Автор: sergey

As soon as Han Li finished issuing that command, the leopard-like beast swayed to conjure up a dozen or so identical projections, all of which instantly rushed into the crowd.

Meanwhile, black light flashed from the small monkeys body, and it swelled to several tens of times its original size, transforming into a massive black ape that was over 200 feet tall.

The ape thumped its chest while letting loose a cold harrumph, upon which a swath of yellow light swept forth from within its large nostrils.

All of the twin-headed falcons that were struck by this yellow light plummeted from the sky as if they were inebriated.

The giant ape the swung its fists violently up above, smashing the giant falcons into mincemeat as if they were nothing more than pesky insects.

As for Han Li, he was unleashing his flying swords on the surrounding enemies once again. With each and every flash of an azure thread, at least one armored warrior or giant falcon was slain without any resistance.

In the blink of an eye, almost all of the armored warriors and giant falcons had been slain by Han Li and his two spirit beasts.

Soon, there were less than 100 armored warriors that remained, and fearful expressions had finally appeared on their faces. One of the Deity Transformation Stage leaders issued a loud command, and all of them dispersed before fleeing for their lives toward the two battle arks up above.

Han Li immediately rose up into the air in hot pursuit without any hesitation, and azure threads continued to harvest more lives as they flashed through the air.

All of a sudden, a resounding boom erupted overhead, and Han Lis heart stirred as he hurriedly looked up.

At this moment, brilliant light began to radiate from the crystalline pillars on the undersides of the two silver battle arks, following which over 100 pillars of light came raining down without any regard for the Jiao Chi beings nearby.

Han Li harrumphed coldly as he flapped his wings, and he disappeared on the spot amid a loud thunderclap.

Thus, all of the pillars of light struck nothing but empty air.

In the next instant, Han Li reappeared above one of the battle arks before making a grabbing motion downward in an expressionless manner.

An inky-black palm extended itself out of his sleeve, then pressed down in a seemingly gentle manner.

Grey light flashed and a miniature black mountain emerged from his palm. The mountain then swelled drastically to over 10,000 feet in size before crashing down toward the battle ark with devastating might.

The Divine Essencefused Mountain had become even more gigantic than the battle ark, and it instantly vast a colossal shadow over the entire battle ark.

The Jiao Chi beings within the battle ark were stunned to see this, and they hurriedly spurred on the battle ark to try and evade the attack, but it was already far too late.

The underside of the giant mountain crashed into the battle ark amid a resounding boom, and despite the fact that the mountain was repelled slightly by the force of the collision, most of the battle arks surface had caved in significantly. At the same time, it was rammed down above, crashing heavily onto the ground below.

Close to half of the entire ark had sunk into the ground, and it was quite clear that it wouldnt be doing any more flying anytime soon.

However, a hint of surprise appeared in Han Lis eyes upon seeing this.

The fact that the battle ark hadnt been completely destroyed by the Divine Essencefused Mountain indicated that the materials used to construct it were most likely not inferior to normal treasures.

Constructing such a massive battle ark would require the expenditure of a vast amount of such materials. Thinking back to the giant island that Han Li had seen in Green Light City, which was far more gigantic than even these two battle arks, he couldnt help but draw a sharp breath.

The insane wealth of the Jiao Chi Race finally dawned on him. They really were worthy of being known as one of the most powerful races in the Spirit Realm.

Despite the shock in his heart, Han Li displayed no intention of giving his opponents any respite. He flicked his fingers toward the black mountain from afar in quick succession, and the mountain came crashing down again.

An earthshattering boom rang out as the silver battle ark was flattened into a pancake of scrap metal beneath the colossal mountain.

The Jiao Chi beings operating the battle ark may not have been killed as a result, but they most certainly wouldnt be enjoying themselves in there, either.

However, much to Han Lis surprise, silver light shimmered from the battle ark, and it was slowly repairing itself despite the horrendous condition it was in.

Han Li raised his eyebrows upon seeing this before immediately making a grabbing motion.

Several tens of azure threads instantly shot forth out of thin air, all of which converged into Han Lis grasp.

Following a flash of piercing azure light, the azure threads formed a giant sword that was around 10 feet in length. However, its surface was shimmering with azure light, and it didnt appear to actually possess any substance.

Han Li grabbed onto the hilt of the sword without a second thought and prepared to bring it down upon the crippled battle ark down below.

However, right at this moment, an urgent cry from the foreign being suddenly rang out.

Look out, Senior!

Han Li faltered slightly upon hearing this before abruptly sensing a burst of immense spiritual power exploding beside him.

Without any time for further thought, Han Li swiveled around and lashed out with his giant sword toward the direction where the spiritual power was erupting from.

A streak of azure sword Qi that was over 100 feet in length instantly swept through the air and struck the burst of spiritual power.

The two clashed and exploded over 300 feet away from Han Li, forming a pillar of azure and black wind that surged up into the sky, creating quite an astonishing sight to behold from afar.

Han Li narrowed his eyes as he focused his gaze on that direction, and he discovered that four beings of different appearances had appeared in the air above the silver battle ark.

One of them was a humanoid being with a set of pale facial features. His feet were bare, and he was holding a strange transparent blade as he appraised Han Li with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

It appeared that he was the one who had unleashed that sneak attack just then.

The other three beings consisted of an elderly woman, a midget, and a giant Neanderthal-like man wearing a beasthide garment.

Han Li swept his spiritual sense toward them to find that the one who had just attacked him was a mid-Spatial Tempering Stage being, while the other three were all at the early-Spatial Tempering Stage.

He had already assessed the surrounding area and failed to discover these four, so he was unsure of where they had popped up from.

These four Spatial Tempering Stage beings were certainly going to be more troublesome to take care of than those armored warriors, but they still posed no threat to Han Li, he was only slightly curious about how they had managed to escape his detection.

Youve got some guts to destroy a battle ark from our Jiao Chi Race. From the looks of it, you dont seem to be from the 13 Heavenly Cloud Races. In any case, well just have to capture you and interrogate you later, the pale-faced being said in a cold voice.

He then cast his gaze toward another direction.

There, the foreign being had emerged from the golden ball again, and he was appraising the four Spatial Tempering Stage being with a dark expression on his face.

Mr. Jia, Ive heard that youre not even a purebred Myriad Ancient being. In that case, why would you insist on fighting for the 13 Heavenly Cloud Races? Prior to coming here, the elders of our race specifically mentioned you and offered much praise for your proficiency in the art of puppetry. The elders have also promised that if youre willing to join our Jiao Chi Race, they would transform your body at all costs to give you the purest bloodline, and I can guarantee that your cultivation base would be significantly enhanced as a result. Given suitable opportunities in the future, it wouldnt be impossible for you to become holy race being, the pale-faced being said in a respectful voice. frewbnovel.com

After a brief silence, Jia Tianmu shook his head expressionlessly, and replied, Join the Jiao Chi Race? I have no interest in that. I may not have the purest bloodline, but Im greatly indebted to the elders our Myriad Ancient Race, so I wont pledge my allegiance to any other race. Besides, Im sure youre not just trying to capture me for my puppet refinement skills, youre also planning to interrogate me for some secrets of the 13 Heavenly Cloud Races, right?

As opposed to becoming enraged by Jia Tianmus rejection, the pale-faced being smiled, and continued, Mr. Jia, do you still think you have a chance of escaping this place? Your puppets are indeed very powerful, but you must be close to exhausting your supply of spirit stones, right? At your current cultivation base, you pose no threat to us at all. We dont have to have to do things by force, so Id advise you to hand yourself over to us.

Jia Tianmus expression remained completely unchanged upon seeing this, but he cast his gaze toward Han Li.

The pale-faced being faltered slightly upon seeing Jia Tianmus reaction before also turning to Han Li in an expressionless manner. Are you counting on him to rescue you? So be it, well get rid of this pesky meddler first, then.

Are you going to surrender or will we have to destroy your body and capture your soul? the pale-faced being asked in a cold voice.

Han Lis pupils contracted upon hearing this, but he then chuckled, and replied, You sure can talk big. I wonder if youre all talk or if you can actually walk the walk as well.

The pale-faced being was rather surprised by Han Lis response. He carefully appraised Han Li for a moment before a thought suddenly seemed to have occurred to him, and his expression suddenly changed as he turned to the elderly woman in their group. This man is a little familiar, is he the one that Envoy Tu asked us to capture a few days ago?

Now that you mention it, he really is identical to the man on the portrait! He must be quite powerful to have been able to escape from Envoy Tu. The elderly woman nodded as a cold light flashed through her eyes.

The other two beings in the group were both rather surprised to hear this.

Haha, is he really the one? In that case, were in luck, well be completing two missions at once! Come to think of it, its all thanks to him for destroying the other battle ark. Otherwise, if the other team were to be teleported here as well, wed have to split the reward for completing these missions with them, the giant man clad in beasthide guffawed.

Hmph, you seem quite confident, Fellow Daoist Li. Id advise you to be more careful against such a powerful opponent, though. Otherwise, you could be in for a nasty surprise, the midget chuckled coldly.

Hehe, no matter how powerful he is, theres no way he can take on all four of us on his own, the huge man chuckled nonchalantly in response.

Of course hes no match for the four of us, but are you sure we can stop him if he insists on getting away? the midget countered as he pursed his lips.

The result of the clash was much the same as Han Li had expected, as soon as the two Spatial Tempering Stage puppets sprang into action, the armored warriors and giant falcons were completely no match. They were either sliced into several segments or plummeted from the sky amid howls of anguish with raging flames incinerating their bodies.

However, the Jiao Chi beings seemed to have anticipated that this would happen in advance, so they werent all that unsettled. Instead, many of the armored warriors suddenly patted something on their waists, and swathes of five-colored light were sent surging toward the long-haired foreign being.

Before they had even gotten close to the foreign being, the five-colored light transformed into a series of large nets that hurtled toward him.

It appeared that the Jiao Chi beings were trying to capture the foreign being alive.

Han Li was quite surprised to see this.

Right at this moment, the foreign being let loose a cold harrumph before suddenly stomping down on the flying ark underfoot. The ark immediately flashed with yellow light, following which a dense yellow light barrier appeared. The foreign being then made a hand seal, and a layer of white lightning arcs instantly surfaced over the light barrier.

As soon as those large nets descended, they were blasted into balls of spiritual light by the flashing arcs of lightning.

Before the armored warriors had a chance to employ any other tactics, the long-haired foreign being flipped both of his hands over to summon a pair of shimmering golden treasures that resembled round shields, then tossed them up into the air.

The two treasures shot forth amid a loud whistling sound, and all of the surrounding armored beings appraised the pair of treasures with alarm and wariness in their eyes.

However, the two golden treasures merely circled around in the air before whizzing back to the foreign being, much to the bemusement of all of the surrounding Jiao Chi beings.

Following a dull thump, the two shields crashed into the foreign beings body, upon which both of them began to emit a ball of piercing golden light.

Immediately thereafter, the foreign being completely disappeared, but a large golden ball with a diameter of around 10 feet had appeared in his place.

The ball was shimmering with golden light, looking as if it had been constructed from pure gold. Furthermore, there were all types of runes carved all over its surface, striking the onlooker with a sense of mystery and intrigue.

A string of peculiar screeching sounds rang out from the golden ball, following which countless sharp blades that were each around a foot in length appeared all over its surface. The ball then hurtled into ht crowd, leaving a trail of afterimages in its wake.

The sharp blades on the surface of the golden ball didnt look to be anything special, but all of the armored warriors that came into contact with them were sliced into several pieces without being able to offer up any resistance.

All of the attacks that were launched toward the golden ball were also repelled by its high rotational speed.

In the blink of an eye, the golden ball had joined the horse puppet as they flew toward the same direction together.

As for the seven-headed lion puppet, it was following close behind them with fireballs continuing to surge relentlessly out of its mouths. Most of the fireballs were aimed up at the giant falcons that were flying at higher altitudes, thereby preventing them from attempting to swoop down from above.

The three combined to form a lethal trio.

Close to 100 armored warriors and giant falcons were slain in an instant, and the trio was just about to escape.

All of a sudden, one of the Deity Transformation Stage Jiao Chi beings let loose a loud cry, and the armored warriors around the foreign being and his puppets suddenly backed away, retreating in all directions.

The twin-headed giant falcons up above also dispersed, thereby creating a large area of empty space around the golden ball and the two puppets, with a radius of close to 1,000 feet.

The foreign being within the golden ball faltered upon seeing this.

Right at this moment, the two battle arks in the sky finally sprang into action.

The hundreds of crystalline pillars on the undersides of the battle arks lit up in unison, following which white pillars of light came raining down from above.

The white light completely encompassed the area of open space that had just appeared, and a string of deafening explosions rang out in rapid succession.

The golden ball and both of the puppets were instantly inundated by this white light.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the armored warriors and giant falcons surrounded their target once again, reorganizing their formation during this period of respite.

The attacks from the two battle arks quickly subsided, and the white light gradually faded.

Han Li narrowed his eyes and focused his gaze up above to discover that a shimmering blue giant umbrella with a radius of over 100 feet had appeared.

Beneath the giant umbrella, the upper half of the foreign beings body was protruding out of the massive golden ball, and his brows were tightly furrowed in a concerned expression as he quickly assessed his surroundings.

Meanwhile, his two puppets had also remained completely unscathed.

On this occasion, the foreign being didnt seem to want to delay any further.

He let loose a low cry before raising a hand and waving it up into the air.

The giant umbrella above him immediately shrank at a rapid rate amid a flash of spiritual light, dwindling down to several inches in size before landing in his grasp. He then twisted around, and his upper body disappeared back into the golden ball.

At the same time, the two puppets flew through the air again, and another fierce battle ensued.

This battle was quite similar to the last one, the armored warriors and giant falcons were still no match for their opponents, and within moments, almost half of them had perished.

Just as the foreign being was about to escape again, the lion puppet suddenly ceased its fireball output. Red light flashed from its body several times in quick succession, following which all seven of its heads drooped, and it fell completely stationary on the spot.

The armored warriors nearby initially faltered upon seeing this before being greatly spurred on by this development.

A few of them instantly raised their hands, and five-colored light surged through the air, forming several large nets that completely ensnared the lion puppet.

The armored warriors dragged the nets toward them, and the lion puppet was forcibly captured.

Without the fireball output from the lion puppet, the giant falcons up above no longer had any qualms as they flapped their wings violently and swooped down at an alarming rate.

Large blades of wind came hurtling down from above, and as they struck the golden ball, the golden light emanating from its surface tremored, and its rotational speed was hampered drastically.

Thus, the foreign being was surrounded again, and he was in a far worse situation than before.

To further compound his woes, the horse puppet also ceased to function for some reason a short while later, and it was also captured by the Jiao Chi beings.

Thus, the golden ball was the only target left, and despite its astonishing defensive prowess, it was struggling to hold on in the face of all of the attacks being thrown at it.

Han Li heaved a faint sight upon seeing this.

The foreign being was able to manipulate these puppets that were far more powerful than himself and last so long against such a vast number of opponents, clearly indicating that he was no ordinary being.

However, under the current circumstances, it appeared that it would only be a matter of time before he was captured.

He didnt know why the Jiao Chi beings seemed to be intent on capturing the foreign being alive, but there was no need to expose himself and draw potential trouble. Thus, he turned away and prepared to leave.

However, right at this moment, the foreign beings voice suddenly rang out from within the golden ball.

Senior, I am Jia Tianmu of the Myriad Ancient Race! If you can help me escape, Im willing to reward you with a sentient puppet once we return to the Myriad Ancient Race!

The foreign being hadnt employed any voice transmission techniques. Instead, hed injected some of his spiritual power into his voice, making it clearly audible to everyone within a radius of several kilometers!

Han Li initially faltered upon hearing this before being struck by the urge to cuss out loud.

He didnt know how the foreign being had been able to detect his presence, but he definitely didnt have any good intentions by exposing him like this.

As expected, one of the leaders of the Jiao Chi beings instantly waved a hand upon hearing this, and a few armored warriors as well as a dozen or so giant falcons were instantly deployed toward the small mountain where Han Li was hiding.

These beings were somehow able to ascertain his rough location, but they were clearly unable to pinpoint exactly where he was, as evidenced by the fact that they were flying around the small mountain in a rather confused manner.

Han Lis lips twitched, but he wasnt fearful of this development in the slightest.

These Jiao Chi beings and giant falcons were far too weak to pose any threat to him, so the only potentially troublesome opponents would be those two battle arks.

Even so, he was naturally enraged by the fact that the foreign being had forcibly exposed him like this. freewebnvel.com

Thus, a cold look appeared on his face as he swept a sleeve through the air, and several tens of inch-long flying swords shot froth from within.

These flying swords then transformed into azure threads before disappearing into space in a flash.

In the next instant, several azure threads appeared close to the Jiao Chi beings and giant falcons up above. Following a flash of azure light, all of those beings were sliced into several segments, and their dismembered remains came crashing down amid a rain of blood.

Immediately thereafter, Han Li appeared beneath the large tree that hed been hiding under, and a loud thunderclap rang out behind him as a pair of wings emerged on his back.

He flapped those wings and disappeared on the spot amid a gentle breeze.

In the next instant, a thunderclap rang out right at the center of the Jiao Chi beings, and Han Li reappeared amid a flash of azure and white lightning.

He made a hand seal, and 72 azure threads erupted from all parts of his body. These azure threads then blurred before multiplying at a rapid rate.

In the blink of an eye, azure light was flashing throughout the entire sky, and howls of anguish rang out in quick succession as all of the armored warriors and giant falcons in the area were felled in just the span of a few breaths.

No one was able to withstand Han Lis sword threads.

Within mere moments, all of the enemies around Han Li had been slain.

Only then did the surrounding Jiao Chi beings return to their senses, and all of them reflexively retreated even further with alarmed expressions on their faces.

However, Han Li had no intention of stopping here. He swept a sleeve through the air, and two black shadows instantly shot forth from within.

Golden and black lights flashed, following which a small leopard-like beast and a small black monkey that was around a foot tall appeared.

Kill them all, dont let anyone leave alive! Han Li commanded with a cold expression on his face.

As Han Li was intentionally trying to skirt around the nearby cities, he was choosing to fly over extremely barren and desolate areas, and during the first few days of his journey, he encountered no difficulties whatsoever.

He only saw the occasional cultivator hurriedly passing through the area from afar, heading toward the few nearby cities.

Han Li could only shake his head with a forlorn look upon seeing this, but made no effort to warn them against traveling to their destinations.

All of these people had extremely low cultivation bases around the Foundation Establishment Stage and Core Formation Stage. In the face of the sudden attack that the Jiao Chi Race had launched against the area, they naturally pinned their hopes on traveling to cities in order to escape the area using their teleportation formations or to seek protection from the high-grade beings in those cities.

After flying on his own for over 10 days, Han Li finally encountered a group of armored Jiao Chi Race warriors.

There werent all that many of them, only around a dozen or so, but each of them was riding a snowy white twin-headed falcon steed.

The most powerful being among them was a Nascent Soul cultivator, while the others all possessed Core Formation Stage cultivation bases.

Han Lis heart immediately sank upon seeing these armored warriors. If he recalled correctly, there were no cities nearby, so why had these Jiao Chi beings appeared in such a secluded place?

Han Li was quite bewildered by this development, but he wasnt very alarmed as these beings were nowhere near powerful enough to pose a threat to him anyway.

However, even though he was capable of killing these armored warriors with ease, he concealed himself instead and only revealed himself again after theyd departed.

He looked on at the group of armored warriors in the distance with a dark expression on his face before continuing on his way.

However, after encountering the first group of Jiao Chi Race armored warriors, he went on to encounter a second group, a third group, a fourth group…

The regularity at which Han Li was encountering these groups was gradually on the rise.

Their vast cultivation base disparities ensured that Han Li could conceal himself from them with ease, but he was still struck by a sense of foreboding.

Could it be that this entire area was under the control of the Jiao Chi Race?

Just as Han Li was starting to become alerted to his situation, the Jiao Chi Race conquered a city that was several times larger than Green Light City. Within the city, there were three high-grade Jiao Chi beings situated within a palace, conversing with one another about this matter.

A red-haired woman and a thin and shriveled elderly man stood on either side of a golden chair in the hall, while a young woman who appeared to be in her twenties sat on the chair.

The woman had a set of beautiful facial features, but there was a faint metallic silver hue to her skin. On top of that, she had a pair of purplish-golden eyes, and if one were to look into those eyes, theyd be struck by a piercing pain in their own eyes.

The woman had a small horn that was several inches long growing from her glabella, and it was glittering and translucent like an intricate artistic masterpiece.

Both the elderly man and the red-haired woman were Spatial Tempering Stage beings, yet they were appraising the young woman with extremely respectful expressions on their faces.

Has there still been no sign of him? the young woman suddenly asked. Her voice was quite pleasing to the ear, but her expression was quite cold.

Im afraid not, Lady Yin, our scouts have yet to return with any useful information. Perhaps he found an obscure location to hide in? In that case, it would be quite difficult to find him, the elderly man replied in a respectful manner.

Its very unlikely that hes hidden himself somewhere. He already knows that were attacking this area, so he must be well aware of the fact that if we were to seize complete control over this area, hell be dead no matter how powerful he is. I also didnt think that wed encounter such a big fish so early on in our campaign. If we could capture that man alive, it would be quite the accolade, the woman said with furrowed brows.

Were aware of just how important that man is to the 13 Heavenly Cloud Races, so we definitely wont allow him to escape from this place. Weve already sent out a large number of scouts to scour through this entire area, as well as two groups of powerful beings that are constantly at the ready. As soon as we receive news of his location, those two groups will teleport over right away. Teleportation of that kind is restricted to within a certain distance and will require a huge price to be paid, but Im sure itll be worth it to capture that man, the red-haired woman chimed in in a respectful manner.

Alright, Ill leave it to you two then. By the way, wasnt Envoy Tu requesting our assistance to capture someone a few days ago? the woman suddenly asked.

Yes, Master Tu and the others did indeed distribute a portrait to all of the nearby cities, asking them to keep an eye out for a certain man. Apparently, theyre searching for an upper race seventh-tier being whos carrying something important in the context of the mission, the elderly man replied after a brief hesitation.

Hmph, they really are useless. Even with such a huge cultivation base advantage, they still let a mere upper race being get away. If it werent for the fact that it was already a part of the plan to put this area into complete lockdown, we wouldnt even pay any heed to such a ridiculous request, the woman scoffed as a derisive look flashed through her eyes.

Neither the elderly man nor the red-haired woman dared to say anything in response.

Speaking on this matter, though, Im rather curious about just what the elders sent those out to obtain, they even asked me to loan them one of only two fortress level battle arks in my possession. As a result of that setback, we had to change our plans, and we still havent taken over this area, even now, the young woman chuckled coldly, seemingly very displeased with the current arrangement.

Lady Yin, the panel of elders ordered us to loan them the battle ark, so we cant go against those orders. Seeing as the panel of elders is holding the mission in such high regard, its safe to assume that the items theyve been deployed to secure must be extremely important for our race. Thankfully, the elders deployed a new group of battle puppets to us, and those will be enough for us to completely control this area. At present, there are only two cities left in this area that havent been conquered by our forces, the red-haired woman replied in a cautious manner.

Those puppets are relatively useful in large-scale battles, but theyre useless for patrol and tracking purposes. Most of our forces have been deployed to lock down this area, and the remaining two cities both have powerful defenses, so we still havent been able to conquer them. It looks like we cant afford to keep stalling like this. We have to wrest complete control over this area before the rest of our army arrives. I have no choice but to make a trip in person. Otherwise, I wont be able to answer to the panel of elders, the woman mused as a cold light flashed through her eyes.

The elderly man faltered slightly upon hearing this before a fawning smile appeared on his face. If Lady Yin gets involved, then wed be able to conquer the remaining two cities with ease! freebovel.com

Then its decided! Once everything has been taken care of here, well set off on the battle ark tomorrow, the young woman instructed.

Yes!

The red-haired woman and the elderly man hurriedly bowed in unison.

Half a month later, Han Li was situated under a certain lush tree at the foot of a small mountain. He wore a thin black veil that completely concealed his aura, yet he wore a grim expression as he looked up into the sky.

Not far above him, there were two identical silver islands hovering in mid-air.

These two silver islands were extremely similar in appearance to the one that had appeared over Green Light City, except it was only several thousand feet in size. Even so, the two smaller battle arks were still surrounded by a vast horde of silver-armored warriors and twin-headed giant falcons.

The Jiao Chi Race had deployed such heavy forces only to bring down a foreign being whom theyd already surrounded.

This was a man who appeared to be in his fifties or sixties, with greyish-white hair and a set of peculiar facial features. He had his hands clasped behind his back and was standing atop a flying ark in a stationary manner.

There was also a beastly puppet on either side of him. One of them possessed the body of a horse yet the head of a wyrm, and it was several tens of feet in size, radiating shimmering azure light.

The other puppet was a strange lion with seven heads, one of which was larger than the other six. It had an extremely fierce appearance and was over 200 feet in size.

Even at first glance, one could tell that these two puppets were quite powerful.

The wariness being exercised by the nearby Jiao Chi beings also seemed to further vindicate this notion.

Han Li looked on with intrigue at the confrontation that ensued.

Back when he had first discovered so many Jiao Chi beings and the pair of battle arks in this place, he had been given quite a fright.

However, he then immediately discovered that there were no beings of the Spatial Tempering Stage or above among the Jiao Chi beings, and theyd all surrounded a foreign being. Thus, his curiosity had been piqued, and he snuck over to a nearby area to survey the situation.

Han Li was able to immediately identify the foreign beings cultivation base, he was only Deity Transformation Stage being.

However, the auras being emitted by the two puppets on either side of him indicated that they were equivalent in power to Spatial Tempering Stage beings. Furthermore, one of them was at the mid-Spatial Tempering Stage, while the other was at the late-Spatial Tempering Stage.

The might of the two puppets was naturally quite astonishing to Han Li. However, what was even more confusing to him was why this foreign being didnt simply deploy his powerful puppets to kill these Jiao Chi beings and giant falcons. Why were they seemingly caught in a stalemate instead?

There was indeed a large number of those giant falcons and armored warriors, but the most powerful beings among them were only a few Deity Transformation Stage leaders.

The only potential cause for concern was the two silver battle arks as it was unknown what abilities they possessed.

Just as these thoughts were running through Han Lis mind, the surrounded foreign being up above glanced at the Jiao Chi beings around him before suddenly making a hand seal, and the two puppets finally sprang into action.

The wyrm-headed horse puppet abruptly spared open its wings, and they transformed into a pair of massive blades that shot forth through the air amid a flash of azure light.

In the next instant, the azure light swept into the surrounding area, and a dozen or so giant falcons and armored warriors were instantly sliced in half.

Meanwhile, the lion puppet opened all seven of its mouths at once, and countless fireballs erupted from within, forming a sea of flames in the blink of an eye that inundated all of the enemies in another direction.

The surrounding armored warriors were initially quite alarmed by this sudden development, but under the commands of the Deity Transformation Stage leaders, all of them raised their blades and unleashed countless attacks toward the two puppets.

At the same time, all of the giant falcons also rose up into the air before also pouncing toward the puppets.

All of a sudden, explosive boom and sharp screeches rang out incessantly as an intense battle ensued!

Han Li looked on at the fleeing purple shadow, and made no effort to give chase. Even if he wanted to chase down his opponent, the elderly mans earth movement technique granted him superior speed to Han Li anyway.

Furthermore, Han Li was also aware of the fact that his opponent had essentially only been frightened away by a bluff. He had been struck by the Origin Qi Sword, resulting in profuse bleeding whenever he tried to use his magic power, which was obviously quite unsettling. On top of that, the vastly renowned Gold Devouring Beetles coupled with his immense display of power further chipped away at his opponents confidence in winning this battle, thereby leading to him fleeing the scene.

In reality, if the elderly man were to use his movement techniques to stall for time, the effect of the Origin Qi Sword would soon wear off, and Han Li wouldnt be able to continue using his Gold Devouring Beetles for much longer, either.

In that case, the winner of the battle would still be a mystery. This was why Han Li had decided against hunting down his fleeing opponent. Furthermore, even though he was quite far away from Green Light City already, Jiao Chi Race reinforcements could still arrive at any moment.

This was also why hed unleashed that final Origin Qi Sword strike even at the expense of his sword formation. Compared to the threat posed by the elderly man, he was more wary of Jiao Chi Race reinforcements.

The elderly man disappeared into the distance while Han Li stowed away his treasures without any hesitation, then also departed as an azure thread.

However, he was naturally flying away in a different direction, and he quickly also disappeared from view.

Thus, the forest that had been plunged into disarray became a peaceful place once again.

However, only about 15 minutes later, spiritual light flashed in the sky, and two streaks of light rapidly hurtled forth from Green Light City.

After just a few flashes, they arrived in the air above the forest, following which the light receded to reveal a pair of humanoid figures.

One of them was the elderly man who had just fled the scene, and he had reverted back to his original form. His companion was none other than the other Body Integration Stage being among their ranks, the silver-robed middle-aged man.

He really has already left. At that persons speed, he must be close to 100,000 kilometers away now, the elderly man said with a frustrated expression as he appraised the ruined forest down below.

Of course hes already left, only an insane person would continue to remain here. He must already be too far away for the Profound Heavenshifting Disk to be effective. Besides, weve already used it once today, and well have to wait at least three days before we can use it again. Im rather curious, just how was a mere Spatial Tempering Stage being able to harm you, Brother Tu? the middle-aged man asked in a contemplative manner as he looked down at the massive crater on the ground below.

An awkward look appeared on the elderly mans face upon hearing this, but that was quickly replaced by a furious expression as he glanced at his own shoulder.

I was too complacent and became trapped in that mans sword formation. The sword formation was extremely powerful and difficult to deal with. On top of that, he possessed a few other powerful abilities and treasures as well, so I had no choice but to retreat. Oh, by the way, he also possesses a few dozens of mature Gold Devouring Beetles.

What? Gold Devouring Beetles? The middle-aged had remained quite composed initially, but his expression changed drastically at the mention of these beetles.

If it werent for those beetles, I wouldnt have fled the battle, the elderly man said with a bitter and resentful expression.

If he possesses a few dozens of those beetles, then even true holy race beings would be wary of this man in battle. However, if its less than 100, then top-grade wood or stone treasures should still be able to temporarily trap them. The middle-aged man finally managed to recompose himself after a while.

Hehe, if he had more than 100 mature Gold Devouring Beetles, then I wouldve urged you to flee this place right away, how would I dare to bring you back to this place? the elderly man chuckled with a wry smile on his face.

In the face of a swarm of thousands of mature Gold Devouring Beetles, even holy race beings would be killed for sure. Ive heard that a swarm of mature Gold Devouring Beetles that numbered in the tens of thousands once appeared on the Thunder Continent, and the three or four minor races nearby were all eradicated by the swarm of beetles with ease. At the time, a super race used the Profound Heavenly Treasure, the Heaven Vanquishing Hammer, to smash open a spatial rift and funnel all of these spirit insects into a space outside the Spirit Realm. Otherwise, they wouldve wreaked even more havoc on the continent, the middle-aged man mused.

At this moment, a thought suddenly occurred to the middle-aged, and his expression changed slightly as he asked, But then again, nurturing Gold Devouring Beetles is extremely difficult, its one of the most troublesome types of spirit insects to breed, and many people have expended a vast amount of effort to nurture them without any success. I wonder what power that man hails from to be able to bring out a few dozens of those beetles at once. Could he be a member of the 13 Heavenly Cloud Races?

The elderly man contemplated the notion for a moment before shaking his head. No. The treasures I was carrying exhibited no reaction toward him, and I was unable to pinpoint what kind of being he was from his physical appearance, either.

In that case, things will be a little troublesome for us. If hes carrying a jade box with him, then itll be very difficult for us to recover it, the middle-aged man said with furrowed brows.

How many boxes did you recover, Fellow Daoist Ning? the elderly man asked.

I managed to secure two boxes. That Myriad Ancient being was quite sly and cunning, he tried to threaten me with the destruction of the box in an attempt to get away. Thankfully, my Blood Melting Technique is quite proficient in sneak attacks, so I was able to catch him off guard and kill him on the spot. The middle-aged man flipped a hand over as he spoke, and two identical boxes appeared in his grasp, both of which had restriction talismans plastered onto their surfaces.

It turned out that the big-headed being still had two jade boxes left even after giving out one each to Han Lis trio.

The elderly man nodded as he rustled his sleeve to summon a jade box as well. It was none other than the one that hed obtained from the green-skinned being.

In that case, we have three boxes. How many boxes did Hong Yin report that the Myriad Ancient being was in possession of? Perhaps the elderly man had truly forgotten or he was simply asking for confirmation. In any case, he turned to his companion and the raised the question with an inquisitive look on his face.

Five or six, the information he sent back to us wasnt very accurate, either, the middle-aged man replied after a brief hesitation.

Five or six, what a troublesome number. That means that man is carrying at least two jade boxes with him, the elderly man sighed.

Im afraid so. On top of that, he appears to be quite powerful so Hong Yin mustve fallen by his hands. We cant allow him to get away with this. The middle-aged mans expression darkened as he spoke in a cold voice.

But hes completely disappeared now, how are we going to find him again? the elderly man asked.

We obviously wont be able to do that on our own, but dont forget that most of the cities in this area are under our races control. We can contact the closest few cities using our Myriad Distance Talismans and request assistance from them to hunt down that man. The people deployed to search for him dont have to be very powerful, either, all they have to do is to startle him into showing himself, and well immediately get to him using a teleportation formation, the middle-aged man suggested.

Thats certainly worth a try. The elderly man didnt have high hopes for the proposed course of action, but he couldnt think of any better alternatives, so he still nodded in agreement in the end.

Immediately thereafter, the elderly man rustled a sleeve, and a green rock tablet appeared in his hand. He then quickly inscribed something on the tablet with his finger, leaving lines of faint golden text on its surface.

Moments later, the elderly man had finished writing his message, and he laid a hand over the tablet, upon which the lines of text instantly disappeared amid a flash of light.

Lets return to the battle ark first. That Myriad Ancient being set up a self-detonating formation in the city, but our detection treasures managed to discover the formation, and someone has since disabled it. However, there are still many other things to be taken care of, well be busy for quite a while to come, the middle-aged man said with a faint smile.

Looks like we have no choice. The elderly man naturally had no objections, and the two of them returned the way theyd come as two streaks of light, quickly disappearing into the distance.

…

Han Li fled for around 500,000 kilometers, and only after he was sure that no Jiao Chi beings could possibly chase him down did he decelerate to his normal speed.

After just a prolonged period of high-speed flight, even Han Li was feeling a little worse for wear.

Thus, he swept a hand over his storage bracelet, and a pair of green stones immediately appeared in his grasp.

These were two top-grade wood-attribute spirit stones. Spirit stones of this caliber were quite rare, but in his current perilous situation, Han Li couldnt afford to be stingy, so he immediately began to absorb the spiritual power within the spirit stones as he held on in each hand.

Thankfully, the surrounding area was extremely bleak and desolate. Han Li picked a mountain at random to descending onto, then sat with his legs crossed beneath a large yet extremely obscure tree to begin recovering his magic power.

The Spring Dawn Sword Formation was indeed extraordinarily powerful, but it also expended a huge amount of magic power to unleash.

In particular, that final strike from the Origin Qi Sword had been extremely draining.

Thus, Han Li sat on the summit of the mountain beneath the large tree, and no one else passed through the area.

After about half a day had passed, Han Li had recovered most of his magic power.

He reopened his eyes with an elated expression on his face, and displayed no intention of staying here any longer. Thus, he stowed away the spirit stone and hurtled into the air as a streak of azure light again.

After flying for over 1,000 feet, the streak of green light suddenly became very blurry and barely visible.

Within the azure light, Han Li pulled out a jade slip.

This was none other than the map of the surrounding area that Han Li had obtained from Qing Xiao prior to teleporting to Green Light Island.

Even though the Flame Coral Islands had been out of contact with the Thunder Continent for thousands of years, most of the things on the map should have remained the same.

Thus, Han Lis spiritual sense seeped into the jade slip as he began to search for a suitable route from here onward.

He didnt know how much control the Jiao Chi Race had over this area, but he definitely wasnt going to visit the few nearby cities. Instead, he was planning to skirt around all of these cities and head toward the largest city that belonged to the 13 Heavenly Cloud Races in this area, Golden Armor City.

It was said that this city was situated in an extremely important location, so not only was it the largest city that belonged to the 13 Heavenly Cloud Races in this area, it was also guarded by a large number of elite forces from the 13 races. At the same time, there were also many high-grade beings defending the city.

If he werent mistaken, the Jiao Chi Race was most likely planning to eradicate all of the nearby cities first before attacking Golden Armor City.

With that in mind, Han Li looked up at the suns in the sky to recalibrate himself, then flew toward the direction that hed decided on.

For some reason, a sense of peril welled up in the elderly mans spiritual sense at the sight of the seemingly ordinary five-colored light sword.

He immediately opened his mouth to expel a shimmering red flying sword without any hesitation. The sword was around three feet in length, and it was as glittering and translucent as if it had been forged from crystal.

The flying sword flashed through the air as a streak of azure light, hurtling directly toward that unsettling five-colored light sword.

A cold harrumph rang out in the air above, and the five-colored sword abruptly slashed through the air again.

The streak of crimson light instantly shuddered before reverting back to its original form as a flying sword, then plummeting directly downward.

The sword had shrunk down to only several inches in length, but a sizeable chink had appeared on its blade. Even though it had been sliced in half by the light sword, it had clearly been severely damaged.

In the instant that the flying sword was damaged, the elderly mans face paled slightly, indicating that hed also sustained internal injuries as a result.

However, after unleashing two attacks, the dazzling light emanating from the five-colored light sword had dimmed significantly, and many of the runes hovering around it had also vanished.

A sinister look appeared on the elderly mans face he let loose a long cry.

The three-colored light that had just been sliced apart surged toward his body before forming a suit of antiquated three-colored armor.

The suit of armor didnt appear to be of a wooden nor metallic material, and it covered his entire body from head to toe, leaving only a pair of holes for his eyes.

From a distance, it appeared that he had transformed into an armored giant.

Immediately thereafter, the elderly man raised both arms into the air, and three-colored light flashed as an antiquated giant sword appeared in his hand.

The elderly man clenched both hands around the hilt of the sword before positioning it in front of his body, and an astonishing burst of baleful Qi instantly erupted into the heavens.

At the same time, the blue pouch and golden flag descended from above, revolving around the elderly as a streak of blue light and a streak of golden light, respectively.

Han Lis eyelids twitched involuntarily as he looked on from his hiding spot within the light barrier.

Only after borrowing the worlds origin Qi that had been absorbed by the sword formation was he able to just barely unleash that ability, which had been named as the Origin Qi Sword Gourd by Qing Yuanzi. The ability manifested a gourd and used the sword Qi from the 72 Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords as a seed, then drew upon the worlds origin Qi to nurture a devastatingly powerful Origin Qi Sword.

The ability was extremely powerful, but it also required an astonishing amount of the worlds origin Qi to be unleashed.

The two slashes that had just been unleashed had already expended close to half of the worlds origin Qi that had been absorbed by the sword formation.

However, if the elderly man were led to believe that this was the extent of the Origin Qi Swords powers, then he was in for a nasty surprise. The power unleashed by the Origin Qi Sword was completely dependent on how much of the worlds origin Qi was injected into the attack.

Han Li was preparing to exhaust all of its remaining worlds origin Qi in the next attack!

With that in mind, a cold smile appeared on Han Lis face, and he abruptly made a hand seal to spur the sword formation into action.

Spiritual light instantly flashed from the azure light barrier, and the azure lotus flowers rotated on the spot before transforming into pillars of light that surged toward the giant light sword up above.

Azure light flashed all over the entire heavens, and the azure light barrier thinned rapidly before completely vanishing.

In the blink of eye, only the 72 small azure swords remained hovering in mid-air, and all of them had turned rather dull and lusterless.

Without the sword formation as camouflage, Han Li had also appeared high up in the air above.

After absorbing so much power, the light sword had swelled to around twice its original size, and the details of the sword had become far clearer than before. Even though it was still a five-colored sword, the azure color was clearly far more pronounced than the other four colors.

Slash!

Han Li pointed a finger down at the elderly man as he issued a cold instruction. frewebnoel.com

The giant light sword slowly rose up into the air before crashing down from above.

The armored elderly man also let loose a loud cry at the same time, and he slashed his antiquated giant sword through the air in retaliation.

A thin thread of crystalline light and the thick streak of three-colored sword Qi approached one another amid an earsplitting screech, but everything abruptly fell silent in the instant that the two came into contact with one another.

Immediately thereafter, the crystalline light flashed past the three-colored sword Qi, and the latter vanished following a dull thump.

The elderly man immediately raised his giant sword to defend himself upon seeing this.

A crisp clang rang out, and the elderly man remained completely motionless.

However, in the next instant, a burst of azure light suddenly flashed from the giant sword, following which half of it silently crashed downward.

After the giant sword had been sliced in half, the small golden flag appeared.

The flag shuddered before radiating a ball of piercing golden light, then also plummeting from the sky above in two halves. Meanwhile, the Chaotic Heavenly Pouch remained completely unscathed.

The armor-clad elderly man looked up into the sky in an expressionless manner. The three-colored suit of armor he was wearing was also completely unscathed, with not even a single scratch to be seen on its surface.

Han Lis pupils abruptly contracted upon seeing this, and he also looked back at his opponent with a cold expression.

At the same time, an item fell soundlessly into his hand, which was hidden up his sleeve.

Does this attack have a name? The elderly mans voice rang out from within the suit of armor, and the question caught Han Li off guard a little.

Of course! Im sure taking on my Origin Qi Sword wasnt a pleasant experience for you, Han Li replied as a peculiar look appeared on his face.

Hmph, it was indeed quite powerful, even I was unable to completely withstand it, the elderly man harrumphed coldly.

As soon as his voice trailed off, a thin azure line suddenly appeared on his suit of armor.

Immediately thereafter, an incision that was as smooth as a mirrors surface appeared on the seamless suit of armor, and that section of the armor crashed heavily onto the ground.

Alongside the severed section of the suit of armor, one of the elderly mans huge arms had also been dismembered, and the overpowering odor of blood wafted through the air from his shoulder.

However, the elderly man merely glanced at his severed arm, and it flew back of its own accord before reattaching itself to his shoulder amid a flash of white light.

Immediately thereafter, he circulated his magic power within his body and made a hand seal, following which the dazzling red light appeared once again, instantly elevating the surrounding temperatures by an astonishing degree.

Han Li looked down at his opponent through narrowed eyes, and he didnt attack right away. Instead, a derisive sneer appeared on his face as he scoffed, Do you really think its that easy to recover from a wound inflicted by my Origin Qi Sword?

What are you trying to say? The elderly mans heart jolted with shock as he cast his gaze toward his wounded arm again, upon which a dark expression instantly appeared on his face.

Blood was gushing down his reattached arm again, even though he was sure that it had been completely healed just a moment ago.

Hehe, as soon as you try to use your magic power, the wound will open up again, thats the true horror of the Origin Qi Sword! Would you like to fight me without any magic power from here onward or keep fighting me until your blood runs dry? Han Li chuckled as he abruptly swept a sleeve through the air.

A loud buzzing sound instantly erupted as several tens of golden flowers flew forth from his sleeve. As soon as they emerged from his sleeve, they immediately turned into massive sinister-looking beetles that were around half a foot in size each.

The elderly man had been extremely shocked and enraged by Han Lis words, but he managed to maintain an expressionless facade. However, that facade instantly crumbled at the sight of the golden beetles.

Gold Devouring Beetles! You have mature Gold Devouring Beetles? A hint of fear appeared in the elderly mans eyes for the very first time.

However, Han Li didnt even bother to give a reply as he made a hand seal, following which all of the Gold Devouring Beetles rapidly surged toward the elderly man.

In the same instant, brilliant golden light erupted from his body as golden scales surfaced over his skin. Black light then flashed from his glabella, and an inky-black demonic eye was revealed.

At the same time, a golden halo abruptly appeared behind him, and the Provenance True Devil Projection appeared within the halo.

A loud thunderclap erupted from his body, and countless arcs of golden lightning appeared, following which he flipped a hand over, and the Divine Essencefused Mountain emerged again amid a flash of grey light.

Meanwhile, he waved a hand toward the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords in the surrounding area, and all of them converged to form a giant azure sword that was around 10 feet in length, which then landed in his grasp.

After doing all that, Han Li stepped forward with a cold expression on his face, covering a distance of over 100 feet with a single step as he strode directly toward the elderly man down below.

The elderly mans expression darkened significantly upon seeing this. He looked down at his arm, which had ceased bleeding again after hed unleashed a regenerative ability, then glanced at the several tens of massive golden beetles that were flying toward him.

In the end, he gritted his teeth and suddenly opened his mouth to produce a purple talisman.

The talisman exploded with a dull thump, and a cloud of purple mist permeated through the air before completely obscuring the elderly mans body within.

Han Li faltered in mid-air upon witnessing this familiar scene, and his brows furrowed slightly.

However, the Gold Devouring Beetles continued onward with single-minded ferocity, and they were submerged into the purple mist in the blink of an eye.

Han Li immediately swept a sleeve toward the purple mist, dispersing it with a gust of fierce white winds, but sure enough, there was no longer anything within the mist.

Blue light flashed through Han Lis eyes as he rapidly swept his gaze toward the ground down below, and he suddenly let loose a clear cry.

Moments later, golden light flashed from the ground, and several tens of Gold Devouring Beetles emerged from the soil before disappearing up his sleeve.

Even though hed only used the beetles for a short while, Han Li could sense that close to half of his spiritual sense had been expended.

Thankfully, his spiritual sense had become far more powerful after progressing to the Spatial Tempering Stage. Otherwise, he definitely wouldnt have dared to release so many Gold Devouring Beetles at once.

Through the use of his spirit eye ability, he was able to ascertain that the elderly man had already fled to close to 10 kilometers away as a purple shadow underground, seemingly having truly been frightened away by Han Lis powers.

Han Li was hidden within the sword formation, and his heart sank slightly upon seeing this.

As expected of a Body Integration Stage being, even when trapped within a sword formation, he was still able to draw upon so much of the worlds origin Qi to exert pressure on the sword formation.

However, this was also due to the large disparity between their cultivation bases.

Otherwise, if Han Li were also at the Body Integration Stage, he wouldve been able to easily scatter the worlds origin Qi gathered toward the sword formation.

After all, it was far easier to scattering the worlds origin Qi than to summon it.

This was also why beings above the Spatial Tempering Stage very rarely drew upon the worlds origin Qi to directly attack their opponents. Even if they were to attempt that, it would be quite an arduous process, and if the opponent were of a similar cultivation base, they could easily wrest control over some of the worlds origin Qi that had been summoned.

Thus, the only scenarios during which the worlds origin Qi would be summoned during battle would be if someone wanted to unleash some kind of powerful ability, or theyd run out of magic power, thereby forcing them to explore alternative power sources.

Under such circumstances, it would be best to have a helper who could unleash an ability or had mastered a certain cultivation art that could allow them to summon the worlds origin Qi, that would make the worlds origin Qi more difficult for others to plunder.

However, this was, overall, an extremely inefficient and risky course of action to be taken during battle, and the elderly man was only able to do so with such reckless abandon due to the fact that Han Lis cultivation base was far inferior to his.

Thus, Han Li was naturally quite frustrated by this development.

However, Qing Yuanzi had been able to combat Body Integration Stage beings at just the Spatial Tempering Stage, so hed naturally prepared a countermeasure against attacks from the worlds origin Qi.

Han Li exhaled as he rapidly flicked his 10 fingers through the air, sending one incantation seal after surging into the sword formation in a frenzy.

Due to the compression from the worlds origin Qi from the outside and the pillar flames from the inside, the azure light barrier was flashing erratically, and the streaks of sword Qi that were embroiled within the dense five-colored mist also disappeared in unison.

Immediately thereafter, the barrier of light swelled and shrank, following which the azure lotus flowers within suddenly spread their petals before rotating on the spot in a frenzy.

One shimmering azure vortex after another surfaced on the light barrier in the blink of an eye.

The viscous mist of the worlds origin Qi were sucked into these vortexes at a rapid rate, and around a tenth of it was absorbed by the sword formation in the blink of an eye.

Thus, the wavering sword formation instantly became very stable again.

The elderly man within the sword formation was manipulating the pillar of flames to wreak havoc within the formation, and he naturally immediately sensed what was happening to the worlds origin Qi outside.

His heart jolted with shock, having clearly not expected this sword formation to possess such a profound ability.

If things were to continue like this, the worlds origin Qi that hed gathered would only be working to fortify the sword formation!

In a fit of shock and rage, the elderly man immediately let loose a loud cry, and the sword formation began to tremor as all of the worlds origin Qi gathered outside was dispersed by gusts of fierce winds amid a string of rumbling booms.

Even so, with the worlds origin Qi that the sword formation had already absorbed, it had become far more robust and stable than before.

Thus, the worlds origin Qi that hed summoned had presented itself to his opponent on a silver platter. If word of this were to spread, hes become the laughing stock of all of his brethren!

At the height of his fury, the elderly chuckled coldly as he laid a hand onto the top of his own head. Immediately thereafter, a streak of light shot forth from his head before forming a massive projection with a set of blurry facial features.

Before Han Li had a chance to glean the true appearance of the projection, it surged toward the elderly man before disappearing into his body.

The elderly man instantly threw his head back and let loose a long cry while his face took on a sinister and menacing appearance. His body also swelled to 60 to 70 feet tall, and the small red horn on his glabella had elongated to around half a foot in length, which crimson scales surfaced all over his body.

In the blink of an eye, the elderly man had become a fearsome devilish creature.

A sinister smile appeared on his face as he flipped both of his hands over at once.

In one hand, a faint golden flag appeared, over which a cloud of fiery mist was swirling incessantly.

Meanwhile, a strange blue pouch appeared in his other hand.

Both of them were tossed into the air without any hesitation, following which the elderly man began to chant something in a language that was completely foreign to Han Li.

The flag waved itself through the air, and bursts of faint golden flames erupted from it. At the same time, the pouch bulged before expelling a burst of blue winds.

Simultaneously, the elderly man opened his mouth to blast forth a fiery cloud that was as crimson as blood.

The three then combined with the pillar of flames that was wreaking havoc within the sword formation.

Red, blue, and golden light intertwined in an instant before forming a three-colored pillar of light. An earthshattering boom erupted within the sword formation, and Han Li knew that he couldnt stand by idly any longer.

As such, he activated one powerful illusionary technique after another within the Spring Dawn Sword Formation, buy everything that was manifested as part of those illusions were instantly destroyed by the three-colored pillar of light.

The Spring Dawn Sword Formation was completely unable to withstand such an assault, and the azure light barrier immediately began to flash erratically once again.

Han Li drew a sharp breath upon seeing this.

Half of his astonishment naturally arose from the immense power of the three-colored pillar of light, but the other half could be attributed to the blue pouch that the elderly man had produced following his transformation.

That treasure was extremely familiar to him, it seemed to be a spirit treasure known as the Chaotic Heavenly Pouch, and it was listed on the Chaotic Myriad Spirit Roll. This spirit treasure was only a mid-range treasure among those on the Chaotic Myriad Spirit Roll, but it possessed a few incredible abilities that other treasures didnt possess, thereby earning it quite a reputation.

Many years ago, the treasure had once belonged to a powerful being from the human race. However, that human later perished under unforeseen circumstances, and the spirit treasure disappeared as a result. In order to recover the treasure, many high-grade cultivators had searched through the human and demon territories, all to no avail, so how had it ended up in the hands of a Jiao Chi being on the Thunder Continent?

This treasure was most definitely bad news for Han Li, and his mind raced for a way to counteract it. All of a sudden, a slightly bewildered look appeared on his face.

According to the legends, the Chaotic Heavenly Pouch definitely possessed far more powerful abilities than what was being displayed within the sword formation. Could it be that this was only a replica? Or perhaps hed wrongly identified it when it was actually some other kind of similar treasure?

Han Li was unable to verify which notion was correct, but this was not something that he could carefully ponder under his present circumstances.

The sword formation was about to fall, and Han Lis eyes narrowed as a cold light flashed through them.

The legends about Qing Yuanzi using this sword formation to combat Body Integration Stage beings were most likely true, but this likely due to the fact that Qing Yuanzi had also mastered the final few layers of the Azure Essence Sword Art, thereby allowing him to unleash the full power of the sword formation.

He also had a set of refined Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword, but the cultivation arts he was using werent prepared for this sword formation, so he was unable to unleash the trump card abilities that the sword formation possessed.

This was why the sword formation appeared to be so inept in the face of the elderly mans attacks.

However, after absorbing so much of the worlds origin Qi, there seemed to be a type of powerful ability that Han Li could just barely unleash with the sword formation.

Han Lis eyes flashed as a thought occurred to him.

This ability was indeed very powerful, but regardless of whether it proved to be effective or not, the sword formation itself would most likely instantly crumble following the event.

However, Han Li had no choice but to give it a try under such circumstances.

If the ability did indeed prove to be ineffective, then hed have to use his 12 Awakening Transformations to engage his opponent in battle. In a worst-case scenario, he still had several types of talismans and his Gold Devouring Beetles as trump cards.

Thus, Han Li remained quite calm throughout this battle against this early-Body Integration Stage being.

In the next instant, Han Li began to chant something, and an incredible scene ensued within the sword formation.

The azure light barrier in the air above suddenly blurred, following which a vine-like plant emerged before plunging into the light barrier.

When it first appeared, it was only several inches in size, but it grew at a rapid rate that was discernible to the naked eye, swelling to several tens of feet in length in mere moments.

The vine then immediately began to flower and bear fruit, forming a small green gourd right before the elderly mans astonished eyes.

The gourd was only around the size of a human hand, and appeared to be completely mundane.

However, in the next instant, the azure lotus flowers within the light barrier tremored in unison, and countless inch-long sword projections shot forth before disappearing into the gourd.

Immediately thereafter, an azure sword insignia appeared on the surface of the gourd. The insignia was barely visible initially, but as vast amounts of five-colored light injected itself into the gourd along the vine, the insignia suddenly became extremely clear and began flashing with five-colored light.

The elderly man didnt know what kind of ability this was, but he was naturally quite unsettled by the scenes unfolding before his eyes.

Thus, he instantly made a grabbing motion toward the gourd, and the pillar of three-colored light within the sword formation transformed into a massive three-colored hand before flying toward the gourd with devastating might.

If the gourd were indeed only an ordinary gourd, then the fearsome three-colored hand wouldnt even have to come into contact with it before the entire vine would be reduced to nothingness.

Right in this instant, Han Li suddenly uttered the word slash in an indifferent manner from his vantage point in the air above.

The gourd rotated on the spot as light surged around it, following which a sword of light that was around a foot in length shot forth in a flash.

The sword was flashing erratically with five-colored spiritual light, and runes of different sizes were hovering around it.

In the instant that the light sword was blasted forth, both the gourd and the vine dissipated into specks of spiritual light.

Meanwhile, the light sword swelled to around 10 feet in size in the blink of an eye, then slashed soundlessly toward the oncoming three-colored hand, seemingly in a completely harmless manner.

However, the three-colored hand was suddenly split in half without any premonition, then exploded amid a resounding boom.

The giant sword then slowly changed directions and aimed itself at the elderly man, instantly drawing an alarmed expression onto his face.

Han Li was rather surprised to see this, but his body immediately swayed, following which he abruptly appeared on the summit of the small mountain before tapping it with the tips of his toes.

Grey light immediately began to surge around the small black mountain, and it swelled drastically to 3,000 feet in size.

The elderly man had been able to just barely hoist up the small mountain in its former state, and his expression changed drastically in the face of this sudden development. His feet began to sink into the ground, and soon, he had been buried up to his calves.

This was an indication that the elderly mans strength alone wasnt enough to keep the mountain at bay, thereby forcing him to transfer some of the force into the ground beneath his feet.

Han Li looked on expressionlessly as he stomped down onto the small mountain again.

The Divine Essencefused Mountain was extraordinarily heavy to begin with, and with Han Lis assistance, the black mountain was able to crash down once again, completely crushing the elderly man beneath it amid a rumbling boom.

However, Han Li only became warier upon seeing this. He was certainly not going to be deluded into thinking that a Body Integration Stage being would be so easy to kill. Thus, he made a hand seal with one hand while his other pristine white palm pressed down toward the black mountain. Grey light flashed over the surface of the mountain, and it continued to expand at a dramatic rate. At the same time, a burst of five-colored flames also surged forth from his fingers before spreading over the ground at the foot of the mountain. A layer of five-colored ice was instantly formed, transforming the ground down below in a radius of several hundred feet into a frosty glacial land. At this point, the black mountain had already swelled to over 10,000 feet tall, making it comparable to a real mountain.

Even so, Han Li still showed no signs of stopping. Spiritual light flashed from his body, and he shot forth toward one side as a streak of azure light before abruptly disappearing into thin air.

Immediately thereafter, a burst of low buzzing suddenly rang out in the air around the black mountain.series of small azure swords emerged before transforming into palm-sized azure lotus flowers amid a flash of azure light.

These lotus flowers rotated on the spot, and countless lotus flower projections surfaced around them before gradually taking on a more substantial form.

All of a sudden, lotus flowers had concealed the entire sky, and they formed a massive barrier of light to completely ensnare the elderly man within. Han Li had taken advantage of this brilliant opportunity to activate his Spring Dawn Sword Formation.

Right at this moment, a roar of fury erupted from beneath the mountain, following which a string of incantation chants rang out.

Wisps of crimson light suddenly surfaced in the surrounding air. In the beginning, there were only around a dozen or so of these wisps of light, but as the incantations were recited more quickly, more and more wisps of red light began to appear. Moments later, virtually the entire sky had been stained red by the crimson light.

At the same time, the temperatures in the surrounding area became extraordinarily high, hot enough to instantly reduce a mortal into human jerky.

At this moment, the incantations ceased, and the wisps of crimson light all surged into the layer of five-colored ice on the ground in a flash.

Immediately thereafter, rumbling booms akin to loud thunderclaps rang out from underground.

Moments later, pillars of crimson light that were each as thick as a large bowl broke through the layer of ice. The pillars of light only flashed a few times, and the layer of ice rapidly melted into nothingness.

The nearby ground was also instantly dissolved into a crimson liquid by the red light.

In just the span of a few breaths, a vast stretch of ground had been transformed into a massive lava pit.

The black mountain slowly descended into the bubbling lava, and it didnt take long for most of the mountain to be completely submerged.As expected, it looks like this wont be enough to kill you! Han Lis indifferent voice abruptly rang out from all directions.

Immediately thereafter, the black mountain shrank dramatically within the lava pit, reducing itself down to around a foot in size before surging back as a streak of white light.

However, after it had traveled several tens of feet away from the lava, the elderly mans cold voice suddenly rang out. I just so happen to be missing an ornamental treasure in my cave abode, this ones not bad.

As soon as his voice trailed off, a massive wave of lava over 100 feet tall erupted from the lava pit down below. Immediately thereafter, red light flashed, and the lava transformed into a massive crimson hand that caught the small black mountain in its grasp. Red light flashed from the huge hand as it attempted to drag the mountain back into the lava.

However, even though Han Li had already withdrawn most of the Divine Essencefused Mountains power, its extraordinary weight was not something that could be easily moved by the massive hand.

Thus, the black mountain managed to hold its position in mid-air, even as the giant lava hand continued to exert pulling force toward it. However, at the same time, it was unable to fly toward the nearby azure light barrier as Han Li had intended.

At this moment, Han Li let loose a cold harrumph, and spatial fluctuations erupted around the massive crimson hand, immediately following which countless azure threads appeared out of thin air.

The azure threads flashed around the massive hand like lightning, instantly slicing its fingers into countless segments.

Thus, the miniature black mountain was freed, and it flew away as a streak of azure light again before disappearing into the azure light barrier after just a few flashes. The azure threads also abruptly disappeared as if they had never even appeared in the first place. You certainly do have some tricks up your sleeve, no wonder you have the courage to face me in direct battle! The elderly man didnt seem to have been irked by this development, but his voice was quite heavy and grim.

Almost at the exact same moment, the lava down below parted, and the elderly man slowly emerged from within. His body was flashing with red light, and he only stopped after rising up over 100 feet into the air.

He wore a cautious look on his face as he swept his gaze around him.

This is a sword formation! The elderly mans expression changed as he instantly identified the situation that he was in.

However, in the instant that the elderly man revealed himself, the azure lotus flowers around him began to shimmer with brilliant light, following which countless lotus petals shot forth. As these flower petals flew through the air, they instantly transformed into azure blades of wind that surged toward the elderly man from all directions.

The elderly mans expression darkened, and the red light emanating from his body abruptly swelled to form a crimson light barrier than shielded himself within. A string of spluttering sounds rang out as the blades of wind disappeared into the red light like moths diving into a flame. However, in the next instant, they were all reduced to balls of fire that incinerated them into nothingness.

This high-grade Jiao Chi beings fire-attribute cultivation arts were clearly extremely powerful to be able to ignite and incinerate even attacks manifested from wind.

However, seeing as the elderly man had already been trapped in his sword formation, that was certainly not going to be the extent of the attacks that Han Li had prepared for him.

In the instant that the blades of wind were proven to be ineffective, brilliant azure light flashed high up in the air above, following which a series of massive azure logs that were as thick as a water tank came crashing down from above. Upon closer inspection, one would discover that the logs were extremely dense and seemingly immensely heavy. However, the elderly man merely gave a cold chuckle as he swept a sleeve upward, sending the red light around his body hurtling toward the oncoming logs.

After coming into contact with the red light, the massive azure logs were all quickly reduced to plumes of smoke and ashes.

Save your energy, brat! If your sword formation were of some other attribute, perhaps youd be able to cause some trouble for me, but pure wood-attribute sword formations are completely ineffective against me, I can destroy this formation with ease!

The elderly man suddenly let loose a loud cry as he abruptly made a hand seal. The red light around his body swayed, and pillars of crimson light suddenly shot forth in all directions, striking the azure light barrier in a flash. A scorching aura immediately permeated throughout the entire space that was enshrouded under the barrier of light. A triumphant look appeared on the elderly mans face.

In his mind, his powerful fire-attribute cultivation arts would be able to destroy this wood-attribute sword formation with ease. After that, he could press his cultivation base advantage to kill this unexpectedly troublesome opponent.

A string of dull thumps rang out, and just as the elderly man had expected, massive holes were punctured into the light barrier with ease.

Just as the azure lotus flowers around him were about to dissipate, his surroundings suddenly blurred, and the azure lotus flowers abruptly disappeared along with the light barrier. In the next instant, he found himself in a completely unfamiliar place with massive trees that were several hundred feet tall all around him. An illusionary technique! Despite the elderly mans vast reserves of battle experience, he was truly astonished on this occasion.

Illusionary techniques werent all that uncommon in other formations and restrictions, but they were very rare in sword formations, which predominantly pursued maximal destructive power. At the very least, this was the first time that the elderly man had seen a sword formation with an accompanying illusionary technique.

However, the elderly man quickly recomposed himself before making a hand seal, upon which red light flashed from his body, and a pillar of crimson flames rose directly up into the air. He then opened his mouth to expel a white talisman, and the talisman disappeared in a flash before forming a gust of white gale-force winds that disappeared into the pillar of flames.

Having been fanned by the fierce winds, the pillar of fire that was only around 10 feet in thickness originally rapidly swelled to over 100 feet thick, creating a very formidable sight to behold.

The elderly man was situated at the very center of the pillar of flames, and he suddenly sat down with his legs crossed. At the same time, red light flashed above his head, and a massive projection of a sinister-looking beast that was entirely covered in crimson scales appeared.

In the instant that the projection appeared, all of the worlds origin Qi in the nearby area was drawn to the elderly man at once. Pea-sized balls of five-colored light began to surface from the mountains, forests, and plants within a radius of several tens of kilometers. All of them surged toward the sword formation in a frenzy, as if they had been summoned there by something.

Countless specks of light came raining down from above, only be to instantly kept out by the streaks of azure sword Qi that erupted from the sword formation.

These specks of light exploded as they clashed with the sword Qi to form clouds of five-colored mist, but there were simply far too many specks of light to contend with!

Within moments, the mist that resulted from the explosion of these specks of light had become as viscous as liquid, thereby significantly slowing down the streaks of sword Qi and making them a lot more sluggish.

Almost at the exact same moment, the elderly man unleashed a massive pillar of fire that also began to wreak havoc within the sword formation. The countless massive logs raining down from above were reduced to smoke and ashes without being able to offer up any resistance.

These logs were only projections, but they had manifested from the pure wood-attribute spiritual power within the flying swords.

Regardless of whether these logs were real or not, there was no way that theyd be able to withstand such fierce fire-attribute attacks. All of a sudden, the surroundings blurred around the elderly man, and he reappeared in the real world.

However, Han Li had no intention of battling an early-Body Integration cultivator under these circumstances. He flapped his wings without any hesitation, and spiritual light flashed from his body as he shot forth through the air as an azure thread, accelerating to close to twice his original speed, thereby allowing him to match the speed of the streak of red light.

In just the span of a few breaths, the two of them had disappeared into the distance.

The humanoid figure within the streak of red light was naturally none other than the elderly man from the Jiao Chi Race.

Using the Profound Heavenshifting Disk, he was able to track down Han Lis location, but before he could get close to Han Li, the latter suddenly accelerated and fled at an alarming speed.

The elderly mans heart jolted with shock upon seeing this, but his astonishment was then quickly replaced by elation.

It appeared that the being that he was pursuing was quite powerful, so it was quite likely that he was carrying one of the items he was seeking.

Thus, the elderly man was even more determined to hunt Han Li down.

The two of them hurtled through the air like a pair of shooting stars, making no efforts to conceal themselves, and it only took them a short while to cover a distance of hundreds of kilometers.

During this time, the streak of red light was still unable to chase down the azure thread, and the elderly man was truly becoming rather surprised.

Even though he wasnt proficient in movement techniques, his spiritual sense had clearly just revealed to him that his target was only a seventh-tier upper race being. As such, it was quite incredible that hed managed to avoid being chased down over such a vast distance.

However, the elderly man was a fearsome Body Integration Stage being, after all, so he naturally possessed a vast wealth of battle experience.

As such, he abruptly stopped cold in his tracks before flipping a hand over expressionlessly to summon a purple talisman.

He waved the talisman gently through the air, and a cloud of purple mist erupted, instantly permeating through an area with a radius of over 100 feet and completely concealing his body within.

Han Li had been keeping an eye on his pursuer this entire time, and his brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this.

He also immediately stopped mid-flight before casting his gaze behind him with narrowed eyes. He was rather curious about just what his opponent was plotting.

The purple cloud of mist tumbled and surged before suddenly vanishing, and the elderly man within it also disappeared without a trace.

Han Lis expression changed slightly, and he instantly released his spiritual sense to encompass an area with a radius of several tens of feet.

However, the elderly man was still nowhere to be found, as if hed truly completely disappeared.

A grim expression appeared on Han Lis face, and he made a hand seal as blue light flashed through his eyes, activating his Brightsight Spirit Eyes ability.

However, even with his spirit eye ability, he was still unable to track down the elderly man.

Han Lis heart truly sank this time.

Body Integration Stage beings were extremely fearsome opponents, so losing sight of one in battle could prove to be lethal.

With that in mind, Han Li immediately fled into the distance as an azure thread.

He didnt know where his opponent was lurking, but staying in this place for too long would naturally be extremely dangerous for him.

However, if his opponent gave chase, then Han Li was confident that hed be forced to reveal himself.

Thus, the azure thread hurtled through the air, covering a distance of over 1,000 feet in just a single flash and rapidly disappeared into the distance.

As Han Li flew through the air, he continued to cast his gaze behind him while maintaining his spirit eye ability.

Moments later, he finally discovered something, and he raised an eyebrow in response to this discovery.

Extremely deep within the ground several kilometers behind him, there was a purple humanoid figure traveling through the soil without any impediment.

It was none other than the elderly man from the Jiao Chi Race.

He had unleashed some kind of ability that had allowed him to instantly burrow several hundred feet deep into the ground, and Han Li failed to notice him initially due to a split second of complacency.

However, for the elderly man to remain so blurry and indistinct even in the face of Han Lis Brightsight Spirit Eyes indicated that he was using quite an extraordinary concealment technique. Furthermore, not only had the elderly man managed to conceal himself underground, he was traveling even quicker through the soil than he was when flying in the air.

Not only did the soil not impede him in the slightest, there were specks of yellow light constantly flying out from within the soil before injecting themselves into his body to further enhance his speed.

Even though Han Li was already flying as quickly as he could, the elderly man was still slowly gaining on him.

Han Li was rather surprised by this discovery, but he showed no sign of stopping or slowing down.

Meanwhile, the elderly man that was surging through the soil was growing rather frustrated.

He had thought that his disappearance would strike panic into Han Lis heart, and even if he decided to flee the scene, he would gradually decelerate or even temporarily stop.

However, Han Li had fled without any hesitation, and even after flying for so long, he still didnt slow down even in the slightest.

That was quite surprising to the elderly man. He was very confident in his concealment abilities. so in his mind, there was no way that a being with a cultivation base far inferior to his would be able to see through him with their spiritual sense.

The only exception would be if said being possessed some kind of spirit eye ability, but the probability of that was so low that it was virtually negligible.

Seeing as Han Li hadnt fallen for his ploy, the elderly man could only continue to give chase using his earth movement technique.

However, he could naturally also see that he was traveling slightly faster than Han Li using this movement technique, so he naturally wasnt going to give up in his chase.

Thus, the two of them traveled for thousands of kilometers without pause. Han Li could see the purple humanoid figure drawing closer and closer to him underground, and his expression gradually darkened as he began to inspect his surroundings.

All of a sudden, a pair of tall mountains positioned alongside one another appeared up ahead. Both of the mountains were quite lush and steep, and there was a dense forest in between the two of them.

Han Lis heart stirred upon seeing this before he cast a glance downward with blue light flashing through his eyes.

At this point, the purple figure was only just over 1,000 feet away from him and was on the cusp of chasing him down.

Thus, Han Li took a deep breath before suddenly changing directions and flying toward that forest.

The azure thread flashed through the air before plunging into the forest, following which Han Li reappeared.

Immediately thereafter, he rustled a sleeve, and several tens of small swords shot forth from within.

He made a hand seal, and all of the small swords plunged into the ground as azure threads.

Countless azure threads then flashed through the air, and the surrounding trees were all felled in an instant.

Thus, an area with a radius of several thousand feet had opened up in the blink of an eye.

After doing all that, Han Li swayed before appearing atop a tree stump that was several tens of feet tall, then pointed a finger up ahead in an expressionless manner.

Immediately thereafter, the azure light faded, and all of the azure threads concealed themselves into empty space.

Han Li then made a hand seal, and a loud thunderclap rang out as countless thin arcs of golden lightning erupted from his body, forming a golden and silver lightning robe.

Following a surge of black Qi, a suit of black baleful armor also appeared beneath his robes.

After doing all that, Han Li opened his mouth to produce a small translucent shield, which began to rapidly rotate around him.

Having made all of his preparations, Han Li simply clasped his hands behind his back and looked up into the sky in a completely stationary manner.

In the soil deep beneath Han Li, the elderly man was appraising Han Lis every move with a vicious look in his eyes.

He had finally chased down Han Li, but instead of pouncing right away, he wasnt in a hurry to strike.

However, the elderly man didnt have much patience for an opponent with such a significantly inferior cultivation base, either.

He swept his spiritual sense through the surrounding area to confirm that there were no other beings or traps nearby, following which a sinister look appeared on his face, and he abruptly disappeared from within the soil.

In the next instant, an earthshattering boom erupted, and the tree stump that Han Li was standing on exploded as a pair of massive crimson hands shot forth from the soil down below in an attempt to grab at his legs.

However, Han Li seemed to have already anticipated this attack, and his body blurred without any premonition before he abruptly appeared over 100 feet away in a flash.

A cold harrumph rang out, and Han Li had only just reappeared when red light flashed before him, and the elderly man also revealed himself.

A ferocious light flashed through his eyes as he raised both arms up into the air in unison. Two crimson fist projections instantly appeared before hurtling toward Han Li, sending a scorching heatwave surging toward him.

This high-grade Jiao Chi being was also a simultaneous cultivator!

A hint of surprise flashed through Han Lis eyes as he reached out with an inky-black hand, pressing downward from above.

A small black shadow flew forth from his palm in a flash, then transformed into a small mountain that was several tens of feet tall before descending in a soundless manner, heading directly toward the red fist projections.

The elderly mans lips twitched upon seeing this, and instead of changing his attack, a derisive sneer appeared on his face.

He was fully aware of just how powerful those fist projections were, and that was something that Han Li would only come to realize in the instant before his death.

With that in mind, the elderly man activated his cultivation arts to an even greater extent, and the pair of fist projections instantly swelled to around twice their original size, making them comparable in size to human heads. Furthermore, the crimson light emanating from the surface of the fist projections also became extremely bright, illuminating the nearby air in a piercing red hue, and the scorching temperatures radiating from them was making the surrounding air completely twist and warp.

He was planning to use this pair of fist projections to shatter the Divine Essencefused Mountain.

A peculiar look appeared on Han Lis face upon seeing this.

Right at this moment, the fist projection and the underside of the small black mountain clashed in a completely soundless manner.

The projections and the mountain tremored in unison before becoming completely motionless, as if theyd been captured in a stationary snapshot in time. However, a halo of grey and red light then appeared between the two before proliferating outward in all directions at an alarming rate.

Han Li felt his eardrums tremor as a doomsday-like burst of rumbling rang out. The tree stumps down below were all instantly reduced to sawdust upon making contact with this halo of light, and the earth tremored violently as a huge crater with a radius of several hundred feet and a depth of around 10 feet was blasted into the ground.

Han Lis heart jolted with shock as he hurriedly cast his gaze downward with blue light flashing through his eyes.

There, the Divine Essencefused Mountain remained completely motionless, but the pair of fist projections beneath it had been eradicated. A pair of mundane-looking human hands were currently resisting the small mountain with all their might, preventing it from crashing directly downward.

The owner of that pair of hands was none other than the elderly man.

At this moment, his arms were slightly bent, and his face was flushed in an unhealthy manner, but he truly had managed to keep the Divine Essencefused Mountain at bay with just his hands and his immense strength.

While the middle-aged man was making short work of the Heart Charm being, the green-skinned being was whizzing through the air elsewhere as a transparent blur.

Unless a holy race being were present, no one would be able to detect his presence.

As such, the Dark Green being was feeling relatively relaxed compared to everyone else after parting with the other Spatial Tempering Stage beings, and he was wondering what was in the jade box that had been given to him. According to the big-headed being, there was a good chance that hed be able to exchange the item in the box for a Myriad Wonder Pill that he had been yearning for for a long time, did that mean that the box contained something even more valuable?

Due to the fact that it was considering these matters, it failed to notice a faint purple shadow pursuing it soundlessly down below. A pair of cold unblinking eyes lurked within the purple shadow, observing his every move.

After a short while, the purple shadow seemed to have gathered all of the visual data it required, and it suddenly shot forth as a purple thread, reaching the spot directly beneath the green-skinned being.

The green-skinned being was leaping through the forest, and the purple thread had timed its move so that it coincided with the instant when the green-skinned being landed next.

An earthshattering boom abruptly rang out from the ground below, following which a pair of large hands that were shimmering with crimson light locked around the green-skinned beings ankles in a flash!

The Dark Green being was naturally given a massive fright, but he reacted quite quickly as spiritual light flashed from his body, and he abruptly twisted around as he attempted to escape.

However, the pair of hands around his ankles had caught them in a vice-like grip and absolutely refused to let him go.

A burst of excruciating pain speared up his legs, and he was unable to move even in the slightest. His expression finally changed drastically as he realized the dire nature of his situation, and he immediately opened his mouth to blast forth a burst of white light that struck the wrists connected to those hands in a flash.

A loud metallic clang rang out, and the white light receded as a small sword that was several inches in length was repelled away, leaving not even so much as a single scratch on its target.

The green-skinned being drew a sharp breath as he hurriedly made a hand seal to try and unleash some other kind of powerful ability, but it was already too late.

Following a cold harrumph, a burst of red light erupted from the pair of large hands, instantly enshrouding the green-skinned beings entire body.

The red light was scorching hot, even melting the nearby soil into a pool of lava!

A bloodcurdling cry instantly rang out, and protective spiritual light flashed around the Dark Green being in a desperate effort to keep him alive, but his body quickly burst into flames.

…

Meanwhile, close to another forest elsewhere, two Jiao Chi Race Spatial Tempering Stage being were discussing something in quiet voices as they hovered in mid-air.

Four winged wyrms had gone on ahead, circling through the air in a methodical manner as if they were searching for something.

That being sure is alert, as soon as we approached this place, their aura disappeared. Even the winged wyrms cant locate them now, this is going to be a little troublesome. An urgent look appeared on the faces of one of the Jiao Chi beings.

Dont worry, that being is of the same cultivation base as you and me. For them to be able to completely conceal their aura like this indicates that they cant possibly be moving, so they must be hiding nearby. In that case, well just have to play a waiting game. Once our two masters get here, theyll have nowhere to hide! the other Jiao Chi being responded with a calm smile.

I guess thats the only way to proceed. The first being could only give a reluctant nod.

Meanwhile, the big-headed being was situated within a nondescript tree in the forest. His brows were rightly furrowed, and he was enveloped in a strange grey cloak that had completely concealed his aura.

…

Elsewhere, there was a streak of light flying over a set of mountain ranges.

Within the streak of light was a scaled foreign being with the head of a crocodile forging ahead as quickly as he could.

Several kilometers behind him, there were two Jiao Chi Race Spatial Tempering Stage beings flying through the air in a flying carriage that was several tens of feet in size, trailing along in a completely stealthy and discreet manner.

Even further behind the carriage were four winged wyrms, all of which were also flying along in a stealthy manner in order to prevent their target from detecting their presence.

…

All of the Spatial Tempering Stage beings that had fled from Green Light City were being hunted down by high-grade Jiao Chi beings, and Han Li was no exception.

At this moment, he was hovering high up in the air, looking down below with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Two winged wyrms were currently circling through the air several hundred feet below him.

It was the first time that hed seen such strange wyrms, and theyd only arrived here not long ago. They seemed to be adamant that Han Li was in this general vicinity, so they were scouring carefully through the area, but Han Li was still concealed by his High Zenith Invisibility Talisman, so the two wyrms were naturally unable to locate him.

As such, they could only scurry around like headless chickens.

Han Li stroked his chin as he assessed his surroundings, but failed to notice any other Jiao Chi Race pursuers nearby. Thus, a cold look appeared on his face as he contemplated whether he should kill these two pesky creatures.

The two winged wyrms were only Deity Transformation Stage beings, so theyd be no match for him.

However, he was still less than 1,000 kilometers away from Green Light City at present, and if there really were Body Integration Stage beings conducting surveillance toward this direction with their spiritual sense, then killing these two beasts could expose his location.

After considering the issue for a while, Han Li still shook his head and rid himself of that thought in the end.

Thus, he drifted away, planning to leave the pair of winged wyrms alone.

However, an unexpected turn of events then unfolded.

After flying out for just over 100 feet, purple light suddenly flashed from his body, following which he abruptly lost his invisibility.

The High Zenith Invisibility Talisman just so happened to run out of power at this moment, and this unexpected development came as quite a surprise to Han Li.

In the instant, that his body was revealed, both of the winged wyrms immediately looked up and caught sight of him.

The two beasts instantly let loose a collective cry of elation before flapping their wings and hurtling directly toward Han Li.

Han Lis expression darkened upon seeing this, and he made a hand seal as a loud thunderclap erupted behind him, following which a pair of glittering and translucent wings appeared on his back.

He looked down at the oncoming winged wyrms and let loose a cold harrumph.

The harrumph wasnt particularly loud, but to the winged wyrms, they felt as if a thunderclap had erupted right inside their ear cavities.

Both of them were immediately struck by a splitting headache, and they let loose howls of agony in unison before plummeting straight downward.

At this moment, Han Li flapped his wings and instantly disappeared as an arc of azure lightning.

In the next instant, spatial fluctuations erupted beneath one of the winged wyrms, and Han Li abruptly reappeared. He swiped a hand through the air toward this winged wyrm, and a streak of azure sword Qi shot forth before revolving around the wyrms body, instantly slicing it in half.

Even its soul had been completely destroyed in the process.

Han Li then twisted around and disappeared once again as an azure thread.

In the next instant, spatial fluctuations erupted beside the other winged wyrm, following which Han Li revealed himself again.

He pressed a pristine white palm gently onto the winged wyrms body, and a burst of five-colored flames fanned out in a ferocious torrent, instantly freezing it into a chunk of five-colored ice.

Immediately thereafter, golden light flashed from his five fingers, and several arcs of golden lightning struck the block of ice in unison.

The winged wyrm was completely pulverized along with the block of ice as a result, but a ball of green light attempted to escape from the wyrms shattered remains, only to also be destroyed by a bolt of golden lightning.

Thus, Han Li had slain the two winged wyrms in virtually the blink of an eye.

However, he didnt have time to stand around and appreciate his own handiwork. Instead, he immediately flew into the distance as a streak of azure light, making no further attempt to conceal himself.

If there were no Body Integration Stage beings among his pursuers, then no one would be able to catch up to him.

If there were such beings among their ranks, then hed most likely drawn their attention already, so the High Zenith Invisibility Talisman wouldnt do him any good. As such, it was best to focus on speed rather than stealth.

In the instant that the two winged wyrms were felled, the middle-aged man and the elderly man from the Jiao Chi being both looked from their respective locations, casting their gaze toward Han Lis direction in unison.

There was a pile of random stuff strewn all over the ground before the elderly mans feet and a jade box in his hand.

His eyes narrowed slightly as a contemplative look appeared on his face.

However, moments later, he abruptly swept a sleeve through the air, and the pile of items at his feet disappeared amid a flash of light along with the jade box in his hand.

After that, he rose into the air and flew toward Han Lis direction as a streak of red light.

Meanwhile, due to the fact that the middle-aged man had slain his target quite early, he was already flying toward another direction.

He was still rather hesitant about whether he should turn around and pursue Han Li instead, but he shook his head in the end and continued along his original route. However, he was suddenly flying significantly faster than before.

He was already quite close to the other target, so he naturally wasnt going to turn around to hunt down Han Li instead. He was planning to take care of the nearby target first before turning around to pursue Han Li.

Thus, only one of the two most powerful Jiao Chi beings had set off in pursuit of Han Li.

Flying with all their might, the speed of beings of this caliber was truly incredible.

Only around seven to eight minutes after Han Li had slain the winged wyrms and fled the scene, his expression suddenly changed slightly as he shot a glance behind him.

There in the distance, a streak of red light was hurtling directly toward him.

The streak of red light was able to cover over 1,000 feet in just a single flash, and it was flying around twice as fast as Han Li was.

Blue light flashed through Han Lis eyes, allowing him to spot a humanoid figure within the red light.

He then swept his spiritual sense toward his pursuer, and his heart sank ever so slightly.

It really was a Body Integration Stage being! Thankfully, he only appeared to be at the early-Body Integration Stage. Even if he couldnt win this battle, escaping would definitely be no issue for him.

With that in mind, Han Li reverted back to his usual calm expression again.

What is it, Brother Tu? Are you still concerned about the being in that direction? the middle-aged man asked.

I am. The disk is reacting to that direction, but the intensity of the reaction is fluctuation drastically. At times, that being appears to be the most powerful of the lot, but at other times, the disk barely reacts to them at all. It really is quite strange, the elderly man replied with an indecisive look on his face.

Looks like that being either possesses a treasure that can disrupt the Profound Heavenshifting Disks detection or they truly possess immense magic power, allowing them to unleash an ability that can disguise their cultivation base, the middle-aged man mused after a short pause.

Perhaps. If its the former, then that would be fine, but if the latter proved to be true, then we cant afford to let them escape. I suggest we deploy two of the winged wyrms to investigate first. Once a verdict is reached, we can make our decision then, the elderly man proposed.

I also believe that to be the wisest decision. If everything goes smoothly, then this matter should be taken care of within half a day, the middle-aged man chuckled in response, clearly of the opinion that taking some things from a bunch of Spatial Tempering Stage beings surely wouldnt be a difficult task.

The elderly man nodded upon hearing this, and the let loose loud cry. The two golden winged wyrms overhead immediately reacted and flew in the direction that the arrow on the disk was pointing in.

Moments later, they had disappeared into the distance.

The elderly man and the middle-aged man didnt delay any longer, either, as they shot forth as streaks of light, traveling toward different directions.

White light suddenly flashed from one of their bodies, and they slowly took on a transparent and virtually invisible form.

As for the other streak of light, after it had flown through the air for close to 10 kilometers, a cloud of purple mist erupted to conceal the streak of light.

After a while, the purple mist also vanished along with the streak of light within it.

…

In the air above a small hill, a foreign being with sallow cheeks and a pair of feelers growing from his head was riding atop a gecko-like spirit beast, flying through the air at an altitude of several tens of feet.

The gecko was only around 10 feet in length, and there was a faint layer of yellow light emanating from its body, allowing it to completely blend in with the soil down below. Under the disguise of this layer of yellow light, the foreign being and his gecko steed were extremely discreet, making it very difficult to detect their presence with the naked eye alone.

The foreign being appeared to be quite uneasy as he flew along atop his spirit beast steed, glancing behind himself regularly to check if any pursuers had appeared on the horizon.

This being was at the early-Spatial Tempering Stage, but he wasnt one of the beings who had fled the city with Han Li and big-headed being. It appeared that aside from those four beings, there were also other high-grade beings lurking within the city.

This being had somehow escaped the detection of the big-headed being and refrained from coming into contact with all of the other high-grade beings. Furthermore, he had concealed his cultivation base this entire time and didnt want to be lumped together with the other Spatial Tempering Stage beings as that would undoubtedly make him one of the main targets of the Jiao Chi Race.

Even after the city gates were opened, he had fled alongside all of the low-grade beings, posing as one himself.

At present, he was already close to 1,000 kilometers away from Green Light City, and this was already a safe distance away under most circumstances. However, the foreign still wore an uneasy look on his face.

For some reason, he had been struck by a sense of foreboding not long ago, and this feeling had only intensified thereafter.

He hailed from the Heart Charm Race, which was only a small race on the Thunder Continent, but they possessed a rare natural ability that allowed them to sense danger more acutely than other beings.

As such, he didnt dare to disregard this sense of uneasiness in his heart, and was inspecting his surroundings in an extremely cautious manner.

All of a sudden, his expression changed slightly, and he seemed to have detected something. He clamped his legs more tightly against the sides of his gecko steed, and the spirit beast immediately drew to a halt. At the same time, it also began to survey their surroundings with its large red eyes.

All of a sudden, a burst of white light erupted beside the foreign being, following which a humanoid figure emerged in a flash. The humanoid figure raised a hand, and a streak of powerful sword Qi flashed through the air.

The golden sword Qi was extremely dazzling to behold, and it reached the Heart Charm being in the flash.

The Heart Charm beings heart jolted with shock. If it hadnt received forewarning from its instincts, then it would most likely have been caught completely off guard and slain by that attack. Thankfully, he was alert and ready, and a small black shield abruptly appeared before him amid a flash of black light. At the same time, a buzzing sound rang out from his body, and three barriers of light, respectively crimson, yellow, and green in color, appeared around him.

The Heart Charm beings gecko steed also abruptly shook its body, and its remarkably long tail swept through the air as a black shadow. At the same time, it opened its mouth to blast forth a ball of putrid green liquid toward the humanoid figure within the white light.

As expected of a Spatial Tempering Stage being, the Heart Charm being was able to formulate a rapid sequence of defensive measures despite how abruptly it had been attacked.

However, the golden sword Qi unleashed by the humanoid figure was also quite devastatingly powerful, slicing through the black shield before crashing into the three light barriers.

The small black shield was sliced in half and plummeted down from above as a hint of shock appeared in the Heart Charm beings eyes.

The golden struck Qi then struck the three-colored light barrier amid a piercing flash of light, following which the four colors intertwined and clashed amid a string of incessant explosions.

The three-colored light barrier had managed to keep the attack at bay.

The ball of green liquid and the geckos powerful tail also struck the white humanoid figures at the same time, but the humanoid figure merely swayed slightly, and the attacks passed through his body as if it were a mere illusion.

What kind of ability is this?! The Heart Charm beings heart jolted with shock as he stared intently at his opponent. At the same time, he quickly flipped over a hand, and spiritual light flashed from his palm as a silver talisman appeared. He then flicked his wrist as if he were about to hurl the talisman through the air, but right at this moment, a gentle breeze suddenly blew past in the air behind him, following which a barely visible humanoid figure appeared, seemingly out of thin air.

The humanoid figure was semi-transparent and emerged in a wraith-like manner without triggering any spiritual fluctuations.

As such, the Heart Charm being was completely oblivious to the fact that a second enemy had appeared behind him, and he abruptly raised his hand into the air. The talisman that he was holding instantly transformed into countless arcs of silver lightning that were sent hurtling toward the enemy up ahead.

Loud thunderclaps erupted and silver lightning exploded before inundating the white humanoid figure. As soon as the silver lightning was unleashed, a scorching aura filled the entire nearby space, creating quite a formidable attack.

Meanwhile, a sinister smile appeared on the face of the semi-transparent humanoid figure behind the Heart Charm being, following which he flew through the air as a streak of green light.

An incredible scene ensued.

The three-colored light barrier that was powerful enough to withstand the attack from the golden sword Qi proved to be completely ineffective in the face of the streak of green light.

The green light punctured the light barrier in flash before disappearing into the Heart Charm beings body, completely disregarding the defensive measures set up.

A bloodcurdling cry immediately rang out as the Heart Charm being instantly rose up into the air before desperately attempting to flee the scene. However, he only managed to fly for just over 100 feet before his body spasmed violently, and he plummed directly downward.

All of his flesh and blood were quickly withering away at a rate that was discernible to the naked eye, and even before he had landed on the ground, he had been reduced to an empty husk.

Even the Heart Charm beings soul had been completely destroyed during this process.

Without anyone to control it, the silver lightning in the air above instantly disappeared, thereby revealing the white humanoid figure again.

Golden light flashed in his hand, and the giant gecko beast was instantly dismembered into several chunks.

Hehe. A smug chuckle escaped from within the wizened husk of the Heart Charm beings body, and it suddenly began to expand again, reverting back to its original form in the blink of an eye, as if the Heart Charm being had returned to life.

The Heart Charm being inspected his two hands as an unsettling smile appeared on his face. He then turned and waved a hand toward the humanoid figure within the white light.

The humanoid figure immediately approached him, and the white light around his body faded to reveal his true features. It was none other than that middle-aged Jiao Chi being!

However, his expression was completely wooden and lifeless, as if hed been reduced to a puppet.

This Blood Melting Technique really is quite powerful, Its a pity that I cant use it in quick succession. Otherwise, it would truly be an extremely useful offensive technique, the Heart Charm being mused in a rather forlorn manner as he appraised the middle-aged man before him.

After that, he flicked his wrist, and a storage bracelet shot forth, revolving around in the air before all of its contents were tipped out.

The Heart Charm being swept his spiritual sense toward this collection of items before making a grabbing motion, upon which several boxes flew toward him. He opened the boxes one by one and carefully inspected their contents, but his expression quickly darkened.

There were some rather precious items in this collection, but none of them were the items that he was looking for.

He pointed a finger at the storage bracelet, and a swath of azure light swept forth before stowing all of the items back into the bracelet.

A contemplative look then appeared on the Heart Charm beings face, and a thought suddenly seemed to have occurred to him as he hurriedly patted himself down in an unfamiliar manner. However, his search only yielded two talismans and a few other inconsequential items.

The Heart Charm being harrumphed coldly before shaking his head in a resigned manner. He then made a hand seal, and a streak of green light flew out from the top of his head before transforming into that semi-transparent humanoid figure again.

Meanwhile, the Heart Charm being sagged like a balloon before crumpling down onto the ground as an empty husk again.

The semi-transparent being disappeared into the middle-aged mans body, and the man shuddered before closing his eyes as a layer of green light surfaced over his body.

After a long while, the middle-aged man heaved a long sigh before opening his eyes again.

His wooden and lusterless eyes had come alive again, and a soul seemed to have been injected back into his body.