The woman's expression initially changed slightly after hearing that Han Li hadn't fully recovered, but she was then elated after hearing Han Li's confident declaration.
It appeared that Han Li was even more powerful than she'd estimated. Otherwise, where could his confidence be stemming from?
Many of the priests in the palace had seen Han Li before, while the others were only meeting him for the first time.
As such, Han Li's arrival naturally stirred up a heated yet muted discussion between them.
Han Li ignored the pairs of eyes that were fixed on him and sat down on the chair that the woman had prepared for him in advance. After making some small talk with her, he closed his eyes and fell silent.
The woman cast a stern gaze toward the priests in the room, and all of them immediately stopped chattering as well.
Thus, the entire palace turned completely silent.
However, Han Li could still sense a pair of eyes lingering on his face, and his brows furrowed slightly as he abruptly opened his eyes, just in time to see Bai Zhu'er appraising him with a wary expression.
As soon as their eyes met, a hint of horror flashed through the young woman's eyes, and she hurriedly averted her gaze.
It appeared that the Weeping Soul Beast had truly given her quite a fright during their previous encounter.
A faint smile appeared on Han Li's face as he closed his eyes again and fell into deep thought.
The fire-attribute power within the Scorching Sun Divine Pill had been easily refined by his Spirit Engulfing Fire Raven, and the woman hadn't exaggerated about the pill's effects at all. It wasn't able to facilitate an instant recovery for him, but it most definitely was superior to all of the regenerative pills that he was carrying.
His lost blood essence and spiritual sense had been replenished at an incredible rate, and as for his magic power, even without the assistance of this pill, the past half a month or so of rest had been enough for it to completely recover.
Seeing as the pill really had helped him significantly, Han Li naturally wasn't going to revoke his promise. He had already progressed to the Spatial Tempering Stage and possessed many powerful abilities. There was a good chance that he'd be able to escape from a Body Integration cultivator, so he naturally wasn't going to fear any enemies that the Fire Yang Race could have.
Coincidentally, less than half a day after Han Li had emerged from seclusion, the enemies finally arrived.
The ground within the earthen city suddenly began to rumble violently, and it was as if many massive monsters were galloping toward the city from all directions.
The priests sitting within the palace rose to their feet almost in unison, and most of them wore extremely anxious expressions.
Even though the woman hadn't divulged any information regarding the Black Rakshasa Race, it was quite apparent to them that the enemies they were going to face on this occasion were extremely powerful.
In contrast, the woman remained quite calm, and she only furrowed her brows slightly even as the ground began to tremor beneath her feet.
"There's no need for panic; we've already set up ample defensive measures, and it would be impossible for our enemies to break through our three layers of restrictions in a short time. Let's ascertain who our enemies are and how many of them we're facing first!" The woman immediately rose to the occasion as the leader of the priests, instantly calming everyone with her logical instructions.
Han Li also opened his eyes in response to this commotion, but he remained completely expressionless.
He'd participated in countless battles more significant than this one in the past, so the events currently unfolding certainly weren't enough to faze him.
At this moment, the woman rustled a sleeve, and a red badge suddenly appeared in her hand before she waved it toward the center of the palace.
Red light immediately flashed from the surface of the badge, following which a ball of red light shot forth from it before disappearing into the ground.
A loud buzzing sound rang out as red light flashed from the ground, and a crimson formation appeared, at the center of which flames were tumbling and surging incessantly.
The woman rapidly waved her badge through the air a few times, and the flames converged to form a crimson crystal ball that was around 10 feet in diameter.
The surface of the crystal ball was glittering and translucent, and it was slowly revolving above the center of the formation.
Eight white-robed serpentine beings suddenly stepped forward before sitting down around the edge of the formation. All of them then began to chant something as they cast one incantation seal after another into the crystal ball.
Immediately thereafter, countless wisps of flames appeared within the center of the formation, forming fiery snakes that were around as thick as a human finger before squirming into the crystal ball.
An astonishing turn of events then unfolded.
Red light suddenly flashed violently a few times from the surface of the crystal ball, following which an extremely vivid image appeared within the flames.
The image was broadcasting the scenes unfolding all over the earthen city, depicting groups of armed serpentine beings surging up the city walls. There were also groups of serpentine beings on lizard steeds gathering near the city gates.
Among these groups, there were many high-ranking serpentine beings that were yelling war cries and instructions with killing intent in their eyes.
Thousands of serpentine beings were gathered in the blink of an eye, and Han Li looked on with a hint of surprise on his face.
The function of this spell formation and crystal ball was rather similar to that of his Myriad Dragon Beads, and it was rather surprising to him that a small race like the Fire Yang Race had access to such treasures.
"Switch to an image of the scenes outside the city walls!" the woman instructed with a dark expression.
The ground was beginning to tremor more and more violently, clearly indicating that those massive beings were not far away from the earthen city.
The eight white-robed serpentine beings responsible for activating the formation instantly cast more incantation seals, and the image within the crystal blurred before being inundated by red light. Moments later, a new image appeared, revealing the scenes unfolding outside the city walls.
It was already getting rather late, so the image within the crystal ball was slightly dim. Thus, the serpentine beings were initially unable to see anything, but all of them still looked on with bated breath.
Only Han Li continued to look on with the same expression as before.
They didn't have to wait long before a particularly violent tremor ran through the ground, and the loud rumbling noise suddenly died down.
Not long after that, all of the white-robed serpentine beings drew a sharp breath and their expressions changed drastically in unison.
In the darkness of the night, a series of massive cow-like creatures that were around 70 to 80 feet tall and over 100 feet long began to emerge. All of them were clad in suits of black scale-like armor, and each of them was carrying a massive frame comparable to the size of cabins on their backs.
These frames were filled with humanoid figures of different heights, and it was if they had taken up all of the area on the backs of these giant creatures.
Even though these cow-like creatures were all extremely massive, they were currently able to approach the earthen city in a completely silent wraith-like manner after decelerating drastically.
"Those appear to be Black Armor Beasts. Those beings riding on these beasts; could they be..." one of the white-robed serpentine beings murmured in disbelief.
"They can't be Black Rakshasa beings! Our Naga Race should've exterminated all of them long ago!" another serpentine being yelled vehemently.
"That's right, it can't be those beings!"
"Exactly, they should've disappeared tens of thousands of years ago!"
All of the other white-robed serpentine bei
ngs immediately chimed in in agreement, seemingly in an attempt to inject themselves with courage.
However, once those giant cows emerged from the night and the humanoid figures on their backs became visible, all of the priests fell silent with grim expressions on their faces.
Chapter 1548: Emergence of the Enemies
The upper bodies of these humanoid figures on the Black Armor Beasts were those of women with purple skin and dark green eyes. All of them had long shoulder-length hair and were wearing suits of black armor while wielding all types of black weapons, creating a stark contrast with their gorgeous features.
However, once the women leaped down from the giant cow beasts and revealed their full bodies, Han Li's pupils abruptly contracted.
These women possessed lower bodies of centipedes!
Even Han Li couldn't help but shudder at the sight of these beautiful women with abhorrent centipede lower bodies.
These women seemed to have all been well-trained, and they managed to arrange themselves in an orderly formation in mere moments.
One of the higher ranking beings among them abruptly stepped strode toward the earthen wall, and a smile suddenly appeared on her face. However, this was a grotesque smile that literally spread from ear to ear, revealing rows of small sharp teeth and a serpentine forked tongue.
What had been a beautiful woman just a moment ago had suddenly transformed into a sinister nightmarish creature. It would not be impossible for a more cowardly person to faint from fear upon witnessing these beings for the first time.
Han Li naturally wasn't that inept, but he had still been given a massive fright.
The woman and Bai Zhu'er looked on with grim expressions, while hints of fear crept into the eyes of all of the other priests present.
"Hmph, so what if these are Black Rakshasa beings? They're just a bunch of pathetic cowards that managed to escape the extermination tens of thousands of years ago through sheer luck! Our Naga Race was able to eradicate them so many years ago, and we can replicate that feat now! The other two races must have only been destroyed as they'd been caught completely off-guard. In contrast, we've set up ample defenses in advance, so we have nothing to fear," the woman harrumphed coldly as she swept a sleeve toward the crystal ball.
Red light instantly flashed, and the entire formation ceased functioning, following which the image being broadcasted by the crystal ball also abruptly disappeared.
All of the other white-robed serpentine beings stirred upon hearing this, and they immediately bowed as they nodded in agreement. Following the woman's brief yet rousing speech, all of them had been injected with renewed courage, and the fear in their eyes was immediately wiped away.
Han Li's expression changed slightly upon seeing this, and a hint of a meaningful smile appeared on his face.
The woman didn't appear to have done anything, but in reality, she's unleashed a secret technique while spurring on the priests present.
The secret technique was quite discreet, but it was naturally unable to escape Han Li's notice, seeing as he'd cultivated the Great Development Technique.
Otherwise, it would not have been so easy to reinvigorate these low-grade priests.
"Knowing who our enemies are makes things a lot easier for us. All of you, split up into four groups and direct our troops at the four city gates. If you encounter any Black Rakshasa priests, make sure to keep them at bay. Any deserters will be severely punished!" the woman instructed with a stern look on her face as she rose to her feet.
The serpentine beings all accepted their orders with respectful bows before exiting the hall.
Thus, the woman, her daughter, Han Li, and four other serpentine beings were the only ones left in the palace.
All four of these serpentine beings were quite old and possessed Core Formation Stage cultivation bases, thus, making them the most powerful beings within the race aside from the high priestess.
Han Li merely glanced at the four serpentine beings in an indifferent manner before withdrawing his gaze.
The woman heaved a long sigh before turning to Han Li with the intention of saying something.
However, right at this moment, earthshattering booms suddenly erupted from all sides, and the ground began to rumble once again.
"They're already beginning to attack the city." A wry smile appeared on her face.
"Are you not going to go out there and join the defensive efforts?" Han Li asked with a curious expression.
"There's no need for that. If I'm not mistaken the higher-ups of the Black Rakshasa Race will seek me out," the woman replied with a shake of her head.
"Is that so?" Han Li was rather surprised to hear this.
"Our Naga Race has always been the sworn enemy of the Black Rakshasa Race, so I'm aware of their habits and mannerisms. Even though we've activated all of our restrictions, we still most likely wouldn't be able to stop the truly powerful beings among them from infiltrating the city. They're extremely proficient in concealment secret techniques, and in battles, they prefer to slay the most powerful being among their enemies before killing the rest of them," the woman explained with a forced smile on her face.
"I see."
Han Li stroked his chin with a contemplative look on his face. He then chuckled and said something that came as quite a shock to everyone present.
"So that means the one hiding over there isn't a helper that you summoned here in advance. How about I invite them to join us?"
"What? They're already in here?" the woman exclaimed.
As soon as her voice trailed off, Han Li suddenly made a grabbing motion toward a nearby wooden pillar.
A massive translucent hand immediately appeared out of thin air before grabbing viciously toward the pillar.
However, before the hand had closed itself around the pillar, a streak of black light shot forth from within before appearing over 200 feet away in a flash. Spiritual light flashed, and a Black Rakshasa being was revealed.
The woman and all of the serpentine beings were stunned to see this as they immediately prepared for battle.
The woman flipped over a hand to produce a short crimson rod that appeared to be constructed from stone.
The other four white-robed serpentine beings also produced long silver blades that shimmered and swayed like slithering silver snakes.
The young woman's hands blurred, and the bow on her back appeared in her hands with a bone arrow already nocked and ready to fire.
The Black Rakshasa being that had just been forced to reveal itself looked on with a hint of bewilderment in her eyes.
She turned to Han Li in an expressionless manner, completely ignoring everyone else as she said in a cold voice, "Your aura isn't right; you're not a being from the Naga Race. Which race are you from? For you to be able to see through my concealment technique; are you from the White Eye Race or the Thousand Illusion Race?"
This Black Rakshasa being was clearly under the false impression that Han Li was some kind of foreign being from the Thunder Continent.
Han Li smiled, but didn't offer a reply. Instead, he cast his gaze toward a shadowy corner of the palace before pointing a finger toward that direction.
A small azure sword shot forth like lightning, striking the corner in the flash.
A dull clang rang out as a streak of black light hurtled forth from the shadows to clash with the small sword.
At the same time, a shadowy figure slowly emerged.
Blue light flashed within Han Li's eyes, and brilliant azure light erupted from the small sword. It then instantly destroyed the streak of black light that it was locked in combat with before rushing toward the black figure at a speed that was more than twice as fast as before.
The black figure was given a massive fright by the azure sword's sudden acceleration, but she reacted extremely quickly as her body twisted, and she flew through the air as a black thread.
The black thread appeared over 100 feet away after just a single flash, but to everyone's surprise, the s
mall sword also transformed into an azure thread before setting off in hot pursuit.
The black thread had only paused for a split second before the azure thread was almost upon it, and it was forced to flee again.
Thus, an azure thread and a black thread flashed through the air one after another in the air, appearing on one side of the palace in one instant before suddenly appearing in another corner before anyone could trace them.
The threads were moving at such an incredible speed that everyone in the palace could only look on in astonishment.
All of a sudden, the black thread blurred before suddenly transforming into seven or eight identical threads that hurtled forth in different directions.
Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this, and he raised a hand to summon the small sword back to him before drawing it up his sleeve.
Throughout this entire process, Han Li's expression remained completely calm and collected, as if he'd merely been toying with his opponent.
The black threads in the air converged to form a single thread again in mid-air, and black light flashed before a Black Rakshasa being with a pair of golden eyes appeared.
This woman was glowering at Han Li with a vicious expression of fury on her face.
The woman immediately shuddered at the sight of the Black Rakshasa being's golden eyes, and she exclaimed, "Golden and silver eyes! You really are Black Rakshasa Monarchs! You two must've been the ones who killed the high priests of the other two races!"
"Hmph, looks like you've done your homework. However, your knowledge isn't going to save you. I've come to eradicate your race in person, so your fates are sealed," the golden-eyed Black Rakshasa being said in a sharp voice.
At this moment, the first Black Rakshasa being to have appeared suddenly vanished in a wraith-like manner, then reappeared beside her golden-eyed companion.
Han Li inspected the two women through narrowed eyes to find a strange layer of spiritual light draped over their bodies, thereby preventing him from being able to ascertain their cultivation bases despite his immensely powerful spiritual sense.
As such, they had to be carrying some kind of special concealment treasure.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 876