Startled, Mo Han swiftly dodged aside. Just as he moved, the beast's claw struck where he had been standing. However, due to the restriction of the iron chains binding it, the beast's range of motion was firmly curtailed. It could only roar at Mo Han from its spot, unable to pursue him.

Seeing this, Mo Han couldn't help but feel puzzled. The master of this grand hall was truly peculiar. If they intended for this monstrous beast to guard the hall, why shackle it? Wasn't that inherently contradictory? Still, it was fortunate the beast's movement was limited; otherwise, with its astonishing speed, it would have been a nightmare to deal with.

With this thought, a faint smile touched Mo Han's eyes. If that was the case, no matter how formidable this beast was, it was now just meat for the slaughter. It was a pity that this hall was also under some sort of restriction; the magical elements in the air were pathetically weak, rendering him unable to deploy his high-level magic against it.

Therefore, the only remaining avenues were utilizing his Dou Qi or employing ranged attacks.

However, Mo Han never carried long-range weaponry like bows and arrows. That left only the use of Dou Qi for offense. He raised the Holy Sword of Light in his hand, gathering his Dou Qi onto the blade.

The Holy Sword of Light began to glow softly. As Mo Han accumulated more and more Dou Qi, the brilliance emanating from the sword intensified.

Just then, Mo Han let out a soft cry, and the Holy Sword of Light in his grip slashed toward the beast's body. The resulting surge of power, carrying Mo Han’s Dou Qi merged with the inherent energy of the Holy Sword of Light, was not to be underestimated. The very ground beneath it was gouged with a deep trench by the sheer force of the attack.

Yet, as the wave of Dou Qi neared the beast, the creature suddenly lifted its forelimbs, using the numerous iron chains bound to them to intercept Mo Han’s attack.

Then, it was clear to see that the wave of Dou Qi, infused with the energy of the Holy Sword of Light, could not advance even a fraction further upon encountering those strange chains, until its power completely dissipated.

It only managed to leave a mark approximately half an inch deep on the metal links. Witnessing this, Mo Han was profoundly astonished. Having always held unwavering faith in the power of the Holy Sword of Light, seeing his presumed fatal blow so easily blocked by the very chains restraining the beast was utterly beyond his expectations.

It seemed these metals, flashing with a dim, dark luster...

...must also be extremely rare and precious materials. Could these be the legendary 'Hell Netherstone'? In Mo Han's mind, a memory surfaced of something Daili had once told him about an extinct metallic material: the 'Hell Netherstone.'

The Hell Netherstone was said to be the essence drawn from the deepest reaches of Hell, from ten thousand fathoms beneath the earth. Its quantity was exceedingly scarce, and it was impossible for mortal hands to collect it. It only occasionally surfaced when molten magma buried deep underground erupted through volcanoes, but such opportunities were infinitesimally rare, making its supply incredibly limited.

It was truly an item that could not be purchased, regardless of wealth.

Later, it was discovered serendipitously that the 'Hell Netherstone' was incomparably strong; even the finest blades and swords could not inflict the slightest scratch upon it. Naturally, the 'Hell Netherstone' became the coveted material that warriors dreamed of possessing. Thus, wherever a piece of 'Hell Netherstone' appeared, it invariably sparked bloody conflict.

However, this 'Hell Netherstone' was reputedly so incredibly durable that no other known metal in the world could match its sheer tenacity. Consequently, many humans attempted to forge armor from the 'Hell Netherstone,' hoping to gain an ultimate measure of protection. But later generations discovered that the 'Hell Netherstone' proved utterly impossible to refine; even the Dwarven race, masters of forging weapons and armor, were helpless against it, let alone other races.

As a result, many only knew of its unparalleled hardness while possessing no practical use for it, rendering it a culinary cliché—a tough, useless bone. Gradually, people forgot its existence. By this time, few remained who could recall the 'Hell Netherstone.' Mo Han himself only learned of it when Daili described it during a casual conversation.

The external appearance of this Hell Netherstone bore a strong resemblance to Daili's description: a dark exterior flashing with a faint, dark light, and possessing insurmountable hardness. Even the Holy Sword of Light had only managed to etch a slight scratch on its surface. Based on these converging factors, Mo Han hypothesized that this must indeed be the Hell Netherstone Daili spoke of.

But if the Hell Netherstone could not be refined, then what about these chains on the beast, and those two massive doors Mo Han had seen earlier? It couldn't be that the Hell Netherstone naturally formed this way during volcanic eruptions, could it? If that were the case, even if beaten to death, Mo Han wouldn't believe it. It meant someone had refined the Hell Netherstone and subsequently forged the chains for this beast.

Who in the world could possess the skill to refine a material that even the Dwarves found intractable? The power of this palace's master must be unfathomably deep. Otherwise, facing only this monstrous beast, Mo Han doubted he could manage.

While Mo Han was still deep in thought, he suddenly noticed a flash of red light in the beast's eyes. Immediately after, Mo Han felt a strange magical fluctuation originating from above his head. Without thinking, he instinctively leaped to his left to evade. Just as his body cleared the spot, several colossal ice shards, propelled by intense force, struck precisely where he had been standing.

They embedded themselves deep into the ground, and Mo Han could still feel the chilling aura radiating from them, testament to the sheer power with which they were launched.

A cold sweat broke out on Mo Han. This beast could use magic, and it had launched a sneak attack! Damn it, thank goodness he still had his Dou Qi; if a mage had been standing there, they would have been finished.

Consequently, Mo Han couldn't help but send a few choice ancestral greetings toward the beast.

Seeing that its ambush had failed, the beast seemed to cease its pretense. Its eyes flashed red repeatedly, and then countless ice shards began raining down from the apex of the grand hall, instantly sealing off all avenues of escape for Mo Han, clearly intending to kill him.

Observing this, Mo Han suppressed a surge of anger. A tiger doesn't bare its fangs unless it means business. You take me for a sickly cat, do you? Mo Han suddenly raised the Holy Sword of Light, channeled his Dou Qi, and began to move it rapidly, spinning it into an impenetrable defense. Every ice shard that touched Mo Han's Holy Sword of Light was instantly pulverized by his potent Dou Qi, turning into steam and vanishing into the air.

As the ice shards descended, a bizarre spectacle unfolded: the entire hall became studded with massive ice shards, yet the area immediately surrounding Mo Han remained untouched. It was as if Mo Han had suddenly found himself within the heart of a massive ice spike formation.

Seeing its attack fail, the beast appeared enraged. It let out a fierce roar, and a burst of white mist spewed from its mouth, rapidly engulfing Mo Han, who was nearby.

Wherever this white mist passed, the giant ice shards embedded in the floor dissolved into vapor, disappearing into the air, showing the incredible potency of the mist. Witnessing this, Mo Han couldn't help but recall the Dragon's Breath of the Dragon Clan. In his memory, only the Dragon's Breath possessed such destructive power. But the creature before him was clearly not a great dragon, so this mist could not be Dragon's Breath, merely similar in appearance and force.

However potent the white mist was, its speed could not match Mo Han's agility, allowing him to evade each blast easily. Seeing that the white fog posed no real threat, the beast abruptly ceased its assault. A red light suddenly emanated from the beast's head, and then, from within its originally massive skull, a second, bloody head slowly began to emerge, a sight that chilled the blood.

Even Mo Han felt a wave of primal fear upon seeing this. Mo Han had encountered multi-headed beasts before, even ones with more heads than this two-headed creature. But a beast where one head sprouted directly from within another was something he had truly never witnessed. Moreover, the newly emerged head was dripping with fresh blood, making the sight extraordinarily grotesque. It was no wonder Mo Han was unnerved.

This secondary head was considerably smaller than the beast's original head, though still much larger than the head of an ordinary monster. Both heads let out a simultaneous roar, and then countless giant ice shards began raining down again from the hall ceiling. Simultaneously, both heads unleashed the white, Dragon's Breath-like mist toward Mo Han. It seemed the beast’s two heads could employ these skills in tandem to amplify their offensive power. The density of the ice shards and the white mist immediately increased, enveloping the entire hall within the beast’s expanded range of attack.

Leaping—