Рубрика: Путешествие к бессмертию

Han Li cast his gaze toward the same direction, and blue light flashed through his eyes, allowing him to see the devilish army with an extremely high level of clarity, even though it was situated several tens of kilometers away.

Amid the countless devilish battle arks, there was a giant pyramid, at the tip of which stood a group of extremely eye-catching crimson-armored high-grade devilish beings.

They were gathered around a giant carriage that was drawn by several devilish beasts, each with five lion heads, a layer of deep blue scales all over their bodies, and a long scorpion-like stinger extending behind each of them.

The carriage itself was extremely intricate in design with an inky-black flag situated at its center, upon which were inscribed several large crimson devilish characters.

Beneath the flag were clouds of churning devilish Qi, within which stood a young man in a crimson suit of armor with seven or eight devilish lords standing on either side of him in a respectful manner.

The young man bore an identical appearance to the three Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang clones who had pursued Han Li, and a hint of killing intent flashed through Han Lis eyes at the sight of him.

The crimson-robed young man seemed to have immediately sensed something, and he turned to meet the gaze of Han Lis spirit eyes. His crimson pupils then instantly turned as black as ink, releasing a burst of bone-chilling suction force that attempted to forcibly draw in Han Lis gaze.

Han Lis heart stirred as he forcibly cut off their eye contact with his immense spiritual sense, and the crimson-robed young mans expression changed slightly in response to this.

Did you discover something, Fellow Daoist Xue Guang? A lazy voice rang out from the other side of the beast-drawn carriage. The owner of the voice was a burly bronze-skinned man wearing a beast-hide garment, it was none other than the man whom Xue Guang had referred to as the number one devilish lord.

He currently had his arms crossed and was leaning against the railing on the beast-drawn carriage in a lackadaisical manner.

A human cultivator was spying on us, but I startled him away. However, they were able to easily break free from my Blacklight Devilish Eyes, so theyre definitely no ordinary being, Xue Guang replied.

Oh? They were able to resist your devilish eyes? Could this be the target you want me to deal with or perhaps that new late-Body Integration Stage being? the burly man asked as an excited look appeared on his face.

Its hard to say. In any case, this is definitely going to be a troublesome opponent. If you encounter them, I would suggest you take extra caution, Xue Guang said as his brows furrowed slightly.

Haha, rest assured, all Im concerned about is that this opponent wont be powerful enough to put up a good fight! the burly man chortled.

Xue Guang could only shake his head with a wry smile in response.

Meanwhile, over at Deep Heaven City, Han Li had his eyes tightly shut, and only after a long while did he manage to recover from the sense of dizziness he had been struck by.

Are you alright, Fellow Daoist Han? the white-robed elderly man asked in a concerned manner.

Im fine. I was caught off guard by an opposing secret technique, but Im alright now, Han Li replied with a nonchalant shake of his head.

Thats good to hear. Have you managed to confirm if that man truly is the Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang clone? the white-robed elderly man asked.

I have. That man has an identical appearance and aura to the Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang clones Ive seen in the past, so he should be one as well, Han Li replied.

I see. The fact that this clone has appeared in the devilish army reaffirms the notion that theyre planning to launch an all-out attack. Well be counting on you to take on that clone, Fellow Daoist Han. Theres no need to defeat him, all you have to do is keep him occupied, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue said with a solemn expression.

Hehe, rest assured, fellow daoists, as long as no other devilish beings intervene, this clone definitely wont be able to affect the rest of the battle, Han Li said with a confident smile.

Well be counting on you then, Brother Han. Well do our best to hold off all of the other devilish lords so they dont disrupt your battle, the white-robed elderly man assured in an elated manner.

Han Li nodded and offered no response to this. After that, several of the elders that Han Li had met in the past all approached him with greetings, and they were clearly treating him more politely than they had in the past.

It was quite clear that his status as a late-Body Integration cultivator had earned him some awe and veneration from the elders of the city.

Han Li wasnt very familiar with these other members of the panel of elders, so he only exchanged some obligatory pleasantries with them before falling silent again.

Right at this moment, a burst of loud rumbling rang out from the devilish army, following which hordes of ferocious devilish beasts rushed out of the sea of devilish Qi.

There were millions of devilish beasts with too many species among them to count. The devilish beasts rushed forward like a torrential flood, following which over 100 balls of black light flew out from among their ranks.

Each ball of light contained a half-beast half-human metamorphosis stage devilish beast, and under their instructions, the chaotic hordes of beasts instantly became neat and organized. Aside from the occasional low beastly snarl, no other sound rang out from among them.

Aside from these ordinary devilish beasts, there were over 1,000 extremely eye-catching mountainous super devilish beasts dispersed throughout the hordes of beasts.

There was no end in sight to this army of devilish beasts, and more and more of them continued to emerge from within the sea of devilish Qi, as if there were truly no end to their numbers.

In what seemed like the blink of an eye, over 10,000,000 devilish beasts had appeared, and the elders expressions were becoming progressively more strained.

How could there be so many devilish beasts? Wasnt there only supposed to be 5,000,000 to 6,000,000? Elder Gu asked with a hint of alarm in his eyes.

According to the information we had received earlier, there were indeed only supposed to be several million devilish beasts, these must be new additions to the devilish army, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue explained in a calm manner.

With so many devilish beasts present, this battle is not going to be an easy one, a black-robed demonic man murmured with a dark expression.

Rest assured, fellow daoists, these are only low-grade devilish beasts. No matter how many of them there are, theyre not going to have a decisive effect on the battle. I had already considered such a potential situation in advance and prepared countermeasures accordingly, the white-robed elderly man said.

I see. In that case, well leave it to you, Brother Gu. The other elders were quite relieved to hear this.

The white-robed elderly man smiled as he flipped a hand over to summon a white formation plate, then said something into it, and moments later, bursts of astonishing energy fluctuations abruptly erupted as several giant formations emerged on the city wall.

At the center of each formation hovered an altar that was as white as jade, and there were several ordinary-looking items situated on these altars.

There was a dark blue bowl, an inky-black gourd, a silver longsword, and a white screen-like object.

Those are the Four Celestial River Treasures! Isnt it overkill to be using them on low-grade devilish beings, Brother Gu? a demonic elder asked with a mixture of elation and concern on his face.

These treasures are indeed extremely powerful, but their forte lies in their ability to attack massive areas. In comparison, theyll be much less effective when targeting individual powerful beings. As such, following some discussion with Fellow Daoist Jin Yue, we decided to use them against these low-grade devilish beasts in the end. On one hand, well be able to kill a massive number of devilish beasts, and on the other hand, morale will be boosted. Otherwise, if we suffer a large number of casualties as soon as the battle begins, morale will inevitably plummet. Im sure this is also the reasoning behind the devilish armys decision to send out all of these devilish beasts first, the white-robed elderly man explained.

The other elders all felt this to be quite reasonable, so they nodded in response and didnt pry any further into the matter.

There is indeed a massive number of devilish beasts, but the most troublesome beings to take care of will be those devilish elites, they seem to have been deployed as well, Han Li suddenly said.

All of the elders hurriedly cast their eyes into the distance upon hearing this, and they discovered that groups of armor-clad devilish beings had appeared behind the hordes of beasts in the distance.

These devilish beings were either riding atop different types of devilish steeds or flying through the air as gusts of black winds. They were all giving off a ruthless aura of bloodlust and following along silently behind the army of devilish beasts. If it werent for Han Lis words of caution, the other elders wouldnt have noticed them.

Amid the sound of rumbling war drums, a string of giant bell tolls suddenly erupted from within the sea of devilish Qi, and the inky-black giant arks, as well as the enormous devilish pyramid, also emerged with countless devilish battle carriages around them.

Have they gone insane? Theyre unleashing all of their power from the get-go! Are they not planning to keep any backup reserves? the white-robed elderly man exclaimed upon seeing this, and all of the other elders were also stunned by this development.

It doesnt matter what the devilish army is planning, we just have to stop them! Brother Gu, we cant afford to panic at a time like this, lets implement our original plan. Fellow daoists, the survival of our Deep Heaven City could quite possibly hinge on the outcome of this battle, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue suddenly yelled in a rousing manner.

However, this immortal secret technique would definitely take a very long time to cultivate, and it wasnt something that would yield any benefits for him in a short time, so he wasnt planning to make a start on it right away.

Han Li injected his spiritual sense into the two outer pages and carefully reviewed their contents for a while, and after ascertaining that there werent any issues, he stowed them away before slowly closing his eyes.

He was going to get himself into prime condition before he began refining that Heavenly Halberd Talisman.

With that talisman up his sleeve, he should be able to ensure self-preservation no matter what mishaps arose in the upcoming battle.

Of course, this wasnt the only thing that Han Li was going to be relying on against that Xue Guang clone.

With his current enormous wealth of spiritual sense, he would be able to just barely control all of his unevolved Gold Devouring Beetles in battle.

If he were to release several thousand mature Gold Devouring Beetles at once, they would pose a substantial threat even to the Xue Guang clone.

Furthermore, he was preparing to practice the abilities enclosed in the Provenance True Devil Arts right away, and all of these abilities were extremely powerful.

On top of that, he had his Leopard Kirin Beast and Purple-striped Gold Devouring Beetles to assist him. With all of that up his sleeve, he should be able to ensure self-preservation even against the true body of a Sacred Ancestor, let alone a mere Sacred Ancestor clone.

With that in mind, Han Li gradually relaxed and entered a meditative state.

A period of silence ensued in the secret chamber, following which a low buzzing abruptly rang out, accompanied by the occasional resounding boom.

Half a month later, an ear-piercing ringing sound erupted within the secret chamber, and a golden pillar of light rose to the ceiling of the secret chamber, then appeared at the top of the stone pagoda right above Han Li.

The golden pillar of light was over around 10,000 feet tall, and as thick as a water tank. There was a giant halberd projection hovering above the pillar of light, and it was emitting an astonishing ringing sound.

Furthermore, there were thousands of shimmering silver runes dancing around the halberd projection, creating a mystical sight to behold.

In the next instant, the sharp ringing sound erupting from the halberd projection abruptly ceased, and at the same time, a burst of indescribably terrifying fluctuations surged forth in all directions.

As the fluctuations swept through the air, specks of golden light began to appear out of thin air.

These specks of light were only the size of grains of rice, but there were far too many of them to count, and they were surging toward the pillar of light in a frenzy.

Every speck of light was emanating extremely pure metal-attribute spiritual Qi, and all of the metal-attribute spiritual Qi in a radius of tens of thousands of kilometers was being drawn to the pillar of light.

On top of that, the metal-attribute armor and treasures being carried by the patrolling guards and other cultivators in the area also began to release their metal-attribute spiritual Qi, all of which surged toward the golden pillar as specks of golden light.

These cultivators were naturally quite startled by this, and they immediately tried to prevent their treasures from leaking spiritual Qi, but no matter what they tried, their efforts proved to be futile.

Within mere moments, close to half of the metal-attribute spiritual Qi in their treasures had been lost, and the light emanating from them dimmed significantly. It was quite clear that if things were to continue like this, these treasures would soon be reduced to useless pieces of scrap metal.

All of the nearby cultivators were petrified to see this, but they could only look on in helplessness and despair.

Just as things the situation was truly about to get out of hand, the halberd projection suddenly shuddered, and all of the fluctuations it was releasing abruptly ceased.

The giant pillar of light then vanished on the spot, and at the same time, the leakage of metal-attribute spiritual Qi from the treasures in the surrounding area was also cut off.

If it werent for the fact that the auras of these treasures had become extremely feeble, the cultivators in the area could easily be led into thinking that they had just experienced a hallucination.

Many people began to exchange bewildered glances with one another.

Of course, it was soon determined that the phenomenon that had just taken place had stemmed from Han Lis abode. Everyone naturally came to the conclusion that Han Li had been refining a certain treasure that required an enormous influx of metal-attribute spiritual Qi, and they certainly didnt dare to demand compensation from a late-Body Integration Stage senior, so they could only lament their ill-fortune.

None of the elders of the city witnessed this phenomenon, but they received news of it shortly thereafter.

They were rather surprised to hear about this, but didnt think much of it, and they didnt even send anyone to inquire Han LI about what had happened.

At this point, the devilish army was becoming more and more active, and it was quite apparent to all cultivators of Deep Heaven City that a battle was imminent.

Under these circumstances, the high-grade cultivators in the city naturally werent going to concern themselves with something trivial like this.

Two months later, Han Li was seated in his secret chamber with golden light shimmering from his body. His eyes were tightly shut, and his hand were clasped in front of his chest with a golden and silver talisman held between them.

Above his head was a projection with three heads and six arms that was hovering at a low altitude. The projections three faces were identical to Han Lis, and they each wore a different expression. Hovering above the six outstretched hands of the projection were six golden treasures of different descriptions, all of which seemed to be substantial objects with intricate silver runes inscribed all over them.

These treasures were all releasing different phenomena, and it was quite clear that not only were they extremely powerful, they also possessed vastly different abilities.

All of a sudden, Han Lis expression stirred slightly, and the golden and silver talisman abruptly disappeared from between his hands as he opened his eyes.

Almost at the exact same moment, the golden projection also vanished into his body.

A ball of red light then shot forth into the secret chamber before landing in Han Lis grasp.

Han Lis eyes narrowed slightly as he appraised the ball of red light, then suddenly released his spiritual sense out of the secret chamber.

His enormous spiritual sense instantly swept through all of the levels of the stone pagoda before stopping in the hall on the top floor.

Seeing as shes come here in person, the devilish army mustve already begun attacking the city. Otherwise, she wouldnt disrupt my seclusion for no good reason, Han Li murmured to himself as a solemn look appeared on his face.

He waved a hand through to snuff out the ball of red light, then rose to his feet and flew out of the secret chamber as a streak of azure light.

On the top floor of the stone pagoda, a silver-robed woman was waiting for him with a concerned look on her face.

Qi Lingzi, Hai Yuetian, and the Ice Phoenix were standing nearby in a respectful manner.

This woman was none other than Fairy Silver Light, and her brows were currently tightly furrowed.

Rest assured, Senior, Ive already sent a voice transmission talisman to Master, so he should be here soon, Qi Lingzi reassured.

Fairy Silver Light nodded in response. The devilish army has already begun to advance toward our Deep Heaven City, and an all-out battle is imminent, so it would be best if Brother Han can meet up with the elders of the city as soon as possible. You three can come with Brother Han as well, the elders will make sure not to send you out to battle too early, so you should have a greater chance of survival than the average cultivator.

Thank you, Senior! Hai Yuetian and Qi Lingzi immediately expressed their gratitude, and a grateful look also appeared on the Ice Phoenixs face.

Right at this moment, azure light flashed within the hall, and a humanoid figure suddenly appeared without any warning.

Has the devilish army commenced their attack, Fellow Daoist? This isnt just another harassment attack, is it? Han Li asked in a calm manner as soon as he appeared in the room.

Its good to see you, Brother Han. The devilish army is indeed about to begin attacking the city, and theyve deployed all of their devilish beasts and troops, so this definitely isnt just a harassment attack. Even that Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang clone seems to have appeared in the devilish army. I can see that your powers have received another significant boost as a result of your breakthrough, Brother Han, I cant even ascertain your exact cultivation base anymore, Fairy Silver Light said with an elated look on her face.Seeing as the situation is so urgent, Ill meet up with Brother Gu and the others right away. You can all come with me as well, Han Li said with a smile as he turned to his disciples and the Ice Phoenix.

The three of them naturally agreed, and thus, all of them immediately departed from the stone pagoda together, heading directly toward the direction that the devilish army was situated in.

After flying for a short while, the gigantic city wall of Deep Heaven City appeared in the distance, and there was an enormous palace that resembled an island hovering in mid-air just behind the city wall.

Han Li and the others flew toward the palace before landing on a massive platform in front of it, and there were already thousands of high-grade cultivators gathered on the scene. At the center of the platform was a stone pagoda that was over 1,000 feet tall, at the top of which stood several people, they were none other than the members of the panel of elders.

Han Li naturally had no intention of hanging around with the ordinary cultivators, and he issued a few instructions to his disciples and the Ice Phoenix before flying toward the pagoda with Fairy Silver Light.

The white-robed elderly man was ecstatic to see Han Li, and he immediately pointed toward the devilish army outside the city as he said, Welcome, Fellow Daoist Han. Take a look over there, that should be the clone of Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang.

The Sacred Ancestor clone thats ruling over the devilish army outside has never shown itself, so we dont know much about its powers and abilities. However, according to the information weve managed to gather, it should be no more powerful than the clone that you were pursued by. These two clones both stem from that Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang, so even if there are some disparities between their abilities, they should all be somewhat connected. Having faced a clone of Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang already, it should be easier for you to face this clone compared to clones of other Sacred Ancestors, the white-robed elderly man said.

Oh? Are you planning to get me to face this Sacred Ancestor clone, Brother Gu? Han Li asked in a calm manner, seemingly unsurprised by this arrangement.

Indeed, Fellow Daoist Han. Under normal circumstances, I definitely wouldnt ask you to take such a huge risk, but the devilish army outside is extremely powerful, and just the number of devilish lords in the army alone is almost twice the number of elders in the city. The other elders and I have racked our brains to try and come up with a strategy, but the Sacred Ancestor clone is going to be more powerful than even the average late-Body Integration cultivator, there really is no good way for us to counter it. If it were to force its way through a weak point in the citys defenses and allow the devilish army to storm into the city, we would be in a dire situation, the white-robed elderly man replied.

Han Li was silent for a moment before suddenly asking, How was the panel of elders initially planning to address this Sacred Ancestor clone? Dont tell me you had no plans at all!

What plans could we have other than to rely on our advantage in numbers and our restrictions? Our initial plan was that once the battle commenced, we would send someone to lure the clone into a formation that we had prepared in advance, then trap him in the formation. We wouldnt be able to kill it that way, but at the very least, wed be able to keep it out of the battle for a while. Unfortunately, the plan sounds simple, but its actually very difficult to execute, so the chances of success are not very high, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue explained.

Indeed. All of the Sacred Ancestor clones are extremely cunning, luring one into a formation certainly wouldnt be an easy task, Han Li replied with a solemn nod.

Thats right. Fellow Daoist Jin and I had planned to ask you to lure the Sacred Ancestor clone into the formation, but with your past cultivation base, the plan was too risky for you, so we didnt propose it to you. However, now that youve progressed to the late-Body Integration Stage, theres no need for such concerns. Were not asking you to defeat the Sacred Ancestor clone, Brother Han, all that we ask is that you keep it occupied once the battle begins so it cant attack the citys restrictions. As for the devilish army and devilish lords, our panel of elders will face them. The survival of the city is at stake here, so please dont turn us down, Brother Han, the white-robed elderly man said in an earnest manner.

Han Li pondered this for a moment before replying with a smile, I agreed to do everything in my power to help the city ward off the devilish army, and Im certainly not going to eat my words. If all I need to do is hold off the Sacred Ancestor clone, then that should be within my capabilities, leave the Xue Guang clone to me.

The white-robed elderly man was ecstatic to hear this. Thank you for being so selfless, Brother Han! If we can ward off the devilish army, well definitely reward you handsomely for your efforts.

Its alright, Im just doing whats expected of me. The fate of the entire human race hinges on this battle, so Ill naturally be giving it my all. If thats everything that needs to be discussed, then Ill be taking my leave now. I only recently completed my breakthrough and still need to consolidate my cultivation base, Han Li said as he rose to his feet.

The white-robed elderly man and Buddhist Monk Jin Yue were rather surprised by this, but there was no reason for them to keep Han Li any longer, so they accompanied him out of the hall.

Following Han Lis departure, Buddhist Monk Jin Yues smile faded, and he asked, Brother Gu, why didnt you try to recruit Fellow Daoist Han to join our city? That was a great opportunity just now.

Do you think theres any point in doing so? I was holding onto some hope, but as soon as I saw Fellow Daoist Han today, I knew that there was no way he would agree to join any power. With his current powers, how do you think he ranks among all of the late-Body Integration cultivators of our two races? the white-robed elderly man asked.

Buddhist Monk Jin Yues heart stirred upon hearing this, and only after pondering the question for a long while did he reply, Ive met all of the late-Body Integration Stage fellow daoists of our two races, but none of them have been unfathomable to me as Fellow Daoist Han was. On top of that, he slew multiple devilish lords at the mid-Body Integration Stage and even faced a Sacred Ancestor clone, judging from all that, I would speculate that Fellow Daoist Han is already the most powerful being among our two races aside from Senior Mo and Senior Ao.

There you go. With Fellow Daoist Hans powers, why would he bind himself to any power for no reason? Also, what can our Deep Heaven City offer to tempt someone of his powers? I would only risk offending Fellow Daoist Han by trying to recruit him to join our city again, so I naturally decided against it, the white-robed elderly man said with a wry smile.

Thats true. Its incredible to think that someone who was an ordinary guard of our city less than 2,000 years ago has since surpassed us on the path to pursuing the Great Dao, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue sighed in a slightly wistful manner.

Hehe, life is always unpredictable. Alright, this isnt the time for us to be discussing something like this, lets continue where we left off before. I still think that we should set up those powerful treasures atop the city wall to repress those low-grade devilish beasts… the white-haired elderly man said in a serious manner.

However, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue immediately shook his head in response. Those treasures are trump cards that we refined after expending extensive painstaking efforts, we cant use them on devilish beasts. Once we expose them, the devilish army will know what to expect, and their potency will be greatly hampered…

But there are simply too many low-grade devilish beasts, if we dont use them…

Thus, the two of them began to debate the topic in the hall.

Han Li was naturally completely unaware of this, and he immediately flew back to his own abode.

He would have to expend quite a bit of time to truly consolidate his late-Body Integration Stage cultivation base, so the more time he had to cultivate prior to the commencement of the battle, the more he would be able to consolidate his powers. Furthermore, after reaching the late-Body Integration Stage, he was close to attaining full mastery of his Provenance True Devil Arts, and there were also some powerful abilities that he would finally be able to unleash.

However, if he wanted to use these abilities in battle, then he would have to take some time to familiarise himself with them first.

Thus, he had immediately chosen to depart after his conversation with the two elders.

After returning to his abode, Han Li issues a few instructions to Qi Lingzi and the others before entering his secret chamber again.

He sat down with his legs crossed on the futon at the center of the secret chamber, but instead of going into a meditative state, he flipped a hand over to produce a pair of thumb-sized white jade badges that were covered in silver runes.

These were none other than the two outer pages of the Golden Jade Tome that Han Li had obtained back in the human world.

One of the pages contained the refinement method for several types of profound talismans, while the other contained the Hundred Meridian Refinement Mantra.

The pages werent complete, but through his own research, Han Li had managed to refine most of the talismans. Now, there was only a Heavenly Halberd Talisman that he was still yet to refine.

This was the final talisman recorded on the outer page, and it was also the only offensive talisman. Apparently, it was incredibly powerful, but unfortunately, it was several times more difficult to study this talisman than the previous ones.

If it werent for the fact that Han Li had encountered many talisman masters of foreign races and exchanged a lot of ideas and experiences with them, it would be virtually impossible for him to refine this talisman.

Han Li had already mastered the refinement method long ago, but the materials required were quite difficult to find, and there was also an astonishing demand on the level of magic power of the person refining the talisman.

Back when Han Li was at the mid-Body Integration Stage, he didnt possess enough magic power to refine this Heavenly Halberd Talisman, and that had been very frustrating to him.

However, it did make sense. Considering how fearsome the description of this talisman made it out to be, it was most likely quite a renowned talisman even in the True Immortal Realm, so it was only normal that beings of lower realms like himself would find it extremely difficult to refine such a talisman.

Thankfully, he had assigned the task of gathering materials to his disciples, and they had managed to gather all of the materials over the past several centuries.

Now that he was at the late-Body Integration Stage, he possessed sufficient magic power to support the refinement of this talisman, so he was planning to refine it during this period of seclusion.

As for the Hundred Meridian Refinement Mantra enclosed in the other outer page, that was a body refinement method of the True Immortal Realm that allowed one to refine their physical body like a treasure.

Unfortunately, this secret technique had extremely high demands on ones physical body, Han Li had only been able to just barely cultivate some of the secret technique after cleverly refining the Extreme Essencefused Mountain and and some other treasures to become a part of his body.

However, this wasnt sustainable, and at his current cultivation base, the enhancements brought to his body by those treasures were no longer sufficient to satisfy him. Thus, he was planning to pick up the Hundred Meridian Refinement Mantra again and truly cultivate it this time.

With his current physical constitution, he would naturally be able to cultivate this secret technique without any issues.

This so-called number one devilish lord clearly wasnt displaying much respect toward Xue Guang. Of course, this could mostly be attributed to the fact that Xue Guang was only present in this realm in the form of a clone, rather than his true body. Otherwise, no matter how powerful the burly man was, he wouldnt dare to act in such an uncouth manner.

A contemplative look appeared on Xue Guangs face for a moment before he suddenly yelled, Summon the ten generals to come and see me.

Yes, Master Xue Guang, someone outside immediately answered in a respectful manner before rushing away to do his bidding.

Only then did Xue Guang return to his seat and begin to carefully ponder some things.

Meanwhile, after absorbing sufficient spiritual Qi, the giant projection in Deep Heaven City finally reverted back into an azure ball of light that descended toward the stone pagoda in a flash.

The ball of light then vanished amid a flash of spiritual light, and Han Li, who was situated on the deepest level of the pagoda, slowly opened his eyes as an ecstatic look appeared on his face.

So this is the late-Body Integration Stage, it really is completely different from the mid-Body Integration Stage. Im now one step away from the Grand Ascension Stage, the path to immortality is finally becoming a reality, Han Li murmured to himself as he experienced the dramatically enhanced magic power and spiritual sense within his body.

Following this successful breakthrough, both his magic power and spiritual sense had almost doubled, and they would both only continue to increase as he continued cultivating. The only thing that he was rather disappointed about was that his physical body hadnt been enhanced by much.

It seemed that the rumors that one could only reform their physical body after reaching the Grand Ascension Stage were true. As for the benefits that one derived from that reformation, that would depend on their latent aptitude and the cultivation arts they were using.

With that in mind, Han Li closed his eyes again and immediately began fortifying his new cultivation base, as well as to recover the huge amount of energy he had lost during his tribulation transcendence.

Due to the fact that he had to expend a lot of magic power and spiritual sense to combat the inner demon, he was forced to use many treasures to help him transcend the tribulation.

The late-Body Integration Stage tribulation was far more fearsome then he had imagined, and he was forced to detonate over 10 top-grade treasures that he had obtained over the years. Even his 72 Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords had been damaged as he had pushed them too far.

If it werent for the fact that his two extreme mountains possessed a resistance toward heavenly lightning and shielded him from the final few waves of lightning strikes, he definitely wouldve been severely wounded, even if he had still managed to successfully transcend this tribulation.

However, following this late-Body Integration Stage tribulation transcendence, Han Lis confidence in the five extreme mountains was boosted even further, and his determination to refine the remaining three extreme mountains was reaffirmed.

His Grand Ascension Stage tribulation was only going to be even more fearsome than this late-Body Integration Stage tribulation, without the five extreme mountains, he wasnt confident about his chances of success at all.

On top of that, the five extreme mountains were also going to be extremely important for the periodic major heavenly tribulations that would befall him in the future.

After lingering on this final thought for a moment, Han Li completely relaxed and immersed himself in his cultivation. Warm magic power flowed throughout his entire body, and he meditated for around half a month without awakening even once.

On this day, the door of the secret chamber was suddenly opened on its own by a gust of fierce wind, and azure light flashed as Han Li emerged from within, then cast his gaze over the surrounding area.

We pay our respects to Master!

Congratulations on your breakthrough, Brother Han!

Qi Lingzi, Hai Yuetian, and the Ice Phoenix were all standing guard nearby, and as soon as Han Li emerged, they immediately converged toward him with elation etched on their faces.

Hehe, without your assistance, Im not sure I wouldve made it. Lets continue our conversation in the hall. You two can come along as well, Han Li said to the trio.

The trio naturally had no objections, and they immediately followed Han Li to the top floor of the pagoda.

A short while later, Han Li and the Ice Phoenix had taken a seat in the hall on the top floor, while Qi Lingzi and Hai Yuetian were standing respectfully off to the side.

They seemed to be even more excited than Han Li was about his breakthrough.

With such an incredibly powerful master, no one would dare to look down on them again, even beings with far higher cultivation bases than them would have to treat them with respect.

Brother Han, I had thought that with my heavenly phoenix bloodline, my aptitude wouldnt be inferior to anyone, but now, I truly dont know what to say. I bet even you didnt anticipate that you would make such incredible progress back when we joined forces to ascend to the Spirit Realm through that spatial node. With your formidable abilities, youre most likely the most powerful being in both the human and demon races below only those two Grand Ascension Stage seniors. I cant help but be a little envious, the Ice Phoenix said in a slightly awestruck manner.

My progress up to this point was heavily dependent on luck. Without your true spirit bloodline and exceptional cultivation aptitude, its only a matter of time before you reach the same level, so theres certainly no need to be envious of me, Han Li replied with a calm shake of his head.

I certainly hope so. During my recent cultivation, I can feel that Im approaching a bottleneck, it looks like Im also not far away from making a breakthrough, the Ice Phoenix replied with a nod.

Hehe, then Ill have to congratulate you in advance, Han Li said with a smile.

The Ice Phoenix smiled in response, but gave no further reply.

Qi Lingzi, has anything happened during my time in seclusion? Han Li asked.

Recently, many cultivators have been mobilized in the city, and there are rumors going around, stating that the devilish army is about to launch an all-out attack against the city. Also, following your tribulation transcendence, many of the sects and powers in the city sent congratulatory messages and presents, Ive tallied up all of the presents and stored them away for you to inspect when youre ready. By the way, the elders of the city have also sent congratulatory presents, and Senior Jin invited you to go and meet the panel of elders right away after you come out of seclusion, he says that they have something important to discuss with you, Qi Lingzi replied in a respectful voice.

Ill take a look at all of the presents later. As for Fellow Daoist Jins invitation, that most likely has something to do with the devilish army, it seems Ill have to make a trip there. Seeing as the matter seems to be quite urgent, Ill head over there right away, Han Li said as a rose to his feet.

Qi Lingzi and the others were slightly surprised to see Han Li leaving in such a hurry, but they naturally didnt dare to stop him.

Thus, Han Li gave them a slight nod before he flew out of the hall as a streak of azure light.

By the time Han Li arrived at the conference hall for the panel of elders, the white-robed elderly man and Buddhist Monk Jin Yue were already waiting at the entrance, seemingly having received news of his arrival in advance.

As soon as the three took a seat, the white-robed elderly man immediately offered his congratulations and swept his spiritual sense toward Han Li, upon which he was given quite a shock.

Han Lis current powers were as unfathomable as an ocean, and even the white-robed elderly man was completely unable to ascertain his exact cultivation base.

How was this possible? He was a mid-Body Integration cultivator, even if his powers were inferior to those of a late-Body Integration cultivator, there shouldnt be such a massive disparity.

There were only two possible explanations for this, the first of which was that Han Li was using some type of secret technique or treasure to disguise his own cultivation base, the second possibility was that Han Lis magic power had truly become too unfathomable for his spiritual sense to properly detect. frewbovel.cm

The white-robed elderly mans expression remained unchanged, but he immediately ascertained that the first possibility was quite implausible.

After all, if Han Li had a way to disguise his own cultivation base, then he wouldve used it back when he was a mid-Body Integration cultivator, why would he do something like this now, when everyone already knew that he was at the late-Body Integration Stage? If it were the latter…

The white-robed elderly man couldnt help but draw a sharp breath, and the tone of his voice unconsciously became even more polite.

Buddhist Monk Jin Yues expression also remained unchanged, but his astonishment was no less potent than that of the white-robed elderly man. Even though he already had a very high estimate of Han Lis powers, it appeared that he had still underestimated him.

After making some brief small talk, Han Li said, Ive already received the congratulatory presents the two of you have sent to me, allow me to offer my thanks. Now then, Im sure youve invited me here to discuss an urgent matter, so lets cut straight to the chase.

The white-robed elderly man and Buddhist Monk Jin Yue exchanged a glance before the former said, In that case, I wont delay any longer either. Following your progression to the late-Body Integration Stage, you are already the most powerful cultivator in the city. Forgive me for being blunt, but what would you estimate your own chances to be if you were to go up against a Sacred Ancestor clone?

A Sacred Ancestor clone? Thats hard to say. After all, the Sacred Ancestors all possess different powers and abilities. I dont know anything about the Sacred Ancestor clone outside the city, so I cant say anything definitive about it, but if its anything like the Sacred Ancestor clones Ive faced in the past, then I should have a decent chance of securing victory, Han Li replied after a long pause for contemplation.

All of the high-grade cultivators present immediately flew away in different directions upon hearing this with a few exceptions, but those outliers were also forced to retreat in the face of the cold glare aimed toward them by the white-haired elderly man.

Hmph, I cant believe those bastards were planning to take the worlds origin Qi gathered by Fellow Daoist Han at such a crucial juncture! the white-robed elderly man harrumphed coldly.

Its no wonder that some people would try to take such a risk. The worlds origin Qi that Fellow Daoist Han has gathered is of the highest level of purity, if they can even take a tiny portion of it, they would benefit immensely, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue chuckled.

But if we were to allow that, it could affect the reformation of Fellow Daoist Hans soul. The effect would be virtually negligible, but we certainly wouldnt want Fellow Daoist Han to become dissatisfied with our city over something like this, the white-robed elderly man said as a complex look appeared on his face.

Indeed. Besides, if something were to go wrong during the reformation of Fellow Daoist Hans soul, he definitely wouldnt let those opportunistic individuals off the hook. In any case, Fellow Daoist Hans successful breakthrough to the late-Body Integration Stage is fantastic news for our city. Even now, I still feel like Im in a dream. I had quite a great deal of confidence in Fellow Daoist Han, but even I didnt think that he would be able to transcend such a fearsome tribulation so smoothly, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue sighed.

Its only taken Fellow Daoist Han several centuries to progress from the early-Body Integration Stage to the late-Body Integration Stage. Compared to him, I feel like Ive wasted my entire life! Perhaps there really is a chance that hell become a second Grand Ascension cultivator of our human race, the white-robed elderly man mused as he stroked his long beard.

Indeed, with Fellow Daoist Hans stunning aptitude, its certainly not impossible. However, while progressing to the late-Body Integration Stage is already extremely arduous, it still pales in comparison to a Grand Ascension Stage breakthrough. Even for Fellow Daoist Han, theres only a very slim opportunity, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue replied with a nod.

Of course, but he still has a sliver of an opportunity to attain immortality in the future. In contrast, that ship has already sailed for us, and we can only await the conclusion of our lifespans, the white-robed elderly man said in a slightly dejected manner.

Theres no need to dwell so much on this matter, Fellow Daoist Gu, very few people in the entire history of our human race have managed to reach the Grand Ascension Stage, were already immensely fortunate to have Senior Mo in our generation, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue replied.

Hehe, you sure are enlightened, Fellow Daoist Jin. Indeed, youre right. Even for Grand Ascension cultivators, theres one final major obstacle to be overcome before immortality can be attained. Ive heard occasional tales of mighty figures in foreign races successfully ascending to immortality, but no one in the recorded history of our two races has succeeded, so its certainly far from a simple task, the white-robed elderly man chuckled. reewebovel.com

There have been several seniors who have attempted to transcend ascension tribulations in the past, but all of them did so in secret, so no one witnessed their tribulation transcendences. Perhaps some of them managed to succeed in the end, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue said in a hopeful manner.

Perhaps. In any case, that has nothing to do with the current state of our city. Seeing as Fellow Daoist Han has already succeeded in his tribulation transcendence, lets not delay here any longer. Otherwise, it would be quite troublesome if Fellow Daoist Han were to misconstrue our presence as a sign that were harboring malicious intent, the white-robed elderly man replied.

Buddhist Monk Jin Yue naturally had no objections to this, and the two of them instantly flew away from the scene.

In the distance, the giant projection was still gathering the worlds origin Qi in a frenzy, and at this point, over half of the entire Deep Heaven City had become a funnel for the worlds origin Qi.

In the end, the projection swelled to around 50,000 feet tall, and it was visible to everyone in the city, thereby naturally creating a massive stir.

Not only were the humans and demons in the city able to see the projection formed by Han Lis soul, the devilish beings in the devilish strongholds and pyramids further away were also able to see a blurry silhouette in the distance, as well as sense the surging worlds origin Qi within Deep Heaven City.

In the tallest of the devilish pyramids, there was a crimson-robed young man looking out the window toward Deep Heaven City with crimson light flashing within his eyes.

Theres no mistaking this aura, someone mustve made a late-Body Integration Stage breakthrough. Hmph, thats rather troublesome, this enormous aura suggests that this isnt just some ordinary late-Body Integration Stage being. Ill have to prepare some countermeasures for this, the young man murmured to himself as his eyes narrowed slightly.

The young man was none other than the final Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang clone, which was the commander of the devilish army in this area.

Seated on a stone chair not far away from the window was a burly man in a silver beasthide garment. He was currently munching on the bloody hindleg of a certain beast, and he said in a slightly garbled voice, A mere late-Body Integration Stage being is nothing to be worried about, rest assured, just leave them to me. Hehe, you invited me all the way over here precisely because you wanted me to clear out some obstacles for you, isnt that right?

The man had an extremely muscular physique with gleaming bronze skin, and he was giving off a bone-chilling aura akin to that of a vicious beast.

Theres no need to trouble you over something like this, Brother Xiong, I invited you here to deal with an even more troublesome fellow. I cant be sure if hes returned to Deep Heaven City or not, but if hes not present in the city, then Ill leave this late-Body Integration Stage being to you, Xue Guang replied.

This burly man was clearly only a late-Body Integration Stage devilish being, but Xue Guang seemed to be quite wary of him and was referring to him as an equal.

Oh? Is the opponent you want me to take care of going to be even more formidable than this late-Body Integration Stage being? the burly man asked with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

I believe so. Im not sure of the specific details, all I know is that my three clones pursued him twice, and they returned after a failed first attempt before being wiped out during their second attempt, Xue Guang said with furrowed brows.

The burly man was astonished to hear this, and he tossed the half-eaten hindleg aside as a solemn look appeared on his face. What?! Now that you mention it, I do recall hearing some fellow daoists mention that you sent three clones into this realm at once, but how could all three of them have been killed at once? Are you asking me to face a Grand Ascension Stage human or demonic being?

Hehe, rest assured, Brother Xiong, I wouldnt make you battle a Grand Ascension Stage being for me. The target in question is merely mid-Body Integration Stage human cultivator, but he possesses a set of incredible abilities, and even the average late-Body Integration Stage cultivator is no match for him. Those three clones of mine most likely perished by his hands. As the number one devilish lord of our holy race, youre the best choice to deal with such an opponent, Xue Guang replied.

Stop trying to flatter me! If that man could kill all three of your clones at once, then even if his powers are inferior to mine, it wouldnt be by much. You have to double my compensation! Otherwise, Im not taking this job, the burly man said without any hesitation.

Alright, but you have to leave all of his treasures to me, Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang agreed, also without any hesitation.

Oh? Looks like this human cultivator is either carrying some powerful treasures or has something that you desperately need. Otherwise, you wouldnt have agreed so easily. So be it, the original compensation you promised me was already quite a hefty amount, now that youre doubling it, Ill agree to leave all of his treasures to you. Im really curious to see what kind of abilities this human cultivator possesses that allowed him to kill all three of your clones. Looks like Ill be able to enjoy a good battle this time! the burly man said with a ferocious smile as he cracked his knuckles.

In that instant, he truly resembled a vicious beast that was just barely able to contain its killing intent.

Xue Guang was very pleased with the mans reaction, and he nodded with a smile as he said, Im offering such a large sum in compensation precisely because Im confident in your abilities, Brother Xiong. It wont be long until we launch our main assault against Deep Heaven City. Prior to that, you should take some rest to recover from the energy you expended to descend into this realm so you can face this opponent in your best condition.

I dont need to rest to recover from such a trivial amount of energy expenditure. Seeing as theres nothing for me to do here, Ill go take a stroll and see if I can entertain myself. This is the Spirit Realm, surely you Sacred Ancestors wont continue to restrict me here. A cold look suddenly appeared on the burly mans face as he spoke.

Xue Guangs expression changed slightly upon hearing this, but he then immediately smiled, and replied, Of course, you are free to do whatever you want here, Brother Xiong.

The burly man immediately rose to his feet and departed without even bidding farewell to Xue Guang, leaving Xue Guang to look on with a resigned expression.

Hmph, you were lucky this time, but if I can manifest an inner demon once, then I can do it a second time! Theres definitely no way youll be able to survive, the Heavenly Devilish Monarch roared in a furious voice.

Immediately thereafter, a ball of black Qi emerged out of thin air, then quickly began to take on a humanoid form.

There wont be a second time! Youre delusional if you think you can go into hiding again after youve already revealed yourself to me! Han Li harrumphed coldly in response, then suddenly opened one of his three mouths to expel a ball of azure light.

The azure light was formed by the spiritual Qi within his body, and it contained a stick of yellow half-burned incense that was giving off the faint aroma of sandalwood.

Blue light flashed from the eyes of Han Lis central head, and he made a grabbing motion to draw the stick of incense into his grasp before rubbing two his hands together vigorously.

A ball of silver flames emerged between his palms, and a plume of faint yellow smoke instantly began to disperse through the air.

At the same time, one of his other heads exhaled with all its might, and the yellow smoke transformed into an arrow that shot forth through the air, then abruptly vanished mid-flight.

In the next instant, the arrow reappeared amid a flash of yellow light not far away from Han Li before plunging into what appeared to be nothing more than empty space.

A muffled groan rang out, and a ball of twisted black light suddenly appeared out of thin air. The yellow arrow was embedded right into the center of the ball of light.

There was a miniature humanoid figure that was around several inches tall situated within the black light, and even though its body had been impaled by the arrow, it chuckled in a derisive manner, Hmph, you think an ordinary treasure like this can harm me? You must be getting desperate.

The miniature humanoid figures facial features were completely indistinguishable, but just the mere sight of the pure devilish Qi emanating from its body made the onlooker feel as if they had been plunged into a glacial pit.

A relieved look appeared on Han Lis face upon confirming that the arrow had struck its target, and he said in a cold voice, When did I say this is an ordinary treasure? Seeing as youre just a wisp of a Heavenly Devilish Monarchs devilish intent, this thing will be more than enough to get rid of you.

What? This is… The miniature humanoid figure shuddered as it suddenly recalled what this item was from its extensive wealth of memories.

However, it was already too late. In the next instant, the yellow arrow exploded, and yellow smoke that carried the faint fragrance of sandalwood instantly dispersed to encompass roughly the surrounding acre of space.

The miniature black figure was unable to maintain its form within the faint yellow smoke, and before it completely vanished, it yelled in an indignant manner, Impossible! Black Infernal Ice Incense has already gone extinct in this realm, how could you possibly have this? Dont celebrate too early! When you make your Grand Ascension Stage breakthrough, Ill be sure to descend into this realm in person and make sure to put an end to your life!

Thus, the Heavenly Devilish Monarchs devilish intent was forcibly ejected out of Han Lis spiritual sense.

He quickly made a hand seal upon seeing this and reverted back to his human form in the blink of an eye.

His face had turned slightly pale, and he was panting slightly from exertion. The ability that he had just unleashed had clearly expended a considerable amount of spiritual sense and magic power, which was why he had refrained from using it earlier.

Han Li glanced at the spot where the devilish figure had just disappeared, and his expression remained quite grim. He immediately made another hand seal, and his body disintegrated into specks of azure light.

In order to prevent the inner demon from affecting the spiritual sense he had left outside his soul, he had completely cut off his connection to his own physical body. Now that this threat had been averted, he was naturally immediately returning to his own body.

In the instant that Han Li opened his eyes, he caught sight of the surrounding grey specks of light, which had transformed into five ghastly apparitions that were trying to attack him through his treasures with all their might.

With each assault that they unleashed, the surrounding treasures would tremor violently, and the spiritual light being released by them had also dimmed significantly.

The five apparitions were constantly revolving around Han Li with astonishingly violent auras emanating from their bodies, and Han Lis expression immediately darkened upon seeing this.

He let loose a loud cry as countless arcs of golden lightning sprang forth out of his body, and the five devilish apparitions manifested from baleful Qi were instantly destroyed without being able to offer any resistance.

After taking care of these five devilish apparitions, Han Lis expression only darkened even further.

At this point, the restrictions and formations he had prepared specifically for this heavenly tribulation had already been activated, conjuring up several massive layers of light barriers that encompassed the entire stone pagoda.

There were currently 81 giant black wyrms overhead, blasting forth devastating bolts of lightning of different colors.

The smallest bolts of lightning were only around a foot in length, while the longest were around 500 meters long, and they were crashing down in a torrential downpour.

Amid the flashes of lightning, the restrictions were beginning to display signs of overexertion.

At this moment, all of the bolts of lightning crashing down from above suddenly combined as one to form a gigantic pillar of lightning, and all of the light barriers were instantly shattered.

Without any further impediment standing in its way, the bolts of lightning instantly vanished, then reappeared above Han Li in his secret chamber before continuing to crash down with devastating might.

Han Li immediately swept a sleeve through the air to release a dozen or so bolts of golden lightning, and a deafening boom rang out as the golden lightning and five-colored lightning canceled out one another.

However, this was only the beginning. Even more bolts of five-colored lightning had appeared overhead, and they were raining down upon Han Li with incredible ferocity.

Han Lis eyes narrowed slightly as he made a grabbing motion with one hand. A ball of azure light appeared over his palm in a flash, then shot forth in all directions as 72 streaks of azure light.

All of a sudden, a loud dragons roar rang out, and countless streaks of azure sword Qi appeared before dispersing all throughout the entire secret chamber, then converged to form an azure ball of light above Han Li.

The ball rotated on the spot to release countless streaks of dazzling sword Qi, then shattered to reveal a green coiled dragon.

In the blink of an eye, Han Li had set up his Azure Coil Sword Formation. As expected of one of his trump cards, the azure coiled dragon managed to remain completely unscathed in the face of the five-colored lightning, and it was able to vanquish all of the bolts of lightning with devastating sweeps of its powerful tail.

At this point, the fiery clouds up above had already recovered to their original mass, and fire-attribute spiritual Qi surged within them, following which head-sized crimson fireballs came crashing down from above.

Han Li naturally wasnt going to be fearful of these oncoming balls of flames. He took a deep breath and summoned his two extreme mountains, then laid a hand on each of them, upon which grey Divine Essencefused Light and streaks of invisible sword Qi surged out of the two mountains in a frenzy.

……

A day and a night later, the 81 black wyrms in the sky finally self-detonated into clouds of black Qi, and at this point, all of the spectating high-grade cultivators had already been completely awestruck by the ferocity of this heavenly tribulation, as well as the measures that Han Li had taken to oppose it.

This was the first time they had ever seen such a fearsome heavenly tribulation, and it was downright incredible to them that the might of a single person had been able to stand up against it.

In the instant that the black wyrms disappeared, a long cry rang out from within the stone pagoda, piercing straight into the heavens.

At the same time, an azure pillar of light erupted out of the pagoda, reducing all of the remnant fiery clouds and black Qi to countless runes of different colors. freewbnove.com

After the pillar of light faded, an enormous humanoid projection that was around 10,000 feet tall with an appearance that was completely identical to Han Li emerged high up in the air.

Isnt that Fellow Daoist Han?

I see, so its Senior Han whos been transcending his late-Body Integration Stage tribulation.

……

Most of the nearby cultivators were immediately able to identify the projection as Han Li, and they immediately burst into spirited discussion.

The azure projection looked around at the countless runes in the nearby area, and a faint smile appeared on its face before it abruptly inhaled violently.

All of the runes shuddered before transforming into specks of light that flooded into the giant projections mouth, and with each inhalation, tens of thousands of these specks of light were devoured.

At the same time, the azure projection was expanding at a rapid rate, and after all of the surrounding specks of light had been devoured, more specks of light began to converge from the distance like moths to a flame, only to be devoured by the azure projection as well.

An alarmed look appeared on the white-robed elderly mans face upon seeing this, and he hurriedly yelled, Everyone, get back! Fellow Daoist Han has already transcended his late-Body Integration Stage tribulation and is currently devouring the worlds origin Qi to reform his soul. Were all currently in the affected area, so we have to get back right away!

The person seated on the ground was none other than Han Li.

Judging from his current expression, he didnt seem to be in a very good condition.

The grey specks of light were constantly drifting around him, occasionally taking on the forms of malicious monsters, as well humanoid projections of both genders and all ages. However, regardless of what form the grey specks of light took, all of them immediately pounced viciously toward Han Li, only to be forced into retreat by the treasures hovering around him.

As such, these malicious apparitions could only continue to buzz around the area encompassed by the treasures. However, as they were forced back over and over again, these beings were gradually becoming more and more violent and impatient.

Han Li paid no heed to these beings at all, but the situation seemed to be becoming more and more strenuous for him.

In reality, that was indeed the case.

Within a certain mysterious space within his mind, an azure-robed spiritual sense clone of his was currently locked in battle with someone else.

The opponent wore an inky-black robe and was controlling 72 black flying swords. The black-robed figures appearance was completely identical to Han Li, but there was crimson light shimmering within his eyes, and he had a sinister smile on his face. His entire body was also enshrouded in devilish Qi, making him resemble an almighty fiendcelestial

Han Li made hand seals with both hands, controlling his 72 azure flying swords with one hand while releasing bolts of golden lightning with the other. However, the black-robed Han Li was able to easily counter the azure flying swords with his black flying swords, and he also released bolts of black lightning that were even thicker than the oncoming bolts of golden lightning in retaliation.

Han Lis expression darkened upon seeing this, and over 100 arcs of golden lightning erupted from his body at once to eradicate the oncoming bolts of black lightning.

All of a sudden, an extremely sweet and pleasant female voice rang out. Hehe, resistance is futile, brat, this inner demon is a complete replica of yourself. No, in fact, with the enhancements its receiving from me, its even more powerful than you, Im sure youve also realized this after battling it for so long.

Hmph, this inner demon is indeed slightly more powerful than I am, but youre delusional if you think it can defeat me. You only managed to sneak into my soul during a lapse of concentration. Otherwise, this inner demon wouldnt even exist, Han Li said with a dark expression as he flipped his hand over to reveal a short silver ruler, which he swept through the air to release countless ruler projections toward the inner demon.

You are indeed far more powerful than I imagined, and it would be unrealistic to expect a mere inner demon to destroy your soul, but dont forget that youre transcending your late-Body Integration Stage tribulation. I dont know how youre protecting yourself, but with most of your spiritual sense and magic power dedicated to this battle, theres no way youll be able to successfully transcend the tribulation. If you dont want to die, then youd better hand over that suit of devilish armor. Once you do that, Ill leave right away so you can transcend your tribulation in peace, the woman said in the voice of a temptress.

The owner of the voice was none other than the Heavenly Devilish Monarch, whose devilish intent Han Li had once encountered in Cloud City.

It had somehow managed to sneak into Han Lis spiritual sense during this critical juncture in his tribulation transcendence, then created this inner demon to try and devour his soul.

If it werent for the fact that Han Lis spiritual sense was far more condensed than the average cultivator, there was a good chance that the inner demon would have succeeded.

You think I would believe the words of a Heavenly Devilish Monarch? Im guessing that as soon as the thought of making a concession crosses my mind, the inner demon would immediately pounce on me and devour my soul. I had always heard that Heavenly Devilish Monarchs were most adept in coercion and could often kill their targets without even needing to battle them, it seems that this is true, Han Li replied in a completely expressionless manner.

Hehe, you sure are alert. In that case, Ill wait for you to fall to your own demise. After your body and soul gets destroyed during the heavenly tribulation, Ill still be able to recover the suit of devilish armor. The Heavenly Devilish Monarchs voice suddenly turned into an extremely rough and husky male voice.

The inner demon swept a sleeve through the air and also released countless black ruler projections to nullify all of Han Lis attacks.

Han Lis expression darkened even further upon seeing this, and right at this moment, the other minority portion of his spiritual sense transmitted a message to him, stating that the heavenly tribulation was about to reach a critical stage, and that the magic power and spiritual sense he had left behind most likely wouldnt be able to withstand it.

As such, he had to kill the inner demon right away so he could focus wholeheartedly on his tribulation transcendence.

With that in mind, Han Li immediately let loose a low roar, and he made a hand seal as golden light flashed from his body, following which he transformed into a mountainous golden ape.

You may be able to replicate my cultivation arts and treasures, but lets see if you can replicate my transformation technique as well! Han Li roared as he swung his fists toward the inner demon.

Two incredible powerful bursts of golden shockwaves surged forth, threatening to pulverize the inner demon into mincemeat.

A peculiar look flashed through the inner demons eyes, and black light flashed from its arms as a layer of black scales appeared over its skin, following which it abruptly made a grabbing motion upward.

Countless black claw projections appeared above the inner demon, forming a giant net that managed to keep the golden shockwaves at bay.

However, once the two giant golden fists arrived, the net was completely shattered.

During this split-second delay, the inner demon had withdrawn its 72 black flying swords back into its body, then let loose a guttural snarl as black Qi surged out of its body in a frenzy. A pair of thick black horns appeared on its head, and at the same time, its body swelled drastically in size. freewebnvel.cm

In the blink of an eye, it had transformed into a giant black-scaled devilish minotaur that was just as massive as the golden ape, and it reached directly toward the apes fists with its bare hands.

Two resounding booms rang out, and the giant golden ape was forced back several steps, while the inner demon was forced to plummet down from above, smashing a massive crater into the ground.

Following that single exchange, Han Li immediately realized that the minotaur wasnt as powerful as his Giant Mountain Ape form, but there wasnt a large disparity between them.

At this rate, even if he could secure victory, it would definitely take a very long time. Under these circumstances, he naturally couldnt afford to delay any further.

A hint of urgency appeared in Han Lis eyes, and he finally gritted his teeth before making a decision.

The ability that he was going to unleash next was going to expend a lot of spiritual power, which would be extremely detrimental to his tribulation transcendence, but he had no choice.

Once he steadied himself, he immediately let loose a long cry, upon which a golden projection with three heads and six arms appeared behind him.

The projection opened its six eyes before instantly flying toward the giant ape as a faint shadow.

A layer of golden light swirled over Han Lis body, following which two more furry heads appeared on his shoulders alongside four additional arms.

The giant golden ape had also taken on an appearance with three heads and six arms, and its body then swelled even further to several times its original size.

At the same time, Han Li took a deep breath, and a ball of golden light abruptly appeared over each of his six palms.

In the next instant, the six balls of golden light began to rapidly expand, and in what seemed like nothing more than the blink of an eye, they combined as one to form a gigantic ball of light that was over 1,000 feet in size.

Han Lis three heads then began to chant in unison, and countless runes emerged from within the golden ball of light before rapidly revolving around it.

An enormous golden vortex instantly took shape in mid-air before being hoisted higher upward by Han Lis six giant hands.

A burst of tremendous suction force erupted out of the center of the vortex, and the devilish minotaur stumbled as it was forcibly dragged toward the vortex.

It immediately let loose an enraged roar, and a horrified look appeared on its face for the first time.

It was a replica of Han Lis body, but due to its inability to replicate true spirit blood, the 12 Awakening Transformations was the only ability it was unable to mimic.

Thus, it was naturally rendered completely powerless in the face of the attack unleashed by the combined powers of Han Lis Giant Mountain Ape form and Provenance True Devil Arts.

In its desperation, the devilish minotaur released all types of treasures, including its 72 black flying swords, two extreme mountains, and short black ruler to attack the giant vortex, all to no avail.

As soon as the treasures reached within the general vicinity of the vortex, it would be swept up by the countless golden runes surging out of the vortex, then forcibly drawn into it before disappearing without a trace.

At this point, the devilish minotaur had also been drawn to no more than 300 to 400 feet away from the vortex. All of a sudden, it summoned a crimson trident amid a flash of black light, then plunged it down into the ground, using it as an anchor to just barely arrest its own momentum.

An elated look immediately appeared on the devilish minotaurs face.

However, right at this moment, Han Li let loose a low cry and hurled the golden vortex downward like a giant mountain. The inner demon only had a chance to let loose a howl of anguish before it was completely inundated by golden light.

There are many mid-Body Integration Stage fellow daoists in our human and demon races just like us, but only very few who have made it to the late-Body Integration Stage. If I recall correctly, Fellow Daoist Han seems to have only reached the mid-Body Integration Stage not long ago, this rate of progression is far too extraordinary! Even the most legendary figures in the history of our two races most likely cant compare with him, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue agreed with a nod.

Its exactly because of Fellow Daoist Hans stunning aptitude that this step will be even more difficult for him to take. After such a short time, his foundation cant be all that solid, thatll increase the difficulty of making this breakthrough, the white-robed elderly man said.

Hehe, were all just speculating here, its yet to be seen whats actually going to happen. Perhaps Fellow Daoist Han will give the two of us a huge surprise, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue chuckled.

I certainly hope so. If another late-Body Integration cultivator can support our city, then well have a much easier time against the devilish army. Fellow Daoist Hans powers as a mid-Body Integration cultivator were already comparable to those of a late-Body Integration cultivator, if he were to succeed in this breakthrough, he would most likely even be able to face a Sacred Ancestor clone in battle, the white-robed elderly man mused.

Indeed. Prior to the descent of the true bodies of the Sacred Ancestors into this realm, their clones will be the most powerful beings in the devilish army. If theres a way for Fellow Daoist Han to hold them off, then we can abandon our original plan and focus our efforts on dealing with those devilish lords, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue said as a cold light flashed through his eyes.

The white-robed elderly man nodded in response before turning toward the phenomena taking place in the distance again.

At this point, the fiery clouds up above had already transformed into a crimson sea that had encompassed virtually the entire sky, and beneath the fiery clouds, a series of giant runes of different colors were taking shape.

These runes were radiating dazzling light, and in the next instant, they abruptly surged up toward the fiery clouds, as if they were about to pierce through the clouds.

A loud buzzing sound rang out from the fiery clouds, and they began to churn even more violently. As soon as the giant runes came into contact with the clouds, a peculiar sizzling sound rang out, following which the runes began to crumble away.

They had been completely repressed under the clouds.

A cold harrumph suddenly reverberated through the entire space, following which a blurry humanoid figure that was over 10,000 feet tall appeared amid a flash of azure light, then pointed upward several times in quick succession in an expressionless manner.

Invisible ripples ran through the space up above, and the rate at which the giant runes were being manifested sped up by over tenfold.

Millions of runes emerged in the span of just a few breaths, then surged upward like a reverse waterfall.

However, the fiery clouds remained as resolute as ever, even against the drastic increase in the influx of giant runes.

Both the fiery clouds and giant runes were expanding at an alarming rate, and it was as if they were never going to stop.

However, the giant humanoid projection seemed to have grown impatient, and it abruptly swept an arm toward the fiery clouds from afar.

Even though it was only a projection, the attack that it unleashed triggered a resounding boom akin to a dull thunderclap.

The azure humanoid projection crumbled away in a flash, but an enormous burst of invisible power surged easily into the clouds before immediately exploding.

A string of explosions rang out in rapid succession, and a giant hole with a diameter of over 1,000 feet appeared within the clouds.

Some of the giant runes down below instantly surged through the hole in the clouds, following which the hole was sealed in a flash.

Those runes converged to form another enormous rune that was around an acre in size, and it was gradually being converted into a substantial form.

However, right at this crucial juncture, dark clouds suddenly began to appear above the fiery clouds. These dark clouds then transformed into a series of giant black wyrms amid a string of explosive thunderclaps.

Extremely thick botls of silver lightning began to appear over the bodies of these wyrms, creating an astonishing sight to behold.

There are 81 of them! Thats incredible! I recall the late-Body Integration Stage tribulation that I witnessed in the past only had 36 wyrms! Buddhist Monk Jin Yue exclaimed.

A hint of astonishment also flashed through the white-robed elderly mans upon seeing this, but he said in a calm manner, I wonder how Fellow Daoist Han is going to deal with such a fearsome late-Body Integration Stage tribulation. If any mishaps occur, he could easily end up with severe wounds and fail to make his breakthrough. Its a pity that we cant assist him during this process. Otherwise, perhaps there would still be hope for him.

He seemed to have already convinced himself that Han Li definitely wouldnt be able to transcend this tribulation.

Theres no need to be overly concerned, Brother Gu, Fellow Daoist Han must have his reasons for attempting a breakthrough at a time like this. Lets wait and see for now, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue replied in a serious manner.

Right at this moment, another rumbling thunderclap erupted, and several tens of bolts of golden lightning crashed down from above, each of which was as thick as a water tank.

The lightning pierced directly through the massive rune and fiery clouds, then struck the giant black wyrms with devastating force.

A resounding boom rang out, and massive holes were blown into the bodies of the black wyrms by the bolts of golden lightning, while the silver lightning around their bodies were all devoured by the golden lightning.

If it werent for the fact that the golden lightning had disappeared after only a brief moment, the black wyrms really couldve been completely destroyed.

However, the golden lightning seemed to have enraged these wyrms, and they let loose ferocious roars as cloud and mist surged toward the holes in their bodies, regenerating them in a flash.

The wyrms then opened their mouths to expel gusts of fierce black wings which swept downward in a frenzy, and the fiery clouds down below began to burn with even greater ferocity.

The wind and flames complemented one another, forming a massive sea of flames that encompassed an area of close to 100 kilometers. The sea of flames then began to descend, and the space down below was illuminated into a bright red color, as if the entire space were being set alight.

Buddhist Monk Jin Yue and the white-robed elderly mans expressions both changed slightly upon seeing this.

If the tribulation transcender were to fail to control this sea of flames, countless normal cultivators down below would perish!

The other cultivators nearby also drew a sharp breath in unison.

They didnt think that the heavenly tribulation would be this formidable even in its initial stages.

If they were in Han Lis place, all of them wouldve most likely been reduced to ashes already.

At the center of the sea of flame was none other than the stone pagoda that Han Li was staying in.

This pagoda was naturally protected by some restrictions, but if it were to be struck by the sea of flames, it would most definitely be destroyed.

Right at this moment, a ball of silver light appeared at the top of the pagoda, following which a clear cry rang out as giant silver Fire Raven emerged.

When it first appeared, the Fire Raven was only around 10 feet in size, but as it spread its wings, it swelled to over 100 times its original before hurtling directly toward the sea of flames.

A dull thump rang out as the silver Fire Raven vanished into the sea of flames, but in the next instant, the sea of fire suddenly began to churn violently.

The crimson flames converged rapidly toward the giant Fire Raven as if they were being drawn by an irresistible force, then quickly vanished amid flashes of light.

In just a short time, over a fifth of the entire sea of flames had disappeared, and at this rate, it wouldnt be long before the whole sea of fire ceased to exist.

However, before that could happen, the giant black wyrms up above suddenly opened their mouths to expel bursts of white Qi that swept downward.

The white Qi appeared to be quite ordinary, but as it dispersed through the air, over 10 translucent and peerlessly sharp ice spikes that were each around 10 feet in length were created. Before the ice spikes had even begun to descend, a burst of ghastly howling rang out from within the stone pagoda down below, following which five wagon-wheel-sized skulls flew out, then opened their mouths to expel five streams of glacial flames that swept directly upward.

As soon as the ice spikes came into contact with these glacial flames, they reverted back to white spiritual Qi before vanishing amid the flames. Even after these two types of attacks had been nullified, the black wyrms remained completely unfazed. Their bodies twisted around, and they exploded amid resounding booms.

The fragments of their bodies then transformed into countless giant rocks of different sizes.

The smallest of these rocks were smaller than human heads, but the largest ones were over 10,000 feet in size and resembled small mountains. With so many giant rocks crashing down from above, it was as if doomsday had arrived, and all of the normal cultivators down below instantly paled in horror.

Within a secret chamber on the deepest level of the stone pagoda, there was a person seated with his eyes tightly shut on a yellow futon.

Spiritual Qi was surging all over his body, and his face was quite red. Sweat was pouring down from his forehead, and it seemed that he was straining against something in a very arduous manner.

Before him stood a pair of miniature mountains, one black and one azure, each of which was around 10 feet tall. Above him, there were 72 small azure swords that were revolving in the air.

There were also layers of black runes surging over his body, encompassing a suit of inky-black armor.

Strangely enough, there were countless grey specks of light dispersed throughout the entire secret chamber. Each speck of light was only around the size of a human thumb, but they were giving off an extremely frosty aura.

Shortly thereafter, the meeting between the elders concluded, and everything resumed as normal in Deep Heaven City.

Just as the white-robed elderly man had said, without anyone leaking the news, none of the ordinary beings in the city were aware that a mid-Body Integration Stage human cultivator had already passed away.

Of course, this news wasnt kept a secret from Fairy Lin Luan.

Upon hearing this news, she was initially quite shocked and horrified, but she quickly calmed down and never mentioned Master Azure Dragon again, as if she had never even known him.

Unfortunately for the panel of elders, their attempts to recruit Han Li had proven to be futile.

Han Li had been in seclusion this entire time, proclaiming that he was cultivating some type of powerful ability.

Thus, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue could only wait patiently until he came out of seclusion.

He was sure that Han Li would emerge from seclusion before the devilish army commenced its all-out attack.

Aside from Buddhist Monk Jin Yue, Fairy Silver Light, and several other Body Integration cultivators, all of the other elders had their attention drawn to the frequent harassment attacks launched by the devilish army, so they eventually forgot about Han Li.

Even the white-robed elderly man only asked about Han Li a few more times before setting the matter aside.

At this point, the devilish army still hadnt deployed their main forces to attack the city, but the harassment attacks they were unleashing were becoming more and more ferocious.

During these attacks, even Spatial Tempering Stage casualties had become very commonplace.

Thus, the elders of the city naturally had to step in, and two or three elders had to be present to face every devilish attack in order to ensure that morale remained high.

At the same time, the entirety of Deep Heaven City was operating at full capacity. All types of tool refinement workshops were packed to the rafters with workers, and treasures and spirit tools were being refined with no material expenses being spared.

The cultivators who were adept in the art of talismans had also been grouped together to craft low-grade talismans day and night.

In a battle of such a massive scale, low-grade talismans were often more effective and efficient to produce than mid-grade and high-grade ones.

After all, with the time and materials required to refine a mid-grade talismans, tens or even hundreds of low-grade talismans could be produced, and that wasnt even taking into account the vast disparity between the success rates of refining the different talismans.

As for high-grade talismans, only a select group of expert talisman refinement masters could produce them.

On top of that, many of the low-grade cultivators and manual laborers in the city had also been put to work, they were organized into several enormous groups of different numbers as the back-up forces of the city.

Aside from that, all of the citys formations and restrictions had also been thoroughly examined several times to ensure that they could be relied upon to resist the devilish army.

In summary, Deep Heaven City was preparing for war.

Under this tense and frenetic atmosphere, half a year flew by in the blink of an eye.

On this day, the white-robed elderly man and Buddhist Monk Jin Yue were discussing an important matter in a conference hall when the door was abruptly flung open from the outside, and a silver-armored guard hurriedly rushed in.

Who said you could come in here? the white-robed elderly man asked in a vexed manner.

Senior, I came here to inform you that the spiritual Qi outside is in a completely chaotic state, it seems that someone is making a major breakthrough! the guard hurriedly reported as he extended a respectful bow.

A major breakthrough? Could it be that someones progressing to the mid-Body Integration Stage? Thats fantastic news, why do you look to be in such a panic? the white-robed elderly man asked as his expression eased slightly.

The issue is that the heavenly phenomena are far too ferocious for a mid-Body Integration Stage breakthrough, the situation seems to be even more fearsome than what late-Body Integration Stage breakthroughs are rumored to be like! the guard replied in a panicked manner.

The white-robed elderly man was rather surprised to hear this. Oh? Lets go and take a look, Fellow Daoist Jin Yue.

Sure, Im also very interested to see just which fellow daoist is making their breakthrough, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue replied with a nod.

Thus, they were led out of the hall by the guard, and as soon as they emerged outside, the white-robed elderly mans expression immediately changed slightly.

With his mid-Body Integration Stage spiritual sense, he was instantly able to sense that the spiritual Qi in the air had become extremely active, as if they were being affected by some type of fearsome power.

He unconsciously sped up, and in the blink of an eye, he and Buddhist Monk Jin Yue had arrived on a massive terrace.

There were around a dozen guards gathered on the terrace, all of whom were looking into the distance with flabbergasted expressions.

The white-robed elderly mans brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this, and he cleared this throat to make his presence known.

Only then did the guards notice him and Buddhist Monk Jin Yue, and they immediately extended respectful bows. Just as the white-robed elderly man was about to scold these subordinates of his, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue suddenly let loose a faint cry of surprise.

The white-robed elderly man immediately cast his gaze toward the same direction as Buddhist Monk Jin Yue, upon which an astonished look appeared on his face.

There in the distance, the sky had turned bright red, and crimson fiery clouds were revolving in mid-air like a giant fireball.

Beneath the fiery clouds, countless wisps of colorful light were rapidly converging to form a series of rainbow bridges.

Close to half of the entire city was encompassed beneath the fireball and crimson clouds, but compared to this stunning visual stimulus, the spiritual pressure radiating from the heavenly phenomena was even more astonishing.

Due to how far away they were, they could only sense a tiny portion of this spiritual pressure, but they were still struck by a sense of asphyxiation. Furthermore, this pressure was only continuing to mount, and it seemed that something terrifying was brewing in the distance.

These heavenly phenomena really are far more fearsome than what a mid-Body Integration Stage breakthrough could bring about! Lets go and take a closer look, Fellow Daoist Jin. It would be extremely fortunate for the city if someone could make a late-Body Integration Stage breakthrough, we have to keep a lookout for them and ensure that they arent disrupted, the white-robed elderly man said.

Of course. Witnessing a late-Body Integration Stage tribulation transcendence would be a brilliant opportunity for us. If we can see it up close, Im sure itll benefit our future cultivation immensely, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue immediately agreed.

Thus, the white-robed elderly man swept a sleeve through the air to release a burst of white that swept up his own body, then flew away into the distance.

Buddhist Monk Jin Yue also followed along as a ball of golden light, and only then did the guards heave a collective sigh of relief before erupting into spirited discussion surrounding the heavenly phenomena that were taking place.

At this point, all of the high-grade cultivators in the entire city had been alerted by these phenomena, and countless streaks of light were converging from all directions.

The low-grade and mid-grade cultivators were also very intrigued, but they knew that this was not something that they could participate in, so they could only look on from where they were, but that certainly didnt stop them from discussing the situation with those around them.

The theories they came up with came in all shapes and forms.

There were some stating that a certain spirit treasure was emerging, while others were proclaiming that an almighty spirit beast was creating these phenomena. Of course, most believed that this was stemming from a certain cultivators tribulation transcendence, and some of the more knowledgeable and experienced individuals had guessed that this had to be a Body Integration Stage tribulation transcendence.

Of course, none of them couldve imagined that the Body Integration cultivators were just as astonished as they were once they gathered close to the heavenly phenomena.

The white-robed elderly man and Buddhist Monk Jin Yue werent the first ones to arrive on the scene, over 20 Spatial Tempering and Body Integration cultivators had arrived before them, and they were appraising the phenomena from close to 100 kilometers away.

Fairy Silver Light was among them as well, and she gave the white-robed elderly man and Buddhist Monk Jin Yue a nod from afar before casting her gaze toward the unfolding phenomena again.

The white-robed elderly man and Buddhist Monk Jin Yue exchanged a glance before also stopping nearby.

If Im not mistaken, Fellow Daoist Han is the only Body Integration cultivator who lives in this area, right? the white-robed elderly man suddenly asked.

Indeed, and Fellow Daoist Hans abode seems to be situated right at the center of this heavenly phenomena, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue replied.

That means it must be Fellow Daoist Han whos making a breakthrough, its no wonder that he went into seclusion, the white-robed elderly man said.

That does appear to be the case. This heavenly phenomena appears to have been triggered by a late-Body Integration Stage breakthrough, but its far more fearsome than one that I was fortunate enough to have witnessed in the past, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue replied in a hesitant manner.

Theres nothing strange about that, the heavenly phenomena triggered by ones breakthrough depends on their powers. Generally speaking, the more fearsome the phenomena, the more powerful the tribulation transcender is, but at the same time, theyll also be plunged into an extremely perilous situation. With the ferocity of this set of heavenly phenomena, I think Fellow Daoist Han may not be able to successfully transcend his tribulation, the white-robed elderly man mused in a contemplative manner.

Rest assured, Master, I devoured that Azure Dragons Nascent Soul, so hes as dead as dead can be. However, prior to his death, he chose to unleash a powerful ability rather than continue to repress the poison, and I had to expend some energy to keep him at bay. Hence, I had no choice but to meditate for two days, then snuck back into the city with a group of Deep Heaven City scouts, so theres no way that anyone wouldve detected me, the Leopard Kirin Beast said with a smile.

You did very well. Now, I can focus wholeheartedly on making a breakthrough to the late-Body Integration Stage, Han Li also replied with a smile.

Heehee, with your cultivation aptitude and all of the trump cards youve prepared, Im sure youll be able to make this breakthrough with ease, Master. Ill be congratulating you in advance! the Leopard Kirin Beast chuckled.

I certainly hope so. Now that youve completed metamorphosis, theres no need for you to continue to remain in the spirit beast bracelet, you can cultivate in the secret chamber next to mine. If you need anything, just let Qi Lingzi and the others know, Han Li said in a solemn manner.

Thank you, Master! Ive been dying to get out of that spirit bracelet! Im going to cultivate in the other secret chamber now, Ill return if you need me after you go into seclusion, Master, the Leopard Kirin Beast replied with an ecstatic look on its face.

Han Li naturally had no objections and allowed it to depart. rewebnovel.com

After the Leopard Kirin Beast left, Han Li took a deep breath before making a grabbing motion with one hand to summon a voice transmission talisman. He then released the talisman before closing his eyes again to continue meditating.

A short while later, a female voice suddenly rang out from outside the secret chamber. Brother Han, have you summoned me because youre about to begin your breakthrough?

The voice was extremely pleasant to the ears and belonged to none other than the Ice Phoenix.

Indeed, Fellow Daoist Ice Phoenix, Han Li replied in a calm manner as he opened his eyes.

Several days later, there were seven or eight elders of Deep Heaven City discussing something together in a secret chamber.

Both Buddhist Monk Jin Yue and Fairy Silver Light were among them.

So Master Azure Dragon really did perish. Thats quite a pity, especially at a time like this, the white-robed elderly man sitting on the main seat sighed.

If it werent for the fact that Azure Dragon left a soul lamp in the city after he joined the panel of elders, I wouldnt have believed this to be true, either. According to the cultivator looking after the soul lamps, his one was snuffed out within half a day of his departure from the city, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue said with a wry smile.

Hmph, he was asking for it! He knows that there are devilish beings everywhere around the city, yet he still dared to restrict the guards and forcibly teleport away. If you ask me, he only has himself to blame, Fairy Silver Light harrumphed coldly.

Hehe, Azure Dragon may not have been killed by devilish beings, perhaps he died by the hands of someone else. Didnt the guards at the teleportation hall say that someone used the same teleportation formation as Azure Dragon right after he left? Perhaps that was the perpetrator, a burly black-robed man said.

Are you suspecting Fellow Daoist Han? Fairy Silver Lights expression darkened slightly upon hearing this.

Please dont jump to conclusions, Fairy Silver Light, I never said that. All I said is that maybe Azure Dragon didnt perish by the hands of devilish beings, the man immediately denied. It was quite clear that he was quite wary of Han Li.

Fairy Silver Light merely smiled and remained silent.

Alright, seeing as Master Azure Dragon forced his way out of the city, he has renounced his status as a member of our panel of elders. As such, theres no need for us to investigate this matter. Our top priority now should be the devilish army that has surrounded the city, the white-robed elderly man said with furrowed brows.

But Master Azure Dragon is a mid-Body Integration cultivator, dont we have to at least provide all of the cultivators in the city an explanation of how he died? Also, will this affect Fairy Lin Luans attitude toward our city? the owner of the Origin Pocket Pavilion, Elder Gu, said in a contemplative manner.

Theres no need for that. If we dont say anything, no one will know about Master Azure Dragons death. Even if people find out later on, itll be after the devilish tribulation. During these perilous times, everything can wait until a later date. As for Fellow Daoist Lin, shes an extremely intelligent woman, Im sure shell know how to handle the situation, the white-robed elderly man said in a cold voice.

Everyone else exchanged a few glances upon hearing this before nodding in agreement in the end.

Alright, seeing as no one has any objections, lets discuss Fellow Daoist Han next. Buddhist Monk Jin Yue, I heard that you sent someone to invite Fellow Daoist Han to a gathering two days ago, but he had already gone into seclusion, is that true? the white-robed elderly man asked.

It is. I wanted to make a last-ditch effort to try and convince Fellow Daoist Han to coexist with Fellow Daoist Azure Dragon in the city, but his disciples told me that he had gone into seclusion and wasnt going to be seeing any guests, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue replied.

It seems that he predicted that you would try to seek him out, so hes intentionally avoiding you, the white-robed elderly man said in a contemplative manner.

Perhaps so. A few days ago, I saw the juniors who had been bribed by Azure Dragon, and all of them were as pale as ghosts. I heard that Fellow Daoist Han is extorting them for a huge sum of spirit stones and materials, I wonder if theyll be able to gather everything that Fellow Daoist Han demanded of them, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue said with a peculiar expression.

Hehe, those little brats deserve to be taught a lesson for sticking their noses into something like this! If you ask me, Fellow Daoist Han has already let them off the hook quite easily. If he werent wary of the backers behind those juniors, Im sure he wouldve punished them even more severely, the white-robed elderly man chuckled coldly.

Thats true. Having said that, the way that Fellow Daoist Han has addressed this matter has truly been a relief to me. If he had insisted on enforcing a more severe punishment on those juniors, that couldve led to quite a conflict as well, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue sighed in a resigned manner.

Indeed. If things really had escalated to that extent, then even I would be scratching my head, the white-robed elderly man chuckled.

By the way, I heard that Azure Dragon was defeated by Fellow Daoist Han in just three attacks, surely thats an exaggeration, right? the black-robed man asked.

No, its true. Fellow Daoist Hans powers were truly incredible, even the average late-Body Integration Stage most likely wont be a match for him. Fairy Silver Light and Fellow Daoist Gu were also present, Im sure theyll back me up here, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue replied with a serious expression.

The black-robed man turned to Fairy Silver Light and Elder Gu upon hearing this, and Fairy Silver Light displayed no reaction, while Elder Gu gave a solemn nod in confirmation.

The black-robed man was even more astonished upon seeing this, as were all of the other cultivators present who hadnt interacted with Han Li much.

Surely hes not actually more powerful than a late-Body Integration cultivator. That Master Azure Dragon has quite a resounding reputation, but if he couldnt even withstand three attacks from a cultivator of the same cultivation base, then his reputation was most likely overinflated in the first place. Just because Fellow Daoist Han was able to defeat him doesnt mean hes actually that freakish of a talent. The black-robed man was really grasping at straws now.

Im afraid youre mistaken, Fellow Daoist. That Master Azure Dragon was a half-demon who can adopt a half-dragon form, and that, in conjunction with his Buddhist cultivation arts, presented a very formidable package. However, he had made the mistake of picking the wrong opponent. Fellow Daoist Han is a simultaneous cultivator, and is capable of taking on a giant ape form with powers that exceed even Azure Dragons half-dragon form. He severely wounded Azure Dragon with his first two attacks alone, and couldve even killed Azure Dragon with his third attack had he intended to do so. Thinking back, if I were to face Fellow Daoist Han in battle, there would be no alternative for me other than to flee with all my might, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue said in a serious manner.

In that case, it seems the rumors about Fellow Daoist Han being hunted by Sacred Ancestor clones were true. With his powers, its not all that far-fetched that he was able to escape from such formidable beings, the white-robed elderly man remarked.

I dont know how he managed to escape from those Sacred Ancestor clones, but I did bear witness to him killing several devilish lords in quick succession, Fairy Silver Light also chimed in in a solemn voice.

Sacred Ancestors!

Many of the cultivators present were very alarmed to hear this.

It seems that Fellow Daoist Han truly is an exceptional talent. With his assistance, our chances of securing victory against the devilish army would be significantly increased. Buddhist Monk Jin Yue, try to recruit him to our panel of elders again, tell him he can raise any conditions, and well do our best to satisfy him, the white-robed elderly man said.

Alright, but I think the chances of that are going to be very slim, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue replied in a rather pessimistic manner.

Im aware of that. Otherwise, he wouldve joined the panel of elders the first time we invited him. In any case, it cant hurt to try. Alright, setting this matter aside for now, we received a report from our scouts stating that the devilish army is very likely going to launch an all-out assault on our city in several months to a year, the white-robed elderly man said as a grim look appeared on his face, and all of the other elders hearts jolted upon hearing this.