Chapter 1474: Rotten Leaf Forest and Nether Flame Fruit

The Black Spirit's face was filled with disbelief. With a roar, he moved both hands and gripped the arm that had pierced his chest. Han Li's eyes flashed with cold light. His arm glowed golden, and a blurry, several-foot-long flying sword materialized from it. A clear hum! The sword light flashed!

Not only were the Black Spirit man's hands easily severed, but his entire body was also sliced in half by the sword light. A crystal-like object and a cluster of green flame that appeared within his body were instantly shattered by the swirling sword light. Even his soul could not escape.

The remaining six Black Spirit tribesmen were stunned. The leader was a high-ranking Spirit General, whose cultivation and abilities were almost unparalleled among them. How could he be instantly killed with a single strike?

Immediately, four of them cried out in shock and rage, transforming into four large black birds that aggressively swooped towards Han Li. The other two exchanged glances, then wordlessly retracted the feathers they held, transforming into two streaks of avian light that shot away into the distance.

Han Li's lips curved slightly. With a clap of thunder behind him, he vanished from his spot, transforming into an arc of electricity. Seeing this, the black birds' hearts tensed, and their attacking movements involuntarily paused.

In that brief moment of delay, a green light flashed, and a winged figure, appearing almost like a phantom, strangely materialized beneath one of the black birds.

Before the bird could react, it saw the phantom below seemingly move a single arm, followed by a dazzling golden light that flashed and instantly vanished.

The black bird was startled, and the next moment, it felt a chill. Its entire body was split in two, and the two halves, accompanied by a shower of blood, plummeted from the sky.

The figure flashed again, vanishing strangely, and then reappeared near another black bird. He similarly raised a hand, releasing a golden sword light.

This bird, too, seemed made of tofu, instantly sliced in two with lightning speed. Its iron-like feathers, which should have been as hard as steel, offered no resistance whatsoever.

In this manner, Han Li's figure flickered like a phantom four or five times in the air. When he finally reappeared, standing steadily in mid-air, all four monstrous birds, transformed from Black Spirits, had been completely annihilated.

Han Li still showed no intention of stopping. Staring at the two other Black Spirits who had fled dozens of yards away, he emotionlessly moved his wings, transforming into a long streak of blue and white light that shot through the air.

A piercing shriek, tearing through the sky, suddenly erupted!

As soon as the dazzling streak shot over ten yards away, it slightly blurred and transformed into a thin blue-and-white thread.

The thin thread then twisted strangely and vanished into the void.

Behind one of the Black Spirits, who was desperately fleeing, spatial fluctuations appeared, and the blue-and-white thread emerged.

With a flash, the thread pierced directly through the Black Spirit's body, then quickly converged around it, and a streak of golden light flashed and disappeared.

The Black Spirit was instantly split into seven or eight pieces. The thin thread twisted and disappeared into the void once more.

The next moment, above the head of the other Black Spirit, a brilliant blue and white light flared. The thin thread flashed out strangely, then blurred, and Han Li's complete figure reappeared. Without a word, he flicked his hand, and a small golden sword materialized. It then transformed into a thick sword light that chopped downwards. Amidst the flashing golden light, the sword light instantly reached the head of the person below. The Black Spirit was scared out of his wits. Without thinking, he flapped the wings on his back upwards and simultaneously slapped his head with one hand.

Instantly, a black light flashed from his wings, and all his feathers transformed into countless arrows, densely shooting upwards into the air. At the same time, a black wooden shield appeared on his crown, forming a dark cloud that directly met the descending sword light. It was unclear what kind of treasure that wooden shield was, but it clearly could not withstand the sharpness of the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword! With a flash of golden light, the black cloud was cut in half, and the Black Spirit was consequently sliced into two. As soon as those black arrows reached Han Li, they were blocked by a gray mist.

Then, with a sweep of gray light, all those arrows vanished without a trace, utterly unable to harm Han Li.

As Han Li watched the corpse fall, his eyebrow twitched, as if remembering something. He reached out with one hand into the void. With a "whoosh," a black feather, about a foot long, flew out from a section of the corpse and was drawn into his hand. Han Li stroked the feather with one hand, his gaze flickering a few times.

He saw that the feather was jet-black and shimmering, subtly infused with golden light. With a slight tremor, black runes appeared, then transformed into clusters of black flames, from which a scorching aura emanated. Han Li showed a look of considerable interest. With a flash of black light in his hand, the feather was put away. As for the corpse, he naturally incinerated it with a subsequent fireball, turning it to ash.

A green rainbow hovered in the low sky, drawing out all the black feathers from the corpses, which Han Li unceremoniously claimed for himself. When the green light flashed and the dazzling streak reappeared beside Bai Bi and the others, Han Li materialized once more. "Let's continue on our way!" Han Li said calmly, as if nothing had happened. Lei Lan and the other two had somewhat pale faces, but they nodded repeatedly and involuntarily.

Half a day later, Han Li and his group appeared above an unfamiliar land. Not far ahead was a dense thicket of short trees. Most of the trees in the forest were no more than three or four zhang (approx. 9-12 meters) tall, with pale yellow leaves that emitted a faint fishy odor.

The group stopped at the edge of this dense forest. Han Li stood in front of them, gazing at the thicket with a thoughtful expression, remaining silent.

Bai Bi and the others, whether intentionally or not, all positioned themselves several yards behind Han Li, seemingly hesitant to stand beside him. Yet, their gazes towards him held a hint of awe.

Speaking of which, ever since Han Li had easily killed seven Black Spirit Saint Children in front of these three individuals, Lei Lan and the others had finally begun to truly grasp just how powerful Han Li's actual strength was.

Even the legendary Ao Qing of the Qiyue Tribe and Fei Ye of the Nanlong Tribe might not possess such terrifying divine abilities.

Therefore, during the subsequent journey, Lei Lan and Bai Bi and the others involuntarily used honorifics when speaking to Han Li, as if addressing an elder from their own tribe. They no longer harbored any other thoughts. With such a powerful companion as Han Li, it was clear that this trial would present no major problems.

"If I'm not mistaken," Han Li finally spoke, his voice slow and deliberate, "these are also Corrupt Leaf Trees, formed by condensed dark miasma. This place should be one of the most concentrated locations of miasma in the second layer. We're fortunate; we just happened to stumble upon it. Although the chances are slim, there's a possibility that Netherflame Fruits could appear here. Do you want to spend some time searching, or should we head directly to the Myriad Vine Path?" The three exchanged hesitant glances, and Bai Bi respectfully replied, "Brother Han, this Corrupt Leaf Forest isn't very large. Although our divine sense is suppressed, we can thoroughly search it in less than half a day."

"Oh, I understand what you mean," Han Li said, casually nodding, "Spending half a day is indeed inconsequential. Let's stay here for a while then."

Upon hearing Han Li's words, Lei Lan and the others felt a subtle joy.

If they could find the Netherflame Fruit here, it would certainly be better than risking a trip to the third layer.

Immediately after a brief discussion, Qin Xiao flicked her sleeve, releasing over a dozen lizard puppets. She commanded them to fly towards a certain direction in the dense forest, where they eventually disappeared into the trees.

Lei Lan and Bai Bi also seemed to have their own preparations for this.

Lei Lan raised her hand and conjured a white jade box. As she chanted, the lid flew open, and dozens of inch-long flying ants, gleaming with faint silver light, buzzed out and flew towards another direction.

Bai Bi, on the other hand, merely shook his wings, and over a dozen thumb-thick golden snakes shot out from his body. With a flicker, they all vanished into the ground.

Then, the three sat cross-legged in the air, each employing secret techniques to control their puppets, spirit beasts, and spirit insects, beginning to search the low-lying forest section by section. Han Li remained suspended in the air, motionless, seemingly intending not to interfere. Time passed by. Several hours later, Lei Lan and the others had searched most of the dense forest but had found nothing. However, after continuously expending their divine sense for such a long time, their faces had all turned slightly pale.

Han Li, with his hands clasped behind his back, suddenly frowned slightly and looked towards a certain direction on the horizon, a hint of surprise and doubt flashing across his face.

Just a moment ago, he had seemingly felt an extremely powerful aura from that direction, but it vanished in an instant. This made him wonder if he had sensed something incorrectly again.

As his gaze flickered, he was pondering whether to go investigate further when a sudden exclamation of extreme joy burst from Lei Lan's mouth. "What? You really found the Netherflame Fruit?" Han Li, for a moment, disregarded his previous thoughts and turned to ask, feeling somewhat surprised.

"Yes, that's right! I really found the Netherflame Trees! And there are six of them growing in the same area, all bearing fruit, with most of them appearing ripe," Lei Lan said, her beautiful eyes unable to conceal her excitement.

"Junior Sister Lei, you're not mistaken? Is it really Netherflame Fruit?" Bai Bi asked, unable to bother with controlling his spirit snakes, forcefully suppressing his beating heart.

"Indeed, there are many fruits in the Underdark Abyss that resemble Netherflame Fruit. Sister Lei, you must look carefully," Qin Xiao's voice was tinged with excitement. She, too, had disregarded her puppets.

"There can be no mistake," Lei Lan shook her head, stating with absolute certainty. "Although this is my first time seeing the real thing, both the trees and the fruits are identical to what's described in the ancient texts."

"Very well, let's go verify their authenticity first," Han Li said calmly, appearing quite decisive. "If there truly are no issues, then we won't need to go to the third layer." It had been mentioned that Netherflame Fruits could potentially exist in the second layer, though the probability wasn't high. Now that they had found them so readily, it wasn't an unacceptable development.

"Yes, I'll lead the way," Lei Lan replied joyfully, her figure flickering as she stood up. Bai Bi and the other person also rose, and even though they tried to appear composed, the excitement in their eyes could not be hidden.

Led by Lei Lan, the group flew at full speed, and in just fifteen minutes, they arrived above a damp patch of ground shrouded in faint gray mist, deep within the dense forest. "It's right here. There's a pond nearby, and the Netherflame Trees are right by its edge," Lei Lan said without hesitation, pointing downwards.