Chapter 1338: Leopard Lin Beast

Han Li's current location was roughly twenty miles from the Elder Tower. He gazed from afar at the towering blue stone pagoda, his eyes flickering. He knew that, at all times, both the human and demon races assigned a Body Integration stage elder to guard the tower.

Reflecting on this, Han Li couldn't help but feel a touch of emotion. In the Human Realm, Transcending Divinity cultivators were elusive figures, seldom encountered by common people. Yet, here in Tianyuan City, even Body Integration cultivators were readily accessible. Furthermore, he might even have the opportunity to seek their guidance in the future. It seemed like a good place to stay until he could completely purify himself of the foreign realm's aura.

Han Li pondered silently. As for the dispute over the spirit land with the scowling man, given his divine abilities—which had even allowed him to engage with Void Refinement cultivators—he naturally didn't take it too seriously. After observing for a while longer, a flash of green light enveloped Han Li, transforming him into a streak of green rainbow that shot back towards Feiling Hall.

Upon returning to his room, Han Li immediately activated the protective restrictions. Only after ensuring everything was secure did he enter his secret chamber and sit down cross-legged. Although he felt quite confident about the battle three days later, he naturally wouldn't go in without any preparation. First, however, he had a small matter to attend to.

Han Li flicked his sleeve, and a small, exquisite silver bracelet appeared on his other hand. It was incredibly light, almost as if it were hollow. This was a Spirit Beast Ring, an item as renowned in the Spirit Realm as the Storage Bracelet. It was compartmentalized into several distinct spaces, allowing it to house various spirit beasts and insects concurrently. Since his expedition to the Sunset Tomb, Han Li had stored his Gold Devouring Beetles, Soul-Crying Beast, and other creatures within this ring. His former spirit beast pouch had, naturally, been discarded.

With a sweep of his hand over the ring, a fist-sized yellow orb of light emerged, rapidly expanding to reveal a small beast, roughly a foot in length, bound tightly with green ropes. It was the mutated Leopard-Kirin Beast that had been captured by the Spirit Race in the Sunset Tomb. From Shi Yan's memories, Han Li knew that this beast, though resembling a common leopard, was actually a demonic creature possessing a trace of Kirin bloodline. Moreover, this particular small beast was a mutated Leopard-Kirin, which explained why its strength was already comparable to a Nascent Soul cultivator despite not yet being fully grown.

While Han Li was recovering his spiritual energy that day, he had naturally considered subduing the beast. However, it was exceptionally wild and had already developed rudimentary intelligence, appearing utterly unwilling to submit. In desperation, Han Li had simply placed it within the Spirit Beast Ring, planning to spend some time taming its wild nature. Now, after being confined for several decades, the beast had finally reached its limit. A few days prior, it had sent him a message of surrender from within the Spirit Beast Ring. However, Han Li had been preoccupied with a series of events, including undergoing his tribulation, and thus hadn't had time to address the matter. With three days now available, he had ample time to subdue the beast.

The moment the beast emerged from the Spirit Beast Ring, it immediately let out whimpering cries toward Han Li. Its pair of emerald eyes conveyed a distinctly human-like pleading expression. Coupled with its small, large-cat-like physique, it appeared incredibly adorable.

"I'm going to impose a restriction on you now," Han Li stated without ceremony, threatening it directly. "If you open up your consciousness, I'll remove your bindings and even give you some benefits. Otherwise, I'll keep you confined for another hundred years."

Though the beast's intelligence was not high, it clearly understood Han Li's words. Its body trembled, and it could only nod its furry head repeatedly. Han Li smiled faintly. With a flick of his wrist, a dozen slender silver needles appeared in his hand. With another swift motion, the silver needles vanished in a flash, sinking into the small beast's body.

Next, Han Li produced a vibrant red talisman. He opened his mouth and sprayed a blob of vital blood onto it. Then, holding the talisman between his fingers, he gently waved it. With a soft *poof*, the talisman dissolved into a ball of blood mist that hung suspended in the air.

Han Li chanted incantations, then patted the top of his head with one hand. Amidst flickering green light, a several-inch-tall Nascent Soul, standing atop a small cauldron, materialized. The moment the Nascent Soul appeared, it opened its mouth and exhaled a ball of green light. Upon contact with the green light, the blood mist immediately swirled towards it. The two merged in an instant, transforming into green and red flames.

The Nascent Soul then formed hand seals and repeatedly cast several magic spells into the flames. As the flames absorbed the spells, they suddenly pulsed, then violently churned, forming a fist-sized demonic face. It appeared ferocious and menacing. The Nascent Soul's tiny hand gently pointed at the small beast. The demonic face stretched into a grin, then spun around as if alive and, with a whistling sound, burrowed into the small beast's head, vanishing without a trace. The beast let out a loud cry, immediately rolled its eyes, and fell to the ground, unconscious. Simultaneously, a layer of strange green and red light appeared on its body, flickering on and off intermittently.

Seeing this, Han Li showed a look of satisfaction. With a single hand, he made a grasping motion towards the small beast's body. After a muffled *thud*, the green ropes wrapped around the small beast's body snapped inch by inch, becoming invisible. Han Li then ignored the small beast, placed his hands on his chest, and began to meditate with closed eyes.

Han Li did not leave his secret chamber for the remainder of the time, and the three days naturally passed in a flash. Early on the fourth day, a streak of fiery light, disregarding the external restrictions, flew directly into the living room, then promptly shot towards the secret chamber. However, the moment this fiery light approached the secret chamber door, a faint white mist suddenly rippled across its surface, halting the light's advance. The fiery light hovered outside the door for a moment, then attempted to penetrate the barrier once more. Failing to do so, it began to emit a series of buzzing sounds.

Suddenly, the secret chamber door flashed green, and a figure strangely materialized from within. With a raised hand, he seized the fiery light. It was Han Li, emerging from his three-day seclusion. At that moment, his expression was placid. A small, civet-like beast perched on his shoulder as he unhurriedly immersed his spiritual sense into the fireball he held. It was a sound transmission talisman from Heque Pavilion, pertaining to the spirit land dispute.

"Guangwu Hall."

Han Li murmured the name, then rubbed his hands together, and the fireball instantly vanished. He then strode towards the main door.

Two hours later, in the open-air plaza of a massive hall, Han Li floated, robes billowing, within a vast, shimmering white light barrier. Outside this barrier stood a scar-faced man in golden battle armor, arms crossed, his expression exceptionally cold. Time passed slowly. Han Li waited motionless for the duration of a meal, and even the golden-armored man began to show a hint of impatience, periodically glancing at the seven blazing suns high above, seemingly calculating the time.

Suddenly, a spiritual light flashed across the horizon, and a streak of blue light shot forth, reaching the vicinity of the light barrier in an instant. The light then receded, revealing a cultivator.

"Senior, my apologies!" he said, bowing to the golden-armored cultivator with a conciliatory smile. "This junior was delayed because I was refining a magic treasure. I haven't missed the battle time, have I?" This was, in fact, the man with the scowling eyebrows.

"Hmph! A moment later, and your qualification to compete would have been revoked," the scar-faced golden-armored cultivator said impatiently, sweeping his gaze over the scowling man. "Consider yourself lucky; you arrived just in time. Enter now." He then formed hand seals and struck the white light barrier with a golden spell. Instantly, the barrier erupted with spiritual light, and amidst a violent tremor, a ten-foot-wide passage opened before the man surnamed Weng.

"Thank you, Senior." The man surnamed Weng was overjoyed. His figure flickered, transforming into a brilliant blue streak of light, and he shot into the barrier.

When he reappeared opposite Han Li, he glanced at Han Li, and a sneer twisted his features. "Excellent! You actually showed up," the scowling man said grimly. "It seems you truly have some guts, daring to face me with only an initial-stage cultivation."

Hearing this, Han Li's lips merely curled into a lazy, faint smile, as if he couldn't be bothered to respond. Seeing this, the scowling man was instantly enraged, and the killing intent he had somewhat suppressed surged even higher.

"Listen carefully," the scar-faced cultivator began expressionlessly, reciting the standard rules. "There are no restrictions in this spirit land dispute. Any method may be employed, provided you remain within the designated area. I will not intervene unless one party voluntarily concedes defeat. If you believe your strength is insufficient, it's advisable to concede early. While deaths during spirit land disputes are uncommon, it's frequent for cultivators to sustain severe injuries that lead to a drop in their cultivation realm. If there are no objections, we shall commence."

Han Li and the man surnamed Weng stared at each other from a distance, both remaining silent. The golden-armored cultivator nodded and uttered the single word: "Begin."

In that instant, both Han Li and the scowling man made their moves. Facing an opponent whom even late-stage Transcending Divinity cultivators treated with exceptional courtesy, Han Li naturally harbored no contempt. With a flick of his sleeve, seventy-two inch-long swords surged forth, transforming into a swirling array of golden lotuses that pulsed with light around his body. Simultaneously, he opened his mouth and spat out a small cauldron. It immediately expanded amidst a burst of spiritual light, transforming into a giant cauldron ten feet tall, emitting a resonant hum. It was indeed the Profound Sky Cauldron!

Meanwhile, the scowling man opposite him formed a hand seal, and specks of blue light began to emanate from his body. These blue specks of light, no larger than grains of rice, surged forth ceaselessly, quickly becoming a dense swarm that almost completely engulfed him. Next, the man reached into the empty air with his other hand. A dazzling silver light flashed, revealing a brilliant silver dharma wheel in his palm. It was palm-sized but remarkably ancient, with layers of talismans inscribed on its surface, clearly indicating it was an extraordinary artifact.

He tossed the silver wheel into the air, where it instantly transformed into a silver orb of light, spinning incessantly. Accompanied by bursts of incantations, it began to expand rapidly and erratically. Moments later, the silver wheel astonishingly grew to be three to four *zhang* in size, hovering brightly above the scowling man's head like a silver sun. Once he completed his spell, the man glanced across the space. His expression subtly faltered; while the seventy-two golden flying swords were concerning, the sight of the continuously humming giant cauldron caused his heart to tighten.