The white-browed young man was naturally ecstatic to see his talons proving to be so effective.
He was confident that as long as he could sever all of these red threads, he'd be able to escape using the movement techniques that were unique to his Dark Falcon Race.
However, before he had a chance to continue swiping his talons through the air, his expression changed drastically, and his face was drained of all color.
All of those severed red threads joined together again in a flash, and it was as if nothing had been done to them in the first place.
A deriding sneer appeared on the elderly Daoist priest's face, and his body blurred before he appeared in front of the white-robed young man, seemingly out of thin air. He then laid a hand on the back of his own head, and a vibrant red shadow slowly emerged.
"A crimson shadow! You really are from the Shadow Tribe!" The white-robed young man was plunged into complete despair at the sight of the crimson shadow.
Crimson shadows of the Shadow Tribe were comparable to Spatial Tempering Stage beings among human cultivators. This was not an opponent a Deity Transformation demonic cultivator could stand up against.
"Hehe, you possess quite a powerful body. I'll be taking it from you now. Don't worry, though, none of your companions will be able to get away. All of them will join you on the other side soon." Red light flashed within Master Purple Cloud's eyes as a sharp and unfamiliar voice escaped from his mouth. The crimson shadow above his head then flashed before pouncing viciously toward the young man.
At the same time, the red threads punctured the protective black light around his body, binding him in an inescapable snare.
Despite his immense strength, the young man was unable to move, even in the slightest, and could only look on as the crimson shadow flew toward him. "Don't even think about it!"
The white-robed young man was in complete despair, and he knew that there was no way for him to survive this ordeal. A hint of insanity appeared in his eyes as he abruptly clamped his teeth together, biting off half of his own tongue in the process. He then opened his mouth to blast forth a thumb-sized black bead that was encased in black blood.
As soon as the bead left his body, the young man's eyes immediately became dull and lifeless. At the same time, his body began to shrivel and shrink, and he was instantly reduced to a white-haired elderly man.
That bead was none other than the demon core that the young man had been arduously cultivating for countless years.
The bead was emanating an extremely violent aura within the black blood before expanding and shrinking, then detonating on the spot.
An expression of shock appeared on the elderly Daoist priest's face, and not only did the crimson shadow above his head hurtle back in retreat, his body also rushed back along with it.
An earthshattering boom erupted as a fist-sized ball of black light appeared. The ball of light flashed once before expanding to over 100 feet in size, and it was still swelling with all its might, sweeping up gale-force winds that whipped up the desert sand into the sky to create several yellow wind dragons.
The elderly Daoist priest's body swayed before stopping over 100 feet away, and his eyes narrowed with a cold expression on his face.
The black light immediately came surging toward him. The elderly Daoist priest's expression darkened as he suddenly let loose an unintelligible cry.
A massive red shadow appeared out of thin air without any warning amid a resounding boom. The shadow then plunged into the black light before shrinking like lightning.
A peculiar turn of events unfolded immediately thereafter!
The yellow wind dragons were instantly vanquished, and the black light disappeared without a trace along with the white-browed young man. It was as if they had never even appeared here.
Only then did the elderly Daoist priest heave a sigh of relief, but a frustrated look immediately appeared on his face.
He didn't anticipate that the white-browed young man would still have the ability to self-detonate his demon core even after being captured by his restriction.
Right at this moment, a few streaks of light appeared nearby before receding to reveal eight cultivators.
"There was a minor mishap, and they didn't fall for the trap, so it's going to be a little troublesome. However, I released the shadow incense earlier, and all of them have been affected by it to a light degree, so the effects should persist for around two hours. I'll be taking the Shen [1. In Chinese mythology, the Shen beast is a shapeshifting dragon or sea monster believed to create mirages.] beast with me to chase down that accursed brat who foiled our plans. I'll leave the other three to all of you," the elderly Daoist priest instructed in a sinister manner.
"Yes, My Lord!" The eight cultivators bowed in response before splitting up into three groups, flying off in pursuit of Long Dong, Xiao Hong, and Ye Ying.
In contrast, the elderly Daoist priest wasn't in a hurry to set off. Instead, he let loose a relentless ghastly roar that could be heard even in the heavens above and made the surrounding air vibrate audibly.
He then swept a hand toward the city gate, following a dozen or so grey shadows emerged from the bodies of the Foundation Establishment cultivators there, all of which disappeared into his body in a flash. Those cultivators slumped to the ground as soon as the grey shadows left their bodies.
Immediately thereafter, an incredible scene ensued.
All of the mortals and children beside the lake vanished like illusions amid his thunderous roar. The entire small town also began to shimmer like a mirage as countless streaks of black Qi rose into the air from countless different locations. Soon, the ground and all of the city walls had been obscured under the black Qi, and a piercing cry erupted from within.
The elderly Daoist priest's roar drew to a halt as he swept a sleeve expressionlessly toward the black Qi, blowing it away in the blink of an eye by sweeping up gusts of violent winds.
A two-headed monster that was over 100 feet in length then appeared before him. It had two golden and silver snake heads and the green body of a frog. Its four crimson eyes were extremely unsettling, and the mere sight of them was enough to send chills running down the beholder's spine.
The golden snake head opened its mouth and spat out the remains of a body.
The white-browed young man's body and beast core had been devoured by this beast, and the small town, along with the mortals as well as most of the cultivator there, had been manifested by this beast.
The elderly Daoist priest's body swayed, and he abruptly disappeared on the spot. However, in the next instant, he reappeared atop one of the snake heads.
"Go!" He delivered a cold instruction.
The two snake heads of the giant beast immediately let loose frog croaks as it leaped into the air, transforming into a burst of black Qi that streaked into the distance.
It was traveling in the direction toward which Han Li had fled.
A crimson streak of light was hurtling through the air, within which a beautiful young woman wore a grim expression as she fled for her life.
All of a sudden, her expression changed as she rustled her sleeve to produce an azure jade badge, upon which was embedded a white bead. However, the item was shattered and appeared to have been completely ruined.
The young woman took a deep breath before flicking a slim finger toward the bead, upon which, the bead exploded into a white powder before disappearing.
She then stowed away her jade badge, and the red light emanating from her body brightened as she accelerated even further.
However, after an hour had passed, her expression suddenly changed as she abruptly cast her gaze behind her. There, in the extremely far distance, two streaks of spiritual light were flashing rapidly toward her.
The two then combined as one, and they were clearly traveling at a far faster speed than she was.
An indecisive look appeared on her face, but as the streak of light drew closer and closer, a cold light flashed through her e
yes as she abruptly stopped cold in her tracks.
As such, it didn't take her pursuers long to appear just several hundred feet away from her. The spiritual light then receded to reveal a man and a woman.
Both of them were quite young, and the man was extremely handsome while the woman was exquisitely beautiful. Furthermore, both of them bore a close resemblance to one another, but they were wearing stiff and wooden expressions on their faces.
Seeing as she already knew that these were merely puppets possessed by the Shadow Tribe beings, Xiao Hong naturally wasn't going to pay any heed to their outward appearance. She merely glanced at them with a frosty expression before immediately making a hand seal. All of a sudden, two balls of black flames emerged from her sleeves before transforming into a couple of Fire Ravens that hurtled directly toward her two assailants.
The Shadow Tribe duo harrumphed coldly in unison as several streaks of grey light shot forth from their backs at the same time, heading directly toward the black flames without any hesitation.
The grey light and black flames clashed amid a resounding boom.
Xiao Hong raised her eyebrows as she suddenly rolled onto the ground. Brilliant black light then began to emanate from her body, and it was so bright that it was impossible for one to look directly at her.
The cry of a phoenix then rang out as a massive spirit bird emerged from the black light, circling around in the sky before spreading its wings to attack the two Shadow Tribe beings.
This bird was completely glossy black in color with a brown crest on its head. Its eyes were like bright emeralds, and it was none other than a black phoenix that was around 30 to 40 feet in length.
Expressions of shock appeared on the faces of the Shadow Tribe duo, and after exchanging a glance at one another, both of them laid a hand on their own heads at the same time. Immediately thereafter, two green shadows appeared before pouncing directly toward the black phoenix.
Spiritual Qi erupted violently as resounding booms rang out incessantly.
Almost at the exact same moment, Long Dong was also being pursued by a pair of cultivators.
In the face of the two green shadows that had ditched their physical bodies, a deriding sneer appeared on his face as yellow light flashed from his body. The suit of yellow scale armor that he had used once before surfaced again, along with the pair of bronze wings on his back. He then rubbed his hands together, and a peculiar crimson longsword suddenly appeared within his grasp.
The sword was three feet in length with a dragon hilt and a phoenix blade. Crimson light was circulating over the entire sword, making it appear as if it had been manifested from fresh blood.
The crimson mole on the corner of Long Dong's lips appeared to be especially vibrant in that instant, and he wore a serious expression as he gently slashed his longsword toward the two oncoming green shadows.
The sword sliced through the air soundlessly, but the two green shadows suddenly let loose howls of anguish. Countless white threads then surfaced all over their bodies, and spiritual light flashed as both shadows were instantly reduced to countless fragments.
Long Dong slashed his longsword through the air once again, and the white threads flashed before those fragments completely vanished.
Chapter 1371: Fierce Desert Battle
Long Dong exterminated the two green shadows with ease and wordlessly waved his crimson sword.
Suddenly, the sword dissolved into a deep red cloud of blood essence and flowed back into his palms where it soon vanished.
He let out a long sigh and his face turned dark red, followed by a bloodless white as if he had lost much blood.
He quickly took out a scarlet bottle from his storage bracelet and tossed out a scarlet medicine pill into his mouth. Then without further delay, he quickly sped off.
At another corner of the desert, a young white-robed woman was standing at the top of a desert mound. Ten meters away, there were four ice-cold corpses.
There wasn’t a single wound present on any of the bodies. They simply laid there without the slightest trace of life.
The woman stroked a slender jade bottle in her hand and wore a cute mysterious smile on her face. Suddenly, her body soared into the air in a golden streak. Several flashes later, she vanished.
In an area myriads of kilometers away, azure-white lightning repeatedly sparked through the air. A black cloud several kilometers away chased after him. Although it didn’t appear very fast, it was able to accurately follow the lightning no matter the distance.
In the blink of an eye, the chase continued for a couple of hundred kilometers. Suddenly, the black cloud trembled and disappeared. A moment later, the black cloud blinked forward half a kilometer and continued its pursuit.
Suddenly, the azure-white lightning jumped forward and disappeared in white light. It traveled half a kilometer away and widened the gap once more.
The pursuit continued relentlessly.
Of course, the winged figure riding the lightning was Han Li.
He was tightly frowning and his gaze appeared gloomy.
Not long ago, he discovered the old Daoist was chasing after him in a cloud of black Qi. He then immediately spread his Thunderstorm Wings and made use of his Nine Gale Transformations to their fullest extent.
However, the black cloud was not only amazingly fast, but it also could blink forward.
The two remained in pursuit despite the vast distance they traveled.
Although the desert was vast, foreign tribes often roamed it. With Han Li being so closely pursued, it would be incredibly troublesome if he caught the attention of other foreign tribes.
As for the vitality intensive Blood Shadow Evasion, he had already used it once. He was unwilling to use it again unless he absolutely needed to. After all, the desert is filled with dangers. He would need to preserve his vitality in preparation for when he was past the Southern Skyline.
It appeared he would have no choice but to battle with the shadow tribe being.
The shadow being had possessed the body of a mid-stage Spatial Tempering cultivator, clearly illustrating his high position in the shadow tribe. He was most likely a crimson shadow, a being equivalent to a Spatial Tempering cultivator.
If it were the high-grade being from another tribe, he might feel some fear, but he had many abilities that were effective against them. He had some confidence in fighting them.
Furthermore, after he entered Deep Heaven City, he cultivated and refined several techniques and treasures. He had yet to test their might. He figured he would test their effectiveness on this crimson shadow.
With that thought quickly appearing in his mind, he blinked again and his wings trembled. He suddenly came to a stop.
As a result, the black cloud quickly arrived three hundred meters behind Han Li. It appeared that the cloud planned on directly pouncing at him.
This came as no surprise.
The shadow tribe’s most powerful techniques were consuming the primal souls of other tribes and directly controlling their bodies. They would also be able to use a majority of the body’s techniques.
Of course, Han Li wasn’t about to allow the shadow to arrive near him. Without a word, he slapped his hands together and opened them.
A heaven shaking thunder roared. A bowl-sized bolt of lightning ruptured from his hands, directly targeting the oncoming black cloud.
A yelp sounded and the black Qi suddenly blinked, disappearing into a nearby spatial void.
Han Li coldly snorted and suddenly split open a crimson slit from his forehead. His law Law Destruction Eye opened and released a black light that vanished in a flash.
A deafening rupture sounded, violently shaking a space a hundred meters away. Wrapped in the black Qi, the old Daoist blurred and reappeared. He shouted in surprise, “The Law Destruction Eye! You actually cultivate that ability!?”
Han Li’s lip twitched and he remained silent. Suddenly, he cast a spell seal and the dense bolt of lightning curved, fiercely striking
at the old Daoist when he least expected it.
The old Daoist cursed and thought to dodge when Han Li’s eyes brightly flashed blue. He could only let out a sharp breath in response.
The sound wasn’t loud, but he felt as if the ringing of a huge bell was echoing through his eyes. He felt tearing pain through his mind and his body slowed.
Thunder clapped. Golden lightning struck the black Qi, spreading thousands of thin arcs through it. In an instant, the black Qi grew violently unstable.
At that same moment, a huge frog’s croak sounded from the black Qi.
The black Qi roiled and condensed underneath the old Daoist, turning into a strange two-headed beast with snake heads and a frog’s body. Its four crimson eyes glared at Han Li with rage.
Han Li couldn't help but pause upon seeing this.
The black Qi protecting the old Daoist was actually a transformed beast.
After receiving the lightning strike, the old Daoist’s body recovered and he eerily glared at Han Li, “Good, very good! A trifling Deity Transformation cultivator was able to shock my mind. That ability was quite surprising. You may as well try to use it again!”
Han Li frowned. His full-powered lightning bolt was received by the strange beast, not the shadow tribe being. If the strike hit the shadow being, he definitely would’ve been harmed.
As for the Soulfright Thorn, he wasn’t foolish enough to use it again. It was only effective in a surprise attack. As the shadow being’s soul was stronger than his, it wouldn’t have any effect.
Han Li didn’t say anything further. He raised his hand and revealed a pitch-black palm. He pointed it in the old Daoist’s direction.
Suddenly, the space above the old Daoist began to warp and a small black mountain appeared.
The mountain twirled in the air, abruptly turning three-hundred-meters tall. It brightly shined grey and released rings grey light downward.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 766