However, the owner of the devilish claws hadn't enjoyed that clash, either. Not only had the giant devilish claw projection he unleashed been completely destroyed, he was also forced to stumble out of thin air.
A cold look appeared in Han Li's eyes, and he was just about to focus his gaze on this devilish being when a bone-chilling sensation suddenly swept toward him from behind without any warning.
If a normal mid-Body Integration cultivator were in his place, they would've definitely been slowed down significantly by this burst of glacial power. However, Han Li possessed the five-colored glacial flames, and he had also absorbed another type of unknown glacial power in the primordial world, so his proficiency in controlling glacial powers wasn't inferior in the slightest compared to Body Integration cultivators who purely used ice-attribute cultivation arts.
As such, the burst of glacial power didn't do anything aside from conjure up a layer of frost over his robes.
All of a sudden, a green figure leaped out of Han Li's back before throwing a vicious punch. The green fists struck a snowy white flying dagger amid a resounding boom, and green and white light intertwined as a burst of thriving vitality erupted in all directions alongside white glacial Qi.
The flying dagger tremored before flying back, then landed in the grasp of another humanoid figure who had just emerged out of thin air.
This was a thin young man who appeared to be around 15 to 16 years of age. He wore a cold expression, and was currently appraising Han Li with a frosty look in his eyes.
As for the green figure, it was revealed to be a green-robed humanoid figure that was identical in appearance to Han Li. There was faint purple light emanating from its body, and it was missing one of its hands.
Even though it had managed to force back that flying dagger with its fist, its hand has also been severed during the clash.
However, a ball of green light then appeared around the wrist of the severed hand, and another hand immediately took its place. The green-skinned Han Li flexed the fingers on the hand, and it was no different to the hand that had just been severed.
The frosty young man faltered slightly upon seeing this before a vicious light appeared in his eyes. The green-skinned Han Li was naturally none other than his Body Integration Stage spirit body, and it had saved him from that perilous sneak attack.
However, Han Li wore a slightly dark expression as he also appraised the white-robed young man with animosity in his eyes.
Ever since he had mastered the first stage of the Spirit Refinement Technique, no one had ever been able to sneak so close to him without his detection. This immediately made Han Li quite wary of this mid-Body Integration Stage devilish lord.
All of a sudden, a resounding boom rang out, and Han Li raised an eyebrow as he cast his gaze toward Fairy Silver Light out of the corner of his eyes.
There, he discovered that she had summoned a silver flag, which had transformed into a ball of silver light, and had just endured another clash against the owner of the giant devilish claws.
Judging from her pale complexion and the slightly disoriented look in her eyes, she had clearly come off decidedly second-best during the clash.
This was partially due to the fact that she had still yet to recover from her last battle, but at the same time, the power of her opponent was certainly not to be discounted.
Han Li's heart stirred slightly as he cast his gaze up into the air, upon which he caught sight of a burly devilish man in a suit of black devilish armor.
The devilish man had a crimson sarcoma on his head, and he was holding a pair of inky-black bone hammers while appraising Han Li and Fairy Silver Light with a sinister expression.
Han Li's eyelids twitched slightly as he discovered that this black-armored devilish man was at the pinnacle of the late-Body Integration Stage, and the indescribably sinister aura emanating from his body indicated that he seemed to be using an extremely powerful devilish cultivation art.
"You two are esteemed figures even in the context of the entire Elder Devil Race; don't you think it's far too underhanded to use such sneaky tactics?" Fairy Silver Light accused in an enraged manner.
"Hmph, if we can kill our enemies, what does it matter? We aren't bound by the pretentious rules that you humans have set for yourselves," the burly devilish lord guffawed as he thumped his hammers together violently.
"Judging from your powers, I'm sure you two are quite renowned even among devilish lords; how about telling us your names?" Han Li said in a calm manner.
"You two were able to withstand my attack just now, so you're worthy of hearing my name. I am Tie Long of our sacred race's Steel Bone Branch, and this is Fei Ya of the Ice Spirit Branch. You two must be the human reinforcements that have been sent to this Heavenlean City; why don't you tell me your name as well so I can add you to the list of human Body Integration cultivators I've slain?" Tie Long said with a sinister smile.
Rather than being irked by this provocative remark, Han Li merely smiled, and replied, "My surname is Han, and I'm just an insignificant man that I'm sure you wouldn’t have heard of. Do you think you still have a chance to kill us after failing to do so with that sneak attack?"
As if to back up Han Li's words, as soon as his voice trailed off, two streaks of spiritual light suddenly flew out of Heavenlean City before hurtling directly toward them.
Chapter 1907: Arrival of Allies
Within the two streaks of light, two astonishing bursts of Body Integration Stage spiritual pressure surged toward the two devilish lords. They contained an early-Body Integration cultivator, and a mid-Body Integration cultivator.
Tie Long's expression changed slightly upon seeing this, and after taking a quick glance at the two oncoming streaks of light, he turned to his companion with a dark expression, and said, "Let's go."
As soon as his voice trailed off, he raised a hand to summon an inky-black war carriage that was several tens of feet in length, and he immediately flew onto the carriage.
Meanwhile, the frosty young man remained completely expressionless, but his body blurred on the spot before vanishing in a flash.
In the next instant, the white-robed young man appeared several thousand feet away, then took another step and vanished once again.
He seemed to possess a formless body, and it only took him several steps to completely disappear into the distance.
As for Tie Long, the black war carriage beneath his feet flashed with black light, then carried him away into the distance as an arc of black lightning. A string of thunderclaps rang out, and after a few more flashes, the carriage also vanished into the distance.
Han Li wore a contemplative expression as he looked on at the two departing devilish lords, but made no effort to give chase.
As for Fairy Silver Light, she was clearly very wary of Tie Long's astonishing powers, and also remained on the spot with a strained expression.
These two devilish lords were far more powerful than she had anticipated, and there could even be other devilish lords among this army. In that case, even with her and Han Li's assistance, it would be very difficult to guard this city.
Han Li's expression quickly returned to normal, and a faint smile appeared on his face as he cast his gaze toward the two oncoming streaks of light.
The lights faded, and two people were revealed not far away from Han Li's duo. The two people consisted of a man who appeared to be in his forties, and a woman who appeared to be around 27 to 28 years of age.
The man had a square and stern face, and wore a set of yellow scholar robes. He had a thick white jade book in his hand, and there were two giant brushes, one golden and one silver, strapped to his back.
As for the woman, she had an oval face and was quite a beauty. She wore a dark green palatial dress, and she was holding a basket of flowers.
A hint of elation flashed through Fairy Silver Light's eyes at the sight of the woman, and she immediately said, "I'm so glad that you're safe and well, Sister Lin! I was sent here to re
inforce your sect."
"Sister Silver Light, it's so good to see you! Your city must've received our request for reinforcements. May I ask who your companion is? I don't recall ever seeing him before." The woman in the palatial dress appraised Fairy Silver Light with a look of surprise and elation on her face, which was then replaced by a hint of befuddlement when she turned to Han Li.
Before Han Li had a chance to reply, the yellow-robed scholar smiled, and said, "Hehe, this is Fellow Daoist Han Li. I met him on several occasions on Nine Immortal Mountain."
This scholar seemed to recognize Han Li, and Han Li also found him to be rather familiar. After a brief pause for contemplation, he recalled who this man was, and he immediately greeted with a smile, "Ah, you're Master Azure Dragon of the Nine Star Sect; it's a pleasure meeting you again."
This Master Azure Dragon was a Body Integration cultivator whom he'd met on several occasions during the Myriad Treasure Exchange Convention, but they weren't overly familiar with one another.
The scholar swept his spiritual sense toward Han Li, upon which a hint of astonishment appeared in his eyes. "I recall you were only at the early-Body Integration Stage when we last met, yet you've progressed to the mid-Body Integration Stage after just several centuries; I really must congratulate you, Brother Han."
"I was very fortunate to have been able to make a breakthrough during the past few centuries. I didn't think that we would meet again after the exchange convention. This must be the Fellow Daoist Lin Luan that Fairy Silver Light mentioned, right?" Han Li gave a modest response as usual before changing the subject and directing his attention to the woman in the palatial dress.
"Indeed, I am Lin Luan, Brother Han. I've heard much about you lately, and I must thank you and Sister Silver Light for coming to our city to assist us in our time of need. If no Body Integration Stage fellow Daoists had come to reinforce us, then our Heavenlean City most likely wouldn't even be able to last two more months," Lin Luan said in a grateful voice that was very pleasant to the ears.
"Why is that, Sister Lin? Brother Han and I saw the devilish army attack the city from afar just now, and the All-encompassing Devilish Cavaliers do appear to be quite troublesome, but the city was able to keep them at bay, so what's the issue?" Fairy Silver Light asked as a grim look appeared on her face.
"Unfortunately, what you just saw is only a small portion of the devilish army; the true army is situated in a mountain range thousands of kilometers away from here. Also, these devilish elites aren't attacking our city in an all-out assault because they're waiting for a certain day to arrive," Lin Luan replied with a wry smile.
"They're waiting for a certain day?" Fairy Silver Light was rather bewildered to hear this.
"Indeed, but this is not the place to talk; let's return to the city first. The Elder Devils are extremely cunning; perhaps those two devilish lords will return to this place with the other two devilish lords," Master Azure Dragon reminded.
Fairy Silver Light's heart jolted upon hearing this, and she immediately agreed without any hesitation, "There are four devilish lords in total? Alright, let's hurry back to the city."
Thus, the four of them flew toward Heavenlean City together, reaching the massive city wall in the blink of an eye.
At this point, some of the human cultivators and copper puppets were still yet to enter the city, and Han Li couldn't help but take a few glances at them.
The high-grade cultivators all appeared to be quite exhausted, and some of them had very pale complexions, indicating that they were either carrying injuries or had expended far too much energy.
As for the copper puppets, most of them were riddled with pits and bumps, and some of them were even missing limbs. It seemed that Heavenlean City really had been struggling.
Fairy Silver Light's expression also darkened upon seeing this, while Lin Luan and Master Azure Dragon could only look on with wry smiles.
Right at this moment, a group of cultivators in five-colored robes flew onto the city wall atop flying treasures. They then began to repair the city wall while carving a series of complex and profound formations onto its surface.
At the same time, groups of human warriors got onto the city wall to replace the human cultivators there. These warriors were all fully equipped and appeared to be quite well-rested, and Han Li's heart eased slightly upon seeing this.
Thus, he and Fairy Silver Light were led over the city wall, as well as the defenses that had been set up in the city, and finally made their way into a hall situated in a corner of Heavenlean City.
There were several Spatial Tempering cultivators already waiting for them inside the hall, and as soon as they arrived, the group of cultivators stood up to greet them in an enthusiastic manner.
At the sight of the hint of befuddlement that had appeared on Han Li and Fairy Silver Light's faces, Master Azure Dragon hurriedly explained, "These are the fellow Daoists who are responsible for overseeing our city's defenses; I'm sure they'll be able to introduce our current situation to you."
"I see." Han Li nodded before taking a seat in the hall, while the group of Spatial Tempering cultivators remained standing respectfully off to the side.
"Sister Lin, Fellow Daoist Azure Dragon, please tell us about Heavenlean City's current situation in detail, as well as how those two fellow Daoists were killed, so Brother Han and I can know what to look out for," Fairy Silver Light said as she took a seat.
Everyone's expressions changed slightly at the mention of the two deceased Body Integration cultivators, and Master Azure Dragon's expression became a little strained.
Fairy Lin Luan brows furrowed slightly as she replied, "There really isn't much to be said about how those fellow Daoists were killed; we mentioned everything there was to be said in that letter. The devilish lords that are leading the attack against our city are extremely cunning; they only brought a small portion of their All-encompassing Devilish Cavaliers initially, and these cavaliers were led by only two early-Body Integration Stage devilish lords. As such, our two fellow Daoists were lured out of the city, where they were ambushed by four devilish lords, and were killed on the scene."
"I see, these devilish beings really are very calculating," Fairy Silver Light sighed in a forlorn manner.
Han Li nodded in agreement before asking, "Indeed, the two of us will need to proceed with caution as well. If possible, would you be able to tell us about the abilities of those four devilish lords?"
"Of course, we'll be counting on you and Fellow Daoist Silver Light to help us defend the city, so we'll give you all of the information we've compiled on these four devilish lords," Master Azure Dragon quickly agreed.
"That would be best. You were saying earlier that the devilish beings were waiting for a certain day; would you be able to elaborate on that?" Han Li asked.
Fairy Silver Light was clearly also very interested to hear the answer.
"This is referring to the day where the five suns transition into moons two months from now. On that day, the main protective formation that our city is relying on will cease to function," Lin Luan replied in a grim manner.
Chapter 1908: Nine Sun Astral Formation
"The day when the five suns transition into moons? Now that you mention it, this centenary phenomenon is indeed going to take place in two months, but how does it have anything to do with the city's protective formation?" Fairy Silver Light asked.
Han Li was very knowledgeable in formations, and he quickly theorized, "On the day when the five suns transition into moons, the Yang energy of heaven and earth will be severely lacking; could it be that this formation draws its power from this energy?"
"Precisely, Fellow Daoist Han. Our four sects set up a Nine Sun Astral Formation in the city, and the more Yang energy of heaven and earth it can absorb, the more powerful it'll be. At the height of its powers, it wouldn't be impossible for it to kill even devilish lords. It's exactly because of this formation that the devilish army hasn't dared to launch an all-out attack aga
inst our city. Not only can this formation only be set up in a place where nine plots of earthly fire can be found, the materials required have exhausted almost the entire wealth of our four sects. On top of that, it's limited by the fact that it can only unleash its power after absorbing an enormous amount of the Yang energy of heaven and earth. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't be an issue, but due to the issue outlined earlier, we're truly in a dire situation," Lin Luan said with tightly furrowed brows.
"Nine Sun Astral Formation? If this formation is as powerful as you say, then why have I never heard of it before?" Fairy Silver Light asked.
"That's no surprise; this formation is one that was created by a dozen or so of our four sect's formation masters, and it took over 1,000 years for them to do so. Its powers are definitely not inferior to those the legendary ancient formations," Fairy Lin Luan explained in a slightly proud manner.
Han Li's expression remained unchanged upon hearing this, but he was actually quite surprised. Only a major power such as this one would be able to gather enough resources and manpower to create a new formation of such staggering power. It seemed that the four sects were very powerful, and had been preparing for this devilish tribulation for a long time.
Not only had they gathered four Body Integration cultivators, they had even created such an extraordinary formation.
A thought suddenly occurred to Han Li, and he smiled as he said, "This Nine Sun Astral Formation does sound very powerful, but the city is facing an army of devilish elites led by four devilish lords; surely this formation alone isn't enough to make the army so wary of the city."
"Indeed, this formation is extremely powerful, but it will surely take quite a while to activate, so it would be quite a stretch to use it against the four devilish lords. On top of that, there's a devilish lord at the pinnacle of the late-Body Integration Stage among the devilish army; will a formation really be enough to oppose such a powerful being?" Fairy Silver Light also asked with a puzzled expression.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 1102