Han Li was initially shocked when his flying swords proved ineffective against the two demons, but upon reflection, it seemed only natural.
High-level demon beasts almost always specialized in cultivating their demonic bodies. Some naturally thick-skinned species could even train their bodies to withstand attacks from artifacts of cultivators at the same level without suffering damage. Moreover, demon beasts typically lived several times, even dozens of times longer than ordinary cultivators. Thus, the higher their level, the more time they had to refine their bodies to an astonishing degree that left human cultivators dumbfounded.
This was why cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage could rely on artifacts and wits to kill demon beasts below level eight. However, once demon beasts passed the metamorphosis stage, fully refining their bodies and gaining heightened intelligence, they could overpower human cultivators of the same level.
Flood dragons belonged to the scaled tribe among heaven-earth spirit beasts. A level-eight flood dragon could rival an ordinary level-nine demon beast, so its defensive capabilities were naturally formidable. As for the turtle demon before him, it was one of the most defensively powerful species among turtles.
Given that Han Li’s flying swords had only recently been tempered to a modest level of power, it was no surprise they couldn’t harm the two immobilized demons. If a Nascent Soul old monster were here with artifacts tempered over centuries, the two demons would surely be doomed even while immobilized.
Conversely, if a Nascent Soul old monster lay immobilized on the ground, Han Li could easily slay them with his current flying swords—though the exception would be someone like Barbarian Beard, whose body was nearly as refined as a demon beast’s.
As for the Evil-Warding Thunder, while exceptionally lethal against demonic arts and evil techniques, it held no particular advantage against demon beasts. Although the thunder’s power originated from the Golden Lightning Bamboo itself, Han Li’s current cultivation only allowed him to unleash one or two-tenths of its true potential.
Understanding this, Han Li felt no discouragement. He knew clearly that once he advanced to the Nascent Soul stage and spent over a century specifically tempering his Emerald Bamboo Cloud-Swallowing Swords, the power of his artifacts would skyrocket. By then, a giant sword formed from several flying swords would have no trouble piercing the defenses of these two demons.
After all, the Emerald Bamboo Cloud-Swallowing Swords were top-tier artifacts he had poured immense effort into crafting, and he had deep faith in their potential.
Currently, Han Li could easily kill ordinary late Core Formation cultivators or even average level-seven demon beasts. However, he dared not consider facing Nascent Soul old monsters or level-eight demon beasts head-on. The Core Formation and Nascent Soul stages were two entirely different worlds!
These thoughts flashed through Han Li’s mind in an instant. He glanced at the turtle demon beneath his feet and Feng Xi within the white light nearby, his expression flickering uncertainly.
He admitted to himself that aside from risking the use of the Dry Blue Ice Flame, he had no method to eliminate the two demons quickly. Even then, he estimated that while the turtle demon might be manageable, the chances of successfully killing Feng Xi—with that freakish protective treasure—were less than thirty percent. This was because he had no control over the Dry Blue Ice Flame and couldn’t concentrate its power on the two demons, drastically reducing its effectiveness.
What made Han Li hesitate further was that he could release but not retrieve the ice flame. If he failed to kill the Wind Splitter Beast, this precious treasure would be handed to the demon on a silver platter, only boosting its strength. In that case, he might as well keep it for himself! After condensing his Nascent Soul and refining it, the Dry Blue Ice Flame would undoubtedly become another trump card.
Han Li didn’t ponder long—he had no time to waste.
The turtle demon was still bloated, but Feng Xi’s abdomen had shrunk by more than half compared to earlier, and the gloom on his face was growing darker.
A chill ran down Han Li’s spine. He estimated it wouldn’t be long before this demon fully suppressed the medicinal power in the spirit liquid and regained mobility and magic.
Gritting his teeth, Han Li bent down, snatched the storage pouch from the turtle demon at his feet, and kicked the immobilized creature into the earthfire pool. After retrieving another storage pouch from the flood dragon’s remains, he flashed to Feng Xi’s back and similarly kicked him into the raging earthfire. Without a second glance at the demons’ fate, Han Li transformed into a green streak and fled.
He refused to believe that, no matter how powerful these demons were, they could find him if he hid on some random island. With a loud *boom*, he blasted a large hole in the stone door, and his escaping light vanished without a trace.
The artifact refining room fell into silence.
Some time later, an extremely venomous and violent roar erupted from the earthfire pool. A piercing white light shot out, shattered the roof, pierced through the cave’s restrictions, and disappeared.
The next moment, the white light appeared directly above the small island, circled the area at a speed invisible to the naked eye, and then returned. As the light faded, it revealed the figure of the level-nine Wind Splitter Beast, Feng Xi.
He appeared unchanged, seemingly unharmed by the earthfire pool, but his face was contorted with gritted teeth, and he held the still-immobile turtle demon’s massive body in one hand.
Without any protective treasures, the turtle demon had suffered in the earthfire—its body was singed, and its beard and hair were gone.
Feng Xi’s eyes glinted with white light as he scanned the area. After a moment of sinister thought, a ferocious expression emerged. He formed a hand seal, white light flickering on his fingers, and a trace of savagery flashed across his face.
Without a word, he identified a direction and shot off as a white streak through the sky. Meanwhile, Han Li, fleeing frantically with his blood cloak, broke into a cold sweat.
Just moments earlier, the Wind Spirit Force trapped within him by the Evil-Warding Thunder had suddenly stirred restlessly. Fortunately, Han Li reacted quickly, dispersing the spiritual power in the cloak and forcefully suppressing the anomaly with pure spiritual energy.
Having reached late Core Formation, Han Li still couldn’t control the blood cloak freely, but he could now cut off the forcibly drawn spiritual power at will. This significantly increased the practicality of the ancient treasure.
His face pale, Han Li knew Feng Xi had broken free. Without hesitation, he changed direction, poured spiritual power into the cloak, and accelerated his escape.
He had thoroughly enraged this demon earlier—if caught, being dismembered and having his soul refined would be the least of his worries. What frustrated Han Li was that despite the distance, the demon could still control the Wind Spirit Force sealed within him.
This was entirely unexpected, stirring a hint of regret in Han Li. Perhaps risking the loss of the Dry Blue Ice Bead back in the refining room would have been the wiser choice!
But dwelling on it now was useless. Han Li could only transform into a blood light and flee madly. In the following days, the Wind Spirit Force within him flared up at intervals ranging from two or three hours to as short as a meal’s time.
Though he suppressed it each time, he had to immediately alter his escape route to avoid being tracked and caught.
Although Han Li’s escape speed was far inferior to Feng Xi’s, he held the initiative, always managing to put distance between them. Yet, Feng Xi, sensing the Wind Spirit Force, would relentlessly close in again.
Thus, Han Li and the Wind Splitter Beast continued their chase for over a month, playing a game of cat and mouse across the vast ocean.
During his flight, Han Li was both terrified and extremely frustrated. To avoid being pursued indefinitely, he naturally wanted to refine the Wind Spirit Force within him. But the energy was exceptionally tenacious—after a month, it showed no sign of diminishing, making it impossible for a Core Formation cultivator to refine. Reluctantly, Han Li gave up on the idea and focused entirely on escape and concealment.
Yet, Han Li found it puzzling that Feng Xi didn’t frequently use spells to detect his location. If he had, the demon could have intercepted him long ago. This left Han Li utterly perplexed.
Unbeknownst to Han Li, Feng Xi, thousands of miles away, was equally frustrated. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to use more spells to locate Han Li, but his situation was surprisingly similar.
Although Feng Xi had forced the hidden substance in the spirit liquid together and temporarily enveloped it with spiritual power, it flared up at regular intervals, compelling him to halt and suppress it with effort.
He was confident that with some quiet meditation, he could fully refine it. But now, while chasing Han Li and with dwindling spiritual power, he had no opportunity to do so. He could only suppress his fury and desperately continue the pursuit.
As for the turtle demon, though it had long recovered, Feng Xi found its escape speed too slow and left it behind, chasing alone.
In his irritation, Feng Xi was also astonished by Han Li’s speed, vaguely guessing that his opponent must possess some speed-boosting treasure.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage