The woman was clad in a short emerald-green robe, her figure slender and graceful, her face strikingly alluring. Her bare arms, as white and tender as lotus roots, shimmered with golden light, embedded with several inch-long arrow-like artifacts that appeared neither wholly metallic nor entirely organic. Yet, her beautiful eyes, fixed on the group of fish-like monsters before her, carried a faint, enigmatic smile.
The fish monsters, all seemingly in their prime, hovered a few feet above the ground, encircling the woman with threatening growls. Despite their aggressive stance, their faces betrayed unmistakable fear.
“Will you hand over two of your kin yourselves, or shall I do it for you? If not for the fact that your kind still holds some use for our race, I would have exterminated you all long ago. You wouldn’t even have the chance to thrive in this Blazing Fire Land,” the woman said, her delicate lips parting to utter words as cold as ice.
“D-dream on! We w-will never… surrender our kin!” stammered a towering male fish monster, his face showing far less fear than the others, his voice barely coherent amidst his growls.
Han Li, concealed high above, overheard the exchange. A flicker of surprise crossed his face, followed by a slight sigh of relief.
To his astonishment, they were speaking an ancient language recorded in the spiritual realm’s texts. This unexpected discovery brought him a surge of joy.
“Hmph, truly an ungrateful bunch. I’ve just finished dining and had no intention of exerting myself further. But if you refuse the easy way, then I won’t mind indulging in a bit more bloodshed,” the woman retorted, her expression darkening, the hint of amusement in her eyes vanishing instantly.
The lead male fish monster roared in fury, and in unison with the others, their bodies flashed red as they shot backward into the molten lake below. Some raised their weapons, others swung their arms wildly.
Instantly, the molten lava churned violently, spewing forth waves of scorching crimson energy that surged into the bodies of the fish monsters. Their forms swelled to several zhang in length, their auras radiating power comparable to the Nascent Soul stage. The lead male even reached the early-stage Void Refinement level.
“It seems you’ve forgotten the pain once your wounds healed. Aside from this pitiful ‘Bathing in Flames’ technique, what else can you muster? Very well, I’ll teach you another harsh lesson,” the young woman chuckled, her laughter light and mocking. With a twist of her waist, her figure blurred, and in an instant, she appeared amidst the group of fish monsters. Without any visible movement, her body flashed with light, and countless crystalline threads shot out at an inconceivable speed.
The sound of tearing air echoed!
Almost simultaneously, the fish monsters toppled over, their seemingly impenetrable red glow utterly useless against the piercing threads.
The young woman’s gaze swept over the immobilized fish monsters on the molten lake, her lips curling into a cruel smirk that clashed with her delicate beauty. She raised an arm, her hand making a grasping motion toward two female fish monsters.
With two dull thuds, the chests of the two females convulsed, their hearts ripped out by an invisible force and hurled toward the woman. She opened her small mouth, releasing two crystalline threads that pierced the hearts mid-flight, coiled around them, and drew them back into her mouth, which she swallowed without hesitation.
“The taste remains as exquisite as ever, truly never tiresome. Pity your Void Fish kin reproduce so sparingly. To avoid waste, I’ll take these two as offerings today. But though death may be spared, punishment is inevitable!” Licking the blood from her lips, the woman wore an expression of relish, though her words grew even more chilling.
Suddenly, she spat out a sphere of blue light, grasping it with one hand. As the glow faded, she held a pale-blue whip studded with gleaming, razor-sharp barbs.
A flash of malice crossed her face as she flicked her wrist, the whip transforming into countless afterimages that lashed out at the surviving fish monsters.
The crack of the whip filled the air.
The whip, crafted from some unknown material, seemed tailor-made to counter the fish monsters. Even the lightest strike shattered their protective auras, leaving deep, bloody gashes in its wake.
Moans and growls of pain erupted across the molten lake.
The lead male fish monster, bearing the brunt of the lashes, initially glared defiantly at the woman. But after enduring the relentless flogging, he could only curl into a ball, his body convulsing. The others, too, were left drenched in blood, not a single patch of unbroken skin remaining.
Only then did the woman pause, retracting her whip with a light laugh. “This whipping should serve as a reminder to behave for a while. If you’re smart, you’ll breed more of your kind. That way, even if some are taken as offerings, your tribe might still grow. Our Matriarch would be pleased and might even reward you. But if I return to find your numbers unchanged, a mere whipping won’t suffice.”
Having delivered her threat with practiced ease, she ignored the fish monsters and spat out a translucent, bubble-like object. It expanded, enveloping the two dead female fish monsters, then shrank at her command, drawing the corpses into her mouth with a swift inhalation.
Under the venomous glares of the remaining fish monsters, her body transformed into a streak of white light, darting away and vanishing into a distant rock face.
Soon after, the fish monsters, dejected and battered, helped each other up. After a brief discussion, they plunged back into the molten lake, disappearing without a trace.
Silence returned to the molten lake.
But moments later, the air rippled, and a faint, indistinct figure materialized, scanning the lake below.
It was Han Li, who had witnessed everything from his hidden vantage point.
“Fascinating. According to ancient texts, the Void Fish tribe appeared briefly in antiquity before vanishing entirely from all realms. Yet here they are, surviving in this minor Asura Realm. It’s said they possessed some formidable power, which led to their near-extinction. But few know exactly what that power was,” Han Li murmured, glancing in the direction the woman had disappeared.
His expression turned pensive. “She must be a transformed Asura Spider. But her cultivation is only at the late Void Refinement stage, and Asura Spiders typically only take human form upon reaching adulthood. Strange.”
Rubbing his chin, Han Li pondered for a long moment before shaking his head. “No matter. First, I’ll track her to the Asura Spiders’ lair. The rest can wait. And these Void Fish can’t be left unattended. Come out!”
With a low command, he flicked his sleeve.
A golden orb shot forth, transforming mid-air into a half-foot-tall violet-gold figurine—featureless save for its cold, emotionless eyes.
“Keep watch over these Void Fish until I return,” Han Li ordered indifferently.
The figurine nodded, morphing into a golden streak that circled the area before plunging into the molten lake.
This was none other than the evolved Gold Devouring Beetle King.
As for the Leopard-Qilin Beast, its cultivation was too low for Han Li’s current needs, so he had left it behind on Sacred Island to train in seclusion.
With everything arranged, Han Li relaxed. His body blurred once more as he transformed into a shadowy streak, pursuing the woman’s trail.
With his abilities, leaving a trace of his divine sense on the woman had been effortless, ensuring he wouldn’t lose track of her anytime soon.
Catching up took no more than the time needed to drink a cup of tea.
Han Li’s form turned completely transparent, his movement silent and invisible as he trailed her from a distance of over ten li.
The young woman flew on, oblivious.
Han Li watched as she visited a swamp, slaying a newly advanced Void Refinement-stage black boar-like monster, then ventured into a hidden valley to harvest a dozen unknown golden fruits before continuing unerringly in the same direction.
Han Li followed without a sound.
If this woman was indeed an Asura Spider in disguise, her current strength meant she couldn’t possibly extract the fabled Threads of Time from her core. His true targets were the adult Asura Spiders—otherwise, he would have acted back at the molten lake.
But when a towering mountain range appeared on the horizon, stretching as if to touch the heavens, Han Li’s spirits lifted.
The woman slowed her flight, descending as she approached the mountain’s edge.
A sharp cry from her summoned a thunderous response from deep within the mountains. Eight or nine enormous avian creatures, each over ten zhang in size, emerged, swiftly converging around her.
They landed obediently, escorting her onward.
Simultaneously, an overwhelmingly powerful divine sense swept out from the mountains, scanning the periphery. It brushed past Han Li, who remained undetected.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage