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His entire hand swelled to form a huge golden hand that grabbed onto the bead, and golden light flashed from his fingers as countless golden runes surged out of his palm.

The runes instantly enshrouded the bead and formed a golden ball of light.

Han Li immediately began to chant something upon seeing this, and a thin translucent thread shot forth out of each of his fingertips before vanishing into the golden ball in a flash.

In the next instant, a wisp of barely visible grey Qi emerged out of the golden ball along the translucent thread before being drawn into Han Lis grasp.

After that, Han Li closed his eyes and began to refine this peculiar wisp of energy.

Golden light swirled over his body, and his aura also began to fluctuate in power in a strange sequence.

Several hours later, he reopened his eyes, and they were filled with elation. He could clearly sense that his magic power had been further enhanced by a tiny amount.

This really is the same energy as the energy in that piece of Foreign Devilish Metal! If I can find more of this type of Foreign Devilish Metal, it wont be impossible to enhance my magic power to the Grand Ascension Stage! That could save me over 1,000 years of arduous cultivation. It looks like Ill have to make a trip to the Blue Waterfall Lake if the opportunity arises, Han Li murmured to himself.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Han Li suddenly extended a finger, and a strand of green Qi was suddenly forced out of his fingertip.

As expected, this energy has appeared as well. Looks like I have no choice but to continue to seal it within my second Nascent Souls body, Han Li mused as his brows furrowed slightly.

The amount of grey Qi that he had refined was less than 10% of what the entire crystalline bead contained, if he could refine all of the energy within the bead, then that would enhance his magic power by over 10%!

As a safety precaution, Han Li had decided against refining all of the energy at once. Instead, he was planning to refine the energy bit by bit over the span of around half a month, making sure to consolidate his cultivation base in between each bout to refinement. This would prevent any potential negative effects from having his magic power enhanced too quickly.

After all, the mysterious energy that he had obtained on this occasion was more than 10 times as much as last time.

After making that decision, Han Li swept a sleeve through the air to release around a dozen golden and silver talismans, all of which adhered themselves to the golden ball of light, thereby tightly sealing it.

He then produced a pristine white vial and gently shook it to release a burst of five-colored light that enshrouded the golden ball.

After that, he stowed the small vial away and entered a meditative state once again.

During the next half a month or so, Han Li remained in the pavilion and finally refined all of the energy within the crystalline ball into magic power, thereby significantly enhancing his cultivation base.

During the next few days, Han Li explored various parts of Illusion Night City and purchased some books, as well as specialty local products from the city. He also visited the Myriad Slave Tower several times, and he was finally able to purchase the refinement technique for the Devil Crystal Puppets.

In exchange for the puppet refinement technique, he had to fork out several top-grade devilish treasures and an astronomical sum of devil stones, but he felt this to be worth it.

This puppet refinement technique was completely different from those he had seen in the Spirit Realm.

Instead of instilling spiritual sense into the puppet to activate them, these Devil Crystal Puppets were activated through restrictions and treasures that had been set up in advance. Thus, even the lowliest of cultivators could easily control the most powerful Devil Crystal Puppets. On top of that, there was no limit to the number of puppets that could be controlled, and even low-grade devilish beings could control an army of these puppets with ease.

Han Li was naturally very surprised to hear this, but unfortunately, nothing was perfect in this world.

These Devil Crystal Puppets didnt indeed have many incredible advantages, but they also had many flaws, the most prominent of which was that due to the fact that they couldnt be controlled through spiritual sense, they could only follow some simple instructions through their core restrictions.

As a result, the attack patterns of these puppets were very one-dimensional and predictable, and they were also significantly less powerful than other puppets of the same caliber.

On top of that, it was extremely troublesome to refine the forces of these puppets, and the materials used were also very expensive. The higher the caliber of the Devil Crystal Puppets, the more expensive they would be to produce, and what was quite frustrating to Han Li was that even after expending such a heavy price, the puppet refinement technique that he had purchased from the Myriad Slave Tower was only for low-grade and mid-grade puppets. According to the two Spatial Tempering Stage elders of the Illusion Night City Myriad Slave Tower, the refinement method for high-grade Devil Crystal Puppets was only known to the highest-ranking devilish-lord-level elders of the Myriad Slave Tower, and it was not up for sale.

Furthermore, even the high-grade Devil Crystal Puppets themselves were very rarely sold by the Myriad Slave Tower.

This was naturally quite disappointing to Han Li, but he didnt pay too much heed to it. Unless he could amass a huge number of these high-grade Devil Crystal Puppets, they wouldnt be of much use to him at his current level of power. He had only purchased the puppet refinement technique for such a hefty price to see if he could reference it to improve his own puppet refinement mastery.

Thus, Han Li went into seclusion again to study the puppet refinement technique, and during this period of time, he experimented with refining some low-grade Devil Crystal Puppets to test out his theories, reaping some rewards in the process.

On this day, just as he was planning to test out a four-armored Devil Crystal Puppet he had refined, a ball of white light suddenly flew out from his waist, then revealed itself to be a silk handkerchief.

Han Lis expression changed slightly upon seeing this, and he pointed a finger toward the handkerchief, injecting a streak of azure light into it.

In the next instant, a row of small silver text suddenly appeared on the surface of the handkerchief.

Han Li quickly read the message, then waved a hand toward the handkerchief, and it flew into his sleeve as a ball of white light again.

After that, he made his way downstairs to the first level of the pavilion, where Zhu Guoer was completely engrossed in a book that she was reading. As soon as she caught sight of Han Li, she hurriedly rose to her feet and extended a respectful curtsey. Is there anything youd like me to do for you, Master?

Has anyone visited me during the past few days? Han Li asked.

No. Ive been here the entire time, and no one has come to visit you, Master, Zhu Guoer replied in a careful manner.

Han Li nodded in response. Alright, you stay here, Im going out for a bit. After that, he left the pavilion before Zhu Guoer could say anything, leaving her to look on with a befuddled expression.

After emerging from the pavilion, Han Li hailed a beast-drawn carriage on the street and traveled toward the city gate.

Several hours later, Han Li appeared above an obscure mountain several hundred kilometers away from Illusion Night City.

A layer of white mist had enshrouded the entire mountain, making it impossible to see anything on the mountain.

Han Li raised a hand to release a burst of flames, which flew into the mist down below in a flash, and shortly thereafter, a male voice rang out from below the mist. Greetings, Fellow Daoist Han, Ill release the restriction to let you in right away.

After that, the layer of mist parted to reveal a passageway, and Han Li flew directly into it as a streak of azure light.

The passageway in the mist was closed again, and Han Li appeared on a patch of empty ground on the peak of the mountain.

There were two people seated on a pair of large rocks not far away from him, they were none other than the Long Family patriarch and Elder Hui. feewenve.com

Han Lis eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of the duo, and he discovered that the Long Family patriarchs face was rather pale, while Elder Hui was looking far worse for wear and was missing an arm.

What happened to Fellow Daoist Hui? Did you encounter some powerful enemy on the way here? Han Li asked as his brows furrowed slightly.

Thats a long story that Ill tell you about another time, Brother Han. Are you the only person who has made it to Illusion Night City thus far? the Long Family Patriarch asked.

Youve already used your treasure to summon us, if no one else has arrived, then thats most likely the case. At the very least, Im staying in the inn that we originally agreed upon, and I havent met anyone else in our group, Han Li replied as his brows furrowed slightly.

In that case, lets wait here for a while to see if anyone else shows up, the Long Family patriarch said after a brief hesitation.

Han Li offered no objections to this and took a seat on another rock.

Time slowly passed by, and around two hours later, Han Lis expression suddenly changed slightly as he cast his gaze upward with blue light flashing within his eyes. Someone seems to be coming.

The Long Family patriarch immediately also cast his gaze toward the same direction upon hearing this.

Moments later, a pleasant female voice rang out up above. Please forgive me for my tardiness, fellow daoists!

The voice belonged to none other than the young woman from the Ye Family!

The Long Family patriarch was ecstatic to hear this voice, and he immediately made a hand seal to part the mist in the air again, following which a streak of light descended from the heavens.

Despite her surprise, the purple-haired woman remained silent and merely continued to appraise Han Lis actions.

After that, Han Li took a rough glance at the remaining few wooden shelves and didnt delay any longer as he strode over to a certain wooden shelf in the final row. He then took a disk-like devilish treasure from the shelf before making his way out of the hall.

The purple-haired woman smiled upon seeing this, and said, Taking that Yin Sifting Disk was a wise decision, Brother Han. With that thing up your sleeve, you wont have to worry about losing your way in the Illusion Howl Desert. Looks like you know more about the Illusion Howl Desert than I gave you credit for. Having said that, Im rather surprised that you chose that piece of Foreign Devilish Metal.

Im refining a rather special devilish treasure at the moment that just so happens to require a piece of Foreign Devilish Metal of this size, so I naturally wasnt going to pass it up here, Han Li replied in a calm manner.

The purple-haired woman was unconvinced by this explanation, but she naturally wasnt going to pry any further. In that case, Im glad you found something that you were searching for. Lets leave the treasure vault now, the restrictions here have only been temporarily withdrawn, and theyll automatically reactivate soon.

Han Li nodded in response before making his way over to the purple-haired woman.

The woman waved a hand toward the hall, and the jade pendant that had vanished earlier reappeared before flying back toward her as a ball of white light.

The woman heaved a faint sigh of relief upon seeing this. Even though this was the lowliest of the Bai Family treasure vaults, it had still taken tens of thousands of years to accumulate all of these treasures, so she naturally didnt want anything to go wrong here.

Theres something I want to ask you, Fellow Daoist, Han Li suddenly said after he and the purple-haired woman emerged from the pavilion.

A hint of surprise flashed through the purple-haired womans eyes upon hearing this, but she immediately disguised it, and smiled as she replied, Go ahead, Brother Han, I consider us to be on friendly terms, so you can ask anything you like.

Id like to know where that piece of Foreign Devilish Metal in the treasure vault was mined and how it ended up in your Bai Family, Han Li said in a calm voice.

Hehe, if you had asked about any other materials, I would perhaps need to enquire someone else, but youre certainly asking the right person if you want to know about that piece of Foreign Devilish Metal, the purple-haired woman chuckled.

Han Li was quite pleased to hear this, but his expression remained unchanged as he said, Oh? Please enlighten me, Fellow Daoist.

The purple-haired woman took a brief glance at Han Li and was rather disappointed to see his lack of reaction, but she still replied, Our Bai Family only recently acquired this piece of Foreign Devilish Metal, and as for its origins, you already know the answer to that.

What do you mean? Han Li was quite perplexed to hear this.

Didnt you ask about the Bloodtooth Rice earlier? This piece of Foreign Devilish Metal was obtained through the same avenue. At the time, the piece of Bloodtooth Rice was the main item that we wanted, and this piece of Foreign Devilish Metal was only a secondary item in the exchange, the purple-haired woman explained.

I see. In that case, theres a good chance that this piece of Foreign Devilish Metal could originate from the same area where the Bloodtooth Rice was grown, Han Li said with a contemplative stroke of his own chin.

I cant guarantee that, all I can tell you is that the people that we obtained the Bloodtooth Rice from were most likely from the Blue Waterfall Lake, the woman replied.

Thank you, Fellow Daoist, youve done me a great favor, Han Li said as he cupped his fist in a salute.

Dont mention it, I still havent had a chance to thank you for saving me back at the mine, the woman said with a nonchalant smile.

After that, the two of them made their way back to the original hall, and Han Li chatted with the purple-haired woman and burly man for a while longer before taking his leave.

On this occasion, the two of them accompanied Han Li all the way to the entrance of the fortress before returning to the hall together.

Which three treasures did that man choose, Sister? the burly man asked as soon as he took a seat.

A Golden Whale Bead, a piece of Foreign Devilish Metal, and a Yin Sifting Disk, the purple-haired woman replied.

Hmm? Thats rather strange, those definitely arent the most precious treasures in the vault, the burly man remarked as his brows furrowed slightly.

I also found it to be quite strange. I can understand the Golden Whale Bead and Yin Sifting Disk, but that piece of Foreign Devilish Metal really shouldnt be of much interest to beings of our caliber, the purple-haired woman mused.

Did he say anything about it?

He gave me a generic excuse and glossed over the matter completely, but he asked me about where we obtained the piece of Foreign Devilish Metal from, the purple-haired woman replied.

In that case, he must be interested in obtaining quite a quite a large amount of Foreign Devilish Metal, but if I recall correctly, there are several shops in Illusion Night City where Foreign Devilish Metal is sold, yet he hasnt purchased this metal from any of those shops. The burly man was still quite perplexed.

Could it be that theres something special about that particular piece of Foreign Devilish Metal? The purple-haired woman had unintentionally struck the nail on the head.

What could be special about it? We both examined that piece of Foreign Devilish Metal before it was placed in the treasure vault, the only thing remarkable about it is its size! the burly man immediately replied with a shake of his head.

So be it, regardless of what underlying reasons there are, it doesnt have anything to do with our Bai Family anyway. You need to recover from the battles in the mine, so go into seclusion for a while, Ill take care of everything in the meantime to prevent the other families from trying anything, the purple-haired woman said with a smile.

Thats true. Regardless of what that man is plotting, it doesnt matter to us as long as he bears no ill will toward our Bai Family. Ill go into seclusion tomorrow and leave everything to you then, the burly man also said with a smile.

……

By the time Han Li returned to the pavilion he was staying in, it was already close to nighttime.

Zhu Guoer was elated to see Han Li again. Without Han Lis protection, she would most likely be enslaved by someone else soon. Even though Han Li had searched her soul once, he hadnt abused her in any way thereafter, so she naturally didnt want to switch to a different master who could potentially treat her far worse than Han Li did.

Han Li quickly dismissed her, then activated all of the restrictions he had set up before taking a seat on a futon.

After that, he flipped a hand over to produce a jade box, then swept a sleeve toward it, releasing a burst of azure light that stripped away the talismans plastered to the box.

The lid of the box was opened, revealing a shimmering golden thumb-sized bead. The surface of the bead was very smooth, and it was giving off a faint rank odor.

Han Li flicked a finger toward the bead, and a speck of azure light sprang forth before vanishing into the bead in a flash.

Moments later, the sound of crashing ocean waves rang out from the bead, following which it released a burst of gentle golden light, which transformed into a miniature golden whale projection that began to dance around the bead.

The projection was only around a foot in size, but it was extremely life-like.

Han Lis expression remained unchanged upon seeing this, but he suddenly extended a pristine white hand out of his sleeve, then reached into the golden light to grab onto the bead.

Magic power was injected incessantly into the bead, and in the next instant, the golden whale projection suddenly swelled drastically to over 100 feet in length, filling up virtually the entire top floor of the pavilion.

At the same time, a golden horn that was around a foot in length had appeared on the whale projections head, and golden scales of different sizes had emerged all over its body, giving it a very menacing appearance.

A pleased look appeared on Han Lis face as he released the bead and ceased his magic power output.

The whale projection instantly disintegrated into specks of golden light, and the golden bead also returned to normal.

Han Li placed the bead back into the jade box, then reapplied the talismans before stowing it away into his storage bracelet.

He had naturally chosen this Golden Whale Bead for a reason, but it was yet to be seen whether he would truly be able to make use of it.

However, the greatest reward he had reaped was not this precious spirit bead. Instead, it was that head-sized piece of Foreign Devilish Metal.

As soon as the thought of that piece of devilish metal crossed his mind, a rare hint of excitement flashed through his eyes, and he took a deep breath before releasing the piece of metal out of his storage bracelet.

The piece of devilish metal hovered before him, and he slashed a finger toward it.

A streak of azure light swept forth in a flash, slicing the piece of metal in half and revealing an egg-sized object.

He made a grabbing motion to draw the object into his grasp, and it was revealed to be a grey crystalline ball.

The excitement in Han Lis eyes became even more pronounced at this sight of this crystalline ball, and he slowly reached out toward it in a careful manner.

During this process, the sleeve around his arm was torn away, and a series of golden shimmering scales appeared over his skin, making his arm significantly thicker than before.

A month later, several lizard-like devilish beasts emerged from the edge of the Illusion Howl Desert, and atop each lizard sat a person, they were none other than Han Lis group, who were returning from the Bai Family mine.

After Han Li had been informed that the devilish lord had been slain by the burly man and the others, he and the purple-haired woman had immediately gone to meet up with the three devilish lords, and they had found the root of the devilish spirit in the end. It was a giant grey crystal, and even though it had lost all of its spiritual nature due to the destruction of the devilish spirit, it was still an extremely rare tool refinement material, which was immediately taken by the burly man.

Han Li didnt ask for a detailed recount of how the devilish spirit had been destroyed, and the three devilish lords had no intention of telling him, either.

The group departed the day after the devilish spirit was destroyed and enjoyed a smooth return journey.

In the instant that everyone emerged from the desert, Han Li immediately felt as if his body had grown lighter, and his restricted magic power instantly returned to normal.

Han Li heaved a faint sigh of relief as he experienced the abundant magic power surging through his body. Having so much magic power repressed in the Illusion Howl Desert was not a good feeling! He then couldnt help but grimace at the thought that he would have to spend several decades in this desert next time.

Thankfully, the issue was successfully resolved, and he had even secured an extra devilish lizard. Now, all he had to do was await the arrival of the Long Family patriarch and everyone else.

The Bai Family had promised him the opportunity to select three treasures from their treasure vault as a reward for his efforts, and he was very much looking forward to this.

After recovering their magic power, all of the Body Integration Stage beings were naturally able to speed up dramatically, and it only took them less than half a day to reach Illusion Night City.

Several hours later, Han Li and everyone else was seated in a hall with antiquated decor within the Bai Family fortress, discussing something with the purple-haired woman in a relaxed manner.

However, the burly man was nowhere to be seen.

That made sense considering the entire Bai Family only had two devilish lords among their ranks, and both of them had been absent for over two months, so there were naturally some urgent matters that had to be addressed.

After a while, a person strode into the hall, and it was none other than the burly man.

That was very fast, Brother Bai, Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon said as he turned to the burly man.

Haha, there were only some minor tasks to be taken care of. Aside from that, Ive brought all of you the rewards that we promised, please take a look, fellow daoists, the burly man replied before sweeping a sleeve through the air, sending a black bracelet flying toward each of Han Lis trio.

Han Li and the others caught their respective bracelets, then swept their spiritual sense into them.

Moments later, satisfied looks appeared on both Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon and Han Qizis faces, and they stowed the storage bracelets away.

Han Li also put away his storage bracelet after a brief examination of its contents.

I need some time to recover from the earlier battles, so Im going back to my cave abode to rest now. Farewell, fellow daoists, Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon said as he rose to his feet right after stowing away the storage bracelet.

Ill also be taking my leave, Han Qizi said after a brief moment of contemplation.

As for Han Li, he remained seated firmly on his chair, and Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon and Han Qizi exchanged a slightly bewildered glance upon seeing this. However, Han Lis expression remained completely unchanged, making it impossible for them to tell what he was thinking.

The burly man and purple-haired woman naturally asked them to stay as a formality, but the two insisted on departing, so they were accompanied out of the hall, then escorted out of the fortress by another Bai Family disciple.

Meanwhile, Han Li was sipping on a cup of spirit tea in the hall in a relaxed manner.

The burly man and purple-haired woman soon returned, and the former said in a meaningful voice, You sure are able to keep your cool, Brother Han. Fellow Daoist Luan Dragon and Fellow Daoist Han Han Qizi have already departed, arent you afraid that well refuse to give you the three treasures we promised you?

As opposed to being enraged by this, Han Li merely smiled, and replied, If youre really that stingy, then the Bai Family wouldnt be where it is today.

Hehe, thats true. If our Bai Family were to revoke our promise over a few treasures, then our reputation would be swept to the ground. Sister, accompany Brother Han to our treasure vault, he can have any three treasures that catch his fancy, the burly man chuckled.

Yes, Big Brother. Come with me, Brother Han, the purple-haired woman said with a smile.

Han Li cupped his fist toward the burly man in a salute, then followed the purple-haired woman out of a side door.

Thus, the burly man was the only one left in the hall.

Following Han Lis departure, his smile immediately faded slightly, and he sat down on the main seat in the hall before shaking his head, and murmuring to himself, What a pity, if we had known that the devilish spirit would be destroyed so easily, there wouldve been no need to offer such a large reward. Having said that, the mine is now able to resume normal operation, so well be able to recover these losses soon.

……

A few minutes later, Han Li arrived outside a mysterious pavilion that was enshrouded within layers of restrictions.

There were over 10 elite Bai Family disciples guarding the pavilion both out in the open and in the shadows, but none of them intervened as the purple-haired woman led Han Li into the hall on the first floor of the pavilion.

On either side of the hall were eight copper statues for giant malicious monsters striking menacing poses, and judging from the faint auras emanating from these statues, they were clearly another set of guards.

Between the statues were around a dozen rows of wooden shelves that were holding various devilish treasures, materials, and ingredients. There were also some containers of different materials, shapes, and sizes.

The purple-haired woman stood at the entrance and made a hand seal, then cast a series of incantation seals toward the eight statues. After that, she opened her mouth to release a purple jade pendant, which shot forth into the hall before vanishing into thin air amid a dull thump.

In the next instant, the entire hall tremored slightly, and the restrictions in the hall were withdrawn.

This is our treasure vault, Brother Han, you can choose three treasures among these, the purple-haired woman said with a smile as she withdrew her hand seal.

Then Ill go right ahead, Han Li replied with a smile.

With his enormous spiritual sense and vast wealth of knowledge and experience, he was able to quickly ascertain what most of the treasures on the shelves were. As for the rest, they either required careful examination or were things that he was seeing for the very first time, so he was rather intrigued by them.

He made his way over to a nearby wooden shelf, then picked up a material that resembled a piece of charred wood and began to carefully examine it.

The purple-haired woman merely stood at the entrance with a smile. It was clear that she wasnt going to offer Han Li any suggestions and was going to leave it to him to select the three treasures.

After examining that material for a brief moment, Han Li placed it back down onto the shelf, then moved onto a neighboring shelf, where he picked up a jade box that was tightly sealed by several talismans.

There was a tag adhered to the surface of the jade box, and wisps of silver light were escaping out of it.

Han Li glanced at the tag on the box, then carefully examined its contents with his spiritual sense for a while before stowing it away into his storage bracelet.

A slightly pained expression appeared on the purple-haired womans face upon seeing this.

After that, Han Li strode over to a palm-sized vial and removed the lid before taking a gentle whiff. A hint of hesitation appeared in his eyes, but he put the vial back down in the end.

Thus, Han Li continued to examine the treasures that caught his interest, but didnt take anything else even after exploring most of the shelves.

This was rather surprising to the purple-haired woman as there were some treasures on the shelves that Han Li had passed by that were no less valuable than the item in the jade box that he had taken.

Around 15 minutes later, Han Li arrived at the last two rows of shelves, then began to intently scrutinize a certain item.

This was a head-sized black and white rock that was giving off a cold gleam.

It was none other than the same Foreign Devilish Metal that he had seen in Blood Crow City, but this piece was over 10 times the size of that one.

Han Li stared at the piece of metal for a long while, then abruptly swept a sleeve toward it, stowing it away amid a burst of azure light.

The purple-haired woman was quite surprised to see this. Such a large piece of Foreign Devilish Metal was indeed quite rare, but compared to the other treasures here, it was one of the least valuable materials. As such, she was quite taken aback that a mysterious devilish lord like Han Li would take such an item.

Half a day later, an earth-shattering boom rang out near the giant sand dune, and it suddenly exploded, sending an enormous amount of sand flying in all directions. A ball of green flames then shot forth before flying away into the distance.

Within the green flames was a deer-headed devilish beast that was riddled with wounds. There was blood flowing all over its body, and it was missing one of its paws.

However, right at this moment, a streak of piercing silver light suddenly shot forth like lightning before rapidly revolving around the devilish beast.

The devilish beast let loose a thunderous roar of pain, and the green flames around its body reared up as it accelerated, disappearing into the distance in the blink of an eye.

Immediately thereafter, half of a purple horn came crashing down from above amid a rain of blood and landed with a dull thump, sinking several feet into the sand, indicating that it was extremely heavy.

A humanoid figure then slowly flew out of what remained of the sand dune before hovering in mid-air.

It was none other than Han Li, and he cast his gaze toward the direction that the devilish beast had disappeared in before shaking his head, then glanced down at the purple horn segment that had sunken into the sand.

He raised a hand and made a grabbing motion to release a burst of invisible suction force, and the horn segment was drawn into his grasp as if it weighed nothing at all.

Han Li swept his spiritual sense over the purple horn segment, and a pleased look appeared on his face. However, his expression then changed slightly, and he immediately flipped his hand over to stow the horn segment away.

In the next instant, another humanoid figure emerged out of the massive crater in the sand, it was none other than the purple-haired woman.

The woman smiled at the sight of Han Li, and asked, Did you manage to catch up to that devilish beast? Its alright even if you didnt, the beast has already been severely wounded by the five of us, so Im sure it wouldnt dare to approach this mine again.

Rest assured, Fellow Daoist, as it was fleeing, I managed to inflict another sword wound upon it. By my estimation, itll take at least several centuries of recuperation before it can make a full recovery, Han Li replied as he pointed toward the puddle of ground that had been left in the sand.

The purple-haired womans eyes lit up with elation at the sight of the puddle of blood, and she said, Thats great! Im glad weve finally resolved this issue. Lets go and meet up with everyone else before we discuss what to do next.

Sure. Han Li naturally had no objections to this, and he drifted back down into the crater again.

The purple-haired woman glanced at the puddle of blood and hesitated momentarily before thrusting a hand toward it, upon which a large pile of sand was turned over to completely bury all of the blood.

Only then was her heart truly put at ease, and she drifted down into the crater as well.

Several hours later, Han Li and the other devilish lords were gathered in the cave where the battle had taken place, and they were in the process of discussing something.

Among them, Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon and the burly man both appeared quite pale, indicating that they had severely exerted themselves during the earlier battle. In contrast, Han Qizi didnt appear to be any different compared to his normal state.

So youre saying that theres a devilish spirit that was formed within this mine? In that case, it definitely wont leave this mine. Otherwise, itll inevitably perish over time, Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon said.

That devilish spirit was able to instantly kill those six Spatial Tempering Stage disciples from our Bai Family, so its most likely very powerful, perhaps it already possesses the ability to leave this mine if it so pleases, the purple-haired woman countered.

Thats true. Even if one of us had been in its place, none of us wouldve been able to kill six Spatial Tempering Stage beings so quickly. What do you plan to do next, Brother Bai? Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon asked.

Even though the devilish beast was chased away, we wont be able to resume mining operations while that devilish spirit is still around, so well have to ask for your assistance to resolve that issue as well. Otherwise, my sister and I wont have much chance of being able to get rid of it, the burly man replied in a truthful manner.

Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon exchanged a glance with Han Qizi, and the formers brows furrowed slightly as he said, Thats not right, Brother Bai, I only agreed to help you deal with that devilish beast, not this devilish spirit. On top of that, this devilish spirit is extremely powerful and unpredictable, even Fellow Daoist Futian almost perished to it, so its most likely even more dangerous than that devilish beast. Besides, we already incurred a lot of additional risk when that devilish spirit suddenly appeared during the battle. Otherwise, I may not be in such bad condition right now.

Han Qizi didnt say anything, but he was clearly of the same opinion.

The burly mans expression darkened slightly with displeasure upon hearing this, but he said in a calm voice, That devilish spirit is an oversight on our part. If we had known about its existence in advance, we wouldve prepared the appropriate treasures to deal with it. Rest assured, Brother Luan Dragon, if youre willing to continue to assist us, well double the reward that we initially promised you. That devilish spirit is indeed very unpredictable, but Fellow Daoist Hans devilish flames seem to be a good counter against it, and he was even able to kill one of the devilish spirits clones, so it should be severely wounded right now. If we miss this opportunity, we may not get another one.

After that, the burly man turned to Han Li with a smile before transmitting his voice toward him. Brother Han, if youre willing to help us get rid of this devilish spirit, well give you an additional Eight-footed Devilish Lizard and let you choose three treasures from our Bai Familys treasure vault.

Han Lis eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this before nodding in response.

The burly man was naturally very relieved to see this. In order to eradicate that devilish spirit, Han Lis silver flames were vital.

Youre doubling the rewards? Does that include another Bloodtooth Rice? Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon hurriedly asked with an elated expression.

The burly man seemed to have predicted this question, and he immediately replied, My apologies, but we really dont have any more pieces of Bloodtooth Rice. However, Im willing to replace that with a piece of Blood Refining Metal Essence, what do you think, Brother Luan Dragon? I recall that youve been searching for this item for a very long time.

Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon faltered slightly upon hearing this before agreeing in a slightly reluctant manner, A piece of Blood Refining Metal Essence? Thats not as good as a piece of Bloodtooth Rice, but itll suffice.

The burly man was ecstatic, and he turned to Han Qizi before asking, Great! Can I count on you two as well, fellow daoists?

Han Qizi nodded in response, and Han Li also had no objections.

Thus, they began to discuss a specific plan to deal with the devilish spirit, and they finally devised something that was feasible.

After that, they began to meditate while holding devil stones instead of immediately springing into action.

Several days later, after everyone had recovered some of their magic power, they split up into two groups.

It was still the same two groups as last time with Han Li and the purple-haired woman in one group, while the other group was comprised of the three other devilish lords, and they headed into two different mine tunnels.

Two days later, the purple-haired woman was walking up ahead with a round disk in her hand, while Han Li was following along behind her in an unhurried manner.

The woman wasnt walking very quickly, and she was glancing down at the disk occasionally, but was yet to discover anything.

Can this Spirit Tracking Disk really detect the devilish spirits location? Han Li asked.

Rest assured, Brother Han, this Devil Tracking Disk wasnt specifically designed for devilish spirits, but its still applicable under these circumstances, well be able to detect the devilish spirit right away if it comes within 1,000 feet of us. Otherwise, with the devilish spirits ability to fuse as one with this mine, we wont be able to detect it at all with our spiritual sense, the purple-haired woman replied with a smile.

That devilish spirit is quite intelligent, I dont think itll approach us voluntarily, Han Li said with a shake of his head.

Then well find the root of the devilish spirit. If we can track down the root of the devilish spirit in this mine and destroy it, the devilish spirit itself will also be eradicated, the purple-haired woman immediately replied without any hesitation.

That may be true, but it wont be a simple task to find its root in such a massive mine, it may take over a week! Han Li sighed.

Are you saying the reward we promised you isnt even worth an extra week of your time, Brother Han? the woman chuckled.

Hehe, thats not how this works, Han Li replied with a meaningful smile.

The purple-haired woman was just about to say something in response when a low buzzing sound suddenly rang out from her body, and she faltered slightly before patting her own waist, upon which a devilish badge treasure flew out.

The purple-haired woman quickly tapped the badge a few times, and was greeted by the sound of the burly mans ecstatic voice.

Sister, weve already found the devilish spirit and eradicated it together! As we anticipated, it was severely wounded and debilitated, so it wasnt able to put up much of a fight at all.

The woman was quite taken aback to hear this, and Han Li could also hear what was being said. A smile appeared on his face as he chuckled, Looks like we wont have to stay here for another week, after all.

Within the span of just two breaths, the shrieking ceased, and the streak of light was incinerated into nothingness.

The purple-haired woman didnt hesitate any longer upon seeing this and immediately attacked the other devilish spirit.

She hurled her halberd through the air, and a tigers roar rang out as the halberd transformed into a giant horned tiger projection, then released a pillar of black light out of its mouth, which stuck the other devilish spirit in a flash.

The body that was possessed by the devilish spirit and the white head were torn into countless pieces amid a violent explosion, immediately following which the woman rubbed her hands together before raising them toward the distance.

Ball of black flames erupted forth in a frenzy before sweeping up the fragments of the devilish spirit and setting them alight.

The purple-haired woman then waved a hand to draw her halberd back to herself before appraising the black flames with a faint smile on her face.

It seemed that these devilish spirits werent as troublesome to deal with as the records had suggested.

However, as soon as this thought appeared in her mind, the black flames in the distance suddenly exploded, and wisps of devilish flames erupted forth in all directions, among which were interspersed countless thumb-sized specks of light.

These specks of light detached themselves from the devilish flames, then converged toward the same spot to form a faint white figure.

The black devilish flames she had unleashed were completely unable to harm this devilish spirit!

The woman drew a sharp breath upon seeing this, and only then did she realize that the silver flames released by Han Li were no ordinary flames.

Right at this moment, the devilish spirit hurtled directly toward her as a streak of white light, and within the blink of an eye, it was only several tens of feet away from her.

The woman was slightly alarmed to see this, but she didnt panic in the slightest as she swept her halberd through the air to unleash countless streaks of black light that plunged down toward the white light.

At the same time, she made a hand seal with her other hand to release a ball of green light, which swelled to the size of a wagon wheel in the blink of an eye, revealing itself to be a crescent-shaped blade.

The oncoming streak of white light didnt take any evasive measures as it crashed headfirst into the black light and green blade.

The white figure then somehow passed directly through the opposing attacks before pouncing directly toward the purple-haired woman.

The purple-haired womans expression changed slightly upon seeing this, and she suddenly rose up slightly before hurling her halberd through the air while launching her other fist toward the white figure at the same time.

Her fist appeared to be very delicate, but as it was thrust through the air, a patch of space that was several tens of feet in size abruptly collapsed. A grey ball of light then emerged, and all of the surrounding air surged toward it in a frenzy.

Spatial power! A hint of surprise appeared on Han Lis face upon seeing this.

The devilish spirit was situated right within the ball of light, and it began to struggle violently as its body transformed and contorted into different shapes. However, it was slowly but inevitably drawn toward the center of the ball of light by that burst of strange suction force.

The purple-haired woman was ecstatic to see this, and a layer of grey light appeared over her other hand, which she thrust toward the same direction.

A dull thump rang out, and the existing ball of grey light shuddered before the suction force that was emanating from it intensified by around twofold.

The devilish spirit was unable to resist any longer, and it was drawn to the center of the ball of grey light before being shredded into smithereens by a burst of power that resembled countless sharp blades.

A faint smile appeared on the purple-haired womans face as she made a hand seal, then pointed a finger toward the grey light, planning to unleash a powerful secret technique to completely destroy the trapped devilish spirit.

However, right at this moment, Han Li suddenly raised an eyebrow, and said, Look out!

The purple-haired woman faltered slightly upon hearing this, and before she could figure out what Han Li was referring to, several hundred threads of white light suddenly erupted out of the grey light up ahead before striking her body in a flash.

Several layers of light barriers appeared around her, but the white threads passed through them as if they didnt exist before striking her suit of pristine white armor.

Balls of white light erupted out of the suit of armor upon being struck by the white threads, and within those balls of white light were silver runes of different sizes that temporarily kept the white threads at bay.

However, the white threads seemed to be imbued with extremely fearsome power, and the purple-haired woman was sent flying back in an uncontrollable manner.

Immediately thereafter, the white threads converged to form the white figure again, and it quickly reached out toward her with both hands.

A pair of massive hands of light that were around 10 feet in size each appeared out of thin air, then grabbed viciously toward her. Before they had even come into contact with her, two bursts of enormous force were already sweeping toward her body.

The womans face paled at the sight of the powerful attack, and she knew that if she were to be struck by the attack, would definitely at least be severely wounded, if not killed on the spot. As such, she could only grit her teeth and fight for her life.

A layer of crimson Qi appeared over her face while black light flashed behind her, and a menacing devilish projection with a tigers head and a humans body emerged. The devilish projection let loose a low roar, and reached out toward the pair of massive hands of light with its devilish paws.

However, the woman had still underestimated the devilish spirits powers.

In the instant that the pair of hands came into contact with the devilish paws, they suddenly twisted and flashed past the devilish paws at an incredible angle before crashing down toward the purple-haired womans head.

The purple-haired womans face paled even further upon seeing this, but it was too late for her to do anything, and she could only inject her magic power into her suit of armor in a frenzy, preparing to withstand the attack with her body.

Just as the giant hands were about to reach her, spatial fluctuations suddenly erupted nearby, and two balls of silver flames shot forth in a flash to strike the pair of huge hands.

A resounding boom rang out as the pair of hands was inundated by the silver flames, then instantly incinerated into nothingness.

In the next instant, the two bursts of silver flames combined as one, transforming into a silver Fire Raven that was around 10 feet in size before flying toward the devilish spirit.

Han Li had finally stepped in in the womans hour of need.

The devilish spirit was clearly very fearful of the silver flames, and it instantly shot back over 100 feet in a wraith-like manner before expelling bursts of reddish-purple light out of its mouth.

These bursts of light then transformed into several tens of streaks of purple sword Qi that struck the silver Fire Raven in a flash, but Fire Raven remained completely unscathed while the streaks of purple sword Qi were all incinerated into nothingness.

However, the silver Fire Raven was slowed down slightly by the streaks of sword Qi, and the devilish spirit took advantage of this opportunity to flee back into the stone wall, where it disappeared.

Han Lis expression changed slightly upon seeing this, and he waved a hand toward the silver Fire Raven, upon which it immediately returned to him as a ball of silver flames, then vanished into his body in a flash.

The purple-haired woman was greatly relieved as she steadied herself, then hurriedly extended a grateful salute toward Han Li from afar. Thank you for your assistance, Brother Han. If you hadnt stepped in, I wouldve truly been in severe peril. Ill be sure to repay you for this.

Youre welcome, Fellow Daoist, I agreed to lend you my assistance, so its only expected of me to step in when youre in danger. Its a pity we let that devilish spirit get away, it seems to possess quite a high level of intelligence, so itll be very difficult to capture it again, Han Li replied with a smile.

Youre far too modest, Brother Han. Indeed, well have to eradicate this devilish spirit if we want to resume normal operations in this mine, but lets take care of that devilish beast first, the purple-haired woman said with a wry smile before flying toward the other battle.

There, the molten giant was releasing boundless crimson flames, and even though it was clearly on the back foot, it was still attacking the thee devilish lords with immense ferocity, unleashing green fireballs the size of pavilions with its massive fists.

The giant fireballs were imbued with formidable power, and even the three devilish lords were forced to evade them, not daring to oppose them head-on.

As expected of a devilish beast that was comparable in power to a late-Body Integration Stage being, it truly wouldnt be an easy task for the three devilish lords to defeat.

After ascertaining the situation, a faint smile appeared on Han Lis face, and he made a hand seal, following which a golden projection with three heads and six arms appeared behind him amid a burst of surging devilish Qi.

The burly mans heart jolted upon hearing this, and he hurriedly swept his spiritual sense toward the black Qi down below.

That cry had come from one of the Bai Family disciples, and under normal circumstances, he would be able to instantly glean the situation within the formation, but his powers were currently severely restricted, and the power of the formation was obstructing him as well, so he was unable to see what was happening within the black Qi.

However, he could sense that one of the auras of the six disciples had already disappeared.

This was naturally very alarming to him, yet before he could do anything, two more bloodcurling cries rang out in succession within the black Qi.

Immediately thereafter, the auras of two more Bai Family disciples were snuffed out.

Save me, Senior!

A Bai Family disciple rushed out of the black Qi before frantically fleeing toward Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon, who was the devilish lord that was situated closest to him.

However, in this sea of flames, the disciples speed was greatly hampered, and Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon remained on the spot, displaying no intention to help him.

The Bai Family disciple was plunged into complete despair upon seeing this, yet before he could do anything, a streak of black light suddenly shot forth out of the black Qi, striking the disciple in a flash, completely unimpeded by the sea of fire.

A howl of anguish rang out as the protective devilish Qi around the disciples body was scattered, and his head rolled down from his body. Another murky white head then emerged out of the wound on his neck, and it cast a cold glance toward Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon with its crimson eyes.

As soon as their eyes met, Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon was instantly struck by a bone-chilling sensation, as if all of the blood in his entire body had frozen solid.

This was naturally quite alarming to him, and he swept a sleeve through the air to summon a bone shield that situated itself in front of him.

At this moment, Bai Yunxin and another Bai Family disciple flew out of the black Qi with horrified expressions, and one of them flew toward Han Li, while the other flew toward Han Qizi.

The head that had emerged from the neck of the decapitated Bai Family disciple cast its gaze toward the pair, then suddenly flew out of the disciples body. It shot forth as a streak of white light, then split up into two and flew toward both Bai Yunxin and the other disciple.

After just a single flash, it had already reached its two targets.

Save me, Senior!

Senior Han…

Both of the disciples were naturally horrified to see this, and they each summoned several protective devilish treasures to try and save themselves.

However, the white light was able to pass through the treasures as if it had no substantial form, and it plunged into their bodies in a flash.

In the next instant, both of their heads were also decapitated amid bloodcurdling cries, only to be replaced by two other white heads.

The white light had moved so quickly that it had afforded Han Li and Han Qizi no opportunity to step in.

Both of their expressions changed slightly upon seeing this.

If it werent for the fact that they were unable to use movement techniques and restricted by this sea of flames, it wouldve been a simple task for them to rescue the two Bai Family disciples, but in these circumstances, they could only look on as the disciples were killed.

Han Li cast his gaze toward the first disciple who had been decapitated to find that his body had completely shriveled up. His blood and flesh had vanished, and his remains mirrored the headless bodies that they had discovered in the mine tunnel earlier.

It seemed that the other Bai Family disciples had also fallen in the same manner.

However, the monsters who had attacked the Bai Family disciples seemed to be aware that the devilish lords wouldnt be so easy to defeat, and they merely appraised Han Li and the others with their cold crimson eyes.

This indicated that these beings had a high level of intelligence, which made the devilish lords present even more wary of them.

The burly man and purple-haired woman exchanged a glance to see their own shock and fury mirrored in one anothers eyes, and they shared a quick conversation through voice transmission before the burly man turned to Han Li.

Fellow Daoist Han, please face these monsters for now with my sister, Ill take care of this devilish beast with the other fellow daoists. After we defeat that devilish beast, well come to assist the two of you.

As soon as his voice trailed off, bright white light abruptly erupted out of the purple-haired womans suit of armor, forcing back the surrounding crimson flames and allowing her to fly directly toward Han Li.

Han Qizi also quickly flew toward Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon and the burly man upon hearing this arrangement, using the balls of glacial light around him to part the sea of flames.

In the face of these powerful enemies, there was no time for debate, so he immediately decided to comply with the burly mans suggestion.

Han Li had no objections, either, and once the purple-haired woman was less than 200 feet away from him, he immediately transmitted his voice toward her. Fellow Daoist Futian, do you know what these beings are?

The woman hesitated momentarily before replying, This is the first time Ive seen these things as well, but I recall reading about a similar type of entity known as devilish spirits that seem to be quite similar to these things. However, I cant confirm if these are indeed devilish spirits.

Devilish spirits? Han Lis expression changed slightly upon hearing this.

The woman hadnt elaborated on what they were, but these devilish spirits were clearly supposed to be quite troublesome to deal with.

Indeed. I suspect that this thing may be a devilish spirit formed by the spiritual Qi within this mine. If thats the case, then not only will its attacks be completely insubstantial and formless, itll be immune to virtually all physical attacks, and even its movement techniques may not be hampered much here. I dont know why its decided to join forces with this devilish beast, but we have to be careful, the purple-haired woman replied.

I see. Let me find out if it really is immune to physical attacks! Han Qizi turned toward Bai Yunxins possessed body with a cold light in his eyes, then cast his gaze toward the three other devilish lords.

Those three had already begun attacking the molten giant formed by the devilish beast, and aside from his Vast Yin Treasured Mirror, the burly man had summoned a pair of metal hooks that were revolving around the molten giants body, inflicting a large hole upon it with each attack.

Meanwhile, Heavenly Lord Luan Dragons body had swelled to several times its original size, and he was releasing gusts of purple winds out of his mouth to force back the crimson sea of flames.

As for Han Qizi, his body had become as translucent as an ice sculpture, and he was unleashing a series of extremely powerful glacial abilities.

The devilish beast was indeed very formidable, but in the face of the three devilish lords, all of whom were attacking it with powers that held an advantage against it, it had been forced onto the back foot.

Even though the lava enveloping its body was being heavily damaged, it was able to endlessly regenerate by drawing upon the lava in the lake, so the three devilish lords were unable to truly harm the beast.

Han Lis expression remained unchanged upon seeing this, but he abruptly made a grabbing motion, and an azure longsword that was around three feet long appeared in his grasp. He slashed the sword toward Bai Yunxins body, and it instantly vanished from his grasp.

However, in the next instant, spatial fluctuations erupted from Bai Yunxins headless body, and a translucent azure thread appeared before drifting down like a gentle breeze, slicing the white head on her body in half right down the center.

After reaching the late-Body Integration Stage, Han Lis sword thread had become incredibly powerful and unpredictable, allowing him to slice through that head with ease.

An extremely disorienting shriek rang out from the two halves of the white head, following which Bai Yunxins headless body instantly completely shriveled upon. In the next instant, the two halves of the head flew out of her body before combining as one to form a streak of white light that shot forth directly toward Han Li.

With Han Lis immense spiritual sense, he was naturally completely unaffected by the soundwave attack. All of a sudden, he swept a sleeve through the air, and several tens of small azure swords shot forth, transforming into several tens of azure sword threads that flew directly toward the oncoming streak of light.

The streak of light drew to an abrupt halt as several tens of faint azure marks appeared all over it, following which it was split up into several tens of pieces.

However, these fragments then immediately fused back together before hurtling toward Han Li again, maintaining its original speed in the process.

It really is virtually immune to physical attacks, looks like this is indeed a devilish spirit, Han Li murmured to himself as he swept his other sleeve through the air to release a ball of silver flames, which struck the streak of white light with unerring accuracy.

The silver flames then reared up to several feet tall and instantly inundated the oncoming streak of white light.

While keeping an eye on the other devilish spirit, the purple-haired woman was naturally also watching what Han Li was doing, and just when she thought that the silver flames would be unable to harm the devilish spirit, she was given quite a surprise.

As soon as the streak of white light was enshrouded within the silver flames, it let loose a bloodcurdling shriek before frantically rolling around on the ground, seemingly in an attempt to snuff out the flames.

The snowflakes didnt appear to be very large, but they were able to instantly nullify all of the crimson fireballs they came into contact with, and a burst of glacial Qi filled the entire air, eradicating the scorching heat.

At the same time, Han Li flicked his fingers toward the devilish beast in quick succession, releasing 10 streaks of azure sword Qi that shot forth toward the devilish beast in a flash.

Meanwhile, Han Qizi harrumphed coldly as made a grabbing motion with a pristine white hand, and a translucent ice mountain instantly appeared. Initially, the mountain was only around 10 feet in size, but it quickly swelled to several hundred feet at his behest, then crashed down toward the devilish beast.

In that instant, Han Lis trio had unleashed their attacks toward the devilish beast all at the same time.

However, as opposed to testing out the devilish beasts powers as they had done during their initial attacks, all three of them were using their true powers now.

The devilish beast seemed to also be aware that it was in a perilous situation, and it let loose a low roar as the green flames around its body surged upward, but at the same time, it descended toward the lava lake for refuge.

However, right at this moment, Bai Yunxin and the others activated the giant formation they had set up.

A string of loud clangs rang out from within the black Qi they were hiding in, following which countless snowy-white saber projections shot forth in all directions, creating an impenetrable net above the lava lake that stood in the devilish beasts way.

All of these saber projections were shimmering with a cold light, and were clearly extremely sharp and formidable.

The devilish beast was very confident in the power of its own body, but it still didnt dare to plunge into this fearsome net and was forced to stop in mid-air.

At this point, the snowflakes, ice mountain, and sword Qi had already swept the green flames aside and were crashing down toward the devilish beast from above.

Even in this perilous situation, the devilish beast didnt panic in the slightest. Instead, it seemed to have been fueled by its vicious instincts as it opened its mouth to devour all of the green flames around its own body.

As a result, it was revealed to be a ferocious monster with the head of a deer, the body of a cow, and the paws of a lion.

After the green flames were devoured, it threw its head back and expelled a green stone brick out of its mouth, which swelled drastically to form a massive fiery stone wall.

In the next instant, the snowflakes, sword Qi, and ice mountain struck the stone wall, amid a string of resounding explosions and flashes of dazzling light, but the stone wall remained completely unmoved.

The devilish lords present were all quite surprised to see this, and Han Li was also rather taken aback.

The sword Qi that he had unleashed appeared to be quite mundane, but they were no less powerful than the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords themselves. As such, they were capable of slicing through even some lower-grade treasures. He hadnt expected the streaks of sword Qi to kill the devilish beast, but it was still quite a surprise to him that the stone wall had been able to keep them at bay so easily.

Right at this moment, a layer of black Qi appeared over the purple-haired womans face, and she hurled halberd violently downward with a flick of her wrist.

The black halberd instantly swelled to several times its original size, transforming into a streak of black light that was over 100 feet in length before plunging viciously into the stone wall.

An earth-shattering boom immediately rang out, and the entire space tremored violently.

Immediately thereafter, a black sun emerged in the air, and countless cracks appeared over the surface of the seemingly indestructible stone wall, looking as if it were going to shatter at any moment.

The purple-haired woman was ecstatic to see this, but the devilish beast suddenly opened its mouth to release a burst of azure light that surged into the stone wall in a flash.

The azure flames around the stone wall instantly reared up, and the cracks that had been inflicted were quickly sealed again.

The purple-haired womans expression darkened upon seeing this, and her black halberd instantly transformed into countless massive halberd projections that came crashing down toward the stone wall like a torrential storm.

At the same time, the burly man switched a different hand seal, and the mirror fragments in the air unleashed over 100 bolts of black lightning again. On this occasion, they intertwined to form a black lightning sword that was over 100 feet in length, and it swept down with vicious force.

Bolts of black lightning came crashing down like countless black snakes, striking the stone wall and dispersing most of the green flames around it.

Han Qizi also pointed a finger toward the ice mountain that he had summoned, and it tremored before vanishing on the spot.

After that, spatial fluctuations erupted behind the devilish beast, and the ice mountain reappeared out of thin air before hurtling toward the devilish beasts back.

Before the ice mountain had even struck its target, a burst of enormous invisible power and translucent glacial light swept forth, but right in that instant, the devilish beast suddenly raised one of its paws before thrusting it forward.

All of a sudden, the paw vanished into thin air, following which a giant claw that was enshrouded in green flames appeared behind the devilish beast before crashing into the oncoming ice mountain.

The glacial light and green devilish flames exploded in unison amid a dull thump, and the ice mountain was sent flying backward while the beastly paw vanished again.

Han Qizis expression darkened upon seeing this, and he pointed his finger toward the ice mountain several times in succession to arrest its momentum, then sent it hurtling toward the devilish beast again.

At the same time, a faint buzzing sound rang out from the small crimson drum being controlled by Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon, and all of the crimson snowflakes drifting through the air transformed into countless ice spikes that rained down toward devilish beast in a torrential downpour.

The ice spikes struck the stone wall before exploding into balls of crimson light, and a repugnant odor wafted through the air.

In the next instant, a series of pits and craters began to appear on the surface of the wall, indicating that the ice spikes seemed to have been imbued with lethal poison.

In the face of so many attacks, the stone wall was beginning to struggle. The devilish beast expelled several bursts of azure light out of its mouth, but was still unable to repair the cracks on the stone wall as quickly as they were being inflicted.

The devilish beast immediately let loose a low roar upon seeing this, and countless devilish patterns appeared over the surface of its body before swirling incessantly.

Identical green devilish patterns appeared on the giant stone wall as well, and it abruptly descended the devilish beast, then transformed into a massive stone ball around its body.

All of the oncoming attacks struck the giant stone ball in a frenzy. The streaks of azure sword Qi summoned by Han Li had transformed into over 100 powerful sword threads that plunged viciously into the stone ball, inflicting many tiny holes onto its surface, but were unable to fully penetrate.

Even so, it was quite clear that the stone ball wouldnt be able to last too long in the face of such ferocious attacks. The green flames around it were gradually dimming, and countless rock fragments were falling from its surface.

The burly mand and purple-haired woman were both ecstatic to see this, and they injected even more power into their attacks.

On top of that, the giant net of blades that had sealed off the surface of the lack had disassembled itself into countless sharp blades at the behest of the six Bai Family disciples, and these blades were also joining in on the attack.

Within the span of just a few breaths, the stone ball had been whittled down significantly, and it seemed that victory would be secured soon.

However, Han Lis brows were slightly furrowed as things seemed to be progressing far too smoothly.

Thus far, the devilish beast hadnt truly displayed its fearsome late-Body Integration Stage power.

As soon as this thought occurred to Han Li, the devilish beast let loose a loud roar from within the stone ball, and pillars of scorching hot lava suddenly rose up from the placid surface of the lava lake, converging to form a massive ball of lava that enveloped the stone ball.

Immediately thereafter, countless green devilish patterns appeared on the surface of the ball of lava, following which it transformed into a molten giant that was over 100 feet tall.

The giant had crimson flames surging all over its body and green light flashing within its eyes. It raised its arms high up into the air, and waves of fire swept forth from its body in all directions.

There seemed to be an endless supply of crimson flames within the giants body, and a crimson sea of flames had filled the entire space in the blink of an eye.

Immediately thereafter, the giant opened its mouth to expel a vast expanse of green devilish flames, which fused into the crimson flames, forming a dozen or so green fiery pythons that each exceeded 100 feet in length, all of which pounced toward the enemy devilish lords.

Red light flashed before Han Lis eyes, and his entire body was plunged into the sea of flames.

Scorching devilish Qi revolved around him like a frenzied vortex, and he was bound to the spot by some type of profound power hidden within the sea of flames.

Under the compression of this profound power, the azure streaks of sword Qi within the sea of flame had also become very slow and sluggish.

The attacks unleashed by the other devilish lords were also significantly nullified by the sea of flames, rendering them unable to pose much of a threat to the devilish beast.

Han Lis expression remained unchanged as he made a grabbing motion toward the streaks of azure sword Qi, and all of them exploded within the sea of flames, forming balls of azure light that dispersed forcibly dispersed some of the crimson flames, only to be immediately overwhelmed by the sea of fire again.

After that, Han Li made a hand seal, and the five-colored glacial flames around him expanded to force back the surrounding flames, yet just as he was about to escape from the sea of fire, a bloodcurdling cry suddenly rang out from within the formation around the lava lake.

Han Li, Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon, and Han Qizi were hovering above the lava lake in a triangular formation while releasing their spiritual sense downward.

However, there were layers of peculiar energy fluctuations within the lava that prevented Han Lis spiritual sense from reaching any deeper than just over 1,000 feet into the lake.

For Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon and the others, their spiritual sense was far less powerful than Han Lis, so that distance was shortened to around 00 to 400 feet for them.

A distance of just over 1,000 feet only allowed Han Li to discover that there was a massive black shadow lying at the bottom of the lake. However, due to the energy fluctuations in the lava, he was unable to see the shadow clearly, so he couldnt determine whether this was their target for this trip.

Even though the black shadow laid completely still as if it were dead, Han Li was still surveying it with great caution.

As Bai Yunxin and the others were setting up the formation, the two devilish lords of the Bai Family were also in action.

The burly man had summoned his antiquated mirror again, and it transformed into over 100 mirror fragments that spread all over the air above the lava lake, shining black devilish light down upon it.

The burly mans lips tremored silently, and he wore a slightly strained expression, clearly finding it rather difficult to unleash his abilities while the majority of his magic power was being restricted.

Meanwhile, the purple-haired woman made a hand seal, and a suit of devilish armor that was as pristine white as jade appeared over her body. At the same time, she made a grabbing motion with her other hand, and a long inky-black halberd appeared in her grasp.

She swept the weapon through the air, and an inky-black giant horned tiger projection appeared, snarling viciously as if it were about to pounce at any moment.

Around 15 minutes later, the six Spatial Tempering Stage Bai Family disciples finished setting up the formation, and balls of black Qi immediately surfaced around the lava lake. Bursts of killing intent and flashes of cold light were contained within the balls of black Qi, as if they were holding countless sharp blades.

The six Spatial Tempering Stage Bai Family disciples had concealed themselves within these balls of black Qi and were controlling the entire formation.

The burly man then transmitted his voice toward Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon. The formation is ready, Fellow Daoist Luan Dragon, please force the beast out of the lava now.

A cold look appeared in Heavenly Lord Luan Dragons eyes upon hearing this, and he immediately let loose a loud cry before pointing a finger toward the blue bowl he had summoned.

The bowl shuddered before expanding drastically in size, transforming into a blue moon, and at the same time, it released a thick pillar of blue light that shot forth toward the lava down below with ferocious might.

The pillar of light stirred up the lava lake like a giant rod, and in the blink of an eye, massive waves had been swept up over the surface of the entire lake.

In the next instant, a thunderous roar of fury rang out, and the lava parted as a burst of green Qi emerged, forcing the pillar of blue light out of the lake.

A cold smile appeared on Heavenly Lord Luan Dragons face upon seeing this, and an astonishing aura erupted from his body. At the same time, he flicked his fingers toward the blue bowl to release around a dozen streaks of black light, all of which vanished into the bowl in a flash.

A loud ringing sound suddenly erupted out of the blue moon, and countless white runes appeared over its surface. As a result, the blue pillar of light it was releasing became around twice as thick as it had been before, and it crashed down from above with renewed might. The burst of opposing green Qi was completely caught off guard and was instantly destroyed, following which the pillar of blue light plunged deep into the lava lake again.

A resounding boom rang out within the lake, and it seemed that the attack really had struck the devilish beast that was hiding within the lake.

How did you like that? Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon chortled as he prepared to unleash more attacks with his blue bowl.

However, right at this moment, the entire cave suddenly began to tremor violently, and a crimson wave of light swept up over the surface of the lava, surging directly toward Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon, and even Han Li and Han Qizi were caught up within the scope of the attack.

Han Lis expression remained unchanged as the five-colored lotus beneath his feet rotated slightly, and a five-colored glacial light barrier appeared around him, easily keeping the crimson light at bay.

Han Qizi also remained on the spot as the 12 balls of glacial light around him swelled drastically to form a barrier of glacial light as well.

In contrast, Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon suddenly let loose a cry of alarm as his body was instantly flung back by a burst of enormous invisible power, and he crashed violently into a massive stone wall, sinking several feet into it as countless rock fragments rained down from above.

At the spot where Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon had been standing before, a massive beastly claw that was covered in green flames had appeared, and that appeared to have been what had sent Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon flying.

After being smashed into the stone wall, most of Heavenly Lord Luan Dragons clothes had been torn away, but a suit of inky-black armor had appeared over his body to nullify most of the impact. As such, even though he was looking quite disheveled, the injuries that he had sustained were actually quite minor.

Even so, his face instantly turned as red as blood, and a burst of power erupted from his body, shattering the stone wall around him, thereby allowing him to free himself.

Immediately thereafter, he cussed in a furious manner as he made a grabbing motion, and a strange long-handled blade appeared in his grasp amid a flash of yellow light. Immediately thereafter, the black swirling around his body swelled drastically, and he slashed the blade toward the giant claw like lightning with both hands.

A yellow blade projection swept forth, covering a distance of several hundred feet in a flash before viciously slicing toward the beastly claw.

However, despite its massive size, the beastly claw was unexpectedly agile and instantly vanished into thin air.

Thus, the yellow blade projection struck nothing but empty space.

Immediately thereafter, violent waves surged over the surface of the lava lake down below, and a gigantic creature that was enshrouded in green devilish flames emerged. The creature was over 200 feet in size, and its roar resembled the moo of a cow.

Han Li and Han Qizi immediately shot back, and one of them rubbed his hands together before raising them to release countless threads of grey light, while two of 12 balls of glacial light around the others body hurtled directly toward the giant beast. As soon as these balls of glacial light were hurled through the air, white icy halos appeared around them as a show of their fearsome glacial might.

However, the giant devilish beast remained completely unfazed. It abruptly raised its head, and the green flames around its body instantly transformed into layers of green light barriers. Regardless of whether it was Han Lis grey threads of light or those icy halos, they were both instantly destroyed as if they had encountered the bane of their existence.

Han Lis heart jolted slightly upon seeing this.

His Divine Essencefused Light was able to repress five-elemental power, so it was quite a surprise to him that these green devilish flames were able to nullify them so easily.

However, the two balls of glacial light unleashed by Han Qizi seemed to possess some type of peculiar power, allowing them to tear through the green flames and hurtle directly toward the devilish beast.

The devilish beast immediately expelled two bursts of black Qi out of its mouth in response, and after the two opposing powers clashed, the balls of glacial light reverted back into a pair of translucent flags that descended from above.

A hint of surprise flashed through Han Qizis eyes upon seeing this, but he immediately made a grabbing motion, drawing the two flags back to him as streaks of white light, which vanished into his body in a flash.

Right at this moment, the devilish beast let loose a loud roar, and the temperature within the entire cave instantly increased by severalfold. Crimson fireballs emerged around its body, yet just as it was about to unleash an attack, the burly man and purple-haired woman sprang into action.

The burly man began to chant something while pointing a finger at all of the mirror fragments in the air, and they released bolts of black lightning in unison, intertwining to form a black lightning net that descended from above.

Meanwhile, the purple-haired woman stabbed her black halberd viciously downward, and the giant black tiger projection around it let loose a thunderous roar before swooping down as a streak of black light.

The space in the wake of the black light twisted and warped, and it appeared directly above the devilish beast in a flash, completely undeterred by the oncoming balls of green flames.

However, the green flames around the body of the devilish beast suddenly swelled drastically, then formed a two-headed devilish python projection that clashed with the tiger projection.

Both of these projections were formed by devilish Qi, but it was as if a clash were taking place between an actual pair of ferocious devilish beasts.

As for that black lightning net, all of the crimson fireballs in the air immediately shot forth toward it at the devilish beasts behest, and the lightning net was completely kept at bay amid countless explosions of red light.

This devilish beast truly did possess powers comparable to a late-stage devilish lord, it was opposing several devilish lords at once, yet managed to hold its own.

However, during this brief delay, Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon also appeared in a flash above the devilish beast, then suddenly patted his own belly with a cold look in his eyes. A treasure emerged from his stomach, revealing itself to be a small drum that was only several inches in size. The drum was entirely crimson in color, and had countless snowflake-like runes engraved all over its surface.

Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon gently patted the drum, and glacial winds were instantly swept up as countless bright red snowflakes appeared before descending from the heavens.

After that, she injected her magic power into the jade pendant, and the crimson pattern suddenly began to move as if it had sprung to life.

Thats fantastic! With this jade pendant telling us the devilish beasts location, we wont have to worry about any surprise attacks, so the initiative will completely be on our side, the burly man said in an elated manner.

Thus, he switched positions with his sister, allowing her to lead the way in his stead.

The group continued onward and soon made their way into a mine tunnel. Judging from the small pits that lined the entire tunnel, the Firecloud Stones nearby had clearly all been already mined.

Even so, the scorching temperature in here was noticeably higher than when they had first arrived underground.

If it werent for the fact that this mine was situated in the Illusion Howl Desert, everyone wouldve already unleashed earth movement techniques to seek out that devilish beast, but as things currently were, they could only progress deeper and deeper into the mine through the tunnels.

There were countless tunnels in this mine, with crossroads set up at regular intervals, creating a cobweb-like system. These tunnels ranged from just over 100 feet to around half a kilometer in length, and most of them had already been completely mined with only some of the more obscure tunnels still harboring Firecloud Stones that were yet to be excavated.

However, after passing through around a dozen tunnels and arriving at a crossroads leading into four or five different tunnels, Han Lis eyes suddenly narrowed slightly.

All of these tunnels were shimmering with specks of crimson light, and the walls were riddled with fist-sized crimson crystals.

However, Han Li wasnt looking at all of these precious materials. Instead, he was looking at a set of headless remains that lay slumped at the entrance of one of the tunnels.

Even though the body was complete aside from its missing head, its skin was completely shriveled up, as if its blood and flesh had somehow been completely stripped away, leaving only a pouch of skin behind.

The purple-haired woman and the burly man had naturally also seen the set of remains, and a hint of surprise flashed through their eyes.

The purple-haired woman glanced at the robes being worn by the set of remains, and her expression immediately darkened as she made a grabbing motion toward the headless body.

A small scrap of cloth detached itself from the robe before being drawn into her grasp.

Han Li took a glance at it to find that a faint silver Bai character was emblazoned on that scrap of cloth.

This is a disciple of our Bai Family, but its hard to tell which one it is, the purple-haired woman said with furrowed brows.

The burly man harrumphed coldly before also making a grabbing motion toward the headless body, and an azure leather pouch was drawn toward him before exploding at his behest, releasing a swarm of huge crimson wasps. Each of these wasps was as large as an adult human hand, and they were buzzing incessantly.

These are Blood Sifting Wasps! If I recall correctly, Bai Yan possesses a swarm of these devilish insects, right? the burly man asked with a dark expression.

One of the Spatial Tempering Stage disciples of the Bai Family stepped forward, and confirmed, Indeed, Senior, these are none other than Bai Yans Blood Sifting Wasps. Ive seen him use these wasps in battle on multiple occasions. This was an elderly man with snowy-white hair, and there was a hint of sorrow in his eyes, suggesting that he seemed to have shared some type of bond with this Bai Yan.

The purple-haired woman sighed as she raised a hand to release a fireball that incinerated the body into ashes, then murmured to herself, In that case, these must be Bai Yans remains. Hes the most powerful one among the disciples that we left at the oasis stronghold, how did he end up here?

In reality, no one was all that surprised by the gruesome sight of the shriveled headless corpse. After all, there were countless beings in the Elder Devil Realm who cultivated by devouring the blood essence of others, so this wasnt exactly an uncommon occurrence.

Lets keep going, perhaps well find some leads up ahead, the burly man suggested after a brief pause for contemplation.

No one offered any objections, and they continued into the tunnel where the remains had just been found. However, everyone was proceeding with more caution, and after making their way along the tunnel for several thousand feet, they encountered five or six more headless corpses, all of whom were confirmed to be Bai Family disciples who had been left at the stronghold.

The burly mans expression darkened further and further with each headless body that was discovered, and after walking for a while longer, he suddenly turned to the purple-haired woman, and asked, How far away are we from that devilish beast? It wont be able to detect us, will it?

Rest assured, Big Brother, spiritual sense is greatly inhibited in the Illusion Howl Desert in the first place, and thats only further exacerbated by the disruptive effect of the true fire Qi in this mine. Were currently still around three kilometers away from the devilish beast, so theres no way that itll be able to detect us. However, Im not sure if that will continue to be the case if we get any closer than this, the purple-haired woman replied after briefly glancing down at the jade pendant in her hand.

After a brief pause for contemplation, the burly man decided, In that case, lets all unleash our concealment techniques right away.

Do we really have to start right away? Using concealment techniques in this desert is going to be very taxing on our magic power. So be it, better safe than sorry, I guess, Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon mumbled reluctantly before opening his mouth to expel a black badge, which transformed into a cloud of black mist that enshrouded his entire body.

Immediately thereafter, both the mist and Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon himself gradually faded into nothingness.

Han Li also followed suit as he made a hand seal, upon which black light swirled over his body, and he transformed into a barely visible black shadow.

As for Han Qizi, he abruptly swept a sleeve through the air to release a burst of glacial light, upon which his entire body became as translucent as an ice statue.

Bai Yunxin and the others each summoned a silver flag before tossing them up into the air in unison to create a silver light formation. The formation descended upon all six of them, and they instantly disappeared as well.

Seeing as everyone had already concealed themselves, the burly man and the purple-haired woman also did the same as one of them released a burst of black Qi from their body, while the other summoned a handkerchief-like treasure.

Thus, the group continued onward, and much to their surprise, this tunnel was far longer than they had anticipated. Even after walking for a long while, they still hadnt made it to the other side.

As they progressed, the straight tunnel suddenly began to wind and twist, and the stone walls around them also became very coarse and rugged, they had entered a natural underground fissure.

Other rifts of different sizes had also begun to appear around them, ranging from only around a foot in width to several tens of feet wide. Scorching winds would occasionally blow through those rifts, carrying a charred sulfurous scent.

Around an hour later, after everyone had flown out of a nondescript-looking rift, a giant underground lava lake suddenly appeared down below.

The lake was over 1,000 acres in area, and it was filled with bubbling red lava. The edge of the lake was surrounded by charred rocky ground, but there were a series of reddish-purple crystals embedded into those rocks, and they were shimmering with a peculiar red light under the lavas illumination.

Han Lis eyes narrowed slightly upon seeing this.

These reddish-purple crystals were manifestations of fire-attribute Qi that had been compressed to the extreme. Even though they were quite small, all of them were extremely rare top-grade Firecloud Stones.

At just a rough glance, he discovered that there were tens of thousands of these crystals, and they would be worth an astronomical number of devil stones or spirit stone, it was no wonder that the Bai Family was willing to pay such a heavy price to try and salvage this mine.

However, what was rather befuddling to Han Li was that there was no devilish beast to be seen here. The underground lava lake was indeed extremely massive, but its structure was very simple, and there werent any obvious hiding places.

The burly man also seemed to be a little perplexed as he transmitted his voice toward the purple-haired woman.

Is this the right place, Sister? Is that devilish beast really here?

Theres no mistaking it, its blood essence is definitely pointing toward this place, the purple-haired woman replied without any hesitation.

In that case, its most likely hiding within the lava down below, it seems that it really hasnt detected our arrival yet. Yunxin, set up the formation right away. Fellow daoists, well be requiring your services soon as well, the burly man said as he turned to everyone else.

The six Bai Family disciples immediately gave affirmative responses before scattering around the lava lake, then summoned stacks of formation flags and formation plates to begin setting up a giant formation.

As for Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon and Han Qizi, they also descended toward the lava down below, then stopped and hovered in mid-air over 100 feet above the surface of the lava lake.

Even though the two of them were still concealed by their respective secret techniques, they still summoned protective devilish treasures in a cautious manner. freweovel.co

Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon opened his mouth to produce a shimmering blue bowl that was emanating blue glacial light, while Han Qi Zi swept a sleeve through the air to produce 12 translucent flags, which transformed into 12 balls of glacial light that revolved around his body.

Meanwhile, Han Li gently stomped a foot down onto the air blow, and five-colored light erupted underfoot, forming a five-colored lotus flower that carried his body downward on a slow descent.

The five-colored lotus flower was extremely vibrant and was releasing wisps of glacial Qi, it had been manifested by none other than these five-colored glacial flames.

Han Li had only unintentionally stumbled upon information surrounding Bloodtooth Rice while going through countless ancient tomes written about the Elder Devil Realm prior to entering this realm.

According to the book that he had read, Bloodtooth Rice could only be found at a place called the Blue Waterfall Lake, which was extremely far away from Illusion Night City. Due to its scarcity, none of the local devilish beings would sell this rice and kept it solely to themselves, so it was quite remarkable that the Bai Family had managed to secure one of such a high caliber.

Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon glanced at Han Li and Han Qizi, and said, Are you two interested in this Bloodtooth Rice as well? Its a pity for you that Ive already claimed it. If you two want one as well, then youll have to ask Brother Bai.

After that, he immediately took a bite out of the Bloodtooth Rice, devouring a third of it in just a single mouthful, then began to slowly chew it in a blissful manner.

A rich fragrant aroma instantly filled the entire hall.

Do you have more of this Bloodtooth Rice, Brother Bai? Han Li asked.

Han Qizi also immediately turned his attention toward the burly man and purple-haired woman.

Surely you jest, Fellow Daoist Luan Dragon, our Bai Family only has this one Bloodtooth Rice in our possession, the burly man said with a wry smile.

Im afraid I find that very difficult to believe, Brother Bai. Everyone knows that the more Bloodtooth Rice is consumed, the more pronounced the enhancement effect it would have on the consumers body. If youre able to obtain this rice, then how would you have only obtained one? Han Li asked as his eyes narrowed slightly.

Han Qizi was clearly also unconvinced.

Truth be told, our Bai Family did manage to purchase several pieces of this Bloodtooth Rice, but theyve all been consumed by my sister and myself. We only kept this one as a seed or as a pill refinement ingredient. Otherwise, we wouldnt even have this one left, the burly man hurriedly explained.

Han Li was silent for a moment before continuing, Seeing as your Bai Family was able to obtain this Bloodtooth Rice once, Im sure youll be able to do it again. If you can purchase some for me, then price wont be an issue.

If you can purchase a Bloodtooth Rice of this caliber for me, Ill be willing to assist your Bai Family one more time if you encounter any trouble in the future. Han Qizi finally spoke for the very first time, and his voice was very raspy and dry, as if he really hadnt spoken in a very long time.

The purple-haired woman seemed to be rather tempted by these propositions, but the burly man replied without any hesitation, We only managed to purchase these pieces of Bloodtooth Rice by chance when we encountered some fellow daoists from the Blue Waterfall Lake, our Bai Family doesnt have a consistent avenue through which we can obtain these things, so theres no need to discuss this matter any further.

Han Li and Han Qizi exchanged a glance upon hearing this, but they didnt press the issue any further in the face of the burly mans stoic response.

Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon was still munching on his Bloodtooth Rice, but a hint of disappointment also flashed through his eyes.

After that, everyone began to rest and meditate in the hall. Around two hours after Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon finished consuming that piece of Bloodtooth Rice, his aura suddenly swelled drastically, and his face became bright red. Only after a long while did he manage to digest the power of the Bloodtooth Rice, and Han Li became even more interested in Bloodtooth Rice upon seeing this.

It seemed that this Bloodtooth Rice was far more efficacious than the records on the book suggested.

During this period of time, the burly man and purple-haired woman were discussing the disappearance of the Bai Familys disciples through voice transmission, but they were unable to arrive at any reasonable conclusions due to the complete lack of leads.

As such, they could only set the matter aside and began to meditate as well.

After all, they had only left some low-grade disciples here, and overall, they were inconsequential to the Bai Family.

The group stayed in the stronghold for a day and a night, then continued onward on their Eight-footed Devilish Lizard steeds after recovering to their prime conditions.

Less than half a day later, the burly man looked up at the dim sky, then suddenly turned to Han Li and the others, and said, Fellow daoists, that devilish beast is truly quite formidable, so well have to exercise caution from here onward. Please conceal your auras and stow away your devilish lizards.

Everyone knew that this was a crucial juncture, so there were naturally no objections raised. All of them jumped down from their devilish lizard steeds before stowing them away in their spirit beast bracelets, then continued onward, flying at a low altitude.

Even though no movement techniques could be used in the desert, flying at a low altitude was possible. However, doing so expended several times more magic power than it normally would.

Thankfully, the mine wasnt far away, and after flying for around two hours, a massive sand dune suddenly appeared on the horizon.

The sand dune was tens of thousands of feet tall and resembled a massive mountain. At the same time, ghostly howls and unsettling cries could be heard coming from within the sand dune.

At this moment, the burly man raised an arm and indicated for everyone to proceed with caution, then suddenly descended toward an area that was several kilometers away from the sand dune.

Everyone else followed along behind him, and Han Li also trailed along with blue light flashing through his eyes as he appraised a patch of ground over 100 feet away from them with a contemplative expression.

All of a sudden, the burly man reached into his own sleeve, then made a grabbing motion toward the spot that Han Li was scrutinizing.

A dull thump rang out, and a huge pile of sand that was as large as a room rose up from the ground before being dropped elsewhere.

The burly man repeated this process a few times to dig out a hole that was over 100 feet deep, at the bottom of which was an azure copper gate.

Whats this? Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon asked with a surprised expression.

The main entrance to the mine is situated at the top of the sand dune, but thats already been taken over by that devilish beast. As a safety precaution, we have to enter through another entrance. My sister and I are the only ones aware of the existence of this entrance, and not only did we set it up in an extremely discreet place, we placed no restrictions around it, so the devilish beast shouldnt have discovered it yet. If we enter through here, perhaps wed be able to catch it off guard, the purple-haired woman explained with a smile.

I see. Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon nodded in response as the puzzlement in his eyes faded.

Meanwhile, the burly man pointed a finger at the copper gate from afar to release an enormous burst of invisible power.

The gate tremored slightly before it was slowly pushed open, revealing an inky-black passageway.

The burly swept his spiritual sense toward the passageway, upon which a hint of elation appeared on his face, and he immediately drifted toward it. Lets go, that devilish beast is still yet to discover this entrance!

Everyone else naturally followed him into the passageway, and as Han Li did so as well, blue light flashed through his eyes, making the dark passageway as clear as day for him.

To his left and right were faint azure stone walls that completely kept out the sand of the desert, and what was even more remarkable was that these stone walls were completely smooth and seamless and released no energy fluctuations at all, clearly indicating that there really were no restrictions set up in here.

After walking along this passageway for around an hour, light suddenly appeared up ahead, and a crimson mountain face stood in their way.

On this occasion, the burly man flipped a hand over to produce an antiquated rhomboid mirror before pointing it at a few times in succession. Black Qi swirled over the surface of the mirror, following which a burst of five-colored light emerged.

The burly man peered intently into the five-colored light for a short while, upon which his expression eased slightly, and he stowed the mirror away before sweeping a sleeve toward the mountain face up ahead.

A burst of black light immediately swept forth before vanishing into the mountain face in a flash, and in the next instant, the mountain face tremored before moving to the side on its own in an entirely soundless manner.

As soon as the mountain face was moved off to the side, everyone was struck by a scorching heatwave as a fiery red underground world appeared up ahead.

Crimson rocks were littered all over the reddish-black ground, and there were countless reddish-purple stone stalagmites that protruded out of the ground.

The burly man briefly inspected his surroundings before turning to everyone behind him with a serious expression. Lets go, the devilish beast must be lurking where the true fire Qi is most abundant in this mine. Generally speaking, devilish beasts will cultivate and absorb energy while hibernating, but that may not be the case for a devilish beast comparable to a devilish lord in power. On top of that, we still dont know what kind of devilish beast it is at this point, so its impossible for us to speculate about its habits. Please be careful, everyone, our objective is only to wound the devilish beast and chase it away, but if we manage to kill it, then well split the materials from the devilish beasts body evenly.

Hehe, when did you become such a worrywart, Brother Bai? Youve said this many times already. It would naturally be fantastic for us to kill a devilish-lord-level devilish beast, but if were unable to do so, then we wont force things, either, Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon said with a smile.

Right at this moment, the purple-haired woman suddenly opened her mouth to expel a white jade pendant that had a crimson pattern on its surface. She then turned to everyone else with a smile, and said, Even though I was no match for that devilish beast the last time we fought, I was able to catch it off guard and secure a drop of its blood essence. Ive refined the blood essence into this jade pendant, so itll be a simple matter for us to track it down.