Chapter 994: It's Me?

Shi Kongyu was completely unfazed by the black Daoist Xie's attack, and he threw a punch in retaliation, sending a burst of purple lightning erupting out of his fist.

The fist and the saber clashed, causing the nearby space to tremble violently, and several spatial rifts were torn into the surrounding area, while Shi Kongyu and the black Daoist Xie were both knocked back by the force of the clash.

However, immediately thereafter, the three of them clashed once again, and all the while, Han Li had been observing the unfolding scene from a hiding spot in the distance.

The events unfolding here were identical to what Daoist Xie had described to him not long ago, so it seemed like Daoist Xie had been trying to deceive him.

Han Li took a glance up at the axis projection above to discover that quite a few of the Time Dao Runes on it had already been snuffed out, and he was beginning to contemplate whether he should leave.

After all, there was no longer much point for him to stay here. In his current body, he couldn't do anything for Daoist Xie, and he already knew that Daoist Xie was going to become a Dao Ancestor in the future, so this crisis wasn't necessarily a bad thing for him.

Right at this moment, a resounding clash rang out, and the battle drew to an abrupt halt.

Shi Kongyu shot back in retreat, stopping near the entrance of the underground cave.

Han Li was quite alarmed to see this, and hurriedly channeled his Myriad Acupoint Tranquility Technique with all his might while concealing himself within a dark shadow.

Shi Kongyu didn't unleash any further attacks, and a faint smile had appeared on his face.

The two corpse soul puppets were rather perplexed to see this, and the white Daoist Xie reiterated, "We are evenly matched, so there won't be a decisive outcome no matter how long this battle wears on for. Hence, you should leave."

"Indeed, I was already aware that my chances of defeating you two were slim to none," Shi Kongyu said with a faint smile, and Han Li was rather taken aback to hear this.

Judging from what Shi Kongyu had just said, it was clear that he had some ulterior motive for engaging in this futile battle against the two corpse soul puppets for such a long time.

The two two puppets had arrived at the same realization as well, and they immediately launched themselves at Shi Kongyu.

Shi Kongyu burst into laughter, and he paid no heed to the pair of oncoming puppets as he suddenly slammed a fist into his own chest.

A fist-sized, gray bone shot out of his body, and there was a black rune that resembled a dried octopus inscribed upon it.

As soon as the gray bone left his body, it immediately erupted into gray flames, and countless black runes could be seen within the flames, forming a human face with a set of features that were twisted in grief, fury, and resentment.

A burst of cold law power fluctuations erupted out of the gray flames in all directions, and all of the restrictive forces in the Scalptia Spatial Domain immediately began to diminish in the face of these law power fluctuations, but didn't disappear right away.

At this moment, Han Li was situated closer to Shi Kongyu than anyone else, so he was the first to be affected by this burst of law powers, and he was instantly struck by a disoriented sensation, as if a burst of invisible, disruptive power had infiltrated his soul.

His soul immediately began to dim, as if a layer of dust had appeared over it, and at the same time, an uncontrollable sense of frustration began to well up in his heart.

At the same time, all types of strange illusions began appearing before him, and this was a precursor of inner demon backlash.

Simultaneously, Han Li was struck by a sense of intense nausea that made him want to puke out all of his internal organs.

What kind of law power is this?!

Han Li hurriedly channeled his Spirit Refinement Technique with all his might to stabilize his own soul while severing his connection with this body that he had possessed.

Pained looks immediately appeared on the faces of the two corpse soul puppets as this wave of foreign law power fluctuations swept over them, and their expressions changed drastically as one of them exclaimed, "You're using the laws of hexes!"

Immediately thereafter, both of them rushed frantically toward Daoist Xie in unison, and two bursts of formidable law power fluctuations erupted out of their bodies to encompass Daoist Xie and the crimson light barrier around him.

Even though they had reacted extremely quickly, they were still just a little too late, and the hex law power fluctuations were able to infiltrate Daoist Xie's body before their law powers could reach him.

At this moment, Daoist Xie was focused wholeheartedly on severing his third corpse soul, and he immediately threw up a mouthful of blood as soon as the hex law power fluctuations entered his body.

The humanoid cloud above his head began to ripple violently, looking as if it were on the verge of dissipating, and Shi Kongyu burst into laughter as he confirmed, "I am indeed using hex law powers. It took me a while to activate this Baleful Hex Bone due to the absence of devilish qi in the Scalptia Spatial Domain, but now that I've done it, victory is mine!

“You can never best me, Shi Kongjie. Regardless of what law powers you decide to cultivate, you're destined to be crushed beneath my feet!"

Immediately thereafter, he opened his mouth to release a burst of blood essence onto the gray bone, and the flames around it instantly swelled drastically, while the twisted face within it also became a lot clearer.

Han Li's expression changed drastically upon seeing this, and he forcibly suppressed the extreme discomfort that he was feeling as he fled upward with all his might.

However, he wasn't able to get very far at all before he was struck by an even more formidable burst of hex law power fluctuations, and he felt as if his soul were about to explode as he plummeted to the ground before rolling into the underground cave.

His entire body was trembling uncontrollably, and his hands were clasped over his own head in indescribable agony.

Shi Kongyu immediately swung around with a surprised expression upon hearing the commotion from Han Li's fall, and right at this moment, a black figure appeared before him out of thin air.

It was a black-robed figure with a layer of black mist over their face, and they grabbed onto the gray bone before forcefully tightening their grip, crushing the bone into powder.

The gray flames around the bone exploded, sending a burst of formidable gray shockwaves and fearsome law power fluctuations erupting in all directions.

The black-robed figure clearly failed to anticipate this, and the black mist over their face was scattered slightly, revealing a section of their features. However, the layer of black mist then recovered to conceal their entire face again.

Han Li just so happened to catch a fleeting glimpse of that section of the black-robed figure's face that was revealed, and he shuddered as an incredulous expression appeared on his face, looking as if he had just seen a ghost.

In the next instant, the gray shockwaves swept over his body, sending a burst of even more formidable hex law power fluctuations sweeping into his soul, and his consciousness was instantly fragmented into countless pieces, while his vision faded into darkness.

After what seemed like an eternity, Han Li slowly awakened, having already returned to his own body.

His soul was still aching slightly, but the pain was already countless times less excruciating than before.

As he recalled what he had just witnessed, he abruptly shuddered as he sprang up into a seated position with an astonished look on his face.

It took him a long while to compose himself, but even then, there was still a look of lingering shock in his eyes.

Even though only a section of the black-robed figure's face had been revealed, and only for a brief instant, Han Li was certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that it had been none other than himself!

That face wasn't just similar to his own, it was undeniably his own face!

How is that possible? Could it be that someone disguised themselves as me? But the last time Daoist Xie was severing his corpse souls had to have been countless years before I was even born, so how could anyone have been aware of what I look like? Could it be a coincidence? Maybe there was someone who looked just like me all those years ago?

Han Li's instincts told him that this was no mere coincidence, and he remained seated in a state of stunned contemplation.

Some time later, a burst of door-knocking rang out, snapping him out of his reverie, and he rose to his feet before opening the door to find the white Daoist Xie puppet outside.

"Fellow Daoist Han, Sha Xin and the others have already arrived, and Fellow Daoist Xie has already completed the preparations required to open the spatial passageway, so please come to the main palace," the white Daoist Xie said with its usual benevolent smile.

"It's already been half a year?" Han Li exclaimed.

Could it be that he had been unconscious for half a year after his soul returned to his body?

"That's right," the white Daoist Xie confirmed.

"Alright, I'll come over right away," Han Li replied with a nod, still feeling rather disoriented.

The white Daoist Xie turned to depart, but Han Li suddenly called out to it and asked, "Your name is White Spirit, right?"

"That is the name given to me by Fellow Daoist Shi," the white Daoist Xie replied.

"Fellow Daoist White Spirit, I heard from Fellow Daoist Xie that he was attacked by Shi Kongyu many years ago during his first attempt to sever his three corpse souls, is that right?" Han Li asked.

"Indeed. Shi Kongyu's intervention led to a catastrophic failure for Fellow Daoist Shi on that occasion, but thankfully, he was finally able to overcome this hurdle after all these years of arduous cultivation," the white Daoist Xie replied with a nod.

"You must've been present during that time, right, Fellow Daoist White Spirit? How was Fellow Daoist Xie able to overcome that crisis? Did he receive some form of external assistance?" Han Li asked in a seemingly casual manner while closely observing the white Daoist Xie's expression.