The Pipe Dream Stone Spirit had focused its illusionary technique primarily on Master Black Rain and Buddhist Master Tian Chan. As such, even though Han Li had also been affected somewhat from afar, he was able to easily break out of the illusion with his immense spiritual sense, then arrived above the restrictions just in the nick of time.
The stone spirit became even more furious at the sight of this new enemy. Yellow flames suddenly erupted from its body, and the flames were sent sweeping toward Han Li in a frenzy.
These flames were none other than the Glacial Yin Demonic Flames that it had only attained after cultivating underground for tens of thousands of years.
As opposed to being alarmed by these oncoming flames, he merely chuckled and flipped a hand over to produce a small black mountain. He laid a hand onto the mountain, and it instantly swelled to over 100 feet in size!
A row of silver runes appeared on the mountain at Han Li's behest, following which a vast expanse of grey light swept forth before forming a grey vortex in mid-air.
As soon as the yellow demonic flames came into contact with the grey vortex, a rumbling boom akin to a thunderclap erupted, and the flames were all drawn into the vortex.
As a result, the grey vortex expanded slightly, but didn't display any other reaction.
The Pipe Dream Stone Spirit let loose a sharp cry upon seeing this, and an earth-shattering boom abruptly erupted from within the grey vortex. The vortex tremored violently before shattering, and the yellow demonic flames sprang forth from within it before transforming into a yellow fiery toad that pounced directly toward Han Li.
Even before the fiery toad had reached Han Li, he was struck by a burst of glacial power that threatened to freeze even his soul.
Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this. The demonic flames were indeed rather troublesome to deal with, but he naturally wasn't going to be fearful of it. He reached out and made a grabbing motion toward the fiery toad, upon which a huge white hand with five-colored glacial flames burning around it emerged.
The giant hand then shot forth toward the fiery toad like lightning, and perhaps the fiery toad knew that it wouldn't be able to evade the hand or simply had no intention of taking evasive measures; in any case, it jumped straight into the massive hand, upon which the fingers of the hand closed tightly around it while five-colored glacial flames swelled drastically.
A dull thump rang out as the fiery toad instantly exploded, reverting back into a wave of fire that swept toward the huge hand.
However, the five-colored glacial flames were also a type of glacial flames, so it was able to hold its own against the yellow demonic flames.
Right at this moment, Han Li pointed a finger toward the black mountain before him, and it abruptly vanished into thin air.
In the next instant, spatial fluctuations erupted in the air above the Pipe Dream Stone Spirit, and the black mountain re-emerged before crashing down alongside a wave of grey light.
A burst of enormous invisible force immediately weighed down upon the stone spirit, making its body very slow and sluggish. It was naturally extremely enraged and alarmed by this, and after struggling a few times to no avail, it immediately opened its mouth to expel a yellow bead.
This completely mundane-looking yellow thumb-sized bead was none other than the stone spirit's demon core.
The demon core circled around above the stone spirit, and the burst of tremendous force weighing down upon it was forcibly repelled. At the same time, countless yellow fiery snakes erupted out of the demon core before quickly swelling to several tens of feet in length each.
The fiery yellow snakes swept upward to intertwine with the grey light, and the black mountain was forcibly kept at bay.
A cold light flashed through Han Li's eyes upon seeing this, and he immediately made a hand seal, upon which a pair of translucent wings appeared on his back amid a dull thunderclap. He flapped the wings and abruptly vanished on the spot as an arc of silver lightning.
Meanwhile, the stone spirit had just evaded a streak of blue light unleashed by the flying scorpion, and a fierce look appeared on its face as it prepared to unleash an attack in retaliation. However, lightning suddenly flashed behind it, following which Han Li abruptly re-emerged.
The Pipe Dream Stone Spirit was quite started by this, and its third demonic eye widened as it prepared to release that scintillating white light again. However, Han Li was already prepared for this. He harrumphed coldly as he closed his eyes, and his Law Destruction Eye appeared on his glabella amid a flash of black light.
A black thread shot forth out of the Law Destruction Eye and struck the stone spirit's third demonic eye in a flash, scattering the white light that had just begun to gather.
Furthermore, in the instant that the stone spirit heard Han Li's cold harrumph, it felt as if a thunderclap had erupted right inside its head, and a sudden burst of excruciating spiritual pain made it sway unsteadily in mid-air.
Chapter 1948: Parting Ways
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Han Li immediately rubbed his hands together before raising them up into the air.
A loud thunderclap rang out, and countless arcs of golden lightning sprang forth before forming a giant lightning net. The net descended over the stone spirit before abruptly contracting, and by the time the stone spirit recovered from the effects of Han Li's Spiritstun Thorn, it had already been trapped tightly within a net of golden lightning.
It was naturally unwilling to be captured, and yellow demonic flames erupted out of its body again as it let loose a sharp cry.
The Divine Devilbane Lightning began to melt away in the face of the yellow flames, and it seemed that the stone spirit was about to escape!
However, Han Li naturally wasn't going to allow it to get away. A cold smile appeared on his face, yet just as he was about to unleash another attack, Master Black Rain's urgent voice suddenly sounded beside his ears.
"Please wait, Fellow Daoist Han; my spirit insect will be enough to subdue the stone spirit."
Han Li faltered slightly upon hearing this, and Master Black Rain suddenly let loose a long cry.
Almost at the exact same moment, the flying scorpion blurred before conjuring up a dozen or so identical projections of itself. These flying scorpions flapped their wings and vanished on the spot as balls of blue light.
In the next instant, spatial fluctuations erupted, and the flying scorpions appeared above the stone spirit before blasting forth streaks of blue light out of their stingers.
On this occasion, the stone spirit was completely bound by the golden lightning net, so the blue streaks of light were able to vanish into its body in a flash.
A layer of blue mist instantly emerged around the stone spirit's body, and its yellow demonic flames instantly became completely dull and lusterless as if it had encountered the bane of its existence. Within the span of just a few breaths, all the yellow flames were completely snuffed out, and the Pipe Dream Stone Spirit became even more infuriated. It gritted its teeth before inhaling violently, and it quickly expanded like a balloon while an extremely fearsome aura erupted from its body.
As soon as Han Li sensed this aura, a thought immediately occurred to him, and his expression changed slightly as he instantly shot back to over 1,000 feet away.
At this point, the stone spirit resembled an overinflated ball and was straining against the crackling golden lightning net around it.
Master Black Rain harrumphed coldly upon seeing this. "You think I'd let you self-detonate?"
He then abruptly made a grabbing motion, and a thin net of silver lightning appeared in the air above the mountain summit before immediately descending toward the Pipe Dream Stone Spirit.
A rumbling boom rang out as the silver net wound itself tightly around the stone spirit's body, following which Master Black Rain immediately made a hand seal.
The lightning net became extremely bright and piercing, and it began to release countless silver runes that transformed the sto
ne spirit into a dazzling ball of silver light.
An incredible turn of events then unfolded!
Within the silver net, the stone spirit's bulging body quickly began to shrink, and after just the span of a few breaths, it had reverted back to its original size. After that, it was unable to unleash any abilities no matter how hard it tried.
The stone spirit was naturally extremely enraged, but was powerless to do anything.
Master Black Rain was elated to see this, and he slowly descended from above with a smile on his face. "Hehe, no matter how much you struggle, your efforts will prove to be futile in this Silver Celestial Lightning Net, so just settle down and come to the holy island with me. Rest assured, we're only borrowing your body; we won't be taking your life."
In the instant that the stone spirit had been captured, the illusionary technique it had unleashed was dispelled, and only then did Buddhist Master Tian Chan manage to return to his senses.
"Hehe, looks like you managed to complete the mission, Brother Black Rain. I am truly embarrassed by my own lack of contribution. If Brother Han hadn't been present, that thing really would've gotten away," Buddhist Master Tian Chan said in a slightly apologetic manner.
"You're being far too modest, Buddhist Master Tian Chan. Without the pressure you were exerting on the stone spirit, it wouldn't have unleashed its illusionary technique so quickly, and Fellow Daoist Han wouldn't have been able to stop it so easily. However, it's indeed true that Fellow Daoist Han played a vital role in the completion of our mission," Master Black Rain chuckled.
"You're far too kind, Fellow Daoist Black Rain; I was only doing what was to be expected of me," Han Li said with a smile, then made a grabbing motion toward the stone spirit.
A dull thunderclap rang out, and countless arcs of golden lightning emerged from the silver net before returning to his body.
"That's Divine Devilbane Lightning, right? I've heard that it's an extremely potent weapon against devilish beings." Master Black Rain clicked his tongue with wonder upon seeing this. He then pointed a finger toward the silver net as well, and the net began to flash with lightning while tightening even further at his behest.
After a few flashes, the silver net shrank down to a fist-sized ball of silver threads with the stone spirit trapped within it before being drawn up Master Black Rain's sleeve.
"There are also some other cultivation arts aside from Divine Devilbane Lightning that are very effective against devilish beings. However, these cultivation arts are either very difficult to use or have been lost in history, so there aren't many people in our human race who possess such cultivation arts. Otherwise, it wouldn't be such a struggle for us to ward off the devilish tribulation," Buddhist Master Tian Chan mused as he descended from above while appraising Han Li with a meaningful expression.
"There's no point in speaking about something that's out of reach. We can only say that Fellow Daoist Han was very fortunate to have obtained this Divine Devilbane Lightning. I heard that when used with a true Lightningwield Technique, this lightning can pose a threat even to Body Integration Stage devilish lords; it's a pity that our holy island only has the second half of the Lightningwield Technique. If you ever get the opportunity to do so, I suggest you go and search for it in the primordial world, Brother Han; perhaps the complete Lightningwield Technique can be found in one of the foreign races," Master Black Rain suggested with a smile.
"The Lightningwield Technique is split up into halves?" Han Li's heart stirred slightly upon hearing this.
He had obtained a type of Lightningwield Technique from the four demon monarchs of the earth abyss, and it was quite a powerful technique, but required too much time to set up. Thus, it was impractical for real battles, so he hadn't used it much.
"Indeed. The first half of the Lightningwield Technique teaches one how to maximize the lightning's power, while the second half teaches one how to control the divine lightning; both halves are indispensable," Master Black Rain explained.
"I see. In that case, I really will have to venture into the primordial world to search for the technique if the opportunity arises." Han Li's expression remained unchanged, but internally, he was cursing the four demon monarchs.
No wonder the Lightningwield Technique was so impractical; the four demon monarchs had only bestowed upon him half of the technique! They had definitely done this on purpose, but then again, that was only to be expected. If Han Li had been in their shoes, he would've most likely done the same thing.
After chatting for a while longer, Buddhist Master Tian Chan decided to depart. "The situation in the Holy Sovereign City isn't all that optimistic, and I've spent a lot of time here already; I have to go back to help the holy sovereign guard the city, so I'll be taking my leave now, fellow daoists."
Master Black Rain cupped his fist in a salute, and said, "Hehe, the holy island is in urgent need of this stone spirit, so I'll be heading back as well. Fellow Daoist Han, Buddhist Master Tian Chan, I hope we'll have a chance to meet again following the devilish tribulation. You'll be staying here for a few more days, right, Fellow Daoist Han?"
"Indeed, I'll be staying here for a while longer to use the Earthly Hellish Flames. I wish both of you a safe and swift journey," Han Li said with a smile as he extended a farewell salute.
Moments later, a ball of black light and a streak of white light rose up into the air from the mountain summit, then flew away in different directions.
Han Li looked on as the two departed, and after they had disappeared into the distance, his smile gradually faded as he murmured to himself. "The second half of the Lightningwield Technique, eh? Looks like I really will have to pay the holy island a visit. That'll have to wait until a later date; for now, I have to secure the Chaotic Yin Yang Qi."
As soon as his voice trailed off, Han Li's body blurred, and he appeared beside the giant crater before casting his gaze toward the bottom.
The crater hadn't been affected much by the battle that had just taken place, and the yellow mist at the bottom was still making it impossible to see what lay in the depths of the crater.
Han Li peered into the mist through narrowed eyes for a long while before casting his gaze through the surrounding area, upon which his brows furrowed slightly.
All of a sudden, he flipped a hand over to produce a thick stack of formation flags, then flicked his wrist to send the flags scattering in all directions as streaks of light.
The formation flags vanished into thin air amid flashes of spiritual light, and in the next instant, a layer of white mist permeated over the mountain, completely concealing Han Li along with the giant crater.
Han Li stood still on the spot and swept both sleeves through the air to release 13 balls of buzzing purple light, all of which quickly disappeared into the mist.
Immediately thereafter, green light flashed from his body, and a green figure detached itself from him before vanishing into the ground.
After doing all that, Han Li sat down with his legs crossed beside the crater. He wore a solemn expression as he made a hand seal, then abruptly laid a hand onto his own head.
A ball of golden light flashed, and a Nascent Soul that was around half a foot tall emerged above his head.
Chapter 1949: Feng Xie and the Great Diversion Technique
The Nascent Soul bore a striking resemblance to Han Li, and as soon as it emerged, it waved a hand toward Han Li's physical body down below.
A loud thunderclap rang out, and a ball that was bound by countless golden threads flew out of Han Li's body before hovering in mid-air.
The Nascent Soul extended a finger toward the golden ball, and all of the golden threads quickly fell away to reveal a white wooden box.
A faint smile appeared on the Nascent Soul's face, and it began to chant something. As it did so, spatial fluctuations erupted nearby, and a dozen or so five-colored beads silently emerged. These beads then transformed into eyeballs amid flashes of spiritual light, and bright five-colored light radiated from their s
urfaces.
Around 10 minutes later, a wisp of Han Li's spiritual sense formed a clone that appeared over a boundless grassland.
He swept his gaze over his surroundings, yet failed to discover the presence of Che Qigong. His expression changed slightly as he cast his gaze upward, and discovered that there was a scorching white sun around 100,000 feet above him.
After that, Han Li merely stared at the sun in a completely expressionless and unblinking manner.
After a while, an unfamiliar male voice suddenly rang out in the air above. "Haha, you really are no ordinary Body Integration Stage being; I didn't think that a mere spiritual sense clone of yours would be able to detect my presence. I can see why Old Man Che is placing his hope in you now."
As soon as the voice faded, a black shadow flashed within the scintillating sun. Immediately thereafter, a ball of black light shot forth before stopping just over 100 feet away from Han Li.
This was a burly black-armored heavily-bearded man, and he was appraising Han Li with an intrigued smile.
Han Li's heart stirred slightly at the sight of this man, but he maintained a calm expression as he asked, "Who are you and where is Senior Che?"
"Old Man Che is currently doing something else right now; it'll most likely be quite some time before he can get here, so why don't you have a chat with me for now?" the man suggested with a stroke of his beard.
Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly as he said, "I don't seem to recognize you, and I've never heard Senior Che mention the presence of someone else in this Devil Sealing Lock."
"Of course Old Man Che wouldn't mention me to you. However, what I can tell you is that I can give you what he promised you, and I won't ask for as much in return," the man replied in a confident manner.
"Oh? What do you propose, fellow daoist?" Han Li asked as his expression changed slightly.
"It's quite simple; Old Man Che promised to give you the extraction and refinement methods for Chaotic Yin Yang Qi, right? I'm also familiar with these methods, and I only ask for a third of the Chaotic Yin Yang Qi that you manage to extract," the man immediately proposed.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 1125