Chapter 997: Following the Wind to Conceal the Shape

## Chapter Six: The Transcendent Spirit Treasure, Concealed by the Wind

The blade transformed into a golden streak as soon as it was unleashed. The black-clad beautiful woman clearly intended to use this treasure to cut the threads, her priority being to rescue the old man named Fu.

However, Han Li frowned deeply. Rescuing the man was certainly possible, but flying over in person and risking widening the distance between himself and his opponent was not a good idea.

As the golden streak approached the cocoon, a 'bang' was heard. A green figure shot out from underground, appearing in a flash to block the giant cocoon. With a casual, bare-handed grab, several claw beams shot out, instantly sending the golden scissors flying.

Initially, Han Li and the black-clad beautiful woman naturally assumed this person was the Silver-Winged Yaksha. However, once the light dimmed and they clearly saw the figure's face, both were greatly astonished.

The green figure was a wolf-headed human figure with blood-red eyes. It was none other than the giant Corpse Wolf they had seen earlier. It was unclear what secret technique had been cast upon it, but it had not only transformed into a human-like state but also had its body suddenly shrink by several times. It glared ferociously at the black-clad beautiful woman.

But what caught Han Li's attention more was the Yin Zhi Ma, which had originally been on the wolf's head, was now nowhere to be seen. Had this spiritual creature remained underground, or was it concealed somewhere else on the transformed wolf?

Han Li naturally thought this in his mind, his eyes flashing with blue light as he instinctively scanned the surroundings. His expression immediately changed drastically. He hastily shouted at the black-clad woman, "Watch out behind you!" Then, without hesitation, he flicked his ten fingers, sending several streaks of green sword energy shooting towards the black-clad beautiful woman.

Hearing Han Li's loud shout, the woman, who was also experienced in combat, felt a sudden chill in her heart. Without thinking, she tapped the small green shield in front of her. The shield shimmered and instantly appeared behind her. At the same time, her spiritual energy condensed, and a radiant light burst from the top of her head. Seven-colored spiritual light instantly merged into her protective spiritual barrier, causing it to surge by more than double.

Just as the beautiful woman formed her defense, a seemingly invisible, faint golden figure flashed and appeared behind her. It was the Silver-Winged Yaksha. This flying corpse had undergone a massive transformation. All its green fur was gone, replaced by faint golden scales. The pair of silver wings on its back shimmered with strange greenish-white light, and its silver eyes now had faint golden pupils. But what was even more astonishing was that the Silver-Winged Yaksha's towering corpse aura had completely vanished. No trace of its presence could be detected. When divine sense swept over it, it felt as if it were merely an empty, ethereal body.

As soon as this fiend appeared, it didn't utter a word. With a single grab, its arm suddenly swelled several times its size, even though its body remained still. Golden light, several inches long, shot out from its dark claws, and it lunged, seizing the green shield that had just appeared behind the beautiful woman. As soon as the shield appeared, its size dramatically increased, and it glowed brightly, appearing indestructible.

An unbelievable scene unfolded. The Silver-Winged Yaksha directly treated the shield as if it were nothing. A golden flash on its arm, and its claw silently pierced through the shield. It then seized the black-clad beautiful woman's protective spiritual barrier. A crisp tearing sound was heard. The claw light paused only slightly before tearing through the spiritual barrier like paper. With a 'rip,' the claw light plunged into the woman's chest, tearing her heart apart before effortlessly piercing through her.

Witnessing this, Han Li's heart sank. Indeed, being approached by such an incredibly powerful flying corpse was a fatal matter. At this moment, the green sword energy arrived, but with a wave of the Silver-Winged Yaksha's wings, it was swept away by a greenish-white mist.

However, Han Li's attempt at rescue was not entirely in vain; it managed to buy the beautiful woman a little time. The woman seized this opportunity, and a red light flashed on her skull, revealing a Nascent Soul several inches in size. This Nascent Soul had a tiny body and a face remarkably similar to the beautiful woman's, but it was clutching a small flying sword. Almost immediately after appearing, it frantically flashed with red light and, controlling the flying sword, teleported more than ten zhang away. It seemed that with a few more teleports, it could escape.

At this moment, the Silver-Winged Yaksha let out a sinister laugh. It suddenly tossed the corpse it was holding and instantly transformed back to its original ethereal form on the spot. Subsequently, a faint figure appeared beside the Nascent Soul. It opened its mouth, and a gray silk net shot out, directly covering the Nascent Soul just as it was about to teleport again.

"Fellow Daoist Han, help me!" The beautiful woman's Nascent Soul cried out urgently to Han Li in great alarm, frantically flying and crashing its sword within the net. If her physical body had still been intact, she might have had a chance to cut the silk net and escape. But now, with only her Nascent Soul remaining, her spiritual energy was greatly diminished, and she encountered the Malevolent Soul Silk, which could absorb all five elemental spiritual powers. Her attacks were naturally bounced back by the threads.

The Silver-Winged Yaksha gave the woman no chance at all. As soon as the silk net shot out, it made a grasping motion in the air with one hand. A giant gray hand materialized out of thin air, grabbing the net and the Nascent Soul within it. Then, with a flash of gray light, a gray cocoon about a foot in size suddenly formed, suspended in mid-air. At this point, the Silver-Winged Yaksha's body became clear. It glanced at the gray cocoon, then at Han Li, and let out a cold laugh.

"Heh heh. I thought you'd use your Lightning Escape to come save her. I didn't expect you to be so wise as to protect yourself."

"Go over and save her? If I could, I naturally would. But wouldn't going over just now have been walking into a trap? You've already retracted the giant net you set up above your head." Han Li's expression remained unchanged as he calmly replied.

"You saw it? To be able to see through my illusion, it truly wasn't a fluke," a look of surprise flashed across the Silver-Winged Yaksha's face.

At this moment, a massive gray net materialized about ten zhang above its head. It was unknown what cultivation method this fiend used, to be able to conceal such a large net without leaving the slightest trace. If Han Li's Bright Sight Spirit Eyes hadn't reached a certain level of mastery, it would have been difficult for him to detect such a sinister trap. However, even without this net, Han Li likely wouldn't have acted rashly.

This transformed Silver-Winged Yaksha was truly peculiar. Not only could it completely conceal its corpse aura, but its Wind Escape technique was also clearly much more profound than before. It had almost reached the point of being able to 'conceal its form with the wind.' If he didn't possess Spirit Eyes, he might not have been able to detect its presence even if it were right in front of him. Furthermore, the Silver-Winged Yaksha's previous attack, being able to make its arm effortlessly pass through the black-clad beautiful woman's defensive treasure, sent a chill down Han Li's spine, finding it incredibly strange.

Seeing that Han Li hadn't fallen for it, the Silver-Winged Yaksha snorted coldly. It then raised a hand and beckoned to the human-shaped Corpse Wolf. Upon seeing this, the Corpse Wolf immediately flew over. In a blink of an eye, it was by the flying corpse's side, then it turned its head, glaring viciously at Han Li.

But at this moment, a huge roar suddenly came from below Han Li, as the Taming Soul Beast unexpectedly unleashed its might, pounding its chest. Throughout the earlier battle, except for the very beginning, Han Li had used his spiritual sense to restrain it from acting rashly. This had left the beast extremely frustrated, watching the Silver-Winged Yaksha fly overhead without being able to move. Now, seeing the Corpse Wolf approach, it justifiably bared its fangs at it.

Upon hearing this sound, the Corpse Wolf immediately showed a look of fright. Its gaze towards the Taming Soul Beast became greatly fearful. The Silver-Winged Yaksha, standing nearby, saw this and its expression darkened. However, after its eyeballs rotated a few times, it suddenly opened its mouth and spat out a gray, round pearl. It grabbed the pearl, then flipped its hand and threw it into the Corpse Wolf's gaping mouth. After the human-shaped Corpse Wolf swallowed the pearl, gray mist began to emanate from its body, and its corpse aura greatly intensified. Its fear immediately subsided.

Han Li paid no attention to all of this. Instead, he took the opportunity to look at the black-clad beautiful woman's green shield. This treasure, having lost its owner, floated motionless in mid-air. Its surface glowed faintly green and was as smooth as new. Han Li frowned slightly. His gaze shifted, falling upon the faint golden scales on the Silver-Winged Yaksha's body. Suddenly, his expression changed, as if he had remembered something. Just then, the Silver-Winged Yaksha suddenly let out a long, piercing shriek, then its body flickered and vanished with the wind.

Meanwhile, the Corpse Wolf let out a loud roar, and streams of corpse flames spewed from its mouth, directly lunging towards the Taming Soul Beast below. Without thinking, the Taming Soul Beast swung its head, and yellow mist surged out from its nostrils. Although the Corpse Wolf's fear of the Taming Soul Beast had greatly diminished after the pearl appeared, it still dared not approach the yellow mist by even an inch. Immediately, its figure blurred and transformed into several illusions, circling around the Taming Soul Beast. Due to its reduced size, the Corpse Wolf's escape light was incredibly fast, and the yellow mist couldn't catch up for a while.

However, the Corpse Wolf also dared not approach the Taming Soul Beast recklessly. The astute beast continuously sprayed divine light from its nostrils, causing the yellow mist to form a protective barrier around its massive body. Its two large fists ceaselessly flailed about in all directions. Given the Taming Soul Beast's enormous, ape-like body, its fists were naturally not small. Even if the Corpse Wolf, with its refined corpse body, took a single hit, it would likely find it unbearable. The two were momentarily locked in a stalemate.

While the Taming Soul Beast was being occupied, the Silver-Winged Yaksha and Han Li were already flickering in and out of sight high in the sky, chasing and retreating like phantoms. Han Li's feathered wings crackled with electric arcs, and the sound of thunder was incessant. His appearances were completely unpredictable: one moment he might be in the west, a moment later he would appear in the east; one moment high in the sky, the next he would materialize only a few zhang above the ground.

As for the Silver-Winged Yaksha, it had unleashed some unknown divine ability. Its pair of fleshy wings emitted a greenish-white halo, and its body seemed almost insubstantial, like an invisible entity. Yet, it consistently managed to follow Han Li's Lightning Escape without letting go. Before long, Han Li began to feel overwhelmed. The opponent's Wind Escape technique was clearly far superior to his Lightning Escape. The time it took for it to follow grew shorter and shorter. Now, almost as soon as he transformed into an electric arc and departed, the Silver-Winged Yaksha would catch up with the wind.

Suddenly, when Han Li's figure reappeared high in the sky, he didn't immediately flap his wings and leave. Instead, he abruptly pointed at a crystal pearl in front of him. The pearl immediately spun, and streaks of purple flames shot out in all directions. At the same time, dozens of golden small swords circling around his body also erupted with bursts of sword light, enveloping an area of more than ten zhang around him. Just as he finished setting up all this, about five or six zhang away from Han Li, space rippled, and a faint figure suddenly appeared there. Immediately, the purple flames and sword light converged on this figure, engulfing it.

Han Li, moreover, raised a single hand, and a loud crackling sound erupted. A large golden electric arc materialized, then transformed into an electric python that lunged forward. Seeing this display of power, the Silver-Winged Yaksha was also startled. But its scales immediately trembled, erupting with streaks of golden light. Subsequently, a resplendent golden light shield appeared, protecting the Silver-Winged Yaksha within it. A series of earth-shattering roars followed. Sword light, flames, and golden arcs arrived one after another, erupting with dazzling light, instantly submerging the golden light shield.