As for the other avatar entangled with the spiritual body in the distance, it seemed to have received the message as well. Its body suddenly surged with bloody light, forcing the spiritual body back, and it abruptly shot backward, fleeing at high speed.
In the blink of an eye, the three avatars gathered together, their escaping lights merging as they fled toward the horizon.
“Boy, this matter is far from over. This time, I didn’t have my treasures at hand, so I couldn’t deal with you. But the next time we meet, I will extract your soul and refine your spirit to avenge this humiliation!”
The leading youth’s sinister voice boomed like thunder, but by the time the last words were spoken, the bloody light he had transformed into had already vanished at the edge of the sky.
Once this avatar decided to retreat, it did so with absolute decisiveness, not even glancing back.
It seemed he was utterly confident that Han Li would not take advantage of the situation to pursue him.
The golden-furred giant ape hovered motionlessly in mid-air, staring in the direction where the enemy had disappeared, its face expressionless. True to the avatar’s expectations, Han Li showed no intention of giving chase.
Not only that, but the distant spiritual body made a hand seal and vanished in a flash, only to reappear beside the giant ape in another ripple of spatial fluctuation, standing motionless with its hands clasped behind its back.
The giant ape let out a cold snort. A golden light flashed across its body, and its three-headed, six-armed Dharma Form shattered and disappeared. Then, with a stomp of its foot, its body shrank hundreds of times in an instant, its golden fur shedding away as it reverted to human form.
Restored to his original appearance, Han Li did not show any joy. Instead, he glanced once more toward the distant horizon, his expression turning solemn.
“Just a few mere avatars, and they were already so troublesome. If their true bodies were to come, who knows how formidable they would be? The might of a Body Integration cultivator is indeed well-deserved—no, even more terrifying than the rumors suggest.”
After murmuring these words, Han Li finally withdrew his gaze and waved a hand toward the spiritual body beside him.
The spiritual body blurred, transforming into a faint green shadow that shot toward him. With a flicker, it merged into his body and disappeared.
The thirteen Purple-striped Gold Devouring Beetles circled in the air before flying toward him.
Han Li flicked his sleeve, releasing a wave of green light that swept up all the spirit insects into his sleeve. Then, he closed his eyes, formed a hand seal, and began chanting under his breath.
A thumb-sized blood rune emerged between his brows, pulsing with a soft glow.
After a short while, Han Li’s eyes suddenly snapped open, and a look of delight crossed his face. “It worked! The Purple Word Cauldron hasn’t gone far!”
As soon as he spoke, his hand seals changed, his fingers rapidly forming a series of complex gestures. At the same time, the blood rune between his brows flickered erratically, brightening and dimming.
Before long, a sharp whistling sound came from another direction in the sky, and a streak of black light shot toward him.
Within the light was a faintly purple, round object—none other than the Purple Word Cauldron that had fled on its own earlier.
However, when the cauldron was still several hundred feet away from Han Li, it suddenly halted, revealing its true form as a small purple cauldron.
The cauldron’s surface pulsed with fluctuating purple light, emitting a low hum, as if hesitant to approach Han Li.
Yet, the mysterious connection forged by the blood rune compelled it to stay, unwilling to leave.
Han Li’s smile deepened as he watched the cauldron. The blood rune flashed and flew out from between his brows, hovering in front of him before beginning to spin.
At the same time, his chanting grew louder, and his fingers flicked out, sending multicolored spell seals shooting toward the cauldron. The seals vanished into the cauldron in flashes of light.
The cauldron trembled, then let out a clear, dragon-like cry. It shot straight toward the blood rune.
With another flash of light, the blood rune merged into the cauldron.
Instantly, the cauldron’s surface took on a bloody hue, and its humming grew louder, as if overjoyed.
Seeing this, Han Li chuckled softly and pointed at the cauldron.
The small purple cauldron wobbled obediently, flying toward him before shrinking to a few inches in size and landing steadily in his palm.
Han Li was overjoyed. He exhaled deeply and lifted the cauldron to eye level, his pupils flashing with blue light as he examined it closely.
The cauldron was a pale purple, its surface inscribed with unknown runes and enveloped in a faint layer of black mist.
Han Li narrowed his eyes slightly. Suddenly, spiritual light flickered in his palm, and several gold and silver runes silently emerged, attaching themselves to the cauldron.
The cauldron managed only a faint hum before its spiritual light dulled, losing its previous eerie sentience.
Not stopping there, Han Li flexed his fingers, and thunderous crackles erupted as countless golden lightning arcs shot out, weaving into a golden net that encased the cauldron completely.
With a series of crackling sounds, the net shrank, leaving behind a golden sphere in his palm.
Only then did Han Li relax. His other hand flipped over, revealing a pristine white jade box.
The golden sphere flashed and was placed inside.
With another flick of his sleeve, over a dozen multicolored talismans flew out, attaching themselves to the box and forming several miniature talisman arrays embedded into the lid.
In just a few moves, Han Li had temporarily sealed the cauldron.
After storing the jade box, he finally let out a long breath, truly relaxing.
Although he had successfully seized the Purple Word Cauldron from the Blood Light Saint’s avatar using the secret technique taught by Che Qi Gong, the treasure still contained a trace of the old demon’s divine sense. Without removing it and refining the cauldron anew, he dared not use or carry it carelessly.
Still, obtaining a damaged Profound Heavenly Treasure filled Han Li with genuine joy, though the destruction of the Myriad Swords Painting also pained him greatly.
He had only just finished refining that treasure, intending it as a powerful weapon against the demon army. Yet, it had been destroyed in a single battle, leaving him somewhat frustrated.
But when Han Li recalled the words of the leading demon before its departure, his expression darkened once more.
As the demon had said, the reason he had managed to repel these three avatars was largely due to their unpreparedness and the unexpected mishaps with their two Profound Heavenly Treasures.
If they were to return with borrowed treasures from the avatar leading the demon army and take precautions against his interference with the Rainbow Light Tower, it was uncertain whether he could repel them again.
Han Li’s eyes flickered as he pondered silently.
Suddenly, he chuckled softly.
“I’m overthinking this. Why would I give them a second chance to corner me? If they head to the demon army’s stronghold, it’ll take at least three to four months. By then, I’ll have long since slipped back to Tian Yuan City. As long as I stay within the city afterward, I should be safe.”
With this thought, his expression returned to normal.
However, before that, he had one more task—to visit the Yellow Spring Earthfire, not too far from his current location.
On one hand, he had sworn an oath to Che Qi Gong and had no intention of suffering a backlash from inner demons.
On the other, he was genuinely intrigued by the Primordial Chaos Qi.
With the Blood Light Saint’s avatars injured and retreating, they were unlikely to return anytime soon, making this the perfect opportunity.
Of course, since Che Qi Gong was also a demon saint, Han Li wouldn’t take his words at face value. He would take additional precautions before following through on their agreement.
As for Yi Tian City, with the combined defeat of the human cultivators, it was unlikely to hold. There was no need to return.
Han Li’s mind worked swiftly, and in moments, he had made his decision. With a turn, green light enveloped him as he transformed into a green streak, soaring into the sky.
Meanwhile, the giant demon, already tens of thousands of miles away, retracted its Dharma Form and summoned the small blood-colored boat once more. The other two avatars boarded, and the trio set off toward Yi Tian City.
Throughout the journey, the three avatars remained expressionless and silent.
Days later, they caught sight of Yi Tian City’s half-collapsed walls, its skies now shrouded in dark demonic energy, covering nearly half the city.
As the blood-colored boat drew closer, the demonic energy above the walls churned, and a squad of armored riders on demonic mounts emerged to greet them respectfully.
“Open the nearest teleportation array to the demon army immediately. We must depart at once!” the leading youth commanded coldly as the riders approached.
“As you command, Saint Ancestor!”
The mid-to-high-ranking demons present had witnessed the Blood Light Saint’s divine sense possession earlier, so the riders recognized the avatar immediately. Their leader bowed deeply in acknowledgment.
Half a month later, Han Li’s green streak sped across the sky at an altitude of ten thousand zhang.
His escaping light was incredibly faint, its fluctuations entirely suppressed by his immense spiritual power. Only those with extraordinary divine sense or spiritual sight could detect its presence.
At that moment, Han Li was passing over a human city.
The city was small, even by pre-invasion standards, and now lay in ruins, overgrown with weeds and devoid of life, abandoned for over a century.
At his speed, Han Li could have crossed the city in an instant. But as his divine sense casually swept the area below, he let out a soft exclamation of surprise.
His escaping light halted abruptly high above, the green light dissipating to reveal his true form.
His eyes scanned the ground below, flickering with astonishment, his face filled with surprise.
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