Chapter 1288: Snake Demon

Under the influence of the formation, the situation turned around, suggesting they could hold out much longer. Just as Han Li believed they were temporarily safe, something unexpected happened!

With a loud thud, the ground near the three girls suddenly burst open, and a human-snake demonic beast drilled its way out of the sand.

This demonic serpent had tangled, yellowish hair and the ferocious face of a woman. From its snake body sprouted two delicate, pale arms, like a baby's. Each arm held a bone spear several feet long, wreathed in dark energy, appearing to be low-grade magical artifacts.

The moment the demonic serpent appeared, Han Li was taken aback, and the three girls, including Xiang'er, who were maintaining the formation, gasped in alarm. The serpent-woman turned her monstrous face, spotted the three girls, and a sinister smile crept across her lips. Without a word, she waved one hand three times in the air towards the girls. Instantly, three dark rays of light burst forth from the spear tips, showering down upon them.

Xiang'er and the other two girls, remarkably quick-witted, swiftly recovered from their surprise at the sight of the snake demon. They quickly threw a small flag into the formation diagram before them, waving it rapidly.

With a few "whoosh" sounds, ethereal mist instantly shimmered into existence before the three girls, enveloping them in protection. The dark rays immediately struck the glowing mist.

Three loud explosions rocked the air. Xiang'er and the white-robed girl fared better; although their protective mist scattered, they managed to withstand the blow. However, the youngest girl in the red robe had conjured the weakest mist. Consequently, the moment the dark rays touched her mist, her body jolted violently, sending her involuntarily flying backward and out of the mist's protection.

The red-robed girl inwardly cried out in alarm, her face turning instantly ashen. For a moment, she found herself completely unable to control her body.

The snake demon clearly perceived this vulnerability. Slamming its tail against the ground behind it, its body flickered and instantly appeared like lightning beneath the red-robed girl. One bone spear thrust out without hesitation, aimed directly at her.

The other two girls gasped in alarm, but they were powerless to intervene. The bone spear, wreathed in dark light, seemed poised to pierce the girl's body. But just then, a piercing whoosh sliced through the air as a white object flashed by, striking the dark light with uncanny precision.

With a "bang," the bone spear was knocked half a foot away, its tip grazing the red-robed girl's clothing and leaving her utterly pale with fright. However, seizing this opportunity, she finally regained control of her body. Her posture relaxed, and her feet landed nimbly on the ground.

The white object, it turned out, was merely an inconspicuous stone.

The snake demon was momentarily stunned by this sight, but a fierce glint immediately flashed in its eyes. Its other arm moved, and the second bone spear thrust out in rapid succession.

However, another whoosh immediately sounded nearby as a second stone whistled through the air. This time, the stone was not aimed at the bone spear, but directly at the snake demon's head.

Given the immense force demonstrated by the previous stone, if this one truly struck the demon, it would likely knock it unconscious instantly, even if it didn't shatter its skull.

Despite its intense fury, the snake demon had no choice but to tilt its head and simultaneously swing its bone spear to block the incoming stone.

After another muffled thud, the snake demon felt a powerful force in its hand, causing it to stumble back several steps. Infuriated, it immediately looked up towards the direction from which the stone had been thrown.

There, on a nearby tortoise-carriage, a young man was calmly gazing their way, lightly tossing another similar stone in his hand.

It was Han Li!

Meanwhile, the red-robed girl had already swiftly moved into the protective mist of another girl, finally letting out a huge sigh of relief.

Having been thwarted twice in succession, the snake demon's inner rage reached its boiling point. It abruptly opened its mouth and spewed out a potent stream of toxic gas, which surged towards the three girls' protective mist.

But just then, a cold snort echoed from another tortoise-carriage as Nan Qizi's voice rang out: "You beast, how dare you!"

As his voice resounded, a white light shot out from the carriage. It spiraled once, then flew directly towards the snake demon, revealing itself to be a crystal-clear miniature sword, several inches long.

The snake demon, still spewing dark gas, saw this and its face changed dramatically. It violently hurled one of its bone spears towards the nearby tortoise-carriage, then twisted its body and submerged itself beneath the sand.

The moment it spotted a cultivator, it didn't even dare to engage, immediately employing an earth-escape technique to flee the area.

The bone spear, however, was hurled directly at Han Li.

Evidently, the demon intended to kill the mortal who had spoiled its plans before departing, thus venting its frustration.

Han Li watched the bone spear approaching as a black streak of light, a wry smile spreading across his face. He made no move to use the stone in his hand to intercept the spear; instead, he stood perfectly still.

With a resounding "boom," the bone spear struck Han Li squarely. He was sent flying over ten zhang (approximately 30 meters) away without resistance, landing on a cargo container atop a giant tortoise, where he made a large hole.

With a loud clatter, a pile of gleaming weapons spilled out from the cargo container. "Ah!"

Upon seeing Han Li's fate, gasps of alarm erupted from the three girls, while a faint "Oh?" of surprise came from Nan Qizi inside the carriage.

The miniature sword then circled once in the air nearby before swiftly returning to the carriage.

At this moment, the red-robed girl and the others waved the small flags in their hands, dispelling the protective mist, and rushed towards the damaged cargo container.

"Brother Han, are you... are you alright!" the red-robed girl, deeply grateful to Han Li for saving her, called out anxiously from beneath the giant tortoise.

Xiang'er and the white-robed girl also showed a hint of concern. "I'm fine, not dead," came Han Li's wry voice from the cargo container. "I just can't move my body again."

The three girls felt a wave of relief upon hearing this. After exchanging glances, they moved in unison, leaping onto the giant tortoise to peer into the damaged cargo container.

They saw Han Li lying in tattered clothes amidst a pile of swords and spears, his expression one of helplessness, but seemingly unharmed.

The three girls were overjoyed. Working together, they carefully pulled Han Li from the container and laid him flat on the giant tortoise.

"Brother Han, thank you for saving my life!" the red-robed girl expressed her gratitude to Han Li.

"It's nothing, just a small effort!" Han Li said with a slight, unconcerned smile. "This kind of attack can't really harm me. I just have to lie down for a bit longer."

On another giant tortoise, the carriage door opened, and Nan Qizi stepped out. With a few graceful movements, he flew to Han Li's side, grasping his wrist. A surge of pure spiritual energy flowed into Han Li. "It's nothing," the Taoist said, a flicker of surprise giving way to a smile. "The Adamant Art truly deserves its reputation as one of the five great body-refining secret arts. Reaching the third level already grants such power. That demonic artifact didn't harm Benefactor Han at all. It's just that throwing those stones earlier caused some minor damage to your meridians, a slight injury on top of an old one. Just rest quietly for a while, and you'll be perfectly fine."

"Is that truly so!" The red-robed girl exclaimed, delighted by the news.

"Haha, how could this humble Taoist deceive you?" Nan Qizi chuckled. However, his gaze then fell upon the formation diagram, which had lost its glow, and he added meaningfully, "But your Minor Revival Formation has now stopped, and the situation seems to be turning unfavorable again."

The moment he spoke, the three girls' faces paled dramatically. They quickly glanced around, only to see that without the Minor Revival Formation's support, the guards were showing signs of exhaustion again, and casualties were starting to mount once more.

"This is bad," the white-robed girl gasped. "We only brought one formation diagram for the Minor Revival Formation. Just now, defending against that snake demon, we completely exhausted the power of the accompanying formation flags in one go. We can't activate the formation again now."

The other two girls exchanged dismayed glances.

"This truly is a bit troublesome!" the Taoist said, his brows furrowing. Just as they were brainstorming solutions, the shouts of battle around them abruptly ceased, and the guards on the tortoise-carriages simultaneously erupted in cheers.

The girls froze for a moment, then looked again. They saw the giant insects, previously embroiled in battle with the guards, leaping off the carriages and fleeing in disarray in all directions. The swarm seemed to have lost its coordination, becoming utterly chaotic and shedding its previous fierce demeanor.

"It's done!" the green-robed girl exclaimed, her face beaming. "Sister Liu'er and the others must have dealt with that insect demon!" The other two girls also broke into wide smiles.

Indeed, moments later, a few dozen riders burst forth from the distant yellow dust, galloping swiftly back towards the convoy.

These were the same riders who had earlier charged into the insect swarm on their giant wolves. However, out of the original fifty-odd, only a little over thirty remained, and every single one was wounded and covered in blood, a testament to the fierce battle they had endured.

Urging their giant wolves onward, the riders were back within the convoy in the blink of an eye.

Without a word, the scarred man abruptly tossed an object onto the ground. It was the head of a giant insect, entirely golden, clearly no ordinary sand worm.

The blue-robed girl also returned safely with her blood-colored monstrous tiger.

Upon seeing the three girls and Nan Qizi gathered around Han Li, both individuals showed a hint of surprise on their faces.

At this moment, a guard who had witnessed the earlier events immediately stepped forward and recounted the full incident to them.

The scarred man was momentarily stunned, then burst into hearty laughter: "It seems I, Zhang, truly wasn't mistaken about you. Brother Han is indeed impressive; you saved Quan'er the moment you joined our merchant guild. Otherwise, if something had truly gone wrong, I wouldn't have the face to meet the madam."

After hearing the account, the blue-robed girl's gaze towards Han Li also became exceptionally gentle.

Han Li simply offered a slight smile, saying nothing in reply.

With the sand worms repelled, the entire convoy naturally needed to regroup. After resting on the spot for the better part of a day, the convoy finally set off once more.

The subsequent journey was remarkably quiet. After another three days of travel, the convoy exited the Green Luo Desert, and an endless, boundless grassland stretched before them.

It was exceptionally flat!

As a result, the convoy's speed immediately accelerated manifold. The giant tortoises began to stride, galloping like the wind towards the horizon.

Han Li, still lying immobile in the carriage, suddenly noticed that the chatter and laughter previously audible within the convoy fell silent the moment they entered the grassland.

Moreover, as the four girls inside the carriage gazed out at the verdant green grass through the windows, each of their expressions grew uneasy, subtly revealing a hint of fear.