Chapter 1690: The Two of Them

Han Li and Liu Shui’er exchanged glances, their expressions filled with bewilderment.

Shi Kun, who had been lying motionless on the ground, slowly rose to his feet and transmitted an angry message to the two of them: “What’s going on? Why would a King-Class Shadow Beast appear alone here? What rotten luck—to be accidentally discovered by a King-Class Beast!”

“Brother Shi, are you alright?” Liu Shui’er seemed deeply concerned and sent a message back.

“I’m fine. My body just went numb for a moment. It’s much better now,” Shi Kun grunted, his voice gradually growing stronger, as if he truly wasn’t seriously injured.

Han Li frowned slightly and was about to ask something when, in the distance ahead, another sudden change occurred!

In an instant, thousands of beasts roared in unison! The deafening sound rolled in like thunder from the sky, making their ears ring and causing the nearby trees to tremble violently, as if they had suddenly come to life.

“What is this?” Liu Shui’er gasped in shock.

Han Li and Shi Kun also wore expressions of uncertainty and alarm.

But the next moment, the roars abruptly ceased. However, from the direction of the sound, countless terrifying auras suddenly emerged and rapidly approached at an astonishing speed.

Within moments, Han Li and the others heard an unbroken rustling noise.

“Not good! Get out of here!” This time, Han Li only needed a single thought before his face paled. He sent a low, urgent message to Liu Shui’er and Shi Kun, then lunged toward a nearby tree. With a flash of green light, his entire figure vanished into it.

Shi Kun and Liu Shui’er reacted just as swiftly. Almost as soon as Han Li warned them, they too realized the danger.

One stomped the ground with a single foot, causing a yellow flash as he sank into the earth below. The other spat out a burst of blue mist, within which her body gradually turned transparent before disappearing entirely.

Almost as soon as the three of them scattered and fled, black shadows surged from the distant trees—countless Shadow Beasts, densely packed and seemingly endless, as if the majority of the beasts in the Shadow Beast Forest had gathered in this one place.

Han Li’s entire body pulsed with spiritual energy as he flashed several times, already several miles away. When he turned his head to look back, he immediately noticed that many of the Shadow Beasts were unusually large, with a sinister gray vertical eye on their foreheads—high-ranking Three-Eyed Shadow Beasts!

During their earlier journey, they hadn’t encountered a single one of these high-ranking beasts. Now, it seemed they had all been gathered together.

As soon as these beasts emerged, countless divine senses swept outward in all directions, covering an area of several hundred miles.

Seeing this, Han Li abandoned any hope of luck. A black light flashed over his body as a thin black veil materialized, wrapping around him. He had activated the two mysterious black veils he had obtained from the Wu Luo tribesmen.

Then, the Shadow Beast he had transformed into opened its mouth and spat out a purple talisman, which swiftly attached itself to his body.

With a soft *puff*, a cloud of purple mist mixed with countless silver runes enveloped him, making his form appear almost illusory. However, his speed of movement also slowed to a crawl.

Han Li glanced quickly at Shi Kun and Liu Shui’er.

Unlike him, the two showed no signs of stopping. Moving with nearly imperceptible auras, they had already fled over ten miles away.

Clearly, while Han Li chose to conceal himself first, the other two intended to escape before the high-ranking Shadow Beasts could detect them.

Neither approach could be said to be definitively better.

If the high-ranking beasts failed to pierce their concealment, fleeing early would naturally be the wiser choice.

But if their rapid movement weakened their stealth techniques and exposed them to the beasts, the situation would become extremely perilous.

Han Li had chosen to hide first because he possessed treasures like the Taiyi Concealment Talisman and the black veils, which made detection unlikely.

As the divine senses of the high-ranking Shadow Beasts swept down like a dense net, they passed over Han Li repeatedly, as well as Shi Kun and Liu Shui’er in the distance.

But the divine senses merely brushed past them without lingering, clearly failing to detect their presence. Han Li and the other two let out quiet sighs of relief.

At that moment, Han Li’s gaze shifted slightly, and he suddenly spotted something among the beast horde. His face immediately paled as he sucked in a sharp breath.

Amid the swarm, a golden figure leaped out conspicuously—a King-Class Shadow Beast, its body gleaming with golden light.

This King-Class Shadow Beast was noticeably different from the previous one. Not only was it slightly larger, but it was also accompanied by seven or eight other Three-Eyed Shadow Beasts.

The third eyes of these high-ranking beasts were not gray but emitted a faint silver glow.

As soon as the golden Shadow Beast appeared, the other beasts nearby respectfully retreated over ten yards, leaving a wide empty space around it.

The entire horde instinctively halted, some perching on trees, others crouching on the ground, all gazing at the golden Shadow Beast with reverence.

The King-Class Beast swept its cold gaze around before releasing an overwhelming aura that instantly suppressed the divine senses of the other high-ranking beasts, sweeping across the area like an unstoppable tide.

Han Li’s heart sank slightly. He stopped moving entirely, quietly hiding within the tree without making a sound.

In the distance, Liu Shui’er and Shi Kun also sensed the immense wave of divine energy and halted their flight, holding their breath in hopes of remaining undetected.

But this time, it seemed unlikely.

For Han Li, the powerful divine sense swept past without detecting his illusory form. But when it reached Liu Shui’er and Shi Kun, it paused, then turned icy and hostile.

“Run!” Shi Kun’s expression changed drastically as he sensed the shift in the divine energy. With a flash of yellow light, he abandoned all pretense of stealth and shot away like a yellow streak.

Liu Shui’er also realized the danger. Without a word, a white jade mouse appeared beneath her feet, transforming into a radiant mist that enveloped her before she too fled at high speed.

This time, not only the golden Shadow Beast but the entire horde—ordinary and high-ranking beasts alike—noticed their presence. The swarm erupted into chaos.

The golden Shadow Beast’s dark eyes flashed with cold light, its face twisting into a vicious expression as it prepared to issue a command.

But then its expression shifted abruptly. It turned its head toward the direction where the previous golden Shadow Beast had fled and let out a piercing, sky-rending cry.

The cry was extraordinarily clear and seemed to carry an inexplicable power.

Ordinary Shadow Beasts collapsed to the ground, their limbs going limp. The high-ranking ones swayed unsteadily, as if struggling to stay upright.

Almost immediately after the cry, another identical but far more furious roar echoed from an unknown distance.

Hearing this, the golden Shadow Beast’s face twisted into an almost human-like snarl as it let out a deep, thunderous growl.

The halted horde surged forward once more, charging in the direction of the other golden Shadow Beast.

However, the King-Class Beast leading the horde had no intention of letting Liu Shui’er and Shi Kun escape. It turned and barked orders to the silver-eyed Shadow Beasts beside it.

The silver-eyed beasts bowed respectfully before transforming into streaks of silver light, chasing after Liu Shui’er and Shi Kun.

Meanwhile, the King-Class Beast leaped back into the horde and pursued the other golden Shadow Beast.

In the blink of an eye, the horde swept past like a hurricane, and the silver-eyed beasts, along with Liu Shui’er and Shi Kun, vanished into the distance.

Han Li remained motionless in the giant tree. Only after an hour, when he was certain no other Shadow Beasts lingered nearby, did he finally move. He deactivated the Taiyi Concealment Talisman and withdrew the black veil.

The talisman had a time limit, and the veil, though thin, consumed a significant amount of spiritual energy. He couldn’t afford to keep them active indefinitely.

With a flash of green light, the Shadow Beast form of Han Li emerged from the tree. He cast a cold glance in the direction where the horde and his companions had disappeared, then sighed softly.

Opening his mouth, he spat out a small green sword. It circled once before transforming into a streak of green light that coiled around him. Then, a ten-foot-long green streak shot forth, chasing after Liu Shui’er and Shi Kun.

At first, the green streak was dazzlingly bright, but it soon dimmed, eventually becoming little more than a faint shadow.

Han Li’s flight speed was exceptionally fast, yet even after pursuing for nearly half a day, he saw no trace of his targets.

Had it not been for the secret treasures they had prepared before setting out—items that allowed them to vaguely sense each other’s positions—he might have thought he had lost them entirely.

It seemed Liu Shui’er and Shi Kun had truly pushed themselves to the limit to escape their pursuers. Even with his sword’s speed, Han Li couldn’t close the distance.

And the silver-eyed Shadow Beasts, despite their speed, were still hot on their tails—no small feat!

Han Li’s mind raced. Gritting his teeth, he suddenly shimmered with silver light and reverted to his human form.

He stowed the beast hide covering his body and formed a hand seal. With a low rumble of thunder, a pair of crystalline wings unfurled from his back.