Under these circumstances, having such a formidable spirit insect to command would greatly enhance his chances of survival. With a thought, the small banner in his hand expanded slightly, and the golden Devouring Gold Beetle circled once before plunging into the banner’s surface. With a flash of black mist, it vanished without a trace.
Without hesitation, Han Li tossed the small banner aside, and the black-green Spirit Infant grinned before opening its mouth and directly sucking the Yin Luo Banner into its body. It then transformed into a pitch-black wisp and disappeared into Han Li’s forehead through his crown.
Han Li took a deep breath and was about to close his eyes to begin comprehending the incantation to lift the seal, preparing for any unforeseen dangers. However, his expression suddenly shifted, and he glanced upward.
Although his cultivation had been sealed, his spiritual sense remained intact. If his earlier perception was correct, that Utra Tribe Immortal Master had once again flown over their caravan.
This was rather interesting. This Utra Tribe cultivator, who was clearly searching for him, had passed over the caravan almost every two or three days over the past dozen days. Yet each time, he had hurried by without descending to question the caravan, rendering the various identity-concealing measures Han Li had prepared useless.
Though puzzled, Han Li was naturally pleased with this behavior. He closed his eyes and resumed his meditation.
At that moment, a loud shout from Ying Lu came from outside the carriage: “Stay alert! In two more days, we’ll reach the Holy Temple’s designated resting point. There, we can rest safely for two days.”
“Holy Temple resting point?” Han Li’s heart stirred slightly at these words, but after a brief moment of contemplation, he ignored it and focused on comprehending the incantation.
However, just half a day later, Han Li sensed another tribal caravan approaching nearby. This caravan didn’t seem particularly large, but it had about a dozen more people than the Heron Tribe. Given their trajectories, the two caravans would meet within an hour. Since these people appeared harmless, Han Li paid them no further mind.
Nearly an hour later, the two tribute caravans spotted each other almost simultaneously, causing a brief commotion. After some communication between the two sides, it turned out that the leader of the other caravan was an old acquaintance of Ying Lu’s—a small tribe called the Red Wolf Tribe. Naturally, both leaders were overjoyed and immediately merged their caravans to continue the journey together.
“Brother Ying Lu, where is your tribe’s Immortal Master? Is he in the carriage?” The other leader, a burly man with a thick beard, eyed the Heron Tribe’s carriages curiously.
“Isn’t your tribe’s Immortal Master also in a carriage? How many Immortal Masters has the Red Wolf Tribe brought along this time?” Ying Lu replied evasively.
“How many? Just one, of course. I had to swallow my pride and spend a fortune to persuade a free-roaming Immortal Master to temporarily stay with our tribe. Don’t tell me your tribe has two?” The bearded man smirked, glancing sideways at the elder. The two had some history and spoke without much restraint.
“Two? Just one as well. It was also quite a struggle to get the Immortal Master to agree to escort us,” Ying Lu sighed. The two exchanged glances and couldn’t help but share a bitter smile, feeling like kindred spirits in hardship.
“Well, regardless, having an Immortal Master in the caravan makes things much safer. We’re only a day or so away from the resting point, so there shouldn’t be any more issues. But the remaining half of the journey will take us through the territories of larger tribes, so we’ll need to be extra cautious. How about this—after resting, we gather a few small tribes and travel together? That would be much safer,” Ying Lu suggested after a moment of thought.
“Let me think about it. In the past, there have been cases where small tribes banded together, only for one of them to bring an extremely valuable tribute and end up dragging everyone else into trouble,” the bearded man hesitated, sounding uncertain.
“Brother Ba, you’re overthinking it. Such incidents are one in a hundred. The chances of our small tribes having precious tributes are far lower than the risk of being robbed outright on the road,” Ying Lu shook his head dismissively.
“Alright, we’ll discuss this later,” the bearded man named Ba didn’t outright reject the idea, seeming somewhat tempted.
Meanwhile, the ordinary members of both caravans mingled freely, chatting amiably. A few young women from both tribes, in particular, were surrounded by eager young men, their laughter ringing out clearly.
These women had been selected for the tribute mission, so they were naturally the cream of their respective tribes—exceptionally beautiful. It was no wonder the men from both tribes were so excited.
Hearing the laughter behind him, Ying Lu shook his head and was about to turn and admonish his people, lest they offend the Immortal Master in the carriage. Just then, a strange bird cry echoed from the sky—neither an eagle’s nor a vulture’s, yet it reached everyone’s ears with startling clarity.
The elder’s face paled at the sound, and he turned to the bearded man, who wore an equally grim expression, his eyes filled with panic.
“Everyone, dismount and take cover! It’s the demonic ape-vultures! Quickly summon Immortal Master Han!” Ying Lu shouted in alarm. Almost simultaneously, the bearded man yelled similar orders to his own people: “Hide behind the carts! Call Immortal Master Feng to deal with the demonic birds!”
At the mention of “ape-vultures,” the entire caravan erupted into chaos. People scrambled off their horses in terror, some even rolling off in their panic. Everyone either crouched beneath their horses or hid behind carts, their faces ashen as they looked skyward.
Three black dots had appeared in the sky, rapidly growing larger. In moments, three brown demonic birds came into view.
With ape-like heads and avian bodies, their two-zhang-long wings bore fluffy ape-like arms. Their gaping maws emitted spine-chilling screeches, sending chills down everyone’s spines.
Though ape-vultures were only second-tier demonic birds on the grasslands, they were far more cunning and vicious than other beasts of their rank. Not only were they immensely strong, with claws capable of shattering stone and metal, but their eerie cries also had a soul-dazing effect. Even low-level Foundation Establishment Immortal Masters often struggled against them, let alone ordinary mortals. These creatures rarely appeared on the grasslands, yet here were three at once—how could the caravan not be terrified?
“What’s all this panic? They’re just a few second-tier demonic beasts!” A cold snort came from one of the Red Wolf Tribe’s carriages, followed by a red flash as a figure shot out, hovering in the air atop an embroidered handkerchief.
Seeing this person, Ying Lu was taken aback. This was also an Immortal Master wearing a green hood, and judging by the voice, they were similarly young.
“Immortal Master Feng, be careful! There are three ape-vultures!” the bearded man named Ba warned, his voice trembling slightly.
Before hiring this person, the bearded man had inquired about his cultivation level and knew that Immortal Master Feng was only at the early Foundation Establishment stage—barely qualified as an Immortal Master. In theory, he’d struggle against even one ape-vulture, let alone three, hence the man’s deep concern.
Meanwhile, the elder on the ground hastily turned his gaze to one of his own tribe’s carriages. Seeing a similarly green-hooded figure standing on the carriage shaft and looking skyward, he relaxed slightly. As long as this Immortal Master Han’s cultivation wasn’t too low, the two of them working together might still scare off the three ape-vultures.
The three ape-vultures, of course, immediately spotted the blue-robed figure hovering on a magic tool. They had encountered Utra Tribe Immortal Masters before and knew such opponents weren’t to be trifled with. Yet, they were reluctant to abandon the plentiful prey below. After a moment’s hesitation, the three demonic birds began circling about a hundred zhang above the ground.
“Hmph! Seeking death.” Seeing that the ape-vultures hadn’t fled, the blue-robed man grew impatient. Without another word, he flung out several talismans, which transformed into fiery snakes several zhang long, streaking toward the demonic birds.
“Oh? Fire Snake Technique!” Han Li, standing on the carriage, couldn’t help but exclaim softly in surprise.
Though the Fire Snake Technique was a low-level spell, crafting it into talismans wasn’t something an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator could casually afford. This person was clearly no ordinary cultivator. Han Li narrowed his eyes, intrigued. But then he frowned and sighed inwardly.
Despite their fierce momentum, the three fire snakes were easily dodged by the ape-vultures at such a distance. The blue-robed man’s understanding of the Fire Snake Technique was shallow—he didn’t even know to guide the snakes mid-flight to track the enemies, wasting several talismans for nothing. Worse, it only enraged the demonic birds.
The largest ape-vulture let out a piercing screech, and all three folded their wings, diving straight for the blue-robed man.
Seeing his talismans fail, the blue-robed man seemed momentarily stunned. As the birds swooped down, he panicked. After a flurry of clumsy movements, he produced a small, misty-white sword and began chanting an incantation frantically, trying to activate it to attack.
Watching this, Han Li shook his head again.
With the demonic birds about to strike, the man hadn’t even erected a protective barrier, opting instead to attack head-on with a magic tool. Wasn’t this courting death? It seemed this person was truly a novice unused to combat. However, that small sword was a high-grade magic tool—this man clearly had some background.
The blue-robed man’s incantation was flawlessly recited, and just as the demonic birds closed in, the magic tool activated. He hurled the small sword, which transformed into a several-chi-long white streak, slashing toward the central ape-vulture with astonishing speed.
The demonic bird sensed the danger and twisted mid-air, but it was too late to dodge entirely. It could only block with one of its black claws.
The white light paused, and a shrill cry echoed as a black claw was cleanly severed, blood raining down. But the other two ape-vultures had already reached the blue-robed man’s head, their four claws poised to crush his skull.
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