Liu Jing and the other Yellow Maple Valley cultivators saw this scene. Having already learned about it from Han Li, they knew exactly what the other party intended to do. Without hesitation, they hurled their magical artifacts and techniques at the four light cocoons. They also understood that before the enemies completed their transformation, the Blood Guards were essentially fixed targets—an opportunity to defeat the enemy that could not be wasted.
Unfortunately, just as Han Li had said, these light cocoons were incredibly sturdy. After a storm of attacks, they remained standing firmly in place, completely unscathed.
Liu Jing and the others' expressions turned grim.
"Don't hold back! Use whatever trump cards you have! If we don't use them now, once they come out transformed, it'll be too late!" Liu Jing's voice was stern and resolute.
With that, he immediately put away his magical artifact and solemnly produced a golden talisman, holding it between two fingers. He began chanting an incantation, and under the mystical sound of the spell, the golden talisman gradually emitted a dazzling golden light.
Han Li felt secretly alarmed. Although he didn't know what grade the talisman was, the fact that Liu Jing, with his mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, needed to use an incantation to activate it meant this was no ordinary item.
The others exchanged glances and displayed their own special abilities.
The most eye-catching were Chen Qiaoqian's senior sister and Song Meng. They each produced a talisman treasure painted with the image of a magical artifact and immediately sat down to channel their spiritual power into it. One radiated a blue glow while the other gave off a gray aura, making the others envious.
Not every Foundation Establishment cultivator could easily possess a talisman treasure. Having such an item proved that these two either had powerful families backing them or were deeply favored by their sect elders. Otherwise, there would have been no way to acquire one through their own efforts!
Despite their envy, the others refused to be outdone. Some deployed fierce magical techniques, while others activated even more wondrous magical artifacts, launching the next round of attacks. In an instant, light shot skyward and magical artifacts danced through the air.
As for Han Li, he neither used the talisman treasure nor the astonishingly powerful "Giant Sword Technique" from before. He only employed the most energy-efficient method, lightly waving his hands. Several heavy thuds sounded as four beast puppets appeared in front of him.
The puppets opened their cold, lifeless eyes and unleashed their gaping maws, spitting out beams of light like long white ribbons. Han Li stood behind them, seizing the opportunity to recover the spiritual power expended in the previous battle.
Since they hadn't even seen the Black Evil Cult Master's face yet, he had no intention of going all out and draining his spiritual power early.
Conserving spiritual power for emergencies was a decision Han Li had made before this battle. Otherwise, once his spiritual power was depleted, no amount of skills or tricks would help.
The appearance of the beast puppets surprised the others momentarily, but they quickly returned to their tasks.
After all, what techniques one practiced and what cultivation methods one used were personal matters. No one would be so tactless as to pry.
Those who knew a bit about the origins of "puppet arts" assumed Han Li had obtained them from Li Huayuan. With Li Huayuan's cultivation level, killing a few cultivators from the Thousand Embroidery Sect and acquiring their cultivation methods would not be unusual.
Thus, the others were merely curious about Han Li's beast puppets.
At that moment, Liu Jing's golden talisman was successfully activated. It trembled slightly, then transformed into a beam of golden light that flew above the blood-colored cocoons.
Then, with a soft pop, the golden light burst apart, scattering countless motes of light across the sky like a dreamlike rain—truly dazzling.
Yet beneath this strange and beautiful spectacle lurked lethal killing intent. After Liu Jing performed a series of intricate hand seals, the motes of light underwent a bizarre transformation. They gradually contracted and elongated, forming into golden miniature swords. Though only an inch long, each one radiated bone-chilling cold and sharpness.
"Thousand Blades Technique."
Only then did Liu Jing softly speak the name of this metal-element technique.
This sight stunned everyone except the two who were still channeling their talisman treasures.
Metal-element techniques were already among the rarest of the Five Elements Dao arts, and most were auxiliary techniques like the "Golden Armor Technique" or "Iron Skin Technique." Now Liu Jing's talisman not only contained an offensive metal-element technique but also an intermediate or higher area-of-attack spell. How could this not surprise everyone, including Han Li? Their attacks unconsciously slowed as they wanted to see what this technique could do.
Thousands of golden blades now hung ominously above the light cocoons, their presence awe-inspiring.
But when Liu Jing activated the incantation, the golden swords fell like hail, stabbing downward toward the blood-colored cocoons.
Then the cultivators heard a series of muffled thuds in rapid succession. Golden light and blood light intertwined, sparks flying like fireworks.
The cocoons, which had remained unchanged under everyone's attacks, finally showed variation under this fierce assault. The blood light surged, as if sensing the danger, and its thickness increased. It collided with the incoming swords.
Seeing this, Liu Jing felt elated rather than anxious. Forcing the cocoon to react meant his attack was effective. With more force, the blood light could be broken.
But by then, most of the golden swords had already fallen, and the blood-colored cocoons remained as vibrant as ever, seemingly with plenty of energy to spare.
"Senior Brother Liu, let me help you!"
Song Meng shouted loudly.
His gray talisman had transformed into a gray spear several feet long, its entire body emanating an eerie gray mist.
"Focus on taking out the leftmost Blood Guard first. Don't spread the attacks," Liu Jing said, delighted to see Song Meng's talisman treasure reveal its true form.
He then pointed at the remaining golden swords.
All the golden blades immediately concentrated and flew toward the leftmost cocoon—the one formed by the Blood Guard called "Ice Demon."
After a series of booming sounds, the crowd looked closely and saw that the blood light of that cocoon had noticeably diminished.
Seeing this effective, Han Li's magical techniques, magical artifacts, and beast puppets all attacked simultaneously. Song Meng's gray spear also screamed forward with a piercing shriek.
In Han Li's eyes, the once impregnable blood-colored cocoon was rapidly worn down by the Thousand Blades Technique and the other attacks until only a thin layer remained, with a blurry figure visible inside.
Finally, the gray spear pierced through it. An enraged roar followed, so powerful that everyone's ears buzzed. Then two pristine white claws suddenly extended from the blood light, moving with terrifying speed. They shredded the remaining blood light to pieces, revealing the figure within.
A white monster that had only completed half its transformation.
At first glance, the figure had delicate, refined features—a handsome young man. But two small white horns protruded from his head, a white tail about a foot long grew from his hindquarters, faintly shimmering with pale scales, not to mention those razor-sharp claws and the layers of semi-transparent milky-white demon markings on his body.
On his shoulder gaped a bowl-sized bloody hole, the flesh around it writhing and contracting—a sight that made one's skin crawl. Yet in the blink of an eye, the wound was closing as if healing itself.
"You're asking for death!" The half-transformed Ice Demon had clearly retained enough of his mind. He spoke viciously toward the crowd.
For him, even without completing the full transformation, his demon body's properties were sufficient. It would be enough to stall until his companions finished transforming.
Liu Jing and the others, who had never witnessed a demon transformation, paled at the terrifying sight. Although Han Li had mentioned the strange appearance of Blood Guards in their demon forms, seeing it with their own eyes still sent shockwaves through their hearts, leaving them uneasy.
Several white lights flashed and struck the Ice Demon's bare torso, knocking him back with a heavy blow. He tumbled awkwardly, looking quite wretched.
This was Han Li's beast puppets attacking—he had no patience for the enemy's words.
The others snapped back to reality and resumed their relentless assault.
But the fallen Ice Demon vanished into a burst of cold mist that quickly dissipated.
Everyone was alarmed and frantically looked around.
Based on their experience, such a disappearance usually meant the opponent had used some kind of escape technique to flee quickly—though not very far.
Apart from the three remaining cocoons glowing faintly, there was no one in sight. The ordinary Black Evil Cult disciples had long since fled.
Han Li's heart sank as he suddenly thought of something. He quickly slapped his storage pouch, and the White Phosphorus Shield and tortoise shell artifact flew out simultaneously, spinning rapidly around him as he shouted:
"Be careful, everyone! He's in hiding!"
The words had barely left his mouth when a woman's scream rang out. Everyone turned in alarm.
They saw that the senior sister of Chen Qiaoqian, who had been sitting on the ground channeling the talisman treasure, had fallen backward. A large hole had appeared without warning in her chest, as if someone had reached in with their hand and crushed her heart.
Lying in a pool of blood, her once-beautiful face was twisted. Her limbs trembled convulsively, her eyes filled with disbelief and terror. But as a look of unwillingness crossed her features, her eyes glazed over and she lost her life entirely.