The small vial merely spun in the wind before vanishing without a trace in a flash.
The next moment, a fierce gale erupted above the dense forest, and rolling clouds of five-colored spiritual energy surged forth.
A thunderclap split the clear sky as an enormous bottle mouth, large enough to blot out the heavens, suddenly emerged from the spiritual clouds. With a slight downward tilt, countless dark-green runes spewed forth.
The moment these runes flew out of the bottle mouth, they transformed into bursts of azure mist and exploded.
In an instant, a vast wave of law fluctuations enveloped the entire land.
A deafening roar echoed!
The air trembled slightly as countless trees and clumps of earth surged skyward like a tidal wave.
At first, it was merely individual trees and clods of dirt, but in the blink of an eye, entire swathes of forest and chunks of land were torn from the ground.
Anything drawn within a thousand zhang of the bottle mouth was instantly pulverized into dust and sucked in without a trace.
The void for ten thousand li around became blurred and distorted, shrouded in a faint azure glow, while the ground below bore a massive black basin, its surface unnaturally smooth and devoid of any vegetation, deepening at an eerie speed.
A furious roar erupted as a streak of white light burst from beneath the soil within the basin. In a flash, it transformed into a monstrous elephant, towering over a thousand zhang tall.
The elephant’s body was crystalline white, with a pair of violet-red flaming wings sprouting from its back. With a single flap, rings of purple lightning-fire erupted around it as it charged menacingly toward Han Li.
“So it’s the Venerable Heavenly Elephant. No wonder you possess the ability to transform wood into spirit.”
Han Li’s pupils contracted slightly at the sight of the white flying elephant, but he merely pointed a finger toward the massive bottle mouth in the sky and silently mouthed an incantation.
A loud *bang* echoed.
The giant bottle mouth flickered with azure light once more, and something indistinct shot out from within.
The white elephant let out a mournful cry as a dark-green chain materialized around its body like a ghost, binding it tightly in an instant.
The elephant’s wings flapped wildly, its body shimmering with white crystalline light as terrifying shockwaves erupted outward. Yet, the dark-green chain clung to it like a persistent parasite, tightening abruptly as the surrounding air distorted.
A low growl!
The colossal elephant shattered like porcelain, revealing a middle-aged monk clad in white robes.
The monk’s face was delicate, but now twisted in panic. Seeing the chain lash toward him again, he gritted his teeth and flicked his sleeve, drawing a slender, blood-red blade. With a flash, he slashed viciously at the chain.
A thunderous *boom*!
A thick, pungent stench spread amid a crimson glow as a blinding blood-red flower bloomed in the sky, nearly swallowing the monk whole.
Yet, the dark-green chain remained unscathed, rolling smoothly through the blood-flower before solidifying around the monk once more.
Simultaneously, patches of green light materialized in the surrounding void, converging into a towering emerald hurricane. An unimaginable force surged from within, tearing the blood-flower into countless fragments.
The hurricane then transformed into countless razor-thin azure blades amid a crystalline glow, surging toward the monk at the center.
Each blade was as thin as paper, inscribed with eerie dark-green patterns and exuding a faint aura of law.
Bound by the chain, the monk scanned the blades with his divine sense, his face paling instantly. Before they could strike, he bellowed, “Stop! This monk surrenders! I willingly offer the Dao Token!”
With that, he hastily spat out a pale silver token.
Han Li’s incantation ceased abruptly. His gaze swept over the silver token before he replied impassively,
“One? Where are the others? If the Venerable refuses to relinquish them all, do not blame me for showing no mercy.”
“Fine, I’ll hand them all over! To encounter someone as formidable as you, Daoist, is simply my misfortune. I shall withdraw from the contest entirely.”
The middle-aged monk’s pupils shrank, but after a brief hesitation, he forced a bitter smile and spat out two more silver tokens.
The moment these tokens left his body, a five-colored formation materialized beneath him. With a single rotation, both the formation and the monk vanished from the void.
Only the three silver tokens and the dark-green chain remained.
Han Li observed this without surprise. Instead, he chuckled and raised his hand in a beckoning gesture.
With a soft *whoosh*, the dark-green chain and the bottle mouth in the sky blurred and disappeared. The surrounding green light and the ominous clouds above dissipated, and a small green vial slowly descended from the heavens.
At the same time, the three silver tokens shot toward Han Li of their own accord.
With a sweep of his sleeve, a wave of azure light swept before him, and both the tokens and the vial vanished without a trace.
His body then transformed into a streak of azure light, soaring into the sky. After a few flashes, he departed the area.
Moments later, several streaks of light approached from different directions. After cautiously scanning the area with their divine senses, they each retreated warily.
—
Several days later, above a bizarre crimson desert.
Han Li, now in the form of a three-headed, six-armed golden ape, smashed a hundred-zhang-long monstrous insect into pieces with a single punch. From its remains, a silver token fell.
The central head of the ape inhaled sharply, drawing the token into its mouth before retracting the transformation and resuming human form, flying away.
—
Half a month later, above an endless ocean.
Han Li stood in a triangular formation with a yellow-robed elder and a red-robed woman, facing each other from a distance.
While the other two wore grave expressions, Han Li’s face remained impassive.
Between them floated a thousand-zhang-long golden whale, its body covered in wounds, its breath faint—clearly on the verge of death.
“This phantom beast is so formidable; it must contain more than one Dao Token. Since neither of you intends to withdraw, you may as well leave behind all your gains.” Han Li finally spoke, his voice icy and chilling.
“Even if your powers are extraordinary, to challenge both of us alone is sheer arrogance. It seems we must contend with you, Daoist,” the yellow-robed elder retorted with a cold snort.
As he spoke, he raised both hands, summoning a pitch-black greatsword and an emerald-green pagoda.
With a mere flick of the black sword, a storm of dark sand erupted!
The green pagoda expanded into a mountain-sized colossus, its base shimmering with radiant light as it descended toward Han Li.
Meanwhile, the red-robed woman formed a single-handed seal, her body erupting with crimson flames before transforming into a massive vermilion phoenix.
With a piercing cry, the phoenix flapped its wings, charging toward Han Li amid a sea of fire.
“Well met!”
Han Li let out a low shout, waving a hand to summon three differently colored mountains before him, shielding himself. Simultaneously, his other hand flipped over, revealing the small green vial.
Muttering an incantation, he tossed the vial into the sky…
—
A month later, at the heart of the mysterious space, atop a towering platform that pierced the clouds, several Dragon Clan elders stood gazing into the distance.
Suddenly, a streak of dazzling azure light shot toward them, landing gracefully before the elders.
It was Han Li.
His gaze swept over them before settling on a golden-robed elder, a faint smile playing on his lips.
“Haha! Daoist Han is indeed the first to gather enough Dao Tokens and reach the Dao Platform,” the golden-robed elder laughed heartily.
“Senior Jin flatters me. I merely had some luck in gathering enough tokens so quickly. Please verify if the number suffices,” Han Li replied, flicking his sleeve to release over a hundred silver tokens, which hovered steadily before the elders.
“Hmm, one hundred and eight—enough to exchange for a single Guangling Dao Fruit. Elder Feng, retrieve one for Daoist Han,” Elder Jin declared after a brief scan.
The white-robed elder nodded, reaching into his sleeve to produce a pristine white jade box. Upon opening it, a fist-sized purple-red crystalline fruit was revealed.
The fruit was translucent like jadeite, exuding an indescribable fragrance.
Even from a distance, a single whiff cleared Han Li’s mind, sharpening his senses.
“Truly worthy of being hailed as the foremost spiritual fruit across a thousand realms,” Han Li remarked admiringly as he accepted the box, studying its contents intently before adding, “Its effects need no elaboration, as I’m sure you’re well aware. It’s a pity one can only consume it once in a lifetime, or our clan would never part with it for such an event. That said, the Guangling Dao Fruit shouldn’t be exposed for long. Best store it promptly, Daoist Han.”
“Many thanks for the advice, Senior. But I need not trouble myself with that.”
With a smile, Han Li plucked the fruit from the box and popped it into his mouth, chewing audibly before swallowing every last bit.
The Dragon Clan elders stared in stunned silence.
Han Li, however, smacked his lips, as if savoring the aftertaste.
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