Chapter 1395: Retreating the Enemy

Several arms subtly flickered. One golden arm moved, its punch scattering the luminous mist before him. Another golden arm sliced through the air, causing countless golden specks of light to instantly appear, easily blocking the pervasive blue gleam. Simultaneously, his other two golden arms flicked their fingers at two treants, unleashing ten golden sword energies that instantly reached them.

Startled, one treant manifested a green wooden armor, while the other produced a yellow wooden shield, both attempting to block the sword light. However, these ten sword energies were transformations of Han Li's Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Swords, and their sharpness was extraordinary.

With just a flicker, they sliced through both treants and everything in front of them. The bodies of the two treants instantly shattered into several pieces. Yet, Han Li showed no signs of stopping. His two illusory hands continued to flick rapidly, unleashing a torrent of dense sword lights that, in the blink of an eye, engulfed the two treants in golden radiance. Two sprays of blood instantly rained down.

Han Li then took a deep breath, and his restrained arms suddenly trembled, causing ripples of golden light to eerily appear on them. The treant's body and the green spear, which had pinned Han Li's hands, came into contact with this golden light and immediately shattered into fragments amidst tremors, finally dissolving into a cloud of green sawdust that vanished with the wind.

Han Li withdrew his hands, the golden light on his body receded, and the other four hazy golden arms vanished in a flash. It was truly overkill to use the second part of the Brahma Saint True Devil Arts against mere Nascent Soul-level beings.

However, his cultivation in this art was still shallow, preventing him from truly manifesting its divine return ability or using it in direct combat against powerful foes. It could only produce some unexpected, miraculous effects.

But once his cultivation reached the Void Refinement stage and he practiced the third part of the art, with both his physical and spiritual bodies cultivated, the power of the Brahma Saint True Art would be absolutely incredible, certainly no less potent than any so-called top-tier cultivation technique.

He had a certain degree of confidence in this.

Han Li pondered inwardly, then transformed into a streak of green light and shot away.

Further along the path, Han Li encountered several more waves of intercepts from the Wood Spirits.

However, none of these Wood Spirits had particularly high cultivation. Most were treants equivalent to the Core Formation stage, and some even lower-tier treants appeared.

Han Li avoided these treants whenever possible. If avoidance wasn't an option, he would employ swift, decisive methods to strike them down, never giving them time to entangle him.

After rushing through the air for most of the morning, Han Li finally ran into significant trouble.

Before him appeared two treants with purple sashes around their waists: one burly, the other slender, clearly a male and a female.

Behind them stood four wood ape beasts, each with silver-white fur and a length of seven to eight zhang, and each wielding a large yellow club.

These four wood apes stared intently at Han Li. They seemed unusually intelligent, having opened their spiritual wisdom, and subtly emanated an extremely dangerous aura that felt no less threatening than the two male and female treants.

The two purple-sashed treants, moreover, were equivalent to Human Cultivators at the Deity Transformation stage and were likewise not easy to deal with.

Han Li was now less than ten thousand li from the edge of the Black Night Forest. Anxious to leave this dangerous place immediately, he naturally had no desire to get into a prolonged fight with these individuals. As he was intercepted, a murderous aura appeared on his face, and he stared chillingly at the two treants and four apes opposite him.

Suddenly, he reached a hand behind his head, and a large expanse of grey light shot skyward. After swirling, it abruptly coalesced into an incredibly thick, massive halo, twenty to thirty zhang in size, which spun rapidly in the air, instantly drawing the attention of all the enemies opposite him.

Simultaneously, he flicked his sleeve, and seventy-two small swords silently shot out, quietly flying in all directions.

He intended to use the Primordial Magnetic Divine Light to hold his opponents, then activate the Great Geng Metal Sword Formation to annihilate these formidable enemies in one fell swoop.

At the same time, Xiao Hong floated in mid-air, her face pale, her eyes fixed on the several green figures appearing before her. Three treants with purple sashes around their waists! In another direction, Long Dong's golden escape light continued without abatement. Trailing behind his light was a golden-yellow wood ape, its fur like fiery gold, shouldering a dark, heavy axe. Its body shimmered with unstable five-colored radiance as it relentlessly pursued him like a shooting star chasing the moon.

Long Dong, within the golden light, had already dispersed his bird-clawed golden dragon form. However, after glancing back at the ferociously menacing golden-furred wood ape behind him, he showed no intention of stopping to fight, instead frantically urging his escape light onward.

A little over a hundred li ahead was precisely the edge of the Black Leaf Forest.

A white rainbow flew through the air with a piercing shriek, fleeing rapidly. A few li behind it, a silver light pursued relentlessly. Both flickered in and out of sight, covering a thousand zhang in the blink of an eye.

Although the white rainbow could not immediately shake off the silver light, nor could the silver light instantly catch up to the white rainbow. Both streaks of escape light swept past, bursting out of the forest zone and leaving the Black Leaf Forest far behind.

Han Li floated in mid-air, watching as the myriad golden threads of the sword formation coalesced into a single mass. After it effortlessly sliced the last remaining silver-furred wood ape into countless pieces, he let out a soft sigh, formed a hand seal, and uttered the word "Collect."

In front of him, hundreds of golden sword lights suddenly shot up into the void. A clear chime followed, and amidst a burst of golden radiance, they reverted back into seventy-two small golden swords.

After circling briefly in the air, these small swords shot towards Han Li.

Han Li flicked his sleeve, and all the small swords disappeared inside.

He glanced at the center of the former sword formation, where much of the blood mist still hadn't dispersed.

Han Li's gaze flickered.

The true Great Geng Metal Sword Formation, formed by seventy-two flying swords, possessed power far beyond his expectations. The two purple-sashed treants and four seemingly formidable silver wood apes, who had been carelessly encircled by his sword formation, were effortlessly sliced apart by the sword threads it released, seemingly without any ability to resist.

It seemed that what Long Dong had said about Qing Yuanzi using the Ethereal Sword Formation with his Void Refinement cultivation to forcefully contend against Body Integration stage cultivators might indeed be true.

Han Li mused inwardly, yet he did not linger there for even a moment. After recalling his flying swords, he once again activated his escape light and shot directly towards the forest's edge.

Half an hour later, Han Li flew out of the forest.

As soon as he was a hundred li away from the forest, Han Li immediately took out the Grand One Pure Transformation Talisman from his inner clothing and pasted it onto himself.

Instantly, his form became completely ethereal and vanished from sight.

Only then did he truly breathe a sigh of relief. He abruptly changed direction and continued flying.

Not long after he departed, two yellow streaks of escape light arrived from the direction of the Black Leaf Forest. As the light receded, two treants with orange-yellow sashes appeared.

These two Wood Spirits were among the group of high-tier treants who had originally followed the silver-sashed treant and had been temporarily ensnared by the white-robed girl's spell.

They hovered for a while at the spot where Han Li had previously stopped, then conversed in low voices.

But ultimately, unable to find any clues about Han Li, they could only return dejectedly.

Han Li was unaware that his cautious actions had allowed him to escape another peril.

Otherwise, if he had truly been caught by two orange-sashed treants with Void Refinement stage power, even if he could have escaped with his life, he would certainly not have gotten away unscathed.

After flying for another ten thousand li and confirming that he had truly shaken off the Wood Spirits' pursuit, Han Li formed a hand seal. Immediately, runes on his body flickered, and his form reverted from ethereal to solid. Simultaneously, a ball of spiritual light flew out from his body, transforming back into the Grand One Pure Transformation Talisman.

He gently flicked the talisman between two fingers, and it vanished.

After cautiously glancing around, Han Li quietly descended onto a small mountain below, his expression grim as he began to ponder deeply.

At this moment, he felt unusually frustrated.

The jade slip was unexpectedly destroyed by the Wood Spirits. Had this mission truly failed? If so, without enough Dust Annihilation Pills, wouldn't he have to return to Tiance City again?

No! The person who suddenly attacked and surrounded the silver-sashed treant earlier was clearly an infiltrator sent by the two races into the Wood Spirit territory. If that was the case, the jade slip he had earlier might not have been genuine. Perhaps the real Wood Spirit intelligence was still with that person. As long as he found that individual, the mission could still be completed.

Han Li's thoughts raced like lightning, and he suddenly felt a glimmer of hope in the situation.

It seemed he first needed to find the white-robed girl. As for how to find her? Han Li's expression shifted, and a peculiar look suddenly appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He suddenly flicked his sleeve, and an illusory shadow shot out. After a swirl, it transformed into a palm-sized small golden leopard, crouching on the ground.

It was precisely the Leopard-Qilin Beast.

The beast was staring at Han Li with a pair of adorable emerald green eyes, letting out a few low chirps.

Han Li remained silent. A spiritual light flashed in his hand, and a green magical compass suddenly appeared. Then he muttered incantations and made a grasping motion into the empty space above the compass with one hand.

Immediately, a pea-sized milky-white light orb slowly flew out from the compass, hovering half a chi above it, remaining perfectly still.

Han Li let out a whistle and casually beckoned to the small beast.

But the Leopard-Qilin Beast yawned and didn't move at all, instead looking rather sluggish.

Han Li was somewhat speechless. During his journey to the Wood Spirit tribe, he had allowed this beast to spend some time with the Soul-Devouring Beast, and it had somehow picked up the Soul-Devouring Beast's habit of excessive sleepiness.

However, this was not the time to fuss over such trifles with the beast. He touched his storage bracelet with one hand, and a small emerald green bottle instantly appeared in his grasp. From it, he poured out an unusually bright red pill and tossed it towards the small beast.

Instantly, the previously listless Leopard-Qilin Beast perked up. With a blur, it leaped into the air and swallowed the pill in one gulp. Then it wagged its head and tail, whimpering a few times at Han Li with a fawning expression, clearly wanting more.

Han Li said nothing, simply tapping the light dot on the compass with one hand.

Without speaking a word, he instantly conveyed his intentions to the beast via divine sense.

The beast moved without hesitation. The next moment, it eerily appeared on the magical compass. After glancing at the light dot in the air and tilting its furry head slightly, it swallowed the milky-white light dot whole.