Chapter 946: Different Objectives
"I'll handle these three talisman spirits, all of you can focus on eradicating those puppets," Sun Tu said, then immediately lashed out with his bone sword, unleashing a flurry of black sword projections that fanned out like a peacock spreading its canopy.
With Sun Tu engaging the three Heavenly Chief Profound Generals in battle, Han Li and the others immediately pounced at the remaining crimson puppets.
At this moment, Xuanyuan Xing was wielding a pair of black staves, each of which was around five feet in length. There were strips of yellow fabric tied all over the staves, much like the mourning sticks used in mortal funerals.
All of a sudden, a expeled a mouthful of blood, which split up into two before fusing into the mourning sticks, which instantly began to glow black.
As Xuanyuan Xing swung his arms through the air, countless staff projections were unleashed, sweeping toward the crimson puppets amid a chorus of ghastly howls.
The movements of the crimson puppets were slowed down slightly, seemingly affected by these ghastly sounds.
At the same time, Fang Chan inhaled deeply before releasing a burst of white soundwaves that erupted out of his mouth and nose before also sweeping toward the crimson puppets.
As a result, the puppets' movements were hampered even further, and the waves of force that they were generating were weakened once again.
Han Li pounced on this opportunity to fly through the air while lashing out with his white scimitar, unleashing a mountainous blade projection that was over a hundred feet in length to strike the opposing waves of force.
Shi Chuankong immediately followed suit, swinging his purple staff through the air to unleash a thick staff projection that also struck the waves of force.
The waves of power generated by the crimson puppets were already far weaker than before, and an opening was instantly smashed into them by Han Li and Shi Chuankong's attacks.
The two of them were ecstatic to see this, and they rushed in through the opening, arriving behind the crimson puppets in the blink of an eye.
"Well done, fellow daoists!" Chen Yang yelled in an ecstatic voice. "Once we dismantle these puppets, our work will be almost done!"
Radiant white light erupted out of his fists as he unleashed a flurry of countless white fist projections that rained down upon the puppets, while Han Li and Shi Chuankong attacked the puppets from behind.
At this point, there were only ten of these puppets left, and one of them, which was clearly larger than the others, suddenly let loose a low roar.
Two of the puppets immediately swung around to face Han Li and Shi Chuankong, and while the remaining eight puppets continued to lash out with their fists and feet, creating a massive net of force that stood in the path of Chen Yang's trio.
Ferocious winds swept through the entire hall, preventing the trio from getting any closer.
Meanwhile, crimson light flashed over the fists of the two puppets that were pouncing at Han Li and Shi Chuankong, and two bursts of crimson light erupted out of their fists before plunging into the oncoming storm of blade and staff projections.
Two resounding booms rang out as the blade and staff projections were all destroyed upon impact, while the two puppets reached out like lightning to grab onto the white scimitar and the purple staff.
A cold sneer appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this, and he tugged forcefully on the hilt of his scimitar while pushing off against the ground with his feet, instantly launching himself up into the air before jumping onto the crimson puppet's shoulder.
Before the puppet had a chance to react, he threw a vicious elbow strike into its head, and a dull thump rang out as the puppet's head instantly exploded like a watermelon, sending large volumes of silver fluid erupting in all directions.
The black beastly projection then instantly vanished alongside the misty black light released by the bone sword, and Han Li raised an eyebrow upon seeing this, but didn't say anything.
Meanwhile, the crimson puppets had also been dismantled by Chen Yang and the others, and with that, the battle drew to a conclusion.
A slightly tense silence ensued.
Everyone had just displayed some of their trump cards, and in particular, Han Li had put on a spectacular performance that had astonished everyone. In the wake of these displays of power, a rather peculiar atmosphere had descended upon everyone.
"You two really made all the difference, Fellow Daoist Li, Fellow Daoist Shi. Otherwise, we would've been struggling against those foes for who knows how long," Sun Tu said with a smile, breaking the silence.
The tense atmosphere instantly eased slightly, and everyone else turned their attention to Han Li and Shi Chuankong.
"We just so happened to be passing by, and it seems like the threads of fate have brought all of us together," Han Li replied with a smile of his own.
"If I recall correctly, Fellow Daoist Shi was with City Lord E, right? The two of you seem to be quite familiar with each other, Fellow Daoist Li," Sun Tu remarked.
Before Han Li had a chance to say anything, Chen Yang replied in his stead, "That's a long story. Fellow Daoist Li and Fellow Daoist Shi are indeed acquaintances, but right now, all of us are working together to reap the spoils in these Great Ruins, so our individual personal ties hardly matter."
"By the way, Fellow Daoist Chen just mentioned that there are some precious treasures to be found in here. Could it be that all of you have already discovered something?" Han Li asked.
"Fellow Daoist Xuanyuan and I encountered City Lord Sun and Fellow Daoist Fang at the entrance of this altar, and we were all of the opinion that this seemed like quite an interesting place, one that was harboring precious treasures. Hence, we decided to come in and have a look together. However, as for exactly what can be found in here, that's still yet to be seen," Chen Yang replied.
"Now that Fellow Daoist Li and Fellow Daoist Shi have also joined us, I'm sure nothing will be able to stand in our way," Sun Tu said.
"That was quite a grueling battle, so let's take a short rest here before we continue," Chen Yang suggested as he took a glance at the stone gate at the end of the hall.
Xuanyuan Xing and Fang Chan were both looking rather pale, and they eagerly agreed to this proposal, taking some pills before sitting down with their legs crossed.
Han Li and Shi Chuankong weren't feeling all that tired, but they also sat down to rest, nonetheless.
Meanwhile, Sun Tu made his way over to the crimson puppets, then pulled out a black dagger before hacking one of the puppets to bits, seemingly trying to find something.
Han Li immediately recalled all of the puppet fragments that he had spotted on the way here, and he sat down to rest while secretly keeping an eye on Sun Tu.
Before long, Sun Tu had completely dismembered the puppet, and a hint of elation flashed through his eyes as he pulled out something before immediately stowing it away.
Even though he had acted quite quickly, Han Li was still able to identify that he had pulled out a pea-sized white crystal from the puppet's body.
After that, Sun Tu repeated the process with all of the other puppets, plucking out one white crystal after another.
Everyone rested here for roughly an hour before setting off again, arriving in front of the stone gate.