Chapter 2288: Old Enemy

The final outcome of these three Devouring Gold Beetles’ consumption would undoubtedly leave only the strongest one. However, Han Li wasn't entirely confident whether this last quasi-beetle king, after its evolution, could truly become the legendary Devouring Gold Beetle King. After all, according to legend, the Devouring Gold Beetle King was so powerful that even true immortals from the heavens would have to retreat when encountering it. Of course, this was merely a rumor; there was no actual record of a Devouring Gold Beetle King appearing in the ancient texts of various Spirit Realm races. Just how powerful this beetle king could become was truly hard to say. Han Li could only secretly hope for the best.

However, compared to his current astonishing divine abilities, the assistance of ordinary Mahayana-level beings wouldn’t be very significant. Therefore, he had already decided that after returning, he would have his Leopard-Patterned Beast, which had always stayed by his side, also begin secluded cultivation. Although such spirit beasts typically rely on long periods to slowly accumulate cultivation and strength, with Han Li’s unsparing use of pills as aid, a significant increase in its cultivation was surely foreseeable.

As Han Li pondered this, his divine sense gradually sank into the deepest part of his spiritual sea. Meanwhile, the white flying boat sped unimpeded over the desolate land. The faint Mahayana aura emanating from it was enough to make the ferocious demonic beasts nearby tremble in fear, daring not to provoke it in the slightest.

Half a month later, the continuous stretches of dark green below finally disappeared, replaced by boundless, vast white snowfields. In the void ahead, a biting wind howled, and goose-feather-sized snowflakes swept relentlessly, occasionally mixed with fist-sized crystalline ice shards. Yet, enveloped by a milky-white light screen, the flying boat remained as stable as a rock during its flight. Two gigantic ape puppets effortlessly steered the flying boat, continuing their swift forward journey.

Several days later, the flying boat unexpectedly entered the depths of the snowfield. The vast, thick snow below was gone, replaced entirely by crystalline glacier terrain. As far as the eye could see, there were transparent mountains of varying sizes, and some unknown, furry white small beasts sprinted freely on the ice, seemingly oblivious to the flying boat overhead. Clearly, these demonic beasts were too low-level, not even possessing the ability to detect the flying boat's powerful aura.

Suddenly, a silver light flashed on the flying boat, and a startling rainbow shot down, circling once among a group of beasts. It then burst through the air and, with a shimmer, returned to the flying boat. In a flash of silver light, Silvermoon appeared, smiling, at the front of the flying boat, examining a small white beast she held in one hand. At first glance, the creature resembled a white bear by seven or eight parts, but it had a short blue horn on its head and unusually long ears, making it look incredibly cute. With its neck grasped, the small beast couldn't help but kick its limbs wildly. At the same time, faint crackling sounds erupted from its forehead, and some blue electric threads shimmered faintly, making it appear extremely clumsy.

“How interesting. This beast isn’t tainted with the slightest demonic aura; instead, it’s somewhat like a spirit beast from the human realm,” Silvermoon said, raising a hand to stroke the small beast’s furry head, a charming smile appearing on her face.

“That’s an Ice-Horned Bear, one of the rare low-level demonic beasts in the Demon Realm that can survive and reproduce here without relying on demonic energy. It naturally possesses both ice and lightning attributes,” a clear male voice suddenly came from behind Silvermoon.

A joyful expression appeared on Silvermoon’s face. She turned her head and saw Han Li calmly walking out of the cabin.

“Oh, Brother Han, you know about this beast too?” Silvermoon asked with a slight smile.

“I once specifically collected ancient texts about various demonic beasts in the Demon Realm, which is why I have a deep impression of these demonic beasts that are quite similar to spirit beasts,” Han Li replied gently.

“According to Fellow Daoist Lan Ying, the location on the Crying Spirit Secret Map is at most half a day’s journey away,” Han Li said casually, his divine sense quickly sweeping over the area within tens of thousands of miles around them.

“Half a day? That’s certainly not far. Hehe, the Crying Spirit Ancestor was reportedly a very famous existence in the Demon Realm in the past. The secret treasures he left behind with such care must contain many good things, don’t you think?” Silvermoon said delightedly.

“It’s hard to say. The cultivation methods of the Demon Race are mostly different from ours, so what they consider precious might not be very useful to us. However, I heard that the ‘Mo Ling Sacred Boat,’ a flying treasure once said to rank among the top three in the Demon Realm, belonged to him. If we could obtain this treasure, then this trip would certainly not be in vain,” Han Li said with a faint smile.

“Ranked among the top three in the Demon Realm? Then this treasure must be extraordinary. I’d love to see it for myself,” Silvermoon said, her face blooming like a flower.

Han Li smiled slightly. Just as he was about to respond further, his expression shifted, and his gaze instantly swept towards the horizon in another direction.

“What is it, Brother Han? Have you discovered something?” Silvermoon asked, naturally surprised.

“How interesting. It seems we’ve encountered an old acquaintance from back then,” Han Li said, a smile suddenly appearing at the corner of his mouth after gazing at the distant horizon for a moment, blue light flickering in his eyes.

“An old acquaintance? Someone I know too?” Silvermoon was truly astonished.

“Precisely. Both you and I had quite a few dealings with her back then. Let’s go and meet this old acquaintance now,” Han Li said, retracting his gaze, turning his head, and speaking to Silvermoon with a hint of a mysterious smile.

“I really know her... Then I truly must go and see,” Silvermoon’s divine sense had already swept in the same direction, but unfortunately, her scanning range was limited, and she didn’t genuinely detect any human presence, causing her face to fill with an interested expression.

Han Li smiled and said no more. With a tap of his foot, the flying boat instantly trembled throughout its body, changed its direction, and shot off towards the other side.

In an instant, the white flying boat traversed tens of thousands of miles, arriving near an ice mountain several thousand zhang high. Directly above the ice mountain, earth-shattering rumbling sounds resonated, and astonishing waves of energy continuously swept outwards in all directions. The colossal ice mountain, which appeared to have existed for countless years, had been abruptly cut away from its middle, losing a significant portion. The surrounding ground was riddled with craters, and countless ice blocks of various sizes were scattered densely everywhere. At the center of the massive sounds, vast white chilling mist and shimmering blue light intertwined, forming a rolling cloud. It was as if two colossal beings were locked in an incredibly fierce and inseparable battle within it!

Witnessing this scene, Han Li narrowed his eyes. Without making any visible move, the flying boat beneath him stopped on its own, silently hovering motionless in the nearby void. Silvermoon also blinked her beautiful eyes, gazing at the distant battle, but unfortunately, the elemental energy there was so chaotic that she couldn't discern anything clearly. However, judging by such astonishing momentum, it seemed that ordinary Demon Race Venerables could never achieve such a degree.

“It’s her!”

When Silvermoon’s divine sense reached out and suddenly encountered a somewhat familiar aura, an astonished expression immediately appeared on her beautiful face.

Han Li smiled faintly, saying nothing, merely standing on the flying boat and observing the confrontation in the distant battle group. With his immense divine sense, everything within the battle group was naturally clear to him, as if right before his eyes.

After about a quarter of an hour, an earth-shattering roar suddenly erupted from the battle, and a mass of blue halo burst forth, seemingly intent on destroying everything nearby. A series of extremely shrill beast roars! As spatial fluctuations arose, a white dragon, over ten zhang long, burst out of the halo and, despite its heavily wounded body, shimmered with spiritual light, seemingly intending to tear through space and escape. But just then, after a flash of the halo, a graceful figure shimmered into existence. A delicate shout echoed! Spatial fluctuations above coalesced, and a massive blue claw instantly appeared, striking downwards like lightning, tearing the white dragon’s body into several segments. Then, with a *puchi* sound from the giant claw, rolling black flames surged out, engulfing the white dragon’s shattered body. Although the white dragon shrieked repeatedly, its severed segments writhed and struggled within the black flames as if alive, yet bizarrely, they could never escape the entanglement of the demonic flames. In mere moments, the dragon’s segments and even its soul ultimately vanished into nothingness.

Upon seeing this, Han Li raised an eyebrow and calmly spoke to the figure within the blue halo:

“Fellow Daoist Yuan Sha, it seems we truly have some destiny, to encounter each other even in such a remote place. However, judging by your appearance, things don’t seem to be going well for you.”

The figure standing within the halo was none other than a woman with a jade-like face and extremely beautiful features. It was none other than Sacred Ancestor Yuan Sha, whom Han Li had encountered once in the Wood Clan territory. However, although this Demon Race Mahayana expert wore blue battle armor, its surface glow was dim, her face was unusually pale, and her aura fluctuated, appearing extremely unstable. But strangely, in terms of aura level, Yuan Sha was only at the Body Integration stage!

“So it’s Fellow Daoist Han. Has Baohua changed her mind and sent you to hunt me down?” Yuan Sha asked, her beautiful face turning slightly grim, surprisingly without much astonishment upon clearly seeing Han Li.

“Hunt you down? How could that be? Although I helped Baohua once, it was limited to that single transaction. Are you perhaps directly treating me as one of Baohua’s subordinates?” Han Li’s expression darkened, and he spoke impolitely.

“It seems I misunderstood, then. I hope Fellow Daoist Han can be forgiving. Indeed, with your divine abilities after advancing to the Mahayana stage, you’re probably not far behind Baohua herself, so why would you obey her orders to pursue a half-crippled person like me?” Yuan Sha first paused, then said with a bitter smile.

“Half-crippled? Your aura is indeed off. How did you fall directly below the Mahayana stage? Did Baohua make a move?” Han Li narrowed his eyes, asking with a hint of suspicion.

“No, it was I who sacrificed most of my own cultivation!”