Chapter 2311: Bat Swarm

In the sky, three vibrant green suns hung prominently.

One was large, and two were smaller.

The large one was suspended in the center of the sky, while the smaller ones were positioned on the eastern and western sides, their size and radiance significantly inferior to the central sun.

However, these were not what surprised Han Li. What made him vigilant were the clusters of blood-red mist swirling around the three green suns.

These vividly colored mists hovered quietly near the green suns, appearing so strikingly beautiful from a distance that they seemed to captivate the mind.

After gazing at the crimson mists with narrowed eyes for a moment, Han Li's nose suddenly twitched. He faintly detected a sweet, honey-like fragrance.

Han Li's expression darkened, and without any warning, one of his sleeves flickered.

With a whoosh, a streak of green light, over ten zhang long, shot out. After a flicker, it transformed into a long rainbow and vanished into the dense forest.

The next moment, an earth-shattering roar echoed from the direction where the green light had disappeared.

Following this, the nearby ground vibrated violently, and then silence fell.

Han Li remained motionless, simply gazing calmly in the direction from which the roar had come.

Moments later, the green light flashed back from the dense forest. After a brief blur, it plunged back into his sleeve and disappeared.

Only then did Han Li move, floating effortlessly towards that location.

For Han Li, a distance of several dozen li was, naturally, covered in an instant.

Ahead, amidst a swath of fallen white trees, lay an enormous creature, several hundred zhang long.

This colossal monster appeared to be a hybrid of insect and beast. Although its body had been severed into several sections, it was still clear that it possessed the cicada-like wings and antennae common to demonic insects, as well as the fur and sharp claws characteristic of beasts.

From a distance, it resembled a bizarre creature formed by merging a gigantic bee with a rhinoceros.

From its collapsed, massive body emanated the sweet fragrance Han Li had previously detected, but at this close range, it was overwhelmingly strong.

Han Li glanced around and noticed that both the wild grass on the ground and the surrounding white trees were wilting at a visibly rapid pace, turning yellowish-brown in mere moments.

Near the monstrous beast's corpse, the ground was littered with bizarre, mantis-like insects, each the size of a watermelon. They were completely black and devoid of any life.

"This monster's venom is quite potent. An ordinary person, even a hundred li away, would likely be poisoned to death by its aura," Han Li murmured after circling the creature's corpse twice.

The monster's appearance was extremely strange, but he couldn't identify its origin. It was likely a rare exotic beast from the Asura Realm.

As Han Li thought this, he flicked his finger towards the ground.

With a whoosh, a silver fire bead shot out, flickering as it landed on the enormous monster's body.

With a boom, rolling silver flames instantly engulfed the monster's corpse, obliterating it into nothingness.

After completing this, Han Li unhurriedly flipped his hand, producing an egg-sized white crystal ball. After glancing upwards at it, his brows furrowed slightly.

The crystal ball showed no abnormalities, indicating that Mo Jianli was clearly too far away to be sensed.

Given this, there was no need for them to rush to meet up; they could each seek their own opportunities first.

Ten-odd days was not a long time, yet not short either.

With his plan decided, Han Li determined a direction, then activated his escape light, transforming into a long, green rainbow over ten zhang in length, and flew away through the air.

However, his escape light was not particularly fast, maintaining an altitude of only several hundred zhang.

After all, his visit to the Minor Asura Realm this time wasn't for travel but specifically for treasure hunting.

As Han Li flew, he released his vast divine sense, covering everything within a radius of three to four thousand li.

With the strength of his divine sense, covering over ten thousand li at once would normally be effortless. However, since he now needed to focus on every minute detail, even penetrating hundreds of zhang deep underground, he naturally had to significantly reduce his scanning range.

Powerful spider-type beings often preferred to reside deep underground.

Under these circumstances, being able to scan such a vast area in one go was a testament to Han Li's divine sense being far superior to that of ordinary Mahayana cultivators.

If it were Mo Jianli or Xue Ran, being able to meticulously examine all surface and subterranean signs within a few hundred li would be considered impressive.

This was also the main reason he remained confident in this journey, despite not possessing any bloodline abilities related to Asura Spiders.

As for Mo Jianli, he seemed somewhat confident about finding the Asura Spider, suggesting he must also have some special means of searching.

As Han Li pondered, his divine sense scanned every inch of the several thousand li area almost instantly, and his escape light gradually receded into the distance.

In another part of the realm, the white light in Mo Jianli's hand receded, and a glistening jade sword materialized from a myriad of sword shadows.

A hundred zhang ahead, in a pile of rubble, several bizarre tiger-headed, scorpion-tailed beasts lay bisected in pools of blood.

After sweeping his gaze over the beast corpses, Mo Jianli retrieved his jade sword. Then, opening his mouth, he exhaled a pale purple light cluster.

Within the light cluster was a small purple banner, several inches tall.

Without a word, Mo Jianli raised his arm and pointed at the small banner, simultaneously uttering the word "Rise."

Immediately, the small banner pulsed with a muffled sound, rapidly expanding amidst flashing purple light, transforming in an instant into a giant banner a zhang high.

When the banner was small, its uniqueness wasn't apparent, but now that it had grown, its extraordinary nature truly became visible.

It had a purple banner face and a golden pole!

Its surface was densely inscribed with various runes, and at its center, there was a faint illusionary image of a pale silver, two-headed spider.

Mo Jianli chanted incantations, continuously flicking his fingers. Streams of spell seals flashed and disappeared into the banner.

Meanwhile, the silver spider's image on the banner gradually became clearer.

Seeing this, Mo Jianli couldn't help but smile faintly.

Although he lacked the bloodline of an Asura Spider, this extraordinary treasure, the "Coiling Silk Banner," which he had acquired inadvertently years ago, possessed the spirit of a Silver Steel Spider as its artifact spirit. It could also detect powerful spider-type creatures within a certain range.

While its effectiveness might not rival the innate bloodline abilities of Xue Ran and his companion, it shouldn't be too far off.

He wondered if the Asura Spider was truly as terrifying as rumored. Even if he found it, his current abilities might not be enough to easily slay it.

Mo Jianli pondered silently, his hand continuously executing spell seals like a spinning wheel.

Suddenly, the silver spider's illusionary image on the banner let out a roar, and its body dispersed into countless specks of spiritual light.

"It's not here. Looks like I'll have to search elsewhere," Mo Jianli murmured, stopping his spell seals, without showing any hint of disappointment.

This was understandable.

This place wasn't too far from where he had entered, so he hadn't initially expected to find the Asura Spider so quickly.

Mo Jianli immediately swept his sleeve over the banner, which shrank back to its original size with a flash of light. Then, with an inhale, he reabsorbed the treasure into his body.

Following this, a glow enveloped the elder's body, and he rose into the air, flying off into the distance.

"It seems our luck is good, brother. The moment we teleported into this realm, our bloodlines immediately reacted. It looks like this trip will truly yield considerable rewards." Blackscale, shimmering with yellow light, moved stealthily over a hundred zhang underground, his face filled with excitement.

Not far beside him was the calm-faced Xue Ran.

"I also didn't expect this to happen, but there's no need to celebrate too soon. Even if our bloodline reacts, it might not be the Asura Spider; it could be other spider-type creatures. According to rumors, there are quite a few types of spiders in the Asura Realm," Xue Ran said unhurriedly, also enveloped in a layer of yellow light.

"Of course I know that, but there's still a certain possibility, isn't there?" Blackscale said, appearing nonchalant.

Xue Ran smiled and said nothing more.

Moments later, their expressions hardened. They burst out of the soil and appeared inside a pitch-black cave.

After the time it takes to steep a cup of tea, Xue Ran and his companion hovered side by side a few feet above the ground, which was entirely covered in black blood.

Four human-sized, spiny, emerald-green spiders lay silently in the pools of blood.

"You were right. It really wasn't an Asura Spider. We got excited for nothing!" Blackscale said with a wry, somewhat helpless smile.

"That's perfectly normal! While the Minor Asura Realm isn't huge, the chance of finding an Asura Spider right after entering was never high to begin with. Getting a few good materials this time isn't a wasted effort," Xue Ran said calmly, grabbing at the void nearby with one hand.

A whooshing sound filled the air!

Two pale yellow stones flew out of the soil and landed steadily in his hand.

"Well, at least we won't be returning empty-handed. But time is of the essence, so we should leave immediately," Blackscale said, his spirits lifting.

"Of course!"

Xue Ran naturally had no reason to disagree.

Yellow light flashed around their bodies, and they once again transformed into two startling rainbows, vanishing into the earth and stones above their heads.

Han Li floated expressionlessly above a small mountain. Opposite him, spread out densely, was a vast swarm of blood-red bats.

Each of these bats was the size of a human head, with bared fangs. When their wings were spread, they measured seven to eight feet across.

At the center of this swarm of blood-red bats was a giant bat, clearly several times larger than the others.

Not only was its body covered in pale golden patterns, but it also had a third blood-red demonic eye on its forehead.

This demonic creature's three eyes constantly swiveled, and its gaze towards Han Li held a faint, almost human-like expression of surprise and doubt.

Han Li remained suspended motionless high above the small mountain, his hands clasped behind his back. He didn't spare a glance for the bat swarm opposite him, instead focusing his divine sense on rapidly exploring other areas.

As time passed, the giant bat leader's surprise gradually faded, replaced by a ferocious and tyrannical expression.

A moment later, the giant bat could no longer restrain itself. With a movement of its mouth, a silent wave of energy burst forth.

The surrounding ordinary blood bats, upon hearing this, immediately became agitated. One by one, they also opened their mouths, emitting silent waves that instantly converged in front of the swarm, forming a surging, transparent tidal wave that rolled directly towards Han Li.