Chapter 1706: Hunting Beasts

As the sky filled with silver light dispersed, the large man, instantly enveloped by the beast hide, transformed into a living dark beast.

It had the same dark, deep fur and sharp claws, indistinguishable from the previous dark beast.

"Amazing," exclaimed the dark beast that was Shi Kun. "I felt nothing during the transformation, yet my appearance has changed so completely." He raised a front paw, examined it closely, and then burst into hearty laughter.

"If the Thousand Transformations Mask didn't possess such power, I wouldn't have presented it, much less risk amusing you two fellow daoists," Liu Shuier said with a smile.

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Liu. With this treasure, our journey will have an added layer of protection," the dark beast said, speaking in human tongue and beaming with joy.

Having witnessed Shi Kun's transformation firsthand, Han Li's confidence in the mask grew. After a brief contemplation, he thanked the cloaked woman and then suggested:

"Currently, Fairy Liu and I don't have beast hides. However, we shouldn't delay here any longer. Perhaps we should set off first, and along the way, we can look for any lone dark beasts to deal with."

"Brother Han's suggestion aligns perfectly with my thoughts," Liu Shuier said, agreeing completely. "Our time is somewhat limited, so it's naturally best not to waste a single moment."

Shi Kun, of course, had no other objections.

Under the cover of night, the three quietly slipped out of the tree hollow.

Shi Kun, already in his dark beast form, exhaled a puff of yellow mist from his mouth. His body then dissolved into a faint yellowish vapor.

The Dark Beast Forest was already indistinct at night. After Shi Kun employed this technique, his concealed form became impossible to discern unless one observed very closely within ten zhang.

Liu Shuier, on the other hand, took a strange, jade-like treasure from her waist. With a mere toss, it transformed into a jade rat, as pure white as fine jade, yet a full zhang in length.

With a graceful sway of her slender waist, she stepped onto the rat's back.

The jade rat then emitted a faint white glow, instantly shrouding both itself and Liu Shuier, who was riding on its back.

Within the white light, both gradually became transparent, eventually forming a translucent, ephemeral shadow that was barely perceptible.

Han Li's method, however, was even simpler.

The Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Sword, having been refined, was a treasure of pure wood essence. Using it to travel through a forest, where wood spiritual energy was at its densest, was already an inherently secretive method.

Han Li simply flicked his sleeve, and a small, several-inch long green sword flew out. After a brief hover, it transformed into a several-zhang long green rainbow that wrapped itself around him.

Moments later, a barely visible streak of green light shot forth.

Thus, the trio, employing their various methods of concealment, finally began their journey into the depths of the Dark Beast Forest.

Several days later, a slender dark beast was seen slowly making its way through the forest, treading elegantly on thick branches and fallen leaves.

Suddenly, from a towering tree nearby, streams of shimmering blue light shot forth, instantly enveloping the beast and drawing it inside.

Startled, the female dark beast let out a sharp shriek and lunged at the blue haze, its claws glowing with black light.

However, the blue light simply swirled, transforming abruptly into a gigantic orb of light that completely enveloped the female dark beast.

The dark beast's shriek was cut short, instantly becoming a low, inaudible sound. Simultaneously, its seemingly formidable claw strikes merely caused the blue haze to ripple slightly, failing to break through.

Just then, a flash of white light appeared on the surface of the giant tree, and a graceful figure emerged from within.

It was Liu Shuier.

With one hand, she formed a spell seal, while the other held a fist-sized blue crystal sphere. She then began to chant incantations towards the blue light haze.

A peculiar sight unfolded.

Under her activation, the blue sphere of light slowly expanded outwards. In moments, it transformed into a blue light barrier covering approximately an mu of space.

Liu Shuier then reversed her hand, retracting the blue crystal sphere. With a flicker of her shoulder, she transformed into a white shadow and merged into the light barrier.

Seeing this, the dark beast within immediately lunged aggressively at her. Mid-pounce, it twisted its body, splitting into three additional black shadows.

Unhurried, Liu Shuier parted her cherry lips, letting out a "poof," and a cluster of delicate blue threads shot forth.

Upon scattering, they formed a blue light net that enveloped the dark beast and its shadowy clones.

Not to be outdone, the dark beast opened its mouth and blasted a column of black light. Meanwhile, the shadowy figures bared their fangs and claws, conjuring a dense array of claw energy to meet the large blue net.

Instantly, thunderous roars erupted within the blue light barrier. Amidst the intertwining black and blue lights, a series of explosions resonated.

The blue light barrier evidently possessed powers of isolation, as the violent fluctuations of spiritual energy and the deafening sounds became extremely faint once they reached beyond the barrier.

Thus, Liu Shuier and the dark beast engaged in battle.

Outside the blue light barrier, a green light and a yellow mist appeared, revealing the silent figures of Han Li and Shi Kun.

Both watched the scene within the blue light barrier, their expressions differing.

"Heh heh, Fellow Daoist Liu is quite particular, insisting on a female dark beast before she'll act," Shi Kun remarked, shaking his head.

"Since Fairy Liu wishes to proceed this way, I imagine she has her reasons or taboos," Han Li replied calmly.

"Oh, well, Fellow Daoist Liu being a woman, some reservations are understandable. But why did Fellow Daoist Han also give up on that dark beast two days ago? That has always puzzled me," Shi Kun said, looking at Han Li with a peculiar expression.

"No reason in particular. That dark beast was already injured and covered in scars. Even if I took its hide, the transformation might not be ideal. I decided it was better to find another one," Han Li replied indifferently.

"I see. I thought Brother Han had a sudden surge of compassion that day when he saw several young beasts accompanying the injured dark beast. But then again, how could cultivators like us harbor such trivial sentiments?" Shi Kun added casually.

Han Li simply chuckled without replying.

As the two conversed in low voices, a muffled sound suddenly emanated from within the blue light barrier. The entire barrier trembled slightly but quickly returned to normal.

Han Li's gaze sharpened, while Shi Kun's face registered surprise.

The blue light barrier suddenly shattered inch by inch, ultimately dissolving into countless specks of spiritual light.

At the center of where the barrier had been, Liu Shuier stood quietly. Beside her slender feet, the female dark beast lay motionless. Its fur was damp, but there was not a single mark of injury on its body.

Han Li's spiritual sense merely swept over the beast, confirming that it was lifeless and had ceased breathing.

"Impressive methods. I didn't expect Fellow Daoist Liu's water-attribute divine ability to be so astonishing, seemingly even a bit faster than my own that day," Shi Kun remarked, his surprise fading as he clicked his tongue in admiration.

"Brother Shi, there's no need to tease me. Your physical body's formidable power was evident to both Fellow Daoist Han and me that day. How could my minor tricks compare?" Liu Shuier said with a charming smile, raising her hand to draw the dark beast into it.

"Haha, if those are considered minor tricks, then my own meager abilities are practically nothing. Fellow Daoist Han, now that Fairy Liu and I both have our beast hides, you're the only one left. The deeper we go into the forest, the higher the chance of encountering mature dark beasts. You should make your preparations soon," Shi Kun said, suddenly turning to Han Li with a meaningful gaze.

"Rest assured, Brother Shi. I have a plan in mind and would never gamble with my own life," Han Li replied with a faint smile.

Three days later, beside a winding stream in the Dark Beast Forest, a dark beast, whose body was a third larger than an ordinary one, was enveloped beneath a misty green light barrier.

Han Li floated above the barrier, eyes slightly closed, forming hand seals to activate a spell that caused the green light barrier to flicker rapidly between dim and bright.

The cloaked woman and Shi Kun stood nearby. Her beautiful eyes flickered continuously, while his brows were tightly furrowed. Both were utterly astonished.

The green light barrier was so dense it seemed almost solid, completely obscuring their view of anything inside. Moreover, when they tried to scan it with their spiritual sense, it was unceremoniously repelled.

This was Han Li's Spring Dawn Sword Array!

Hovering in the air, Han Li suddenly raised an eyebrow. He ceased his hand seals, swept a sleeve downwards, and uttered the word "Collect."

Instantly, the green light barrier's spiritual essence dissipated, revealing dozens of shimmering green flying swords, several feet long, which hovered and swayed gently in the air.

With a mere grasp in the air, all the flying swords flashed green, shrunk to a few inches in size, and then shot back into his body en masse.

On the ground previously enveloped by the sword array, the giant dark beast lay dead, bleeding from all its orifices.

Witnessing this, the cloaked woman and Shi Kun exchanged glances, each seeing a hint of apprehension in the other's eyes.

Han Li, observing their reactions, calmly descended, his feet landing precisely next to the dark beast's corpse.

"Fellow Daoists, with this dark beast hide, we can now venture boldly into the forest's depths," Han Li said with a confident smile to the other two.

"With the beast hide, there's certainly no problem. However, I never imagined that Brother Han's greatest divine ability would be the fabled sword array. While we couldn't discern anything within the array, its ability to completely block both my and Fellow Daoist Shi's spiritual senses is truly unfathomable," Liu Shuier said with a slight wry smile.

"Precisely," Shi Kun added with genuine admiration. "From the moment you lured this dark beast into the formation to killing it and withdrawing the sword array, not a single fluctuation or sound escaped, even though it took slightly longer than our methods. This truly demonstrates the array's profoundness. With such a divine ability, Fellow Daoist, I doubt you'd have many rivals below the Saint rank."

"Heh heh! Fellow Daoists, there's no need for such flattery. While my Spring Dawn Sword Array possesses some power, given that you two were entrusted with such an important mission by two seniors, I assume you've only revealed a fraction of your true abilities. How could a mere sword array compare to that?" Han Li chuckled, replying nonchalantly.