Chapter 1397: An Alarming Change
The two fat insects were six meters long and their flesh was a glossy white as if they were huge larvae. A small head grew from one of the ends. Not only did it have six small red eyes, but it revealed a mouthful of strangely large pointed teeth as it chewed on the moss.
Han Li was concealed to the point where even a Spatial Tempering cultivator couldn't detect him. Naturally, he did not worry that two trifling Deity Transformation-stage insects would discover him. He boldly floated above one of the insect beasts and swept his gaze around him.
With his Brightsight Spirit Eyes, he saw the other Profound Whirlpool Beast as well as a faint red silhouette standing there.
It was the beautiful woman using an evasion technique.
Ten meters behind here, there was a vague azure light drifting in the air. It was Old Man You that was concealing himself with the power of the wind.
The two were looking around bewildered, unable to sense Han Li's presence.
Han Li didn't mind and sent them a few silent voice transmissions to notify them of his position.
The two wore a trace of astonishment. The old man then flickered to Han Li's side, not daring to approach thirty meters of the insect beast.
From the distance he kept, it was clear he wasn't confident he could keep himself hidden.
However, the beautiful woman was a Spatial Tempering cultivator. She withdrew her astonishment and arrived less than twenty meters away from the beast she targeted.
For a time, the three cultivators stood completely still. The only sound they could hear was the sound of the insects munching on the moss.
A cold glint flashed from Han Li's eyes and his palm lit up with faint black light. He reached out from the insect beast below him.
Grey mist shot out from his fingers, summoning a small black mountain from within it. It dropped down as soon as it appeared.
The insect underneath it was an alarm and its body stirred. In the blink of an eye, it turned into a huge ball of flesh and its body glowed with blue and white light.
But it was already too late!
At such a close distance, the insect was swept into the grey light in a flash. The Profound Whirlpool Beast continued to flicker with azure and white light, but the grey light restrained it completely.
Seeing that things were far from good, the beast began to violently tremble as formless waves began to surface from its flesh. They were about to scatter in every direction.
Han Li smirked and closed his stretched black fingers.
Suddenly, the grey light expanded and rustled several times. Eight waves of grey light swept past the beast, absorbing all of the waves of pressures from the beast's body until they were all dissolved by the Divine Essensefused Light.
The Profound Whirlpool Beast twisted and was about to use more of its abilities when a black shadow appeared above its head.
A huge explosion followed. The small mountain surged to thirty meters in height as it smashed the immobile creature.
However, the creature deserved its reputation of hardy flesh. Even under the huge pressure of the mountain, the insect beast hadn't turned to mush. The insect only continued its squirming as it attempted to break free.
But at that moment, Han Li's sleeve trembled and a ball of silver flames shot out.
A muffled thud sounded and the insect immediately turned to ash.
The Heavenly Spirit Devouring Flames weren't something that a simple insect beast could withstand.
Han Li exterminated the beast only in the span of a single breath.
With that all done, he turned to look behind him. Old Man You was standing ten meters away with a trace of astonishment on his face.
The manner in which Han Li easily slew the Profound Whirlpool Beast left him, a late Deity Transformation cultivator, in shock.
Han Li gave him a faint smile and turned to look at the beautiful woman.
The other insect beast had been cleanly sliced in two.
The beautiful woman was floating above the insect beast's corpse. There was a half-foot-long fire-red sword suspended in front of her. She looked at Han Li with a trace of surprise.
Han Li bowed to the beautiful woman and then turned to the old man, "Brother You, these two insect beasts have been dealt with. Let's report this to Senior Zhu."
"Of course! Brother Han, Senior Qing, please wait a moment," Old Man You replied with a clear smile. He then shook his sleeve and released a sound transmission talisman from the way they came.
A short moment later, the others rushed over.
When the youthful Senior Zhu saw this and heard what happened from Old Man You, he wore a satisfied expression. He then uttered a few words of praise to them and continued on their way, not daring to continue on the way.
While they traveled, Han Li returned to the very back of the group.
This time, the other cultivators looked at him differently. Not many of the late Deity Transformation cultivators were confident they could kill a Profound Whirlpool Beast in a single strike.
The veiled Fairy Ying and the Dainty Lady Xiao couldn't help but take many examining glances in his direction.
Han Li turned a blind eye to this and followed them without a word.
Not long after they made it through the passage, the passage began to curve and they heard dripping water. The breeze in front of them was also moist and exceptionally cold.
A hundred-meter-wide underground river soon appeared before them. From the sound of the rushing water, it appeared to be traveling rather fast.
"Everyone, listen well. After we cross this river, we will arrive at the True Toad Nest. I've already mentioned the circumstances of the nest to everyone. The frogs will be easily dealt with, but the Shadow Insect Beasts will be very troublesome. We will be relying on you." Senior Zhu turned from the river and looked in the direction of Han Li and the others. He wore a stern expression.
A yellow-robed middle-aged cultivator slapped his chest and pledged, "Don't worry Senior Zhu, With the Profound Heavenly Lightning Formation and the addition of Brother Han and Fairy Xiao, the Shadow Insects definitely won't escape them, no matter their reputation."
The other cultivators tasked with carrying the lightning flags spoke in agreement.
As for Han Li and Lady Xiao, they exchanged a glance and said nothing else.
Senior Zhu nodded in satisfaction. He then waved his hand and he was the first to cross the river, followed by the beautiful woman.
The others closely followed after him.
Meanwhile, outside the huge mountain in the white fog, the old and middle-aged man tasked with guarding the outside were having a casual chat.
"Old Zhao, wouldn't you say that Senior Zhu and the others have made it to the True Toad Nest by now? Tch tch, with two fully mature Blue-eyed True Toads, everyone will have a large share even with the size of our group. The young frog's blood isn't as useful, but it also has a partial effect. This is well worth the long and arduous trip. It is only a pity that we were assigned on guard duty. We may have the last share of the spirit blood." The blue-robed middle-aged man grumbled to the white-robed old man standing aside him.
The old man chuckled and carelessly replied, "It seems Fellow Daoist Xun feels unresigned. Don't think it'll be easy to receive benefits from entering the nest. Perhaps one of them will die."
The middle-aged cultivator frowned and doubtfully said, "Die? That can't be. Senior Zhu and the others have completely prepared themselves. It should go smoothly. What danger is there?"
The old man sighed and lazily said, "It appears this is the first time that you've head deep into the wilderness. It'll be best if you remember that nothing goes perfectly in the wilderness. Even as we stand guard, a large number of Deity Transformation or Spatial Tempering grade ancient beasts or foreign beings could attack us."
The middle-aged cultivator bellowed with laughter, "Old Zhao, aren't you exaggerating? This place is so hidden. How can something like that happen?"
The old man shook his head and refrained from speaking any further when his face abruptly changed.
Bright light suddenly shined from the neck of the middle-aged cultivator. His head fell off in a blur, leaving behind a meter-tall fountain of blood from his neck.
"Not good!"
The old man managed to react in time and noticed something was wrong. He suddenly shot away and shook his sleeve, summoning a small azure shield in front of him, covering him in a barrier of light. He then spat out a red streak that revolved around him.
However, this was no use at all.
The space above the old man's head fluctuated and a three-meter-large azure-black claw appeared from space. It sliced through the old man's sword and defenses at lightning speed and closed its grip.
With a miserable scream, the claw crushed the old man into a ball of gore. Even his Nascent Soul couldn't escape.
The middle-aged cultivator's headless body then trembled and a ball of green light shot out from it. It was a two-inch-large Nascent Soul. It held a badge and was flusteredly escaping.
But just as the Nascent Soul was about to blink a hundred meters away, a black mist flew over and covered it. It blurred and promptly disappeared.
The two Deity Transformation-grade cultivators were both destroyed in a single strike.
A moment later, black and azure light flickered nearby. A huge and a smaller figure suddenly appeared nearby.
One of them was thirty meters tall and had a dark face with fierce fangs and two horns. He strongly resembled a giant devil. The other was three meters tall and was slender. She appeared to be a beautiful woman. She held a pole and a blue axe in her hands that was as tall as she was.
The two had a pair of scarlet flesh wings that flickered with various ancient talisman characters. The flight that flashed appeared mesmerizing.
"Not bad. The Nascent Soul of a Deity Transformation-grade cultivator is quite filling." The axe-wielding woman glanced at the headless corpse and used her snake-like tongue to lick her lips. She begrudgingly said, "It's a bit of a waste for you to destroy the other one."
The devil-like giant uttered with a rumbling voice, "I only recently advanced through my bottleneck, so I can't control my strength very well. Besides, its merely the Nascent Soul of a Deity Transformation cultivator. We're looking for the Nascent Soul of Spatial Tempering cultivators. Now that is truly filling. If we can consume a pair of Body Integration cultivator Nascent Souls, it'll be possible for us to advance to Yaksha Kings."