Chapter 1475: Blood River Nether Needle

Staring at the mist below, Han Li's pupils flashed with a sharp glint. His gaze instantly pierced through the grey fog, revealing the surroundings with perfect clarity. He flicked his sleeve, and a strong gust of wind surged out, causing the mist to churn violently before largely dissipating.

The scenery below became vaguely visible.

Indeed, there was a small pond below, only about a hundred zhang in area. Around ten zhang away from the pond, dozens of low-lying trees stood sparsely. Most of them were different from the surrounding decaying-leaf trees.

Several trees, dark green all over, bore strange, dark, fist-sized fruits at the tips of their branches and leaves.

The surface of these fruits was extremely rough, with countless small cracks opening up, from which dark energy seemed to subtly flow in and out.

Han Li's eyes narrowed as he briefly recalled. They were indeed identical to the Netherflame Fruits described in ancient texts.

Not only Han Li, but everyone else also saw the fruits, and smiles appeared on all their faces.

"Junior Sister Lei was right; these are indeed Netherflame Fruits," Bai Bi said delightedly.

"Let's pick the ripe ones. There seems to be enough for all of us," Han Li said slowly, after glancing at them intently again, his expression calm and unhurried.

"If those Molten Crimson Clan fellows want to ambush us on the third level, let them keep waiting!" Lei Lan said jokingly.

Clearly, her mood was exceptionally cheerful!

Qin Xiao was naturally also very happy.

Just as they were about to descend and pick the fruits, Han Li's expression suddenly darkened. Without turning his head, he raised an arm and pressed it towards a certain spot in the void behind him.

With a loud ripping sound!

A five-colored hand, about a zhang in size, appeared out of nowhere and slammed down without hesitation.

An unbelievable scene unfolded!

In the empty space covered by the five-colored hand, a crimson light flashed, and a blood-red hand also appeared, moving to meet it in opposition. With a "boom," the two sets of fingers collided, and amidst the intertwining crimson and five-colored flames, both hands instantly dissipated and vanished.

"Oh?"

"Interesting!"

Two distinctly different exclamations were uttered simultaneously.

The one who let out the surprised "Oh?" was Han Li, who had turned his head to witness the event.

The words came from a mass of blood mist that had appeared where the blood-red hand manifested.

Within the mist, a tall figure was vaguely discernible.

"Who are you? Why are you skulking around?" Han Li asked, staring at the blood mist, his tone unusually cold.

"A mere Spirit General-level being can detect me. It seems there truly is something unusual," the figure in the blood mist chuckled strangely, as if speaking to itself.

"You three go down and retrieve the Netherflame Fruits. I'll handle this person," Han Li ordered curtly, his gaze flickering as he waved a hand at the somewhat startled Lei Lan and her companions.

"Yes!"

"Understood!"

"Brother Han, be careful!"

Although Lei Lan and the others couldn't discern the strength of the figure in the blood mist, seeing Han Li's solemn demeanor made their hearts sink. They quickly responded.

Then, the three of them activated their escape lights and descended towards the Netherflame Fruits below.

"Oh? You're interested in those fruit trees below. Heh heh, they might not be particularly good things, but they're not so easy to acquire either," the figure in the blood mist said in a strange tone, glancing at Lei Lan, Bai Bi, and the others.

Han Li's heart tightened. With a thought, he immediately wanted to warn Bai Bi and the others, but it was already too late.

After a loud roar from below, massive waves suddenly surged in the pond. Then, several pink tentacles swept out, parting the water, while countless water arrows shot forth in a dense barrage.

Bai Bi and the others, who had just landed by the pond, were greatly startled by this sight.

The Netherflame Fruits were right behind them, so they dared not easily dodge. Left with no choice, the three of them activated their divine abilities, bracing themselves to endure the attack.

One person rubbed their hands together, releasing several thick silver arcs. Another launched countless interwoven golden threads from in front of them. Meanwhile, Qin Xiao opened his mouth and spat out a sheet of green light.

The three divine abilities intertwined, immediately clashing with the tentacles and water arrows.

After a thunderous roar, Lei Lan and her companions were shaken, unable to help but retreat several steps.

Under such numerous attacks, some of the tentacles became scorched, while others were torn and bleeding, flung sideways.

A painful roar echoed from the pond. Immediately, the water surged, and a brown, octopus-like demonic beast emerged from beneath the surface. Its strange green eyes glared at the shore, as several more tentacles extended menacingly from the water, each towering ten zhang high, a truly fearsome sight.

The beast's massive head was covered in dense blue fur. Each swing of its tentacles produced a tearing sound, as if rending space itself.

What frustrated Lei Lan and the others even more was that after the injured tentacles flashed with blue light, their wounds instantly healed and rejoined, restoring them to their original state.

The demonic beast showed no intention of stopping. Having long considered the pond vicinity its territory, it let out a furious roar. As several tentacles flailed, they suddenly emitted streaks of blue light, coiling towards the three individuals.

Lei Lan and her companions, unwilling to yield an inch for the Netherflame Fruits, also unleashed their divine abilities with low shouts, meeting the assault head-on.

Immediately, continuous roars and explosions filled the air, as the three individuals and the octopus-like beast engaged in a fierce battle.

Meanwhile, Han Li retracted his gaze. His face remained expressionless, showing no hint of worry or surprise.

Although the demonic beast was fierce, over time, it was definitely no match for Lei Lan and the two other Saint Children. The opponent before him, however, was clearly a formidable enemy, requiring careful handling.

"What is your connection to the blood puppets that appeared earlier?" Han Li asked suddenly, staring at the figure opposite him.

"Heh heh, blood puppets! So, the old blood fiend has already sent people here. You must have eliminated them, right? Good, very good! It seems my trip here was worth it after all," a cold laugh echoed from the blood shadow, completely ignoring Han Li's question.

Han Li frowned, and the numerous flying swords within him began to stir restlessly.

But just then, a sharp, piercing sound suddenly rang out from across from him, causing a dull ache in his ears.

Han Li was greatly alarmed. Before he could understand what was happening, a cold gust of wind swept across his face, and a hair-thin blood needle shot out from the nearby void, arriving directly between his eyebrows.

At such close range, Han Li had no time to react.

With a flash of crimson light, the blood needle eerily pricked Han Li's face.

The corners of the figure's mouth in the blood mist twitched into a sinister grin.

This divine ability had allowed him to kill countless powerful enemies without ever failing.

A crisp, metallic *clink* rang out. The fine needle seemed to have struck a steel plate, bouncing off with a whirring sound.

Han Li's expression changed dramatically. His arm moved slightly, blurring as he reached out and snatched the blood needle. The smile that had just appeared on the figure in the blood mist froze.

"Your physical body can block my Blood River Nether Needle?" The figure in the blood mist still seemed somewhat incredulous.

Han Li, however, remained silent, merely slowly unclenching his hand in front of him.

The blood needle in his palm twitched incessantly, as if alive. However, streaks of five-colored light flared from his palm, preventing the needle from moving even an inch.

Han Li's face was grim, even a shade of ashen. A profound chill lingered in his heart.

This unexpected sneak attack by the opponent had truly made him feel as if he had skirted the gates of hell and returned.

If not for his physical body being far stronger than demonic beasts of the same cultivation level, with skin and bones more resilient than ordinary magic treasures, any other human cultivator would have surely perished.

Even so, it had made him break out in a cold sweat. He hadn't experienced such a close brush with death in many years.

The figure in the blood mist was no less astonished than Han Li!

It had truly heard of very few opponents with such a powerful physical body. It couldn't help but suspect whether Han Li was truly a Flying Spirit or some formidable demonic beast transformed into human form.

Its expression also became somewhat uncertain.

At this moment, Han Li slowly raised his fist. With a strange glint in his eyes, he suddenly let out a cold snort.

The figure in the blood mist felt a sudden jolt in its mind, as if being pierced forcefully by a sharp awl, and was instantly assailed by extreme pain.

Even though this figure's spiritual sense was far stronger than that of demonic beasts of the same cultivation level, it couldn't help but stagger in pain, almost immediately bending at the waist.

And almost simultaneously, the last shred of its remaining clarity detected a gentle breeze blowing behind it, followed by a sudden, unusual chill assaulting its waist.

The figure was greatly startled and tried to dodge, but the intense pain in its spiritual sense made its limbs exceptionally sluggish, leaving no time to evade.

It could only let out a low roar, as a brilliant crimson light suddenly burst from its body, revealing a peculiarly styled greenish-blue scale armor. It just barely managed to form before the strange chill struck, shielding its entire body impenetrably.

With a "whoosh," a golden light pierced violently into the scale armor, but it only penetrated a few inches before it could go no further. The golden light receded, revealing a resplendent, foot-long golden flying sword.

It was Han Li's Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword.

Several zhang behind the blood mist, Han Li stood with a look of surprise.

Just as he unleashed the Soul-Stunning Thorn, he had activated the divine ability of the Wind-Thunder Wings, using wind evasion. He instantly transformed into a wisp of wind, teleporting to this spot, and then swiftly slashed his sword towards the blood mist.

But he hadn't expected the opponent to retain a shred of clarity and deploy a strange scale armor, which was actually able to block the sharpness of the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword.

"What kind of battle armor is this? It's incredibly sturdy."

Han Li was astonished.

"You seek death!"

In that fleeting moment, the figure in the blood mist fully recovered from the Soul-Stunning Thorn. Han Li's previous sword strike had also left it with lingering fear. Filled with shock and rage, it spun around, opened its mouth, and a blood-red pillar of light surged forth.

However, Han Li had no intention of directly confronting the attack. With a shake of the wings on his back, he vanished without a trace amidst the blue-white electric light.

The next moment, at the spot where Han Li had originally stood, a thunderous sound echoed, and he reappeared there.

His expression was calm as usual, as if he had never left the spot.

At this point, a low roar came from the opponent, and the blood mist churned and gradually dispersed, revealing the true form of the figure opposite.

It was actually a blood-red demonic beast with a dragon-like head and a human body!

"A Blood Dragon!"

Han Li's pupils contracted. (To be continued...)