Chapter 424: Collaborative Strike
After a brief moment of contemplation, Han Li speculated, "Perhaps it was because too much time had passed, and some issues arose in the array, so when you came here last time, the array wasn't completely activated, nor had this puppet completely awakened. I presume that's how you were able to escape with your life."
A hint of lingering fear welled up in Patriarch Cold Flame's heart, but at the same time, he was also very thankful for his own good fortune. Before he had a chance to reply, Han Li suddenly yelled in an urgent voice, "Here it comes!"
As soon as his voice trailed off, Han Li had already vanished from the spot.
In the next instant, he appeared directly above the copper puppet's head, then made a peculiar hand seal before thrust a palm directly downward.
A burst of ripples spread through the space beneath his palm, and a shimmering azure longsword emerged out of thin air in a flash, then flew down toward the copper puppet's head.
The sound of crackling lightning rang out as a burst of piercing golden light appeared over the azure longsword, and arcs of formidable golden lightning emerged over the entire sword before it crashed heavily down upon the top of the copper puppet's head.
A resounding boom rang out as a golden lightning vortex that was several dozen feet tall appeared within the palace, and arcs of golden lightning were springing out of the vortex in all directions to strike the surrounding purplish-golden light barrier.
Patriarch Cold Flame was peering intently into the lightning vortex, but he was unable to see the copper puppet at all, and he could only sense the vast and violent power contained within the golden lightning.
Is it dead?
All of a sudden, a strange sound rang out from within the golden lightning vortex, and a grim look instantly appeared on Patriarch Cold Flame's face upon hearing this.
Immediately thereafter, a thick and strong arm that was as fair and translucent as jade suddenly erupted upward out of the lightning vortex, then clenched threw a vicious punch at the azure longsword up above.
A resounding boom rang out as a white cloud of starlight erupted out of the fist with countless specks of blue light flashing within it, presenting a stunning sight that resembled a bright and starry sky.
Immediately thereafter, a burst of incredibly formidable power erupted forth, and layers upon layers of white light surged outward in all directions, expanding the golden lightning vortex further and further.
At the same time, the blue stars within the white light were snuffed out one after another as a destructive aura spread emanated through the air.
A thunderous roar rang out as the white light exploded once again, and the golden lightning vortex was finally torn apart, with countless arcs of golden lightning flying in all directions to strike the surrounding purplish-golden light barrier.
At the same time, the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords up above was also sent flying back through the air, skidding across the purplish-golden light barrier on the ceiling to raise a trail of sparks before being repelled downward, where it was then it caught by Han Li right before it could pierce into the ground.
The azure longsword was trembling violently, and as a result, Han Li's arm was trembling slightly as well.
His complexion had also paled noticeably, while his breathing had become a little ragged.
His brows were tightly furrowed as he cast his gaze toward the copper puppet, upon which he discovered that it had taken on a completely different form. Its entire body had taken on the same hue and translucency as green jade, and there were specks of blue light all over its body.
At this moment, there were still some faint arcs of lightning flashing over its body, but it paid no heed to this at all as it took a step forward, then abruptly sped through the air as a blurry streak of light, reaching Han Li in the blink of an eye.
Instead of lashing out with a punch, it sliced its palm through the air in a chopping motion this time, lashing out at Han Li's neck with tremendous power.
It was so incredibly fast that Han Li didn't have a chance to defend himself at all, and a dull thump rang out as he was sent flying into the purplish-golden light barrier in a dizzy and disoriented fashion.
A vast expanse of lightning instantly erupted out of the light barrier, and Patriarch Cold Flame immediately called out to him in alarm.
His first instinct was to rush to Han Li's aid, but after taking a glance at the copper puppet, he decided to remain still on the spot.
However, the puppet didn't continue to pursue Han Li after striking him down. Instead, it turned to Patriarch Cold Flame with a pair of emotionless silver eyes.
A chill immediately ran down Patriarch Cold Flame's spine, and he took a glance at the gray stone slab in his hand before hurriedly tossing it away as if it were a hot potato.
It was unclear whether this was intentional, but the stone slab ultimately landed right beside Han Li, who had only just slammed down onto the ground after crashing into the purplish-golden light barrier.
There were plumes of white smoke rising up from his entire body, and many parts of his robes were also charred black.
He rose to his feet, using his azure longsword as a crutch, picking up the gray stone slab in the process, and after taking a quick glance at the stone slab, a pleased smile appeared on his face as he stowed it away.
The copper puppet seemed to have been completely infuriated upon seeing this, and it immediately sped directly toward Han Li once again as a blurry streak of light.
Once again, it lashed out in a chopping motion, and the white light on the palm of his hand took a serrated form as it thrust its hand directly toward Han Li's heart.
This time, Han Li was already prepared, and his Mantra Treasured Axis instantly appeared behind him amid a flash of golden light.
All of the active Time Dao Runes on it lit up in unison, releasing a layer of golden ripples that encompassed the area around him.
As soon as the copper puppet's arm pierced into the golden ripples, it instantly became extremely slow, as if it had been thrust into quicksand.
However, all of the specks of blue light on the puppet's body then suddenly grew even brighter, and all of the white radiance emanating from its body also surged toward its arm in a frenzy.
The light radiating from the copper puppet's hand instantly turned from white to blue, and it also expanded to around twice its original size as it tore viciously at the surrounding golden ripples.
The golden ripples released by the Mantra Treasured Axis were starting to become a little unstable, and the puppet's arm was beginning to travel forward again. It still wasn't very fast, but the time-slowing effect of the Mantra Treasured Axis was undeniably being countered, and this was something that had never happened before.
"Are you still not ready, Brother Xie?" Han Li asked while struggling to support his Mantra Treasured Axis.
"I'm ready!" Brother Xie replied, and as soon as its voice trailed off, a burst of golden radiance suddenly erupted out of Han Li's body, then expanded drastically into a flood of golden lightning that filled the entire palace in the blink of an eye.
It was as if the entire area had been inundated by a wave of golden lightning.
Ever since entering the palace, Patriarch Cold Flame had already been astonished so many times that he was beginning to feel a little numb.
At this moment, his mouth was slightly agape, and there was a dazed look in his eyes as he clung onto an azure bianzhong with all his might, conjuring up an azure light barrier to protect himself.
Within the vast expanse of golden lightning, a giant golden crab emerged, and its enormous shell was grinding against the purplish-golden light barrier beneath the ceiling, sending lightning of two different colors erupting in all directions.
A giant crab pincer shot out of the golden lightning, then snapped itself around the copper puppet's waist, and two bursts of crisscrossing golden lightning flashed past amid a rumbling thunderclap.
The purplish-golden light barrier around the palace was instantly torn apart before fading away, and a giant rift was also sliced into the walls and the ceiling of the palace.
Immediately thereafter, all of the golden lightning within the palace gradually began to subside back into the golden crab's body, and it transformed into Daoist Xie's yellow-robed human form.
"Fellow Daoist Han, I'm afraid all of the Immortal Origin Stones that you gave me earlier have been used up in that attack," Daoist Xie said as he took a glance at the copper puppet, which had been snapped into two.
"That's fine, I'll give you some more a bit later. You have my thanks, Brother Xie," Han Li replied as he withdrew his Mantra Treasured Axis.
"There's no need to thank me. This puppet is quite formidable, and even though its intelligence was intentionally suppressed during the refinement process, its very similar in power to a Golden Immortal Stage Profound Immortal, so unless we joined forces, it wouldn't have been so easy to defeat it," Daoist Xie replied, and he alluding to Han Li that it was best to keep the remains of the puppet rather than let it go to waste.
"I'll be sure to take it with me. Do you have a way to repair it once we leave this place?" Han Li asked.
"I didn't hold back at all in that attack, and I've already damaged its core, so it's hard to say whether it can be repaired or not," Daoist Xie replied in an ambiguous fashion.
At this point, the copper puppet had already reverted back to its original form, and it had been snapped all the way from its left shoulder to its right oblique. A dark golden metal ball could be seen exposed in its severed abdomen, and the ball had been severed as well.
A slightly forlorn look appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this, but he knew that it couldn't be helped. After all, this was a Golden Immortal Stage opponent, and holding back could've easily spelled death.
Daoist Xie took a glance at Patriarch Cold Flame, who was still frozen in shock, then said, "If there's nothing else you need from me, then I'm going back."
After that, he flew back up Han Li's sleeve as a streak of golden light, following which Han Li stowed the two halves of the copper puppet away with a sweep of his sleeve before making his way toward the rear hall.
Patriarch Cold Flame continued to stare at Han Li as he slumped to the ground, and his entire body was already drenched in cold sweat.
Only now did he come to understand just how massive the gap between himself and Han Li was, and how foolish his earlier actions had been.
Han Li made his way around the giant screen, where he was greeted by the sight of a hidden doorway that could fit two people through at once.
He strode through the doorway to arrive in a completely isolated and windowless space, but it wasn't dark despite the lack of natural light as a layer of luminescent stone powder had been painted over the walls, giving off a faint glow that illuminated the room.
At the very center of the rear hall was a small copper platform that was only around three feet tall, with complex patterns engraved onto its surface.
On the upper face of the platform were two indentations that were the exact same shape and size as the Great Universe Origin Arts stone slabs, and there were also runes engraved inside.
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