Ancestor Linghu's expression changed and without further thought, he pointed to the jade scepter. Suddenly, the barrier around him thickened and he spat out a small block stamp. It flew out as a ball of green light.
Bang. 'Marquis Nanlong' sneered and punched the jade block without hesitation. As black and green light weaved together, black Qi suddenly shrunk and expanded, blowing away the light.
The jade block was sent flying back and fiercely pounded towards Ancestor Linghu. In his alarm, he hastily grasped his hands in an incantation gesture and repeatedly strengthened his protective barrier with successive spell seals to stop the incoming jade block. But in that short moment of delay, a pitch-black fist appeared in front of the barrier and fiercely smashed down.
The barrier trembled and Ancestor Linghu felt a huge force travel through it, immediately sending him flying. However, he didn't live his thousand years of life in vain. With his rich battle experience, he had already shaken his sleeve and released a fire-red flying dagger in the direction of the Marquis Nanlong's new position.
Marquis Nanlong sinisterly grinned past his expression filled with black Qi. As the flying dagger streaked towards his head, he didn't bother to dodge. Rather, he took a breath and spat out a streak of black-red demonflame from his mouth. The flying dagger attempted to cut through the black-red flames but was instantly entangled. With with several flashes of red light, the dagger groaned and was cleanly devoured by the flames, falling to the ground as a lump of spiritless iron.
When Ancestor Linghu saw this, he felt a wave of shock. The dagger may have appeared ordinary, but it was in fact a famous treasure in the Heavenly South Continent, the Evil Slaying Blade. It a difficultly acquired treasure that was particularly effective against evil souls and spirits.
Since it was clear to see that Marquis Nanlong had been possessed by a ferocious evil spirit, he decided make use of this blade. While he didn't think it was enough to heavily injure Marquis Nanlong, it came as a massive shock for it to be destroyed with such casual disregard.
As Ancestor Linghu turned paled from fright, the devil-possessed Marquis Nanlong pursued the old man before allowing him to regain his bearings. He leaned forward and his body suddenly folded and extended like a snake. His torso extended forward and pursued Ancestor Linghu, only to pound at his barrier once more.
Shaken by another strike, Ancestor Linghu was sent flying once more. Marquis Nanlong strangely flickered his entire body in front of Ancestor Linghu and began to rain down punches upon him. Powerless to resist, he was struck like a sandbag.
The jade scepter in his hand was undoubtedly a top-grade defensive ancient treasure. Although the dark-green barrier continued to tremble, it remained steadfast underneath the immense force of these strikes. Even Marquis Nanlong let out a gasp of surprise, but he never once stopped pounding down.
Fear completely overwhelmed Ancestor Linghu's mind. At that moment, he found himself in the same situation as Lu Weiying. Every punch scattered most of the spiritual power he managed to condense in his body, preventing him from activating any further abilities and treasures.
After a dozen or so punches, the jade scepter's barrier finally began to warp underneath the blows, causing Ancestor Linghu's heart to sink with fear.
An evil grin appeared on Marquis Nanlong's face when he saw this. His body blurred and had one hand continue to pound down on the barrier while he held his other hand like a blade as if concentrating power into it in preparation for the lethal blow.
Ancestor Linghu's complexion turned deathly pale. The barrier was finally cracking. He gritted his teeth and gripped onto an item he kept near his heart, preparing to stake it all for his life.
But at that moment, a thick beam of rainbow light suddenly appeared and enveloped Marquis Nanlong inside of it. Marquis Nanlong originally didn't care for it, but when it touched his body, he suddenly felt his body grow heavy and his movements greatly slowed.
"Yi!" Marquis Nanlong yelped in surprise and glanced in the direction of the beam of light.
The white-clothed woman was holding an ancient mirror high in the air, the source of the beam of light. A harsh expression appeared on Marquis Nanlong's face when he saw this.
With the white-clothed woman's interference, Ancestor Linghu was brought out of the pit of despair and immediately grabbed onto this chance at life. He gathered his magic power and escaped in a streak of light. In the blink of an eye, he reappeared at the white-clothed woman's side.
Ancestor Linghu couldn't afford to offer his thanks for the time being. Instead, he clapped his hands together before raising them both and releasing over ten flaming talismans from his hand, all of them shooting to Marquis Nanlong who was trapped in the rainbow light.
The talismans arrived above Marquis Nanlong and ruptured in succession under Ancestor Linghu's command. Rumbles continuously sounded out as scarlet flames enveloped him. Marquis Nanlong spouted out a breath of black Qi to protect himself from the scarlet flames pouring around him.
Ancestor Linghu obviously didn't believe that this was enough to kill him. He promptly formed an incantation gesture and took out a majestic white trident. It shrunk before shooting out in an attack.
The white-clothed woman also took action during this time. With one hand holding the mirror and keeping Marquis Nanlong restrained, she summoned two flying swords with the other. They shot towards him as a black and a white streak.
As the battle raged on, no words were said. But then, rainbow light flashed below nearby.
Han Li frowned and asked the Monarch of Soul Divergence, "Is that thing possessing Marquis Nanlong one of those Elder Devils you mentioned?"
With a trace of schadenfreude, he replied, "Apart from an Elder Devil, what else could be so vicious? But for him to be able to send two Nascent Soul cultivators fleeing, it seems this Elder Devil is rather highly ranked in the Elder Devil Realm. If you were to fight him alone, your chances of victory are very low, even if he isn't using his original body."
Han Li bitterly chuckled and muttered, "It is quite interesting that you didn't tell me to immediately flee. And it's not as if I have any interest in fighting that thing alone. But nevertheless, the world is truly a chaotic place for Marquis Nanlong to fall in such a way."
The Monarch of Soul Divergence snorted and said, "With regards to cultivation alone, even four of you wouldn't stand a chance against an Elder Devil with a possessed body. But with your various treasures and techniques, your chances are quite good. You even have Divine Devilbane Lightning. Although it can't be said that you'd be a match for the Elder Devil, you should have no problem escaping it."
Han Li smiled and thought to say something further when he suddenly heard Violet Spirit's voice, "Brother Han! What will we do? Do you plan to attack?" Violet Spirit had been scared speechless ever since she had caught sight of Marquis Nanlong's corrupted form, and his fierce display was only cause for more trepidation.
Han Li smiled at her and was about to say something when he suddenly raised his arm with an alarmed expression. A mist of azure Qi shot out and pulled Violet Spirit into his embrace. He then shot to the sky in an azure streak.
The azure light faded to reveal Han Li holding Violet Spirit in a loose embrace. He was glancing down below with a solemn expression. Violet Spirit hurriedly brushed herself from his grasp with a slight blush and also looked down below in bewilderment.
They now saw a pitch-black silhouette standing there and icily staring at them. Marquis Nanlong had made a sudden appearance there.
He planned to mount a sneak attack at them, but Han Li had fortunately glanced around with his Brightsight Spirit Eyes by chance. As for Violet Spirit, she felt her blood run cold and hastily glanced in a different direction.
At that moment, a ball of black Qi within the rainbow beam of light vanished underneath the raging flames. The silhouette flickered within to clearly reveal another Marquis Nanlong.
When Ancestor Linghu saw Han Li suddenly appear in the distance, he was initially delighted. But when he caught sight of yet another Marquis Nanlong, he felt his heart drop. He hastily called out to the white-clothed woman in bewilderment for them to postpone their attacks.
At that moment, the Marquis Nanlong inside the beam of light expressionlessly glanced at the two before disappearing into black Qi, revealing itself to only be a temporary incarnation. Ancestor Linghu and the white-clothed woman exchanged a glance, both of their eyes holding a deep fear.
It wasn't difficult to create an incarnation, but it was truly frightening for an incarnation to escape the notice of two Nascent Soul cultivators. They had believed that the incarnation had been the genuine Marquis Nanlong this entire time. It appeared that he left behind a hollow shell at an unknown time. If he hadn't intended to mount a sneak attack on Han Li, one of the two cultivators would've fallen prey.
"Fellow Daoist Han, I didn't think you'd be here. This is fantastic! This devilish monster is extremely formidable. If we unite together against this devil, we will be able to save ourselves!" Ancestor Linghu loudly shouted.
When Han Li heard this, he bitterly smiled. He originally believed his concealment to be sufficient to escape the notice of even late Nascent Soul cultivators. As a result, he watched the battle with an easy heart, thinking of escaping a moment later. He didn't think that the Elder Devil would actually discover him and plan to ambush him. It seemed a battle would be unavoidable!"