Only then did they clearly see that the figure beside the white-bearded elder was actually a young man in his twenties.
Who else could it be but Han Li!
But before these high-ranking demon cultivators could react with shock and fury to reclaim control of their treasures, a ripple appeared above their heads, and a streak of golden light shot out at an unbelievable speed, swiftly encircling them before blurring and reappearing in the void over ten zhang away.
As the light dissipated, a yellow beast about a zhang in size emerged.
The creature had a slender, leopard-like body, with two emerald-green horns on its head, giving it an air of profound mystery.
The moment it appeared, it swept its gaze across the four demon cultivators.
Its eyes, eerily human-like, flashed with unmistakable mockery.
Strangely, the four demon cultivators also froze in place, their faces twisted in bizarre expressions.
But in the next instant, countless fine blood marks appeared on their bodies, and under the stunned gaze of the white-bearded elder, they disintegrated into showers of minced flesh and blood, raining down into the demonic clouds below.
The low-level demonic beasts in the clouds, upon contact with the demon blood, immediately went berserk, roaring and tearing into each other.
Meanwhile, the demon-armored soldiers stood dumbfounded until one of them suddenly screamed, prompting hundreds of them to turn and flee in panic.
The chaotic demonic beasts were left completely unattended.
Seeing this, Han Li’s expression darkened.
Having already taken action, he had no intention of letting these demons escape. He immediately sent a mental message to the leopard-like beast: “The demonic beasts are yours. I’ll handle the fleeing soldiers myself!”
Upon hearing Han Li’s words, the yellow beast gave a slight nod with its furry head before darting forward, its body blurring as it split into dozens of faint golden afterimages, charging like lightning toward the low-level demonic beasts.
As for Han Li, he remained motionless but raised a sleeve, revealing a palm.
His fingers curled inward in a seemingly ordinary motion.
**BOOM!**
A golden thunderbolt erupted from his clenched fist, radiating blinding light.
But when his fingers abruptly relaxed, the golden light surged violently, and countless arcs of lightning, each as thick as a finger, shot out in a dense barrage.
Amidst the dazzling golden flashes, each lightning bolt teleported behind the fleeing demon-armored soldiers and struck with devastating force.
Given the purifying power of the Divine Devilbane Lightning, these low-level demons stood no chance.
Amidst the thunderous explosions, the demons and their armor turned to ashes under the golden light, while the surrounding demonic clouds and winds were swept clean.
Meanwhile, under the assault of the leopard-like beast’s afterimages, the low-level demonic beasts soon met the same fate as their high-ranking counterparts, reduced to bloody rain and minced flesh.
From start to finish, the entire ordeal lasted only a few breaths.
The white-bearded elder barely had time to react before the pursuers who had nearly killed him were completely annihilated.
“Many thanks for your intervention, Senior! Might you be an elder of Heavenly Yuan City?” The white-bearded elder hastily bowed to Han Li, his face alight with ecstatic relief.
“Hmm, you could say that. Where are you all from? Why venture here instead of hiding? Don’t you know the area around Heavenly Yuan City is overrun by demons?” Han Li replied indifferently, his gaze sweeping over the elder.
“Reporting to you, Senior, we are cultivators of the Fire Departure Sect. Our hiding place was unfortunately discovered by the demons, forcing us to relocate en masse. But we were ambushed near the teleportation array ahead and nearly perished,” the elder answered respectfully, not daring to delay.
“So the teleportation array is truly under demon control? Aside from the ones I killed, are there other high-ranking demons stationed there?” Han Li narrowed his eyes and pressed further.
“There are a few more high-ranking demons at the array, but they are all injured. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have sent such a small force to pursue us,” the elder replied honestly, withholding nothing.
“A few more? Then I’ll deal with them all at once. We must act quickly—if they get word, they might destroy the array in desperation.” Han Li frowned, muttering to himself. The elder’s expression shifted slightly at his words.
By now, the Fire Departure Sect disciples, led by an exceptionally ugly old woman, had regrouped beside the elder, their expressions a mix of awe and reverence as they looked at Han Li.
Before they could speak, Han Li waved at the yellow beast. A flash of cyan light enveloped him as he transformed into a streak of green light, shooting toward the canyon deep in the mountains.
The leopard-like beast, its paws glowing with blinding golden radiance, followed closely as a golden streak.
In mere moments, the two vanished into the horizon.
“Senior Brother Sect Master, what should we do now?” The old woman flew to the elder’s side, her face grave.
“What else? We follow this Senior! With his lead, entering Heavenly Yuan City should be no issue. Everyone, move quickly—our safe passage depends on this!” the elder declared without hesitation.
“Understood! Let’s go together!” the old woman agreed.
The elder, despite his depleted spiritual power, hastily swallowed some pills and tapped several acupoints on his body. His face flushed unnaturally as he forcibly drew out the last dregs of energy from his dantian.
Led by the sect’s two remaining Void Refinement cultivators, the dozens of Fire Departure Sect disciples took flight once more, heading toward the canyon.
Unlike their previous journey, fraught with anxiety, their faces now brimmed with hope and excitement.
A thousand li posed no challenge to cultivators.
Soon, they neared the canyon—only to be met with an earth-shaking explosion!
Several cyan sword beams shot into the sky from the canyon, vanishing as quickly as they appeared.
A piercing shriek followed as a black demonic wind surged from the canyon depths, carrying a shadowy figure with a single horn, fleeing in panic.
The elder and the old woman exchanged glances, their faces alight with joy.
It seemed the Senior had effortlessly dealt with the remaining demons!
With a crisp ring, the elder’s twin swords—one cyan, one yellow—flew from their sheaths, while the old woman spat out a razor-thin silver blade.
Both intended to intercept the fleeing demonic infant.
But before they could act, a cold snort echoed from the canyon. A ten-zhang-long sword beam flashed, transforming into a storm of cyan sword qi that enveloped the demonic infant in the wind.
Amidst the chilling glints, the infant was obliterated without a sound.
The sword beam then condensed back into a foot-long cyan flying sword, returning to the canyon depths.
“If you wish to enter Heavenly Yuan City, hurry. The demon reinforcements could arrive at any moment,” Han Li’s voice drifted lazily from the canyon before silence resumed.
“Quick, move now!” the elder roared ecstatically to his disciples.
With that, the cultivators mustered every ounce of strength, transforming into dozens of streaks of light as they shot toward the canyon.
—
In Heavenly Yuan City, within a heavily warded teleportation hall, two Nascent Soul guards stood chatting by the entrance.
Suddenly, one of the dozen teleportation arrays flared with blinding white light, accompanied by a resonant hum.
“Alert! Someone’s teleporting in! Activate all restrictions and inform the guard captain at once!” one guard shouted in alarm.
The other guard wasted no time, summoning a palm-sized blue formation disk and slamming his hand onto it.
With a dull thud, the disk erupted in multicolored light. Layers of barriers and dense arrays of golden and silver runes cascaded down, sealing the hall completely.
In a nearby pavilion, over a hundred meditating guards sprang to their feet, transforming into streaks of light as they rushed toward the hall.
The humming teleportation array pulsed with spatial energy as a figure in cyan silently materialized amidst the white light.
Han Li opened his eyes, his first sight being the dozen tense guards at the entrance. A faint smile touched his lips.
“What’s this? Has it only been two or three years since I left, and you’ve already forgotten me?”
“Ah! Senior Han! You’ve returned! This is wonderful—I’ll inform the elders at once! Several left strict orders to report immediately upon your arrival,” the lead golden-armored guard exclaimed, bowing deeply.
“It seems my fellow elders missed me. Very well, I’ll speak with them later. But more people will arrive via the array shortly—prepare to receive them,” Han Li said casually.
“More people? Understood! We’ll follow your instructions, Senior!” Though puzzled, the guard bowed again under Han Li’s gaze.
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