Chapter 1713: Unexpected Encounter

So many dark beasts had gathered all at once, almost every one possessing formidable divine abilities no less than those of the Void Refinement stage. Even though Han Li and the other two were no ordinary beings, their hearts sank slightly.

Han Li, however, was fine. He knew he possessed many trump cards. If he was willing to pay a certain price, eliminating these dark beasts, whether with his Gold Devouring Beetles or the Xuantian Fruit, would naturally pose no problem. He appeared quite composed.

Upon seeing so many dark beasts, Liu Shuier and Shi Kun knew they absolutely could not confront them head-on. Otherwise, even if they managed a narrow victory, they would certainly not emerge unscathed. Furthermore, if their essence energy was depleted too much, it would make their subsequent journey exceedingly difficult. How then could they hope to search for ruins or break through restrictions?

Fortunately, although these dark beasts had unexpectedly blocked Han Li and the others, they were already aware of the fate of previous groups of their companions. In their shock and anger, they treated Han Li and his group like formidable enemies and showed no intention of attacking proactively. It seemed they only wanted to temporarily pin them down while waiting for more dark beasts to arrive.

Liu Shuier pondered briefly, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowing, and her lips moving subtly. Immediately, Han Li and Shi Kun heard her voice transmission: “Fellow Daoists, we are not far from the exit of the Dark Beast Forest now. With so many dark beasts, there's no need to fight them head-on. Let's temporarily break through separately, and then regroup outside the forest.”

“Alright, as the Fairy says.” Shi Kun also had the same idea and agreed without hesitation. Han Li's eyes flickered a few times, and he nodded faintly.

As if sensing the unusual intentions of Liu Shuier and the two men, the three-eyed demonic beast leading the pack, whose body was far larger than its peers, suddenly let out a low roar. The other dark beasts stirred, then fiercely opened their mouths simultaneously, unleashing dozens of black light beams. Dense claw energy materialized in the void in an instant, completely engulfing the figures of Han Li and the two others. Dozens of dark beasts launching a combined attack naturally created an astonishing display of power!

However, Han Li and the two others had already eliminated many dark beasts earlier, so they had some experience dealing with such attacks. With a flash of spiritual light on their bodies, all three immediately cast their escape spells.

Han Li, with a single-hand incantation, made a pair of crystalline wings appear on his back. With a light flap, he transformed into a blue-white thread of light and shot forth. With a few flickers mid-flight, the thread made several arcing curves, then strangely darted through the dense light beams and claw energy, appearing high in the air behind the beasts before silently vanishing into the void.

Liu Shuier's method was much simpler. She opened her mouth and spat out a blue flesh ball, while a white light flashed beneath her feet, and the crystalline jade rat reappeared. As both emanated brilliant light, she transformed into a blue and white light mass and shot out. When the black light beams struck the light mass, they vanished without a sound, like clay oxen entering the sea. With a whooshing sound, the blue and white light mass merely blurred slightly before shooting over a hundred zhang away, vanishing into the horizon in another direction.

As for Shi Kun, his divine ability was far more overbearing. He merely let out a cold snort. With his battle armor glowing brightly, he harshly clapped his hands together in front of his chest. Following a massive boom, specks of yellow light immediately appeared around his body. The light specks then rapidly expanded and merged into a single, peculiar light screen, enveloping the burly man. This light screen was peculiar because its surface was covered with dense, spiraling runes. When the black light beams struck the light screen, they emitted dull rumbling sounds and were then repelled by the flashing runes. Shi Kun seized this opportunity, twisted his body, and, protected by the yellow light, sank into the ground. He then fled rapidly over ten zhang underground, moving at a speed that seemed barely slower than Liu Shuier's earlier.

Naturally, the dark beasts could not simply allow the three of them to escape so easily. Following a furious roar from the leading three-eyed dark beast, the beast horde immediately split into three waves, soaring into the air and relentlessly pursuing the residual aura of Han Li and the two others.

With Han Li having no reservations and his full escape speed unleashed in the air, the meager dark beasts behind him naturally couldn't keep up. In just the time it takes to eat a meal, the thread of light he had transformed into was about to shake off his pursuers without a trace.

However, because his escape light was too conspicuous in the air, several other dark beasts burst out from below the forest along the way, intending to attack him. But Han Li merely swept his sleeve, and dozens of green lights immediately shot out like a violent storm. No longer concealing the true power of the Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Swords, all obstructing dark beasts were instantly sliced into countless pieces.

Even if one or two dark beasts reacted quickly enough to wave their claws and unleash streams of claw energy, attempting to block him, the green flying swords, as if intangible, merely flashed past, piercing through the claw energy as if it were nothing, and directly striking the dark beasts' bodies, instantly ending their lives.

Thus, along the way, Han Li spared no spiritual power and never stopped. After flying for most of the day, he finally shot out from the dark, dense forest, completely leaving the Dark Beast Forest behind.

The view ahead brightened, revealing a vast, verdant grassland stretching boundlessly. Even though it was still night, the rich scent of green grass wafted towards him.

However, Han Li's escape light showed no sign of stopping. The blue-white thread of light flickered as he continued to streak forward through the air. After flying nearly a hundred thousand miles in one go, he spotted a several-dozen-zhang-high mound ahead, where the blue-white thread of light finally spiraled down. With a flash of light, Han Li reappeared, his expression calm.

A blue light flashed in his eyes as he swept his gaze left and right. In such an open and unobstructed terrain, his Spiritual Eye ability could naturally be utilized to its fullest. In an instant, everything within a hundred-mile radius was clearly imprinted in Han Li's mind. He could also see some distant areas, but they appeared unusually blurry.

Finding no threatening presences, Han Li quietly exhaled, then released his divine sense to sweep over the nearby area before immediately retracting it. After a crackling sound, the crystalline wings on his back disintegrated and vanished. He then turned and squinted his eyes, glancing towards the Dark Beast Forest.

At such a long distance, even if the dark beasts were furious, they likely wouldn't pursue him further out of that region. However, if they truly dared to do so, Han Li wouldn't mind casually eliminating all dozen or so of them. The reason he hadn't wanted to get entangled with them earlier on the road was not because he feared these dark beasts; rather, he was wary of being pursued by even more dark beasts and truly falling into a heavy encirclement.

Han Li stood motionless on the mound with his hands clasped behind his back. Gentle breezes blew past him, making his robes flutter, as if he were an immortal being.

Suddenly, with a flick of his single hand, a blood-red magic plate appeared in his grasp, its surface faintly shimmering with silver threads. Han Li's eyes flickered as he stared at the plate for a moment, his brow furrowing. “Since these two have already met up and aren’t too far from here, why aren’t they coming over immediately? Have they encountered some other trouble?” Han Li murmured a few words. With another shake, the object in his hand instantly vanished. He then raised his head and gazed deeply in a certain direction.

Suddenly, a green light flashed on his body, and he transformed into a green rainbow, soaring into the air. After a single circle overhead, he shot off in the direction he had been looking. Although his escape speed wasn't as unbelievably fast as his earlier teleportation-like movement, it was still extraordinary.

A short while later, Han Li had already traveled twenty to thirty thousand miles, arriving above another part of the grassland. Inside the escape light, blue light flashed in Han Li's eyes several times, and a hint of surprise appeared on his face. After the whooshing sound of the green rainbow subsided, Han Li appeared in the void a hundred miles away. As soon as his figure materialized, he emotionlessly gazed forward.

About a hundred zhang away from him, two groups of people stood facing each other. One group consisted of Shi Kun and Liu Shuier. Beneath Liu Shuier's cloak, her eyes flickered, displaying extreme caution. Shi Kun, however, had a faint sneer on his face. With his fists clenched, his battle armor flickered between dim and bright, as if he were eager for a fight.

Opposite the two stood another man and woman side by side. The man had a heavily bearded face, wore silver scale armor on his upper body, and carried a large, trident-like weapon on his back, giving him an exceptionally heroic appearance. The woman had willow-like eyebrows and dark eyes, with exceptionally fair skin. She wore a green leather outfit on her upper body, which accentuated her voluptuous figure, making hearts pound.

However, strangely, the lower half of both their bodies was enveloped in a layer of white mist, from which faint, crisp sounds like flowing water could be heard. “Sea King Race!” Almost at first glance, Han Li recognized the origin of the newly appeared man and woman, and he whispered, his expression subtly changing. Although the Sea King Race does not directly border Tianyun, it is widely known that they are allied with the Horned Chi Race. No wonder both sides were so hostile the moment they met.

When the two groups saw Han Li approaching rapidly, their expressions naturally differed greatly. Liu Shuier's beautiful eyes lit up with joy, and her heart instantly settled. Shi Kun's thoughts were unknown, but he gave Han Li a slight smile and greeted him courteously. The Sea King Race man and woman opposite them, however, instantly glared with cold, unfriendly eyes, scrutinizing Han Li up and down.

But upon seeing that Han Li was only at around the seventh-tier cultivation of the Upper Realm, the two exchanged surprised glances, both seeing astonishment and doubt in each other's eyes. “You are also from Tianyun!” the man said, opening his eyes wide, his voice unusually loud.

“For now, you could say so. Fellow Daoists, are you here because you intend to attack my companions?” Han Li's expression immediately returned to normal, and he calmly retorted.

“Attack them? If that were truly the case, would they still be standing here perfectly fine?” the Sea King Race man sneered, his tone somewhat sarcastic.

“What did you say? What arrogance! Heh heh, I, Shi, am untalented, but I’d certainly like to experience the noble divine abilities of the so-called Three Great Water Races.” Upon hearing this, Shi Kun, instead of getting angry, began to laugh. His figure swayed as he took a large step forward, speaking in a chilling tone.