Chapter 1328: The Power of Spirit Devouring

Han Li, using the Blood Shadow Escape technique, reached the valley entrance in a matter of moments. With his current cultivation, the inherent drawbacks of the Blood Shadow Escape—its overwhelming power and the inability to control direction and speed during the Core Formation and Nascent Soul stages—had naturally resolved themselves after he reached the Spirit Transformation stage. Thus, as Han Li swiftly escaped, covering hundreds of miles in an instant, he simultaneously swept his spiritual sense behind him. He found that the escape light formed by Huang Liang Spirit Lord and the other two hadn't been shaken off much at all; they were still in hot pursuit. A great alarm rose in his heart.

Since he was confronting Void Refinement cultivators, Han Li hadn't harbored any illusions that he could simply escape by relying solely on the Blood Shadow Escape. As he was enveloped in the bloody light, he flipped his hand, and suddenly two round beads, one red and one black, shimmering with mysterious runes, appeared. Without hesitation, he tossed them behind him. Then, forming hand seals with both hands, he quietly began to chant.

Just then, the blood-red light he was controlling flashed past the entrance of Chaos Valley. The three pursuers behind him also rapidly neared the same location. The two beads spun rapidly, and with a booming hum, an earth-shattering roar erupted. A red and a black blazing sun, each ten zhang in diameter, materialized in the void. A visible wave of energy frantically spread outwards, instantly forming an incredibly violent hurricane that swept up everything within several miles.

Of the three closely pursuing Han Li, Luo Tian, whose magic power was the most profound, was in the lead. Furthermore, by using a secret technique to propel his escape light too quickly, he was instantly caught in the hurricane. However, Huang Liang Spirit Lord and his companion, who were slightly behind, were able to change the direction of their escape light in surprise due to their greater distance, narrowly bypassing the hurricane from both sides. Despite this, the human and the demon didn't miss the opportunity to kick Xu Tian while he was down. Huan Tianqi shook his sleeve, unleashing a rolling gray demonic wind, while Huang Liang Spirit Lord raised a hand towards the hurricane, and a fleeting yellow pillar of light shot out. As both attacks plunged into the hurricane, rumbling explosions immediately ensued, followed by Xu Tian's unusually enraged roar from within. It seemed he had suffered a setback and was temporarily unable to break free. The human and the demon exchanged a smile, and their escape lights flickered as they too arrived above the valley entrance.

By this time, Han Li's escaping light, slightly hindered by the Heaven Immortal Pearl, had already become an indistinct blur on the horizon. The two paid no mind. Just as they were about to confidently activate secret arts to resume their pursuit, two "puffing" sounds suddenly emanated from the stone wall on one side of the valley entrance. Amidst a flickering shadowy light, two columns of silver flames erupted, surging directly towards them. As the valley entrance wasn't wide, and the flame pillars shot out with astonishing speed, the silver flames instantly reached their position. Startled, Huang Liang Spirit Lord instinctively chopped at the void with one hand, unleashing a yellow sword qi, intending to cleave the flame pillar in two. However, the moment the sword qi touched the silver flame, it spontaneously combusted with a "whoosh," and was utterly consumed by the silver flame in the blink of an eye. The silver flame pillar intensified, lunging forward even more menacingly. Before it even made contact, its searing heat already made the human cultivator's mouth go dry. Upon seeing this, Huang Liang Spirit Lord's expression dramatically changed, and he blurted out in a lost voice:

"Spirit-Extinguishing White Bone Fire!"

He then formed hand seals as if seeing a venomous scorpion, and his figure abruptly vanished from the spot, causing the silver flame pillar to sweep through empty air. Huan Tianqi, on the other side, found himself in a similar predicament. The demonic wind he exhaled was likewise completely consumed by the silver flames. His terrified body swayed repeatedly, leaving a trail of afterimages as he shifted through several positions before finally escaping the silver flame's pursuit.

"No, that's not the Heaven Spirit White Bone Fire! Although White Bone Fire is silver, it's imbued with malevolent energy, and only Old Ancestor White Bone can control it. It's absolutely impossible for it to be taught to others," Huan Tianqi immediately refuted, his face grim as he stood beside Huang Liang Spirit Lord.

Across from them, the two silver flame pillars converged, forming a massive fire sphere about ten zhang in diameter. The sphere then slightly contracted and transformed, elegantly revealing a silver firebird.

"A Fire Spirit!"

Witnessing this, both the human and the demon were stunned once more by the sight of the firebird. However, the silver firebird cast a cold glance at them, then merely gave its wings a gentle flap. Amidst a shimmering silver light, countless fist-sized fireballs materialized nearby. After a clear cry, all the fireballs shot forth, densely enveloping both the human and the demon within their attack range.

Upon hearing that it wasn't the Spirit-Extinguishing White Bone Fire, Huang Liang Spirit Lord felt most of his apprehension dissipate. After seeing these fireballs, he let out a cold snort, raised his hand, and a Bagua mirror instantly expanded to a massive size, floating before him. Huan Tianqi, on the other side, flipped his hand, and gray electric light reappeared in his grasp. Although the two hadn't fully discerned the true nature of the silver flames, they no longer underestimated them and prepared to respond with their full power.

However, at that very moment, the myriad fireballs, already streaking towards them, suddenly flared with silver light and vanished into thin air. Had it not been for the pervasive, intense heat that still lingered in the air, it would have seemed as though the fireballs had never appeared at all. Huang Liang Spirit Lord was startled, his eyes narrowing as he gazed at the silver firebird. The moment he looked, he heard a soft "bang." The firebird inexplicably exploded, and its scattered silver flames, just like the earlier fireballs, eerily vanished into thin air.

Huang Liang Spirit Lord's expression immediately turned grim as he turned to glance at Huan Tianqi. The elder of the Qiong Mouse clan also wore a displeased, somewhat ashen, expression.

"Even if this isn't the Spirit-Extinguishing White Bone Fire, it's likely still extraordinary. What is the origin of that human cultivator? He shouldn't be so obscure among the human race, should he?" Huan Tianqi asked coldly, a faint hint of suspicion in his tone.

"I don't know him. Perhaps he's a cultivator from one of the other two realms. Regardless, it's my first time seeing him in our Tianwu Realm. But if he believes he can truly escape our grasp with just these petty tricks, he's far too arrogant. Although I didn't manage to plant a spiritual sense mark on him, given the strength of our spiritual senses, a Spirit Transformation cultivator in this Sunset Tomb, as long as he hasn't escaped beyond ten thousand miles, absolutely cannot elude our spiritual tracking," Huang Liang Spirit Lord said, first shaking his head solemnly, then glancing outside the valley with a cold chuckle.

By this time, Han Li's escape light had long vanished without a trace on the horizon. Huan Tianqi nodded, clearly concurring with the assessment. Then, both of them closed their eyes mid-air, slowly extending their immensely powerful spiritual senses outwards. However, after only a moment, their expressions changed dramatically, showing a mixture of surprise, suspicion, and disbelief.

"How is that possible? That person's spiritual energy aura has vanished without a trace!" Huang Liang Spirit Lord suddenly opened his eyes, his face filled with shock.

"I haven't found him either. This situation suggests either his cultivation far surpasses ours, or he's employed some unique secret art that can conceal his aura so completely that even our spiritual senses can't detect a trace. Otherwise, even if he had perished, his aura wouldn't have dispersed so thoroughly in such a short time," Huan Tianqi murmured.

"Then it must be the second reason! Don't forget, this person was hidden nearby earlier, yet we didn't detect him at all. It seems he truly masters some extremely potent stealth divine ability," Huang Liang Spirit Lord said, his brow furrowed deeply.

"This is a huge problem! With such a power, how can I possibly find him?" Huan Tianqi's mouth twitched involuntarily.

"That's not necessarily true; we still have a chance. Now that he's concealed himself, he surely can't use that escape technique to travel much further. He's likely within a few thousand miles. We just need to deploy our forces to secure all these areas. We'll search meticulously, and you can use your Illusion Flame Moth's Thousand Moth Technique to assist. I refuse to believe he can truly hide from us," Huang Liang Spirit Lord said, a cold glint in his eyes, as he proposed a rather cumbersome method.

"The Thousand Moth Technique! That will somewhat deplete the vital essence of my Illusion Flame Moths. Still, it might be worth using for this purpose. But what about that Sunset Crystal..." Huan Tianqi nodded somewhat reluctantly, then suddenly brought up the treasure that had fallen into Huang Liang Spirit Lord's possession.

"Heh heh, as long as we can recover the Spirit Race artifact, I will personally present the Sunset Crystal to you with both hands. Even if we fail to retrieve it, I will give you half of this crystal, Brother Huan," Huang Liang Spirit Lord replied without hesitation, as if his decision had long been made.

"Good, your word is enough, Daoist friend. I will now..." Huan Tianqi smiled faintly, about to speak further, when a long howl suddenly echoed from behind them, followed by an earth-shattering roar, and an astonishing wave of spiritual energy surged into the sky from that direction.

The human and the demon felt their hearts tighten, and immediately spun around to look. They saw that the hurricane not far behind them had now dissipated. In its place, a blood lotus over ten zhang in diameter was continuously spinning, and at its center, Xu Tian stared at them with a grim expression, a subtle, fierce glint in his eyes. Clearly, he had seen through their recent act of kicking him while he was down.

"Daoist Xu Tian, do you truly wish to fight us two? That fellow who tricked you out of your belongings could be hiding anywhere. If the three of us delay any longer, he might truly escape," Huan Tianqi said nonchalantly, showing no trace of fear.

"Hmph, I won't let this matter rest. Should the opportunity arise in the future, I will certainly come to experience your divine abilities properly." Xu Tian glanced around, finding no trace of Han Li, before glaring at the two and uttering that cold remark. Following this, the petals of the blood lotus beneath his feet suddenly closed together. Carried by this lotus, Xu Tian shot out of the valley with a whistle. In moments, he was gone without a trace.

Huang Liang Spirit Lord and his companion paid no heed to the threats from the Spirit Race's Profound Spirit. Not only was this territory controlled by both human and demonic races, making it impossible for a Spirit Race cultivator to stay long, but even if they truly had to confront him again, their combined power would easily give them the upper hand. Thus, after a brief further discussion, the two parted ways. They planned to gather their forces to completely seal off a vast area spanning several thousand miles, determined to flush out the scoundrel who had stirred up trouble and reaped benefits.