Liu Shui'er nodded before slowly rising up into the air until she was hovering over 200 feet above the ground.
For some reason, she also seemed to be very interested in Shi Kun's acquired Essencefused Body.
Shi Kun let loose a low cry, and yellow light flashed all over his body as he rose up to the same altitude as Liu Shui'er before facing her in mid-air.
Meanwhile, Han Li flew back to over 1,000 feet away, leaving a trail of afterimages in his wake before looking up in an expressionless manner.
He didn't have any interest in leading the combination secret technique, but he was rather interested to see how powerful the Divine Essencefused Light of these two beings were.
At this moment, Shi Kun let loose a loud cry as his skin gradually turned black, transforming him into what appeared to be a black rock golem. Immediately thereafter, he made a hand seal, and grey light instantly took the place of the yellow light around his body.
This was none other than the Divine Essencefused Light.
"Look out now, Fairy Liu!" Shi Kun warned before raising an arm and spreading his fingers apart before making a grabbing motion.
A pillar of grey light immediately shot forth from his palm, but as soon as it left his body, it transformed into thousands of grey threads of light that filled the entire sky.
Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked on from down below.
Liu Shui'er made a hand seal in an unhurried manner upon seeing this, and grey light also erupted from her graceful body, forming a massive wheel of light with a radius of 30 to 40 feet behind her, and the wheel was slowly rotating behind her.
The center of the wheel flashed, and a burst of grey light swept forth, hurting directly toward the oncoming threads of light.
The two clashed in an instant, resulting in a loud explosion.
Both of them were using the same type of power, so none of the Divine Essencefused Light's advantages over other types of powers could play a role here. As such, this battle could only be decided purely by the powers of their respective Divine Essencefused Light.
Following the conclusion of the explosion, all of the grey light had vanished into nothingness, and it appeared that their first clash had concluded in a tie.
"Splendid! Now see if you can handle this!" Shi Kun chortled as he suddenly slammed his hands together in front of his chest.
His black rocky body shuddered as a burst of piercing grey light emerged, and it was as if he'd transformed into a scintillating grey sun that was too bright to be directly appraised.
A serious expression appeared on Liu Shui'er's face for the first time, and she immediately made a series of quick hand seals while chanting something at the same time.
The grey wheel of light behind her blurred before rotating at a rapid rate, and countless runes surged forth from it in a frenzy, shattering before converging again.
In the blink of an eye, a massive rune had taken shape at the center of the wheel of light.
"Go!" Shi Kun let loose a low cry as he swept both arms through the air, and they transformed into countless projections that hurtled through the air, as if he'd unleashed hundreds of punches in a split second.
Each and every fist projection then transformed into a head-sized ball of grey light, and hundreds of them rushed toward Liu Shui'er in a frenzy, creating quite an intimidating sight to behold.
In the face of such an astonishing assault, Liu Shui'er merely harrumphed coldly before pointing a finger up ahead.
A burst of buzzing immediately rang out from the grey wheel of light behind her, and its rotation came to an abrupt halt as the massive rune shot forth from its center.
A peculiar scene then unfolded.
As soon as the rune sped into the air, it swelled drastically in size, reaching several hundred feet in just a few flashes. It continued on toward the balls of grey light in a soundless manner, obscuring virtually the entire sky.
After striking the massive rune, all of the balls of light vanished in a flash like sandcastles being swept away by the rising tide.
Shi Kun had grey light flashing from his hands, and he was about to unleash a second wave of attacks, but his expression immediately faltered upon seeing this. After a short while, he lowered his hands as a wry smile appeared on his face.
"That's enough for me. As expected of a natural Essencefused Body; my acquired body simply can't compare. There's no way that I'll be able to beat that attack."
Shi Kun made no effort to prolong this sparring match, immediately conceding after deciding that there was no chance for victory, then descended back onto the ground.
"There's no need to be so depressed, Fellow Daoist Shi. I only recently grasped that ability, and I wouldn't have unleashed it had it not been for the fact that you'd thrown such a devastating attack at me. In reality, the power of your Divine Essencefused Light is quite comparable to mine," Liu Shui'er chuckled in consolation before pointing a finger at the giant rune.
The rune immediately shattered amid a flash of grey light, then disintegrated into specks of grey light that surged back into the grey wheel.
Following a gentle wave of her arm, the grey wheel of light disappeared in a flash, and she also slowly descended from up above.
"Hehe, there's no need to try and flatter me, Fellow Daoist Liu; I'm well aware of the extent of my abilities. I gave everything I could just then, but you probably only used 60% to 70% of the power of your Divine Essencefused Light at most. I don't know about Fellow Daoist Han, but there's no way that I can match you in this aspect," Shi Kun replied in a nonchalant manner.
"Even Brother Shi is no match for Fairy Liu, so there's no way that I can compare when my Divine Essencefused Light is merely stemming from a treasure," Han Li said with a hint of a smile on his face.
Liu Shui'er and Shi Kun naturally didn't' completely believe what Han Li was saying, but seeing as his Divine Essencefused Light really did stem from a treasure, it was most likely the case that it would indeed be inferior in power compared to theirs.
As such, the two of the three of them exchanged some further pleasantries, and they didn't force Han Li to display his power.
Unbeknownst to them, the treasure that Han Li was referring to was an entire Divine Essencefused Mountain. If they'd known that, there was no way that they'd be thinking this way.
Thus, following that sparring match, Liu Shui'er was assigned the leader of the combination secret technique, while Han Li and Shi Kun were to play secondary support roles.
The three of them immediately set up a giant illusionary formation in the nearby area to disguise the fact that the entire island had been razed to the ground, then began to practice the secret technique.
A dozen or so days passed in a flash.
During this time, no other beings or sea beasts passed by the island, so no mishaps occurred.
After three or four more days, the illusionary formation on the island suddenly vanished, and three humanoid figures rose up into the air.
This was naturally none other than Han Li's trio.
Liu Shui'er wore an elated expression, while Han Li remained quite calm, and Shi Kun looked like he simply didn't care.
It appeared that their cultivation on the island had gone very smoothly.
"I didn't think that our cultivation of the combination secret technique would go so smoothly; we've managed to master it in just half a month."
"Hehe, that's mainly because your mastery of the Divine Essencefused Light far outstrips ours. Fellow Daoist Han and I both benefited greatly from cultivating with you," Shi Kun chuckled in reply.
"Indeed, I didn't think that there were so many forms that the Divine Essencefused Light could adopt; I really must thank you for your instruction," Han Li chimed in with a smile.
"You're far too kind, Fellow Daoist; I was only able to master these things as I possess a natural Essencefused Body. If you two were in my shoes, I'm sure your mastery of the Divine Essencefused Light would only be superior to mine," Liu
Shui'er chuckled in a modest manner.
"That's enough exchanges of pleasantries; let's go and find those restricted ruins as soon as we can. There's no way to ascertain where we are now in the middle of the ocean, so we have to find land first before deciding where to go next," Shi Kun suggested.
Han Li and Liu Shui'er naturally had no objections to this.
Thus, the three of them picked a certain direction before flying toward it.
Chapter 1683: Sea Guardian Ape
The three of them flew for four days and four nights, encountering only a few islands along the way.
All of these islands had been taken over by other sea beasts, all of whom possessed extremely powerful auras.
Sea beasts of this caliber weren't powerful enough to scare the three of them away, but they were clearly far more powerful than the octopus beast, so even the three of them would've had some difficulty facing them.
As such, both Liu Shui'er and Shi Kun were quite relieved that they'd listened to Han Li's advice. Otherwise, they would've had to delay the cultivation of that secret technique after they'd found land.
However, land was clearly not that easy to find.
On the fifth morning, a faint black line finally appeared on the surface of the ocean in the distance, and all three of them were quite elated to see this.
"We've finally flown out of this accursed ocean," Shi Kun laughed heartily.
Liu Shui'er was also quite elated, but she cautioned, "You should still be on your guard, Fellow Daoist Shi. According to the experience of those who have come before us, land is far more dangerous here than the ocean. We may have found land, but it's best to withdraw our auras so we don't end up alerting any powerful ancient beasts to our presence."
"Don't worry, Fairy Liu, I do enjoy a good battle, but I'm well aware of my limitations," Shi Kun replied in a nonchalant manner.
Liu Shui'er was feeling slightly more reassured upon hearing this.
With Shi Kun's cultivation base and experience, she naturally shouldn't have to issue such a reminder, but Shi Kun seemed to enjoy battling a little too much, which was why she had been slightly concerned.
A faint smile appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this, and he was just about to say something as well when violent winds were suddenly swept up in the distance over the surface of the ocean. A cloud of murky white mist began to appear, and it was spreading at a rapid rate.
"What's that?" Han Li was rather taken aback by this sudden development.
Liu Shui'er and Shi Kun had naturally also witnessed the strange scenes unfolding up ahead, and they exchanged a slightly bewildered glance with one another.
Without the need for any further communication, all three of them stopped cold in their tracks before casting their eyes toward the distant shore.
Almost at the exact same moment, a loud cry rang out from the shore, and the sea of mist that was a few acres in size churned violently along with the ocean around it.
At the same time, an astonishing primordial aura erupted into the heavens from below the mist.
Immediately thereafter, a giant beast that was several times larger than even the giant octopus they'd slain surfaced from the ocean. This was a furry giant ape-like beast with a single horn on its head.
As soon as the beast flew out of the sea, it threw its head back and let loose an unbearably sharp cry.
As soon as Han Li's trio heard this loud cry, their expressions changed drastically, and spiritual light flashed from their bodies as they hurriedly conjured up thick light barriers to shield themselves within, then exchanged fearful glances with one another.
As soon as the sharp screech had reached their ears, their eardrums had been struck by a sharp pain. At the same time, the blood within their bodies began to churn violently, causing their limbs to experience an uncomfortable pins and needles sensation.
The three of them were naturally quite startled by this.
However, unbeknownst to them, this was only just the beginning.
In the next instant, the sharp screech emanating from the giant beast's mouth suddenly turned into a thunderous roar that caused the nearby air to tremor audibly.
Not only did the surrounding sea mist quickly disperse as a result of this almighty roar, countless vortexes of different sizes had been formed in the nearby seawater as well.
Countless fish of all types floated to the surface with their bellies facing the heavens, having been killed by the soundwaves from the sea beast's devastating roar.
All of a sudden, the surface of the ocean in a radius of around 50 kilometers was riddled with fish carcasses.
At this moment, the light barriers around the bodies of Han Li and the others began to tremor violently, as if they were being dealt heavy blows, and their expressions darkened significantly.
Liu Shui'er had turned completely pale, and her body was trembling involuntarily, looking as if she were going to plummet downward at any moment.
Shi Kun's body was as still as a mountain, but there were thick veins pulsing on his forehead, and his eyes were threatening to bulge out of their sockets, clearly indicating that he was going through extreme exertion.
Among the three of them, Han Li remained the least affected, and his face had only paled slightly.
Strangely enough, the thunderous roar was exerting an immense amount of pressure toward all three of them, but they were completely unable to move, as if their feet had been rooted to the spot.
The roar erupting from the giant beast's mouth grew louder and louder, and there were now even transparent soundwaves that were visible to the naked eye surging through the air.
After being swept through by these soundwaves, an indentation that was over 100 feet deep was blasted into the nearby surface of the ocean, thereby forming a massive water crater.
Waves that were several thousand feet tall instantly took shape before sweeping forth in all directions as if there was an immense force propelling them from behind.
Han Li and the others were situated several tens of kilometers away, but it still felt as if those waves were going to crash into them at any moment.
Liu Shui'er and Shi Kun were both very alarmed by this development, yet both of them were completely rooted to the spot.
The transparent soundwaves were less than 500 meters away from them after just a few flashes, and Shi Kun finally managed to open his mouth slightly. In doing so, he managed to utter a faint raspy sound, and yellow light began to flash from his body, but he was still completely unable to move.
Sweat began to pour down his forehead as horror appeared in his eyes, as well as in the eyes of Liu Shui'er.
Just as the transparent soundwaves were about to reach them, golden light suddenly flashed past Han Li's face, and he let loose a cold harrumph.
The harrumph wasn't very loud, but Liu Shui'er and Shi Kun both shuddered in response, following which spiritual light flashed from their bodies, and expressions of elation appeared on their faces.
Immediately thereafter, Shi Kun stomped a foot into the air and shot back as a streak of yellow light.
Meanwhile, Liu Shui'er made a hand seal, and her body blurred before she abruptly vanished on the spot.
When she reappeared, she was already over 1,000 feet away.
In just a few flashes, she had traveled close to 10 kilometers, even managing to outspeed Shi Kun in the process.
As for Han Li, he'd already sped away as a streak of golden light after letting loose that cold harrumph.
After all three of them had fled for close to 20 kilometers, all of them finally stopped in their tracks before turning back.
The transparent soundwaves that were surging toward them finally ran out of power a few kilometers away from them.
Unbeknownst to them, right after they'd regained their mobility, a vicious light flashed through the giant sea beast's eyes, and it cast a final glance at the direction they'd fled in before returning to the shore as if nothing had ever happened. Throughout this pro
cess, the almighty roar erupting from its mouth didn't cease for even a single moment.
"What kind of sea beast is this? Just its roar alone was enough to restrict our bodies and magic power. Could it be that this is a legendary true spirit Giant Mountain Ape?" Shi Kun said with a hint of lingering fear in his eyes.
Liu Shui'er seemed to have recovered some of her composure, and she said, "It can't be a Giant Mountain Ape. If it really were a true spirit being, then we would've perished to its roar already. Even so, this is not something that we can afford to mess with. I think it better matches the description of a Sea Guardian Ape."
"A Sea Guardian Ape! Is that the legendary ape that's supposedly able to tear wyrms apart with its bare hands and swallow holy race beings alive?" Shi Kun drew a sharp breath upon hearing this.
"That should be it. After all, the roar of the Sea Guardian Ape has been vastly renowned ever since ancient times. We were most likely only able to escape alive because it wasn't directly attacking us, and we were merely in the wrong place at the wrong time," Liu Shui'er mused with a wry smile.
"In that case, we really are very fortunate to have escaped with our lives. If it weren't for Brother Han saving us with that ability of his, the two of us would most likely be dead by now." Shi Kun suddenly cast his gaze toward Han Li with a peculiar look in his eyes.
His expression was also mirrored on Liu Shui'er's face as she said, "Indeed. I didn't think that Brother Han would possess an ability capable of nullifying the roar of a Sea Guardian Ape."
"It's nothing much; I just so happened to have cultivated some secret techniques that were able to provide some resistance against this beast's roar. Thankfully, we were quite far away, so we weren't afflicted by the full power of that roar. Otherwise, even I would've been in trouble as well," Han Li said in an indifferent manner.
Liu Shui'er and Shi Kun exchanged a skeptical glance upon hearing this.
After a brief pause, Liu Shui'er smiled, and said, "In any case, you saved me and Brother Shi. I'll have to repay you for that in the future."
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 963