Several hours later, Venerable Azure Dragon arrived at the teleportation hall of Tianyuan City with two disciples in tow. The guards stationed there were startled and immediately stepped out to greet him.
“Greetings, Elder Azure Dragon. May we inquire as to the purpose of your visit?” the leading Void Refinement cultivator said with utmost deference, clearly aware that Venerable Azure Dragon had recently become one of the city’s elders.
“Activate the teleportation array immediately. I have urgent business to attend to,” Venerable Azure Dragon commanded without ceremony, his gaze sweeping over the teleportation formations in the hall.
“What? Elder wishes to use the teleportation array? Might we ask if you possess a decree or token from the Elder Council?” The Void Refinement cultivator hesitated, visibly taken aback.
“Humph! As a member of the Elder Council, I need no such formalities to use a mere teleportation array. Activate it at once!” Venerable Azure Dragon narrowed his eyes, his expression darkening.
“Elder Azure Dragon, this junior means no disrespect, but the Elder Council issued a strict order two days ago: regardless of status, no one may use the teleportation arrays without explicit approval from the council. Please do not put us in a difficult position, lest we face severe punishment for disobedience,” the cultivator pleaded, his face strained with apprehension.
“Is that so? Very well, I shall not make things difficult for you. I will retrieve a token from the council myself.” Venerable Azure Dragon’s expression shifted slightly before softening after a moment’s consideration.
“Thank you for your understanding, Elder. This junior will—Ah! Elder Azure Dragon, what are you doing?” The cultivator’s obsequious smile vanished as he suddenly found himself immobilized, along with the other guards, by an invisible force. Panic flashed across their faces.
“Do not be alarmed. I merely have urgent matters that brook no delay. I shall teleport myself.” With a cold smile, Venerable Azure Dragon relaxed the hand seal hidden in his sleeve.
He then produced a white jade token and waved it toward the layered restrictions at the hall’s entrance. A beam of white light shot forth, dissolving the barriers in its path.
Pleased, Venerable Azure Dragon strode into the hall with his disciples, stepping onto a small dedicated teleportation array. With a resonant hum, the formation activated, and in a flash of white light, the group vanished.
Only then did the Void Refinement cultivator and the guards regain their mobility. “Alert the Elder Council at once! Restore the restrictions immediately!” the leading cultivator barked in a mix of fury and panic.
As the hall descended into chaos, the teleportation array that had just sent Venerable Azure Dragon away suddenly hummed again, activating once more. A diminutive shadow flickered within the light and was swiftly teleported away—so fast that none present could discern its nature.
“Did… did something just teleport out?” one guard muttered, doubting his own eyes.
Meanwhile, Venerable Azure Dragon and his disciples flew through a stone passage carved into a mountain, emerging from a concealed exit. After orienting themselves, they shot off into the distance.
Shortly after their departure, a faint golden light followed suit, trailing them relentlessly.
Half a day later, above a desolate wilderness countless miles from Tianyuan City, a thick azure light carried three figures through the sky. Venerable Azure Dragon’s expression was grim, his mind evidently preoccupied.
A yellow line appeared on the horizon—they were nearing a vast desert.
Suddenly, two faint golden shadows materialized mere yards behind them, unleashing a storm of razor-sharp claw projections that enveloped Venerable Azure Dragon in an inescapable net of golden threads.
“Han Li! You dare seek my utter annihilation?!” Venerable Azure Dragon roared in venomous fury. With a flick of his sleeves, gold and silver spirit brushes appeared, conjuring a protective barrier of swirling runes. His body shimmered as azure scales emerged, and he transformed into a gale-force wind, crashing through the claw net. A burst of azure light preceded him, shredding the seemingly invincible net with ease.
Elated, Venerable Azure Dragon surged free, reappearing a hundred yards away—only to hear two agonized screams. His disciples had been reduced to bloody mist, their nascent souls obliterated.
“You’re not Han Li! Who dares attack me?!” he bellowed, scrutinizing the golden shadows.
A young woman’s voice replied mockingly, “Does my master need to dirty his hands with you? I am more than enough.” The shadows merged into a single golden radiance, revealing a golden beast—the Leopard Kirin Beast.
“A mid-tier spirit beast! You’re Han Li’s pet?!” Venerable Azure Dragon gasped, sensing its power.
“Now that you know, die without regrets. My master commands your erasure from this world,” the beast growled, its eyes gleaming with malice.
“Even injured, I am beyond the likes of you!” Venerable Azure Dragon retorted, though fear flickered across his face.
The beast ignored him, its form blurring as countless golden duplicates materialized and lunged.
Venerable Azure Dragon summoned several treasures and unleashed a storm of runes, but as he marshaled his energy, his face paled. A sinister black qi erupted, engulfing his features.
Five days later, Han Li sat meditating in his chamber when his eyes snapped open. A golden streak pierced through the door, resolving into the Leopard Kirin Beast.
“You’ve returned. Was the mission troublesome?” Han Li asked mildly.
“Master, what did you do to Venerable Azure Dragon? He collapsed as if poisoned mid-fight!” the beast exclaimed.
Han Li smirked. “I merely implanted a wisp of Soul Vortex Light from my Devouring Spirit Flame into him. Excessive exertion triggers its venom—fatal even for a mid-tier cultivator unless suppressed or purified, neither of which he could manage while battling you.”
“Your prowess grows ever more unfathomable, Master,” the beast marveled.
“A trivial trick, effective only because he lacked time to inspect himself. Now, the outcome—is he no more?” Han Li inquired, eyes narrowing.
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