Master Azure Dragon nodded before cupping his fist in a salute toward Lin Luan, then immediately departed, followed by two of his disciples.
Lin Luan looked on at the trio's departing figures and shook her head in a forlorn manner.
Chapter 1988: Fall of Azure Dragon
Several hours later, Master Azure Dragon and his two disciples arrived at the teleportation hall of Deep Heaven City, and the guards immediately rushed out to greet him.
"We pay our respects to Elder Azure Dragon! May I ask why you've come here, Elder?" the Spatial Tempering Stage leader of the guards asked in a respectful manner.
He was clearly aware of the fact that Master Azure Dragon had already become an elder of Deep Heaven City.
"Activate the teleportation formation right away; I have to leave the city to do something," Master Azure Dragon instructed in an implacable voice.
"What? You're planning to use the teleportation formation? May I ask if you have a permit from the panel of elders?" the Spatial Tempering cultivator asked in a hesitant manner.
"Hmph, I'm an elder of the city, and I demand to use the teleportation formation!" Master Azure Dragon repeated in a cold voice.
"Forgive me, Elder Azure Dragon, but the panel of elders passed down a strict order two days ago, stating that all cultivators who wish to use the teleportation formations had to receive permission from the panel of elders first. If I were to go against this order, then all of us would be punished severely; please don't make our job more difficult than it has to be," the Spatial Tempering cultivator said with furrowed brows.
Master Azure Dragon's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, and after a moment of contemplation, he said, "I see. In that case, I'll go and request a permit from the panel of elders."
"Thank you for your consideration, Elder Azure Dragon, we are truly grate... Ah, Senior Azure Dragon, what are you doing?!" The Spatial Tempering cultivator had just heaved a sigh of relief when the air suddenly tightened around him, and he was completely immobilized.
All of the other guards had also been bound by the same burst of invisible restrictive power, and expressions of shock and horror appeared on all of their faces.
"No need to be alarmed; I have something that I need to do, and I can't afford to be delayed here," Master Azure Dragon said with a cold expression.
He then raised a hand, and a white jade badge suddenly appeared in his grasp. He waved the badge toward the restrictions behind the gate of the hall, and a pillar of white light shot forth to nullify the restrictions.
A hint of elation appeared in Master Azure Dragon's eyes upon seeing this, and he immediately led his disciples onto one of the smaller teleportation formations in the hall.
A buzzing sound rang out as the formation was activated, and Master Azure Dragon's trio vanished amid a flash of white light.
Only then did the guards regain their mobility, and the Spatial Tempering cultivator immediately yelled in a panicked manner, "Inform the panel of elders of what happened here and repair the restrictions right away!"
Some of the guards hurriedly pulled out communication formation plates, while the rest summoned a series of formation treasures to repair the damaged restrictions.
Thus, the entire teleportation hall was plunged into a state of complete chaos.
Right at this moment, a faint buzzing sound rang out from the teleportation formation that Master Azure Dragon had just used, and it was activated once again.
Immediately thereafter, an extremely diminutive figure was also teleported away amid a flash of white light, and none of the guards were able to identify what it was.
"Did someone else teleport away just now?" one of the guards asked in an uncertain manner, wondering if his eyes had played tricks on him.
Meanwhile, Master Azure Dragon and his two disciples were flying through a bluestone passageway erected in the belly of a mountain. After just a few flashes, they emerged out of a cave that had been concealed by a restriction, then flew toward a certain direction.
Not long after they had left, another streak of golden light flew out of the same cave and set off in hot pursuit.
Half a day later, Master Azure Dragon's trio was flying over a barren plain countless kilometers away from Deep Heaven City.
Among the trio, Master Azure Dragon was flying at the forefront, and his expression suggested that he was contemplating something important.
Up ahead in the distance, a boundless desert could be seen.
Right at this moment, two resounding booms rang out just over 100 feet behind Master Azure Dragon's trio, and two faint golden projections shot forth out of thin air.
Sharp claws projections swept through the air, hurtling directly toward Master Azure Dragon's trio.
The claw projections left golden cracks in the space in their wake, and they wove into a giant net that was impossible to evade.
Master Azure Dragon was greatly alarmed by this, and a horrified look appeared on his face.
"Han Li, you bastard!" He roared in an extremely resentful voice, then flipped his hands over to summon a pair of giant brushes, one golden and one silver. He swept the brushes through the air, and countless golden and silver runes surged forth in a frenzy, transforming into a light barrier that shielded him on all sides.
Immediately thereafter, azure scales appeared over his face and limbs, and he rushed directly toward the net of claw projections with devastating force.
In the instant before his body came into contact with the claw projections, he opened his mouth to expel a ball of azure light, which crashed toward the net ahead of him.
The net of claw projections had seemed to be extremely formidable, but it was torn apart by the ball of azure light with ease.
Master Azure Dragon faltered slightly upon seeing this before rushing out of the net in an elated manner, then appeared over 1,000 away.
Just as he was heaving an internal sigh of relief, two howls of anguish suddenly rang out behind him.
"Crap!"
Master Azure Dragon hurriedly turned around to find that his two disciples had already been dismembered, and their bodies were plummeting down from above in bloody chunks.
Their protective treasures had been instantly destroyed by the claw projections, and even their Nascent Souls hadn't managed to escape.
Master Azure Dragon cast his gaze toward the two golden projections, and he immediately realized that something was amiss. "You're not Han Li! Who dares to attack me?"
"Hehe, there's no need for my master to dirty his hands with the likes of you." The voice of a little girl rang out, following which the two projections combined as one to form a ball of golden light.
Within the golden light was a horned leopard-like beast that was around 10 feet in size; it was none other than the Leopard Kirin Beast.
Master Azure Dragon swept his spiritual sense toward the golden beast, and he immediately drew a sharp breath. "You're a Body Integration Stage spirit beast! Are you Han Li's spirit beast?"
"Seeing as you've already figured it out, you can pass on without any regrets now. I was sent by my master to erase you from the face of this realm," the Leopard Kirin Beast said as a vicious light flashed through its eyes.
"Hmph, he thinks a mere early-Body Integration Stage spirit beast can take my life? What a joke!" Master Azure Dragon roared with a furious expression.
"You've been wounded by my master and can't muster up anywhere near your full power, yet you still dare to act so cocky! Let me see if you keep this up when I tear your Nascent Soul out of your body!" the Leopard Kirin Beast snarled.
Immediately thereafter, its body blurred, and specks of golden light appeared all around it before manifesting over 100 identical golden beastly projections.
"Ha, I just so happen to be missing a fur coat; I guess you'll suffice!" Master Azure Dragon swept his sleeve through the air with an enraged look on his face, releasing four or five treasures that began to revolve around him.
At the
same time, he thrust his twin brushes forward, and even more runes emerged before him.
The Leopard Kirin Beast let loose a low roar, and all of the beastly projections hurtled directly toward him as streaks of golden light.
Master Azure Dragon immediately sent his treasures flying toward these beastly projections, yet just as he began to draw upon the magic power within his own body, a layer of black Qi suddenly appeared over his face.
......
Five days later, Han Li was meditating in his secret chamber when his expression suddenly changed slightly, and he slowly opened his eyes.
Moments later, spiritual light flashed from the door of the secret chamber, and a burst of golden light flew into the chamber through the door, then revealed itself to be a small golden beast that was only around a foot in size.
"You're finally back. You've been away for quite some time; did you encounter some difficulties?" Han Li asked with a faint smile.
"Master, what did you do to that Azure Dragon? Almost as soon as we started battling, he seemed to have fallen prey to some kind of extremely potent poison, and it was almost as if he were going to die even if I hadn't hunted him down," the Leopard Kirin Beast said with its eyes wide in amazement.
"Hehe, I merely injected a wisp of the Revolving Evil Spirit Light within the Spirit Engulfing Heavenly Flames into his body. He would've been fine had he not used too much magic power, but as soon as he tries to do so, the Revolving Evil Spirit Light would immediately take effect. With its vicious poison, even a Body Integration cultivator would have to meditate for a long time to refine it or temporarily repress its effects with their magic power. However, he clearly wouldn't have been able to do any of that while battling you, so his only possible fate was death," Han Li replied in a nonchalant manner.
"Your powers have become truly unfathomable, Master; it's incredible that you were able to tamper with another Body Integration cultivator like this without their detection," the Leopard Kirin Beast said in an amazed voice.
"Hehe, it's not all that remarkable. This is just a little trick that I recently developed, and it wouldn't have worked if Master Azure Dragon had spent some time to carefully examine his own body. I take it that he's no longer around, right?" Han Li asked as his eyes narrowed slightly.
Chapter 1989: Repercussions
"Rest assured, Master; I devoured that Azure Dragon's Nascent Soul, so he's as dead as dead can be. However, prior to his death, he chose to unleash a powerful ability rather than continue to repress the poison, and I had to expend some energy to keep him at bay. Hence, I had no choice but to meditate for two days, then snuck back into the city with a group of Deep Heaven City scouts, so there's no way that anyone would've detected me," the Leopard Kirin Beast said with a smile.
"You did very well. Now, I can focus wholeheartedly on making a breakthrough to the late-Body Integration Stage," Han Li also replied with a smile.
"Heehee, with your cultivation aptitude and all of the trump cards you've prepared, I'm sure you'll be able to make this breakthrough with ease, Master. I'll be congratulating you in advance!" the Leopard Kirin Beast chuckled.
"I certainly hope so. Now that you've completed metamorphosis, there's no need for you to continue to remain in the spirit beast bracelet; you can cultivate in the secret chamber next to mine. If you need anything, just let Qi Lingzi and the others know," Han Li said in a solemn manner.
"Thank you, Master! I've been dying to get out of that spirit bracelet! I'm going to cultivate in the other secret chamber now; I'll return if you need me after you go into seclusion, Master," the Leopard Kirin Beast replied with an ecstatic look on its face.
Han Li naturally had no objections and allowed it to depart.
After the Leopard Kirin Beast left, Han Li took a deep breath before making a grabbing motion with one hand to summon a voice transmission talisman. He then released the talisman before closing his eyes again to continue meditating.
A short while later, a female voice suddenly rang out from outside the secret chamber. "Brother Han, have you summoned me because you're about to begin your breakthrough?"
The voice was extremely pleasant to the ears and belonged to none other than the Ice Phoenix.
"Indeed, Fellow Daoist Ice Phoenix," Han Li replied in a calm manner as he opened his eyes.
Several days later, there were seven or eight elders of Deep Heaven City discussing something together in a secret chamber.
Both Buddhist Monk Jin Yue and Fairy Silver Light were among them.
"So Master Azure Dragon really did perish. That's quite a pity, especially at a time like this," the white-robed elderly man sitting on the main seat sighed.
"If it weren't for the fact that Azure Dragon left a soul lamp in the city after he joined the panel of elders, I wouldn't have believed this to be true, either. According to the cultivator looking after the soul lamps, his one was snuffed out within half a day of his departure from the city," Buddhist Monk Jin Yue said with a wry smile.
"Hmph, he was asking for it! He knows that there are devilish beings everywhere around the city, yet he still dared to restrict the guards and forcibly teleport away. If you ask me, he only has himself to blame," Fairy Silver Light harrumphed coldly.
"Hehe, Azure Dragon may not have been killed by devilish beings; perhaps he died by the hands of someone else. Didn't the guards at the teleportation hall say that someone used the same teleportation formation as Azure Dragon right after he left? Perhaps that was the perpetrator," a burly black-robed man said.
"Are you suspecting Fellow Daoist Han?" Fairy Silver Light's expression darkened slightly upon hearing this.
"Please don't jump to conclusions, Fairy Silver Light; I never said that. All I said is that maybe Azure Dragon didn't perish by the hands of devilish beings," the man immediately denied. It was quite clear that he was quite wary of Han Li.
Fairy Silver Light merely smiled and remained silent.
"Alright, seeing as Master Azure Dragon forced his way out of the city, he has renounced his status as a member of our panel of elders. As such, there's no need for us to investigate this matter. Our top priority now should be the devilish army that has surrounded the city," the white-robed elderly man said with furrowed brows.
"But Master Azure Dragon is a mid-Body Integration cultivator; don't we have to at least provide all of the cultivators in the city an explanation of how he died? Also, will this affect Fairy Lin Luan's attitude toward our city?" the owner of the Origin Pocket Pavilion, Elder Gu, said in a contemplative manner.
"There's no need for that. If we don't say anything, no one will know about Master Azure Dragon's death. Even if people find out later on, it'll be after the devilish tribulation. During these perilous times, everything can wait until a later date. As for Fellow Daoist Lin, she's an extremely intelligent woman; I'm sure she'll know how to handle the situation," the white-robed elderly man said in a cold voice.
Everyone else exchanged a few glances upon hearing this before nodding in agreement in the end.
"Alright, seeing as no one has any objections, let's discuss Fellow Daoist Han next. Buddhist Monk Jin Yue, I heard that you sent someone to invite Fellow Daoist Han to a gathering two days ago, but he had already gone into seclusion; is that true?" the white-robed elderly man asked.
"It is. I wanted to make a last-ditch effort to try and convince Fellow Daoist Han to coexist with Fellow Daoist Azure Dragon in the city, but his disciples told me that he had gone into seclusion and wasn't going to be seeing any guests," Buddhist Monk Jin Yue replied.
"It seems that he predicted that you would try to seek him out, so he's intentionally avoiding you," the white-robed elderly man said in a contemplative manner.
"Perhaps so. A few days ago, I saw the juniors who had been bribed by Azure Dragon, and all of them were as pale as ghosts. I heard that Fellow Daoist Han is extorting them for a huge sum of spirit stones and materials; I wonder if they'll be able to gather everything that Fellow Daoist Han dem
anded of them," Buddhist Monk Jin Yue said with a peculiar expression.
"Hehe, those little brats deserve to be taught a lesson for sticking their noses into something like this! If you ask me, Fellow Daoist Han has already let them off the hook quite easily. If he weren't wary of the backers behind those juniors, I'm sure he would've punished them even more severely," the white-robed elderly man chuckled coldly.
"That's true. Having said that, the way that Fellow Daoist Han has addressed this matter has truly been a relief to me. If he had insisted on enforcing a more severe punishment on those juniors, that could've led to quite a conflict as well," Buddhist Monk Jin Yue sighed in a resigned manner.
"Indeed. If things really had escalated to that extent, then even I would be scratching my head," the white-robed elderly man chuckled.
"By the way, I heard that Azure Dragon was defeated by Fellow Daoist Han in just three attacks; surely that's an exaggeration, right?" the black-robed man asked.
"No, it's true. Fellow Daoist Han's powers were truly incredible; even the average late-Body Integration Stage most likely won't be a match for him. Fairy Silver Light and Fellow Daoist Gu were also present; I'm sure they'll back me up here," Buddhist Monk Jin Yue replied with a serious expression.
The black-robed man turned to Fairy Silver Light and Elder Gu upon hearing this, and Fairy Silver Light displayed no reaction, while Elder Gu gave a solemn nod in confirmation.
The black-robed man was even more astonished upon seeing this, as were all of the other cultivators present who hadn't interacted with Han Li much.
"Surely he's not actually more powerful than a late-Body Integration cultivator. That Master Azure Dragon has quite a resounding reputation, but if he couldn't even withstand three attacks from a cultivator of the same cultivation base, then his reputation was most likely overinflated in the first place. Just because Fellow Daoist Han was able to defeat him doesn't mean he's actually that freakish of a talent." The black-robed man was really grasping at straws now.
"I'm afraid you're mistaken, Fellow Daoist. That Master Azure Dragon was a half-demon who can adopt a half-dragon form, and that, in conjunction with his Buddhist cultivation arts, presented a very formidable package. However, he had made the mistake of picking the wrong opponent. Fellow Daoist Han is a simultaneous cultivator, and is capable of taking on a giant ape form with powers that exceed even Azure Dragon's half-dragon form. He severely wounded Azure Dragon with his first two attacks alone, and could've even killed Azure Dragon with his third attack had he intended to do so. Thinking back, if I were to face Fellow Daoist Han in battle, there would be no alternative for me other than to flee with all my might," Buddhist Monk Jin Yue said in a serious manner.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 1148