Chapter 1660: Leaving the Mountain Ranges
As such, Han Li found himself completely exposed before over 100 mid-grade and high-grade devilish beasts, and his expression instantly changed drastically.
He didn't know what kind of secret technique this colorful light was, but it had to quite extraordinary to have been able to nullify the effect of his invisibility talisman. Furthermore, how did that devilish beast even know that he was nearby?
However, before Han Li could ponder this issue any further, an even more unexpected event took place.
In the instant that his cover was blown, azure light flashed from several hundred feet away, following which another familiar slender figure also emerged out of thin air.
He focused his gaze in that direction to find that it was Xian Xian.
She had also been using some kind of profound concealment technique that had even managed to fool his Brightsight Spirit Eyes.
However, as she was exposed to all of these devilish beasts, her expression also changed drastically.
Han Li was extremely shocked by this development, and he immediately made a hand seal as a loud thunderclap erupted behind him, following which a pair of translucent wings appeared on his back.
Xian Xian also managed to quickly recompose herself before opening her mouth to expel a shimmering silver talisman.
Immediately thereafter, thunderous roars erupted from all directions as black devilish Qi erupted into the heavens before converging toward the center.
Over 100 mid-grade and high-grade devilish beasts had sprung into action at once, and their collective attack was naturally extremely powerful, so much so that even Body Integration Stage beings definitely wouldn't want to be struck by such a fierce assault.
Han Li drew in a sharp breath before flapping his wings, and his body shot forth as an azure and white thread before vanishing into thin air.
Meanwhile, Xian Xian plastered the silver talisman she'd just summoned onto her body, and she also abruptly disappeared amid a flash of silver light.
The devilish Qi came crashing down from all sides, and in the next instant, an azure and white thread reappeared.
Immediately thereafter, Han Li emerged in front of the exit that was over 1,000 feet away, and he cast a final glance at the small five-colored beast before disappearing into the exit.
After that, Xian Xian also reappeared in front of the exit amid another flash of silver light. She turned to the devilish beasts behind her with a dainty smile before vanishing into the exit as well.
The black Qi in the air above dispersed, and over 100 devilish beasts appeared, all of which were staring at one another.
A streak of five-colored light flashed, and the five-colored beast appeared before all of its companions with a dark expression on its face. "We let them get away."
"It's all our fault for being so useless!" the boar-like devilish beast grumbled in a frustrated manner.
Expressions of frustration and shame also appeared on the faces of all of the other high-grade devilish beasts nearby.
"Don't be so hard on yourselves. Those two possessed extremely potent concealment techniques, and even I only managed to detect one of them; I had no idea that a second being was also in the area."
"Are we going to keep ambushing others here, then?" a certain high-grade devilish beast asked.
"Of course. Even if we don't catch the right beings, we can't just go back empty-handed," the five-colored beast replied with a wry smile.
All of the other devilish beasts clearly agreed with this sentiment, and they dispersed before concealing themselves in the nearby area again.
...
Han Li was enshrouded within a ball of silver light as he flew through the air. Countless arcs of azure lighting were crashing down upon the ball of light that he was situated in, and there was another ball of silver light not far behind him that was also slowly advancing through the sea of lightning.
Several hours later, two balls of silver light emerged on the other side of the realm of lightning, following which the silver light faded to reveal a pair of giant silver umbrellas. Standing beneath the umbrellas were naturally none other than Han Li and Xian Xian.
"Thank heavens we made it out of there. I really shot myself in the foot this time; not only did I fail to obtain the true Kirin essence, I've also expended a lot of my magic power and treasures. On top of that, I also owe you an enormous debt, Fellow Daoist Han," Xian Xian sighed as she cast her gaze toward Han Li.
"There's no need to dwell on the negatives, Fairy Xian. So many mishaps occurred and we encountered far more high-grade devilish beasts than we expected, so we're very fortunate to have even come out alive," Han Li consoled as a relieved smile appeared on his face.
"That's true. With so many high-grade devilish beasts hiding near the exit, there are most likely going to be very few beings that will emerge alive. In any case, that's none of our concern. Let's get out of here," Xian Xian heaved a long sigh as she cast her gaze back toward the restriction they'd just emerged from.
Han Li naturally nodded in agreement, and the two of them quickly sped into the mist up ahead.
Around two hours after they'd departed, white light suddenly flashed from another direction within the mist. Immediately thereafter, a streak of piercing white light shot forth before fading to reveal a humanoid figure.
This was a portly old man in a set of brocade robes, and he wore a concerned look on his face.
He hurriedly inspected his surroundings before murmuring to himself, "I've only been away for less than half a day, so surely I wouldn't be unlucky enough to have missed some people already. I'm going to teach that madman a lesson once I've taken care of the matters here. He's well aware that I have some urgent matters to attend to, but he insisted on sparring with me so he could show off some new ability of his! Nothing good ever comes from meeting him!" the elderly man grumbled to himself in a frustrated manner.
This was a Body Integration Stage being, and it was none other than the one who had offered the extravagant reward for the immortal zoysia.
He had been waiting here for several days already, and never would he have thought that he really had missed his target during the brief period of time that he'd been away.
Perhaps it was simply Han Li's lucky day or perhaps the old man had been desperately unlucky.
After that, the old man made a hand seal, and his body gradually faded before vanishing into the mist.
Han Li was naturally unaware of the fact that he'd unwittingly just saved himself from having to deal with a heap of trouble. Instead of returning to Lightning Cloud Town, they passed by it and continued to travel through the sea of mist.
Over half a day later, the two of them finally emerged from the sea of mist, and after flying for around a month further, the grand outline of Cloud City finally appeared on the horizon.
Only then did the two of them temporarily stop in mid-air.
"Fairy Xian, in order to avoid being noticed, I think we should split up and enter the city separately," Han Li suggested in a calm manner.
Xian Xian contemplated his words momentarily before smiling as she proposed, "Indeed, Brother Han, we'd most likely attract some attention if we were to enter the city together. How about this? You enter the city first, and I'll follow along 15 minutes later."
"No problem," Han Li agreed with a quick nod.
"By the way, you can give the holy-grade devilish core to me before we part. In order to repair the suit of Heavenly Devilish Armor, I have to use a secret technique to refine the devilish core first. If you give it to me now, I'll be able to repair it as early as possible," Xian Xian continued with a smile.
Han Li smiled in response before immediately raising a hand, sending a jade box flying directly toward Xina Xian.
A hint of surprise flashed through Xian Xian's eyes as she raised a hand to draw the jade box into her grasp. However, she didn't immediately take off the lid. Instead, she stared at Han Li momentarily before suddenly bursting into laughter.
"You sure do trust me to be handing over such a precious treasure without even a second thought, Brother Han. "
"Hehe, it's not a matter of trust; it's just that I'm sure you're smart enough not to do anything unwise just for a mere holy-grade devilish core," Han Li replied with an indifferent shake of his head.
"In any case, I'll be sure not to betray your trust, Brother Han. You can come to my shop in half a month, and I'll have the repaired Heavenly Devilish Armor waiting for you," Xian Xian said with a smile.
"Then I'll be thanking you in advance, Fairy Xian." Han Li also smiled upon hearing this.
After chatting for a while longer, Han Li cupped his fist in a salute and went on ahead.
He rose up in the air as a streak of azure light, and disappeared into the cloud mist up above in the blink of an eye.
Meanwhile, Xian Xian remained standing on the spot, casting her gaze toward the direction that Han Li had departed in, seemingly in deep thought about something.
"Are you trying to befriend this person?" A voice suddenly rang out from within her body.
"You're awake!" Xian Xian was quite elated to hear this voice, and she immediately swept a sleeve through the air.
A ball of azure light instantly shot forth from within before transforming into a fist-sized Kirin projection.
The projection shook its head with a wry smile as it said, "I already forced myself to awaken a few days ago, but I'm in a severely depleted state after helping you unleash so many types of secret techniques, so I rested in silence for the past few days."
"Our trip proved to be completely fruitless this time. Not only was the cave spirit possessed by a Heavenly Devilish Sovereign, even a being of the same nature as you arrived to foil our plans. If it weren't for our good luck in some critical moments, we really could've perished in there," Xian Xian sighed in a resigned manner.
"Indeed. It's quite fortunate that that Han brat is far more powerful than we anticipated. Otherwise, we really wouldn't have been able to emerge from the Golden Devil Mountain Ranges alive. Are you planning to befriend him in order to prepare for our next trip to the true spirit cave?" the Kirin projection asked.
"The next time the true spirit cave appears will be many years later, and there's no point in thinking about something so far away. Even if I didn't take that into account, the fact of the matter is that this man seems to be no less powerful than a holy race being, so there's certainly no harm in trying to befriend him," Xian Xian said with a smile.
After a moment of contemplation, the Kirin projection nodded in response. "That's true. Such an astonishingly powerful seventh-tier upper race being could prove to be a powerful ally in the future."
"I really at very disappointed that we expended so many treasures and took so many risks all for nothing," Xian Xian sighed in a gloomy manner.
The Kirin projection was silent for a long while before chuckling in a nonchalant manner, "Hehe, there's no need for you to be so dejected. You won't be able to obtain the true Kirin essence for now, but that doesn't mean I don't have other ways to enhance your constitution and help you reach the holy race."
Xian Xian faltered slightly upon hearing this before an ecstatic look appeared on her face, and she asked, "What? Do you know the location of a second true spirit cave?"
"Hehe, that's naturally impossible, but instead, I know the location of a set of ancient runes. That was a place where a vastly renowned pill refinement master had lived during ancient times..." the Kirin projection began in a mysterious voice, and Xian Xian listened intently to its story.