"Are you trying to say that something's a little off about the sea here, and that even if we were to find other islands, they would've most likely been taken over by other sea beasts already?" Liu Shui'er asked.
"That's exactly what I mean. This island has already been taken over by a sea beast, but it's not very powerful at all, and we'll be able to take care of it easily. I think that's a much better course of action than wasting time searching for other islands," Han Li explained in a slow voice.
"That makes sense. Alright, we'll do as you say, Brother Han. In any case, the three of us will definitely be able to take care of this sea beast without any problems," Shi Kun said as a ferocious look flashed through his eyes.
"I also think this is a good idea." Liu Shui'er nodded in agreement after a brief pause.
"Alright, in that case, let's make some preparations. As a safety precaution, I'm going to set up a temporary formation so we can kill this sea beast without being noticed by any other beasts in the area," Han Li said in a calm manner.
Shi Kun and Liu Shui'er naturally posed no objections to this.
Thus, Han Li flipped a hand over, and a stack of formation flags appeared over his palm. He tossed the formation flags into the air, then made a hand seal as he began to chant something.
A dozen or so streaks of light of different colors immediately surged toward the ocean before vanishing in a flash.
In the next instant, a dozen or so thick pillars of light suddenly erupted from the sea down below. These pillars of light then dispersed to form a barely-visible white light barrier than encompassed the entire island.
"I'll also lend you my assistance," Liu Shui'er suddenly said as she raised a hand into the air, sending a yellow disk hurtling forth before instantly flying into the air over 1,000 feet above the white light barrier.
She then pointed a finger up above, and the yellow disk rotated on the spot before also emitting a yellow light barrier that encompassed Han Li's white light barrier within it.
"With these restrictions set up, I'm sure we won't attract any attention even if we battle all-out in there," Liu Shui'er said in a calm voice.
"Haha, in that case, I'll be able to fight to my heart's content," Shi Kun chortled with glee as yellow light flashed from his body, and he immediately donned a suit of yellow armor.
Immediately thereafter, Shi Kun flew through the two restriction barriers, hurtling directly toward the island.
From afar, he looked like a yellow shooting star plummeting from the sky.
The streak of yellow light crashed down into a forest at the very center of the island with a resounding boom, and yellow shockwaves that were visible to the naked eye proliferated in all directions. All of the trees, rocks, and mountains that stood in the path of these yellow shockwaves were all instantly pulverized into powder.
In the blink of an eye, the entire island had been razed to the ground.
At the center of the island, Shi Kun stood proudly in a massive crater that was several feet deep, and he was in the process of slowly withdrawing his fist from the ground.
He had essentially destroyed everything on the island with just a single punch.
Liu Shui'er shuddered slightly at the sight of Shi Kun's terrifying destructive power, and Han Li's eyes also narrowed slightly.
It appeared that Shi Kun's confidence and his unwillingness to cultivate the combination secret technique certainly wasn't unwarranted.
"I'd always known that Stone Cocoon beings were renowned for possessing powerful bodies, but it appears that Fellow Daoist Shi must've also used quite a powerful cultivation art. Otherwise, there's no way that an upper race being could be capable of unleashing such devastating might," Liu Shui'er murmured to herself, but also seemingly to Han Li as well.
Han Li's expression remained unchanged, as if he hadn't even heard what had just been said.
Shi Kun seemed to be quite pleased with his own handiwork, and he raised his head as if he were about to say something to Han Li and Liu Shui'er.
However, right at this moment, the entire island tremored violently, and the black seawater around it also began to churn as if it were being boiled.
Seven or eight thick black objects then erupted from the seawater around the small island, and each of these objects was 2,000 to 3,000 feet tall, extending into the clouds like giant black pillars.
However, these pillars had fleshy bumps all over them and were squirming incessantly, creating quite a harrowing sight to behold.
Han Li immediately focused his gaze to discover that these were all gargantuan tentacles.
Chapter 1681: Displays of Power
Not only were these tentacles covered in dark green patterns, they were also riddled with massive suction cups the size of wagon wheels, creating a truly disturbing sight.
As soon as these tentacles emerged, Shi Kun stomped a foot into the ground, and his body shot forth like an arrow, taking him to the nearest tentacle in a flash before he swiped an arm through the air.
A streak of yellow light hurtled forth like a giant blade that was over 100 feet long, slicing through one of the massive tentacles with ease.
A massive fountain of green blood immediately spurted into the air, and rank green blood began to rain down from the sky.
Shi Kun let loose a burst of raucous laughter upon seeing this, and his body swayed as he prepared to fly toward another tentacle.
However, a thunderous roar suddenly erupted from below the island, causing the entire sky in the nearby area to tremor audibly.
Shi Kun faltered in mid-air as his expression changed slightly, and right at this moment, the sea beast's severed tentacle suddenly whipped violently through the air.
The bleeding from the wound immediately ceased, and bursts of putrid green mist were blasted forth from within.
Shi Kun was clearly an extremely experienced warrior, and he immediately retreated upon seeing this, flying back to over 300 feet away to distance himself from this green mist.
However, as opposed to attacking Shi Kun, the green mist in the air suddenly manifested into a complete tentacle that was identical to one he had just severed.
Shi Kun's expression darkened upon seeing this, and he immediately swiped his arm through the air again to unleash another devastating streak of yellow light.
However, on this occasion, all of the suction cups on the newly formed tentacle immediately compressed before expanding to expel bursts of black light.
The yellow streak of light struck the black light with a loud clang, followed by the sharp screeching sound of metal grating on metal. The yellow streak of light was able to slice through part of the black light, but it finally fizzled out into nothingness just before it could reach the sea beast's tentacle.
At this moment, the roar erupting from below the island became even louder, and the tentacle came crashing down toward Shi Kun with mountainous force.
Before it had even struck him, fierce gusts of wind were swept up, making it quite difficult for Shi Kun to stand still on the spot.
A ferocious look appeared on his face, and he let loose a loud roar as he launched a fist into the air.
Han Li and Liu Shui'er were both spectating the battle intently from above, and they noticed that in the instant Shi Kun unleashed that punch, his fist swelled up like a balloon to five to six times its original size.
Furthermore, several yellow runes emerged from the giant fist before exploding in unison, and a yellow halo swept forth, forming shockwave-like ripples of light.
As soon as the giant tentacle came into contact with the yellow light, its skin was twisted and warped as if it had been stirred up by some kind of immense force. Immediately thereafter, the tentacle began to essentially disintegrate as it fell from above as chunks of skin and flesh, along with gushing green blood.
This punch seemed to be even more powerful than the one Shi Kun had unleashed to flatten the entire small island.
Even Han Li's eyelids twitched involuntarily u
pon seeing this.
However, the sea beast below the island had clearly been completely enraged by this attack, and it let loose a violent roar as its remaining few tentacles whipped through the air in unison, forming countless black shadows that crashed directly toward Shi Kun.
These tentacles were so massive that they were sweeping up a hurricane that encompassed the entire island.
Black shadows and gale-force winds intertwined, completely inundating Shi Kun in the process.
"Looks like we won't need to do anything; Fellow Daoist Shi should be enough to take care of this sea beast on his own," Liu Shui'er sighed as she looked on from above.
"Indeed. Brother Shi possesses an extremely powerful body, so this sea beast will inevitably be killed eventually. However, this thing seems to possess an immortal body ability, so it's best that we enter the ocean and kill its main body first. After all, it won't be a good thing to have this battle drag on for too long," Han Li replied after a brief pause.
"That's true. I just so happen to be using a water-attribute cultivation art, so I'll take care of this," Liu Shui'er replied with a nod.
Han Li was rather surprised to hear this, but he merely smiled, and agreed, "In that case, I'll leave everything to you, Fairy Liu."
Thus, Liu Shui'er made a hand seal, and blue light flashed from her body as she sped directly downward as a streak of blue light, vanishing into the ocean after just a few flashes.
Almost at the exact same moment, a string of resounding booms rang out from the small island, which had been entirely enshrouded under fierce winds and black shadows.
Han Li cast his gaze toward the island to discover balls of piercing yellow light forcibly tearing their way through the powerful winds. At the same time, an astonishingly scorching aura erupted into the heavens, causing even the two restriction barriers up above to tremor slightly.
Amid these resounding booms, Shi Kun's raucous laughter was still clearly audible, and he seemed to have only just gotten warmed up.
"Is he a berserker? I'd only ever heard of such beings in the past, but I appear to be witnessing one in action right now," Han Li murmured to himself with a wry smile on his face while sweeping a sleeve through the air.
A burst of azure light swept forth, disappearing into the white light barrier in a flash, and the restriction barrier fell completely still again.
Thus, Shi Kun continued in his rampage on the small island, constantly pulverizing the tentacles around him, while the tentacles of the sea beast quickly regenerated amid a burst of green mist.
Thus, the two of them came to an impasse of sorts.
However, moments later, the beastly roars erupting from below the island suddenly took an anguished turn, and the seawater down below began to churn violently. A massive wave that was over 1,000 feet tall was swept up without any warning before hurtling toward the small island with devastating might.
If such an astonishingly powerful wave really were to strike the island, there was a good chance that it would sink.
Han Li's expression darkened slightly as he looked on from above, and he immediately extended a pristine white palm of his sleeve, then spread his fingers open before making a grabbing motion.
Five bursts of five-colored glacial flames immediately erupted from his fingertips, injecting themselves into the white light barrier encompassing the island in a flash.
The light barrier immediately took on the five colors of the glacial flames, and at this moment, the giant wave crashed down upon it.
The five-colored light barrier appeared to be extremely thin and fragile, but as five-colored light swept over its surface, all of the seawater was instantly frozen into glacial ice.
Thus, a peculiar scene ensued.
A massive dome of blue ice appeared over the island, keeping all of the oncoming waves of seawater at bay while the small island itself remained completely unscathed.
Han Li nodded with a pleased expression upon seeing this before withdrawing his hand.
The giant waves only crashed into the wall of ice a few times before they subsided, and the entire surface of the ocean suddenly became remarkably calm.
Just as a contemplative expression had appeared on Han Li's face, a resounding boom rang out as a humanoid figure flew up from the island, then appeared in mid-air.
"What happened? Why isn't that sea beast attacking anymore? Could it be that Fellow Daoist Liu decided to lend me a hand?"
The humanoid figure was naturally none other than Shi Kun, and he was looking at Han Li with a hint of confusion in his eyes.
Han Li smiled upon hearing this, yet just as he was about to say something, a massive black vortex suddenly appeared on the surface of the ocean beside the island. The seawater nearby revolved around the vortex as the mountainous body of a black beast rose to the surface, revealing itself to be a gargantuan black octopus.
However, not only was this octopus extraordinarily huge, it also possessed the face of a ferocious-looking human male.
There were even two thick arms attached to its body alongside the giant tentacles, and attached to each of those arms was a hand that was wielding a crimson spear-like weapon.
A burst of blue light shot forth out of the water from beside the giant sea beast's carcass, then abruptly appeared in the air beside Han Li.
The blue light faded, and Liu Shui'er's gorgeous figure was revealed.
"So it really was you, Fairy Liu. Tsk tsk, you must have some tricks up your sleeve to be able to take care of this giant beast so quickly," Shi Kun said with a hint of surprise in his eyes.
"It wasn't much. If it weren't for the fact that you'd attracted most of the beast's attention, I wouldn't have been able to kill it anywhere near as easily. I must say, your abilities are quite impressive, Fellow Daoist Han; you've even managed to freeze such a vast quantity of seawater," Liu Shui'er remarked as she took a glance at the massive dome of ice down below.
"Hehe, there's no need for you two to be so modest. Seeing as the beast has been slain, let's withdraw these restrictions and settle on the island," Han Li chuckled.
Shi Kun and Liu Shui'er naturally had no objections to this, and the former immediately began to descend toward the island.
Meanwhile, Han Li and Liu Shui'er both made hand seals to withdraw their restrictions.
"Brother Han, we can't just leave this dome of ice here; it's far too eye-catching," Liu Shui'er said as she pointed downward.
Han Li seemed to have considered this issue already, and he quickly replied, "Of course; I'll melt it right away."
After that, he opened his mouth to expel a silver fireball, which immediately transformed into a silver Fire Raven that was around a foot in size.
"Go," Han Li instructed as he swept a sleeve toward the Fire Raven.
The Fire Raven spread its wings before diving headfirst into the dome of ice amid a clear cry.
A peculiar scene then ensued.
The dome of glacial ice that was as hard as rock began to melt away in large sections from the spot that the Fire Raven had disappeared into it, reverting back to churning seawater before raining down from above.
Within just a few minutes, the entire dome of ice had vanished.
Only then did Han Li raise a hand, and the silver Fire Raven immediately re-emerged before disappearing up his sleeve in after just a few flashes.
"You possess both fire and ice-attribute abilities? That's very rare, Fellow Daoist Han!" Liu Shui'er said with a hint of surprise in her eyes.
Chapter 1682: Sparring
"These are just a few little tricks that aren't all that noteworthy," Han Li replied with a modest smile before also slowly descending toward the island.
Liu Shui'er's brows furrowed slightly, and she was forced to swallow the questions that she was about to ask as she also descended as a streak of blue light.
At this moment, Shi Kun had already been waiting for a short time at the center of the island.
He'd also witnessed Han Li unleashin
g his Fire Raven to melt that dome of ice, but his expression remained quite calm, in stark contrast with the insanity he'd just displayed in battle.
Han Li's heart stirred slightly upon seeing this.
"We don't have much time, so let's start practicing the combination secret technique right away," Shi Kun suggested as soon as Han Li and Liu Shui'er descended nearby.
"Of course. However, this secret technique has to have a main instigator while the other two play supportive roles, and it's best for the leader to be the one with the most powerful Divine Essencefused Light. The three of us should unleash our respective Divine Essencefused Light to decide on who the leader should be," Liu Shui'er replied with a nod.
"I have no issue with that. I've heard that Fairy Liu possesses a natural Essencefused Body, while I possess an acquired Essencefused Body; I wonder which one is more powerful." Shi Kun's eyes lit up with a hint of excitement as he spoke.
"I think we'll both have our strengths and weaknesses. Due to the fact that I possess a natural Essencefused Body, I have great control over my Divine Essencefused Light, as if it's an extension of my body, but cultivating it is very difficult for me. In contrast, with an acquired Essencefused Body, you're able to enhance your powers easily using external help," Liu Shui'er analyzed in a calm manner.
"But those with natural Essencefused Bodies have a chance to evolve their Divine Essencefused Light; that's something the likes of myself can't compare with. On top of that, I had to endure a lot of suffering to acquire this body. Fellow Daoist Han, I've heard that you're different from both of us in that you're only able to unleash the Divine Essencefused Light through the use of an Essencefused Treasure; is that true?" Shi Kun chuckled as he turned toward Han Li.
"That is indeed true. My Divine Essencefused Light definitely can't compete with you two, so I won't participate in this contest," Han Li replied with a nonchalant smile.
Shi Kun stared at Han Li for a moment upon hearing this, but didn't press him any further as he said, "In that case, we won't force the issue, Brother Han. Why don't you have a sparring match with me, Fairy Liu?"
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 962