Chapter 1741: Star Map and Spell Formation

**A Mortal's Journey to Immortality****Main Text, Volume 9: The Myriad Races of the Spirit Realm**

"It wouldn't hurt to take a look. Perhaps we can discover something," Han Li agreed with a faint voice, somewhat to their surprise.

Seeing that Han Li did not refuse the suggestion, Bai Bi, though somewhat reluctant, did not voice any opposition.

So the three changed direction and flew straight towards the source of the bloody scent.

After flying for over ten *li*, a peculiar sight indeed appeared ahead: an oasis, approximately a *li* in size, emerged into view.

In a blink, the three of them flew above it.

In fact, what was called an oasis appeared black and yellow. There were only a few tall trees; it was mostly covered in low shrubs and unknown wild grasses.

At the center of the oasis, there was a pond over ten *zhang* wide, where streams of crimson blood water churned. Beside the pond, lay over ten corpses of Black Abyss beasts, varying in size, sprawled on the ground, each pierced by several stone cones.

The fresh blood flowing from these corpses was gushing into the blood pond.

The entire oasis reeked of blood, making one want to vomit.

"How can these beasts appear in the desert? They should be in the dense forest we saw earlier," Lei Lan asked, quite surprised after observing from the air.

"They haven't been dead for long; otherwise, the blood would have coagulated," Bai Bi remarked after a careful examination, making his own judgment.

After observing for a few moments, Han Li suddenly moved, transforming into a streak of green light and circling the entire oasis.

A moment later, he returned to his original spot, his eyes narrowed as he fixed his gaze on the blood pond.

"What is it, Brother Han? Have you discovered something?" Lei Lan asked curiously.

"Hmm, I have indeed found something," Han Li replied as if talking to himself, then suddenly flicked his sleeve towards the ground.

A golden light shot out, and in a flash, it transformed into seven or eight streaks of sword light, each plunging into the ground near the pond.

Lei Lan and Bai Bi were both startled. Before they could understand what was happening, several miserable screams suddenly erupted from where the sword lights had penetrated. Then, streams of black blood bubbled forth. The nearby ground suddenly burst open, and several ape-like demonic creatures sprang out from underground.

Each was several feet tall, with four ears on its head, and held crude stone spears, the tips of which emitted a faint white light.

"Huh, Resentful Ape Beasts! No, this oasis is an illusion created by a Giant Spirit Flower!" As soon as he clearly saw the appearance of these demonic apes, Bai Bi instantly remembered something and cried out in alarm.

"A Giant Spirit Flower!" Han Li's eyes flashed, while Lei Lan gasped in a low voice.

Just then, the ground beneath the three of them erupted with a thunderous roar, and then began to shake violently.

At the same time, the blood water in the oasis pond surged outwards, and a red shadow shot out.

In a mere flash, it arrived before Han Li, stabbing fiercely towards his face.

Lei Lan and Bai Bi were startled. The red shadow was simply too fast; even if they wanted to intervene and help, it seemed they wouldn't be able to react in time.

However, upon seeing this, Han Li only let out a cold snort, and one of his arms blurred slightly.

With a 'bang'!

A jade-white palm mysteriously appeared before him, and with a lightning-fast backhand grab, it firmly seized the red shadow.

Only then did the two Holy Sons beside him clearly see that it was an arm-thick, blood-red, tongue-like object, with a fist-sized fleshy ball at its front, covered in inch-long black spines, and constantly writhing.

But Han Li's palm seemed not to be made of flesh and blood. His crystalline five fingers directly gripped the fleshy ball, treating the black spines as if they were nothing and unable to harm his skin in the slightest.

Just then, five white bone skulls suddenly appeared on the surface of Han Li's five fingers. At the same time, as he opened his mouth, a burst of five-colored light flames furiously spewed out, sweeping down along the long tongue.

In almost an instant, the entire tongue transformed into a slender, five-colored ice rod.

Han Li, without hesitation, flicked his wrist and struck the tip of the ice rod.

A ripple of green light flashed, and with a 'crackling' sound, like porcelain shattering, the ice rod instantly shattered into countless fragments, turning into a shimmering crystal dust that vanished without a trace.

A monstrous roar erupted from underground, sounding as if the creature was in immense pain. Meanwhile, the blood-colored light in the pond spun rapidly. In an instant, not a single drop of blood water remained. Then, with a 'boom', the entire oasis completely shattered, and an enormous entity emerged from the destruction.

Its upper part was incredibly massive, while its lower part was unusually slender. It was a giant demonic flower, remarkably similar in size to the original oasis.

The petals of this demonic flower were a pale silver, like the desert, but its center was crimson like fresh blood, having transformed from the blood pond. The long tongue that had attacked Han Li just now was merely one of its many thick stamens.

Not only that, standing on the enormous petals of the demonic flower were dozens of so-called 'Resentful Ape Beasts', each baring its fangs at the sky. At the same time, they brandished the stone spears in their hands at the air, and then dozens of foot-long stone cones materialized, shooting directly towards Han Li and the other two.

"So this is a Giant Spirit Flower. Quite interesting indeed. This flower should be a mid-level demonic creature, right? Isn't it rare for mid-level or higher demonic creatures to appear on the first layer?" Witnessing this scene, Han Li, instead of being surprised, smiled.

This time, he didn't need to act at all. Lei Lan and Bai Bi, standing nearby, simultaneously raised their four hands, and under a crisscrossing weave of silver arcs and golden threads, the incoming stone cones were shattered to dust.

"Brother Han! While they rarely appear, it doesn't mean they never will. Furthermore, the timing of our trial is truly unfortunate. It's the eve of the Underworld Abyss Demonic Tide. It's not unusual for some mid-level demonic creatures to appear on the first layer ahead of time," Lei Lan explained with a slight frown.

Although they were facing a mid-level demonic creature this time, the level of trouble was far less than that posed by the Shadow Spider Hornets they encountered previously. Therefore, after her initial surprise, Lei Lan's expression returned to normal.

"Is that so! I heard that the nectar of this flower is an excellent alchemical material. Since we've encountered it, let's collect some," Han Li said with an inscrutable smile, then suddenly flicked his ten fingers downwards.

With a few 'puffs', ten small golden swords shot out from between his fingers, and in a flash, transformed into ten streaks of golden light, shooting downwards.

A strange roar erupted from the center of the giant flower, and immediately, countless densely packed red shadows shot out, intending to knock down the flying swords.

If an ordinary Spirit Flying Tribe member were faced with such fierce attacks, they would indeed have a major headache. However, Han Li merely darkened his expression and, with a single hand, pointed at the cluster of flying swords.

Instantly, the ten flying swords burst forth with brilliant golden light. The moment the two sides made contact, the red shadows were all engulfed by the sword light and completely annihilated.

Immediately after, the golden light shimmered again, and dozens of identical sword lights suddenly materialized, descending like an overwhelming tide.

Upon seeing this scene, the Resentful Ape Beasts seemed to know that death was imminent. With sharp cries, they all threw the stone spears in their hands, which surprisingly also transformed into dozens of white lights to meet the sword lights.

Although these stone spears had been crudely refined by these demonic creatures, how could they possibly withstand the sharp sword energy of the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords? They immediately shattered into clouds of stone dust amidst the chilling light.

Then, a dozen or so golden streaks merely swirled through the group of Resentful Ape Beasts, and the demonic creatures instantly split in half and fell to the ground.

At the same time, the remaining sword lights mercilessly attacked the entire demonic flower with a frenzied onslaught, instantly shredding it to pieces. The fragments heavily fell to the ground, and large amounts of green liquid flowed everywhere.

This Giant Spirit Flower, along with the symbiotic Resentful Ape Beasts, was completely annihilated by Han Li's flying swords in a single encounter.

Lei Lan and Bai Bi had no chance to intervene at all. They couldn't help but exchange bitter smiles.

"All right, let's go down and collect some nectar, then we'll be on our way," Han Li said calmly, gesturing with one hand and retracting all the sword lights into his sleeve.

Then his figure blurred, and he landed on the nearby ground. With a flip of his hand, a small emerald green bottle appeared in his palm. He aimed it at the fragmented flower core and shook it.

Instantly, a stream of green mist sprayed out, sweeping over the flower cores, and immediately brought out clusters of pink liquid nectar. It then flew back, pouring into the small bottle.

Han Li shook the small bottle. A strange, wonderful fragrance of nectar wafted to his nose. With a faint smile, a green light flashed, and the small bottle vanished without a trace.

Lei Lan and Bai Bi also landed, and likewise took out their containers, collecting the remaining nectar for themselves.

"Let's go," Han Li said calmly, then unfurled his wings and soared into the sky once more.

Bai Bi, without a word, transformed into a ball of golden light and closely followed. Lei Lan smiled, and just as she was about to take flight, her gaze swept over the remains of the Giant Spirit Flower on the ground. A thought stirred within her, and as if by a strange impulse, she casually flicked her finger.

After a clap of thunder, a fleeting silver arc shot out, striking a nearby yellow branch that had remained connected to the demonic flower's remains. Instantly, the branch turned to ash.

Only then did Lei Lan clap her hands together, unfurl her wings, and rise into the air, chasing after Han Li and Bai Bi.

In a blink of an eye, Han Li and the other two vanished into the distant horizon without a trace. No sound was heard from this place anymore.

A full hour later, the nearby ground suddenly trembled, then split open with a thunderous roar. Several black tendrils, like colossal pillars reaching for the sky, suddenly emerged from underground, followed by a deep black demonic flower, several times the size of the original Giant Spirit Flower, ominously rising from the depths.

This flower was like a colossal mountain. Its tendrils thrashed against the ground for a moment before it settled steadily on the surface. Just then, a soft gasp of surprise suddenly emanated from the flower.

"Who is so audacious as to touch the spirit flower placed here for sacrifice? Could it be the Six-Legged ones?" a woman's voice burst out in anger.

Following the voice upwards, at the center of the colossal black flower, a silver wooden chair stood prominently within its core. A slender figure, whose face was indistinct, sat upright on it, holding an emerald green whip.

"Master, there's no need to be angry. The blood sacrifices here were only interrupted a short while ago, so those people shouldn't have left long ago. Allow your humble servant to investigate first." A yellow light flashed, and a short, furry figure suddenly appeared before the silver chair, speaking to the woman on the chair from a kneeling position, appearing utterly respectful.

"Hmm, I still need to preside over the sacrifice. This matter I shall leave to you. No matter who it is, anyone who dares to disrupt my affairs shall not be spared," the woman said coldly, then suddenly cracked the whip in her hand in the air.

After a sharp whistle, a fleeting white streak flashed, causing the nearby space to ripple. Immediately, countless black mists surged out from the white streak, as if truly tearing apart the space of this area.