Chapter 698: Initial Trial of Divine Power

**A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality**

With Han Li and the Wind Chasing Chariot's astonishing speeds, they delved over a hundred miles deep into the Mulan Grasslands in a short while.

As Han Li activated the scarlet cloak on his body, shooting forward enveloped in a bloody light, he simultaneously swept his spiritual sense backward, a hint of surprise appearing on his face.

He had now activated the cloak's full power, yet not only did he fail to shake off the strange chariot behind him, he was actually caught up by a small portion of the distance. No wonder even the old man surnamed Yun, with his Mid Nascent Soul cultivation, turned pale upon seeing this chariot pursuing them.

This Wind Chasing Chariot truly was a top-tier flying treasure. It seemed that unless he used his Lightning Escape Art or Blood Shadow Escape, he wouldn't be able to shake off his pursuers.

However, since forming his Nascent Soul, Han Li had never truly fought against cultivators of the same rank. Although he was quite confident in his divine abilities and magic treasures, he truly had no idea about his actual strength among Nascent Soul cultivators. After all, Nascent Soul cultivators don't easily engage in combat trials. Even during his years with the Falling Cloud Sect, the two Falling Cloud Sect elders merely discussed cultivation methods with him, never truly sparring. In Tiancheng City, Marquis Nanlong only exchanged a few spiritual sense pointers with him, which couldn't possibly reveal his true level.

From the current situation, the spellcaster in the Wind Chasing Chariot behind him seemed like a good opponent to gauge his own cultivation. Moreover, he was quite interested in the spellcasters' spiritual arts and divine abilities. If he could repel or even kill his opponent, that would naturally be best. If not, it would still be easy to escape using his Wind-Lightning Wings.

He couldn't prolong the fight for too long, as delays could lead to unforeseen complications. Furthermore, being in the Mulan Grasslands made it even more imperative not to linger in combat.

Han Li quickly made up his mind. Immediately, the bloody light around him flickered wildly a few times before dimming. In its place, a vibrant green light erupted. At the same time, his body paused, and his escape light made a wide arc before he turned to face backward.

He coldly gazed at the white light that was rapidly approaching. Han Li flicked his sleeve, and dozens of green sword lights surged out. After a low hum, they formed a layered, scale-like green sword array in front of him, its aura quite astonishing.

For his first true combat against another Nascent Soul cultivator, Han Li naturally wouldn't be careless. Besides deploying all seventy-two of his Azure Bamboo Cloud Swarm Swords, he also reached for a spirit beast pouch at his waist and threw it into the air. The tri-colored Gold Devouring Beetles transformed into a massive cloud of insects that appeared in the sky. However, as Han Li chanted a spell, all the flying insects spiraled once, then directly charged downwards.

A sharp glint flashed in Han Li's eyes. He raised both hands, and two green spell seals struck into the insect cloud. Immediately, the insect cloud, enveloped in green light, engulfed Han Li. But moments later, a tri-colored insect armor appeared on Han Li's body, shimmering with an ancient, crystal-like glow, emitting a faint green light.

Coincidentally, as Han Li paused, the Wind Chasing Chariot behind him instantly caught up. The spellcaster inside the chariot witnessed the astonishing sight of the insect armor forming. The chariot, which had been pursuing recklessly, suddenly slowed significantly and stopped about a hundred zhang away from Han Li.

Han Li gave it an expressionless glance, but didn't pay it any mind. Instead, he took the opportunity to flip his hands, a flower basket appearing in one palm, and a small bell in the other. Then, without a word, he tossed the small bell towards his opponent. Silver light flashed, and the bell expanded with the wind, instantly transforming into a giant object several zhang in size, shooting aggressively towards the other side.

At the same time, with a thought from Han Li, the seventy-two flying sword phantoms in front of him flickered, dividing one into three, transforming into over two hundred green sword lights. Then Han Li softly shouted, "Go!"

A clear hum arose as all the sword lights flickered and merged, forming a giant wave of green rainbow over a hundred zhang long, rolling towards the opponent. It seemed intent on following the silver bell and instantly crushing the Wind Chasing Chariot into pieces.

The silver bell, deployed first, was now displaying its power. As it reached above the chariot, it spun rapidly, and a low, resonant chime sounded one after another. Faint silver waves, visible to the naked eye, rippled out from the giant bell's center, circling downwards to envelop the Wind Chasing Chariot. If the spellcaster in the chariot hadn't been on guard, Han Li believed this single strike would have caused them significant harm. After all, although the silver bell was still the same ancient treasure, unchanged in itself, its power had nearly doubled after Han Li's cultivation greatly advanced, making it far more potent than when he was at the Core Formation stage.

Of course, the spellcaster in the chariot wouldn't simply endure the attack head-on. The Wind Chasing Chariot's wooden wings shifted slightly, and the chariot instantly shot backward by over ten zhang, just escaping the coverage of the sound waves. Then, a bright white light erupted from the chariot, and a figure suddenly flew out from it, hovering above the chariot. At this moment, the trailing green giant rainbow had also shot forth, striking down head-on.

Seeing this, the figure on the chariot unhurriedly raised one hand. Blue light flared, and a layer of deep blue light barrier appeared several zhang above its head. The moment the green rainbow struck the barrier, an explosion erupted. Although the light barrier shook and shimmered incessantly, for the time being, it remained unharmed.

From a distance, Han Li, with his eyes narrowed, subtly changed his expression. At this point, the spellcaster chanted a mantra, then opened his mouth, and a slender blue thread shot out, instantly transforming into a giant blue python that lunged out from the light barrier, fiercely meeting Han Li's green rainbow sword light. Immediately, blue and green lights intertwined, and rumbling sounds constantly echoed.

At this moment, the spellcaster raised a hand and cast a spell seal onto the Wind Chasing Chariot below. The chariot quickly warped and shrunk until it was palm-sized, then automatically shot into the spellcaster's hand, where it was calmly placed into a storage pouch. Then, this person raised his head to look at Han Li, revealing a gaunt, sunken face.

Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly. This was an old man over sixty, with strange blue tattoos on both cheeks and wearing an unusually styled blue brocade robe. But what surprised him wasn't these details, but the astonishing spiritual energy fluctuations from the opponent – he was a spellcaster at the peak of the early Nascent Soul stage, about to enter the middle stage. No wonder he had so easily blocked Han Li's two waves of attacks. Han Li had also clearly seen that the opponent's blue light barrier wasn't conjured from thin air; it was being released from a fist-sized round pearl held in one hand. As for the strange blue python, his spiritual sense didn't detect any materialized vessel or treasure; it was truly formed entirely of spiritual power. This made Han Li three points more wary.

As his expression turned icy, the ancient treasure, the flower basket, in his other hand began to flash with white light, about to be deployed.

"Stop! Your divine abilities are indeed formidable, but aren't you a bit too impatient? I haven't even spoken yet, so why did you attack without a word?" The old man, seeing Han Li's actions, sternly shouted a halt, his voice slightly stiff.

"What is there to say between cultivators and spellcasters?" Han Li frowned, his voice indifferent. However, he still pointed at the silver bell, making the ancient treasure cease its attack and float motionlessly in the air. As for the flower basket in his hand, its spiritual light also subsided. He wanted to hear what this spellcaster had to say.

"That's true, to an extent. But when cultivation reaches our level, it's not always necessary to fight to the death. As long as your answer satisfies this Mu, I, this Grandmaster, can let you go." The old man chuckled indifferently.

"An answer? I have nothing to tell you. On the contrary, I have a few questions I'd like to ask you." Han Li stared at the old man, a sarcastic sneer playing on his lips. He didn't even need to think to guess what the opponent wanted to ask. So many Nascent Soul cultivators appearing here at once would make anyone suspicious.

"It seems you're refusing my good intentions!" The old man surnamed Mu's face sank upon hearing Han Li's words.

After a cold snort, Han Li suddenly pointed lightly at the high sky in front of him. The originally tangled and indistinguishable green sword lights suddenly converged in the center, and a giant sword, roughly twenty to thirty zhang long, instantly appeared there out of thin air. After a few lightning-fast slashes, the blue python was immediately cut into several pieces. Then, the giant sword mercilessly continued its downward cleave, appearing ready to chop both the light barrier and the old man surnamed Mu into dust.

Seeing this, a ferocious glint flashed across the old man surnamed Mu's face. Without further ado, he raised a hand, deploying the fist-sized precious pearl into the air. Then, he opened his mouth and directly sprayed a ball of vital essence onto the pearl's surface. The precious pearl glowed with blue light, spinning rapidly in mid-air. Strands of blue threads spiraled out from the round pearl, and in an instant, a massive blue silk net appeared beneath the light barrier. At the same time, the old man chanted a spell. After forming a hand seal, blue spiritual light surged from his body, forming a massive blue light mass that floated unstably above his head.

The giant sword had already slashed down, fiercely colliding with the light barrier. As Han Li expected, a light barrier like this could not easily withstand a giant sword formed from over two hundred sword lights. As a result, a loud tearing sound erupted. The light barrier was split in two with almost no resistance, and then the giant sword continued its descent directly into the massive net below.