Chapter 548: Late-stage Mastery

Volume Four: Winds Stirring Overseas

Han Li flicked his finger, and a silent azure sword-light pierced half an inch into the wall. Before he could even show a hint of joy, a red light flashed, and a shimmering barrier emerged from the wall, forcefully pushing the sword-light back out. Han Li's expression darkened.

After a moment's thought, he remained unconvinced. He extended one hand, and a small, inch-long sword shot out from his palm. It circled once above his head before coming to a steady halt in front of his chest. Han Li secretly activated a sword incantation, and a faint golden electric arc flickered and danced along the blade. The small sword then rapidly spun amidst an azure glow before fiercely thrusting into the wall.

A faint muffled thud echoed as the Evil-Dispelling Divine Thunder exploded. A crimson glow rippled across the wall. A flicker of anticipation crossed Han Li's eyes, only to be replaced by a hint of disappointment. Even with the lightning blazing a path, the small sword only penetrated an additional inch before being completely halted. From deep within the wall, faint five-colored iridescent light shimmered.

The coral wall was evidently reinforced by the demon cultivator with extremely formidable multi-layered restrictions. Attempting to break through the wall using only magic treasures was clearly improbable!

After retracting his magic treasure, Han Li's brows furrowed, and he subconsciously pressed a hand to the spirit beast pouch at his waist. He was confident that no matter how miraculous the wall's restrictions were, they couldn't withstand the frenzied gnawing and biting of his swarm of Gold-Devouring Beetles. However, one critical factor prevented him from easily releasing these spirit insects. The time it would take for the beetles to devour the restrictions would likely not be brief. Given that much time, Feng Xi, the demon cultivator, would undoubtedly sense it and come to investigate. Given his monstrous speed, Han Li would have no chance of escape.

After pondering the situation for a while, Han Li cast a frustrated glance at the coral wall before grimly returning to the jade couch. By now, he felt a burning sensation beginning in his abdomen, indicating that the Azure Flame Wine was about to take effect. Uncertain of the wine's peculiar properties, Han Li didn't dare to be careless. He temporarily set aside other thoughts and began cultivating his qi in a cross-legged position.

He closed his eyes and peered inward. With a furrowed brow, he then extracted a wisp of azure elixir flame from his tri-colored Golden Core. The compressed mass of emerald green liquid was instantly enveloped by the elixir flame.

Soon after, Han Li sat motionless and expressionless. The process of refining the Azure Flame Wine was excruciatingly slow; after more than a month, less than a quarter of the wine had been assimilated. It seemed the humanoid Rending Wind Beast hadn't exaggerated when it claimed the process would take half a year. However, such a slow pace made Han Li increasingly anxious. If he truly failed to reach the late stage within six months, he was certain that Feng Xi, the Rending Wind Beast, would not hesitate to end his life with a single claw.

Determined, he hardened his resolve and risked forcing all of his elixir flame out of his Golden Core. The azure flame, now nearly twice as thick as before, instantly enveloped all the remaining green liquid. Han Li forcefully channeled his spiritual power, disregarding the rapid consumption of spiritual energy, to accelerate the refining process. This, however, also doubled the rate at which Han Li's spiritual power was consumed. Periodically, he would regretfully swallow a drop of Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Liquid to sustain the elixir flame's continuous burn.

After two months of this extravagant use of elixir flame, two-thirds of the wine was finally refined. Its complete assimilation was now clearly within reach. Han Li's heart eased slightly. It was at this moment that an unexpected incident occurred.

Due to his desperate resolve on that day, Han Li had swallowed the Azure Lantern Ice Pearl. Later, out of extreme wariness towards the Rending Wind Beast, he had kept this vital item within his abdomen, never removing it. However, on this particular day, Han Li had just depleted his spiritual power and was about to consume the Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Liquid to recover when, for reasons unknown, the Evil-Dispelling Divine Thunder coating the Azure Lantern Ice Pearl suddenly began to deform erratically within his body. This sight utterly terrified Han Li, who had been meticulously observing the movements within his body.

With his spiritual power completely depleted, he was utterly incapable of any emergency response. Seeing the pearl's surface relentlessly bulge and quiver, he desperately and fiercely activated the remaining Azure Flame Wine, using it to encase the unstable Azure Lantern Ice Pearl. Han Li's heart pounded, and all color drained from his face. What reaction would occur from encasing the Azure Lantern Ice Pearl with Azure Flame Wine? Only a god knew. The thought of the pearl exploding within his body sent a chill through his hands and drenched his back in cold sweat.

Fortunately, whether Han Li's desperate action was a stroke of blind luck or if the Azure Lantern Pearl was never truly destined to explode, the pearl, now encased in the liquid, finally calmed down after a moment. Han Li let out a long breath, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. He felt as though he had narrowly escaped a mortal peril. He quickly swallowed a drop of Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Liquid, and as soon as his spiritual power had slightly recovered, he spat out the pearl and carefully put it away, still profoundly shaken. Keeping that item within his body was truly like playing with fire for Han Li.

After he had settled everything and casually used his inner vision to check his internal condition, he was abruptly astonished to discover that he had, at some point, unexpectedly broken through his bottleneck amidst the sudden shock and had quietly entered the late Core Formation stage. Han Li was initially dumbfounded, then utterly ecstatic!

Truth be told, he still hadn't perceived any special effects from the Azure Flame Wine. Yet, here he was, unexpectedly breaking through his bottleneck before the wine was even fully refined. This left Han Li truly dumbfounded!

He briefly tested his cultivation. He could now simultaneously unleash and skillfully control twenty-four Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords. This immediately and significantly boosted his power! Despite his ecstasy, Han Li had no intention of wasting the remaining Azure Flame Wine. He diligently continued to meditate for over two months, thoroughly refining the remaining liquid and simultaneously solidifying his current cultivation. Only then did he begin to ponder what the Level Nine Rending Wind Beast wanted him to do, and racked his brains for an escape strategy.

As the six-month deadline drew nearer, Han Li's expression grew increasingly solemn, and flashes of anxiety frequently crossed his eyes. Just a few days after the six-month deadline had passed, a hole punctually opened in the coral wall, and Feng Xi's calm voice drifted in from outside.

"Fellow Daoist Li, come out. The time is nigh. I wonder if your cultivation has advanced?"

Han Li, seated on the jade couch, opened his eyes expressionlessly. Without a word, he rose and walked out. Outside, Feng Xi was waiting, eyes narrowed. Upon seeing Han Li emerge, the Level Nine demon cultivator immediately scrutinized him thoroughly, then, after a moment, clapped his hands and burst into laughter.

"Excellent, excellent! Congratulations, Fellow Daoist, on entering the late stage. It appears my Azure Flame Wine was not wasted." Feng Xi's face was beaming with joy. It seemed Han Li's successful breakthrough was indeed of use to him. Witnessing this, Han Li's heart stirred slightly.

"Fellow Daoist Li, follow me! I'll introduce you to two other close friends from the demon race. This time, all three of you will need to cooperate fully for this endeavor to have any hope of success!" Feng Xi said with a wide grin, displaying unusual cordiality towards Han Li.

"Two more seniors?" Han Li's heart suddenly lurched upon hearing this.

"Indeed. Both of my friends are at the initial Human Transformation stage, what you humans refer to as Level Eight demon cultivators. However, both originate from the Heaven and Earth Spirit Clans, and their true divine abilities are certainly not much weaker than my own. Nevertheless, try to speak as little as possible when you meet them. They are genuine Sea Race members and hold no fondness for humans." Feng Xi cast a meaningful glance at Han Li, subtly warning him. Han Li's heart tightened, and he responded in a low voice.

A moment later, Feng Xi led Han Li into the great hall they had been in before. Han Li immediately spotted the two individuals Feng Xi referred to as his 'close friends'. To his surprise, Han Li's expression subtly changed. One had the head of a flood dragon and a steel-like tail, its body covered in blood-red scales. The other possessed a turtle shell, a green face, and an unusually towering physique.

He set aside the second for a moment, but wasn't the one with the flood dragon's head the very Poisonous Flood Dragon that had fiercely battled human cultivators near the Misty Sea that day? While Han Li had never seen the other individual, he could guess with ninety percent certainty that it was the giant turtle that had recently successfully undergone its tribulation and taken on a human form.

As soon as the two Level Eight demon beasts saw Feng Xi emerge, they both turned to look. The Poisonous Flood Dragon happened to catch the subtle change in Han Li's expression. A cold glint flashed in its green eyes as it scrutinized Han Li from head to toe.

"Human, have you seen me before?" it asked with extreme coldness. Although its voice was somewhat indistinct, it was perfectly understandable.

Han Li hesitated for a moment upon hearing this. It seemed that because he had used the blood-red cloak that day, his opponent hadn't gotten a clear look at his face. Given this, he absolutely could not mention the battle with human cultivators that day; otherwise, it would be pure self-inflicted misery. It seemed he could only try to bluff his way through for now.

With this thought, Han Li cleared his throat and, maintaining as calm an expression as possible, replied: "This junior is seeing Senior for the first time. It is simply that this junior's experience is shallow, and I have never seen a true flood dragon, so I was a bit flustered. I humbly ask for Senior's forgiveness." In his helplessness, Han Li adopted the humblest possible demeanor to avoid any potential trouble.