Chapter 1695: Chance Encounter
These Dark Beasts were all comparable to Spatial Tempering cultivators, and so many of them had gathered all at once. Even though Han Li and the others were all far more powerful than their cultivation bases suggested, this was still a rather grim situation.
Han Li wasn't overly concerned as he had many trump cards, and in a worst-case scenario, he could just unleash his Gold Devouring Beetles or Profound Heavenly Fruit to kill these Dark Beasts. As such, he remained quite calm and collected.
In the face of so many Dark Beasts, Liu Shui'er and Shi Kun were naturally aware that they couldn't face them in a direct battle.
Otherwise, even if they could secure victory, there was definitely no way that they'd be able to do so unscathed. If they were to sustain severe injuries and expend too much magic power, the rest of the journey would be made exceedingly difficult, especially considering how they still had to track down those restricted ruins and secure the treasures in there.
Thankfully, even though these Dark Beasts had managed to cut off Han Li's trio, they were aware of the fate that had befallen their companions that had tried to stop Han Li and the others in the past, so they refrained from immediately attacking.
At present, it appeared as if they only wanted to temporarily stall the three of them until more Dark Beasts arrived.
After a brief silence, Liu Shui'er's brows furrowed slightly as her mouth began to move, transmitting her voice to Han Li and Shi Kun.
"Fellow Daoists, we're not too far away from the border of the Dark Beast Forest. With so many Dark Beasts standing in our way, it would be unwise to take them on in a direct battle, so I suggest we split up and get past them, then reunite after we exit the forest."
"Alright, that sounds like a plan," Shi Kun immediately agreed to this suggestion.
Han Li contemplated this suggestion momentarily before also nodding in response.
The group of Dark Beasts was being led by a Three-eyed Dark Beast that was far larger in size than its companions, and it seemed to have sensed that Han Li and the others were up to something. As such, it let loose a low snarl, and a stir immediately ran through the entire beast pack.
All of a sudden, they opened their mouths in unison, blasting forth several tens of pillars of black light, while also conjuring up countless claw projections that hurtled directly toward Han Li's trio.
The combined attack of several tens of Dark Beast was naturally quite fearsome, but after killing so many Dark Beasts on the way here, Han Li and the others had already devised courses of action against attacks of this nature.
Thus, spiritual light flashed from their bodies, and Han Li made a hand seal as a pair of translucent wings appeared on his back.
He flapped those wings gently, and his body shot forth as a thin azure and white thread. As it was speeding through the air, it changed directions a few times in an unpredictable manner, thereby allowing it to evade the pillars of light and claw projections. In the blink of an eye, it had bypassed the entire beast pack, then vanished into the distance after just a few flashes.
The measures taken by Liu Shui'er were far simpler in comparison. She opened her mouth to expel a blue ball of light, and at the same time, white light flashed from beneath her feet, following which that translucent jade mouse appeared once again.
Both the blue ball of light and the jade mouse began to glow brightly, and she propelled herself through the air as a ball of blue and white light.
The black pillars of light that struck the ball of light all vanished soundlessly into it like sandcastles in the rising tide, and the ball of light blurred before covering a distance of over 1,000 feet, then continued into the distance.
As for Shi Kun, he chose to do things in a far more violent and domineering manner.
He let loose a cold harrumph as brilliant yellow light erupted from his suit of armor, and he suddenly thumped his hands together in front of his chest, upon which specks of yellow light immediately began to emerge around his body.
Immediately thereafter, the specks of light swelled drastically in size before fusing as one, forming a strange light barrier that enshrouded his entire body.
The reason why this light barrier was strange was because its surface was riddled with countless runes. The oncoming pillars of black light struck the light barrier amid resounding booms, only to be repelled by those runes. Meanwhile, Shi Kun took advantage of this opportunity to make his escape.
His body swayed, and he suddenly burrowed deep into the ground, then began to flee while situated over 100 feet underground, and his speed wasn't inferior to that of Liu Shui'er during her escape.
These Dark Beasts naturally weren't just going to allow the three of them to escape so easily.
The Three-eyed Dark Beast that appeared to be the leader of the pack let loose an enraged roar, and the beast pack immediately split up into three groups, each of which immediately set off in pursuit of one of Han Li's trio.
However, at Han Li's full speed, these Dark Beasts were naturally nowhere near fast enough to catch up to him. As such, the azure and white thread that he'd transformed into was quickly widening the gap between himself and his pursuers by the second.
Due to the fact that he was flying rapidly through the air in a very conspicuous manner, some other Dark Beasts emerged from the forest down below along the way to try and attack him. However, Han Li merely swept a sleeve through the air, and several tens of streaks of azure light shot forth in a frenzy.
The Dark Beasts were naturally no match for his Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords, and all those who attempted to get in his way were instantly sliced into countless pieces.
There was the occasional Dark Beast or two that managed to react quickly enough to unleash a few claw projections in an attempt to keep the swords at bay, but the azure flying swords merely pierced through these claw projections like hot knives through butter before striking the Dark Beast targets and instantly killing them on the spot.
Thus, Han Li continued onward in an unstoppable manner, brushing aside all obstacles in his way with peerless might, and he finally emerged from the Dark Beast Forest after flying for over half a day.
Following his emergence from the forest, he was greeted by the sight of a set of boundless grasslands.
It was still nighttime, but he could smell a rich earthy fragrance that stemmed directly from nature.
Even though he'd escaped out of the forest, Han Li didn't show any intention of stopping as he continued to hurtle through the air at full speed.
After flying for close to 50,000 kilometers, the azure and white thread finally stopped atop a hill that was several hundred feet tall, and Han Li re-emerged amid a flash of spiritual light with a calm expression on his face.
Blue light flashed through his eyes as he surveyed his surroundings. On a vast and flat terrain like the one he was currently situated on, he was able to take full advantage of his spirit eye ability.
Thus, he was instantly able to clearly see everything within a radius of 50 kilometers.
He could also extend his vision into areas beyond that, but the details became rather blurry.
After failing to discover any potential threats nearby, Han Li heaved a faint sigh of relief before releasing his spiritual sense to scan through the surrounding area, then instantly withdrawing it in a flash.
The translucent wings on his back vanished amid a dull thunderclap, and he turned around as he cast his gaze toward the Dark Beast Forest through narrowed eyes.
Having traveled so far away from the Dark Beast Forest, the Dark Beasts would most likely have to give up on pursuing him regardless of how furious they were.
However, if they really did dare to continue to try and hunt him down, then he certainly wouldn't mind killing them on the spot.
He had initially fled from them not because he was actually afraid of them. Instead, he was simply trying to avoid a situation where more Dark Beasts would flock to the scene, in which case he'd be completely surrounded.
Han Li clasped his hands together behind his back and stood atop the hill in a motionless manner. A gentle breeze blew over him, and his robes flapped gently in the wind, giving him the appearance of a profound immortal.
All of a sudden, he flipped a hand over to produce a crimson formation plate, upon which a series of silver threads were flickering incessantly.
Han Li stared at the formation plate for a while before his brows furrowed slightly.
"The two of them have already reunited with one another, and they're not too far away from here, either, so why aren't they coming to join me? Could it be that they've run into some trouble?" Han Li murmured to himself before stowing away the formation plate again. He then raised his head and cast his gaze toward a certain direction, following which azure light suddenly flashed from his body.
He rose up into the air, then flew into the distance toward the direction he'd cast his gaze toward before.
Even though he wasn't moving as quickly as he had with his Thunderstorm Wings activated, he was still flying at an incredible speed.
Thus, he sped over a distance of close 15,000 kilometers in a short time, taking him to another region of the grasslands.
As he flew through the air, blue light flashed through Han Li's eyes, and a peculiar look appeared on his face.
All of a sudden, the azure light faded, and Han Li reappeared as he cast his gaze forward in an expressionless manner.
Over 1,000 feet away from him, there were two pairs of beings facing one another from afar.
One pair consisted of none other than Shi Kun and Liu Shui'er.
Liu Shui'er wore a cautious look on her face, whereas Shi Kun had already put on a cold smile, and his hands were balled up into tight fists as if he were eager for a battle.
Before them stood a man and a woman.
The man had a thick and curly beard with a suit of silver scale armor encasing his upper body. He had a giant trident-like weapon on his back, and he appeared to be quite a boisterous being.
In contrast, the woman had a pair of delicate brows and black eyes. Her skin was very fair, and she wore a green beast hide garment that accentuated the curves of her alluring voluptuous body to perfection.
Strangely enough, both of their lower bodies had been enshrouded within clouds of white Qi, and the sound of flowing water could be heard from within those white clouds.
"Those are Sea Monarch beings!"
Han Li was able to identify the origin of this duo almost instantly, and his expression changed slightly upon making this discovery.
The Sea Monarch Race wasn't a direct enemy of the Heavenly Cloud Races, but it was common knowledge that they were allies of the Jiao Chi Race.
As such, it was no wonder that they were in such a tense confrontation.
The reactions of the two groups were naturally vastly different at the sight of Han Li's arrival.
A hint of elation appeared in Liu Shui'er's eyes, and she was immediately feeling a lot more reassured.
Shi Kun's smile also widened even further, and he greeted Han Li in a respectful manner.
In contrast, the pair of Sea Monarch beings both turned to appraise Han Li with cold and unfriendly expressions.
Both of them were quite surprised to sense that Han Li was only a seventh-tier upper race being, and they couldn't help but exchange a bewildered glance with one another.
"Are you a Heavenly Cloud being as well?" the man asked in a booming voice that matched his appearance.
"I guess I technically am at the moment. Are you two preparing to attack my companions?" Han Li asked in a calm manner.
"Are we planning to attack them? If we had intended to do so, they'd be dead already!" the male Sea Monarch being chuckled in a derisive manner.
Shi Kun was enraged to the point of laughter upon hearing this, and he stepped forward with a menacing look on his face as he said, "What did you say? You sure can talk big! Hehe, let me see if your race is truly worthy of being known as one of the three great water races."