Chapter 1380: Double Emperors Appear

Little did Han Li and the others know that shortly after they piloted their spirit boat away from the thunderstorm area, the Thunder Turtle, hidden deep within the dark clouds, sank its body, and the surrounding black clouds immediately dispersed, revealing its true form.

Needless to say, the turtle's size was comparable to a colossal mountain. Its enormous shell was dark gray, but it shimmered with a subtle metallic luster, appearing incredibly smooth.

Even stranger, only its four limbs were visible; its head and tail were nowhere to be seen. It seemed to have fully retracted them into its shell.

By then, the thunderstorm had fully erupted. The entire sky was enveloped in a blue glow, and from the extraordinarily bright high altitudes, countless blue electric arcs of varying sizes rained down. The smallest were only about a foot long, while the largest reached over ten zhang, all striking the ground with astonishing force. The roar of thunder completely drowned out everything between heaven and earth.

Given the Thunder Turtle's massive body, it naturally withstood countless electric arcs. However, as soon as any electric arc touched its body, it vanished without a trace, as if a clay ox had sunk into the sea.

Even more incredibly, the turtle's body was emitting bursts of white light. The electric arcs that had fallen elsewhere nearby were suddenly drawn towards it as if by a huge magnet, changing direction to strike the turtle's back. As a result, a significant portion of the electric arcs appearing in the thunderstorm were forcefully absorbed into the turtle's body.

The turtle's four limbs moved slowly, yet it appeared to be utterly at ease amidst the thunderstorm.

Suddenly, the giant turtle's limbs paused, then inexplicably retracted into its shell.

Almost simultaneously, the nearby space rippled, and a streak of colorful light shot out from the void. As the light receded, a giant skeletal bird, radiating colorful light, was revealed.

Although this skeletal bird was only about ten zhang in size, the aura it emitted was no less imposing than that of the giant turtle avidly absorbing lightning in the thunderstorm. What was even more alarming was that two figures stood atop its head.

One figure was two zhang tall, shimmering with black light. The other was of ordinary build but enveloped in a faint green cloud, making it impossible to discern either of their true appearances.

"Excellent, excellent," one of the figures murmured, gazing at the giant turtle. "I didn't expect to be teleported here and stumble upon such a fine prey. I'm in the process of refining the Ten Great Fiends, and I'm short on some materials. This Thunder Turtle might just suffice."

"Brother Tianmiao, this kind of bounty is for everyone who sees it," the other figure said with a smile. "Your Ten Fiends only need some bone structures anyway. I'll help you slay this turtle, but I'll take the two thunder orbs from within the Thunder Turtle."

"Hmph, Brother Xuanwu certainly has a good plan," the figure in the green mist snorted, seemingly displeased. "The most precious items on this turtle are these two thunder orbs. Don't you think it's a bit unreasonable for you to claim these two items just by speaking?"

"Heh heh, while the thunder orbs are mystical, they are of no great use to either of us," the tall figure said, seeming disinclined to argue further and directly stating his terms. "I only want them for another purpose. How about I exchange a true spirit Qilin's arm bone for these two thunder orbs?"

"Another purpose? Oh, I almost forgot," the figure in the green mist said with a hint of realization. "Brother Xuanwu's companion spirit is also a Thunder Turtle. You intend to use these two thunder orbs to nourish it and extend its lifespan, don't you?"

"It's good that you know!" the tall figure replied slowly. "Extending the lifespan of a companion spirit is greatly beneficial to the human race. It's as good as half a true spirit in battle. Should a race-exterminating war truly erupt, it would be a major aid to both of us. Brother Tianmiao, you wouldn't refuse to grant this, would you?"

"Since Brother Xuanwu has a great use for them, I, your humble brother, will naturally not impede this," the figure in the green mist said, reluctantly agreeing after pondering for a while. "So it's settled. But we must act quickly so as not to delay important matters. We didn't come out on this trip just to collect rare treasures; we have other important tasks. We must dismantle all the strongholds of those alien races near Tianyuan City."

"Haha, it definitely won't delay important matters," the tall figure said with a wild laugh, then moved, soaring into the air. "With you and me working together, plus the puppet refined from that ancient colorful phoenix's remains, how much time could it take to kill a newly matured Thunder Turtle?" He then charged into the thunderstorm with clenched fists.

A moment later, a booming sound echoed from the thunderstorm, followed by an earth-shattering roar, and then an equally astonishing beast's roar.

The other figure, standing on the skeletal phoenix, sighed softly and shook their head, seemingly exasperated by their companion's fiery temper. But immediately, they formed a hand seal, and the skeletal phoenix beneath them rapidly grew in size. In the blink of an eye, it became over a hundred zhang colossal. Then, urged by the figure above, the skeletal phoenix also plunged into the thunderstorm area.

Instantly, the beast's roars from within the distant blue electric light became even more enraged and alarmed, even containing a hint of frightened wailing.

Meanwhile, Han Li and the others piloted their Spirit Cloud Boat, continuing their journey without a moment's rest.

It was unclear if the blood-mole youth's words had truly come true. Over the next month or so, although the Spirit Cloud Boat was not slow and its illusion techniques were quite advanced, they still encountered several dangers frequently.

For instance, once they were suddenly caught in a strange crimson wind, and this so-called monster was actually formed by countless rice-grain-sized crimson insects.

If the group hadn't, in their alarm, combined their efforts to cast spells and immediately broken through the wind to escape, the boat would likely have been instantly devoured by these strange insects.

Not long after this incident, while the spirit boat was flying, the space before them suddenly rippled, and another strange, hundred-zhang-long twin-headed bird emerged from the void.

This bird was entirely golden yellow, radiating astonishing spiritual energy. It was clearly a formidable being, no less powerful than the Thunder Turtle, which made everyone's heart leap into their throats.

It was unclear whether the bird genuinely hadn't noticed the spirit boat's presence, or if it simply wasn't interested in a spirit boat that seemed like an ant in comparison to its own size. After flapping its massive wings a few times, it flew away on its own accord.

After Han Li and the others breathed a collective sigh of relief, they exchanged wry smiles.

After experiencing the horrors of the Barren Realm firsthand, naturally, no one on the boat dared to truly cultivate any techniques anymore. Even while in their meditation chambers, most remained vigilant.

This precaution proved to be correct; the subsequent dangers they encountered multiple times were all barely overcome through their combined efforts.

But luck would eventually run out.

One day, while the white-browed youth was on duty outside, Han Li, who was meditating on the path of talismans in his quiet chamber, suddenly heard a warning whistle from outside. His expression subtly changed as he instantly stood up, but before he could make any other move, he felt the entire colossal boat violently shake, causing him to stumble and nearly fall to the ground.

Han Li's heart tensed. Continuous tremors followed, and then the strange white light on the four walls flickered erratically, beginning to crack inch by inch.

His expression darkened. He flung his sleeve towards the ceiling of the quiet chamber, and instantly, a golden rainbow shot out, piercing a large hole through the chamber's roof.

Han Li's figure flickered, transforming into a streak of green light that shot out. After a few flashes, he appeared high in the sky, over twenty zhang away from the Jade Boat. Only then did he turn to look carefully.

At that moment, several other streaks of escape light rapidly shot out from the boat. It was Long Dong and the others, who, realizing the dire situation, had also abandoned the spirit boat and fled.

The instant everyone had left, they heard a colossal boom, and the spirit boat completely exploded amidst a curtain of white light, instantly unleashing a gale that swept towards them.

The few of them were all Spirit Transformation cultivators, so naturally, they weren't afraid of these spiritual winds. Each of them stabilized themselves, floating motionless in the air, simply gazing at the site of the spirit boat's explosion.

Except for the white-browed youth on duty, the others were still unclear what had happened that had caused the Spirit Cloud Boat to be destroyed.

However, when they swept their spiritual senses through the vicinity, they found absolutely nothing.

This left them all bewildered and uncertain.

"Brother Li, who is attacking us?" Xiao Hong quickly asked.

"Look down!" the white-browed youth said coldly, his face grim.

Upon hearing this, Han Li and the others froze for a moment, then immediately swept their spiritual senses towards the ground below.

After everyone clearly saw the situation below, the young woman and the others gasped, while Han Li's brows furrowed.

Below them stretched an endless expanse of colossal mountain ranges, and they were precisely in a mountain hollow between two massive peaks.

Yet, in this seemingly unusually secluded spot, amidst countless enormous, multicolored trees, there was a surprisingly vast, open area. At its center stood a colossal deep purple grass plant, thirty to forty zhang tall. Each of its blades of grass stood straight upwards like a giant sword, and its surroundings were covered with countless seemingly exceptionally sharp thorns.

On either side of this giant grass, a colossal creature stood facing off against each other.

One was an enormous lizard, fifty to sixty zhang long, entirely emerald green with countless coin-sized black spots on its back. On its massive head, it even sported two blood-red horns resembling coral.

The other was a savage giant, thirty zhang tall, with a ferocious face, yellow hair, and an obsidian wooden club slung over its shoulder. But when they looked at the giant's body, everyone gasped.

On the surface of the giant's body and limbs, countless silver-white eyeballs of varying sizes appeared, each emitting a chilling, eerie glow.

However, both the giant and the enormous lizard, while confronting their formidable opponent before them, had their gazes fixed on the colossal grass plant in the center.

Seeing this, Han Li's heart stirred, and he immediately swept his spiritual sense over the giant grass again, carefully.

The very next moment, Han Li's expression changed dramatically.

Protected by these sword-like leaves, a cluster of purple berries, resembling grapes, had grown.

Each of these berries was the size of a fist. They were plump and perfectly round, seemingly filled with a transparent liquid, and emitted an enticing, peculiar fragrance. When his spiritual sense swept through the interior of these berries, he was astonished to find that each one contained a lifelike, miniature dragon-shaped seed, each crystal clear and incredibly vivid.

These miniature dragons were unusual in themselves; they showed no signs of life, yet their entire bodies radiated extremely pure spiritual energy. Even Han Li, merely sweeping his spiritual sense over them, felt an immense sense of comfort throughout his body and mind.