Chapter 1287: The Little Girl

Under the joint attack of four types of demonic beasts, Anyuan City was completely reduced to ruins.

Except for a small portion of mortals who, under the cover of some body refiners, managed to break through the beast horde and escape, the majority of the mortals were buried within the beast horde.

However, the beast horde only rampaged through Anyuan City for three or four days before they all retreated.

Only then did the beast tide officially end.

Although it was only a small city that suffered a catastrophic disaster, such an event was, after all, not a common occurrence since the establishment of the three realms for humans. In the end, it still alarmed the high-tier cultivators of Tianyuan City, who sent a large number of personnel to investigate the specific reasons why the city was breached by the beast horde.

Of course, that is a story for another time.

Two days after the beast horde retreated, spiritual light flickered in the sky, and several more cultivators arrived from high above. Not long after, they reached the huge gap in the wall where Anyuan City had been breached that day.

As the light faded, three male and female cultivators appeared in the air; they were precisely the three cultivators from the Golden Jade Sect. The leader was a man in a brocade robe with the surname Qin.

The three of them began scanning the area below, seemingly searching for something.

"That person has most likely already lost his life. The power of the joint strike from those leopard-bird beasts was something Senior Brother clearly witnessed that day; why would you still believe this person has a chance of survival?" The man among the young couple couldn't help but ask the brocade-robed man after looking for a few moments.

"Junior Brother, you don't know this, but that Vajra Art cultivation technique is vastly different from ordinary body refining techniques. The third layer of the Vajra Art is enough to allow a mortal to cleanse the marrow and transform the meridians. After circulating the technique to its full potential, the body can withstand a full-force strike from a low-tier spirit tool. Even though the strike from that leopard-bird beast horde was astonishing in power, if this person had circulated his technique beforehand, while serious injury would be unavoidable, the chance of survival is still quite high. And for what we are about to do, we absolutely need the assistance of such a thick-skinned mortal. If it hadn't been for the fact that we were too far away that day and couldn't reach him in time, I would definitely have saved this person." The brocade-robed man shook his head, his expression unusually gloomy.

Hearing his Senior Brother speak this way, even though the young male cultivator had some doubts in his heart, it was not appropriate for him to say anything more. However, the pretty woman's eyes flashed as she spoke:

"Even if that person were still alive, this place has been ravaged by the beast horde for such a long time; I fear he would have already been buried in the mouths of the beasts. How could he possibly have preserved his life?"

"That is also possible! Am I not coming here holding onto a one-in-a-million hope? Suitable personnel are truly hard to find. I will still expend some spiritual sense to search the vicinity." Hearing this, the brocade-robed man's mouth twitched as he gave a bitter smile.

"Oh, I wonder what business you have with Han, that you, Immortal Master Qin, are so unable to forget about me."

A faint voice suddenly emerged from the pile of rubble below. Immediately following a loud "Boom—", stones flew in all directions, and two figures, one tall and one short, suddenly appeared amidst the dust and mist.

"Han Li!" The three people in the high sky were startled at first, and then the brocade-robed man called out in great joy.

The taller figure below was precisely Han Li, who had been missing for several days, while the shorter one was a four or five-year-old girl. Although her clothes were a bit dirty, one could still see they were originally magnificent and exquisite.

The girl's face was fair and tender, exceptionally cute, but her large, pitch-black eyes appeared somewhat terrified. Her small hands were clutching tightly onto the back of Han Li's clothes, looking as if she wouldn't take a single step away from him.

"Brother Han is unharmed, so Qin can rest easy. I have been constantly worried about Brother Han's safety and came specifically to rescue you. But who is this little one?" The man surnamed Qin said with a face full of smiles, while simultaneously signaling the other two to slowly descend.

"I am not too clear on who she is either. When the city was breached that day, she and several body refiners fled to the vicinity and were surrounded by a group of wolf beasts. The others all met with disaster and died. Only this little girl was truly too young, and I couldn't bear it, so I saved her." Han Li looked back at the girl who was like a tag-along, saying somewhat helplessly.

Although he had taken the full force of the mist-transformed demonic bird's strike that day, because he had shattered the city wall beforehand and his body had fallen a step earlier, he had only borne a portion of the attack. Under the protection of his fourth-layer Vajra Art, it was no surprise that he had only suffered minor injuries.

However, because of the immense pressure of that strike, the bottleneck of his Vajra Art, which had been stuck at the fourth layer, was unexpectedly broken through.

One must know that when he was in the mortal world, the reason he could not make any progress after cultivating the Vajra Art to the fourth layer was precisely because of the appearance of this bottleneck.

Now, as long as he quietly cultivated for half a year, he would truly be able to advance to the fifth layer.

So he simply hid under a pile of stones, deciding to secretly consolidate his unexpected breakthrough first. As a result, he happened to encounter the little girl and her group, and unable to bear it, he took action to save her.

However, the following events were not as simple as he described.

At that time, in order not to expose his hiding place, he had killed all the hundred or so beasts in the vicinity in one go, leaving them completely clean, before he felt at ease returning to the pile of stones with the girl. This had taken quite a bit of effort.

And if it hadn't been for the fact that this little girl was truly a burden, he could have walked away days ago. After all, if he were alone, he would have had some confidence in deceiving the eyes and ears of the beast horde, but carrying such a little one made things very troublesome.

The aura on the girl's body was like a bright fire in the dark night, impossible to hide.

It was better to continue staying under the pile of stones and wait for the beast horde to leave. After all, the mortal aura in this human city was so intense that it was sufficient to conceal all traces of the girl.

Today, feeling that the time was about right, he was just about to come out when he happened to encounter the three from the Golden Jade Sect, and with his superior hearing, he had heard their conversation clearly.

With a thought in his heart, he immediately broke out of the stones, startling the three men in the brocade robes.

After all, from his appearance, Han Li seemed completely normal, with none of the injuries they had anticipated. With this turn of events, while the man surnamed Qin was overjoyed, he was also secretly alarmed, and his tone became noticeably more polite, treating him as an equal existence.

"I didn't expect Brother Han to be a person of such warm heart. But since this girl was escorted by body refiners, it seems she is not an ordinary person. Has Brother Han asked about her background?" The brocade-robed man stood on the ground, looking at the girl a few times, appearing somewhat interested.

"Other than calling herself 'Daier', she wouldn't say anything else." Han Li sighed, appearing somewhat troubled.

"Haha, if that's the case, then she must have been specifically instructed by her family. That's nothing; as long as we find those high-level figures from Anyuan City who escaped, someone should recognize her. It is Brother Han who is truly surprising; to have remained safe and sound amidst the beast tide." The man surnamed Qin's eyes flashed as he spoke in a tone of praise.

"It's nothing, just luck. Immortal Master Qin has yet to clear up my confusion; I wonder what danger requires someone as thick-skinned as me?" Seeing the other party dodging his previous question throughout the conversation, Han Li revealed a half-smiling expression.

"This matter will be told to Brother Han sooner or later. However, this is not the place to talk. After we leave, I will explain it in detail. Your employer and the others are currently settled in a safe place far from here. How about I take Brother Han there to reunite with them? There are other mortals there who escaped from Anyuan City." The brocade-robed man pondered for a moment before speaking solemnly.

"That's fine. Perhaps there are some of this little girl's relatives there." Han Li replied with a flicker of expression.

"That would be best. Let's go quickly. I will use a spirit tool to carry Brother Han, and Junior Sister, you take this little girl." The man surnamed Qin was happy in his heart and gave the order.

The young female cultivator agreed, walked over in a few steps, and with a kind face, reached out to pull the girl named "Daier".

Seeing the girl's cute, chubby-faced appearance, she couldn't help but feel a bit fond of her.

However, the moment the girl saw the young woman's movement, a look of fear appeared on her face. She suddenly shrank back and actually circled to the other side behind Han Li, looking as if she wanted to avoid the woman at all costs.

This caused the young woman's expression to freeze, and she became somewhat embarrassed.

Seeing this, Han Li frowned slightly.

"Forget it. I will use my spirit tool to take them both. This little girl seems to have been overly frightened and only trusts Brother Han." The man surnamed Qin was also startled, but then chuckled.

Han Li nodded noncommittally.

He reached out, grabbed the girl, and easily placed her on his shoulder.

Seeing this, the brocade-robed man released a small sword, which expanded to several feet in size and hovered in the low air.

He then swayed his body and floated onto it. Just as he was about to turn his head to call out to Han Li, he suddenly heard a voice from behind:

"Does this spirit tool of yours have a protective function? If it does, please activate it slightly. This little girl is too young to withstand the strong winds during flight."

The voice came from right behind him, and the brocade-robed man was startled and hurriedly turned his head.

Han Li was standing right behind him!

He didn't even know how he had gotten onto the flying sword; he hadn't even noticed a single trace.

"So you are also proficient in secret techniques of breath concealment; I am truly disrespectful." After a moment of uncertainty, the brocade-robed man managed a forced smile.

"A mere petty trick, I hope Immortal Master Qin will not laugh." Han Li's expression remained calm.

After the brocade-robed man took another deep look at Han Li, he turned back around, formed a seal with both hands, and the flying sword beneath his feet suddenly flashed with yellow light. A faint light screen protected all three of them, and then it transformed into a yellow light that shot off toward the distant horizon.

The other young couple also followed closely behind on their own spirit tools.

Not long after, the three streaks of light disappeared from the nearby sky without a trace.

Half a day later, the three streaks of light reappeared above a hilly area of varying heights, and then they flew down directly.

Below, there was a large area of tents, wooden houses, and other temporarily constructed buildings, stretching for several miles.

"Senior Brother Qin, you're back. Eh, Brother Han was really found." As the streaks of light landed in front of a wooden house and the light faded to reveal several figures, a blue-robed youth standing in front of the wooden house hurriedly greeted them, his face filled with surprise.

"Yes, this trip was not in vain after all. By the way, is the Lady still in the house?" The brocade-robed man smiled slightly and asked casually.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1288 =====