The dozen or so lightning beads flashed with azure light, then exploded in unison at his behest. Initially, only a dozen or so balls of azure lightning appeared. Those then swelled drastically in size as a dozen or so bursts of tremendous lightning-attribute power erupted forth.
A lightning cloud that was several acres in size appeared in an instant, completely catching the Infernal Lightning Beast off guard as it enshrouded the beast's entire body.
Lightning flashed violently amid resounding thunderclaps, and a roar of sheer fury erupted from within the lightning cloud.
The beast was naturally proficient at devouring lightning, but this attack possessed power equivalent to that of several Body Integration cultivators attacking at once, so it was naturally unable to devour such immense and volatile power. Furthermore, Han Li was spurring on his Gold Devouring Beetles with all his might to eat the beast from the inside, thereby severely debilitating it through sheer agony, and it could only withstand the power of the lightning beads with its powerful body alone.
The lightning cloud in the sky put the power of azure heavenly lightning on full display as arcs of azure lightning flashed amid deafening thunderclaps that were audible even from close to 100 kilometers away.
Chapter 1498: Nine Palaces Heavenly Talismans
Meanwhile, Han Li wasn't just standing idly on the spot. He rustled both sleeves at once, and a series of talismans shot forth before circling through the air, shimmering with silver runes.
These talismans were all quite mysterious, and 108 of them were summoned at once.
Han Li made a hand seal before rapidly pointing his fingers in succession toward the lightning clouds down below with a grave expression on his face.
The talismans immediately transformed into 108 streaks of silver light that disappeared right in front of Han Li.
In the next instant, silver light flashed above the giant lightning cloud, and the silver runes reappeared.
They surged through the air to form a strange diagram that encompassed the entire lightning cloud below.
Han Li cast an incantation seal, and all of the talismans exploded in unison, creating a massive silver light formation.
Within the formation, a projection of a large palace appeared in a mirage-like manner, as if it weren't actually a part of this world.
The palace was shimmering with silver light, and there were countless runes dancing in the air above it. At the same time, heavenly music sounded, captivating the listener with its delightful beauty.
However, as soon as the listener tried to listen more closely to the music, it would abruptly disappear.
Han Li was ecstatic to see the realization of the formation, and he hurriedly made a hand seal, upon which the formation slowly descended.
Right at this moment, a thunderous roar erupted from within the lightning cloud.
Following a few earthshattering thunderclaps, the azure lighting cloud tumbled and surged violently, and several arcs of lightning that were as thick as water tanks forced their way out of the lightning.
The huge bolts of lightning circled around within the lightning cloud like a series of menacing giant dragons, and the entire lightning cloud was eradicated within moments.
After the lightning cloud was eradicated, the arcs of lightning also disappeared, and the Infernal Lightning Beast was revealed in the distance again.
At this moment, the beast was in an extremely sorry state. Not only had its scales become dull and lusterless, the parts of its body that weren't covered in scales had been completely charred black. Only the single horn on its head was still shimmering with silver light, as thin arcs of electricity revolved around it.
Those thick bolts of silver lightning had clearly been unleashed by none other than that horn.
What was even more surprising was that as soon as the beast was revealed, it immediately opened its mouth to expel a burst of crimson light, within which three flashing specks of golden light could be seen.
Those three specks of light were emitting a faint buzzing sound, and they were none other than his Gold Devouring Beetles.
They had been forced out of the beast's body by its immense magic power.
A shiver immediately ran down Han Li's spine upon seeing this.
After the beetles had been swallowed by the beast, Han Li had been overjoyed, and as a result, a hint of killing intent had welled up in his heart. Only after witnessing the scenes that had just unfolded did he realize how delusional he'd been. As such, he immediately relinquished any intention of killing this beast.
Han Li looked down to discover his Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword was hovering beneath one of the Infernal Lightning Beast's paws, and it was shimmering with faint golden light.
It was quite clear that the Infernal Lightning Beast had dropped the sword as it was too busy dealing with the attacks from the Gold Devouring Beetles and the lightning cloud.
In any case, the sword didn't appear to pose any threat to it, so there was no need for it to pay it any heed.
At this moment, the Infernal Lightning Beast was glowering intently at Han Li with fury and ferocity in its eyes.
Having just withstood that devastating string of attacks, it wanted nothing better than to tear Han Li apart with its bare claws. However, Han Li certainly wasn't going to stand around and wait for it. He waved a hand through the air, and the three Gold Devouring Beetles emerged from the crimson light before flying back to him. The small golden sword also tremored before abruptly disappearing on the spot.
Golden light flashed as the small sword reappeared beside Han Li, then disappeared without a trace up his sleeve.
Immediately thereafter, the Gold Devouring Beetles were also stowed away in the same manner.
The Infernal Lightning Beast faltered upon seeing this before letting loose a deafening roar of fury. Just as it was about to spring into action, silver light flashed above its head, and a massive light formation descended from above in a stealthy manner.
With such a massive formation overhead, even if the Infernal Lightning Beast hadn't noticed it at first, there was no way that the formation would continue to escape the beasts' detection.
It raised its head, and a hint of astonishment flashed through its eyes as it caught sight of the massive formation. A thunderclap erupted from its sharp horn, following which a thick bolt of silver lightning shot forth.
The bolt of lightning struck the underside of the light formation amid a rumbling boom, but it then suddenly disappeared following a flash of silver light, as if it had been engulfed by the formation.
Only then did the beast realize the perilous situation that it was in. Lightning flashed from its four limbs as it immediately attempted to flee the scene, but it was already too late.
The light formation rotated in mid-air before disappearing in a flash.
Meanwhile, the Infernal Lightning Beast had shot back over 100 feet, only for a burst of silver light to flash before its eyes, following which it found itself in a swath of white mist. It surveyed its surroundings to find countless tall walls and buildings around it, stretching as far as the eyes could see in all directions.
The beast's heart jolted with shock initially, but it quickly calmed down.
It had lived for countless years, and it had experienced more than its fair share of situations where it had been trapped in formations by its enemies, so it was able to remain tranquil and unflustered in this situation.
It raised its head to look up into the sky, only to find a vast expanse of murky silver light that completely obstructed its vision.
The Infernal Lightning Beast cocked its head to the side and contemplated its current predicament, then rose up into the air as an arc of silver lightning, slashing its claws through space during the process.
A dozen or so azure claw projections hurled forth in a flash, crashing heavily against the silver light barrier.
Silver and azure light intertwined amid a string of dull thump, and the silver light barrier tremored slightly before f
alling still again.
The Infernal Lightning Beast faltered in mid-air with a slightly surprised expression upon seeing this, seemingly slightly taken aback by how powerful this restriction was.
Unbeknownst to the Infernal Lightning Beast, this light formation had been conjured up by the Nine Palaces Heavenly Talismans, which Han Li had only managed to refine after extensive periods of painstaking effort.
There were a total of 108 such talismans, and they were extremely effective for trapping enemies.
Of course, that also depended on what kind of being was trapped within this formation. At Han Li's current cultivation base, he wouldn't even be able to truly trap an average Body Integration Stage being, let alone this Infernal Lightning Beast.
He was currently standing at the edge of the light formation, injecting his magic power into one of the 108 talismans in a frenzy. When the beast within unleashed that earlier attack, Han Li had felt a burst of immense power being transmitted into his body, forcing him to stumble back a few steps as his expression changed drastically.
Thankfully, he was able to recover after circulating his magic power throughout his body.
However, it was quite apparent that this restriction wasn't going to be able to contain this beast for long. After all, the gulf in cultivation base between himself and this Infernal Lightning Beast was nothing if not night and day!
However, he wasn't counting on this formation to trap the beast in the first place; all he needed was for it to buy him some time.
Seeing as the formation had temporarily trapped his opponent, Han Li immediately withdrew his hand before flapping his wings and flying away as a streak of azure light, heading straight toward the direction he'd come from.
After a few flashes, Han Li had reached the end of the horizon, and he would disappear from view after just one more flash.
However, right at this moment, Han Li's expression suddenly changed as he swept a hand through the air. Several tens of small golden swords shot forth in unison, piercing toward a certain spot in space.
An astonishing scene then ensued.
White light flashed from the location that the golden swords were flying toward, and a white-robed woman with a missing arm suddenly appeared.
It was none other than that ghostly woman whom Han Li had battled once.
The woman was also quite stunned that Han Li had managed to detect her presence. She seemed to be about to say something, but Han Li wasn't interested in hearing what she was about to say as a cold light flashed through his eyes. All of a sudden, a loud cry erupted from within one of his sleeves, following which a streak of black light shot forth, then faded to reveal a small black monkey.
It was none other than the Weeping Soul Beast.
Han Li was currently running for his life, and the last thing he needed was a prolonged battle with this ghostly woman. As such, he immediately summoned his Weeping Soul Beast to take care of her as quickly as possible.
As soon as the white-robed ghostly woman caught sight of the Weeping Soul Beast, she let loose a sharp shriek as an expression of horror appeared on her face. She abruptly transformed into a streak of white Qi and attempted to flee, but the Weeping Soul Beast was even faster, transforming into a massive ape that was several tens of feet tall in the blink of an eye, then letting loose a cold harrumph to expel a swath of yellow light from its nostrils.
The yellow light immediately enshrouded the streak of white Qi, then dragged it back toward the Weeping Soul Beast.
The white light faded to reveal the white-robed ghostly woman again, and in her horror, her white robes transformed into a pristine white barrier of light that completely shielded her entire body.
Surprisingly enough, the barrier of light managed to withstand the Weeping Soul Beast's soul-devouring light.
A grave expression appeared on the Weeping Soul Beast's face, and it let loose a low snarl as Yin winds were swept up around it and countless arcs of lightning began to crackle in the surrounding area. The giant ape then swelled even further in size. Its fur began to turn red and three twisted horns emerged from the top of its head. Its glabella split open to reveal a crimson demonic eye, and at the same time, its face elongated as it bared its mouthful of sharp fangs.
Three black bone spikes had also sprouted from its back, each of which was around 10 feet in length with black Yin Qi swirling around them.
The white-robed ghostly woman's horror was even further exacerbated by the sight of the Weeping Soul Beast's transformation.
She suddenly let loose a long sharp screech, sending a burst of invisible soundwaves hurtling rapidly toward Han Li and the Weeping Soul Beast.
However, Han Li was already prepared for this well in advance. He laid a hand on the back of his own head, and grey light erupted forth along with five-colored flames, shielding both himself and the Weeping Soul Beast within.
As such, Han Li managed to withstand the soundwave attack with nothing more than a slight pain in his spiritual sense.
As for the Weeping Soul Beast, it was completely unaffected. Instead, a sinister look appeared on its face, and it slowly opened the demonic eye on its glabella to shoot forth a bolt of lightning as thick as a large bowl.
The bolt of lightning was as vibrant red as blood, and it was able to completely ignore the white light barrier as it instantly punctured the body of the white-robed ghostly woman, who was completely immobilized by the Weeping Soul Beast's soul-devouring light.
The ghostly woman let loose a howl of anguish as the crimson arc of lightning bound her body like a spirit snake, then forcibly dragged her through the air, taking her over to the Weeping Soul Beast in the blink of an eye. The beast opened its mouth and devoured her without any hesitation, then furrowed its brows before spitting out a black jade badge.
Han Li made a grabbing motion to draw the badge into the grasp before giving it a brief inspection.
"This is a Myriad Distance Talisman!"
Even though it was slightly different from the one used by humans, Han Li was still able to immediately identify it. A hint of surprise flashed through his eyes, and a contemplative look appeared on his face.
All of a sudden, a burst of loud rumbling intermingled with a furious roar erupted from within the light formation in the distance.
Han Li shuddered upon hearing this before hurriedly waving a hand toward the Weeping Soul Beast. The latter shrank down rapidly before disappearing up Han Li's sleeve, and at the same, Han Li stomped a foot onto the ground, transforming into a mighty azure bird as he flew away like lightning.
Chapter 1499: Armor Origin Talismans
The large azure bird flew through the air as an astonishingly rapid streak of azure light, covering a distance of over 100 feet with each and every flap of its wings.
As Han Li hurtled through the air in his Tian Peng form, he activated the Great Development Technique with all his might, using his powerful spiritual sense to forcibly envelop the tracking marks planted in his body by the four demon monarchs.
However, those tracking marks were simply too powerful; even though he had unleashed several secret techniques from the Great Development Treasured Scriptures and also used the Tian Peng power he attained following his transformation, he was still only able to temporarily repress those marks. It would only take around a day and a night by his estimation before those marks would take effect again.
Han Li was naturally doing this to lure the demon monarchs into thinking that he was dead, thereby making it easier for him to do what he had to do next, and that was to save Yuan Yao and Yan Li, then take them to an area with immense Yin Qi so they could remove the tracking marks within his body.
Only then would he truly be freed from the demon monarchs.
Under normal circumstances, Han Li naturally wouldn't be able to achieve this, but with the Infernal Lightning Beast stirring up trouble for the demon monarchs, there was a chance for him.
He hadn't bought the demon monarchs a lot of time, so they had most l
ikely only just entered the divine pond area not too long ago. Even if they knew that this beast was on its way back, there was no way that they'd be willing to let all their prior efforts go to waste and give up on the Divine Infernal River Elixir.
After the Infernal Lightning Beast escaped from the Nine Palaces Heavenly Talismans, it would return to its lair, undoubtedly in a thunderous rage, just in time to encounter the demon monarchs, and all hell would break loose then.
As long as he didn't have to face any of the demon monarchs in direct battle, there was a very good chance that he'd be able to save Yuan Yao and Yan Li.
With those thoughts racing through his mind, Han Li flew rapidly through the air.
Just as he was about to re-enter the grey mountain ranges, a dull thump suddenly rang out from his Tian Peng body.
Azure light flashed, and he reverted back to his human form. He then rustled his sleeve to produce a white jade badge that landed in his palm.
There was an image of a massive nine-palace diagram carved onto the face of the jade badge, but the badge itself had already been shattered into countless pieces.
Han Li's expression changed slightly as he took a reflexive glance behind himself. He then stowed away the jade badge before sweeping a hand over his storage bracelet, and spiritual light flashed as a purple talisman with mysterious silver runes shimmering over its surface appeared in his hand.
It was none other than the High Zenith Invisibility Talisman.
Han Li released the talisman without any hesitation, and it exploded in mid-air. Several shimmering silver runes then emerged before dancing in the air above Han Li.
The runes then transformed into clouds of silver mist that instantly enshrouded his entire body.
The silver mist dissipated moments later, and Han Li had completely disappeared.
Having attained an insubstantial body, Han Li slowly drifted downward before hiding at the foot of a massive tree, then looking up at the sky with rapt focus.
After a long while, a rumbling thunderclap finally erupted in the distant sky.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 844