Chapter 1246: Reminiscence

All of a sudden, Qu Lin let loose a high-pitched screech, and countless specks of golden light appeared over the exoskeleton on his back.

A string of dull thuds then rang out as all of the specks of golden light transformed into sharp, golden spikes, much like the spikes of a porcupine, serving as a defense mechanism against Han Li's relentless barrage.

In response, Han Li stopped in his tracks, then made a grabbing motion with one hand to summon nine Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords, all of which fused as one in mid-air to form a giant, golden sword that was over a thousand feet in length.

With an almighty swing, the sword came crashing down onto Qu Lin's back, sending him flying while also shattering most of the golden spikes on his back.

Blood came gushing uncontrollably out of his mouth, while his spirit domain collapsed violently.

On the surface, he appeared unharmed, and it seemed like he had been able to withstand the blow, but the Cardinal Heavenly Lightning in Han Li's Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords was not to be underestimated.

Gold Devouring Immortals were renowned for their near-indestructible bodies, but they were particularly vulnerable once their physical defenses were breached.

Qu Lin was already carrying some internal injuries, and those injuries were instantly exacerbated by the influx of Cardinal Heavenly Lightning, throwing his immortal spiritual power circulation into a state of disarray, and that was why he was no longer able to maintain his spirit domain.

A sense of despair began to well up in his heart, but he wasn't going to give up so easily, and he fought to stabilize the chaotic immortal spiritual power in his body as he prepared for a counterattack.

However, right at this moment, a ball of golden light came descending from the sky, falling upon him before he had a chance to take any evasive measures.

Enshrouded within the golden light, he was instantly immobilized, as if he had fallen into a pit of quicksand.

In the next instant, two long streaks of translucent light swept through the interior of the ball of light, slicing Qu Lin's body into three parts as golden blood splattered everywhere.

Countless Gold Devouring Beetles then emerged within the ball of golden light, while Jin Tong was nowhere to be seen.

A contemplative look appeared in Han Li's eyes upon seeing this.

The Gold Devouring Beetles began to devour the three parts of Qu Lin's body in a frenzy, but his body then also split apart into countless Gold Devouring Beetles before fleeing in all directions.

Han Li raised both hands upon seeing this, and the golden light within his spirit domain began to swirl around his body, forming a massive, golden vortex.

The Gold Devouring Beetles formed by Qu Lin were powerless to resist the might of Han Li's spirit domain, and they were all sucked into the vortex, unable to escape.

In contrast, the Gold Devouring Beetles formed by Jin Tong remained completely unaffected, and they continued their feeding frenzy.

Unable to get away, the Gold Devouring Beetles formed by Qu Lin could only engage Jin Tong in battle again.

The two swarms of Gold Devouring Beetles clashed like a pair of golden waves, tearing at one another amid a chorus of high-pitched screeching sounds.

An indescribable feeling welled up in Han Li's heart upon seeing this. He felt as if he had been taken back to what seemed like an eternity ago, back when he had just obtained his first batch of Gold Devouring Beetles and discovered that they could evolve through devouring one another.

Even though Qu Lin was superior to Jin Tong in power, the latter had gained the upper hand over him in light of the injuries that had been inflicted upon him by Han Li.

However, even so, Jin Tong was still struggling to overcome her more powerful opponent.

Han Li heaved a faint sigh as he was snapped out of his reminiscence, then made a hand seal to send a burst of time law powers sweeping through his spirit domain, and the Gold Devouring Beetles formed by Qu Lin were slowed down even further.

"Thanks, Uncle!"

Jin Tong's grateful voice rang out from the swarm of Gold Devouring Beetles, and with Han Li's help, Jin Tong was able to enjoy a dominant advantage.

Before long, almost all of the Gold Devouring Beetles formed by Qu Lin had been devoured.

Right at this moment, what remained of those Gold Devouring Beetles suddenly converged toward a single spot, as if they were trying to fuse back into one.

"Just as you said, you were all one to begin with, so why struggle against your destiny?" Han Li murmured to himself as he swept a sleeve through the air, releasing a thick arc of golden lightning to strike the spot where the Gold Devouring Beetles had converged.

A loud thunderclap rang out as all of the beetles were scattered before instantly being overwhelmed by the swarm of Gold Devouring Beetles formed by Jin Tong.

Shortly thereafter, all of the commotion died down as the remaining Gold Devouring Beetles recombined to form Jin Tong.

At this moment, she was looking far more mature in appearance, and she had also become even more beautiful, but the cold look on her face made her appear very unapproachable.

As soon as she reverted back to her human form, she immediately sat down with her legs crossed, and over six hundred immortal acupoints lit up over her body.

Han Li knew that Jin Tong was trying to digest the power that she had attained from devouring Qu Lin, and he swept both sleeves through the air to release a flurry of azure array flags, which landed around the two of them before conjuring up several layers of azure light barriers.

More and more immortal acupoints lit up over Jin Tong's body in rapid succession, exceeding seven hundred in the blink of an eye, while her aura was also rapidly elevating, much to Han Li's elation.

Given their current, perilous circumstances, they were going to need all of the power that they could muster.

As time passed, more and more immortal acupoints lit up over Jin Tong's body, quickly exceeding eight hundred, bringing her ever closer to the pinnacle of the early-Great Encompassment Stage.

Han Li couldn't help but wonder if she was going to make a breakthrough to the mid-Great Encompassment Stage in one fell swoop.

However, after opening her eight hundred and thirty-ninth immortal acupoint, the golden light shimmering over Jin Tong's body slowly faded away.

Han Li could sense that there was still a great deal of excess power in her body that was left unused, but it was clear that she was still not ready for her wicked corpse soul severance, so she had decided to delay her breakthrough.

Before Long, Jin Tong reopened her eyes and rose to her feet.

"I'm glad to see you again, Jin Tong," Han Li said as he removed the surrounding restrictions.

"Long time no see, Uncle! What are you doing here?" Jin Tong asked.

"I'm here to rescue you, of course. I'm not the only one, Xiaobai came as well," Han Li replied as he swept a sleeve through the air, and Xiaobai appeared beside him in his Pixiu form amid a flash of white light.

"Boss! I missed you so much!" Xiaobai wailed as he pounced at Jin Tong with tears and snot flowing down his face.

"Stop!" Jin Tong yelled as she kept Xiaobai's head away with her foot so that he couldn't rub any of his tears and snot onto her.

In spite of this rather cold reception, it was clear that she was still very touched, and she said in a quiet voice, "I'm sorry for causing you trouble, Uncle."

"There's no need to apologize. We've been companions for so many years, it's only right that we help one another in our times of need," Han Li said with a wave of his hand.

"I suppose you're right," Jin Tong said with a vibrant smile, and Han Li's eyes lit up slightly at her stunning beauty.

Out of all of the female cultivators that he knew, perhaps only Violet Spirit could compete with the current Jin Tong in the looks department.

"I'm so glad you're safe, Boss!" Xiaobai whimpered as he rubbed his head affectionately against Jin Tong.

"Jin Tong, I was told that you were being held captive in the Ghost Valley. How did you end up here?" Han Li asked.

"Gui Lingzi locked me up in that jade cage of his, and he was planning to offer me up to the Heavenly Court during the Bodhi Banquet. However, he suddenly left a few days ago, and I was able to bite my way out of the cage. It wasn't easy, but I managed to do it. After that, I stumbled through a bunch of underground passageways and somehow ended up here," Jin Tong explained.

𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"I see. We may be safe for now, but it still won't be an easy task for us to leave the Nine Origins Temple," Han Li said.

......

The Nine Origins Palace was the most important area in the entire Nine Origins Temple, and the heart of the sect, the ancestral hall, was situated behind the palace.

At this point, this area was also under attack from the Reincarnation Palace's forces.

The spatial restrictions around the Nine Origins Palace had already been opened, and the entire area was enshrouded under a golden light barrier, around which was stationed several thousand core elders and disciples of the temple.

It seemed like this location was quite high on the Reincarnation Palace's list of priorities as well, and the Nine Origins Temple's forces were outnumbered by severalfold by the Reincarnation Palace cultivators here.

Initially, the Nine Origin Temple cultivators were still able to hold their own against the Reincarnation Palace's forces thanks to the restrictions present, but before long, the casualties became too severe, and they were forced to retreat within the golden light barrier, continuing to hold down the fort while awaiting further reinforcements.

However, it was clear that the Reincarnation Palace had been planning this attack for a very long time, and prior to attacking the Nine Origins Palace, it had already ensured that all of the other powerful Nine Origins Temple cultivators were occupied, while ambushes had also been set up on the routes that had to be taken by reinforcements.

As a result, the Nine Origins Palace was currently completely isolated on a helpless island of its own.