It was also impossible for it to be a demon beast.
This small beast was fighting solely with the strength and abilities of its body. It didn’t possess any demonic power.
This should be a beast variant.
After a long while, that was the only conclusion Han Li could think of.
Eventually, the small beast lost its patience and an ominous light flashed in its eye. It crouched in preparation for another attack.
Han Li’s mind trembled and he tightened his grasp on the spear, assuming a defensive stance.
But white light lit up from his other hand as it grasped a spirit beast pouch.
The pouch contained his myriad of Gold Devouring Beetles.
Han Li made the decision that if the beast pounced on top of him, he would open the bag with his spirit ring.
Although he had no magic power and couldn't control the beetles, he could still rely on its ability to dispose of the small beast. The only trouble would be for him to take them back. Without his spiritual sense, he would have to waste them.
However, Han Li was left with no choice.
The small beast let out a snarl and its body blurred, turning to two, then four...
In the blink of an eye, over thirty identical small beasts appeared on top of the trees with their fangs bared and ready to pounce.
In Han Li’s alarm, he realized that the beast hadn’t made use of its full strength. He immediately brought the back in front of him and was about to toss it.
But then in that crucial moment, a strange bird’s cry sounded from a distance. It sounded like a crow, but it was far harsher.
When the leopard heard this, its face froze and its afterimages disappeared. In the blink of an eye, only one of them remained.
The feline took a deep glance at Han Li before turning its head and shooting deep into the forest.
A short moment later, it disappeared from sight.
Han Li relaxed and retrieved his spirit beast pouch.
Although he didn’t know what was going on, he had no interest in pursuing the cat. He needed to find someplace where he could comprehend what just happened.
In the last battle, there were exceptional developments and he came to a faint realization of something. This was a possibility for him to make a breakthrough.
With a flip of his hand, he took out an azure robe from his storage bracelet and replaced the torn clothes on his body. Then, he head off in a direction away from the leopard.
Because Han Li feared that this feeling of revelation would soon disappear, Han Li didn’t walk far away. Rather, he quickly ran fifty kilometers away to a small valley and struck open a rough cave in a stone wall.
He immediately entered it and sat down cross-legged.
Comprehending his recent flash of enlightenment took him three entire days.
When Han Li opened his eyes once more, he wore a disappointed face.
Although he made some gains from that battle, it wasn’t enough for him to break past his current bottleneck.
But he wasn’t too saddened.
Although he didn’t succeed this time, this illustrated life and death battles would be of great assistance in making a breakthrough. If he experienced several more desperate battles, he was bound to succeed.
After calming his heart, he arranged his belongings and left the cave.
Standing outside the cave, he paused in thought for a long while. He felt that the small beast was the ideal opponent for him. If he could fight it several more times, he may succeed in obtaining an epiphany.
Although he knew it would be dangerous, the restoration of his magic power was far more important.
His expression wavered for a long while before resolving himself to seek out that dangerous leopard.
When he left the valley, Han Li headed in the direction where the leopard is last seen, but he ended up greatly disappointed.
In a single breath, he swept through hundreds of kilometers in the surrounding mountain range, but he found no trace of the beast.
Helpless, Han Li could only depart from the mountains and find another suitable objective.
Over ten days later at the edge of a huge lake, there were a dozen variously dressed body refiners. They were surrounded by crimson snakes with a crest on their heads. The body refiners were using their spirit tools to their utmost extent while attacking the serpents.
The serpent’s attacks were separated into two types. There were those shooting a crimson venom mist, while the others were pouncing at the body refiners like darts.
The venom was tolerable enough as they had swallowed an antivenom beforehand, but they weren’t able to block the serpents’ direct attacks.
The serpents weren’t very large, but their bodies possessed considerable power. Despite the powerful spirit tools the body refiners wielded, they weren’t able to injure the serpents when they struck them.
As a result, the body refiners defended against the serpents many times before they felt their limbs grow heavy and slow.
In addition to these few serpents, there was also a giant serpent behind them.
The serpent appeared to be the group’s king. When it saw that its party had the advantage, it let out several hisses as if it were expressing satisfaction.
But suddenly, booms of lightning sounded from below the lake. Before the humans or the serpents could react, a large silver light flashed from below and countless arrows of light burst forth, felting the humans and serpents on the shore without discrimination.
“AH!” The body refiners could only scream, but they weren’t able to dodge, and the serpents were no better. The lot of them were turned into pincushions by the ice spikes.
Only the huge serpent at the back was quick enough to react. It suddenly bent its body and pounced thirty meters away, narrowly dodging the ice arrows.
But before the serpent landed, the earth beneath it burst. A silver hand shot out from the soil and grabbed the serpent by the neck.
In the serpent’s alarm, it turned like a spring and wound its head around to bite down on the hand.
But a clear ring sounded after the strike. The hand was unharmed and the serpent was in pain, blood trailing from its mouth.
The huge serpent’s teeth were completely shattered by the silver hand’s exceptional hardiness.
In pain, the serpent could only relax its mouth let go.
Another silver hand then strangely appeared nearby. It grabbed ahold of the serpents head and both hands exerted their stretch, pulling them apart. Left headless, the serpent’s body spouted in a fountain of blood.
The serpent corpse was then tossed to the ground.
At that moment, the dust eventually cleared and a silver man appeared, hidden by flickering sliver lights around his body.
At that moment, the ice from the lake moved, suddenly merging into a crystalline person a foot tall. It didn’t have any features of a man or a woman.
“Water Wraith! It’s you!” When the silver silhouette saw the ice woman, he suddenly spoke with a thunderous voice.
The ice person stirred and expressionlessly said, “What? Tie Ren, didn’t you come here to find me? Chi Mie should’ve come too. Call him out.”
“Hehe, there is no need to call for me. I’ll show myself.”
An unfamiliar voice suddenly sounded and a ball of scarlet flame appeared near the silver silhouette. In the blink of an eye, he took the form of a man half a foot tall.
Flames still roiled from his entire body.
Chapter 1301: Spirit Tribe Reinforcements
"If I recall correctly, I don't share any ties with you two. The reason you two are seeking me out now must have something to do with that traitor, right?" the water man asked without making any effort to dabble in pleasantries.
"That's right. The two of us have already discovered where that traitor is hiding," the silver humanoid figure replied. Silver light flashed over his body, and he shrank drastically, reducing himself down to the same size as the fir
e man in the blink of an eye.
Ripples ran through the body of the water man as he stirred upon hearing this. "If you've already discovered his location, then why haven't you captured him? Could it be that you've encountered some issues?"
"When we got there, it was already too late. That traitor really is extremely alert; as soon as he sensed that something was amiss, he entered the Chaotic Vally before we could get to him and dove into the Scorching Light Pond within the valley. I'm sure there's no need for me to elaborate on how fearsome that pond is. You're the only one among use who possesses water-attribute abilities, Brother Water Wraith, so only you can enter the pond and capture the traitor," the fire man said in a solemn voice.
"The Scorching Light Pond? Why did you let him escape into that pond? Even I can't ensure that I won't be harmed after entering that pond." The water man's voice suddenly raised a few octaves, indicating that he was quite enraged by how things had played out.
"We didn't think that he would dive in there, either. We had a chance to cut him off before he could enter the pond, but a few beings from the demon race stepped in to obstruct us, and there was even a Black Phoenix Race cultivator among them," the silver humanoid figure replied in a rather gloomy voice.
"How did the demon race learn about the traitor?" The water man was growing even more displeased.
"We're not sure about that, but the information was most likely leaked by the humans. In any case, we don't have the time to be bickering here. News of the battle that took place between us and those demons is definitely going to spread really quickly, and even human cultivators will most likely come here soon. At the moment, Tian Ying and Huang Shi are the only two stationed at the Chaotic Valley. If a few more Deity Transformation cultivators from the human and demon races arrive on the scene, they won't be able to hold on for much longer," the fire man urged.
"There's nothing to worry about; the Scorching Light Pond is an extremely perilous place, even for me, and I possess the water spirit body. Those demons and humans wouldn't dare to enter the pond." The water man suddenly adopted a calm and collected demeanor again.
"But this place is the territory of the human and demon races, after all. If they take control over the Chaotic Valley, there would be no chance for us to recover the divine blood." The fire man shook his head vehemently in response.
"Looks like you two are still unaware of this; the reinforcements from the Artifact Spirit Tribe will get here in a few days, and the leader of their group is none other than one of the eight profound spirits of the Artifact Spirit Tribe, Xu Tian," the water man explained in a calm voice.
"Profound Spirit Xu Tian?!" Both the silver humanoid figure and the fire man exclaimed in unison.
"That's right. You two know what I'm getting at now, right? As soon as the reinforcements from the Artifact Spirit Tribe arrive, there will be no way that the traitor can escape. All we have to do is wait patiently for a few days," the water man continued.
"But in that case, won't the drop of divine blood fall into the hands of the Artifact Spirit Tribe?" the silver humanoid figure asked in an indignant voice.
"It's better for the Artifact Spirit Tribe to get their hands on the divine blood rather than have it taken by the human and demon races. Otherwise, if they can decipher the secret of the divine blood, our Spirit Tribe would incur heavy losses. It's a pity that these spirit warriors are the extent of what our Spirit Tribe can currently deploy. All of the beings above the Profound Spirit level are busy combating those bastards from the other side, so there's no way that they'll be able to reinforce us," Water Wraith heaved a forlorn sigh.
At the mentions of "those bastards", the spiritual light on the bodies of the fire man and the silver humanoid figure flickered erratically, clearly indicating their turbulent emotions.
"If I recall correctly, you only just came back from that side not long ago. How are things going over there?" the fire man asked.
Water Wraith hesitated momentarily before replying with a resigned sigh, "Very badly! Even though all of the Holy Spirit level seniors have been deployed, the Yaksha Tribe has also deployed several Yaksha Monarchs, and we're only able to barely hold on in the face of their attacks. These Yaksha Tribe beings have a natural liking for consuming heavenly spirits, and they have answers for many of our abilities. They are the true nemeses of our Spirit Tribe. As for the human and demon races, it naturally won't be an issue if we kill some low-grade beings among them, but it's best not to stir up too much trouble. Otherwise, we'll be plunged into a dire situation if we get attacked from both sides. Our Spirit Tribe has always been the weakest race among all of the races in the Spirit Realm, so we have to exercise caution."
Both the fire man and the silver humanoid figure also fell silent with heavy hearts upon hearing this.
...
Meanwhile, atop a certain barren hill, the young woman from the Black Phoenix Race was looking on at the entrance to a murky grey valley up ahead. She was surrounded by several metamorphosis stage demonic cultivators, and she wore a dark expression on her face.
"Are we still unable to get into contact with Senior Huan?" the young woman suddenly asked.
"We've already sent out many messengers who're very proficient in movement techniques, so we'll definitely be able to find Senior Huan," a green-faced brawny man replied in a coarse voice.
"That would be best. All of you, make sure to keep a close eye on the entrance to this valley so no one from the Spirit Tribe can get away. Once Senior Huan gets here, he'll definitely be able to make short work of those two Spirit Tribe cultivators. When that time comes, you'll all receive a handsome reward for your efforts."
The demonic cultivators were ecstatic to hear this and gleefully accepted this task.
The Black Phoenix Race was one of the seven master sub-races of the demon race, so a reward from them was sure to be quite a lavish one. As such, the promise that she had made boosted their morale significantly.
...
On a lush set of plains, a dozen or so cultivators were quickly flying through the air at altitudes of around 100 feet.
Spirit Lord Huang Liang and the lord of Setting Sun City were both among the group, while the rest of the group also consisted entirely of Core Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators. This was quite a formidable lineup.
The brawny man with the Jin surname turned to City Lord Lan, and asked, "Brother Lan, are you sure those Spirit Tribe cultivators are in the Chaotic Valley?"
"I'm 100% certain of this. More than a handful of people have relayed this message to me, and many people were witnesses to the battle between the high-grade cultivators of the demon race and the Spirit Tribe. It's just that the battle was of far too high a caliber for them to intervene in, so they could only spectate from afar. The Chaotic Valley isn't far away from us; we should be able to get there in a few day," City Lord Lan replied with an excited look on his face.
"I've heard that the Chaotic Valley is a rather strange place and many people have mysteriously disappeared in there. Didn't they say that even sightings of primordial giants had been made in there?" the brawny man asked with furrowed brows.
"I've also heard those rumors before, and I've even ventured into the valley myself to verify those claims. I can tell you now that there isn't even half a giant in there! They're all just tall tales spread by conspiracy theorists. As for the cultivators and body refinement warriors who have disappeared in the valley, most of them are low-grade and mid-grade beings. There are some places in the Chaotic Valley that are indeed quite treacherous, so it's no surprise that some weaker cultivators would go missing in there. However, it's best to be wary of the Scorching Light Pond in the valley. I've never ventured deep into it, but I can tell that it's a very formidable place," City Lord Lan said with a solemn expression.
"Hehe, even if there actually are giants in there, we have nothing to fear with Senior Huang Liang by our side." Tou Tuo turned to Spirit Lord Huang Liang with a fawning smile.
"H
ehe, I wouldn't be too confident about that. I heard that the primordial giant race is filled with immensely powerful beings; I'm only a mere Spatial Tempering cultivator, and I certainly wouldn't proclaim myself to be invincible. However, it's indeed true that it's rather unlikely for giants to be present in the Chaotic Valley. All primordial giants possess very low-level intelligence and are extremely violent and territorial. If there really were giants in there, they would've eradicated all of the humans and demons in the Setting Sun Tomb long ago. Even ancient beasts wouldn't dare to venture into that valley if giants were present," Spirit Lord Huang Liang analyzed with a faint smile.
Everyone else nodded emphatically in agreement.
After that, not much else was discussed as everyone flew directly toward the Chaotic Valley.
A short while later, they had disappeared into the distance as black spots on the horizon.
However, around 15 minutes later, white light flashed on the plains that they had just passed through, and a humanoid figure slowly emerged.
It was none other than that young man from the demon race.
He cast his gaze toward the distance in the direction where Spirit Lord Huang Liang had disappeared, and a cold smile appeared on his face.
The Illusionary Flame Moth was sitting obediently on his shoulder, gently flapping its little wings.
The young man looked on into the distance with narrowed eyes for a long while before sinking back into the ground again.
...
Han Li let loose an almighty roar and thrust his spear forward violently, puncturing the body of a winged flying wolf.
Right at this moment, several tens of wind blades converged, enshrouding his body under a lethal net. There were still seven or eight flying wolf demon beasts identical to the one that Han Li had just slain.
Han Li completely disregarded the wind blades as spiritual light flashed from the crystal on the tip of his spear before he flung the spear through the air like a javelin.
With Han Li's current level of immense strength, he was able to hurl the spirit tool in his hand with devastating force. The spear flew through the air like lightning and punctured the body of another flying wolf in the blink of an eye.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 723