And Guang Huo and the others clearly saw this, attacking even more fiercely, obviously intending to rely on Mo Han's magic to shatter the Nether General's protective shield, which would then put the Nether General in grave danger.

Just then, the Nether General let out a piercing shriek, and a series of incomprehensible incantations began to issue from his mouth.

Seeing this, Guang Huo and his companions looked utterly bewildered, unsure what trick the Nether General was attempting. However, far in the distance, Mo Han’s face changed drastically upon hearing the words, and he hurriedly shouted, "Be careful! He's going all out! This is an evil magic of the Nether Race, designed to temporarily boost one's strength by consuming one's own life force!"

No sooner had Mo Han finished speaking than the Nether General roared, and the black mist enveloping him surged violently, reaching an intensity even greater than before. The Nether General then swung the weapon in his hand and violently struck toward Guang Huo and his group.

With several booming crashes, Guang Huo and his allies, caught completely off guard by the vastly empowered Nether General, were sent flying. Although Mo Han's warning had spared them from fatal injury, they still suffered significant losses.

As soon as the Nether General shook off Guang Huo and the others' entanglement, he immediately lunged toward Mo Han.

Clearly, the Nether General harbored a deep-seated hatred for this young man who had repeatedly ruined his plans. Every time Mo Han appeared, he managed to throw the General into disarray. If it weren't for Mo Han, the General wouldn't have needed to unleash his Dark Power to temporarily enhance his strength, thereby incurring the severe repercussions of this magic.

At his current level, using such a spell meant he would never reach the realm of Sword God, and his strength might even stagnate. Since Mo Han was the cause of all this, how could the General not despise him?

In truth, Mo Han’s current power level was no match for the combined strength of the four Ascetic Elders. Yet, the Nether General bypassed Guang Huo and the others to charge directly at Mo Han, clearly perceiving Mo Han as his greatest threat. Although the Nether General didn't understand why he felt this way, he always trusted his instincts, so he unhesitatingly lunged at Mo Han, who was in the midst of preparing a spell.

At this moment, Shui Ling'er, standing beside Mo Han, stepped forward instantly, shielding the spell-casting Mo Han behind her. She then raised the World-Ending Divine Bow in her hand, and two soft peng peng sounds echoed.

This time, two streaks of golden light shot out, one following the other, towards the charging Nether General with incredible speed. Having already suffered at the hands of the World-Ending Divine Bow, the Nether General was startled. In his haste, he had completely forgotten the existence of this divine artifact. Just then, the golden light was upon him.

The Nether General quickly raised his weapon to meet the two beams of light, successfully deflecting both just in the nick of time.

However, his momentum was involuntarily halted by the sheer force emanating from the World-Ending Divine Bow.

At that precise moment, Mo Han’s spell was ready; another blue fire dragon lunged at the Nether General. After his golden lights were deflected, Shui Ling'er also raised her hand and loosed two more golden streaks, closely following the fire dragon toward the General. Seeing this, the Nether General hastily unleashed a burst of Battle Qi, shattering Mo Han’s magic—the Fire Dragon's Roar. But against the subsequent two golden streaks, he only managed to parry one, allowing the second golden streak to strike his protective shield squarely.

Although the Nether General’s strength had significantly increased, his protective shield had also been enhanced proportionally. Upon impact, the black mist around him suddenly erupted with brilliant dark light, engulfing the golden beam. Unlike the first time, he sustained no visible injury, but the force of the golden light still caused his body to pause involuntarily for a moment.

Seizing this opportunity, Guang Huo and the others pressed forward, surrounding the Nether General once more. However, with his power now surpassing his original level, their renewed siege was not as effective as the first. The Nether General let out a fierce roar, and the surrounding dark aura intensified several times over. Even Mo Han and Shui Ling'er, who were further away, felt a wave of discomfort ripple through them due to the dark energy. This was even more pronounced for Guang Huo and his companions surrounding the General; all four momentarily froze, allowing the Nether General to seize the chance and swing his weapon at them.

This time, Guang Huo and his group were not as fortunate. Although they managed to block the lethal attack with practiced skill in their haste, they were still blasted backward by the Nether General. Stumbling after landing, they retreated several steps unsteadily, clearly injured. The Nether General then took advantage of the situation, pouncing on the wounded Guang Huo, his weapon emitting waves of bloodthirsty light as it swept toward Guang Huo, clearly intending to end him in one blow.

Mo Han, watching from the side, gasped in shock. While he knew the Nether General’s strength had risen, he hadn't anticipated it would be so monstrous, defeating and injuring Guang Huo and the others in a single move. Guang Huo and his comrades were only a hair's breadth away from the Sword Saint realm, yet they were felled by one strike, even if partially due to the influence of the dark aura. This clearly demonstrated the Nether General's terrifying power.

Mo Han immediately shouted to Shui Ling'er, "Cover me with the World-Ending Divine Bow!"

Ignoring all else, he lunged toward the Nether General, who was preoccupied with chasing down Guang Huo. Mo Han’s Light Holy Sword trailed a dazzling white brilliance as he swung it at the General’s back.

Mo Han knew he couldn't reach Guang Huo in time to save him, so he aimed at the Nether General’s back instead. This way, even if the General managed to kill Guang Huo, he would still be struck by the Light Holy Sword. Given the sword’s immense power and Mo Han’s own strength, he gambled that the General’s protective shield might not withstand the blow.

Indeed, upon sensing the powerful attack coming from behind, the Nether General had no choice but to abandon his pursuit of Guang Huo.

He knew that even if he managed to kill Guang Huo, he would certainly be wounded by the formidable might of the Light Holy Sword—a trade-off he did not desire. He swiftly turned and swung his weapon to intercept Mo Han’s attack. In the collision, the General’s serrated longsword had its tip sheared off by Mo Han’s Light Holy Sword, causing the General such distress that tears almost sprang to his eyes. Enraged, he lunged at Mo Han.

Meanwhile, Guang Huo and his companions used the time Mo Han bought them to quickly cast advanced healing magic upon themselves, their injuries rapidly mending.

Shui Ling’er watched the duel between Mo Han and the Nether General with deep concern etched on her face.

Mo Han was clearly a step behind the Nether General in power, and within a few exchanges, he began to falter. Just as Shui Ling'er prepared to intervene, a ferocious roar erupted from behind her, startling her. She whipped around to see Thunder Beast Xiao Long, who had apparently finished charging a super-magic spell, surrounded by a maelstrom of swirling magical elements.

She then realized why the Thunder Beast accompanying Mo Han had remained inactive until now—it had been preparing this attack.

At that instant, lightning bolts, each as thick as a meter, began to rain down upon the Nether General’s head. Clearly, the power of this lightning surpassed their previous assault. Every bolt struck the General’s protective shield precisely, causing his body to tremble with each impact. While the shield could block most magical attacks, it was less effective against the highly penetrating electrical magic of Xiao Long. Each strike allowed a sliver of electrical energy to permeate the barrier, directly hitting the Nether General and causing him to continually shudder.

Mo Han seized this opening to launch a counterattack, gradually regaining the upper hand. Combined with the covering fire from Shui Ling'er’s World-Ending Divine Bow, Mo Han actually began to dictate the pace of the fight.

Facing the combined triple threat of Shui Ling’er’s World-Ending Divine Bow, Xiao Long’s electrical magic, and Mo Han’s Light Holy Sword, the Nether General, despite his temporary power boost, could not gain any advantage and grew increasingly agitated.

With another bellow, the dark aura surrounding the Nether General surged several times stronger. After unleashing this ultimate move, the General immediately thrust his sword toward Mo Han’s chest, eliciting a cry of alarm from Shui Ling'er behind him.

However, having witnessed this trick once before, Mo Han was prepared the moment the General initiated the move. He instantly channeled his light-elemental magic to its absolute limit, causing a faint white glow to envelope his body, effectively neutralizing the influence of the dark aura. It worked to a degree; although his movements were momentarily slowed by the dark energy, most of it was dispelled by his light magic, allowing Mo Han to recover almost instantly. He just managed to raise the Light Holy Sword in time to block the fatal thrust aimed at his chest.

But at that very second, a mocking glint flashed in the Nether General’s eyes. Mo Han was instantly alarmed, knowing something was wrong, but at this close range, he had no other choice. In a flash of speed, the tip of the General’s grotesque longsword suddenly extended another section, stabbing fiercely toward Mo Han. It turned out the weapon concealed a hidden blade—explaining the General’s smug look. Mo Han’s sword accurately struck the General’s blade, but it was already too late.

At such close proximity, the General’s sword rapidly pierced through Mo Han’s protective Battle Qi. Mo Han tried to dodge, but there was simply no space to retreat. The sword flashed into his body. Fortunately, Mo Han’s Light Holy Sword managed to deflect the blade slightly at the critical moment, causing it to miss his vital chest area and instead pierce his right shoulder.

Even so, a searing pain shot through Mo Han, eliciting a muffled groan.

Guang Huo and the others behind him cried out in shock, and Shui Ling'er cried out Mo Han’s name.

Struck by the General, Mo Han felt a violent surge of dark energy flow directly through the blade into his body, almost extinguishing his consciousness. Mo Han knew that if his mind were consumed by the Nether General’s dark aura, he would be finished, becoming a puppet of the Nether Race. The General’s eyes gleamed with bloodlust.

At that critical juncture, the Light Jade Pendant Mo Han carried automatically emitted a pure light energy, repelling the dark aura's corrosion. Simultaneously, a surge of fierce Battle Qi erupted from within Mo Han. Driven by the will to survive, he ignored the searing pain in his shoulder and swung his Light Holy Sword toward the Nether General’s body. At the same moment, Shui Ling’er's World-Ending Divine Bow unleashed two beams of golden light toward the General.

The Nether General, who was concentrating on invading Mo Han’s mind with dark energy, had not anticipated a counterattack under such intense pressure. In a scramble, he pulled his sword from Mo Han’s shoulder and stumbled back several steps to evade Mo Han’s strike and the incoming attack from the Divine Bow. Mo Han seized this rare opportunity, leaping clear of the General's immediate reach.

As soon as he landed, Shui Ling'er rushed forward from behind him, supporting him. Her eyes red and her voice thick with tears, she asked urgently, "How are you? Are you alright? Let me see!"

She immediately bent down to examine the wound on Mo Han’s shoulder.

Mo Han forced a smile through the pain. "Heh, don't worry. This little scratch won't kill me. Did you forget I'm like a cockroach? Not so easy to take down."

Shui Ling’er paid him no mind. She waved her hand, casting several high-level healing spells onto his wound, then pulled a small bottle from her embrace, pouring out two pills and thrusting them into Mo Han’s mouth without a word. Mo Han couldn't help but find her reaction amusing; a shoulder wound didn't warrant such an extreme reaction. Yet, in his heart, Mo Han felt a wave of warmth from Shui Ling'er’s earnest concern, and the smile on his lips deepened.

Leaping to...