Chapter 1629: Different Agendas
However, even after all of the saber projections converged toward that spot, nothing was revealed to be there.
A hint of surprise flashed through the silver-armored man's face upon seeing this, and a hint of confusion appeared on his face. After contemplating the situation for a moment, he let loose a cold harrumph before making a hand seal.
The silver flying dagger immediately returned to him as he behest before disappearing up his sleeve in a flash. After that, the man flew away as a streak of azure light, and complete silence returned to the area with the exception of the sound of a few gusts of gentle breeze blowing past.
Some time later, faint silver light flashed in the air, and a petite humanoid figure appeared.
This was a being who resembled a beautiful woman with a pair of pointy ears; it was none other than the devilish beast, Jiu Ye.
She looked on toward the direction that the silver-armored being had departed, and her brows furrowed as she murmured to herself, "Who was that? He's not the one who killed the young master, but he's quite powerful nonetheless. If it weren't for the fact that I used a secret technique to move my aura elsewhere in advance, I most likely wouldn't have been able to fool him. These outsiders are all far too powerful for me to deal with alone; I have to call for some reinforcements."
As soon as her voice trailed off, the woman tore off a small tuft of fur from her tail before chanting something, then raising her hand up into the air.
These strands of fur transformed into thin streaks of silver light that flew through the air before disappearing into the distance after just a few flashes.
The woman's expression eased slightly upon seeing this, and she then cast a hesitant gaze toward the mountain ranges where Han Li and the silver-armored being had disappeared before heaving a faint sigh.
She made a hand seal, and her body blurred within the silver light again before vanishing into nothingness.
...
Meanwhile, Han Li was following the Devilish Smoke Bird as he slowly traversed through the dense black mist.
The bird was chirping urgently from time to time as if it were urging him to pick up the speed, but Han Li merely ignored it and continued at his own leisurely pace.
Thus, the Devilish Smoke Bird had no choice but to slow down to accommodate his speed as it led him further on ahead.
The devilish Qi in the surrounding area was dense to the extreme, to the extent that one couldn't even see their five fingers if they were to hold their hand up in front of their face. It was as if this were the darkest pits of hell.
However, with the golden light that was flashing from Han Li's body and the blue light that was shimmering in his eyes, he was able to see everything in the surrounding area with great clarity.
At this moment, he was currently situated in a massive square passageway.
The passageway was over 100 feet in both length and width, and the four surfaces were all paved with a type of inky-black rock material that he'd never seen before.
The dense devilish Qi in the passageway was pouring out incessantly from none other than those rocks, and this Han Li quite curious about just what they were.
If it weren't for the fact that a restriction could've potentially been cast onto these walls, he would've chipped off a few of the black rocks for further examination.
This passageway wasn't just a singular one. Instead, it was part of a system of passageways that spread throughout the entire belly of the mountain like a maze, and the further one progressed, the deeper underground they went.
Thus, time passed by slowly.
It hadn't taken the Devilish Smoke Bird long to make a return trip last time, but Han Li had already been walking for quite a while, and there were still no signs to suggest that he was close to reaching the end.
This made Han Li develop a sense of distrust and animosity toward the black bird.
The Devilish Smoke Bird seemed to have also sensed Han Li's discontent, but it couldn't do anything aside from continuing onward. After forging ahead for a while longer, the Devilish Smoke Bird suddenly stopped up ahead, just as Han Li was contemplating turning back.
Han Li's heart stirred upon seeing this, and he focused his gaze up ahead to find that the devilish Qi there seemed to have thinned out significantly. Furthermore, there was a massive exit that was shimmering with white light right before his eyes.
Han Li's expression finally eased slightly, and he took a deep breath before suddenly gesturing toward the Devilish Smoke Bird.
The bird had a wisp of Xian Xian's spiritual sense within its body, so it was naturally quite intelligent, and a hint of confusion appeared in its eyes upon seeing this. However, after a brief hesitation, it still flew obediently toward Han Li.
As soon as the bird reached the air above Han Li's head, he suddenly swept a sleeve upward, and a swath of grey light erupted forth like lightning before sweeping up the hapless bird in a flash.
The Devilish Smoke Bird was naturally quite stunned by this development, and it opened its beak to try and cry out.
However, its voice was naturally unable to escape through the Divine Essencefused Light around it.
At this moment, Han Li pointed a finger up ahead in a calm manner, and azure light flashed from his fingertip as an azure rune struck the immobilized Devilish Smoke Bird's body.
Azure light then swirled all over the entire bird before it disappeared within the grey light in a flash.
After doing all that, Han Li dusted off his hands as a faint smile appeared on his face.
However, in the next instant, he cast his gaze toward the exit, and a grim expression surfaced in his eyes.
He suddenly opened his mouth to expel a ball of silver flames, which transformed into a silver Fire Raven in a flash.
The Fire Raven flew around Han Li a few times before disappearing without a trace into a nearby wall.
After that, Han Li swept a sleeve through the air, and 72 small golden swords also shot forth in a soundless manner.
These flying swords circled around in the air at Han Li's behest, then transformed into countless azure lotus flowers that appeared all over the passageway, only to disappear like soap bubbles in the next instant.
After doing all that, Han Li paused momentarily before flipping a hand to produce two silver talismans. The talismans shot forth toward the ground below before transforming into a pair of fain golden shadows that disappeared underground.
Those were none other than his two Armor Origin Talismans.
What he was about to face was a Body Integration Stage Devilish Beast, and even though it had sustained severe injuries, Han Li still didn't dare to grow complacent in the slightest.
Prior to making this journey, he had specifically refined some beveled silver talismans to take with him.
The materials required to refine these talismans were all extremely precious, but in a super city like Cloud City, it was naturally possible to gather those materials as long as he had sufficient spirit stones.
After making all of those preparations, a cold light flashed through Han Li's eyes, and plastered a purple talisman onto his own body.
Brilliant silver light flashed, and a ball of purple mist permeated forth, following which Han Li's body disappeared amid a flash of silver runes.
As a safety precaution, he decided to use a High Zenith Invisibility Talisman as well.
After that, Han Li's insubstantial body drifted toward the exit as if he really were about to try and slay the holy-grade devilish beast.
...
Outside the mountain, Xian Xian let loose a cry of surprise in the instant that Han Li cast a restriction on the Devilish Smoke Bird.
The azure Kirin projection was rather startled by this, and it hurriedly raised its head as it asked, "What happened?"
Xian Xian exhaled with a hesitant look on her face as she replied, "My Devilish Smoke Bird has been restricted by that person."
"What? Why would he do that? Could it be that he's already noticed something?" the Kirn projection asked with furrowed brows.
"It's unlikely that he's noticed something. Perhaps he's simply very cautious in nature and doesn't wish for us to be able to conduct surveillance on him while he battles the holy-grade devilish beast," Xian Xian replied in an unconvincing voice.
"In that case, things are a little troublesome for us. We don't know what's going on in there, so we won't be able to go in at the ideal opportunity," the Kirin projection said in a dark voice with a frustrated swipe of its tail.
"I'm naturally aware of that as well, but we have no choice. Regardless of what's happening in there, let's go in right away as well. No matter how powerful he is, he's still just an upper race being, so there's no way that he'll be able to kill a holy-grade devilish beast anytime soon. In any case, we'll have enough time to open the true spirit cave," Xian Xian decided as she gritted her teeth.
"Looks like that's our only choice. Let's go!" The Kirin projection also quickly nodded in response.
Thus, Xian Xian flipped a hand over to produce a triangular badge.
The badge was entirely black in color, and there was a black Kirin image on one side, while several silver runes had been inscribed onto the other side.
"It's a pity that we have to use up this Devilish Kirin Badge. I had to go to great lengths to gather the materials, and I failed on many occasions before I finally managed to refine this one," Xian Xian mused as she stroked the badge in a wistful manner.
"No matter how precious that badge is, it can't compare with the things that lie in the true spirit cave. Only with that thing will you be able to avoid being rejected by the devilish Qi in the cave, thereby allowing you to infiltrate with ease. With that Han brat holding off the holy-grade devilish beast for you, even if it notices that something's amiss, it won't be able to stop you from opening the true spirit cave," the Kirin projection urged.
"Even so, this is a disposable item, and it's a huge waste to use it solely for aura concealment," Xian Xian sighed with a wry smile.
The Kirin projection rolled its eyes upon hearing this, and it was just about to say something when Xian Xian's expression abruptly changed as she tossed the badge in her hand into the air.
The badge rotated in mid-air, and fierce gusts of black winds were suddenly swept up.
These gust winds were extremely unsettling as a disconcerting low roar could be heard emanating from them, as if there were a giant beast lurking within them.
Xian Xian's expression darkened as she made one hand seal after another while raising her other wrist, then opening her mouth to expel a small azure sword.
The sword revolved around her wrist as a streak of azure light, then flew back into her mouth, and a large amount of blood essence immediately gushed out of the gash that had just been inflicted on her wrist.
"Go!" Xian Xian let loose a low cry.
The blood essence instantly converged to form a fist-sized crimson ball before flying straight toward the gusts of fierce black winds.
Strangely enough, after the ball of blood disappeared into the black winds, not only did the unsettling roaring come to an abrupt halt, even the ferocious winds themselves gradually abated.
In the end, the black winds vanished in a flash, but an inky-black Kirin that was around 10 feet in length had appeared in their place.