Chapter 1286: Sandworm Beast

Brother Han is not yet thirty-eight, and for someone so young to have cultivated the Adamantine Art of Nine Rivers to such a profound level, it's no wonder Leader Zhang holds him in such high regard," the girl in blue asked with a faint smile.

"You flatter me, Miss Liu'er. However, although I've signed the Blood Oath Document, I don't really know much about the Heaven-East Trading Company. Would you mind telling me a bit about it?" Han Li replied with a slight smile.

"It seems Brother Han isn't from our Heavenly Origin Realm, otherwise you wouldn't ask such a question," Liu'er said, her eyes shifting as she chuckled, covering her mouth.

"Oh, is the Heaven-East Trading Company very famous around here?" Han Li's eyes flickered, showing some interest.

"Famous? Brother Han, you jest. Our trading company is one of the three major trading companies in the Heavenly Origin Realm. We have branches in hundreds of cities, both large and small, and our headquarters are even located in the Sacred City of Heavenly Origin," the blue-clad girl said, her lips curving up in a somewhat smug expression.

However, none of this meant anything to Han Li, who had just ascended to the Spirit Realm.

In his mind, a hundred cities didn't seem like many; even a small country in the Mortal Realm had far more cities than that. Yet, the girl's demeanor suggested it was an impressive feat. He wondered if this little girl was simply narrow-minded, or if the Spirit Realm was indeed very different from the Mortal Realm.

Han Li felt a strange sensation in his heart, but his face showed no unusual expression. Instead, he feigned ignorance and nodded. "Oh, so our trading company is indeed quite large. But I just overheard you young ladies discussing that the current caravan is heading to Anyuan City. I wonder where this city is and how many days it will take to get there?"

"You're not very honest, eavesdropping on our sisters' conversation!" a younger-looking girl in red suddenly giggled from the side.

Han Li cleared his throat, feeling a bit speechless. When these girls were talking, their voices were so loud that there was no hint of trying to be discreet.

"Quan'er, don't be rude. Brother Han, please don't take offense. Quan'er is a bit young and means no harm," the blue-clad girl admonished the red-clad girl before apologizing.

In her mind, although Han Li was a newcomer to the Heaven-East Trading Company, his advanced body-refining technique at such a young age meant he would surely be highly regarded by the company in the future.

Naturally, she didn't want her sisters to offend him.

Han Li smiled at her words. Just as he was about to say something, the carriage suddenly swayed slightly, and the giant tortoise came to a stop.

The blue-clad girl was startled but quickly reacted, letting out a soft cry. "Uncle Wang, what happened?"

"Young ladies, the Crimson Spirit Sparrows ahead have spotted a swarm of Sandworm Beasts that seem to have targeted the caravan," replied the old man, who was acting as the driver outside the carriage.

"Just a few Sandworm Beasts, acting purely on instinct. Send some people to drive them away. Why stop the caravan? We're already running a bit late," the blue-clad girl said, somewhat displeased.

"But among these beasts, there's a low-level insect demon that has just begun to develop intelligence. If we don't kill it, I'm afraid we'll be in big trouble," the old man said with a bitter smile.

"A low-level insect demon? That's a bit tricky. But Leader Zhang's Tiger Overlord Art has also reached the fifth layer, hasn't it? If so, with the Golden Luminous Sword Spirit Tool personally bestowed by Madam, dealing with this demon shouldn't be a problem," the blue-clad girl said without hesitation.

"Miss Liu'er is right, but this insect demon also has several mutated insect beasts by its side. Leader Zhang and the others might be at some risk dealing with them," the old man outside the carriage paused before adding hesitantly.

"Mutated insect beasts! That is somewhat dangerous. But aren't there still Daoist Nancizi and a few other cultivators in the caravan? Let them make a move then," the blue-clad girl pondered for a moment, her tone softening.

"Leader Zhang has already asked, but they refused. Daoist Nancizi and his companions are cultivators from Goulu Mountain, and they are unwilling to act unless the insect beasts actively attack them," the old man sighed, explaining.

"How troublesome. I've always said not to hire these cultivators from Goulu Mountain; they have the most restrictions and rules," the red-clad girl wrinkled her nose, looking displeased.

"That's not Daoist Nancizi's fault. Most cultivators from Goulu Mountain primarily practice insect-controlling divine abilities. They don't have as many reservations against other types of demonic beasts, so encountering insect beasts is an unexpected situation. How about this, Madam temporarily entrusted that item to my control before she left. I'll release it to help Leader Zhang. You go tell him first; I'll be out in a moment." Liu'er pondered for a moment, her expression turning serious.

"If it's that thing, dealing with insect beasts certainly won't be a problem," the old man outside the carriage seemed relieved to hear the blue-clad girl's words.

"Sister Liu'er, are you really going to release that thing? If anything goes wrong, Madam might punish you," Xiang'er said, looking worried.

"Don't worry, that thing has been tamed by Madam for so many years and has developed some intelligence. It won't be at a disadvantage even against low-level demonic beasts, so using it to deal with a few mutated insect beasts will definitely not be a problem," the blue-clad girl said with a confident smile. Then, she pushed open the carriage door and stepped out.

"I'm a bit worried; I want to go and see," the young red-clad girl bit her lip, and with a flash of her figure, she followed out.

Xiang'er and the last girl in white robes exchanged a bitter smile. They shared a knowing glance, saying nothing, but moved their lotus-like steps and also walked out of the carriage.

In a flash, the large carriage was left with only Han Li.

He sat on the chair, gazing at the half-open carriage door, his eyes narrowing in thought.

A moment later, a harsh tiger's roar came from nearby, filled with a bloodthirsty, tyrannical aura.

Han Li's expression shifted. With a flicker in his eyes, he slowly stood up and walked towards the carriage door.

Gently pushing the door open, Han Li calmly stepped out of the carriage. He stood on the edge of the giant tortoise, looking up and scanning his surroundings.

Under the illumination of seven bright moonbeams in the sky, Han Li could clearly see everything nearby.

The entire caravan was winding, stretching for about a *li*, with giant beasts like the one under his feet appearing every so often, totaling over thirty.

Most of the giant tortoises had bulging backs, carrying massive cargo crates no smaller than the tortoises themselves. Each giant tortoise had four or five strong men dressed in various armors and wielding weapons. Additionally, there were knights riding giant wolves patrolling back and forth on both sides, creating a heavily guarded appearance.

However, none of this interested Han Li as much as an object near a giant tortoise not far away.

A crowd had gathered next to that giant tortoise, including Daoist Nancizi, the scar-faced man, and the four young women, including Liu'er.

In the center of this group was a two-zhang tall, square object wrapped in a glistening black cloth. From inside the black cloth, a low beast's roar faintly emanated.

Runes flickered on the surface of the cloth, indicating that it was a low-level magical artifact.

At this moment, the blue-clad girl was holding a token, from which sheets of blue light were being emitted, as if she were performing a spell.

With Han Li's spiritual eyes, enhanced by spiritual liquid, even from such a distance, he could see as clearly as if it were close by. He noticed a jade-green bracelet on the girl's wrist, embedded with several small, glittering spirit stones.

Upon seeing this, Han Li's expression shifted, showing a thoughtful look.

It seemed that these so-called "spirit tools" had to be activated by another object before mortals could use them. And since they were embedded with spirit stones, once the spiritual energy in the stones was depleted, the spirit tool would surely lose its effectiveness.

As Han Li was making his silent conjectures, the black cloth, after absorbing a certain amount of blue light, suddenly turned into a wisp of black smoke and dispersed, revealing an exquisite silver-white beast cage inside.

Within the cage was a crimson, tiger-shaped monstrous beast, lying dormant.

From its appearance, this tiger beast looked no different from an ordinary tiger, except for its blood-red fur. However, those around it looked at the beast with a hint of fear.

As soon as the beast saw so many people standing outside the cage, its eyes flashed with fierce light. Without any warning, it suddenly lunged, crashing violently against the cage bars, causing the entire cage to shake wildly.

The faces of those surrounding the cage changed, and they all instinctively retreated two steps.

The blue-clad girl took a shallow breath, then raised the token in her hand again. Immediately, the token emitted a crimson blood-red glow.

Strangely, as soon as the tiger beast saw this red light, its ferocious demeanor vanished instantly, and it obediently lay down in the cage, no longer moving.

Seeing this, Zhang Kui and the others immediately felt a sense of relief.

Just then, several clear bird calls suddenly came from the sky. The calls varied in urgency, seemingly conveying some information.

"Those insect beasts are speeding up and have surrounded us. Everyone, prepare for battle immediately. Form the carriages into a circle, hold your ground, and do not actively attack. Just wait for me to lead people to kill that low-level insect demon. These insect beasts have no intelligence; once the insect demon dies, they will disperse on their own," Zhang Kui said, his face tightening as he shouted urgently.

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire caravan stirred.

The middle section remained still, while the giant tortoises at the very front and back immediately moved closer to the center. The guards on the carriages swiftly drew their weapons, and the knights riding giant wolves quickly converged towards the middle.

The blue-clad girl then gave an order, and a person stepped forward, opened the beast cage, and released the tiger beast.

"Young Han, your body hasn't fully recovered yet; it's safer inside the carriage. Those Sandworm Beasts aren't good at jumping, and the carriage is made of deep-iron wood, so there won't be a big problem inside for a while," the old man driving the giant tortoise at the front turned his head, grinned at Han Li, and said.

"Thank you for your kindness, old man, but I've never seen a Sandworm Beast and would like to see what they look like. If it truly becomes dangerous, I'll return to the carriage," Han Li replied with a light, casual smile.