Chapter 423: Bait
The copper puppet immediately charged toward one of the ape puppets upon seeing this, while Han Li and Patriarch Cold Flame exchanged a glance, then immediately took advantage of this opportunity to rush into the palace.
Han Li was using his Transient Guild mask to conceal his own aura, while Patriarch Cold Flame was achieving the same outcome through the use of a dark red robe, and they were rushing toward a giant screen at the rear of the palace.
However, as soon as they stepped into the palace, a string of loud booms rang out in rapid succession, and all of the giant ape puppets that Han Li had released were wiped out in an instant.
Immediately thereafter, the copper puppet stormed toward them before throwing a punch at both of them.
Han Li had his guard up for such an eventuality, so he was able to react quite calmly, crossing his arms to form a barrier in the face of the oncoming fist.
A resounding thump rang out, and both of his arms went numb as he slid along the ground before crashing heavily into the gate of the palace.
Meanwhile, Patriarch Cold Flame had fared even worse. He seemed to have been caught completely off guard, and he tumbled through the air like a ragdoll before slamming into a wall, where he threw up a mouthful of blood.
After scrambling to his feet, he immediately turned to Han Li with a stunned expression before shaking his head.
It seemed that the circumstances were different from the last time he was here.
There was no time for Han Li to blame Patriarch Cold Flame for feeding him false information, and he yelled, "I'll deal with this thing, you go get the second half of the cultivation art!"
As soon as his voice trailed off, he immediately charged directly toward the copper puppet.
Han Li's original plan was for the giant ape puppets to keep the copper puppet distracted while Patriarch Cold Flame snuck in to steal the second half of the cultivation art, and Han Li would only be required to withstand a single attack from the puppet as Patriarch Cold Flame was getting away.
After that, both of them would be able to get away, while the puppet would remain trapped in the hall.
However, this was a complete deviation from the original plan, and he had no choice but to engage the puppet in a direct battle to buy time for Patriarch Cold Flame.
Patriarch Cold Flame immediately did as he was told, charging directly toward the rear hall while making no further attempt to conceal his own aura.
At the same time, he couldn't help but wonder how the puppet had suddenly developed such a high level of intelligence, and he was also worried that Han Li would think that he had intentionally fed him false information.
If Han Li were to arrive at that conclusion, then if they could obtain the Great Universe Origin Arts, Han Li was definitely not going to be pleased.
Having dealt with Han Li on multiple past occasions, Patriarch Cold Flame had developed an understanding of Han Li's character, and he knew just how unforgiving Han Li could be to those who betrayed or hurt him.
"How dare you!"
The copper puppet immediately swung around as soon as it sensed what Patriarch Cold Flame was doing, leaving Han Li behind to go after him.
Patriarch Cold Flame had only just reached the screen when the copper puppet swung a massive fist in his direction with astounding force.
He was just about to turn around to defend himself when Han Li's voice rang out from behind him.
"Focus on grabbing the cultivation art, I'll take care of the puppet!"
After a brief hesitation, he did as he was told, ignoring the fist that was hurtling toward him from behind as he rushed toward the screen.
Right as the copper puppet's fist was about to strike him in the back, a burst of lightning suddenly flashed over Han Li's body, and he flapped the Thunderstorm Wings on his back as he flew through the air, positioning himself between the puppet and Patriarch Cold Flame.
His brows were tightly furrowed as he stacked his hands together, one on top of the other, then thrust them both upward at once.
A pair of azure palm projections erupted forth, and they were also stacked on top of one another as they opposed the puppet's fist.
A burst of tremendous force erupted out of its fist, causing Han Li's robes to flap audibly around him, but he remained still and unyielding. However, his arms were bent, and a large section of his legs had also sunk deep into the ground.
The copper puppet was furious to see that its attack had been withstood, and a starry white cloud gathered around its fist as it lashed out at Han Li again.
Han Li's fighting spirit was also ignited, and he let loose a loud roar as the muscles on his body bulged, while a layer of golden fur appeared over his body. The tips of a pair of tusks also came protruding out of his mouth, and in the blink of an eye, he had transformed into a Giant Mountain Ape.
He then threw a punch directly upward to oppose the oncoming fist of the copper puppet.
The two massive fists collided violently in mid-air, and a burst of dazzling white light appeared between them amid a resounding thunderclap. A burst of shockwaves that were visible even to the naked eye instantly swept through the air, causing the entire palace to tremble violently.
Han Li's arms bent slightly as he sank even deeper into the ground, while the copper puppet remained completely unmoved.
Even after drawing upon his Giant Mountain Ape bloodline, Han Li had still come off second best in a contest of strength against this puppet.
His brows were tightly furrowed as he pulled his legs out of the ground, then sprang up into the air, taking the initiative this time to lash out with a punch against the copper puppet. In response, the puppet lunged forward and retaliated with a punch of its own.
Han Li's entire body was enshrouded within a layer of dazzling blue light, and specks of dazzling starlight emerged on his chest and abdomen, while his aura also swelled drastically.
Specks of starlight also emerged over the copper puppet's body, and they had appeared in the exact same spots that corresponded to the profound acupoints cultivated through the Great Universe Origin Arts. However, the puppet had opened far more profound acupoints than Han Li, so the starpower that was swirling around its fist was naturally far more formidable than Han Li's.
Even before the two fists had collided, the outcome was already apparent.
However, right as the two fists were about to come into contact with one another, Han Li abruptly vanished into thin air before instantly reappearing behind the copper puppet, then threw a punch straight at the puppet's back.
A loud thump rang out as a vast expanse of starlight erupted out of the profound acupoints on the copper puppet's back, and it clashed violently against the starlight radiating from Han Li's fist, resulting in an eruption of blinding radiance.
The copper puppet's momentum was already shifting forward as a result of the punch it had thrown, and with Han Li landing a blow on it from behind, it immediately stumbled involuntarily forward.
Its enormous fist also slammed into the ground with a deafening boom as a result, and the entire palace shuddered violently as dust came raining down from the ceiling.
A bottomless rift that was over 100 feet in length had been smashed into the ground, and Han Li was very thankful for his own decision not to fight fire with fire.
Right before the clash was about to take place, he had reversed his Mantra Treasured Axis to accelerate himself, thereby allowing him to evade the copper puppet's punch. Otherwise, at the very least, he would've been missing an arm by now.
What he found most surprising was that the copper puppet was also able to use starpower, and it seemed to have opened up an even higher number of profound acupoints than him.
Could it be that it had also cultivated the Great Universe Origin Arts?
Before Han Li had a chance to ponder this matter any further, an urgent voice suddenly rang out from the rear hall. "I've got the cultivation art, Fellow Daoist Han! Let's get out of here!"
Immediately thereafter, Patriarch Cold Flame emerged from behind the screen, holding a gray stone slab aloft. The stone slab was riddled with countless antiquated characters, and it was clearly the second half of the Great Universe Origin Arts.
Han Li immediately nodded in response, and the two of them arrived at the entrance of the palace almost at the exact same moment.
Han Li raised a hand to push the palace gates open, yet right at this moment, the entire palace suddenly began to tremble violently, and all of the runes engraved upon the entire structure joined together like squirming worms, as if they had sprung to life.
At the same time, a purplish-golden light barrier began to spread over the walls, the ceiling, and the ground, encapsulating the entire space within the palace.
An alarmed look immediately appeared on Patriarch Cold Flame's face upon seeing this.
At this point, Han Li had already reverted back to his human form, and he raised a hand before thrusting his palm toward the palace gates.
Five balls of silver lightning emerged over his fingertips as he attacked the purplish-golden light barrier, and a loud crackling sound rang out as countless antiquated runes emerged over the light barrier, accompanied by arcs of lightning that scattered the balls of silver lightning around Han Li's fingertips.
The purplish-golden lightning surged forth in a frenzy, devouring all of the scattered silver lightning, and Han Li couldn't help but draw a sharp breath as a numb sensation spread through his entire body.
At this point, the copper puppet had already returned to its feet, and it declared in a cold voice, "Unforgivable!"
At the same time, a layer of murky white light flashed through its eyes, and the purplish-golden light radiating from its body also gradually dimmed while starlight surged out of its profound acupoints, giving its entire body a translucent appearance.
In the wake of these changes, the aura that it was giving off was also elevated drastically, reaching the pinnacle of the early-Golden Immortal Stage.
"I swear I didn't lie to you, Fellow Daoist Han! None of this happened the last time I was here!" Patriarch Cold Flame hurriedly said in an urgent voice.
"I believe you," Han Li replied in a concise fashion.
Patriarch Cold Flame was quite taken aback to hear this, and he was temporarily at a loss fro words.
"The restriction outside the palace isn't even comparable to the one inside it. Don't you find that strange?" Han Li asked while keeping a close eye on the copper puppet.
An enlightened look instantly appeared in Patriarch Cold Flame's eyes upon seeing this.
"This palace was never designed to keep people out. Instead, it's to ensure that those who come in aren't able to get away. Just like the other palace, this is also a trap, and perhaps the Great Universe Origin Arts is being used as bait."
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