"Are you saying we could be teleporting straight into an ambush from the Elder Devil Race?" Fairy Silver Light asked in a cold voice as she raised an eyebrow.
The guard's heart jolted upon hearing this, and he hurriedly explained, "The location of the teleportation site is extremely secretive, so that shouldn't be the case; I'm only stating a very unlikely hypothetical situation."
"There's nothing wrong with the teleportation formation, is there?" Han Li asked in a calm voice.
"Definitely not; we've just tested it not too long ago," the guard replied in a confident manner.
"As long as the teleportation formation is fine, even if there's an ambush on the other side, Fellow Daoist Silver Light and I will be able to take care of ourselves. Prepare the teleportation formation right away," Han Li instructed.
Chapter 1893: Battle Between Humans and Devils (7)
Fairy Silver Light opened her mouth to say something in response, but decided against it in the end.
Thus, the guards immediately sprang into action, and hurriedly began to activate the teleportation formation.
Fairy Silver Light strode onto the center of the formation first, and Han Li followed along with a calm smile.
Moments later, a buzzing sound rang out from the teleportation formation underfoot, and white spiritual light flashed around them.
The spiritual light then brightened even further, and the two of them vanished on the spot.
From Han Li's perspective, everything around him had abruptly turned blurry and indistinct. With his current level of powers, teleportation over a distance like this would only result in very minor discomfort.
As the light around them began to fade and a new set of scenery took shape around them, Han Li immediately released his spiritual sense to scour through the surrounding area, following which a cold light instantly flashed through his eyes.
Almost at the exact same moment, hundreds of streaks of black light came hurtling toward them from all sides. Han Li immediately made a hand seal to conjure up a layer of grey light around his own body. Initially, the layer of grey light was only around 10 feet thick, but after just a single flash, it swelled drastically to countless times its original size, encompassing all of the oncoming streaks of black light in the process.
As a result, all of the streaks of light came to an abrupt halt, and were revealed to be black crossbow arrows, each of which was around a foot in length and of a glossy black color. The tips of the arrows were flashing with a sinister purple light, and they seemed to have been smeared with some kind of lethal poison.
Only then did Han Li inspect his surroundings in an unhurried manner, and in doing so, he discovered that they were currently situated in a giant hall that was over 1,000 feet in size. There were 50 to 60 black-armored devilish warriors dispersed throughout the hall, and they were all holding black crossbows while staring at Han Li's duo in a shocked manner.
Most of these devilish beings were at the Core Formation Stage, and there was a small number of Nascent Soul Stage beings among them, but they were led by a Deity Transformation Stage devilish being with coarse skin and a single horn on his head.
All of a sudden, the Deity Transformation Stage devilish being screeched, "Retreat! Those are Body Integration Stage human beings!"
As soon as his voice trailed off, a dull thump rang out from this body, and a burst of dense devilish Qi erupted forth, permeating throughout the entire hall.
He then immediately fled toward the entrance of the hall as a streak of black light with this devilish Qi acting as a smokescreen.
The other armored devilish warriors naturally also attempted to flee the scene in a blind panic, but Han Li certainly wasn't going to let them get away.
A hint of killing intent appeared in his eyes, and the grey light around him suddenly flashed, following which the black crossbow arrows that were hovering in mid-air immediately flew back the same way they had come from, and they did so at over 10 times the speed they had initially been launched!
A string of anguished cries rang out from the surrounding devilish beings, and all of them quickly fell to the ground.
Immediately thereafter, countless thin grey threads emerged from within the grey light and shredded the bodies of these devilish beings, eradicating even their Nascent Souls in the process.
Han Li then turned toward the leader of the devilish beings with a cold look in his eyes. At this point, he had already fled to the entrance, and Han Li's hand shot forth like lightning before making a grabbing motion from afar.
A huge azure hand instantly took shape in the air above the devilish being before crashing down with devastating force, crushing the devilish being into mincemeat amid a bloodcurdling cry.
Only then did Han Li sweep a sleeve through the air, and all of the grey threads the giant azure hand vanished on the spot.
After that, he turned to Fairy Silver Light, and said, "It looks like this place was indeed discovered by the Elder Devil Race, but they don't seem to have focused too much attention on this place considering the caliber of the devilish beings they left here to stand on guard."
"It's not that they don't want to station more powerful beings here; it's just that our human race has set up too many of these secret teleportation sites, so there's no way the Elder Devil Race can station powerful beings at every single one. The fact that there was a Deity Transformation Stage devilish being here shows that they've already taken this place very seriously," Fairy Silver Light replied.
"I see," Han Li said as he nodded with an enlightened look in his eyes.
He then flicked a finger, and a fireball shot forth before transforming into a crimson Fire Raven in a flash. The Fire Raven then swooped down onto the ground, reducing all of the bodies of the devilish beings to ashes, leaving behind only a series of storage treasures.
In contrast with the storage bracelets of the Spirit Realm, it seemed that storage belts were much more popular among the Elder Devil Race.
Han Li swept a sleeve through the air to draw all of these belts into his grasp, then casually swept his spiritual sense through them, upon which his brows furrowed slightly.
The storage belts of these devilish beings contained very few items; aside from some shimmering black crystals, most of the remaining items were comprised of things like formation plates and formation flags.
As for those black crystals, they were most likely the devilish crystals that could only be found in the Elder Devil Realm. These stones were similar to the spirit stones of the Spirit Realm, except they contained devilish Qi instead.
Spiritual light flashed from Han Li's hand as he stowed all of the storage belts away, then made his way out of the hall.
He had already inspected the entire surrounding area with his spiritual sense, so he knew that there was no one else around aside from the devilish beings he had just slain.
Fairy Silver Light naturally followed along behind him.
After emerging from the hall, they discovered that this teleportation formation was situated in an underground cave. Aside from a winding natural path that led upward, there were no other exits.
Han Li found it truly remarkable that the Elder Devil Race had managed to find such a secluded place.
Moments later, two streaks of light, one azure and one white, flew out from under a small mountain, then took a moment to decide on a direction to travel toward before flying away.
After flying for less than 100 kilometers, the azure streak of light abruptly flashed a few times before gradually becoming transparent and virtually invisible.
As for the accompanying streak of white light, it transformed into a nondescript white cloud amid a dull thump, and it seemed to be drifting quite slowly through the air, but it was actually no slower than the other streak of light.
Thus the two of them continued onward and quickly vanished into the distance.
No more than half a day after Han Li's duo had left the teleportation formation, a cloud that was formed from
devilish Qi suddenly came sweeping toward the underground cave from the distance.
It was moving incredibly quickly and arrived at the mountain that Han Li's duo had just flown out from in the blink of an eye.
After that, the devilish Qi condensed into a white-armored elderly man.
This man had a short horn on his head, and bore a strong resemblance to the Deity Transformation Stage devilish being that Han Li had slain not long ago. He was a Body Integration Stage high-grade devilish being, and as soon as he appeared, he flew into the underground cave with an urgent look on his face.
After just the span of a few breaths, a roar of grief and pain erupted from underground.
The elderly man then re-emerged on the summit of the mountain amid a flash of white light, and quickly inspected his surroundings with thunderous fury burning within his eyes.
"How dare you kill my grandson? I'll hunt you down and tear you into pieces even if I have to chase you to the end of this realm!" The white-armored elderly man was then instantly able to determine the direction that Han Li's duo had departed toward, and he let loose a low roar as a black cloud of devilish Qi erupted from his body again. [Oh my Buddha, Han Li killed a small fry that's related to someone powerful? What an unexpected twist that's never happened in the story before LOL]
The elderly man then laid a hand onto his belt, and a ball of black light flew out amid a clear cry. Immediately thereafter, the ball of black light transformed into a giant black crane that was around 100 feet in length, and the elderly man leaped onto the crane's back before making a hand seal with a furious expression.
Black light swirled around the giant crane's wings, and it suddenly manifested four pairs of black wings before flapping them in unison.
The giant black crane shot forth through the air like a giant arrow, and at the same time, the devilish Qi released by the elderly man expanded drastically to encompass the crane as well, and its speed was instantly doubled!
Right at this moment, a gargantuan black staff suddenly extended out of the cloud of black Qi before slamming viciously into the small mountain from over 10,000 feet away.
An earth-shattering boom rang out as countless shards of rocks flew in all directions, and the giant staff projection vanished in a flash, having reduced the small mountain to half its original height.
Meanwhile, the giant crane had already disappeared into the distance.
Four hours later, on a giant mountain that was hundreds of thousands of kilometers away, there were two other high-grade devilish beings discussing something with one another.
"Old Man Li has been gone for a long time; didn't he say he was coming back right after he delivered a couple of protective treasures to his grandson? What's taking him so long? If he delays what we're doing here, we'll have to answer to Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang," a high-grade devilish being with blue devilish marks all over his face said in an impatient manner.
"There's no need to be so impatient, Lord Lan; Old Man Li is not a man who doesn't know his priorities, and he's most likely already on the way back. That grandson of his is his only direct lineal descendent, so it's only normal that he's giving him a lot of attention," the other high-grade devilish being with several fleshy feelers around his mouth said in a nonchalant manner.
Chapter 1894: First Encounter With a Devilish Lord
"Even so, that place isn't all that far away; he should've been back by now. Could he have encountered some trouble along the way?" Lord Lan murmured as he stroked the devilish patterns on his own face in a contemplative manner
"What troubles could he possibly encounter? With his powers, no human cultivator below the Body Integration Stage would dare to mess with him," the other devilish being replied with a shake of his head.
"Not necessarily. The humans have some secret treasures that can allow one to punch above their weight. Alternatively, a few late-Spatial Tempering cultivators who are adept in combination techniques can also be very troublesome," Lord Lan said.
"All of the human settlements in this area have been surrounded; how could there possibly be such an inconvenient coincidence?" the bald devilish being chuckled in a nonchalant manner.
Right as his voice trailed off, a low ringing sound suddenly rang out from his body, and both devilish beings were rather taken aback by this.
The bald devilish being immediately waved a hand through the air, and a white formation plate appeared in his hand amid a flash of black light. He pointed a finger toward the formation plate, and a burst of transparent fluctuations immediately rippled through the air, following which white light flashed from the surface of the plate, and the furious face of an elderly man appeared.
It was none other than the Fellow Daoist Li they had been referring to!
"Brother Li, why are you contacting us through this formation plate? And why are you still not back yet?" the bald devilish being asked in a slightly displeased manner.
Lord Lan's expression eased slightly upon seeing that the elderly man was alive and well, but a hint of displeasure then appeared in his eyes as well. "We didn't bring along many Illusion Devil Stones for this formation plate to use up, so you'd better have a good reason for contacting us."
"Hmph, my grandson was killed by human cultivators not long ago, and I'm pursuing the perpetrator now. However, it's very likely that there's a Body Integration cultivator among their ranks, so I may not be able to exact revenge on my own; I'll need you two to help me. In return, I'm willing to give you half of everything I obtain during this sacred sacrifice," the elderly man said with killing intent flashing through his eyes.
"How do you know that a Body Integration Stage human cultivator was involved, Brother Li?" the bald devilish being asked in a surprised manner.
"I've already been to the place where my grandson and his subordinates were killed, but there was no lingering aura suggesting that a battle had taken place; there's no way a Spatial Tempering cultivator could've accomplished this, so there's a very good chance that the perpetrator is a Body Integration cultivator," the elderly man explained.
"I see, that does seem quite plausible. Do you know the exact number of this group of human cultivators, Brother Li?" Lord Lan asked in a solemn voice.
"I do; I could sense the residual aura of only two humans there," the elderly man replied.
"Oh, in that case, the three of us should definitely be able to take care of them, but the problem is that we have an important duty on our shoulders. If something goes wrong as we're hunting these people down, then the Sacred Ancestor won't be happy," the bald devilish being said in a hesitant manner.
"Those Body Integration Stage human cultivators are definitely here to oppose our sacred race; if we can kill them and foil their plans, then the Sacred Ancestor will only reward us for our efforts. Besides, there may only be a single Body Integration cultivator involved, and the three of us can even take on someone at the pinnacle of the Body Integration Stage, so there's virtually no risk involved. How about this? Aside from half of everything I obtain during this sacred sacrifice, I'll also give you that Rotten Tendril Zoysia of mine," the elderly man said through gritted teeth.
The bald devilish being was very tempted upon hearing this. "Oh? you really must be eager to take revenge if you're even offering such a precious treasure. In that case, I'm certainly willing to lend you a hand. What do you say, Brother Lan?"
Lord Lan was also rather tempted by this proposition, but he asked again in a cautious manner, "Fellow Daoist Li, are you sure that there are only two perpetrators?"
A hint of fury resurfaced in the elderly man's eyes, but he forcibly repressed it, and harrumphed coldly, "Hmph, are you doubting my abilities, Fellow Daoist Lan? If there are more then two of them, then I won't force you two to fight alongside me."
"Alright, that's all I needed to hear; we'll go to join you right away. Make sure you don't let those two human cultivators shake you off, Brother Li," Lord Lan said with a faint smile.
"Those two killed my onl
y direct lineal descendant; unless they suddenly end up on the other side of the realm, there's no way they'll be able to escape my tracking secret technique," the elderly man said in a confident manner.
Immediately thereafter, white light flashed from the formation plate, and the image of Lord Li abruptly vanished; he had cut off the communication from his end.
"Hehe, I was wondering what was taking him so long. I guess this is understandable; if my only direct lineal descendent were killed by someone, I would also be sure to capture them and torture them for a few years before killing them," the bald devilish being chuckled coldly.
"At our cultivation bases, it's virtually impossible to have any more offspring, so we naturally have to pay more attention to our existing descendants. Thankfully, most of us have quite a few descendants, and Fellow Daoist Li's situation is rather uncommon. It's no wonder that he's so furious and willing to offer such a large reward for our help," Lord Lan also said with a smile.
"If it's just two human cultivators, then there shouldn't be any issues; let's set off right away. Perhaps we'll be able to strip some powerful treasures from those two humans as well," the bald devilish being said as a hint of greed flashed through his eyes.
"Of course, we already agreed to assist Brother Li, so we should naturally do everything in our power. Let's go!"
Blue arcs of lightning crackled around Lord Lan as he spoke, and his arms suddenly transformed into a pair of fleshy blue wings. Not only were the wings riddled with blue bone spikes, there were countless arcs of lightning revolving around them, creating a very menacing sight to behold.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 1094