Chapter 1460: 妖猿

"Yes, my lady!" The small shadowy figure trembled, bowing its head even lower.

"You may go. I will return to the third floor alone first," the woman commanded, then stomped her foot.

Instantly, dark light flashed across the surface of the giant flower, and silver spell formations of various sizes appeared on its body. Amidst the shimmering silver light, a thick, tar-like black mist suddenly erupted from the formations. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a sea of mist, completely enveloping the giant flower.

From within the mist, a rumbling, thunder-like sound emerged. As several silver arcs flashed, the sea of mist dispersed under a strong gust of wind. The spot where it had been was now empty!

The enormous black demonic flower, along with the slender woman atop it, had vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a furry figure still half-kneeling on the ground.

After a good quarter of an hour, the small figure finally stood up, slowly raising its head. Illuminated by the silvery desert light, it surprisingly had four ears and an equine face. But its pair of emerald green eyes had tiny pupils and emitted a cold, venomous gleam, like a snake.

This was, surprisingly, a Vengeful Ape-Beast. Its fur was deep yellow, and it appeared to have awakened intelligence, resembling a sentient being.

The demonic ape's gaze swept around. It suddenly opened its mouth and spewed out a cloud of yellow mist, enveloping the remnants of the Giant Spirit Flower. An incredible scene unfolded!

Within the green mist, the remnants of the Giant Spirit Flower rapidly melted and disintegrated, turning into a large pool of viscous green liquid. Then the mist swirled, directly engulfing this green liquid, and absorbing it into the demonic ape's belly.

Following this, the ape closed its eyes. Green light filaments simultaneously appeared in its nose and four ears, pulsating erratically. Meanwhile, its yellow fur instantly turned a deep greenish hue and emitted a faint glow.

After standing motionless for a long while, two of the Vengeful Ape-Beast's four ears suddenly twitched, but then showed no further unusual signs.

Not long after, a whooshing sound came from the far end of the desert. A spiritual light flashed, and a ball of red light shot forth.

Within the red light was a stout man, appearing to be in his thirties. He had a pair of green wings on his back and pointed horns on his head. His small eyes darted about constantly, and his face held a cunning expression.

He was, surprisingly, a Saint Child from another branch of the Flying Spirit Race. For some unknown reason, he had chosen the same path as Han Li and his companions, and was traveling alone. However, he appeared to be extremely cautious. Given the ape's conspicuous current state and his own wariness, it was impossible for him not to notice it.

After a soft exclamation of surprise, the stout man's light stopped several dozen yards away from the demonic ape. He stared at the creature with a look of astonishment.

Although the demonic ape had completely liquefied the remnants of the Giant Spirit Flower and absorbed them into its body, the ground nearby was shattered, and the marks left by the colossal black flower erupting from beneath the earth were even more striking.

Yet, the demonic ape stood still by itself. Its eyes were tightly shut, and light filaments pulsed erratically from its nose and ears, seeming to have lost all sensation of the outside world.

This made the scene look as if the ape had just fought a fierce battle and was severely wounded, forced to heal itself on the spot, appearing to have no defenses whatsoever.

The Flying Spirit Race Saint Child in the air clearly thought the same. As he gazed at the ape, a look of excitement gradually appeared in his eyes.

Even though the objective of this trial was not to slay demonic beasts, killing a high-level Earth-Measurement demonic beast and acquiring its demon core and other materials would undoubtedly yield valuable rewards. Such a great benefit, easily obtained, would naturally not be given up lightly by anyone. However, this unknown Flying Spirit Race Saint Child was exceptionally cautious. He did not act rashly, but instead quietly observed the demonic ape from a distance in the air. Only after a considerable amount of time, and still seeing no other abnormal movements from the creature, did he finally relax.

A cruel smile appeared on his face. His hands suddenly came together, and a ball of flame erupted between them. The flame then transformed into a two-zhang-long fiery spear. The spearhead was incredibly sharp, its entire body glowing intensely red and hot, enveloped in a layer of raging fire. With a slight spread of his wings, the man transformed into a streak of red light and darted towards the ape below.

It was unknown what secret art this Flying Spirit Race Saint Child employed. Although he was stout, his escape speed was incredibly fast, and the entire process was completely silent, without even a whisper of wind. In a blink, the red light reached a dozen yards above the ape's head. Seeing that the Vengeful Ape-Beast was still unmoving, the Flying Spirit Race man rejoiced. Without hesitation, he indifferently flicked the long spear in his hand. *Whoosh!* The spear instantly transformed into a red streak, piercing through the ape's body after a flash. But just as joy appeared on the man's face, his expression suddenly changed drastically. Because the ape, pierced by the fiery spear, dissolved in the next instant, revealing itself to be merely a phantom. "No!" the Flying Spirit Race man inwardly cried. Without thinking, he flapped his wings, intending to escape immediately. But it was already too late!

Directly above him, at an extremely close proximity, a blurry green shadow suddenly appeared. Then, with a flash, it directly pounced onto the man's body. With a muffled *thud*, a cloud of green mist exploded, instantly causing the Flying Spirit Race Saint Child to scream in agony!

A red light barely flashed on the man's body before melting away like snow in spring sunshine. His protective spiritual light was utterly unable to resist the green mist's corrosion. After only flying a dozen yards, he plummeted from the sky, transforming into a puddle of green liquid. This Saint Child, despite possessing formidable divine abilities, had no chance to use any of them. At this moment, the green mist swirled, coalescing and transforming, revealing the demonic ape once more. The creature coldly eyed the liquid on the ground, then opened its mouth and likewise absorbed it.

Frankly, the death of this Flying Spirit Race Saint Child was rather unjust. Had he been on the ground, with his spiritual sense fully activated, he would never have been so easily deceived by a mere phantom. Nor would he have allowed the ape's illusion to get so close without detection. At this moment, after smacking its lips, the ape muttered thoughtfully to itself, "A Flying Spirit Race member, no less. Indeed, it's almost time for the trials on the surface. In that case..."

After speaking thoughtfully, the demonic creature sniffed vigorously a few times. Its eyes flashed as it gazed intently in the direction Han Li and the others had departed. It gave a sinister smile, its body spun, and transformed into a cloud of green mist, soaring away. Soon, it vanished over the horizon.

"What? You want us to carry this?" Furanda frowned deeply, holding a shining piece of white jade in her delicate hand. Bai Bi, standing nearby, held an identical item, and a perplexed look also flashed in her eyes. These two jade tablets were crystal clear, with silver runes faintly shimmering on their surfaces. At a glance, they were of immeasurable worth.

Just moments ago, Han Li had suddenly taken out these two items from his person and asked the two women to keep them close to their bodies.

"Besides providing some protective effects, their primary function is to conceal our aura and ascertain our location," Han Li said calmly. "Should anything unexpected happen and we get separated, perhaps with these tokens, we can find each other again."

These two artifacts, named Limitless Tokens, were treasures he had acquired at a high price back in Sky Abyss City and were perfectly suited for the current situation.

They had now flown out of the desert and were on a small mountain. Han Li, out of caution, soon took out these two items. "I've never had the habit of wearing other people's artifacts. Thank you for your kind offer, Brother Han," Lei Lan said, shaking her head with a light smile. Bai Bi, too, shook her head. Han Li chuckled, not forcing them, and instead put the two jade tokens back.

"Since you two fellow Daoists are unwilling, then forget it," Han Li suggested, changing his approach. "However, intermediate-level demonic beasts have already appeared on the first floor, so it's not as completely risk-free as we imagined. I possess a flying treasure with concealment abilities. Traveling with it would significantly reduce potential troubles."

"A flying treasure, that could certainly be useful," Lei Lan said, smiling.

Bai Bi nodded, expressing no objection.

Han Li smiled faintly and swept his hand over his storage bracelet. Instantly, an earth-yellow flying carriage, narrow at the front and wide at the back, appeared before them.

The carriage appeared to be crafted from various spiritual woods. It looked light and ethereal, yet its surface was exquisitely intricate, seemingly embedded with numerous spell formations. The entire flying carriage was seven to eight zhang long, spacious enough to accommodate three people.

This was one of several flying carriages Han Li had specifically collected before leaving Sky Abyss City, to be used in various situations. "Since Brother Han is so courteous, it would be disrespectful for us not to comply," Lei Lan and Bai Bi said. Han Li's eyes flashed, and with a strange flicker, he appeared inside the flying carriage. Lei Lan and Bai Bi also entered the carriage. Han Li suddenly clapped the flying carriage with one hand, injecting several arcane incantations into it, sealing it. Immediately, the carriage vibrated, and a milky-white light barrier appeared, enveloping the entire flying carriage.

As strange lights shimmered across the surface of the light barrier, the entire flying carriage gradually became transparent until only a faint, ethereal white shadow remained. The flying carriage then broke through the air and sped away.

"Brother Han, since you possess such a treasure, why didn't we use it from the start?" Bai Bi asked with a smile after examining the carriage. Human flying carriages were naturally very different from the flying treasures used by the Flying Spirit Race.

"Although this carriage is useful, it does have a drawback," Han Li replied noncommittally.

"What drawback?" Lei Lan also became curious.

"Heh heh, to operate this carriage and activate its concealment spell, one must use high-grade wood-attribute spirit stones, and it consumes quite a bit of energy," Han Li explained casually. "Furthermore, apart from its excellent concealment and speed, its defensive capabilities are very poor; it's extremely susceptible to attacks and damage. Unless we're in a rush or absolutely necessary, I prefer not to use it." Upon hearing Han Li's explanation, Bai Bi and Lei Lan smiled wryly and asked no further questions.

The white shadow, which the flying carriage had transformed into, was like a ghost. Its escape speed was peculiar; after a few blinks, it vanished without a trace in the vicinity.

Han Li and the other two naturally didn't know that far behind them, a cloud of green mist paused in the air, followed by an unusually furious growl from within. Its escape speed suddenly increased by nearly half, and it shot forward like a meteor chasing the moon.

In a large canyon on the first floor, closest to the Earth-Measurement Gate, seven or eight Flying Spirit Race members were carefully advancing. The one leading them had deep red skin and a grim expression; it was Zhu Yinzi and other Saint Children of the Red-Melting Race.