Qin Shilei had identified the purple figure as the Phantom Sound Butterfly King, its strength already at Golden Three Stars, the moment it appeared.
With such power, An Qian stood no chance, especially after her Yuan Qi had been heavily depleted by using her ultimate skill.
However, the Phantom Sound Butterfly King's speed was simply too great. By the time Qin Shilei teleported next to An Qian, the opponent had already closed in to within a meter.
Qin Shilei thrust his sword forward.
Observing the incoming sword strike, a look of disdain flickered in the Phantom Sound Butterfly's eyes. It casually swiped its right wing, intending to knock the Blood Soul away.
But the moment its wing touched the Blood Soul, it suddenly felt as if it had been struck by a petrification spell, utterly unable to move.
What enraged it even more was that the opponent had not only immobilized it but also summoned an illusionary double that simultaneously attacked its vital head.
Seven Stars Descending from the Heavens!
Both Qin Shilei and his phantom double struck towards its head with the full power of One-Punch Man's ultimate state.
Perhaps due to overconfidence, this Golden realm Phantom Sound Butterfly had no energy shield around it.
Now, immobilized by the divine ability of petrification, it was incapable of any defense.
It was on the verge of being cleaved in two by Qin Shilei's sword.
Yet, as the Blood Soul carved a shallow bloody gash on its head, Qin Shilei's vision blurred. The purple Phantom Sound Butterfly beneath his sword had been replaced by a red one.
The red Phantom Sound Butterfly was instantly sliced in half.
Qin Shilei scanned his surroundings and immediately spotted the Phantom Sound Butterfly King about thirty meters to his right.
It was still frozen in its petrified state.
Although he didn't know why it had replaced itself with a red Phantom Sound Butterfly, Qin Shilei knew he had to leave immediately.
With a blink, he teleported to Zhang Xiaoli's side, holding An Qian.
Another blink, and he reappeared a hundred meters away, carrying both women.
His phantom double, meanwhile, teleported next to the Phantom Sound Butterfly King and unleashed Seven Stars Descending from the Heavens once more.
But before it could deliver the final blow, the opponent had already recovered from its petrified state.
Suddenly, a powerful aura surged from the Phantom Sound Butterfly King. It vanished from its spot in a flash, reappearing where An Qian had been moments before.
When it realized Qin Shilei had already teleported with the two women a hundred meters away, it quickly flapped its wings and pursued them.
The phantom double chased behind it but couldn't catch up. Even when it used teleportation to get ahead, the opponent swiftly evaded it.
This Phantom Sound Butterfly surprisingly recognized the phantom double as a summoned entity and didn't linger.
Seeing the Phantom Sound Butterfly King relentlessly pursuing him, Qin Shilei didn't hesitate to pull out and activate the Stealth Formation.
Instantly, their three figures and auras completely vanished from the Phantom Sound Butterfly's senses.
The Phantom Sound Butterfly circled the area several times but couldn't find the human who had nearly killed it.
It suddenly noticed that the corpses of its subjects at the previous location were disappearing one by one.
"Hiss hiss!"
The Phantom Sound Butterfly King turned and flew towards the spot.
Within a few meters of the location, it suddenly spewed out a large cloud of purple mist.
The mist instantly engulfed an area of dozens of meters.
Just as Qin Shilei tossed the last Phantom Sound Butterfly corpse into his Qiankun Ring, he felt a sudden dizziness.
At that moment, a warm current surged into his eyes, instantly clearing his mind.
"An Qian, Xiaoli, wake up."
Qin Shilei quickly grabbed the two women who were walking towards the Phantom Sound Butterfly King.
The two women struggled violently, as if an incredibly attractive force was pulling them forward.
Purifying Eyes!
Qin Shilei had no choice but to cast an illusion on both women.
A dual illusion simultaneously took effect on them.
Both women's faces contorted in pain.
Suddenly, a phantom image of a phoenix appeared on An Qian's back, and a Jianmu Divine Tree materialized above Zhang Xiaoli's head.
"Ah!"
The two women cried out in pain and simultaneously broke free from the illusion.
However, before Qin Shilei could relax, the Phantom Sound Butterfly King had already silently appeared above An Qian's head.
It spread its wings, instantly enveloping An Qian within.
The Oak Shield outside her body lasted less than 0.1 second before vanishing into thin air like foam.
"Ah!"
An Qian's face instantly turned deathly pale, devoid of any color.
Qin Shilei, his heart burning with anxiety, swung his sword fiercely towards the Phantom Sound Butterfly King's head.
The Phantom Sound Butterfly King's body seethed with purple energy, easily blocking Qin Shilei's sword energy.
Qin Shilei's One-Punch Man state had long since vanished, leaving him powerless against the Golden realm Phantom Sound Butterfly King.
He unleashed Seven Stars Descending from the Heavens again.
Zhang Xiaoli, standing beside him, continuously unleashed her powerful abilities, striking at the Phantom Sound Butterfly.
Unfortunately, neither of their attacks could even breach the Phantom Sound Butterfly King's energy shield, let alone force it to release An Qian.
An Qian's exposed face visibly withered at an alarming rate.
She gazed at Qin Shilei with deep affection and boundless reluctance.
She opened her mouth to speak, only to find she couldn't even utter a sound.
The two substitute dolls at her waist shattered one after another, dissolving into nothingness.
An Qian attempted to use the combat skill Floating Light, Fleeting Shadow, but couldn't muster any Yuan Qi within her body.
She also tried to activate Void Walking on the Void Chain but couldn't concentrate her mind enough to enter the void.
"An Qian, don't worry, I'll save you right now."
Qin Shilei fought like a madman, relentlessly attacking the Phantom Sound Butterfly.
Seeing that he couldn't break its defense and his Yuan Qi couldn't reach its true body, his divine ability of petrification had no effect.
Qin Shilei forced himself to calm down.
He suddenly sheathed his Blood Soul and took out the Jinghong Sword, which he hadn't used in a long time.
Nurture (Red): Before drawing the Jinghong Sword, Yuan Qi can be injected for nurturing. As time passes, the power of the first strike after drawing the sword will continuously increase.
This was a fixed attribute on the Jinghong Sword.
He had been nurturing the Jinghong Sword daily during this period.
Now was the time to test the effect of this attribute.
Seven Stars Descending from the Heavens!
Qin Shilei, with the sword sheath still attached, rapidly struck the Phantom Sound Butterfly six times, then with a wrist flick, he dislodged the sheath.
A sharp sword energy burst forth, piercing the Phantom Sound Butterfly King's energy shield with an unstoppable momentum.
As it was about to exhaust its power, it finally struck the Phantom Sound Butterfly King's body.
The Phantom Sound Butterfly King instantly froze in place, motionless.
Qin Shilei's face lit up with joy, and he prepared to pry it open to save An Qian.
However, he found that An Qian had already become gaunt, like a dried corpse, with only skin stretched over bone, her original appearance completely lost.
At that moment, a flame suddenly rose from the center of An Qian's brow.
The purple flame instantly erupted into a raging inferno, engulfing both An Qian and the Phantom Sound Butterfly King outside her body.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Qin Shilei seemed to hear the sound of a powerful heartbeat echoing from within the flames.
A phoenix phantom flickered in and out of existence within the fire.