To be honest, since this Leopard Kirin Beast only possessed strength equivalent to a Nascent Soul cultivator, it was rarely released to engage in battles after being subdued. However, ever since following Han Li, it had never lacked rare and precious medicinal pills. Over the years, its cultivation had significantly improved, reaching the peak of a tenth-grade demon beast. Just one more step, and it could break through its bottleneck to become a Deity Transformation-level existence.
Generally speaking, most demon beasts undergo a heavenly tribulation at the eighth grade, allowing them to transform into humanoid forms and fully awaken their spiritual intelligence.
However, some mutated spirit beasts and those with unique bloodlines are exceptions. Some may delay their transformation to later stages, while others may never achieve it in their lifetime. Yet, correspondingly, once these beasts advance and transform, their intelligence and supernatural abilities far surpass those of their peers, even enabling them to defeat opponents of higher tiers.
The Leopard Kirin Beast originally inherited the bloodline of the Kirin, and after undergoing a fortuitous mutation, whether it would ever achieve transformation was something only the heavens knew.
But now, it seemed that the Frostflame Qi within these Frostflame Demons was the key to breaking through its Deity Transformation bottleneck.
Han Li didn’t need to think much to understand what the beast was currently facing, though he inwardly sighed in resignation.
If the beast were to break through under normal circumstances, it would be a cause for celebration. But now, deep within the Earth Abyss, this sudden advancement was far from ideal. Who knew what trouble the anomalies of its breakthrough might attract?
Though Lei Lan and the others didn’t know the specifics of the Leopard Kirin Beast’s condition, they could clearly see the increasingly dazzling white light and surging aura emanating from the small beast, leaving them astonished once again.
By now, Han Li’s group had ventured deep into the Frostflame territory, having traversed nearly half of the region.
After devouring another batch of mid-tier Frostflame Demons, the Leopard Kirin Beast curled up on Han Li’s shoulder, motionless, its eyes half-closed in a lazy demeanor. Yet, the white glow around it remained undiminished, swirling restlessly and drawing attention.
As they flew past a stretch of icy mountains, a peculiar, elongated canyon appeared ahead. Black winds howled, nearly blotting out the sky, yet the canyon itself was eerily silent.
Faced with this strange sight, Han Li and the others showed no surprise—they had encountered similar scenes several times before. Without hesitation, they steered their escape lights into the canyon.
The canyon wasn’t particularly wide, spanning three to four hundred zhang, but it was a thousand zhang deep. Combined with the roaring black winds overhead, an inexplicable pressure weighed on their hearts as they flew through it.
Fortunately, Han Li and his companions were no ordinary individuals, unshaken by such phenomena. They remained composed within their escape lights.
Suddenly, a low growl made Han Li turn his head.
The Leopard Kirin Beast, which had been resting on his shoulder, abruptly stood up, its fur bristling and eyes wide open as if facing a formidable enemy.
Han Li was startled. Previously, the beast had never reacted this way, even when encountering numerous Frostflame Demons. What could provoke such a response now?
In an instant, realization dawned on him, and his escape light halted abruptly.
Following his lead, Lei Lan, Qin Xiao, and the others also stopped, casting questioning glances his way.
Without a word, Han Li’s eyes flickered with blue light as he gazed ahead. Before anyone could ask, he suddenly swung his palm forward, releasing a streak of golden light that shot deep into the canyon.
A deafening explosion followed as the golden light vanished into the darkness, splitting a section of the icy ground below and revealing a long, narrow fissure.
A pained screech erupted from beneath, followed by a surge of black mist that rapidly condensed into a ten-zhang-wide sphere of dark fog.
“Frostflame King! It’s the Frostflame Demon King! This place actually has such a creature!” Bai Bi exclaimed in shock.
Lei Lan and Qin Xiao were equally alarmed.
At that moment, the massive fog sphere spun in mid-air, drawing countless shards of ice from the ground to encase itself in a crystalline shell.
A burst of black light later, a twenty-zhang-tall black ice phoenix materialized, its obsidian body gleaming, its eyes glowing with eerie black light as it fixed its gaze on Han Li—or rather, on the small beast perched on his shoulder, as if confronting a mortal enemy.
The Leopard Kirin Beast growled lowly, its emerald eyes burning with eagerness.
Han Li’s brow twitched in contemplation before he suddenly reached back, grabbed the small beast, and—to everyone’s astonishment—hurled it high into the air.
With a flap of his wings and a thunderous crack, he transformed into a blue-white arc of lightning and vanished.
The next instant, thunder boomed above the ice phoenix as Han Li reappeared. But with a slight shift, he blurred into a series of afterimages, reappearing beneath the massive creature.
The ice phoenix, momentarily stunned, let out a furious cry and lashed out with a colossal claw, intending to crush the insignificant human.
Each of the pitch-black claws was over a zhang in size, descending with overwhelming force.
Yet Han Li ignored them, his hands blurring as countless black-and-white fist shadows materialized, raining upward like a storm.
A relentless barrage of *bang* sounds erupted as the two-colored explosions shattered the claws into fragments, scattering them like broken porcelain.
The black ice phoenix shrieked in agony, spewing a torrent of black wind toward Han Li. But as the gale reached him, he vanished like smoke.
Confused, the phoenix scanned its surroundings—only for a gust of wind to herald Han Li’s reappearance on its back.
With two thunderous punches, black-and-white ripples engulfed the phoenix, its massive body cracking apart before crumbling into glittering shards.
The black fog reappeared, shapeless and flickering ominously.
A small shadow pounced onto it—the Leopard Kirin Beast, now voraciously devouring the mist, its nose twitching excitedly.
The Frostflame Demon King’s essence resisted, lashing out with tendrils of black energy and summoning more ice to reform. But the beast shredded the tendrils with its claws, while Han Li incinerated the incoming ice with silver sparks from his sleeve.
From Han Li’s initial strike to the phoenix’s destruction, mere moments had passed.
Though Lei Lan and the others had witnessed Han Li’s prowess before, his lightning-fast brutality left them stunned.
The black fog writhed under the beast’s relentless consumption, shrinking rapidly. Soon, half had been devoured before the Leopard Kirin Beast leaped down, its body pulsing with white light as it curled up motionless.
Han Li’s expression shifted. Without hesitation, he produced a white jade vial and chanted an incantation, sucking the remaining fog into it.
Lei Lan and Bai Bi watched enviously—though the Frostflame Demon King was weak for its title, its pure Frostflame Qi was invaluable for alchemy, artifact forging, and secret techniques.
But since Han Li had claimed it, they dared not voice their desires.
Once the vial sealed, Han Li turned his attention to the beast, now trembling with conflicting emotions—excitement, fear, restlessness.
Sighing softly, he landed beside it, stroking its head and soothing it through their mental link.
The Leopard Kirin Beast licked his hand, its agitation gradually subsiding.
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