Chapter 1536: Blood Cloud

The originally clear and cloudless sky suddenly turned a vivid crimson in the distance, as if bathed in sunset hues.

Countless blood-red clouds surged from that direction, silently rolling over Han Li’s head in moments and rapidly spreading further into the distance.

In the blink of an eye, everything within Han Li’s sight was dyed a deep red, the air thick with a nauseating stench of blood. It was as if he had been abruptly transported to an alien world.

Han Li sniffed the air lightly, his face paling slightly.

This scent was unmistakably the reek of blood!

For such an expanse of blood clouds to appear, how much blood must have been spilled to create such a horrifying sight?

Instantly, Han Li became extremely cautious.

His flight halted, and a robe of lightning flickered into existence around him, transforming into a layer of crackling blue-white arcs. At the same time, a faint golden glow shimmered across his skin as scales of golden armor emerged. Behind him, the illusory form of a three-headed, six-armed figure materialized.

Yet Han Li himself remained composed, arms crossed, gazing upward with narrowed eyes that gleamed with a faint blue light.

This bizarre phenomenon made him suspect that something had set its sights on him. However, given his current cultivation level and newly mastered abilities, even if a Body Integration cultivator were to strike, he still had a chance to escape. Thus, he remained outwardly calm.

Of course, in that instant, he also released his divine sense, sweeping it across the skies in all directions in search of any hidden enemies.

But what he discovered sent a chill down his spine.

No matter how far his divine sense reached—spanning tens of thousands of miles—he found no trace of an enemy. Instead, the skies beyond his perception were identical to his immediate surroundings, all shrouded in the same crimson blood clouds.

Han Li sucked in a sharp breath.

Could it be that he wasn’t being targeted by someone, but rather trapped within some mysterious restriction?

The thought unsettled him.

After a moment of hesitation, his expression darkened before he suddenly transformed into a streak of azure light, vanishing into the horizon after a few flashes.

Regardless of the cause behind this unnatural phenomenon, it was best to put as much distance between himself and this place as possible.

At his current cultivation level, when traveling at full speed, the azure streak he left behind soon thinned into a mere thread, piercing through the sky. One moment it appeared at one end of the heavens, and the next, it had already traversed hundreds of feet in an instant.

His speed was so astonishing that it nearly matched that of a Body Integration cultivator.

While part of this was due to his improved cultivation, the primary reason lay in the newly refined seventy-two flying swords, which were incredibly swift and light as air.

By riding one of these swords, Han Li achieved such extraordinary speed.

Even he was surprised by his own velocity, and a mix of shock and delight followed.

However, the smile on his face didn’t last long. After a while, it froze before vanishing entirely, replaced by an expression of disbelief.

Despite flying hundreds of thousands of miles in one go, he remained under the same eerie blood clouds, with no end in sight.

Horrified, Han Li pushed his speed even further.

After flying relentlessly for over half an hour with no change in the crimson sky, he finally slowed, his azure light dissipating as he reappeared in his human form.

His face was now grim.

It was clear he was trapped within some profound restriction—otherwise, such a phenomenon would be impossible. But the sheer scale of this restriction was utterly terrifying.

Suspended midair, Han Li’s mind raced as he contemplated escape strategies.

But before he could devise a plan, the blood clouds above suddenly churned violently, revealing countless fist-sized crimson runes. These runes spun within the clouds before emitting a low, droning hum.

The sound grew louder and louder, soon becoming deafening.

Alarmed, Han Li acted without hesitation. With a hand seal, a flash of cyan light burst from his body as seventy-two azure flying swords shot out from all over him. Circling him swiftly, they transformed into seventy-two lotus flowers, dancing around him in a protective formation.

Yet he didn’t stop there. With a flick of his wrist, a black shadow appeared in his grasp—a miniature mountain, only a few inches tall.

He tossed it without hesitation.

The black mountain expanded instantly to over a hundred feet in height, shielding him from above.

Though uncertain of what would happen, Han Li had already prepared multiple layers of defense in an instant.

Just as he braced for battle, the crimson runes in the sky descended as if drawn to him, hurtling toward him from all directions.

The runes targeting him from above were blocked by the massive magnetic mountain, but those from the sides and below surged toward him like a frenzied tide.

Han Li’s expression darkened. Without delay, he pointed at the surrounding lotus flowers.

The lotuses spun rapidly, conjuring countless azure sword beams that slashed toward the incoming runes.

A series of *puff* sounds erupted as the runes were instantly cleaved apart, exploding into clouds of bloody mist. The mist writhed, attempting to slip through the gaps in the sword beams.

But Han Li let out a low shout, and the blue-white lightning around him flared, transforming into a massive electric net that repelled the encroaching mist.

Just as he relaxed slightly, the bloody mist recoiled, vanishing back into the blood clouds above.

The clouds trembled violently before an earth-shaking boom resounded. A colossal crimson rune, spanning over three hundred feet, slowly descended from the clouds.

The sight of such a massive rune drained the color from Han Li’s face.

Taking a deep breath, he pointed at the black mountain above him.

With a dull thud, countless gray threads shot out from the mountain, weaving together into a vast gray net poised to intercept the descending rune.

But then something unexpected happened.

Instead of crashing down as he anticipated, the enormous rune began rotating slowly beneath the blood clouds, its surface pulsing with eerie crimson light.

Han Li waited for the time it took to drink a cup of tea, yet nothing occurred.

Frowning, he grew uncertain of the rune’s intent.

But then his expression shifted as if he had noticed something. With a swift motion, he slapped his storage bracelet.

A jade box, sealed with several talismans of varying colors, shot out in a flash of cyan light, landing in his palm.

The talismans trembled violently, their glow flickering erratically.

Even more bizarrely, as Han Li examined the box, the crimson rune in the sky pulsed in response, its light flaring wildly.

With a series of *hiss* sounds, the talismans spontaneously combusted, turning to ash in an instant.

Almost simultaneously, a thunderous *boom* erupted.

The jade box exploded in a burst of white light, shards flying in all directions.

An ordinary cultivator would have been severely injured, but Han Li’s body was as tough as tempered steel. The fragments merely bounced off him harmlessly.

As the light faded, a single object remained suspended in the air—a slender, yellowish rod inscribed with dark green patterns.

It was none other than Han Li’s *Profound Heavenly Fruit*!

The moment the fruit appeared, the crimson rune in the sky trembled violently before bursting apart with a *bang*, dispersing into nothingness.

Han Li’s expression shifted repeatedly, his face a mask of shock and bewilderment.

This was far too bizarre! Could it be that these blood clouds had been drawn here by the Profound Heavenly Fruit?

The thought unsettled him.

But before he could ponder further, a deafening roar erupted from the blood clouds above.

Startled, Han Li looked up—only to be met with a terrifying sight.

The blood clouds churned violently, conjuring countless phantoms—mostly of demonic beasts, but also of strange races he had never seen before, including many resembling the Winged Tribes.

Yet whether beast or humanoid, every phantom bore a twisted, agonized expression.

“Blood Sacrifice!” Han Li blurted out in realization.

At that moment, all the crimson phantoms surged into the blood clouds, merging into a colossal blood-red formation that slowly took shape, covering most of the sky.

Han Li inhaled sharply before grabbing the Profound Heavenly Fruit and transforming into a streak of azure light, darting hundreds of feet away in an instant.

Seeing the danger, he chose to flee without hesitation.

After a few flashes, the azure streak vanished beyond the horizon.

Yet the massive formation, spanning several miles in diameter, continued forming at a steady pace, unaffected by Han Li’s departure.

After the time it took to eat a meal, Han Li had already fled hundreds of thousands of miles—yet the blood clouds still loomed overhead.

The colossal formation, however, had long been left behind.

Relieved, Han Li slowed his flight slightly.

But at that very moment, a thunderous roar erupted from the blood clouds.

His heart sank as he looked up.

The previously calm clouds suddenly dispersed, and the sky twisted before a massive blood-red formation materialized, its center directly above Han Li.

Han Li’s face turned deathly pale.

Though he didn’t know the purpose of this formation, its relentless pursuit could mean nothing good.

Without hesitation, he prepared to flee again in a flash of cyan light.

But just then, the formation above underwent a sudden, drastic change!