Even though this holy disciple had a rather portly figure, he was unleashed some kind of secret technique that not only allowed him to fly extremely quickly, it also ensured a soundless flight, thereby resulting in an extremely stealthy approach.
In the blink of an eye, the streak of red light had appeared just over 100 feet away from the demonic ape, yet the demon beast remained standing motionlessly on the spot.
The holy disciple was ecstatic to see this, and he immediately thrust forth his spear without any hesitation.
The spear whistled through the air as a streak of red light before puncturing the demonic ape's body in a flash.
However, an elated expression had only just appeared on his face before it changed drastically.
The body of the demonic ape had vanished right after the fiery spear had punctured it, and it was thus revealed to have only been a projection.
"Crap!"
The holy disciple immediately flapped his wings with alarm to try and flee the scene.
However, it was already too late.
A blurry green figure suddenly appeared in the air above before pouncing onto the man's body in a flash. A dull thump erupted, and a ball of green mist exploded before enshrouding the holy disciple's entire body.
A bloodcurdling howl rang out as the red spiritual light around the man's body vanished like snow melting under the scorching sun, having been completely eroded by the green mist.
The holy disciple only flew for around 100 feet further before plummeting to the ground as a puddle of green liquid.
This holy disciple hadn't even had a chance to unleash any of his abilities before he had been slain.
At this moment, the green mist surged before manifesting into that demonic ape again.
The ape took a cold glance at the liquid on the ground before opening its mouth to consume it. In hindsight, this holy disciple really had perished in extremely unfortunate circumstances.
If everything had taken place above the ground, where he would've had full access to his spiritual sense, there was no way that he would've been deceived so easily by a projection, and he certainly would've sensed the demonic ape's presence before it had gotten so close to him.
The demonic ape smacked its lips before murmuring to itself in a thoughtful manner, "That was a Flying Spirit Tribe being, eh? That makes sense, considering the date of their trial's commencement is about to arrive soon. That means the ones who had destroyed the Giant Spirit Flower were most likely from the Flying Spirit Tribe as well."
With that in mind, the demonic ape sniffed the air before turning its gaze toward the direction that Han Li's trio had departed in.
A sinister smile appeared on its face as it flew through the air as a cloud of green mist, disappearing into the distance in the blink of an eye.
...
"What? You want us to take this?" Lei Lan's brows were tightly furrowed as she appraised the shimmering white jade badge in her had with bewilderment in her eyes.
Bai Bi was also holding an identical object with puzzlement in his eyes.
These two jade badges were both pristine and translucent with silver runes on their surfaces, and it was quite apparent that they were extremely valuable items.
Han Li had suddenly produced them a moment ago and asked the two holy disciples to carry the badges with them.
"Aside from protective properties, the main functions of these badges are aura concealment and location tracking. If some kind of mishap occurs and we end up being separated, we may be able to find one another again using these badges," Han Li explained.
These two badges were treasures known as Limitless Badges, and he'd purchased them in Deep Heaven City for a high price. The current situation was perfect for their usage. At this moment, they had emerged from the desert and were situated on a small mountain.
As a safety precaution, Han Li had produced these two treasures and was asking the two holy disciples to take one each.
"Thank you for your kind offer, Brother Han, but I don't have a habit of carrying other people's treasures," Lei Lan refused with a dark expression.
Bai Bi also shook his head with a faint smile on his face.
Han Li didn't force the issue; he merely stowed the jade badges away with a faint chuckle.
"Seeing as you're unwilling to carry the badges, then so be it. However, seeing as mid-grade demon beasts have appeared even on the first level, it appears our journey won't be devoid of risk as we'd initially thought. I have a flying treasure with concealment abilities. If we continue in our journey using it as a transportation device, it could spare us a lot of trouble," Han Li suggested.
"I'm fine with flying treasures," Lei Lan agreed with a smile on this occasion.
Bai Bi also nodded in response.
Han Li smiled as he swept a hand over his storage bracelet, upon which a yellow flying carriage that was narrow up front and wider at the back appeared before them.
The carriage appeared to have been refined from some kind of spirit wood and seemed to be very light. However, it also appeared to have been very intricately constructed, and many formations seemed to have been set up on it.
The carriage was around 70 to 80 feet in size, so it was more than enough to house the three of them.
This was one of the flying carriages that Han Li had collected prior to departing from Deep Heaven City so he had a variety to choose from depending on the situation.
Lei Lan and Bai Bi glanced at one another before following Han Li onto the carriage.
Han Li patted the flying carriage, casting several incantation seals into it. The carriage immediately tremored before a white barrier of light appeared over it, enshrouding the entire flying carriage within.
As the barrier of light swirled, the entire carriage gradually became transparent until it was virtually invisible.
The carriage then sped into the distance.
"Brother Han, why didn't you use this treasure from the start?" Bai Bi asked with a smile after inspecting the carriage for a while.
"This carriage is very useful, but it has a flaw," Han Li replied in an ambiguous manner.
"And what flaw is that?" Lei Lan was also getting rather curious.
"Hehe, if I want to use this carriage's concealment ability, I have to power it with high-grade wood-attribute spirit stones, and the expenditure is quite high. Furthermore, aside from having decent concealment abilities and speed, this carriage's defensive properties are quite lackluster, so it can easily be destroyed by attacks. As such, I wouldn't normally use it unless it was necessary to do so," Han Li explained.
Bai Bi and Lei Lan nodded in response and didn't make any further inquiries.
Thus, the flying carriage whizzed through the air, disappearing into the distance in the blink of an eye.
Unbeknownst to Han Li's trio, in the extremely far distance behind them, a ball of green mist faltered in mid-air before a low roar of rage erupted from within it. Immediately thereafter, it also accelerated as it hurtled ahead.
Within a canyon that was closes to the gate leading to the first level of the earth abyss, there was a group of seven or eight Flying Spirit Tribe beings advancing in a cautious manner.
The being leading the way had red skin and dark expression on his face. These were none other than Zhu Yinzi and the Chi Rong Race holy disciples.
Chapter 1445: Mysterious Mountain Ranges
The further they advanced in the canyon, the deeper they went into the abyss. The entire space up ahead was completely pitch black without even the slightest hint of light, as if they'd made their way down into an infernal hell.
However, all of the Chi Rong beings' eyes were shimmering with piercing red light, allowing them to see in the darkness, so all of them remained quite calm.
Not long after that, a strange cry erupted from the darkness up ahead, and a vast flock of bird-sized bats with purplish-red eyes pounced toward them while letting loose sharp screeches.
Zhu Yinzi was flying at the fo
refront of the group, and he merely looked on with expressionlessly at the menacing oncoming bats before abruptly flapping his wings.
Countless feathers shot forth amid a flash of red light before transforming into countless streaks of fire that passed through the flock of bats in the blink of an eye.
A series of loud explosions erupted, and all of the bats plummeted from the sky as fireballs with not a single one surviving that attack.
Thus, the Chi Rong beings continued onward without even being slowed down at all, and quickly disappeared into the darkness.
As long as they kept flying along this canyon, they'd be able to reach the second level of the earth abyss after a day and a night.
...
On a vast stretch of red land, a massive black shadow flashed through the air, seemingly fleeing from something in a panicked manner.
Not long after the black shadow flew past, spiritual light flashed in the distant sky, and a dozen or so streaks of spiritual light of different colors emerged, flying toward the same direction.
All of these beings had different types of wings growing from their backs, but they all had black tattoos on their faces. They were the beings of the Sevenpass Race, the number one branch among the Flying Spirit Race.
The thin female child flying at the forefront of the group was none other than Ao Qing, whom all of the holy disciples were wary of.
Ao Qing looked on at the fleeing black shadow up ahead with a cold smile on her face and pursued it in an unhurried manner.
After a while, a burly man among the Sevenpass Race holy disciples couldn't help but suggest, "Senior Martial Sister Ao, the direction that this Goldentusk Beast is escaping is diverging away from the entrance to the second level that we're heading toward. Wouldn't it be best to kill it now rather than continue to follow it?"
"Where's the hurry? It's very rare to encounter pack-dwelling mid-grade demon beasts like the Goldentusk Beast on just the first level of the earth abyss, so we naturally have to kill all of them at once. Are you doubting my ability to complete the trial just because we have to slightly delay our descent into the next level?" Ao Qing asked in an emotionless voice.
The burly man was given a fright upon hearing this, and he hurriedly explained, "Of course not! I wouldn't dare to think such a thing. I'm just afraid that the Infernal Flame Fruits will be taken by the holy disciples from the other branches."
"If we really do get there too late, then we can just take other people's fruits. If that doesn't work, we can always go to the fourth level of the earth abyss; there'll definitely be a vast quantity of those fruits down there," Ao Qing chuckled coldly in an implacable manner.
The burly man didn't dare to say anything else upon hearing that.
Thus, they continued to pursue the fleeing black shadow in an unhurried manner like a pride of lions toying with their prey.
...
Amid a vast expanse of rugged rocks, three Flying Spirit Race beings with blue feathered wings on their backs and scales all over their faces had surrounded a demon beast of darkness, and had launched a ferocious assault against it. This demonic creature had the head of a deer and the body of a human, and it was around 20 feet tall.
Black Qi was swirling around its body, and it held a massive black trident in its hands, managing to hold its own even in the face of several holy disciples. Furthermore, it seemed to only be growing more powerful as the battle wore on, and it was instead the three holy disciples who were slowly being forced onto the backfoot.
This was only the first level of the earth abyss, so they had no idea how a high-grade demon beast like the Deer-Faced Demon had ended up here.
However, seeing as this carnivorous demon beast was trying to prey on them, they had no choice but to fight for their lives.
Elsewhere, most of the Flying Spirit Race holy disciples on the first level had encountered unexpected troubles. However, there were also some holy disciples who had enjoyed remarkably smooth journeys, and were entering the second level as the Chi Rong beings had.
Meanwhile, in order to avoid the antagonistic Flying Spirit Race branches, Han Li had no choice but to head toward the most secluded entrance, and the flying carriage had flown for over half a day with the trio inside it.
Perhaps it was because this carriage's concealment restriction really was working or because there weren't many demon beasts on this route to begin with. In any case, they encountered no further complications during the rest of their journey, and after flying for two days and two nights, they had passed through two forests and a set of mountain ranges, arriving in a place deep within the first level of the earth abyss.
At this rate, it would only take them another day to arrive at the entrance to the second level.
Lei Lan and Bai Bi were quite elated by their progress.
However, after flying for several tens of thousands of kilometers further, a vast expanse of black mountain ranges suddenly appeared up ahead.
The three of them immediately stopped the carriage in alarm.
"According to the map, there should be a set of plains here; why are there mountain ranges instead?" Bai Bi murmured as he looked at the massive mountains up ahead.
Lei Lan was also rather dumbstruck.
Even from a distance, they could tell that all of the mountains in the mountain ranges were extremely tall. Some of them had extended to the very top of the underground world, leaving only small gaps between mountains through which one could pass, and that presented quite a daunting prospect.
No one knew just how long these mountain ranges extended for, nor whether there were any hazards awaiting them inside.
Han Li's eyes narrowed as suddenly exited the flying carriage, then descended onto the nearby ground to carefully inspect something.
Lei Lan and Bai Bi were rather surprised by what Han Li was doing, but after exchanging a quick glance, they also flew out of the carriage and landed beside Han Li.
"From the signs nearby, it appears that this set of mountain ranges has only appeared here in the past century. It was most likely moved here by someone with unfathomable power," Han Li said in a slow voice.
Lei Lan's face paled upon hearing this, and Bai Bi's expression was also rather disgruntled.
"There's no need to panic. Even the Demon Monarchs in the deepest level of the earth abyss aren't capable of such a monumental feat through their own power. This was most likely done through the assistance of some kind of treasure or formation. The only alternative possibility is that a True Spirit level demon beast has appeared in the deepest level of the abyss," Han Li said with a smile.
"I see." As a holy disciple of the Tian Peng Race, Bai Bi was no ordinary being, and he quickly realized that Han Li was right.
"Even so, the situation here isn't quite right. The desert that we passed through earlier also appeared out of nowhere. Why are the demon beasts of the earth abyss doing this? What could their intentions be?" A concerned look appeared on Lei Lan's face.
"Perhaps this is all due to the beast torrent. Even if that isn't the case and there's another reason behind all this, there's no way that the earth abyss trial would be canceled. Hence, all we can do is get to the third level, then bring back the Infernal Flame Fruit as quickly as possible and report these sightings to the higher-ups in our Tian Peng Race," Han Li said in an unflustered manner. After all, he had many similar past experiences, so this was not something new to him.
"You're right, Brother Han. However, this set of mountain ranges really is quite peculiar. If we fly through the gaps between the mountains, who knows what dangers we could encounter? But if we try to go around it..." Bai Bi said in a hesitant voice.
"We definitely can't go around it," Lei Lan rejected before analyzing, "According to the map, on one side of this land is the earth abyss wind belt, while the Black Abyssal Flying Ants' nests lay on the other side. The earth abyss winds in the wind belt are far more powerful than the gusts we've encountered before, and the glacial power imbued within them c
an freeze us instantly; it's a renowned restricted area. As for the ant's nests, there are hundreds of thousands of flying ants in there. If we try to force our way through it with our cultivation bases, there's at least a 50% chance that we'd all die in there."
"So that means our only choice is to pass through these mountain ranges," Han Li murmured to himself as he stroked his chin.
"Not necessarily. If we go around in an even larger circle, we can skirt around all of these hazards, but that'll take at least an extra seven or eight days. That delay could prove to be extremely detrimental to our search for the Infernal Flame Fruit." Lei Lan was becoming rather hesitant.
Meanwhile, Han Li was staring at the mountain ranges up ahead in silence.
At this moment, both Bai Bi and Lei Lan also fell silent, entrusting the final decision to Han Li.
After a while, Han Li finally made his decision. "These mountain ranges give me a very eerie feeling; if we really do go through it, I feel like we'll encounter some extreme hazards. Even if we can force our way through the mountain ranges, we'll most likely have expended a large amount of magic power, and that certainly won't hold us in good stead for the rest of the trial. As for entering the second level a few days late, I don't think that's too much of an issue. With these few days of delay, the branches that are targeting us won't be able to predict our route and ambush us. Besides, there are so many trial-takers, and there won't be all that many Infernal Flame Fruits to be found on the second level. I intend to take you two to the third level anyway, so it's better to waste some time rather than face the unknown dangers within those mountain ranges."
He then flew back into the flying carriage. Lei Lan and Bai Bi held a brief discussion through voice transmission upon seeing this before also returning to the carriage.
"Brother Han, I think we should discuss this matter in further depth. Perhaps the mountain ranges aren't as dangerous as we imagine," Bai Bi said as soon as he entered the carriage.
Even though he felt like Han Li's decision made sense, he still couldn't help but feel that wasting so much time was not wise.
"Speak no further; I won't enter these mountain ranges," Han said in an indifferent voice, cutting off what Bai Bi was about to say next.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 811