Under the influence of this formation, the situation reversed once more, and it seemed they could hold out longer.
Just as Han Li thought they were temporarily safe, an unexpected event occurred!
A loud explosion sounded as a section of the ground near the three girls suddenly burst open, and from the sand emerged a demonic beast with a human head and a serpentine body.
The serpent had a head of tangled, yellowish hair and the terrifying face of a woman. On either side of its snake-like body grew two pale, infant-like arms, each gripping a bone spear several feet long, wreathed in black mist—clearly two low-grade magical artifacts.
The appearance of this demonic serpent not only startled Han Li but also shocked the three girls maintaining the formation. The serpent-woman turned her head and, upon spotting the three girls, grinned viciously. Without hesitation, she swung one arm toward them three times in quick succession. Three black streaks shot from the spear tips, hurtling straight at the girls.
Fortunately, the three girls—Xiang’er among them—were quick-witted. Shaking off their initial shock, they swiftly pulled small flags from the formation diagram before them and waved them frantically in front of themselves.
With a series of soft *pfft* sounds, shimmering spiritual mist materialized before them, forming a protective barrier. The black streaks struck the mist with a resounding *boom*.
Xiang’er and the girl in white robes fared better—though their protective mist scattered violently, it managed to block the attack. However, the youngest girl in red had summoned the weakest barrier. When the black streak collided with it, her body convulsed violently, and she was flung backward, completely out of the mist’s protection.
The red-robed girl paled in horror, realizing the danger, but she couldn’t regain control of her body in time.
The serpent-woman noticed this immediately. Slamming her tail against the ground, she lunged forward like lightning, appearing beneath the red-robed girl in an instant. Without hesitation, she thrust a bone spear straight at the girl.
The other two girls screamed in alarm, but they were too far to intervene.
Just as the spear was about to pierce the girl’s body, a sharp whistling sound cut through the air. A white object shot past with pinpoint accuracy, striking the black streak.
With a *clang*, the spear was deflected by half a foot, narrowly missing the girl’s clothes. The red-robed girl, now deathly pale, finally regained control of her body and twisted midair, landing gracefully on the ground.
The white object turned out to be an unremarkable stone.
The serpent-woman was momentarily stunned, but her eyes flashed with fury. She swung her other arm, sending the second bone spear thrusting forward in rapid succession.
Yet another stone came whistling through the air—this time aimed directly at the serpent-woman’s head. Given the force of the previous throw, a direct hit could have shattered her skull or at least knocked her unconscious.
Furious but helpless, the serpent-woman jerked her head aside and used the spear to block the stone.
Another dull *thud* echoed as the serpent-woman staggered back from the impact. Enraged, she snapped her head toward the source of the attack.
On a nearby tortoise-drawn cart, a young man stood calmly watching her, idly tossing another stone in his hand.
It was Han Li.
Meanwhile, the red-robed girl had already retreated into the protective mist of another girl, breathing a sigh of relief.
Having been thwarted twice, the serpent-woman’s fury reached its peak. She opened her mouth and spewed a cloud of black poisonous gas, surging toward the girls’ protective mist.
But at that moment, a cold snort came from another tortoise cart. “You vile beast, how dare you!”
A streak of white light shot from the carriage—a small, crystalline sword no more than a few inches long—slicing through the air toward the serpent-woman.
The serpent-woman’s face twisted in alarm. She hurled one of her bone spears at the cart before twisting her body and vanishing into the sand.
At the sight of a cultivator, she didn’t even dare to fight—she fled immediately.
The thrown spear, however, was aimed straight at Han Li.
Clearly, the serpent-woman wanted to kill the mortal who had ruined her plans before escaping.
Han Li watched the black streak of the spear approaching but only gave a bitter smile. Instead of using the stone in his hand to deflect it, he stood motionless.
With a deafening *boom*, the spear struck Han Li squarely, sending him flying over ten yards before crashing into a cargo container on a giant tortoise, smashing a large hole in it.
A cacophony of clattering metal followed as a pile of gleaming weapons spilled out.
“Agh!”
The three girls gasped in horror, and even Nan Qizi in the carriage let out a surprised sound.
The small sword circled in the air before darting back into the carriage.
The red-robed girl and the others quickly dispersed their protective mist and rushed toward the wrecked container.
“Brother Han! Are… are you alright?” The red-robed girl, deeply grateful to Han Li, called out anxiously from below the giant tortoise.
Xiang’er and the white-robed girl also looked worried.
“I’m fine. Not dead yet. Just can’t move again,” came Han Li’s wry voice from inside the container.
Relieved, the three girls exchanged glances before climbing onto the tortoise to peer inside.
Han Li lay amidst a pile of weapons, his clothes torn, his expression resigned—but otherwise unharmed.
Overjoyed, the three girls worked together to pull him out and laid him gently on the tortoise’s back.
“Brother Han, thank you for saving me!” the red-robed girl said earnestly.
“It was nothing. Just a small effort. That attack couldn’t do much to me—I just need to rest a bit longer,” Han Li replied with a faint smile.
The door of another tortoise cart opened, and Nan Qizi stepped out. With a few graceful movements, he floated to Han Li’s side, grasping his wrist and channeling a stream of pure spiritual energy into him.
“No serious harm. The *Vajra Arts* truly live up to their reputation as one of the five great body-refining techniques. Even at the third layer, it grants such resilience. That demon’s weapon didn’t injure you—though throwing that stone did strain some of your meridians, worsening your previous injuries. Rest well, and you’ll recover,” the Daoist said, his expression shifting from surprise to a smile.
“Really?” The red-robed girl brightened.
“Haha, why would I lie? However, your *Minor Revival Formation* has stopped, and the situation seems unfavorable again,” Nan Qizi chuckled, glancing meaningfully at the now-dim formation diagram.
The three girls paled and looked around. Without the formation’s support, the guards were visibly exhausted, and casualties were mounting again.
“Oh no! We only brought one *Minor Revival Formation* diagram. And we used up all the formation flags’ energy blocking that serpent-woman. We can’t reactivate it now,” the white-robed girl cried out.
The other two girls exchanged helpless glances.
“This is indeed troublesome,” the Daoist muttered, frowning.
Just as they were pondering their next move, the surrounding battle cries abruptly ceased. The guards on the tortoise carts erupted in cheers.
The girls blinked in confusion before looking around. The giant insects that had been fighting the guards were now leaping off the carts, fleeing in all directions. The swarm, seemingly leaderless, descended into chaos, losing their previous ferocity.
“We did it! Sister Liu’er must have taken down the insect demon!” the green-robed girl exclaimed joyfully. The other two girls also beamed.
Sure enough, moments later, dozens of riders emerged from the distant dust, galloping back toward the caravan.
These were the wolf-riding knights who had charged into the insect swarm earlier. Of the original fifty, only thirty remained, all wounded and bloodied—a testament to the brutal battle.
In no time, they rejoined the caravan.
The scar-faced man wordlessly tossed something onto the ground—a golden insect head, clearly not an ordinary sandworm.
The blue-robed girl returned as well, unharmed, with her blood-colored tiger in tow.
Both were surprised to see the three girls and Nan Qizi gathered around Han Li.
Guards who had witnessed the earlier events quickly explained what had happened.
The scar-faced man burst into laughter.
“It seems my judgment wasn’t wrong! Brother Han is truly impressive—joining our caravan and immediately saving Qian’er. If anything had happened to her, I wouldn’t have dared to face the Madam again.”
The blue-robed girl’s gaze toward Han Li softened considerably.
Han Li merely smiled faintly, offering no reply.
With the sandworms repelled, the caravan needed to regroup. They rested for most of the day before setting off again.
The journey afterward was eerily quiet. Three days later, they finally left the Qingluo Desert behind, entering an endless expanse of grassland.
The terrain was perfectly flat, allowing the caravan to pick up speed. The giant tortoises broke into a swift run, racing across the plains.
Han Li, still immobilized in the carriage, noticed something odd—the cheerful chatter among the caravan members vanished the moment they entered the grassland.
Moreover, the four girls in the carriage grew visibly uneasy, their expressions tinged with fear as they gazed out at the lush green grass.
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