Chapter 1678: Leaving the Mountain

As a result, Han Li's figure was exposed to over a hundred mid to high-level demonic beasts, and his expression immediately changed drastically.

What kind of secret art was this Glazed Light, possessing such immense power that it could even easily break through void transformations? And how did this demonic beast know he was nearby?

But something even more unexpected happened!

The moment his figure appeared, a green light also flashed several dozen paces away, revealing another slender, familiar figure.

He focused his gaze and saw that it was precisely Fairy Qian.

This Crystal Race woman possessed an extraordinary concealment technique; he hadn't even been able to discern her presence with his Clear Sight Spirit Eyes moments ago.

However, with her figure now exposed, her expression also suddenly changed.

Han Li was utterly astonished. His mind racing, he swiftly formed a hand seal, and a pair of crystalline wings, accompanied by a rumbling sound, immediately emerged from his back.

Fairy Qian, on the other hand, quickly shed her panicked expression. With a slight parting of her lips, a shimmering silver talisman suddenly appeared in her hand.

Roars erupted from both sides as dark demonic energy surged skyward from both directions, pressing down like an overwhelming tide towards the center.

With over a hundred mid to high-level demonic beasts attacking simultaneously, the sheer magnitude of the assault was immense. Even a Body Integration stage cultivator would likely not dare to directly face such an attack.

Han Li suddenly drew a deep breath. His wings on his back vibrated, swiftly transforming into a stream of shimmering green and white crystalline threads that shot out, vanishing into the void in a flash.

The Crystal Race woman, meanwhile, pressed the silver talisman to her body, and it instantly transformed into a burst of silver light that dispersed and vanished.

The dark energy from both sides immediately swirled away, leaving nothing.

The next moment, the green and white crystalline threads reappeared in a flash.

Han Li appeared at the edge of the void, over a hundred *zhang* away. He glanced at the small beast radiating the Glazed Light in the distance, then his figure flickered and he vanished into the void, leaving no trace.

A silver arc flashed down from the sky, and Fairy Qian also immediately appeared, then offered a faint smile back at the beasts. With a twist of her delicate body, she too vanished into the void.

The dark energy swirled and dispersed, and the hundred or so demonic beasts reappeared, looking at each other in dismay.

“They got away just like that,” a streak of flowing light flashed, and the Glazed Light beast appeared before the other demonic beasts. It gazed at the empty void, a pensive expression on its face.

“It's all our fault for being useless and wasting such a good opportunity,” said a demonic beast resembling a wild boar, speaking in human language.

Most of the other high-level demonic beasts nearby also showed expressions of shame and regret.

“This isn't your fault,” the Glazed Light beast continued. “The escape and concealment techniques of these two are indeed extraordinary. Even I only detected the presence of one of them. As for how the other person managed to escape to this vicinity, I had no inkling either.”

“Are we still to continue ambushing here?” a high-level demonic beast couldn't help but ask.

“Of course, we must remain here,” the Glazed Light beast replied with a wry smile. “Even if we can't catch these few individuals, we must capture one or two other outsiders. Otherwise, we truly won't be able to report back.”

Hearing the small beast's words, the other demonic beasts also found it reasonable. They immediately dispersed, flying back to nearby locations to conceal themselves once more.

Han Li continued to flee, enveloped in a ball of silver light.

Countless blue lightning arcs continuously fell from the sky, striking the silver light and causing it to flicker repeatedly.

Not far behind him, another ball of silver light followed closely, also slowly advancing amidst the bombardment of countless lightning bolts.

Several hours later, a silver light flashed within an area of thin mist. Two balls of silver light flew out from it, their radiance then receding to reveal two shimmering silver umbrellas. Beneath the umbrellas stood a man and a woman: none other than Han Li and Fairy Qian.

“We finally made it out,” the Crystal Race woman said, looking at Han Li, her eyes shifting, and letting out a light sigh. “This time, it was truly a case of trying to gain something but suffering a loss. Not only did we fail to obtain the True Qilin's origin essence, but we also expended a lot of magical power and magical treasures. Furthermore, I owe Fellow Daoist an immense favor.”

“Fairy Qian, there's no need to be so disheartened,” Han Li said with a slight, relaxed smile. “So many unexpected developments occurred this time, and high-level demonic beasts appeared in groups. It's already good enough that we managed to keep our lives and come out alive.”

“That's true,” Fairy Qian said, glancing back at the forbidden area from which they had emerged and letting out a long breath. “With so many high-level demonic beasts guarding the exit this time, I'm afraid very few people managed to escape alive. But that's not our concern. Let's quickly leave this place.”

Han Li naturally nodded in agreement. Immediately, their escape lights flared, and they shot towards the depths of the misty forest.

Just an hour after the two of them left, a white light suddenly flashed in the mist from another direction. A dazzling rainbow shot out, and in a flash, a figure appeared.

It was a plump old man, dressed in a dark robe, with an anxious expression.

The old man's gaze quickly swept around, and he muttered to himself:

“I've only been away for such a short while, less than half a day. It couldn't be that I just so happened to miss those inside coming out, could it? If that's truly the case, then I, Gu, will certainly not let that crazy Liu off easily. He knew I had important matters to attend to, yet he insisted on forcing me to spar over some new divine ability. That old lunatic is truly bad luck.”

As the old man mumbled to himself, his face was full of an expression of admitting his bad luck.

His magical power, unfathomably deep, revealed him to be a Body Integration stage cultivator.

However, this Saint Race member named Gu naturally wouldn't have thought that after painstakingly guarding this place for so many days, he would actually, precisely because of the appearance of that "crazy Liu," let his target slip right under his nose.

It was truly unknown whether this was Han Li's good fortune or the old man's misfortune.

Next, the old man with the surname Gu formed a hand seal with one hand. His figure became extremely faint, eventually being swallowed by the mist and disappearing without a trace.

Han Li naturally didn't know that he had unwittingly avoided an immense trouble. He and Fairy Qian did not return to Xiaoyun Town. Instead, they passed directly through the vicinity, heading straight for the Misty Sea.

After more than half a day, the two finally flew out of the Misty Sea, breaking through the air and departing.

An hour later, Han Li and the Crystal Race woman saw the majestic and spectacular vague outline of Cloud City in the sky from afar.

Only then did their escape lights stop, and they temporarily paused in mid-air.

“Fairy Qian, to avoid attracting unwanted attention, it would be better if we entered the city separately,” Han Li calmly said to Fairy Qian.

“Brother Han, what you say is very true,” Fairy Qian said with a smile after thinking for a moment. “If the two of us enter together, it would indeed be a bit conspicuous. How about this: Fellow Daoist enters the city first, and I'll follow in a quarter of an hour?” “No problem,” Han Li readily agreed.

“Oh, right, Brother Han, you can give me that Saint-grade demonic core first,” the Crystal Race woman said with a charming smile. “To repair Fellow Daoist's Outer-Heaven Demonic Armor, I need to process this demonic core first and refine it with a secret art. That way, Brother Han can wear the repaired demonic armor sooner.”

Han Li, upon hearing this, smiled. Without a word, he raised his hand, and a jade box immediately flew out.

A hint of surprise flashed across Fairy Qian's face, but she raised her jade hand, and the jade box was drawn into her grasp.

However, she did not immediately open the lid of the box. Instead, she opened her beautiful eyes, gazed at Han Li for a moment, before suddenly letting out a soft chuckle:

“Brother Han, you truly trust me very much,” she chuckled. “You've acquired such a hard-won treasure, yet you've given it to me so easily.”

“Heh heh, it's not that I'm trusting,” Han Li said indifferently, shaking his head, “but rather that I, Han, believe Fellow Daoist Qian would not do anything foolish for the sake of a mere Saint-grade demonic core.”

“Regardless,” Fairy Qian said softly, a faint smile curving her lips, “since Brother Han is so confident in entrusting this item to me, I will certainly not betray your trust. Half a month from now, Fellow Daoist can find me at the shop, and I will have everything ready to repair your Outer-Heaven Demonic Armor.”

“Then I truly trouble Fairy Qian,” Han Li said, a smile also appearing on his face.

After chatting for a few more moments, Han Li clasped his hands and bid farewell.

As his escape light flared, a green rainbow shot straight towards the distant, colossal city wall high in the sky. A moment later, it vanished into the clouds and mist, leaving no trace.

Fairy Qian, meanwhile, stood motionless in her original spot, watching the direction Han Li had left, her eyes flickering with something.

“What, do you still intend to win this person over?” Suddenly, a strange voice emerged from the Crystal Race woman's body.

“Kylin Shadow, you're awake!” Hearing this voice, Fairy Qian couldn't help but be overjoyed, and one of her long sleeves immediately fluttered.

Immediately, beneath a glow of radiant light, a ball of green shadow shot out. After a single revolution, it transformed into a fist-sized phantom image of a Kylin.

The beast shook its head and said with a wry smile to the Crystal Race woman:

“I barely woke up a few days ago. But because I helped you consecutively activate several techniques this time, the resulting loss was truly severe. So I rested quietly for a few days first.”

“This operation, it seems, was in vain,” Fairy Qian said helplessly. “Unexpectedly, not only did the cavern spirit of the True Spirit Cave show abnormalities, but even other individuals similar to you also arrived there. If we hadn't had a bit of luck, we truly might have perished within.”

“Indeed,” Kylin Shadow nodded, then asked a follow-up question. “But it's also fortunate that this young man named Han possesses divine abilities far stronger than we anticipated. Otherwise, you truly wouldn't have been able to leave the Demonic Gold Mountain Range alive. But do you still plan to befriend this person, to prepare for the next True Spirit Cave?”

“The next appearance of the True Spirit Cave will be many years from now,” the Crystal Race woman said, her lips curving into a smile. “For now, I can't plan that far ahead. But even if we don't consider that, this person's divine abilities are so great that they seem no weaker than an initial Saint-stage cultivator. It can't hurt to try my best to befriend him.”

“That also makes sense,” Kylin Shadow said, pondering for a moment before nodding in agreement. “However, for a cultivator of the seventh rank to possess such astonishing divine abilities, he is indeed worth trying to win over.”

“But this time, we expended such immense effort beforehand and braved so many risks,” the Crystal Race woman said with great vexation, clasping her hands inside her sleeves. “Yet in the end, we gained nothing. This truly makes me feel too unwilling.”

“Heh heh, you needn't be so upset,” Kylin Shadow said with a carefree smile after a period of silence. “Although you currently cannot obtain this True Qilin's origin essence, that doesn't mean I don't have other ways to improve your Crystal Race physique and help you enter the Saint Race.”

“What! Kylin Shadow, do you know the location of a second True Spirit Cave?” Fairy Qian was first stunned upon hearing this, then asked ecstatically.

“Heh heh, of course I wouldn't know about a second True Spirit Cave,” Kylin Shadow chuckled. “However, I do know the location of another ancient ruin. It's the residence of a renowned alchemy grandmaster from ancient times…”

Kylin Shadow began to speak, shaking its head, while Fairy Qian listened attentively, without batting an eye…