his spiritual energy. After all, continuously slaughtering Blood Ghosts like this was really too exhausting for a cultivator at the early Foundation Establishment stage!
And Wang Chan was sitting cross-legged at the very top of the blood mist, continuously forming hand seals to spawn one Blood Ghost after another, feeling utterly delighted.
Although this Yellow Maple Valley cultivator's spiritual power wasn't high, the artifacts on his person were indeed somewhat peculiar and looked quite impressive. The thought that after this battle, his collection of artifacts would increase by several more fine pieces made him feel a trace of smugness, and even the bloodthirsty madness in his heart seemed to lessen somewhat.
Suddenly, with a "boom" from within the blood cloud, a thick mist of blue and red appeared, instantly enveloping Han Li within it. It slowly spread outward, soon wrapping around those Blood Ghosts as well, intertwining with the nearby blood cloud.
Wang Chan was initially startled, but then discovered that as soon as this blue-red mist came into contact with his blood cloud, it was immediately absorbed. Only then did he relax.
Although the mist was being continuously absorbed by the blood cloud, after a moment it still showed no signs of thinning. The thick blue-red fog made it impossible for the Ghost Spirit Sect's Young Master to see what Han Li was doing at this moment, which greatly aroused his suspicion!