Chapter 657: To the Wood Spirit Infant

Chapters 4: Rise Overseas, Chapter 5: Renowned in One Region.

The small green figure emerged from the Demon-Dispelling Divine Thunder completely unharmed, even sneering at Han Li.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Han Li scoffed. "If you were truly capable of devouring my nascent soul, why would you just stand there blabbering? If I'm not mistaken, you can indeed devour the living souls of cultivators, but only low-level ones. Claiming to devour a cultivator's nascent soul is pure fantasy. Perhaps you could do it before, but now, you clearly lack the power, relying solely on that bizarre form. Enough talk! Let's see how you fare against my flying swords." With these few words, Han Li's cold sneer made the small figure's face contort, its eyes flashing with malevolent intent.

At that moment, Han Li pointed at the flying swords circling before him. With a prolonged hum, the twelve swords transformed into streaks of green light and shot forth.

The small green figure stood motionlessly, its face grim. After more than a dozen streaks of green sword light circled it, the figure instantly disintegrated, splitting into countless fragments that floated gently in the air, faintly shimmering.

Han Li was momentarily taken aback.

But then, a strange cackling sound came from the opposite side. With a flash of light, the fragments of the small figure's body reassembled. An identical small green figure reappeared where it had been.

"Tsk, tsk, not bad! These flying swords of yours are refined from Gold Lightning Bamboo, aren't they? I don't know why you possess so much of it, but it's utterly ridiculous to think these swords alone can harm me. As for whether I, your old granny, am all talk… you'll soon find out."

The small figure seemed utterly enraged by Han Li's previous words. After uttering them ominously, it clasped its hands together, and a dazzling green light pulsed from its body, as if it were about to unleash some powerful ability.

However, before it could successfully cast its ability, a flash of light appeared above its head. The twelve flying swords simultaneously crackled with electric arcs, forming a massive golden net that descended upon it.

"Hmph! Still not giving up, brat? Didn't I tell you the Demon-Dispelling Divine Thunder is useless against me? Huh? What are you doing?!" The female child's voice initially sounded surprised, then quickly became shrill and extremely panicked.

This was because the electric net, instead of exploding upon impact, instantly began to contract, enclosing the small figure within moments and continuously tightening.

Realizing the danger, the small figure's body pulsed with green light as it struggled desperately to resist, but to no avail. Moments later, it was completely encased within a massive golden sphere.

Han Li watched, a cold smile playing on his lips.

To condense the Demon-Dispelling Divine Thunder into a net was an ability Han Li had pioneered, a feat unprecedented since the very genesis of Gold Lightning Bamboo. Previously, even if someone was fortunate enough to obtain a piece or two of Gold Lightning Bamboo and refine it into a magical artifact, they would invariably treat its divine thunder as a trump card against demonic arts and evil cultivation, never daring to expend it lightly. Moreover, to form such a vast golden arc electric net, one would need the Demon-Dispelling Divine Thunder from over a dozen segments of Gold Lightning Bamboo; otherwise, it simply couldn't take shape. Even if one had the intention, the conditions to achieve this were simply not met.

After years of wielding the Demon-Dispelling Divine Thunder, Han Li had realized that in addition to its inherent power against demonic and evil arts, it also possessed a remarkable ability to bind and seal the five elements of spiritual energy. Whether it was the Asura Sacred Flame from the past or the Wind Spirit Force later on, the Demon-Dispelling Divine Thunder could effectively trap them, preventing them from erupting or escaping.

This unexpected discovery naturally delighted Han Li.

During his Core Formation stage, his cultivation limits prevented him from fully mastering the golden arc electric net, so he rarely used it in combat. However, now that his cultivation had reached a higher level, having completed the fourth layer of the Great Evolution Art, his spiritual sense had vastly improved, and he no longer had such reservations.

Although the origin of this small figure was unknown, it was certainly neither a flesh-and-blood being nor a ghostly entity. Instead, it resembled a peculiar mutated form of a cultivator's nascent soul.

With this in mind, Han Li decided to test this technique.

The poor figure, though it had heard rumors of Gold Lightning Bamboo artifacts, was utterly unaware of the hidden properties of the Demon-Dispelling Divine Thunder. Otherwise, it would never have so brazenly relied on its demonic nascent soul form.

As a result, in an instant, the small figure, which had just been so arrogant, was effortlessly captured and bound by Han Li.

Seeing his success, a faint smile appeared on Han Li's face. He raised a hand, and a ripple of green light shot forth, drawing the golden sphere back into his grasp. "How dare you trap me, your old granny! Release me at once, or I will extract your soul and refine your essence, making your life worse than death!"

The golden sphere trembled slightly, and an extremely shrill scream of anger and alarm emanated from within, utterly piercing.

"Extract my soul and refine my essence? It seems you don't yet understand your predicament. Perhaps a good long stay in there will clear your mind!" Han Li frowned, then his expression darkened as he spoke.

Then, with a rumble of thunder, the golden arcs in his hand shot forth again. Delicate threads of lightning wrapped the golden sphere layer after layer, consuming nearly half of the Demon-Dispelling Divine Thunder stored in his flying swords. Only when the golden sphere had grown several times in size did Han Li look at it with satisfaction.

Ignoring the furious, insane curses from the female child within the golden sphere, Han Li slapped his storage pouch with one hand, and a white jade box appeared in his grasp.

He placed the golden sphere inside the jade box, immediately closed the lid, then retrieved several restriction talismans from his storage pouch and unhesitatingly affixed them to the box. Instantly, the sounds from within the box ceased.

Han Li weighed the jade box in his hand, his expression returning to normal.

He glanced at the short, stout cultivator, who had lost his soul and become a living corpse, then expressionlessly shot a fireball, reducing the body to ashes.

Afterward, he calmly flew towards the small town.

A short while later, Han Li unhurriedly appeared at the inn and did not venture out again, quietly awaiting the day of the birthday celebration.

Not long after, cultivators in Yuanwu Nation were astonished to discover that the notorious Peng Yi and Shuang Xiong, infamous rogue cultivators known for killing and plundering, had vanished from Yuanwu Nation without a trace. No one ever heard from them again. In the cultivation world, such a disappearance naturally signified their demise.

When this news spread, rogue cultivators in Yuanwu Nation immediately rejoiced. Some claimed the duo had offended a major cultivation sect and were eliminated. Others suggested their reputation was so terrible that a passing expert had simply dealt with them. For a time, rumors flew rampant. Furthermore, this area was the stronghold of the Six Devilish Sects.

Meanwhile, in the western part of Tianluo Nation, the Qiling Mountains stretched for tens of thousands of miles. Its treacherous peaks teemed with countless spirit beasts and exotic insects, and it was precisely here that the Beast Spirit Sect had its mountain gate.

The very moment Han Li confined the demonic nascent soul, a thunderous roar of extreme shock and fury suddenly echoed from a pitch-black stone room in the Qiling Mountains.

"Who?! Who has bound the Supreme Wood Spirit Embryo?! Someone, quickly contact the Beast Spirit Sect disciples in Yuanwu Nation. If the escaped Supreme Wood Spirit Embryo cannot be found within three months, they will be punished for both offenses and ordered to commit suicide as atonement. Also, you must act with extreme caution and absolutely not let the Demonic Flame Sect discover this matter."

Although the elder in the room was in a towering rage, his instructions remained remarkably clear and orderly.

"Understood, Martial Uncle. I will issue the orders immediately," a steady male voice replied from outside the stone room.

"Wait!" the elder suddenly added. "Also, have Yun Zhi and Liu Yu go to Yuanwu Nation personally. Both of them have wood-attribute spiritual roots and are the most suitable candidates for merging with the Supreme Wood Spirit Embryo. If they are closer to the spirit embryo, they might be able to sense something. However, tell them to be careful. Whoever can bind a spirit embryo must possess considerable power, certainly not someone they can contend with. Once we find out who bound the spirit embryo, I will personally meet that person."

"Yes, I will personally ask the two junior martial sisters to undertake this task. Your nephew will take his leave now," the man outside respectfully responded.

Footsteps then sounded, gradually fading into the distance. In the stone room, a deep sigh echoed, and then silence descended upon the darkness.

In the colossal fortress on Mount Zidao, completely obscured by purple mist, the current family head of the Fu clan, Fu Tianhua, was in high spirits, his face glowing with health. He greeted every junior in the family with extreme warmth, which greatly surprised and flattered many of the younger generation who were accustomed to their clan leader's severe demeanor.

This was understandable, as the patriarch's four hundredth birthday was fast approaching. As the oldest living Core Formation cultivator in the Fu clan, even the two Protectors from the Demonic Flame Sect were coming to celebrate his birthday today. This was certainly an event that would bring great prestige to the Fu family once more.

The younger members of the Fu clan naturally dared not be in the slightest bit careless, all tirelessly bustling about the fortress. They absolutely could not allow their patriarch to lose face on his birthday.

After a brief tour of the fortress, the patriarch seemed quite satisfied. Accompanied by several juniors, he entered a side hall within the fortress.

"Qing'er! Have the honored guests from the Demonic Flame Sect not arrived yet? There's no problem preventing them from coming to the Fu family, is there?" the eagle-eyed, purple-robed Fu patriarch asked unhurriedly from a Grand Tutor's chair in the side hall.

His voice was not loud, but it was filled with authority. He was indeed worthy of being the one who had managed the Fu family to such prosperity and flourishing growth over the past century.

"Reporting to the Ancestor, Senior Sun from the Demonic Flame Sect had already sent word through a clan disciple. This time, he and Protector Mo will personally come to offer their birthday wishes to the Ancestor. They should arrive within the next day or two," a pale-faced cultivator in his forties replied, standing respectfully with hands clasped, not daring to show the slightest hint of disrespect.