Chapter 1976: Wolfish Embarrassment

Han Li could naturally sense his pursuers closing in again. The giant roc he had transformed into let out a low cry, and suddenly, countless golden flowers flew out from its body.

Each of these, swaying in the wind, was the size of a bowl and turned out to be a shimmering golden beetle.

These were the mature Gold-Devouring Beetles Han Li had held onto, and he released several thousand of them in one breath.

Although the golden blood shadows seemed to possess immortal bodies, they were instantly overwhelmed by such a vast number of Gold-Devouring Beetles. In just a few breaths, they were completely devoured, leaving not a single trace.

With another long cry from the giant roc, all the spirit insects flew back in unison.

A thunderous sound!

After the giant roc flapped its four wings, it transformed into a silver arc and vanished from its spot.

Meanwhile, continuous rumbling echoed across the distant horizon as the silver arc flickered in and out of sight a few times before completely disappearing.

About fifteen minutes later, a jade plate and a stone palace came whistling through the air. After a slight pause, they simultaneously halted in the nearby void.

With a flash of light, two figures materialized above them.

One was slender and graceful, while the other's body was shrouded in a bloody mist.

They were indeed the avatars of Yuan Sha and Bloodlight!

Both scanned the vicinity, their expressions differing.

The woman in blue palace attire remained expressionless, though a flicker of annoyance was discernible in her beautiful eyes as they moved.

The blood-robed youth, however, was livid, his brow betraying his fury.

"This brat is truly troublesome," Bloodlight said bitterly. "Even my Bloodlight Crystal Guards couldn't hold him up for a moment. It seems he's really determined to wear us down."

"Hmph, weren't your personal guards supposedly immortal?" Yuan Sha retorted with a cold snort. "To be annihilated by mere spirit insects, they truly are useless!"

"Yuan Sha, spare me your sarcasm. I don't believe for a moment that you didn't recognize the origin of those spirit insects! Even if my guards cultivate the Blood Body Demonic Art, how could they withstand the devouring power of an ancient, ferocious attack?" Bloodlight retorted irritably.

"Of course I recognized them," the woman said blandly. "If there were hundreds of thousands or even millions of these Gold-Devouring Beetles, I might be a little wary. But since there are only so few, how could they truly threaten us? At worst, we can use wood or stone-type treasures to trap them and then leave."

"I do happen to have two wood or stone-type treasures," Bloodlight said, his mouth twitching. "But can you be certain this brat only has this many spirit insects? What if he commands over a hundred thousand? I wouldn't be able to handle that. And who knows how many other tricks this kid has yet to reveal? If we keep pressing him like this, won't we both end up heavily wounded?"

"Hundreds of thousands of Gold-Devouring Beetles! You really dare to even imagine such a scenario.

"Alright, even if this brat Han truly possesses that many spirit insects, do you think he has the psychic power to command them? Commanding hundreds of thousands of Gold-Devouring Beetles would deplete the psychic energy of even our true forms instantly. Rest assured. The spirit insects just now must be this brat's limit. If he could easily unleash them against enemies, wouldn't he have used them against us earlier, instead of waiting until now? However, this brat's divine abilities are indeed not weak, so we should exercise a bit more caution. Bloodlight, you're not thinking of giving up now, are you? If that's truly the case, then I'll simply pursue him alone. You just need to mobilize your subordinates to seal off all paths for him to escape back to the human strongholds," the woman said with a cold sneer, a curl of her lips.

"I was just saying," the blood-robed youth replied, his expression subtly changing before he immediately let out a yawn. "Since fellow Daoist is so confident, I will naturally accompany you to the end."

This Demon Ancestor had already lost two valuable treasures to Han Li; how could he possibly give up the pursuit now?

"However, as you know," Bloodlight suddenly said, his eyes darting, "even though I command the Saint Race army in this region, I can't possibly deploy all my forces to corner this brat. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, I won't be able to account for it to the others."

"Just say what you want to say directly," the woman said, raising a delicate eyebrow, a hint of impatience in her voice. "There's no need to beat around the bush."

"Heh heh, it's nothing really. Since we can't capture this human cultivator quickly, you and I should make some long-term plans. Fellow Daoist, why don't you transfer some elites from Liu Ji's side? That way, this brat won't be able to escape even if he had wings. Given your relationship with Liu Ji, this shouldn't be a problem," Bloodlight said slowly, his gaze fixed on the woman's face.

"Mobilize Liu Ji's people? Hmm, that's not a bad idea. Alright, I can agree to that. But during this time, your people must stick to this brat like glue, giving him not a single moment to breathe, and absolutely not allowing him to slip away." The woman's eyes flickered a few times; it was unclear what she was contemplating, but she agreed immediately.

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Yuan Sha. I will certainly mobilize forces to block all passages leading to Tian Yuan City and the other major human territories. This will prevent him from regrouping with anyone, making him a truly panicked bird," Bloodlight guaranteed, overjoyed.

"Hmm, that's for the best. Before Liu Ji's forces arrive, you and I might as well continue to follow him, maintaining a moderate distance. Once this brat is completely exhausted, we can then close in and act, which should allow us to capture him easily!" the woman said coldly.

"Naturally!" Bloodlight also said with a smile. "Indeed, with our divine abilities, if we were willing to expend some vital energy, how could we truly have been unable to deal with this brat all this time?"

"Alright, let's go. This brat's escape speed is truly impressive. If we don't move now, he might actually escape the range of our senses," Yuan Sha said suddenly, looking into the distance.

"Naturally. However, further ahead, I've already mobilized another seven waves of personnel waiting there. They should be able to deplete his strength a few more times," Bloodlight said, nodding slightly, a strange expression on his face.

Yuan Sha said nothing more upon hearing this. Instead, with a twist of her delicate body, she transformed directly into a ball of white light and shot towards the stone palace.

As for Bloodlight, he formed a hand seal with one hand, and with a "bang," transformed into a mass of black energy that merged into the jade plate.

The next moment, spiritual light flowed around the stone palace and the giant jade plate, and with a simultaneous whistle, they shot away.

The direction they fled was precisely the one Han Li had taken earlier.

At the same time, ten thousand miles away, Han Li, transformed into a giant roc, was flying away at lightning speed, his heart exceptionally heavy. After two months of relentless pursuit by the Demon Race, how could he not understand the general intentions of the two major adversaries behind him?

In this short time, he had repelled and killed at least thirty to forty waves of enemies along the way.

Some of these demonic beings were merely low-level demons or demonic beasts hastily assembled, while others were the most elite forces of the Demon Race army. There were even two waves of enemies that included Demon Lords in the attack.

Under normal circumstances, even with their considerable numbers, these demons would hardly merit his attention. But with two major adversaries constantly watching him from behind, how could he dare to slowly entangle himself with them? He could only continuously unleash thunderous attacks to annihilate these demons in a single blow. The consequence of this was, naturally, a continuous and rapid depletion of Han Li's magic power and psychic energy throughout his journey.

If not for the numerous elixirs he carried that could replenish some spiritual energy, he probably would have been unable to sustain himself long ago. Even so, Han Li's current situation was dreadful.

His magic power, after repeated intense battles, was less than fifty percent of its peak, and his psychic energy, after having to deploy thousands of Gold-Devouring Beetles, had only a small portion left.

This caused Han Li's heart to sink.

Fortunately, the two major adversaries behind him seemed to have been deterred by his series of powerful tactics. For the time being, they dared not personally intervene, only mobilizing their subordinates to intercept him.

This, ironically, kept him safe for the moment.

However, this situation clearly could not last for long. Once they discovered he was merely putting on a strong front while internally depleted, or if they truly mobilized large numbers of personnel to surround him, his life would naturally be forfeit.

Han Li would naturally not sit idly by and wait for this to happen. He had used almost every method imaginable along the way to try and shake off his pursuers. However, both Bloodlight and the woman suspected to be Saint Ancestor Yuan Sha possessed tracking and stealth abilities that were superior to his, not inferior.

Even if he racked his brains, he could at most shake them off for half a day, but in the end, they would inevitably catch up again.

This made Han Li secretly lament his predicament.

If only one of the adversaries were pursuing him, he might have been able to exploit their carelessness or oversight to escape. But with the two of them working together and complementing each other, such a thought was nothing more than a pipe dream.

Moreover, as he drew closer to Tian Yuan City, the interceptions he encountered noticeably increased.

"No, I can't let this continue!" Han Li thought anxiously, desperately refining the elixirs he had just consumed to mobilize the remaining magic power in his body. "It's clear they've grasped my weakness – my desire to return to Tian Yuan City – and have no doubt set up countless intercepting forces ahead. If this continues, I'll be depleted of magic power and killed before I even reach Tian Yuan City. I must change my escape direction!"

"Although there will certainly be interceptions in other directions, their strength should be much less. However, I can't so blatantly reveal my next intention. I must set up a grand formation behind me to temporarily shake them off; only then will I have a moment to breathe," Han Li thought fiercely, his mind racing.

Having made this resolution, Han Li immediately began to ponder specific methods intently.

Whether it was due to being pushed to his limit or a genuine flash of inspiration, it wasn't long before an idea sparked in Han Li's mind.

Inside the jade plate trailing them, three Bloodlight avatars stood motionless before a pristine crystal wall.

Two of the avatars had their eyes closed, seemingly conserving their energy, while the third stared unblinkingly at the image on the crystal wall.

The third avatar's expression suddenly changed, and it let out a soft exclamation of surprise.

The sound reached the ears of the other two, causing their expressions to shift, and all four eyes opened simultaneously.

On the crystal wall's display, Han Li, who had been in his giant roc form, suddenly flickered and reverted to his human shape. His escape light halted, and as he formed a hand seal with both hands, his body blurred slightly, instantly conjuring seven or eight identical figures.