Chapter 1302: Emergence of the Spirit Race

Han Li only lingered for a moment near the valley entrance before he felt over a dozen spiritual senses sweep over him repeatedly.

He waited for a short while with a calm expression, and after refusing several small groups who had identified him as a high-tier body cultivator and were rushing over to invite him, he drifted into the valley just the same.

This valley was merely one of several entrances to the Sunset Tomb on the human side.

The other locations had been artificially sealed off by cultivators using several types of strange formations. Naturally, some cultivators from Sunset City were stationed near this sole entrance, specifically to monitor the situation and prevent any accidents from occurring.

It was just that these cultivators were all hidden in the shadows; it was said that even the lowest among them had Core Formation cultivation, and a Spirit Severing stage cultivator was overseeing them.

Inside the valley, Han Li moved forward slowly while secretly pondering the intelligence he had gathered from others over the past few days regarding the Sunset Tomb.

At this moment, beneath his green robe, he was covered in a dusty, inconspicuous suit of armor, and on his back, he carried a long spear with its tip wrapped in cloth strips.

The spear shaft was pitch-black, but several cyan crystals were embedded in the end, emitting a faint, eerie glow.

The spear itself was pale silver, and it was impossible to tell at a glance what material it was forged from. The Earth Flood Dragon tendon was wrapped several times around his wrist, hidden completely by his sleeves.

Of course, Han Li's greatest trump card, and his reliance for daring to risk entering the Sunset Tomb, was naturally the two Immortal-Extinguishing Pearls in his storage bracelet. With these two supreme treasures in hand, as long as he didn't encounter anything at the Void Refinement stage or above, he would be safe.

The valley grew wider and wider, and after Han Li had walked over a hundred miles, the last faint path disappeared entirely.

Han Li stood in place, looked around, and sighed softly.

It was truly inconvenient not being able to project his spiritual sense; unable to judge the situation in various directions, he had to choose a path at random.

For the first few days, apart from some small beasts and snakes and insects that occasionally popped out, nothing unusual appeared, nor did he encounter any demonic beasts or other people.

However, given the vastness of this area, this was not strange at all.

But five days later, a primeval dense forest that seemed to have no end appeared before Han Li.

The trees were all thirty to forty zhang tall, with large, fleshy leaves, creating a dark and cool environment, and from time to time, low, deep roars of beasts could be heard from within.

Han Li narrowed his eyes and watched for a while, then suddenly lifted his legs and walked inside. After a few flickers, his figure disappeared behind the towering trees.

With Han Li's current powerful physical body, he employed the Smoke Steps he had practiced as a mortal. Even though the forest was filled with vines and dense shrubs, he still moved like a ghost, as if he had become a formless entity, moving through it with ease.

If any other body cultivators or cultivators saw this scene, they would certainly not be willing to easily provoke Han Li in this area.

Suddenly, as Han Li was moving, a flash of silver light occurred. A silver thread shot out, circled a large tree several zhang thick nearby, and flew back.

A shrill roar erupted from behind the tree, followed by a fishy wind. A yellow giant bear, two zhang tall with a single horn on its head, flashed out from behind the tree and lunged fiercely at Han Li, who was not far away.

But Han Li's figure flickered a few times, and he was already several zhang away. He had no intention of stopping at all, looking at the giant bear as if it were invisible.

With a "thud," the giant bear had only lunged a few steps when blood sprayed out, and its entire body was split in two from the waist down.

The giant tree behind it also let out a muffled sound; the trunk split in two, and the upper half fell directly down, covering the giant bear's corpse perfectly.

Han Li had made a single move, yet he had simultaneously severed the giant tree and killed the giant bear. But the silver thread transformed from the Earth Flood Dragon tendon was too sharp, and it was only now that everything was revealed.

By this time, Han Li had long since disappeared into the dense forest again amidst his movements.

Thus, Han Li's slaughter in the Sunset Tomb had truly begun.

Three months later, deep within a strange mountain range, a series of loud noises erupted, with shrill cries and roars intertwined, but after a loud "boom," everything fell silent once more.

At the place where the sound had just come from, Han Li stood with his hands behind his back on a horizontal log over ten zhang above the ground, his expression exceptionally calm.

Around him, the corpses of a group of cyan apes lay scattered about, numbering over twenty.

These apes were all broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, their fur extremely coarse and hard, and their mouths revealed two fangs several inches long, making their faces look exceptionally ferocious.

However, these ape corpses were either torn into several pieces, or had fatal blood holes in their chests, throats, and other parts, with blood flowing all over the ground.

But what was most shocking was that on a thick tree trunk over ten zhang away, a giant demonic ape with red fur all over its body and three heads—one large and two small—had been pierced through the heart by a black long spear and nailed firmly there. It was bleeding from its seven orifices, its body covered in wounds, and it looked as if it had just breathed its last.

"I've only walked this far and already encountered a Core Formation stage demonic beast. The Sunset Tomb truly lives up to its reputation!" Han Li examined the giant ape's corpse carefully for a while and muttered to himself. Then he lifted his hand and grabbed at the empty air.

Immediately, a cyan light flashed on the spirit ring on his finger, and the black spear trembled on the tree trunk, pulling itself out and shooting back.

The giant ape's corpse also fell from the tree trunk.

Han Li grabbed the long spear with one hand, and then his figure moved, transforming into a phantom as he plunged directly into the depths of the dense forest.

For a time, the place fell silent once again.

After a good while, a flash of cyan light appeared on the surface of a large tree nearby, and a cluster of emerald radiance emerged. Within the dim, glowing light, there was actually a tiny person less than a foot tall.

This tiny person wore a green dress, her head and features were as beautiful as a painting, and her figure was graceful and curvaceous; she was actually a beauty shrunk ten times over.

She looked in the direction where Han Li had disappeared, her brows slightly furrowed.

"Tian Ying, why were you unwilling to strike just now? This person is merely a high-tier body cultivator of the human race; you and I could easily finish him off together." Another cluster of yellow light rose leisurely from a patch of shrubs, and an old man in a yellow robe of the same size appeared eerily, leaning on a white cane, and said to the woman in the green light in a dissatisfied tone.

"Huang Shi Gong! We snuck into this place this time not to kill a few more humans and demonic beasts. It is to hunt down the traitor of our race and retrieve the Divine Blood. If we can avoid extra trouble, it is better to avoid it." The woman in the green robe glanced at the old man and replied indifferently.

"This person is at most equivalent to a Nascent Soul stage cultivator; it would be a simple task for two Spirit Generals like us to strike. Why worry so much? We of the Spirit Race and the Human and Demonic races are bitter enemies; if we can take the opportunity to weaken the human race's power, we should do our best to do so." The old man in the yellow robe shook his head, not quite agreeing with the woman's view.

"If I could truly kill this person easily, I wouldn't mind striking. But this person is somewhat strange; it is better not to startle the snake and ruin the big plan." The woman in green remained silent for a good while before speaking her true thoughts.

"Strange? Tian Ying, what did you discover?" Huang Shi Gong was startled and asked hurriedly.

"Do you really think this person is just a body cultivator?" The woman's eyes flickered as she asked in return.

"What does that mean? This person used a spirit tool to kill a Core Formation demonic beast, and there is no spiritual power fluctuation on him; if he isn't a body cultivator, then what is he?" Huang Shi Gong was somewhat confused.

"You should know that my true form is a Wood Cherry Spirit, and I can directly observe some things that ordinary people cannot. This person's spiritual sense is extremely powerful, almost not below yours or mine. As far as I know, human body cultivators cannot possibly have such powerful spiritual sense. Only human Spirit Severing cultivators could possibly possess it." The woman said slowly.

"Powerful spiritual sense! Are you saying this person is not a body cultivator but a Spirit Severing stage cultivator in disguise?" A look of astonishment appeared on Huang Shi Gong's face.

"I didn't say that; I didn't discover the slightest bit of spiritual power on this person. However, I cannot rule out that possibility. After all, many human cultivation techniques are not inferior to our Spirit Race's innate divine abilities. Even if there really is such a secret technique, it is not strange. Our goal this trip is to hunt down the traitor and retrieve the Divine Blood. I don't want to take risks and ruin the real big plan." The woman said solemnly.

"You are right. If he really is a Spirit Severing cultivator, we don't have absolute certainty of killing him. If he runs away, the loss will outweigh the gain. But if that's the case, the human race is truly cunning! Those high-tier existences among the demonic beasts who encounter him will be in big trouble. They would never imagine that a Spirit Severing cultivator would disguise himself as a body cultivator; even existences of the same tier would suffer a huge loss if caught off guard." The old man in the yellow robe felt a bit of schadenfreude again.

"By the way, Tie Li and Chi Mie should have entered this place too. With such a big event, all of us Five Elements Spirit Race should have dispatched personnel. I wonder which Spirit General the Water Spirit Race sent?" The woman in the green dress remembered something and suddenly asked.

"That is not very clear. But the Water Spirit Race is the most mysterious of our Five Elements Race, and the Divine Blood is most important to them. Whoever they send is not strange." Huang Shi Gong chuckled.

"That is true, but I heard some rumors when I came; it seems the Tool Spirit Race also wants to send people to intervene in this matter." The woman said with a hint of hesitation on her face.

"Tool Spirit Race? They still have the face to send people? That traitor is a member of the Tool Spirit Race." Huang Shi Gong was furious upon hearing this.

"That may be so, but the Tool Spirit Race seems to think that precisely because of this, they should be the ones to send people to hunt down the traitor." The woman replied softly.

"Hmph, that sounds nice. They are just coveting the bit of Divine Blood of our Five Elements Race." Huang Shi Gong snorted coldly, his anger unabated.

"Alright, regardless of what is said, most of the Tool Spirit Race people are extremely knowledgeable about the Human and Demonic races. This is very favorable for hunting down the traitor. I estimate that the traitor dared to run to this place because he must have already made contact with the human side. The human race will likely send people to meet him. We must find the traitor and retrieve the Divine Blood before they meet up." The woman in the green dress said grimly.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1303 =====