The demon beast was mortified that his protective barrier of light had been destroyed so easily, and he immediately opened his mouth to blast forth several inky-black streaks of light toward Han Li. At the same time, his head exploded of its own accord, following which a green bead shot forth from within and hurtled toward the distance.
The remnants of his skeletal body quickly disassembled itself before forming a white bone shield that followed closely behind the green bead to protect it during his escape.
The demon beast had clearly identified that he was no match for Han Li, and immediately tried to flee the scene.
He had cultivated for many years within this Black Infernal Mist, and he was confident that if he could open up some distance between himself and Han Li, there was no way that the latter would be able to chase him down.
However, Han Li was already intent on killing him at this point. He didn't want to let this demon beast get away, only to return and potentially cause trouble for him in the future.
Thus, he let loose a cold harrumph as the grey light before him flashed. The streaks of oncoming black light merely fizzled out almost as soon as they came into contact with this grey light.
All of the golden fist projections in the air also abruptly disappeared while golden light flashed from his Provenance True Devil Projection. Six thick bolts of lightning then surfaced from the hands attached to the projection's six arms, and the six arcs of lightning transformed into six golden lightning spears in unison. The arms then blurred as the six golden spears were hurled through the air.
The golden spear streaked through the air before crashing viciously into the white bone shield. To the credit of the shield, it was able to withstand the first three spears, but after being struck by the fourth spear, it finally exploded. The final two spears pierced through as a result, striking the green bead at the same time. Golden arcs of lightning flashed, and the green bead flashed erratically before exploding.
The projection of a Luminous Beast shot forth from within in a horrified manner. However, the golden arcs of lightning had already formed an inescapable net around the soul of this demon beast, and as the net converged, a bloodcurdling howl erupted from within before the projection of the Luminous Beast was completely destroyed.
Han Li had slain this Spatial Tempering Stage demon beast with ease.
Part of this was due to the fact that the demon beast had been too complacent after seeing Han Li's Deity Transformation Stage cultivation base, but this was also contributed to by the fact that Han Li had become far more powerful than when he'd departed from this massive island.
Even though he hadn't dedicated much time to cultivation, he's obtained the 12 Awakening Transformations from the Tian Peng Race, as well as the Lightningwield Technique from the earth abyss that significantly enhanced the power of his Divine Devilbane Lightning. After that, he'd consumed the true spirit bloods of the Kun Peng and the Five-Colored Peacock, thereby significantly boosting his magic power as well.
Even prior to reaching the late-Deity Transformation Stage, Han Li had been capable of killing Spatial Tempering Stage beings, so he certainly wasn't going to have any trouble with this demon beast.
On top of that, the demon beast didn't even seem to be carrying any treasures, so it stood even less of a chance against Han Li.
Han Li inspected the skeletal remains of the demon beast with a cold expression before flicking a finger to blast forth a crimson fireball. The remains of the demon beast immediately caught on fire and were burned to ashes in the blink of an eye.
After that, Han Li immediately departed from the scene and disappeared into the black mist.
On this occasion, he had managed to easily kill his opponent, but it was still quite frustrating that he'd had to engage in this battle for no good reason.
Of course, unbeknownst to him, he had just killed the being that all of the mid-grade demon beasts in the Hidden Black Mountain Ranges saw as their backer and eventual savior.
He was the one who was going to eradicate their slave marks and grant them freedom, but those hopes had been completely dashed.
Of course, none of that had anything to do with Han Li. He continued to forge ahead in the black mist while contemplating the new sword art.
Close to a month later, black mist suddenly surged at the border of the sea of mist near a barren mountain, and a humanoid figure emerged from within.
He then rose up into the air and reached the summit of the mountain in just a few flashes. He was none other than Han Li, who had just emerged from the sea of Black Infernal Mist. He'd finally made it out of the mist, and he couldn't help but let loose a thunderous roar of excitement and elation, causing the air around him to ring and vibrate, and even the clouds high up in the sky were stirred up as a result.
Only then did Han Li assess his surroundings and quickly ascertained his position before flying toward a certain direction as a streak of azure light.
After a few flashes, he'd transformed into a black dot on the horizon, and he completely disappeared following a few flashes more.
Azure light flashed before a tall mountain enshrouded in white mist located deep within the Hidden Black Mountain Ranges, and Han Li appeared at the foot of the mountain. He looked up to the mountain to find that nothing seemed to have changed since his departure, and he made a hand seal as he heaved a long sigh. The white mist before him immediately surged before opening up a path for him. Han Li flew into his cave abode in an unhurried manner before immediately paying his medicine garden a visit. After verifying that everything was in order there, he was completely reassured, and he returned to his living quarters, falling asleep almost as soon as he lay down on his bed.
He slept for two days and two nights! He had rested for a night at the elderly man's cave abode, but on that occasion, he'd naturally been unable to rest to his heart's content.
When he finally woke up from his slumber, his exhausted body and mind had both been completely rejuvenated.
He got up in high spirits and entered his secret chamber to consolidate the rewards he'd reaped from his trip and continue to consume his True Toad Spirit Liquid. He then had to go into seclusion to reach the pinnacle of the Deity Transformation Stage as soon as possible before attempting a breakthrough to the Spatial Tempering Stage.
He also had to refine the wisp of spiritual sense contained within the Tian Peng Relic as quickly as possible so he could obtain the true dragon and heavenly phoenix mantras enclosed within the 12 Awakening Transformations. After that, he'd be able to fuse those true spirit bloods into his body.
As for the new sword art and the reinforcement of his flying swords, that was also an urgent matter that had to be taken care of as soon as possible.
With that in mind, Han Li made his way toward his secret chamber while laying a hand on the back of his own head.
A ball of black light immediately shot forth from the back of his own head before transforming into a miniature black humanoid figure that was several inches tall.
It was none other than his second Nascent Soul.
He then rustled both sleeves to summon his Weeping Soul Beast and Leopard Kirin Beast.
Han Li waved a hand toward the three of them with a smile on his face, then tossed the mysterious small vial toward the second Nascent Soul before departing on his own.
The second Nascent Soul caught the small vial, also with a smile on its face, and only after Han Li had disappeared around the corner did it deliver a few instructions to the two beasts, then slowly fly away toward another direction.
Chapter 1526: Refining the Divine Mountain Again
Moments later, Han Li entered his secret chamber before sitting down with his legs crossed.
His pupils then contracted slightly as he inspected his surroundings and caught sight of three greyish-white stone blocks in one corner of the secret chamber.
Those were none other than the chunks of the stone block he'd obtained from the underwater cave abode belonging to tha
t blue wyrm. Back then, he'd used his Gold Devouring Beetles to split the stone block into three, but he was too busy with cultivation to pay any heed to this treasure.
The material was extraordinarily heavy, and Han Li had originally intended to refine it into some kind of treasures, but all of the Gold Devouring Beetles that had consumed some of this material then began to mutate, and that made Han Li rather hesitant.
The fact that this thing was able to make fully matured Gold Devouring Beetles mutate again was a sign of just how precious it was. However, spirit insect mutation wasn't necessarily always a good thing. Even though most mutations resulted in positive enhancements, there were also quite a few instances where the contrary proved to be true.
At the very least, aside from the fact that his Gold Devouring Beetles had attained more resolute bodies and grown heavier, Han Li was yet to identify any other changes.
Generally speaking, it was very difficult for spirit insects that had mutated once to mutate for a second time, which was why he hadn't fed this entire stone block to his Gold Devouring Beetles, and why it had been so difficult for him to decide just how he was going to use this material.
However, he was very intrigued by the Gold Devouring Beetle Monarch that the elderly man had mentioned, so he certainly wasn't going to recklessly induce mutations in his Gold Devouring Beetles again. Otherwise, if he were to obtain the method to nurture the beetle monarch someday, only to find that it didn't apply to his beetles anymore due to their mutations, that would be quite a devastating blow.
Furthermore, during his journey, Han Li had thought of a better way to use this incredibly heavy stone.
Thus, blue light flashed within his eyes, and he raised an arm to reveal an inky-black hand within his robes.
His five fingers tremored slightly, and black light flashed over his palm, following which a miniature mountain that was only several inches in size appeared.
The mountain instantly expanded to around 10 feet in size amid a flash of grey light before hovering in front of Han Li.
Golden light flashed from Han Li's body as the projection with three heads and six arms surfaced behind him, and he let loose a low cry as the six arms of the projection made a grabbing motion in unison toward the stone blocks in the corner.
Several years ago, prior to fusing the true spirit bloods of the Kun Peng and the Five-Colored Peacock into his body, Han Li wouldn't have been able to move these stone blocks by grabbing at them from afar.
However, not only had his cultivation base progressed to the late-Deity Transformation Stage since then, his body had also become a lot more powerful due to the effect of the two true spirit bloods.
Thus, he was able to move the stone blocks in such a manner now, and one of them wobbled before slowly flying toward him, causing the entire secret chamber to tremor in the process.
Brilliant grey light erupted from the Divine Essencefused Mountain hovering before Han Li, and countless grey threads of light shot forth, encapsulating the oncoming stone block in a watertight cocoon.
At the same time, the six arms of the Provenance True Devil Projection behind him also moved in unison, and the stone block shot forth directly toward the black mountain.
At this moment, Han Li began to chant something while pointing a finger toward the mountain.
The Divine Essencefused Light immediately swelled further in size while a large hole opened up on the mountain face that was aimed toward the stone block.
Brilliant grey light erupted from that hole, and this was only a secret technique that Han Li had mastered after progressing to a certain cultivation base, as well as completely refining this mountain to the extent that it was almost an extension of his own body.
Prior to cultivating the Hundred Meridian Refinement Mantra or even before he'd left the massive island, he'd have most likely been unable to accomplish this.
The stone block was drawn into the hole that appeared on the mountain by the grey threads, and the impact of the collision made the Divine Essencefused Mountain tremor before flying back for several tens of feet, then thudding heavily onto the ground.
Following another astonishing dull thump, even the restriction light barrier around the secret chamber tremored violently, and the base of the mountain had sunk around a foot into the ground.
The Divine Essencefused Mountain was quite heavy in itself, and their combined weight had finally become too much for the floor to handle.
Thankfully, the entire secret chamber had been fortified by Han Li with restrictions in advance, so it wasn't going to actually completely collapse.
At this moment, Han Li was looking at the hole on the side of the Divine Essencefused Mountain with a peculiar look on his face. He made a hand seal before opening his mouth, and a ball of silver flames shot forth from within.
As soon as the fireball emerged out of his mouth, it transformed into a Fire Raven, then also plunged headfirst into the hole on the Divine Essencefused Mountain at his behest.
Han Li then immediately flicked his wrist to hurl his storage bracelet through the air, and it shimmered with spiritual light before summoning a series of vials, jars, and wooden boxes that appeared on the ground before Han Li.
Han Li swept his spiritual sense toward these containers, and all of their lids flew off to reveal all types of tool refinement materials, most of which were extremely rare materials that were very difficult to find.
Most of them were secured using a large number of spirit stones and spirit medicines in Deep Heaven City, while the rest had been obtained in the human world and from the Tian Peng Race.
Han Li inspected these materials and immediately found the ones he needed.
He swept a sleeve through the air, and a swath of azure light surged forth, sweeping up a dozen or so types of materials in its wake before sending all of them into the hole on the small mountain.
A delightful cry then erupted within the hole, following which silver light flashed from within along with a burst of scorching heat, causing the nearby air to warp and blur.
Han Li adopted a serious expression as he raised a hand, and a burst of grey light appeared at the center of his palm.
The Divine Essencefused Mountain seemed to have resonated with him as it also lit up with grey light, and the hole on the side of the mountain slowly sealed over while the scorching heat also disappeared.
Han Li was using the Divine Essencefused Mountain as a hearth, while deploying the Spirit Engulfing Fire Raven to completely melt that greyish-white stone into the mountain.
Han Li was looking forward to what properties the stone block could contribute to the Divine Essencefused Mountain. If it could become indestructible and as immensely heavy as the stone block, then its destructive power would be significantly enhanced.
Of course, even with his Spirit Engulfing Heavenly Flames, it wouldn't be a simple matter to melt these stone blocks. Otherwise, Han Li would've thrown in all three at once rather than only one.
However, even with just this one stone block, it would take around three or four decades to melt it into the mountain. If he'd done all three at once, then it'd at least require a century.
If Han Li had to use his own Nascent Soul flames to refine the stone blocks, then he naturally wouldn't engage in such a time-consuming activity. However, he could afford to do this now seeing as he could use the Spirit Engulfing Heavenly Flames instead.
He would just have to leave the Divine Essencefused Mountain here for over 100 years.
With that in mind, Han Li chanted something and cast an incantation seal onto the small mountain while the six golden hands on the projection behind his back all made a grabbing motion in unison.
The small mountain instantly swayed before shrinking down to around a foot in size, then slowly flying over to a corner of the secret chamber and slowly descending.
Before the stone block was fused into the mountain, Han Li wouldn't be able to withdraw it back into his own body, so he could only set it aside like th
is.
After that, Han Li paused for a brief moment of contemplation before grabbing the air toward the storage bracelet, and a white jade box immediately flew out from within before landing on his palm.
He swept his other hand over the lid of the box, and the lid immediately flew off to reveal a thumb-sized crimson fruit core.
At the same time, an extremely rich medicinal aroma wafted toward him.
This was none other than the Azure Shifting Fruit core that Han Li had obtained during his time in the Tian Peng Race.
With this item, he'd be able to nurture Azure Shifting Fruits through the use of his small vial, then refine the legendary Heavenshifting Pill. He'd consume the Heavenshifting Pill with his Black Flame Pills, and if the former's enhancement effect were to activate, then the chances of him breaking through his bottleneck would be significantly increased.
Han Li held the fruit core between two fingers and carefully inspected it through narrowed eyes, then instantly cast his spiritual sense out of the secret chamber.
Moments later, the azure barrier of light around him tremored, and a ball of black light flew in; it was none other than his second Nascent Soul.
Han Li placed the lid onto the jade box containing the fruit core before tossing toward the second Nascent Soul without even uttering a single word.
The second Nascent Soul waved a little hand through the air to catch the box in an extremely rehearsed manner, then disappeared into the light barrier behind it again.
Having done all that, Han Li heaved a sigh of relief before slowly closing his eyes.
What he had to do next was to work on the new sword art he obtained to see if this Spring Dawn Sword Formation truly was as lethal as the sword art proclaimed it to be. After that, he'd be able to decide whether to give up on his Aureate Sword Formation and refine his Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords again.
The Spring Dawn Sword Formation just so happened to be something that could be used by late-Deity Transformation cultivators, and it was indeed far more complex and profound than the Aureate Sword Formation.
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