Chapter 341: In a Mess

This is a top-tier magical artifact refined from the white scales of the “Ink Flood Dragon”! Having accompanied Han Li through so many battles over such a long time, aside from a small hole pierced by the “Blood Spirit Drill” some days ago, it had never suffered any major damage. And now, it was destroyed just like that by a demonic creature. Han Li found it hard to believe.

At this moment, with the help of the Moonlight Stone above his head, Han Li vaguely made out the shape of the monster—it was extremely bizarre.

It wasn’t particularly large, only about ten feet tall, with a slender neck and a very small head. However, two fist-sized green lights shone with a cold, chilling gleam, staring at him emotionlessly.

What caught Han Li’s attention the most were the two forelimb-like objects in front of it, resembling a pair of dark, machete-like blades. This shocked Han Li immensely!

This monster actually used weapons! But what kind of machete could be so sharp as to cleave the “White Scale Shield” in a single strike?

These thoughts flashed through Han Li’s mind in an instant, but his body had already shifted, shooting toward the cave entrance like an arrow.

This was no joke—being trapped in such a small cave with such a terrifying monster, even if he had several more lives, it wouldn’t be enough. Naturally, escaping outside would be more advantageous!

But as soon as Han Li moved, the monster silently launched itself in pursuit, its speed astonishingly fast.

The cave was only so long, and Han Li and the monster shot out one after the other, stirring up two gusts of fierce wind.

The moment he exited the cave, Han Li raised his hand without a second thought. A white light shot from his palm, and the pure white Divine Wind Boat appeared in the air ahead. He intended to board it and fly away!

Since magical artifacts couldn’t defend against the monster’s attacks, he would create distance and use his artifacts to blast it to pieces.

However, as Han Li was slightly delayed summoning the artifact, a black shadow flashed before his eyes. The monster had actually overtaken him, positioning itself between Han Li and the Divine Wind Boat. Its two blade-like forelimbs scraped against each other with a sharp *clang*, its eyes coldly fixed on Han Li.

Seeing this, Han Li’s heart sank. Not only was this monster incredibly powerful, it also possessed a certain level of intelligence. This was trouble.

Outside the pitch-black cave, under the moonlight, Han Li recognized the monster: it was a massive, ash-black mantis, emanating an eerie gray aura.

Han Li took a light breath, suppressing the unease in his heart. His figure blurred, and five or six identical illusions charged straight toward the giant mantis. Han Li refused to believe that his fully activated Misty Step couldn’t get him past a mere demon beast.

The mantis’s green eyes flashed, and it, too, conjured several blurred shadows, each moving to intercept Han Li’s illusions.

Han Li’s expression changed drastically!

With several soft *puffs*, Han Li’s illusions were shattered one by one by the mantis’s scythe-like arms. His real body was forced to block with his remaining turtle-shell artifact, but the impact sent him flying back to his original spot. A deep gash now marred the turtle shell.

Han Li paled as he glanced at the mark on the turtle shell, swallowing dryly. Clearly, this artifact wouldn’t last more than a few strikes.

Before Han Li could devise a countermeasure, the mantis emitted a sharp *zila* sound, and a pair of gray wings several feet long unfurled. With a buzzing hum, the demon beast gently levitated, its wings beating rapidly.

Seeing this, Han Li inwardly groaned. How could he have forgotten that mantises were insects and could fly? This meant the monster’s speed would become even more terrifying.

For the first time, Han Li felt a lack of confidence in his movement techniques.

Nevertheless, he swiftly cast several auxiliary spells such as the Light Body Technique on himself and slapped his storage pouch. Over a dozen magical lights in gold, black, and red shot out simultaneously.

He wanted to strike first to seize the initiative.

But the mantis demon beast didn’t wait for Han Li to launch his artifact attacks. The moment it levitated, it vanished without a trace from its spot, only to reappear directly above Han Li in the next instant, slashing down fiercely at his head as if intending to split him in two.

At this moment, Han Li’s expression was icily calm.

He swayed his shoulders, and after a series of afterimages, he too vanished from his spot. Meanwhile, the more than ten artifacts hovering around him—such as the “Golden Looper Blades” and “Black Dragon Claws”—swarmed toward the demon beast, aiming to tear it to shreds.

A series of light *clangs* echoed as the giant mantis wielded its two scythes at speeds invisible to the naked eye, forming a massive protective net. Upon contact, three golden blades and a fiery fork were instantly sliced into fragments, scattering into specks of fluorescent light that fell from the sky.

Seeing this, Han Li, who had seized the chance to board the Divine Wind Boat, felt a pang of heartache.

He urgently recalled the remaining artifacts, and the few remaining lights swiftly turned and flew back.

But the giant mantis wasn’t willing to let them go. Its forelimbs crossed and rubbed together briefly before it shot forward like a black streak, catching up to the artifacts in an instant. Without mercy, it slashed wildly again, severing two more golden blades into several pieces that tumbled to the ground.

Han Li felt as if his heart were bleeding!

Although this set of “Golden Looper Blades” wasn’t among the finest of top-tier magical artifacts, it was rare to have a matching set. They had served him well over the years, and he had grown somewhat attached to them. To think that eight or nine out of ten were destroyed today.

Fortunately, the pair of “Black Dragon Claws” he valued most remained intact. At least one of them hadn’t been destroyed—a small mercy in this misfortune.

However, as he watched the mantis demon beast still fixated on him, Han Li couldn’t feel fortunate. Without a good way to deal with this creature, not only would his remaining artifacts be lost, but his life would likely be forfeit as well.

Thinking this, Han Li channeled a surge of spiritual power into his feet. The Divine Wind Boat trembled slightly before transforming into a white streak that shot into the sky. Han Li refused to believe a demon beast could match the flying speed of the Divine Wind Boat.

But after flying at high altitude for only a short while, Han Li was forced to change his opinion and admit he had been a frog at the bottom of a well.

Now, he fled frantically ahead while occasionally glancing back and firing off several fireballs to hinder the mantis demon beast hot on his heels.

“This is too bizarre. Not only is this demon beast’s attacks fierce, but its flying speed is unbelievably fast. Even my Divine Wind Boat is slightly slower in comparison,” Han Li thought, extremely frustrated.

He was now absolutely certain that this demon beast was far more powerful than the white spider from the underground cavern that day.

This giant mantis was either a peak fourth-level demon beast or a legendary fifth-level one—a creature almost capable of rivaling an early Core Formation cultivator!

The mere thought of this possibility made cold sweat pour down Han Li’s back. He redoubled his efforts, desperately releasing fireballs to hold off the demon beast’s relentless advance. Although each fireball was easily bisected, they managed to slow it down slightly, buying the Divine Wind Boat some time.

But Han Li knew all too well that if this continued, it was only a matter of time before he was caught. He couldn’t afford to remain deadlocked. Thus, while controlling his artifacts and firing fireballs, he divided his attention to hastily search his storage pouch for any artifacts that might be useful now.

Suddenly, his spiritual sense located something extremely soft. A spark of inspiration struck him, and an idea formed in his mind.

After glancing down to assess the terrain below, Han Li stomped on the Divine Wind Boat, steering it diagonally downward toward the dense jungle.

Simultaneously, he randomly pulled out seven or eight ordinary artifacts from his storage pouch and unleashed them without a second thought. Then, four or five puppet soldiers were tossed out amid white light, immediately firing several dazzling light arrows toward the pursuing demon beast alongside the artifacts.

This frenzied assault forced the giant mantis to busy itself with deflecting the attacks. Although it quickly reduced the artifacts and puppets to rubble, by the time it looked for Han Li again, the forest below was eerily quiet—Han Li had vanished without a trace into the sea of trees.

The demon beast’s green eyes flickered uncertainly as it slowly descended to a low altitude, circling above the nearby dense forest as if still trying to find Han Li.

Behind a large tree in the dense forest below, Han Li watched the giant mantis circling overhead with a grave expression, tension evident in his eyes.

He was now draped in a cloak-like veil of light gauze that completely isolated all his auras.

This “Veil of Concealment” was spoils Han Li had obtained from Xuan Le during the battle with the white spider. Xuan Le had tried to ambush Han Li with it, only to lose his life as a result. Not only could this veil block spiritual energy fluctuations, it also completely masked one’s bodily scent.

In his desperation, Han Li was using this artifact in hopes that the demon beast’s intelligence wasn’t too high and that it would leave after failing to find him for a while. Otherwise, he would be in dire straits.

Still, as a precaution, Han Li kept a solidified “Blood Spirit Drill” ready in one hand.

Although this thing was incredibly fast and lethally powerful, after witnessing the giant mantis’s astonishing speed, Han Li had little confidence in using it to kill the demon beast. He only held it as a last resort.