Chapter 1302: Encountering the Little Beast Again
"As expected of the Spirit Realm; this Great Yi Silver Essence Zoysia only exists in legends in the human world, yet it really can be found in this realm. Apparently, anyone who consumes this thing will be able to grow a layer of silver scales that have amazing defensive properties. No wonder those beasts were risking their lives to secure it. However, in terms of defensive prowess, it's nowhere near as effective as the Vajra Arts, so it's kind of useless to me. I should be able to sell it to a mid-grade body refinement warrior for a good price though," Han Li murmured to himself before flipping a hand over to produce a palm-sized green jade shovel.
He crouched down and dug the silver zoysia out of the ground, inspecting it with a hint of awe and appreciation in his eyes before stowing it away into a jade box.
Ever since he had entered the Setting Sun Tomb, Han Li had discovered many spirit medicines like this one that were long extinct in the human world.
It was just a pity that very few of them would actually be useful to him at his current power level. But then again, that made sense; if these things really could provide substantial benefits to Deity Transformation cultivators like him, they would've been taken long ago. As for the items that were exclusively found in the Setting Sun Tomb, those things were extremely rare and only grew in extremely obscure locations. As such, searching for them was akin to seeking out a needle in a haystack. These factors meant that very few Deity Transformation cultivators would bother to explore this place, and the most powerful visitors this tomb received were eighth grade metamorphosis stage demon beasts and Nascent Soul human cultivators.
Outside of the three regions and the seven demon territories, there were countless heavenly materials and earthly treasures to be found in the true primordial world. The range of materials and treasures that could be found there was also unimaginable vast and diverse. There were even spirit medicines that could completely defy the natural order and manifest a spiritual root in a mortal, thereby instantly transforming them into low-grade cultivators overnight.
These treasures were extremely tempting, but it would be extremely unwise to venture out of the human and demon territories unless one had reached the Nascent Soul or above.
This was because the primordial world was rife with beings as powerful as Spatial Tempering cultivators. There were also all manners of doomsday like natural disasters that frequently struck, making it an extremely perilous place to explore.
Nascent Soul cultivators only possessed the most basic ability to survive in the primordial world. As for whether they'd be able to find the treasures they yearned for, that was a matter of luck and skill.
However, after reaching the Nascent Soul Stage, a cultivator's rate of progression would suffer a drastic decline.
If they didn't venture into the primordial world to find something useful to them, they would most likely be stuck at the Nascent Soul Stage until their final moment in this world.
As such, a vast number of high-grade beings depart from the territories of the human and demon races, traveling into the primordial world in search of the catalyst for their next breakthrough. However, less than a third of those beings managed to return, so it was indeed an extremely perilous undertaking.
However, in order to maintain the number of top-grade powerful beings within their respective races, the higher-ups of the human and demons had no choice but to allow this to happen.
Han Li was also aware of these matters, so he was very curious about and intrigued by the primordial world that lay beyond the three human regions. If it weren't for the fact that he had nowhere near the height of his powers, he may have ventured out into the primordial world already.
Just as Han Li stretched lazily and was about to depart, a burst of rustling suddenly erupted from within one of the nearby bushes. A yellow shadow then flashed through the air before appearing over 100 feet away from Han Li.
Han Li was initially given a fright, thinking that he was under attack again, but upon closer inspection, an ecstatic look appeared on his face. The petite yellow figure was none other than the little beast that had provided him with that catalyst for enlightenment earlier! However, the little beast currently wore a panicked look on its face, and its fur was quite dirty and scruffy, giving it a very disheveled appearance.
The little beast seemed to have recognized Han Li, and it also faltered slightly upon seeing him.
However, it then immediately ran off in the opposite direction, completely disregarding Han Li.
Han Li was obviously not willing to let the little beast get away. As such, he immediately rustled a sleeve and a length of silver rope shot forth, binding toward the little beast like a silver snake. The little beast was furious upon seeing this, but it could only continue to flee as it swayed through the air, evading the silver rope while leaving a trail of afterimages in its wake.
However, in doing so, it was forced to decelerate slightly, and in that split-second delay, a small white sword suddenly flew through the air amid a flash of white light. As it traveled through the air, the white sword transformed int a streak of white light that appeared directly in front of the fleeing little beast.
Brilliant white light radiated forth before abruptly transforming into a miniature white-robed humanoid figure who was only several inches in size with a set of remarkably pale features. It was impossible to decipher the gender of this humanoid figure, and it was appraising the little beast with a cold expression.
In response to the emergence of this miniature humanoid figure, the little beast shuddered before its four paws immediately landed on the ground. At the same time, it lowered its center of gravity and all the hackles on its back stood up on end, as if it were facing a formidable foe.
Han Li's pupils contracted drastically at the sight of this humanoid figure, and he immediately retreated without a second thought.
During the several decades that Han Li had been in the Spirit Realm, he had developed a good gauge on the neighboring races that harbored enmity toward the human race.
Spirit Tribe cultivators who could take on human forms were Spirit General level beings, and they possessed power comparable to Deity Transformation cultivators of the human race.
If Han Li was at the height of his powers, then he would perhaps consider lingering on the scene to assess the situation. However, in his current state, it was clearly much wider for him to get away as quickly as possible.
Han Li's frenzied retreat immediately drew the attention of the miniature white humanoid figure.
At the same time, it swept its spiritual sense toward Han Li before letting loose a cold disdainful harrumph after discovering that he was merely a human body refinement warrior. It spread open the five fingers on one of its hands, then flicked them toward Han Li in a nonchalant manner.
Five thin white threads immediately shot forth before abruptly vanishing.
"Sword threads!" Han Li was able to immediately identify what those thin threads were, and his heart jolted as he summoned his black spear.
Following a loud roar, he injected all of his power into the spear before thrusting it forward in a violent motion. A strange cry erupted as a ball of black light exploded before him, shielding his body from the oncoming white threads.
Almost at the exact same moment, the five sword threads appeared before Han Li as if by instantaneous teleportation, and crashed directly into the black light.
The fearsome-looking swath of black light immediately began to crumble in the face of the sword threads, and following a flash of white light, the sword threads sliced through the black light like hot knives through butter, while the black spear in Han Li's hand was shattered into several segments.
Having barely been impeded by the black light at all, the five sword threads continued to fly toward Han Li, much to his dismay. He raised a hand and half of the spear's shaft shot forth as a streak of black light. At the same time, he let loose an almighty roar as spiritual light flashed form the suit of grey armor that he was wearing. The armor then transformed into a ball of grey cloud and mist that sped directly toward the sword threads.
Immediately thereafter, he clenched his fists, and piercing golden light erupted from his body as he unleashed the power of the Vajra Arts' seventh layer to its maximal extent.
Han Li's arms transformed into a blur as his fists shot forth at an unimaginable speed, appearing as if they were threatening to tear through space itself. Two gusts of golden winds were swept up before howling through the air. As soon as the segment of the spear shaft came into contact with the sword threads, it was sliced into over 10 smaller segments following a flash of white light.
The sword threads continued onward into the swath of grey mist, followed by the two golden gusts of wind. The sharp screech of metal grating on metal erupted as the grey mist suddenly expanded, but it was still able to trap the sword threads for the time being.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Han Li's body swayed several times in quick succession, taking him to over 200 feet away. At the end of this sequence, he leaped into the air and disappeared into a set of bushes.
At this moment, the cloud of grey mist explode, and the suit of armor it had been manifested from was shattered, with the resulting fingernail-sized shards flying through the air as shrapnel in all directions.
Only then were the five sword threads revealed, but their target had already disappeared.
The miniature white humanoid figure faltered upon seeing this, following which a dark expression appeared on its face. However, just as it was about to unleash another attack, the little beast standing before it suddenly manifested several tens of identical projections, each of which fled toward a different direction.
As such, the white humanoid figure was no longer able to pursue Han Li, and was forced to turn its attention back to the little beast. It let loose an almighty roar as countless streaks of white sword Qi shot forth from its body, flying toward the fleeing beast projections.
Following the devastating assault, only one of the little beasts remained after evading several streaks of sword Qi while the other projections had all been destroyed.
The white humanoid figure seemed to be intending to capture the little beast alive as it suddenly raised a hand, upon which all of the remaining sword Qi raining down from above abruptly vanished. The humanoid figure chuckled coldly as it swooped down toward the little beast as a streak of silver light. The little beast seemed to be aware that it was no match for the miniature humanoid figure, and it didn't dare to engage it in a direct confrontation. As such, it could only switch directions and continue to flee, traveling at almost twice as fast as Han Li's current speed.
The white humanoid figure was intent on capturing the little beast, so it continued to give chase, and it was able to keep up with the little beast despite the latter's incredible speed.
Thus, the little beast and the miniature humanoid figure disappeared into the distance in the blink of an eye.
A long while later, another humanoid figure suddenly emerged from behind a massive tree. It was none other than Han Li.
Even though Han Li's Shifting Smoke Steps were quite mysterious and unpredictable, it was simply didn't allow him to travel fast enough to escape from that Spirit Tribe cultivator. As such, he took a risk and used a concealment technique he had learned in the human world to hide nearby.
He was taking a gamble that the little beast would take this opportunity to run away, and the Spirit Tribe cultivator would set off in pursuit rather than continue his hunt for Han Li.
Of course, he was holding an Immortal Vanquishing Bead tightly in his hand in case things didn't progress as planned.
Thankfully, his gamble had paid off in the end. The Spirit Tribe cultivator was far more intent on capturing this little beast than killing a mere body refinement warrior.
Han Li cast his gaze toward the direction that the little beast and the Spirit Tribe cultivator had disappeared in, and a sense of unease welled up in his heart. Why was it that a Spirit General level cultivator had appeared here? Could it be that something big was about to happen?