Chapter 753: Fame Gradually Rising

"What should we do then? Even if the master uses the Blood Shadow Escape, he can only flee a hundred miles at a time, still within the Divine Master's spiritual sense. We can't escape the lock," Silvermoon murmured, also worried.

Though Silvermoon said nothing, she was touched by Han Li's act of saving her life. Her words now carried a genuine concern.

"Once is certainly not enough, but if I use Blood Shadow Escape two or three times consecutively, and then rely on the remaining Fiend-Warding Divine Thunder for a Thunder Escape, there should be a seventy to eighty percent chance of shaking him off. However, even if my magic power is deeper than an ordinary early Nascent Soul cultivator's, such a heavy loss of vital blood carries a certain risk. Even if I'm safe, I'll be incredibly weak for a long time. But it seems no other method will allow us to escape with our lives. I have no choice but to use it," Han Li said, a faint, self-dep mocking smile on his lips, as if he had already considered this problem.

"Master, you..." Silvermoon seemed about to say something more.

"Hmph! That fellow is chasing us again. Closer each time. We can't delay any longer. I have to risk it!" Han Li's expression suddenly changed. He looked up at the murky sky behind them and muttered with a grim face.

Seeing this, Silvermoon naturally said no more.

Han Li then took a deep breath, his ten fingers rapidly moving, forming a series of strange hand seals. At the same time, a shocking spiritual energy surged from his body, accompanied by a flash of green light.

He opened his mouth and spat out a cluster of crimson vital blood, which immediately dispersed in the wind, transforming into a thick blood mist that blended with the green spiritual light.

The spiritual light instantly turned into an eerie, greenish-red hue.

Simultaneously, Han Li's exposed hands and face began to turn unusually crimson, quickly becoming blood-red, as if countless blood vessels were about to burst from his skin. It was terrifying!

Han Li, however, seemed oblivious to this, his hand seals pressing even faster.

After two more mouthfuls of vital blood were spat out, Han Li was completely enveloped by the blood mist. His figure became indistinct.

Just then, lights flickered on the distant horizon. Three silver glows appeared there, slowly flying closer.

Figures flickered within them. It was precisely that Divine Master Zhong and his two avatars.

All three were dressed in flowing scholar robes, flying unhurriedly towards Han Li, yet their speed was astonishing. In the blink of an eye, they had covered hundreds of feet, allowing them to see Han Li's situation with the naked eye.

"Huh!" One of them showed a strange expression, his gaze flickering, a frown appearing on his brow.

With a soft "poof," the distant green-red blood mist exploded, and a dazzling bloody light appeared in its place.

Han Li stood upright within it, casting a cold glance at the approaching Mulan Divine Master. With a thunderous roar, his Wind-Thunder Wings unfurled from his back.

The next moment, the surrounding space twisted, and Han Li's figure swayed, suddenly vanishing from his original spot.

A piercing shriek immediately echoed faintly from afar, quickly becoming inaudible. It seemed he had instantly teleported far away.

Astonishment flashed across the faces of the three scholars simultaneously. After exchanging glances, the three suddenly converged.

After a flash of silver light, the three once again merged into one person.

The sole remaining scholar immediately closed his eyes, releasing his spiritual sense, and swiftly probed in the direction where the shriek had vanished.

"He actually escaped a hundred miles away! What kind of escape art is this? It's somewhat similar to the Demonic Blood Escape, but the distance is truly astounding," the scholar said, a hint of surprise on his face as he looked at the spot where Han Li had disappeared.

Through days of pursuit, Han Li had genuinely surprised him.

He had managed to flee continuously without rest until now.

One should know that an ordinary early Nascent Soul cultivator, even with Thunder Escape, would have long since exhausted their magic power and been at their mercy. It seemed Han Li either possessed rare treasures that could instantly restore magic power or had used some secret art that severely depleted his vitality.

And the opponent, despite having such a bizarre escape art, only now used it. It seemed he had not been using his full strength before.

But it didn't matter. Although he had now escaped a hundred miles away, he was still under the control of his spiritual sense. It would just take a little more time.

The scholar coldly pondered. His eyes narrowed, and his spiritual sense once again locked onto Han Li in the distance.

With a cold smirk, a flash of white light enveloped him, and he was about to set off in pursuit again.

But just then, the scholar suddenly felt Han Li's aura strangely vanish again within his senses, which made him freeze for a moment.

However, he immediately remembered something and quickly expanded the range of his spiritual sense by a factor of two, finally locating Han Li again.

Before the scholar could even sneer, Han Li's aura flickered and disappeared once more.

This time, the scholar was utterly stunned, truly frozen in place.

Although his spiritual sense was powerful, it could at most cover a range of about two hundred miles. Beyond this range, while he could barely sense rough outlines of things, he could not instantly lock onto a specific person.

Unless the other party remained still, waiting for him to search them one by one with his spiritual sense. This was, of course, impossible.

And the opponent was truly cunning. As soon as he realized he was still being sensed by his spiritual sense, he consecutively used that bizarre escape art multiple times, truly slipping away from his grasp.

This caused the scholar, who had almost never been so thoroughly played for so many years, to flush red and pale by turns.

He, a dignified Mulan Divine Master, had actually lost track of an early Nascent Soul cultivator. If this got out, he would lose immense face.

However, he did not immediately set off in pursuit.

Without a spiritual sense lock, given the opponent's strange methods, the hope of catching up again using other secret arts was truly slim.

And he had already wasted several days chasing this person; he couldn't possibly continue the pursuit for a small chance.

After all, once their Divine Masters appeared, several late Nascent Soul cultivators from the Southern Heavenly Region would not sit idly by. He had to return and rendezvous with the other two and make preparations early.

If he were to be surrounded by late Nascent Soul cultivators from the other side, he would be in danger.

The Mulan Divine Master pondered for a good while, in a foul mood. Finally, his expression darkened, and he transformed into a silver rainbow, turning around and flying back the way he came.

In the blink of an eye, all traces of him were gone.

Three hundred miles away, Han Li had transformed into a green rainbow, flying in another direction.

Within the escaping light, he continuously took out various medicine bottles from his person, frantically pouring numerous powerful vitality-replenishing elixirs into his mouth.

His face was now pale, and his eyes were dull and lifeless. He looked as if his vitality had been severely depleted.

"Master, are you alright? Using the Blood Shadow Escape three times in a row was indeed a bit too risky. If you hadn't desperately consumed so many elixirs on the way, the third time you used it, you probably would have..." Silvermoon's concerned voice echoed in Han Li's mind.

"I'm fine. Although a lot of vital blood has been lost, thankfully I still have some elixirs I refined earlier. As long as I take the elixirs and rest quietly for a few months, my cultivation will fully recover," Han Li slowly replied, his voice somewhat weak.

"Should we return to Tian City?" Silvermoon asked hesitantly after breathing a sigh of relief upon hearing Han Li's words.

"Of course not. My condition is so poor right now; at the very least, I need to recover my cultivation before I can return to the Nine Nations Alliance. Otherwise, that place is a mixed bag, and I've made quite a few enemies with the Ghost Spirit Sect, making it easy to be ambushed. I won't take that risk. Fortunately, I'm healing with elixirs, so I don't need a spiritual vein area for recovery. I'll just find an uninhabited spot and go into seclusion for a while. Besides, the Azure Bamboo Cloud Slaying Swords are still tainted with those green lamp flames. Although I forcibly sealed them with Purple Luo Heavenly Flame, they are still a hidden danger within my body and must be removed," Han Li sighed, speaking with resignation.

"That bronze lamp is a treasured heirloom of the Mulan people. Naturally, it has some tricks up its sleeve. However, I believe, my lord, that as long as you spend more time, you will eventually be able to refine it. After all, your Purple Luo Heavenly Flame is also an extraordinary divine ability," Silvermoon chuckled softly, comforting Han Li.

"Things have come to this. I can only gradually figure out how to resolve it," Han Li gave a wry smile, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Han Li then stopped speaking unnecessary words, roused the remaining spiritual power in his body, and urged his magic art, making the green rainbow fly three parts faster into the distance.

He flew for a full day and night before stopping his escape light and descending into an inconspicuous small gully.

At such a great distance, even if the Mulan Divine Master was unwilling to give up, it was impossible for him to pursue further.

Han Li scanned his surroundings.

This spot was perfectly situated between two desolate mountains; not only was spiritual energy barely perceptible, but the area was also barren, filled with round stones piled everywhere in the gully.

Han Li cautiously scanned everything within a hundred-mile radius with his spiritual sense, finding no trace of cultivators or spellcasters.

This put his mind at ease. He shook his sleeve, released Silvermoon, and gave an instruction.

The small fox, Silvermoon's true form, did not hesitate. Her body spun, and a burst of yellow mist surged, instantly enveloping Han Li.

Then, with a flash of light, she took Han Li directly into the side of the mountain wall.

In the gully, there was no longer any human figure.

When Silvermoon brought Han Li to the middle of the mountain belly using earth evasion, dense green sword energy spewed out, quickly carving out a simple stone chamber several feet in size.

Han Li's figure flickered. He entered it and sat down cross-legged.

Not long after, Han Li's eyes were tightly closed, green light flowing around his body, with over a dozen medicine bottles of varying sizes placed before him.

He had to first refine the elixirs he had taken during the crisis before daring to consume other elixirs.

Thus, Han Li quietly entered seclusion in this mountain belly to recover his vitality.

However, Han Li did not expect that his vitality loss was far more severe than he had anticipated, and the time required for quiet recuperation naturally became much longer.

Time slowly passed in the monotonous routine of taking medicine and meditating.

Unknowingly, half a year passed.

Han Li remained in the mountain belly, not yet emerging from seclusion.

But in the outside world at this time, the situation was even more tumultuous and unpredictable. A life-and-death battle between cultivators and spellcasters was on the verge of breaking out.

What he also hadn't anticipated was that the esteemed name of Elder Han of the Fallen Cloud Sect was now renowned in both the Southern Heavenly Cultivation World and among the spellcaster armies.

Any high-level cultivator or spellcaster, upon hearing his name, would immediately associate him with the divine abilities and strength of a Nascent Soul mid-stage cultivator, not daring to show the slightest disrespect.

And all of this had occurred solely within these past six months.