Chapter 148: Battling the Three Scourges

"This is not an opponent to be underestimated, so we should use that technique right away," the First Scourge said as his brows furrowed slightly.

Before the other two had a chance to reply, a burst of urgent and insistent tapping rang out, and the huge waves instantly rose up on the surface of the sea amid gusts of ferocious wind.

The clouds in the sky quickly converged, forming an inky-black cloud that cast a dark shadow over a huge area with a radius of several hundred kilometers, making it appear as if dusk had suddenly arrived.

The veiled young woman began to play her lute, and two bursts of white light suddenly appeared within the dark cloud, resembling a pair of giant pagodas that were projecting through the cloud.

Han Li looked up to find that the cloud was surging and tumbling incessantly, as if there were a gargantuan creature wreaking havoc inside.

He then turned back to take a glance at Lu Yuqing, who was also looking up at the sky with a stunned look on her face, and after a moment of contemplation, he suddenly swept a sleeve toward her, releasing a burst of azure energy that enveloped her entire body.

Before she had a chance to react, she had already been carried thousands of kilometers away by the burst of energy.

Now that Han Li didn't have to worry about Lu Yuqing, he was able to focus on the battle at hand, and he tightened his grip around the hilt of his sword before springing up into the heavens, charging directly at the three scourges.

Another crisp clang rang out in the air, and the massive dark cloud in the sky abruptly parted to open up a massive rift, as if the gate leading to the heavens had suddenly opened up.

In the next instant, a white bone blade that was several thousand feet in length came crashing down out of the dark cloud amid a flash of white light.

There were near-transparent white flames burning along the entire length of the blade, and the flames were giving off scorching heat, as well as releasing a devastatingly destructive aura.

Han Li drew to a halt, and with a flick of his wrist, he raised his sword toward the heavens before slashing it upward.

A vast expanse of black sword projections instantly took shape, stacking on top of one another to resemble a black mountain that hurtled directly toward the bone blade.

Heaven and earth rumbled and swayed violently as the mountain of sword projections was destroyed and reduced to countless fragments, while countless specks of white flames came drifting down from the heavens.

The white bone blade shuddered violently before flying back into the dark cloud, and the three scourges, who had summoned the bone blade, gave a collective muffled groan.

Meanwhile, Han Li was descending rapidly through the air, and only after falling for close to 1,000 feet was he able to steady himself.

Even after landing on the surface of the sea, the specks of white flames continued to burn resembling countless glowing white lotus flowers that basked the sea down below in a bright white radiance.

Han Li looked down at the black longsword in his hand to find that there were still white flames clinging to its blade, scorching it incessantly.

He gave a cold harrumph upon seeing this, and a layer of golden scales appeared over his hand before he gently rubbed his hand along the blade of the longsword.

All of the white flames were instantly wiped away like dirt and grime.

All of a sudden, the thunderous beating of a drum rang out in the air, immediately followed by the sound of a strumming lute and a tapping pot.

The dark cloud in the sky churned violently as a mountainous white bone foot descended out of the heavens, stomping down directly upon Han Li.

Han Li raised his sword while activating his Azure Origin Sword Arts, and his robes began to flap audibly around him despite the lack of wind.

He then stomped heavily down onto the air beneath him, and a burst of violent force was sent hurtling downward, causing a massive indentation that was several thousand feet in size to appear on the surface of the sea, while Han Li himself was launched into the heavens.

Gusts of ferocious wind swept through the air as a series of sword projections that resembled small mountains appeared in a radius of several kilometers around him, then began to rise up into the heavens alongside him.

Scorching white flames were burning over the giant bone foot, causing the air to crackle and pop incessantly, and the foot continued to stomp down from above, clashing violently against the rising sword projections.

An earth-shattering boom rang out as the giant bone foot exploded violently, and a white bone giant that was over 10,000 feet tall stumbled out of the dark clouds before plunging into the sea, sending massive waves erupting in all directions.

The vast expanse of black sword projections was also all shattered, and they fell out of the sky alongside countless specks of white flames, causing the surrounding sea to bubble and boil, while clouds of water vapor rose up into the air.

Han Li emerged from the cloud of mist and water vapor in a flash, and the black longsword in his hand had already snapped in half, perhaps from being scorched by the white flames, or perhaps because it was unable to hold the handle the astonishing sword qi unleashed by his Azure Origin Sword Arts.

He heaved a faint sigh as he stowed the two pieces of the sword away, and he couldn't help but lament over the loss of his Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords again.

Immediately thereafter, Han Li suddenly opened his mouth to let loose a thunderous roar, and his muscles bulged as his body rapidly swelled in size, quickly transforming him into a giant golden ape that wasn't inferior in stature to the white bone giant.

The three scourges had already realized that Han Li was an extremely formidable opponent, and their expressions darkened even further upon seeing this. All three of them began to chant incantations, and the tempo at which they were playing their instruments had clearly sped up as well.

Under the trio's combined efforts, the bone giant swiveled around before striding over the surface of the sea, swinging a white bone saber directly at the giant golden ape.

The golden ape clenched its fists tightly and strode forward to meet the attack head-on.

The two massive figures clashed over and over again, sending countless enormous waves that were thousands of feet in height sweeping over the surface of the sea in all directions.

At this moment, Lu Yuqing was far away from the battlefield, and even though the shockwaves resulting from the clashes were too far away to reach her, she could still sense the violent surging of the world's origin qi in that direction, and she couldn't help but feel astonished.

All of a sudden, white light flashed within the eyes of the bone giant, and two incredibly thick pillars of white flames erupted forth like a pair of fiery dragons, twisting through the air as they swooped directly at the golden ape's face.

The giant ape let loose another thunderous roar as it slammed its fists down upon the pair of fiery dragons, and the latter exploded violently into a vast flurry of white flame that inundated half of the golden ape's entire body.

Despite the immense fire-resistant properties of the giant ape's fur and skin, plumes of white smoke began to rise up from its body along with a sharp and acrid charred smell.

However, the golden ape paid no heed to the white flames clinging to its body as it continued to barrel forward with ferocious might, springing high up into the air before raising its right fist and slamming it heavily down toward the bone giant's head.

The bone giant hurriedly lowered its center of gravity while raising its bone blade with both hands to shield itself, and a resounding crack rang out as the golden ape's fist struck the blade with tremendous force, snapping the blade and sending bone fragments flying in all directions.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

The three scourges were controlling the bone giant collectively, and they immediately shuddered violently before throwing up a mouthful of blood in unison.

The giant ape continued to press its advantage, closing in on the bone giant while slamming its fists repeatedly into the giant's chest.

A string of earth-shattering booms rang out as a series of massive cracks appeared on the bone giant's body. At the same time, bone fragments were constantly falling off its enormous frame, and it wasn't going to be able to withstand this ferocious assault for much longer.

"Activate the Heaven Incinerating Blood Flames! Hurry!" the First Scourge hurriedly yelled in an urgent voice.

He then brought a finger forcefully down onto the edge of his antiquated pot, and a section of his finger was severed before falling into the pot, which instantly began to glow red.

At the same time, the veiled young woman sliced her finger open with the string of her lute before rubbing her blood onto the lute, while the thin young man stuck a finger into the mouth of the human face on the side of his drum.

All three of them were feeding their blood essence to their respective treasures.

Right as the golden ape was about to smash open the bone giant's head, a burst of bright red light suddenly appeared behind the latter, and the bone giant's entire body took on a red hue.

The white flames that enveloped its enormous frame instantly turned red as well, as did the flames that were clinging to the giant ape's body.

A sharp burning pain spread over the golden ape's entire body, causing it to roar in agony as it reflexively stumbled back.

Layers of golden scales surfaced over its body, attempting to keep the red flames at bay, but to no avail, and the excruciating pain wasn't lessened in the slightest.

With the emergence of the red flames, the temperature in the area had been elevated to a terrifying degree, causing massive volumes of seawater to evaporate into water vapor, to the extent that the sea level in the area was falling at a discernible rate.

Right as the giant ape was overcome by the red flames, the bone giant's aura swelled drastically, and all of the cracks on its body began to heal at a rapid rate.

It extended a hand forward, and a crimson bone blade appeared out of thin air. The bone giant grabbed onto the blade, then lashed out with ferocious might.

A resounding boom rang out, and the golden ape felt as if it had been struck in the abdomen by a mountain, sending flying horizontally through the air, raising a trail of massive waves in its wake.

Before the golden ape had a chance to get up, the crimson bone giant sprang high up into the sky, then grabbed the hilt of its saber with both hands before plunging its tip directly down toward the ape's head.

The giant ape quickly rolled to the side to just barely evade the attack, then took a step back in retreat.

At the same time, a burst of radiant silver flames suddenly appeared on its shoulder, then rapidly spread over its entire body, and the silver flames completely inundated the crimson flames before beginning to devour it in a frenzy.

Immediately thereafter, the sharp cry of a bird rang out, and the silver flames around the golden ape transformed into a giant fire raven that slammed straight into the bone giant's chest with tremendous force.

Silver flames erupted in all directions, spreading over the bone giant's entire body, and before it had a chance to react, the silver flames had already formed a massive fiery cloak that enveloped its entire body.

The crimson flames on its body rapidly retreated in a desperate attempt to escape from the silver flames, but it was all in futility, and the silver flames quickly commenced their feast.