"Let's get started. We'll destroy a small section of this Profound Light Barrier to lure out the Infernal Lightning Beast, and after that, we'll have to rely on you to conceal us, Fellow Daoist Mu Qing," Liu Zu said in a grave voice.
"As long as I don't have to attack and can focus wholeheartedly on maintaining the concealment formation, there's no way that the Infernal Lightning Beast will be able to discover our presence. However, this formation is very taxing on my magic power and spiritual sense, so I won't be able to keep it going for long. We have to get that Han brat to lure the beast away as quickly as possible, and as far away from this place as he can," Mu Qing replied with a solemn expression.
"I'm aware of this. I'll be giving Han brat a flying treasure from my collection to enhance his speed. Fellow Daoist Die Xue, plaster a few of your talismans on him. Fellow Daoist Lan, give him your All-encompassing Flag as well," Liu Zu said in a confident manner.
A hint of reluctance appeared on the white-haired beauty's face upon hearing this. "Are we really giving the All-encompassing Flag to him? It's not a Divine Spirit Treasure, but in terms of defensive properties, it's superior even to some Divine Spirit Treasures. If some kind of mishap occurs..."
"You should be aware of this by now; the safest situation for us will be one in which Han brat manages to stall the Infernal Lightning Beast for as long as possible. You can just recover the flag after all is said and done. You're the only one among us with a treasure of this nature, which can offer superb protective properties without the need for much magic power expenditure and complex mantras," Liu Zu said with furrowed brows.
"Alright, looks like I have no choice, then." After a long lengthy hesitation, the white-haired beauty finally rubbed her hands together in a dejected manner, following which a ball of white light erupted, and a small silver flag emerged.
The flag was shimmering with light and its faces were riddled with runes. Even at first glance, one could easily tell that this was an extraordinary treasure.
The white-haired beauty wasted no further time with words as she pointed a slim finger at the flag. The flag then immediately flew toward Han Li as a streak of silver light.
The eyeball situated on Han Li glabella flashed at Liu Zu's behest, and he swept his sleeve through the air in a wooden manner, sending forth a burst of grey light that swept the silver flag up into his sleeve.
After that, he stood motionlessly on the spot once again, and his expression remained completely unchanged throughout this entire process, as if he really did possess no sentient will.
Immediately thereafter, crimson light flashed behind him, and one of the crimson-robed figures abruptly appeared before raising a hand.
A few muffled thumps rang out as the crimson-robed figure plastered a dozen or so talismans onto his body in rapid succession.
Crimson light instantly radiated from Han Li's body, and his aura became significantly more powerful.
Almost at the exact same moment, Mu Qing slowly rose up into the air before descending upon an obscure location nearby.
The golden flower disappeared in a flash, and her two feet landed on the ground below.
All of a sudden, the shoes on her feet spontaneously combusted, revealing a pair of fair and delicate feet amid a ball of white flames.
She then swept her sleeves gracefully through the air, and countless specks of light flew forth from within, then disappeared into the nearby space. Immediately thereafter, a black light formation appeared before disappearing without a trace after a few sporadic flashes.
An incredible turn of events unfolded thereafter.
Mu Qing began to chant something in a delightful voice, and her feet suddenly turned into an azure color, morphing into thick tree roots before this transformation quickly worked its way up her legs.
In virtually the blink of an eye, Mu Qing had transformed into a tree trunk from the waist down, and the tree roots that were once her feet had embedded themselves over 100 feet deep into the ground.
Countless trees and white flowers suddenly sprouted from the barren ground around them. Those flowers instantly blossomed, creating a patch of paradise amid this bleak land.
The black light formation appeared on the ground again, and every single flower, tree, and blade of grass was perfectly encompassed within the light formation, without any plan of overstepping those boundaries.
Green spiritual light flashed, and Mu Qing disappeared along with the plants that had sprouted around her.
Chapter 1494: Bait
Liu Zu immediately swept his spiritual sense toward Mu Qing's location upon seeing this, and his eyes immediately lit up in response to what he discovered.
"Good! Your concealment formation really is quite extraordinary, Fellow Daoist Mu. As long as the Infernal Lightning Beast doesn't focus its search on this specific area, there's no way that it'll be able to find us."
Liu Zu then waved a hand and flew toward the green light barrier, followed closely by the two crimson-robed figures, the Purpleblood Puppet, and the white-haired beauty.
Green light flashed, and all of them disappeared into thin air, leaving Han Li standing alone on the spot.
Moments later, the black bead on his glabella flashed, and he slowly flew into the air above the black light barrier. After that, he remained hovering completely motionlessly in mid-air, completely out in the open.
The demon monarchs concealed under the restriction each produced a crimson saber. The short sabers were no more than three feet in length, and their design was quite peculiar.
Following an instruction from Liu Zu, the demon monarchs quickly injected their demonic power into their crimson sabers. Brilliant crimson light flashed and tremored like a series of blood vipers writhing in the air.
The crimson sabers began to emit a low ringing sound, and the demon monarchs were ready for the next step.
Everyone failed to notice that the puppet-like Han Li suddenly moved his hand surreptitiously within his sleeves.
In one hand, a silver talisman appeared amid a flash of silver light, while seven or eight azure beads had rolled soundlessly into his other hand.
Han Li hadn't actually lost control over his consciousness, and he'd actually retained his sentient will.
However, at this moment, he was rapidly contemplating his situation in a conflicted manner.
Back when Mu Qing and the others had immobilized him, thereby forcing him to accept the black bead that flew into his body, he'd thought that he really was in deep trouble.
However, much to his surprise and elation, the black bead only caused his consciousness to fade for a split second before it was completely engulfed by the Law Destruction Eye hidden in his glabella.
Thus, his consciousness returned, and Han Li himself had initially also been rather perplexed about this.
Only after hearing from Liu Zu that this black bead was the Law Destruction Eye of a Ci Lie Beast did he realize what had happened.
He already possessed a Law Destruction Eye of his own, so it naturally wasn't strange that his Law Destruction Eye was capable of nullifying and absorbing an ability unleashed by a treasure of the same nature.
There was nothing wrong with Liu Zu's plan, nor his execution, but never would he have thought that Han Li would possess a Law Destruction Eye of his own.
After a brief period of contemplation, Han Li decided to go along with what they were doing, pretending to be under their control while searching for an opportunity to free himself.
However, he was stunned to hear that they were going to use him as bait to lure away some Infernal Lightning Beast.
It was the first time that Han Li had heard such a name, but the demon monarchs were clearly all extremely fearful of this beast, and that was more than sufficient indication of how fearsome that thing had to be.
He naturally didn't want to act as bait to draw away such a dangerous creature, but if he were to do anything that went against Liu Zu's will, they'd immediately realize that he wasn't actual
ly under their control.
Seeing as they had a captivation treasure like the eye of the Ci Lie Beast, they almost definitely had other treasures and secret techniques that they could use to control Han Li's spiritual sense, and he may not be so lucky next time.
Even though he could use his Provenance True Devil Arts to lock his spiritual sense away deep into his soul, the demon monarchs could destroy his soul out of sheer frustration, and that would be an even worse outcome for him.
Han Li remained completely expressionless, but his mind was racing rapidly. At the same time, he was experiencing the immense spiritual power surging within his body.
He didn't know what kind of talismans Di Xue had plastered to his body, but he suddenly felt his blood heat up, and the spiritual power within his body instantly increased significantly. That was quite astonishing to Han Li. Even though these secret techniques that temporarily enhanced one's cultivation base often resulted in negative after-effects, in this dire situation, it wasn't a bad thing to receive a power boost. At the very least, the benefits most likely outweighed the potential drawbacks.
On top of that, the All-encompassing Flag that had been given to him was most likely also quite an extraordinary treasure, as evidenced by the white-haired beauty's reluctance to part with it.
He didn't know if this treasure couldn't be refined or if the white-haired beauty had intentionally refrained from refining it, but it had no residual spiritual sense marks residing within it. White light flashed, and the small flag appeared in Han Li's palm. He then swept his spiritual sense toward it to find that it was extremely easy to use, and he would most likely be able to easily unleash its powers.
Seeing as Liu Zu had asked the white-haired beauty to give him this treasure, it was quite clear that it would be able to at least be able to somewhat assist him in withstanding the Infernal Lightning Beast's attacks. Otherwise, there would've been no need to even bother with something like this.
With this treasure combined with the trump cards that he was carrying, it wouldn't be impossible for Han Li to escape from this Infernal Lightning Beast. The Infernal Lightning Beast was most likely not going to be an extremely fast being, thereby allowing him to open up some distance between it and himself. Otherwise, there would be no point in the demon monarchs using Han Li as bait if he were merely going to be chased down and killed in seconds.
If he were to go against Liu Zu's will and have his cover blown, even though there was a chance he'd able to escape, those tracking marks were a constant pain his backside. As such, it was better to take a risk and continue pretending to be under their control.
As long as he could escape from the Infernal Lightning Beast and separate himself from the demon monarchs, he'd be able to temporarily repress the tracking marks, thereby making it impossible for them to ascertain his location. After that, he could find an opportunity to rescue Yuan Yao and Yan Li; they were the keys to his freedom.
Even though Han Li's face remained completely expressionless, he had finally made up his mind.
Right at this moment, Liu Zu and the others finally sprang into action. Following a low cry, the crimson sabers were all thrust forward in unison, blasting forth several thick pillars of crimson light that struck the black light barrier with ferocious might.
It was quite clear that these crimson sabers had been prepared by the demon monarchs solely for the purpose of breaking this restriction.
As soon as the crimson pillars of light struck the light barrier, it created imagery much like stones being hurled into still water.
The entire light barrier suddenly began to ripple and emit a faint ringing sound. All of a sudden, a low beastly growl erupted from within the light barrier, followed by a string of explosive thunderclap that was drawing closer and closer. Liu Zu's expression darkened, and he quickly withdrew his crimson saber as he yelled, "That thing's coming; stop!"
The other demon monarchs also hurriedly withdrew their attacks.
Almost at the exact same moment, Mu Qing's crimson saber disappeared in a flash, following which she made a hand seal. Green light flashed from her tree-like lower body, and she activated the formation underfoot.
An enormous burst of invisible power erupted, completely concealing their auras.
From a distance, it appeared that there was nothing there! At this moment, black light flashed from Han Li's glabella, and he received another instruction from Liu Zu through the Law Destruction Eye.
Han Li rubbed his hands together in a wooden manner, and a loud thunderclap erupted as a layer of golden lightning surfaced around his body. He then rustled a sleeve to send the small silver flag flying through the air.
Without requiring any hand seals or incantations, the flag immediately transformed into black and white spiritual Qi that surrounded Han Li, forming a series of Yin-yang projections of different sizes. At the same time, Han Li's Thunderstorm Wings appeared on his back, and he spread them open, preparing to fly away at any moment.
All of a sudden, silver light flashed from the surface of the black light barrier, and the barrier was suddenly torn apart by a bolt of silver lightning that was as thick as a water tank.
The arc of silver lightning then circled around in the air, and there seemed to be something lurking within it.
Before Han Li had a chance to get a good look at it, Liu Zu's urgent instruction was transmitted directly into his spiritual sense, asking him to flee with all his might.
Han Li immediately spread open his wings upon receiving this instruction, and he disappeared amid a gentle breeze.
Only then did the arc of sliver lightning recede to reveal a black demon beast that was around the size of a horse.
The beast's outward appearance was quite similar to that of a wolf, but its back was covered in scales, and it had a single silver horn growing on its head. Its eyes were golden in color, and there were four thick arcs of silver lightning revolving around its body.
This was none other than the Infernal Lightning Beast that Liu Zu and the others had been so fearful of. It didn't appear to be all that vicious, but as soon as it appeared, its eyes were immediately drawn to Han Li, who had already fled to several thousand feet away. In fact, it had been drawn to Han Li's Divine Devilbane Lightning.
A hint of scorching yearning appeared in the Infernal Lightning Beast's eyes as soon as it caught sight of the golden arcs of lightning around Han Li's body, and after assessing its surroundings to ensure that nothing was amiss, it let loose a low snarl, then crouched down before springing froth as an arc of silver lightning.
The beast had unleashed some kind of secret technique to blast arcs of lightning out of its limbs to drastically enhance its speed, and after just a few flashes, it was close to reaching Han Li.
Han Li didn't turn around to look behind himself, but he could sense the ferocious beast approaching him from behind.
His heart constricted as he cussed internally.
This beast was most likely only lacking in speed in the eyes of the demon monarchs; for Han Li, its speed was definitely quite staggering.
As such, he didn't dare to hold back any longer. His snowy white wings suddenly began to emit five-colored spiritual light, and after a single flap, Han Li transformed into a translucent five-colored thread that disappeared into space.
When he reappeared out of thin air, he'd covered an extremely long distance, and he wasn't much slower than the Infernal Lightning Beast behind him.
Thus, the two of them sped away into the distance, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
A short while later, green light flashed, and the demon monarchs reappeared.
"We have to make haste. Han brat won't buy too much time for us, so let's take care of this restriction as quickly as possible. "
The demon monarchs brandished their crimson sabers again as they resumed their assault against the light barrier. On this occasion, the pillars of crimson light that shot forth instantly transformed into a series of crimson wyrms, and this wave of at
tacks was clearly far more powerful than the previous once.
At the same time, a massive insect projection appeared above Liu Zu's head. The projection opened its mouth before blasting forth a pillar of black light, and the Purpleblood Puppet also swelled to several times its original size at the crimson-robed figure's behest.
Mu Qing instantly reverted back to her human form again before also swinging her crimson saber through the air, unleashing several streaks of crimson light that combined to form a massive saber projection, which hurtled directly toward the light barrier.
Chapter 1495: Five Dragon Chopper
The pillars of crimson light created violent ripples over the surface of the black light barrier, causing it to flash erratically.
Within moments, the Purpleblood Puppet had already swelled to around 10,000 feet tall, and it was like a mighty deity as it summoned its massive purple ax, then swung it down toward the black light barrier with ferocious might.
A series of rumbling booms akin to thunderclaps erupted as countless ax projections struck the same spot on the light barrier. As for the white-haired woman, she was only injecting her power into her crimson saber with all her might without unleashing any additional abilities.
The restriction barrier was extremely powerful, yet it was still unable to withstand the combined attacks from so many Body Integration Stage beings. As such, a hole with a diameter of over 100 feet was blasted into its surface, and even though the hole immediately began to seal itself, there was more than enough time for the demon monarchs to pass through.
"I'll stabilize this opening with a secret technique!" Liu Zu was ecstatic, and he immediately unleashed eight balls of blue light that expanded drastically as they flew through the air.
These were eight blue pillar treasures, and all of them disappeared into the opening at once.
An incredible scene ensued.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 841