High in the sky hung three emerald-green suns—one large and two small.
The largest was positioned at the center of the sky, while the smaller ones flanked it to the east and west, their size and radiance far inferior to the central sun.
Yet, it was not the sight of these suns that startled Han Li. What put him on guard were the clusters of blood-red mist swirling around them.
These vivid, almost liquid-like mists hovered silently near the green suns, exuding an eerie, mesmerizing beauty from afar.
Han Li narrowed his eyes, studying the crimson mist for a long moment before his nose twitched slightly. A faint, honey-like sweetness reached his senses.
His expression darkened, and without warning, his sleeve flicked outward.
With a *whoosh*, a streak of azure light over a hundred feet long shot forth, vanishing into the dense forest in a flash.
A moment later, an earth-shaking roar erupted from the direction where the light had disappeared.
The ground trembled violently, then fell silent.
Han Li remained motionless, his gaze fixed calmly in the direction of the sound.
Soon, the azure light returned, streaking back from the forest before disappearing into his sleeve.
Only then did Han Li move, drifting lightly toward the source.
A distance of several dozen miles was nothing to him, and he arrived in an instant.
Before him lay a colossal creature, hundreds of feet long, sprawled amidst a field of shattered white trees.
The monstrous beast, resembling a grotesque fusion of insect and beast, had been cleaved into several segments. Yet, its features were still discernible—translucent wings and antennae typical of demonic insects, alongside fur and claws characteristic of beasts.
From a distance, it looked as though a giant hornet and a rhinoceros had been unnaturally merged.
The fallen beast emitted the same sweet fragrance Han Li had detected earlier, now overwhelmingly potent at close range.
His eyes swept the surroundings, noting how the grass and trees were rapidly withering, turning yellow within moments.
Scattered around the beast’s corpse were dozens of black, mantis-like insects, each the size of a watermelon, long devoid of life.
“This creature’s venom is potent. Even from a hundred miles away, an ordinary person would likely succumb to its fumes,” Han Li murmured after circling the corpse twice.
Though the monster’s appearance was bizarre, he couldn’t identify its origin—likely a rare beast native to the Asura Realm.
With a flick of his finger, a silver fireball shot toward the ground.
*Whoosh!*
The flames engulfed the massive corpse, reducing it to nothingness in an instant.
Once done, Han Li calmly retrieved a white crystal orb the size of an egg. A quick glance made him frown slightly.
The orb showed no reaction—Mo Jianli was evidently too far away to sense.
Under these circumstances, there was no need to rush their reunion. Each could seek their own opportunities first.
Ten days was neither long nor short.
Having made his decision, Han Li oriented himself and took flight, transforming into a hundred-foot-long azure streak.
His speed was moderate, maintaining an altitude of several hundred feet.
After all, his purpose here was not to traverse distances but to search for treasures.
As he flew, he expanded his immense spiritual sense, enveloping everything within a radius of three to four thousand miles.
Normally, his spiritual power could easily cover over a hundred thousand miles, but now he needed to focus on minute details, even probing hundreds of feet underground. Thus, he had to drastically narrow his range.
Most spider-like beings preferred dwelling deep beneath the earth.
That he could still survey such a vast area under these conditions was a testament to his spiritual prowess, far surpassing that of ordinary Mahayana cultivators.
If it were Mo Jianli or Xue Ran, they’d be fortunate to monitor a few hundred miles above and below ground.
This was why Han Li remained confident despite lacking any bloodline connection to the Asura Spiders.
As for Mo Jianli, he seemed equally assured in his search, likely possessing some unique method of detection.
Lost in thought, Han Li’s spiritual sense swept meticulously across thousands of miles as his azure streak gradually faded into the distance.
—
Elsewhere in the realm, Mo Jianli withdrew a translucent jade sword from a flurry of sword shadows.
Ahead, amidst a pile of rubble, lay several tiger-headed, scorpion-tailed beasts, each split cleanly in two.
After a brief glance at the corpses, Mo Jianli sheathed his sword and exhaled a faint purple orb.
Within it was a small purple banner, a few inches tall.
Without hesitation, he pointed at the banner and uttered, *”Rise.”*
With a muffled sound, the banner expanded rapidly under a flash of purple light, transforming into a ten-foot-tall standard.
At its smaller size, the banner had seemed unremarkable, but now its magnificence was undeniable.
A purple banner face, a golden pole, densely inscribed with countless runes—and at its center, the faint silhouette of a silver two-headed spider.
Mo Jianli chanted incantations, his fingers flicking rapidly as spells vanished into the banner.
The spider’s silhouette gradually sharpened.
A faint smile touched his lips.
Though he lacked any bloodline connection to the Asura Spiders, this ancient treasure—the *”Silkweave Banner”*—housed the spirit of a Silver Armor Spider as its artifact spirit, granting it the ability to detect powerful arachnids within a certain range.
While not as precise as Xue Ran’s innate abilities, it was close enough.
The question was whether the Asura Spider was truly as fearsome as the legends claimed. Even if found, he might not be able to slay it easily.
Lost in contemplation, Mo Jianli continued his spellwork without pause.
Suddenly, the silver spider’s silhouette let out a silent roar before dissipating into motes of light.
“Not here. I’ll have to search elsewhere,” Mo Jianli murmured, unfazed.
This was expected.
He was still near his entry point and hadn’t anticipated finding the Asura Spider so soon.
With a wave of his sleeve, the banner shrank back to its original size before he inhaled it back into his body.
Then, enveloped in radiant light, he soared into the distance.
—
“It seems fortune favors us, brother. Our bloodline resonated the moment we arrived. This journey may prove fruitful indeed,” Hei Lin remarked excitedly as he tunneled through the earth, his body aglow with yellow light.
Beside him, Xue Ran remained composed.
“I hadn’t expected this either. But let’s not celebrate prematurely. The resonance could be from any spider-type entity. The Asura Realm is said to host countless arachnid species,” Xue Ran cautioned calmly, similarly encased in yellow light.
“Of course, but there’s still a chance, isn’t there?” Hei Lin grinned.
Xue Ran chuckled but said no more.
Moments later, the two emerged from the earth into a pitch-black cavern.
—
After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Xue Ran and Hei Lin hovered inches above the ground, surrounded by pools of black blood.
Four human-sized, spiked green spiders lay motionless in the gore.
“You were right. Not the Asura Spider. A wasted effort,” Hei Lin sighed ruefully.
“Expected. The Asura Realm isn’t vast, but stumbling upon the target immediately was unlikely. At least we’ve gained some useful materials,” Xue Ran replied evenly, reaching out to pluck two pale-yellow stones from the earth.
“True. Better than nothing. But time is short—we should move on,” Hei Lin said, perking up.
“Naturally.”
Xue Ran agreed without hesitation.
With a flash of yellow light, the two vanished back into the earth.
—
Han Li hovered expressionlessly above a small hill, facing a dense swarm of blood-red bats.
Each bat was the size of a human head, fangs bared, wings spanning nearly eight feet when fully extended.
At the center of the swarm loomed a bat several times larger than the rest, its body adorned with golden patterns and a third crimson eye on its forehead.
The creature’s three eyes darted about, studying Han Li with an almost human-like wariness.
Han Li, however, paid the swarm no heed, his hands clasped behind his back as his spiritual sense scoured the surroundings.
As time passed, the giant bat’s caution gave way to a savage ferocity.
Finally, it could no longer restrain itself.
With a silent screech, an invisible wave erupted from its maw.
The surrounding bats responded in kind, their combined sonic assault merging into a crushing tide aimed directly at Han Li.
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