Due to the fact that Lei Lan and Bai Bi had expended a lot of magic power during their descent into the second level, the three of them weren't able to fly very quickly. Both of the holy disciples were holding spirit stones in their hands to absorb the spiritual Qi within in order to recover as quickly as possible.
Thus, they flew for an entire day without encountering any troubles.
On the second day, Lei Lan and Bai Bi had completely recovered their magic power, yet there was still nothing happening, so Han Li decided to stop his frequent usage of his spirit eyes.
The three of them sped onward and entered a set of dark green mountain ranges.
During the afternoon of the second day, right after they had passed over a large mountain, a mishap finally occurred.
Spiritual light suddenly flashed in the distant sky, following which a sharp cry rang out. A streak of green light then appeared before hurtling directly toward them.
In the next instant, three balls of yellow light appeared behind the streak of green light in hot pursuit.
Han Li and the others immediately tried to take evasive measures, but it was also ready too late.
As such, Han Li furrowed his brows and came to a slow halt.
Chapter 1449: Blitzkrieg Tactics
The streak of green light in the distance was a rhomboid treasure, and it covered a distance of hundreds of feet with each and every flash as it sped toward Han Li's trio. Meanwhile, there was a Flying Spirit Race being within each ball of yellow light, and all of them had golden runes flashing over their bodies. They were currently pursuing the green treasure at an astonishing speed.
"This is bad! Those people are from the Yellow Wind Race. They've been plotting against our Tian Peng Race for a long time, just like the Chi Rong Race." An alarmed expression appeared on Bai Bi's face as soon as he identified the beings within the balls of yellow light.
A similar expression also appeared on Lei Lan's face.
"The Yellow Wind Race?" Han Li appraised those three Flying Spirit Race beings with a contemplative look on his face.
These three beings each possessed a pair of yellow wings with fur on their faces, as well as long furry tail attached trailing behind each of them. They appeared to be more like demon beast than humanoid beings. The one who was controlling the green treasure had clearly seen Han Li's trio as well, and she abruptly stopped before the three of them after a few flashes.
The green light faded, and a beautiful woman with a pair of white wings and a small green horn on her head emerged from within the treasure.
As soon as the woman appeared, she said in an urgent manner, "You three are from the Tian Peng Race, right? I'm Qin Xiao of the Green Night Race. Our two races have forged an alliance agreement with one another, so please lend me your assistance."
Before Han Li and the others had a chance to respond, the three Yellow Wind Race beings had also caught up to them, and all of them also stopped at the sight of Han Li's trio.
"This is a matter between our race and the Green Night Race, so you'd better not intervene. Otherwise, you'll only be bringing trouble to the Tian Peng Race," one of the Yellow Wind Race beings said in a cold voice, and the threat in his words was quite apparent.
Qin Xiao's expression immediately paled upon hearing this, and she turned to Han Li's trio with a beseeching look in her beautiful eyes. Lei Lan knew that Han Li was oblivious to the agreement between the two races, so she explained in a low voice, "Our race does indeed have an alliance agreement with the Green Night Race, but the Yellow Wind Race is no less powerful than the Chi Rong Race, so we can't afford to mess with them. These three aren't the only Yellow Wind Race holy disciples to have entered this trial."
"Is that so?" Han Li glanced at Qin Xiao, then turned his attention toward the trio from the Yellow Wind Race.
Two of these holy disciples were mid-Spirit Generals while the other was a late-Spirit General, and all of them were looking at Han Li's trio with arrogant expressions on their faces.
Han Li was just about to say something, when spiritual light suddenly flashed in the distance once again. A massive wooden bird that was over 100 feet long appeared in the distant sky, then hurtled toward them with golden light shimmering all over its body.
Han Li's trio faltered upon seeing this, yet before they had a chance to identify who was sitting on top of the wooden bird, expressions of elation had already appeared on the faces of the three Yellow Wind Race beings.
All of them quickly glanced at once another before springing into action in unison, splitting up rapidly to surround Qin Xiao and Han Li's trio between them.
"What's the meaning of this?" Bai Bi asked in a cold voice as his expression darkened.
"Hehe, what do you think? We originally intended to let you three go, but there's no need for that now," one of the Yellow Wind Race beings chortled with glee.
Han Li's heart stirred as blue light flashed through his eyes. Only then was he able to identify that the beings sitting atop the wooden bird were also from the Yellow Wind Race.
There were three of them, two male and one female, and they also consisted of two mid-Spirit Generals as well as a late-Spirit General.
It was quite clear that these three had originally intended to only kill Qin Xiao, but with the arrival of reinforcements, they no longer had any qualms, and intended to kill Han Li's trio as well.
Lei Lan, Bai Bi, and Qin Xiao's expressions also changed drastically as they finally identified the beings on the wooden bird.
A series of thoughts flashed rapidly through Han Li's mind before he heaved a faint sigh.
"In that case, all of you can die!"
A loud thunderclap erupted as Han Li disappeared amid an arc of azure and white lightning.
Han Li was the Tian Peng Race holy disciple with the highest cultivation base, so the late-Spirit General among the Yellow Wind beings was naturally focusing most of his attention on him. As such, he was able to immediately react and let loose a loud roar.
In the next instant, spatial fluctuations erupted above his head as Han Li emerged within a flash of azure light. He swept an arm through the air, and an inky black palm was thrust toward the Yellow Wind being from above.
A small black mountain appeared within a swath of grey light, and it instantly swelled several times in size to over 100 feet tall, then came crashing down with ferocious might.
The Yellow Wind beings were initially surprised that Han Li had chosen the most powerful being among their trio to attack, but a sinister smile then appeared on his face as he opened his mouth toward the small mountain up above.
A burst of yellow light shot forth from within his mouth, sweeping directly toward the small mountain. At the same time, white light flashed from his hand and he summoned a silver disk treasure. Just as he was about to unleash this treasure, a hint of wariness flashed through Han Li's eyes, and he let loose a cold harrumph.
The harrumph wasn't very loud, but the Yellow Wind being felt as if an earthshattering thunderclap had exploded right within his ear cavity. His face was immediately twisted with agony, and he stumbled back reflexively, almost dropping the treasure in his hand in the process.
A vast swath of grey light erupted from the small black mountain, sweeping aside the oncoming burst of yellow light with ease, then crashing down upon the Yellow Wind being with crushing brutality.
The poor Yellow Wind Tribe holy disciple didn't even get a chance to unleash any of his abilities before he crushed to the ground by the small mountain.
Han Li quickly made a hand seal, and the Divine Essencefused Mountain continued to expand at an alarming rate, transforming into a black mountain that was over 10,000 feet tall in an instant.
The Yellow Wind being was a late-Deity Transformation cultivator, just like Han Li, but his physical body wasn't much more powerful than that of an average human cultivator at the same cultivation base. As such, he had already been crushed into mincemeat by the Divine Essencefused Mountain. His soul had also
been completely eradicated by the Divine Essencefused Light.
It had only taken Han Li the span of a single breath to kill this late-Spirit General of the Yellow Wind Race.
The other two Yellow Wind beings, as well as Bai Bi, Lei Lan, and Qin Xiao, were all flabbergasted at this point. However, the other two Yellow Wind beings quickly came to their senses, and golden runes flashed on their bodies as they transformed into a pair of strange yellow birds that attempted to flee into the distance.
Han Li raised an eyebrow upon seeing this before sweeping a sleeve through the air, sending an arc of azure lightning hurtling toward one of the birds.
The bird's heart jolted with shock, yet just as it was about to evade, a pair of foot-long azure scissors emerged from within the arc of lightning.
Following a loud thunderclap, the pair of scissors transformed into a pair of azure lightning wyrms that were each over 100 feet in length. The two wyrms flew forth in a criss-cross formation, instantly slicing the bird apart, and the two halves of its lifeless body were sent plummeting down toward the ground.
The other bird was petrified upon seeing this, and its soul almost leaped out of its mouth in horror. It abruptly changed directions, trying to fly toward the oncoming giant wooden bird.
However, it had only managed to flap its wings once before a male voice suddenly sounded from behind it.
"Isn't it a little too late to be thinking about escape now?"
Before the voice had even trailed off, a large hand that was as pristine white as jade locked around the bird's neck, sending a bone-chilling sensation surging into its body.
Han Li had caught up to the bird using his Thunderstorm Wings, and attacked like lightning, locking his hand around the petrified bird's throat.
The bird shuddered, but it reacted quite quickly as it flapped its wings, sending countless feathers surging through the air. All of these feathers transformed into blades of wind that hurtled toward Han Li, and at the same time, the small feathers around its neck suddenly reared up with a metallic glean, attempting to cut into Han Li's hand like a series of sharp blades.
Black Qi flashed, and a suit of strange-looking armor appeared over Han Li's body. The wind blades struck the suit of armor amid the earsplitting sound of metal grating on the metal, only to be repelled in the end.
Meanwhile, the feathers around the bird’s neck were unable to leave so much as a single scratch on Han Li's hand.
Han Li chuckled coldly, and before the Yellow Wind being had a chance to unleash any further abilities, his five fingers clamped together with enormous force, crushing the bird's neck with ease. At the same time, five-colored flames surged from his fingers in a frenzy, incinerating the bird to ashes in the blink of an eye.
Having just slain those three Yellow Wind beings in rapid succession, Han Li stood still on the spot and looked on at the approaching wooden bird with a frosty look in his eyes.
The three Yellow Wind beings sitting atop the wooden bird had naturally witnessed the process in which Han Li had slain their brethren, and all three of them had turned deathly pale.
Back when Han Li had slain the first Yellow Wind being, the three of them had flown into a thunderous rage, spurring on their wooden bird with all their might so they get to Han Li as quickly as possible and tear him apart with their bare hands. However, after witnessing Han Li killing the other two Yellow Wind beings in what seemed like the blink of an eye, the rage in the hearts of the remaining three Yellow Wind Race holy disciples had been completely replaced by horror. At the sight of Han Li casting his gaze over to them, all three Yellow Wind beings shuddered in unison. "Retreat! This man is unfathomably powerful; we're no match for him!" the woman with the highest cultivation base among them hurried ordered.
The other two nodded emphatically as they turned the wooden bird around with all their might before fleeing into the distance as a ball of piercing yellow light.
Han Li furrowed his brows slightly upon seeing this, but he showed no intention of giving chase. Instead, he flapped his wings and flew over to another spot. There, the silver disk treasure of the first Yellow Wind being he'd slain was hovering in mid-air. Han Li rustled a sleeve, and a burst of azure light shot forth before sweeping the disk up into his sleeve.
Following another loud thunderclap, Han Li reappeared beside Lei Lan and the others.
At this moment, Lei Lan and the others were still yet to retrieve their jaws that had dropped to the ground, and they were staring blankly at Han Li, unable to muster up even a single word.
With so many Yellow Wind beings arriving on the scene, they had thought that this was most likely going to be where they died. However, Han Li had taken care of three of them in mere seconds, and frightened away the remaining three with his devastating display of power.
And to think that Han Li was only a Spirit General as well; this was utterly insane!
"Let's go. It wouldn't be wise to stay here any longer," Han Li instructed in a calm voice.
Bai Bi was the first to recover from his astonishment, and he hurriedly replied, "Yes, whatever you say, Brother Han!"
Chapter 1450: Baleful Glacial Lands and the Myriad Vine Path
Bai Bi and Lei Lan had well and truly been won over by Han Li, and a hint of awe and veneration also appeared in Qin Xiao's eyes after her astonishment had subsided.
However, Han Li's expression and demeanor remained completely unchanged as he waved a hand toward the three holy disciples, then continued onward in silence.
The other three immediately followed along behind him as streaks of spiritual light.
"Fellow Daoist Qin, I recall that the Green Night Race sent more than one holy disciple. Where are the other fellow Daoists?" Lei Lan asked.
"Our race sent a total of three holy disciples, but we were attacked by several holy disciples from opposing branches after entering the second level, and the other two have all perished. I originally intended to try and sneak into the third level and perhaps obtain an Infernal Flame Fruit by some miraculous stroke of luck, but I encountered those Yellow Wind beings along the way, and was hunted all the way here," Qin Xiao replied with a bitter expression.
"Oh? Six Yellow Wind beings were deployed just to hunt you down?" Lei Lan asked with a meaningful look in her eyes.
Qin Xiao hesitated momentarily before elaborating in a careful voice, "Perhaps it's because I'm carrying several treasures from our race."
"I see." Lei Lan wanted to continue her line of questioning, but it didn't seem appropriate to do so.
However, Bai Bi suddenly interjected, "For the Yellow Wind Race to expend so much manpower; could it be that you're carrying one of the three paramount treasures of your race?"
Qin Xiao's expression changed slightly, and she was silent for a moment before giving a resigned admission. "I did indeed bring our race's Chaotic Flask with me."
"The Chaotic Flask? You mean the treasures capable of unleashing the power of chaos to combat enemies?" Both Bai Bi and Lei Lan stirred upon hearing this.
"Indeed. Without that treasure, a mere mid-Spirit General like me wouldn't have been able to escape from the Yellow Wind beings for so long. Unfortunately, every time I use this flask, it requires the expenditure of several Chaotic Crystals. Even though I took all of the crystals our Green Night Race had, I've exhausted the entire supply by now," Qin Xiao sighed.
Both Lei Lan and Bai Bi cast a glance toward Han Li upon hearing this.
However, Han Li didn't turn back even once this entire time, as if he couldn't even hear their conversation.
Seeing as Han Li was completely disinterested, Lei Lan and Bai Bi exchanged a glance before speaking no further on this matter. Instead, they began to discuss some other matters about the third level of the earth abyss with Qin Xiao.
Qin Xiao heaved a massive internal sigh of relief upon seeing this.
The Green Night Race and the Tian Peng Race did indeed have an alliance agreement, but that was only a verbal agreement with no way to actuall
y bind the two parties to the agreement. As such, with Han Li's insane abilities, she would be completely powerless to resist if he decided to take her treasures.
On the contrary, if she could win over Han Li as an ally, she would be a lot safer here in the earth abyss.
With that in mind, Qin Xiao showed no intention of leaving, instead choosing to chat with Lei Lan in an extremely friendly manner, trying her best to befriend the Tian Peng Race holy disciple.
Soon, they were as close as sisters, and Bai Bi couldn't help but furrow his brows upon seeing this.
Two days, later, the group finally emerged from the mountain ranges, having slain many waves of mid-grade and low-grade demon beasts along the way, only to emerge in a world of ice and snow.
Thus, they were forced to slow down and carefully survey the scenes up ahead.
There was a vast expanse of translucent black glaciers that extended for as far as the eyes could see, and countless black snowflakes were blown through the air amid gusts of frosty winds. Sharp cries could also be heard all around them, as if there were countless malicious ghosts wandering within the depths of these glacial lands.
From a distance, the land up ahead was completely black and devoid of light, as if it were leading straight into the underworld.
"This must be the renowned Baleful Glacial Lands of the second level. I've heard that there are many low-grade and mid-grade baleful glacial demons in here, and there are even some people who have occasionally encountered Baleful Glacial Demon Monarchs," Han Li murmured to himself.
"These are indeed the Baleful Glacial Lands, Brother Han. However, most of the demon beasts here have to yet to attain intelligence. As for Baleful Glacial Demon Monarchs, there have only been rumors about their existence here, and almost no one has actually seen them in person," Qin Xiao immediately replied.
"This place looks quite treacherous, but with our powers, it shouldn't be much of an issue for us to pass through it," Bai Bi said with a confident smile.
Han Li nodded before spreading his wings as he said, "Theoretically, this place isn't very dangerous, but the earth abyss beast torrent is imminent, so it's best to be more careful. Alright, let's go in."He sped to around twice his original speed, disappearing into the world of black ice and snow in just a few flashes.
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