Chapter 1993: Return Journey and the Mystery of the Demon Clan

Han Li's return journey proved exceptionally smooth.

Under full-speed flight, he returned to the yellow desert after a day and once again saw the small Demon Race "node." From a distance, the exit suspended high in the air remained unchanged. Dozens of Demon guards were still faithfully guarding the buildings below, appearing undisturbed. Han Li wasn't particularly surprised by this scene.

With a dissipation of black aura around him, he once again transformed into a Celestial Phoenix. A flap of his wings turned him into a faint streak of light, shooting towards the node. After a few flashes, the streak of light blurred, eventually fading from view. The process of entering the spatial node was also remarkably smooth; he submerged into it without any incident.

Not long after, the Celestial Phoenix, transforming into a five-colored halo, arrived at the exit on the Spirit Realm side. However, just as he flew out of the node, Han Li's divine sense extended forward. As expected, he truly sensed something. He couldn't help but let out a few cold sneers in his heart. With the Celestial Phoenix's halo blazing brightly, it vanished instantly within the passage.

The next moment, ripples appeared in the void outside the exit, and a hazy green figure silently emerged. Han Li had directly materialized there in his human form. Almost simultaneously with his appearance, a loud shout of "Attack!" echoed nearby. Immediately, a barrage of whizzing sounds erupted all around, as countless black beams shot in from every direction. At the same time, a strong wind picked up from above, and over a dozen twin-headed demonic birds swooped down from the sky. Additionally, two green warboats, dozens of meters long, appeared below. With a tremor, they emitted two hazy black light pillars from their fronts, which flashed into existence right before him. Hundreds of Demon guards, who had seemingly appeared around this exit at some unknown point, launched a torrential assault the moment Han Li emerged.

Han Li, however, seemed to have anticipated this situation. Faced with such fierce attacks, a faint smile played on his lips. He suddenly swept one sleeve forward. Rolling gray radiance surged from the void, instantly transforming into a crystalline light barrier that completely enveloped and protected his body. He then completely ignored the attacks from the light pillars below and the black beams from all sides. Instead, with the fingers of his other hand, he casually flicked several times at the enormous demonic birds diving from the sky.

The air rent with piercing sounds! Over a dozen streaks of green sword light flashed forth from his fingertips. The diving demonic birds saw only a dazzling flash of light before their bodies felt a sudden chill and were sliced into two. A shower of blood, along with the remnants of the demonic birds, immediately rained down from the sky.

Several high-ranking Demons watching from a distance immediately turned pale with shock. It was known that these twin-headed demonic birds had bodies as tough as steel, normally impervious to ordinary spells. Yet, they had been so easily cut down. It was truly astonishing. But what left them even more dumbfounded was that the dense black beams from all directions, along with the two unusually thick light pillars, struck Han Li's gray light barrier and simply vanished into it in a flash, without any further reaction. It was as if they had been completely swallowed by the gray light barrier.

"No good, it’s an old monster at the Integration stage! Retreat immediately!” one high-ranking Demon blurted out. These high-ranking Demons were precisely the four Deity Transformation stage Demon commanders and the one Refinement stage twin-horned Demon who had led the army to repel the Wood Tribe's attack just a few days prior. After their decisive victory against the Wood Tribe's attack, they naturally discovered that the guards assigned to the "node" here had strangely disappeared, which naturally alarmed them greatly. Although they didn't know what had happened, they knew they would bear significant responsibility if anything untoward had truly occurred at this node.

Consequently, after some discussion, they not only sent messages to other nearby Demon camps but also personally led elite forces to re-seal this exit. This action was somewhat akin to 'mending the fold after the sheep are lost,' as they hadn't initially expected to actually catch anyone. However, what they never expected was that Han Li would return after only two or three days in the Demon Realm, inadvertently walking right into their newly set trap. At first, these individuals were both surprised and delighted, but once the twin-horned Demon discerned Han Li's true cultivation level, they were naturally terrified out of their wits.

After exchanging a chilling glance, the high-ranking Demons simultaneously erupted with demonic energy, transforming into streaks of black light that shot backward, fleeing. Fearing to alert Han Li, they didn't even notify their subordinates. But Han Li's divine sense was immensely powerful. Having detected the ambush outside in advance, he had naturally already locked onto these leading Demons. The instant these Demons' escaping lights activated, his gaze swept over them with icy coldness. "Dream on, if you think you can escape," he stated.

No sooner had he spoken than Han Li moved an arm, and a hand as white as jade reached out to grasp at the void. These Demons felt ripples appear above them as a five-colored giant hand, over a dozen meters long, suddenly materialized and fiercely clawed downwards. The Demons immediately turned pale with fright. While frantically accelerating their escape, they each released various treasures like flying daggers and swords, thrusting them madly at the giant hand. They didn't expect their treasures to truly shatter the giant hand, but even a slight obstruction could buy them a few extra moments to escape. However, what these Demons never anticipated was that the moment their treasures struck the enormous hand, there was a sudden "bang." The five-colored giant hand suddenly exploded, transforming into a vast expanse of five-colored frigid flames, roughly an acre in size, amidst a wild flash of spiritual light. As the five-colored frigid light swept downwards, the five high-ranking Demons instantly turned into chunks of floating ice.

At this point, the other ordinary Demons surrounding and attacking Han Li finally reacted, erupting into a chaotic commotion. But before they could withdraw, Han Li flicked both sleeves, and a dense swarm of small green swords surged out. With a flicker, they transformed into streaks of green sword light. After a low shout, Han Li formed a spell seal with one hand, and the sword lights shot out in all directions, covering the entire area. A quarter of an hour later, there was no living Demon left in the entire Demon fortress. A green rainbow circled once in the air, then shot off towards the Human Race territory.

Several days later, a few Wood Tribe scouts discovered the astonishing change in this area, and were naturally both surprised and delighted. After investigating and determining it was not a trap, these scouts quickly returned to report. Seven or eight days later, the Demon fortress was forcibly occupied by swarms of Wood Tribe members, who began setting up a mysterious grand formation at the "node" exit, seemingly intending to seal it completely.

However, none of this concerned Han Li much anymore. At this moment, he was silently refining the Chaos Aura within his body while swiftly fleeing towards the Human Race territory. That Chaos Aura truly lived up to its name as a spiritual treasure of heaven and earth. Although he had only refined a small portion of it, it had greatly increased his magical power, yielding significant benefits. It's estimated that by the time he returns to the Human Race, he should have refined most of it, allowing his mid-Integration stage cultivation to reach the Grand Perfection realm. This way, he could then attempt his next breakthrough.

Unfortunately, this breakthrough would still require the assistance of Bing Feng's power. Otherwise, Han Li would have preferred to break through directly in some remote part of the Savage Wilds. After all, the Human Race territory was currently teeming with demonic shadows, making it hardly a stable place. Thinking this, Han Li could only continue his endless flight, albeit helplessly.

At the same time, atop the city walls of Tianyuan City in the Human Race territory, rows of Human cultivators stood, desperately channeling their treasures to continuously launch fierce attacks against the Demon army beyond the city's defensive barriers. A fiercely intense battle was currently unfolding. Similar scenes were also playing out in other Human territories, and even in the more distant cities of the Monster Race.

Recently, the Demon armies had suddenly become exceptionally fierce, launching relentless assaults on the two races' major cities, heedless of their own losses. This resulted in significant losses for both the Human and Monster Races, with many mid- and low-level cultivators falling in the fierce battles. Even high-level cultivators at the Deity Transformation stage and above began to suffer casualties in large numbers. This put both races on high alert. According to the precedents of previous Demon Calamities, if these cities could truly withstand the Demon army's fierce attacks for several years, they should then be safe. Therefore, these cities naturally held their ground stubbornly, employing every means possible, mostly hoping for the early arrival of that glimmer of dawn.

But unbeknownst to all, on a mysterious island at the border between the Human and Monster Races, over a dozen Integration stage beings from both races were gathered in a heavily restricted hall, gravely discussing a highly confidential matter. "So, the Ancient Demons truly intend to seize our territories this time and station their armies here permanently?” an elderly man with snow-white hair but clear, water-like eyes asked, his brow furrowed.

"It's more than that. This time, our scouts sent to the Demon Realm also discovered that a large number of low-level Ancient Demons seem to have been mobilized and will soon forcefully break through the barrier to arrive in the Spirit Realm," another middle-aged man with a tuft of red feathers on his head said with a grim expression.

"Low-level Ancient Demons, approximately how many?" someone asked after a sigh.

"It’s hard to get an exact number, but there are at least a billion of them, possibly far more," the feathered man replied after a moment of thought.

"A billion!" Upon hearing this, most of the people present gasped, their faces showing horror.

"This can’t be mistaken, can it? Pure Ancient Demons aren’t that numerous even in the Demon Realm. A billion of them, that’s almost one-tenth of the entire Demon Realm’s population. How could those Demon Saint Ancestors afford to take such a risk?" another old woman in a white fur robe asked, her eyes flashing.

"There’s no mistake. Many towns inhabited by Ancient Demons in the Demon Realm have now been completely abandoned. This number is still a conservative estimate," the feathered man stated with certainty.

"Hmph, it seems the Demons are truly serious this time. Unfortunately, despite sending many people deep into the Demon Realm to investigate, we still haven’t been able to uncover the true reason behind this demonic anomaly. Otherwise, if we could respond with a targeted approach, we would achieve twice the result with half the effort," the white-haired elder said with a bitter smile.