Chapter 1312: The Power of Spirit Devouring

With the speed of the Blood Shadow Escape, Han Li reached the valley entrance in just a few breaths.

Given his current cultivation level, the drawbacks of this escape technique—its uncontrollable direction and speed during the Core Formation and Spirit Infant stages—had naturally resolved themselves after his ascension to the Deity Transformation stage.

Thus, as Han Li flashed across hundreds of miles in an instant, he simultaneously swept his spiritual sense backward.

To his surprise, he discovered that the three figures—Huangliang the Spirit Lord and the others—had not been shaken off as far as he had hoped. They were still hot on his trail, which sent a chill down his spine.

Facing Void Refinement cultivators, Han Li had never truly believed he could escape so easily with just the Blood Shadow Escape.

Still enveloped in the bloody light, he flipped his hand, revealing two mysterious orbs—one red and one black—covered in flickering runes. Without hesitation, he hurled them behind him.

Then, with both hands forming seals, he silently chanted an incantation.

At that moment, the bloody light he was riding flashed past the entrance of the Chaotic Valley.

The three pursuers, closing in rapidly, were also nearing the spot.

The two orbs spun rapidly, emitting a buzzing sound before a deafening explosion erupted.

A red and a black sun, each ten zhang in diameter, materialized in the void.

A visible shockwave erupted violently, instantly forming a devastating hurricane that swept up everything within several miles.

Of the three pursuers, Xutian, with the deepest cultivation, had been the closest. Having pushed his escape technique too hard with a secret art, he was immediately caught in the hurricane.

Huangliang the Spirit Lord and the other, slightly farther behind, reacted swiftly, altering their paths to narrowly skirt the edges of the storm.

Yet, even in this moment, the human and the demon couldn’t resist taking the opportunity to strike at Xutian.

Huantianqi flicked his sleeve, unleashing a rolling gray demonic wind, while Huangliang the Spirit Lord raised a hand, firing a yellow beam of light that vanished into the hurricane.

As their attacks merged with the storm, thunderous explosions erupted, followed by Xutian’s furious roar.

Clearly, he had suffered a minor setback and was temporarily trapped.

The human and the demon exchanged a smirk before flashing to the valley entrance.

Meanwhile, Han Li’s escape light had already blurred into the distance, thanks to the brief delay caused by the Annihilation Pearls.

Unfazed, the two were about to resume their pursuit with renewed confidence when two muffled *pops* echoed from the valley walls.

Amidst flashes of silver light, two blazing silver fire pillars erupted, surging toward them.

The valley entrance was narrow, and the fire pillars moved with terrifying speed, reaching them in an instant.

Startled, Huangliang the Spirit Lord instinctively slashed the air, sending a yellow sword aura to cleave the flames.

Yet, the moment the sword aura touched the silver fire, it ignited and was instantly reduced to nothing.

The silver fire pillars surged even more fiercely, their scorching heat already parching the human cultivator’s throat before they even reached him.

Huangliang the Spirit Lord’s expression twisted in shock as he blurted out, “*Annihilation Bonefire?!*”

He immediately formed a seal with both hands and vanished from the spot, leaving the silver flames to lash at empty air.

Huantianqi fared no better. His demonic wind was devoured by the silver flames, forcing him to flicker through multiple afterimages to evade the relentless pursuit.

“No, this isn’t Annihilation Bonefire! Though silver, Bonefire is saturated with evil energy and can only be wielded by the Bone Ancestor. It would never be passed to another!” Huantianqi, now standing beside Huangliang, denied vehemently, his face grim.

The two silver fire pillars then merged into a massive fireball, which contracted and reshaped itself into an elegant silver firebird.

“A fire spirit?!”

The human and the demon stared in astonishment.

But the silver firebird merely cast them a cold glance before flapping its wings once.

Silver light shimmered, and countless fist-sized fireballs materialized around them. With a clear cry, the fireballs shot forth like a storm, blanketing the two in an inescapable barrage.

Relieved that it wasn’t Annihilation Bonefire, Huangliang snorted and raised a hand, summoning an expanding Eight Trigrams Mirror before him.

Huantianqi, meanwhile, summoned gray lightning in his palm once more.

Though they still didn’t recognize the silver flames, they no longer underestimated them and prepared to fight seriously.

Yet, just as the fireballs were mid-flight, they flickered with silver light—then vanished without a trace.

Only the lingering heat proved they had ever existed.

Huangliang frowned, narrowing his eyes at the silver firebird.

Then, with a soft *pop*, the firebird exploded, its scattered flames disappearing just as mysteriously as the fireballs.

Huangliang’s expression darkened as he glanced at Huantianqi, whose face was equally grim.

“Even if it’s not Annihilation Bonefire, this flame is no ordinary power. Who is that human cultivator? He shouldn’t be unknown among your kind,” Huantianqi asked coldly, suspicion creeping into his tone.

“I don’t recognize him. Perhaps he’s from one of the other two mirrors. But in our Tianwu Realm, this is my first encounter with him. Still, if he thinks such tricks can let him escape us, he’s sorely mistaken. Though we failed to mark him with our spiritual sense, given our power, a mere Deity Transformation cultivator in the Sunset Tomb can’t hide from us within ten thousand miles unless he’s already fled beyond that.” Huangliang shook his head gravely before sneering toward the valley exit.

By now, Han Li’s escape light had long vanished from sight.

Huantianqi nodded in agreement.

The two then closed their eyes, unleashing their immense spiritual senses in a slow, sweeping search.

But moments later, their expressions twisted in shock and disbelief.

“Impossible! His spiritual aura is completely gone—no trace left at all!” Huangliang’s eyes snapped open, his face a mask of astonishment.

“I can’t find him either. Either his cultivation far surpasses ours, or he’s using some unique technique to conceal his presence so thoroughly that even our senses can’t detect a hint of him. Otherwise, even if he were dead, his aura wouldn’t dissipate this completely so soon,” Huantianqi muttered.

“It must be the latter! Remember, he hid nearby earlier without us noticing. He must possess an incredibly powerful stealth art,” Huangliang said, his brow furrowed.

“This complicates things. With such an ability, how can we possibly track him down?” Huantianqi’s lips twitched.

“Not necessarily. If he’s hiding, he can’t maintain that escape technique for long. He’s likely within a few thousand miles. If we mobilize forces to lock down the area and use your Illusory Moth’s Thousand Moths Technique to assist the search, he won’t stay hidden forever,” Huangliang said coldly, his eyes glinting with determination.

“The Thousand Moths Technique? That drains the Illusory Moth’s vitality. But for this, it might be worth it. Though, about that Sunset Crystal…” Huantianqi reluctantly agreed before bringing up the treasure now in Huangliang’s possession.

“Rest assured, if we recover the Spirit Tribe’s artifact, I’ll hand over the Sunset Crystal without hesitation. Even if we fail, I’ll split it with you,” Huangliang replied firmly.

“Good. With your word, I’ll—”

Before Huantianqi could finish, a piercing howl erupted behind them, followed by an earth-shaking explosion and a surge of terrifying spiritual energy.

The two spun around to see the hurricane dissipating, replaced by a massive blood lotus spinning in midair. At its center stood Xutian, his face dark with fury, his eyes gleaming with malice.

Clearly, he hadn’t missed their earlier betrayal.

“Brother Xutian, do you really wish to fight us now? That thief who tricked you has already vanished. If we delay any longer, he might truly escape,” Huantianqi said coolly, unperturbed.

“Hmph! This isn’t over. Another time, I’ll test your skills properly,” Xutian growled after scanning the area and failing to spot Han Li.

With that, the blood lotus’s petals folded around him, and he shot out of the valley like a crimson comet, vanishing swiftly.

Huangliang and Huantianqi paid no heed to his threats.

This was the territory of humans and demons—no Spirit Tribe member could linger here long. Even if they faced him again, the two of them together held the advantage.

After a brief discussion, they split up to mobilize their forces, determined to scour the region and flush out the audacious thief who had dared to play them all.