Chapter 1382: Desert Fierce Battle

It seemed to take no effort at all for Longdong to slay the two great green shadows, and without a word he shook the blood sword in his hand.

Instantly the sword melted away, in the blink of an eye turning into a stream of deep red 'color' essence blood, which vanished along the palm gripping the sword.

He let out a long breath, his face first flushed crimson, then instantly turned deathly pale, as if he had lost too much blood.

He quickly took a crimson 'medicine' bottle from his storage bracelet, poured out a scarlet elixir 'pill' and swallowed it; Longdong dared not linger, he ignited his escape light and shot toward the distance.

Elsewhere in the desert, a white-robed maiden stood gracefully atop a sand dune, and nearby several zhang away lay four icy corpses.

These corpses bore not a single wound, yet lay there silently, utterly devoid of essence and energy.

The maiden stroked a 'milk'-white 'color' long-necked jade bottle with one hand, a mysterious smile touching her lips; suddenly she moved, transforming into a streak of Jin Guang soaring into the sky, and after a few flashes vanished from sight in the nearby air.

In a place over ten million li away, a cyan-white electric arc flickered in and out of visibility high in the sky, fleeing with great haste; behind it by several li, a mass of black qi drifted along, appearing to move slowly, yet somehow, through some unknown divine ability, it kept pace without being shaken off.

The two, one ahead and one behind, crossed hundreds of li in an instant; then the black qi behind trembled, vanished suddenly from sight, and the next moment reappeared from the void a li away, continuing the pursuit.

Immediately, the cyan-white 'color' electric arc likewise sprang forward, instantly becoming a white thread that spanned a li, again pulling the distance apart.

Thus they continued their chase, front and rear.

Within the cyan-white 'color' electric arc, a winged humanoid figure occasionally flickered into view—none other than Han Li.

At this moment his brows were tightly knit, his eyes gloomy beyond measure.

Since not long ago, after discovering that the old Daoist priest in the black qi behind had given chase, he immediately combined the Wind Thunder Wings with the Nine Changes of the Gale Body Method, pushing his escape technique to the extreme.

But that mass of black qi, whatever it was transformed from, not only possessed astonishing escape speed, but also had the same teleportation ability.

Though they had chased each other over such a vast distance, they could not widen the gap by even a hair.

Though this desert was vast enough, it was a frequent haunt of foreign tribes; if this pursuit continued and startled other tribes, trouble would only grow greater.

As for the Blood Shadow Escape, which greatly damages one's vital energy, he had just used it once not long ago; unless absolutely necessary, he was unwilling to employ it lightly. After all, this desert was rife with danger, and soon he would have to enter that narrow passage, and he did not wish to excessively harm his own vital energy.

It seemed he had no choice but to temporarily engage the shadow-tribe being behind him in battle.

The fact that the opponent could possess and refine a mid-stage Void Refinement cultivator indicated that their status among the shadow tribe was certainly not low, likely corresponding to the Crimson Shadow entity on par with Void Refinement cultivators.

Against such a high-level existence, if it were another foreign tribe, Han Li might still have a few reservations; but facing the shadow tribe, he trusted that his mastery of several divine abilities could counter this clan, giving him some confidence in battle.

Moreover, since entering Tian Yuan City, he had cultivated several treasures and newly refined cultivation methods that had never truly been shown before others; their exact power he himself was not entirely clear about, only knowing the power should be tremendous, and using it on this Crimson Shadow would be a perfect test.

Having thought this through in a flash, Han Li teleported once more, then shook his double wings, and his body suddenly halted in place.

Thus, the mass of black qi, moving like wind and lightning, instantly closed to within a hundred zhang behind Han Li, showing no sign of stopping, apparently intending to rush straight at him.

This was hardly surprising!

The shadow tribe's forte was forcibly devouring other tribes' primordial spirits and souls, directly controlling their fleshly bodies while simultaneously gaining over half of the body's abilities.

But Han Li would never truly allow the opponent to close in; without a word, he merely rubbed his two hands together and thrust them outward.

With a 'Boom—rumble—rumble' of heavenly thunder, a thick golden arc as wide as a bowl burst forth from between his hands, unexpectedly striking straight at the black qi.

A soft 'Eh?' rang out; the black qi suddenly flickered, then vanished into the nearby void.

Han Li let out a cold snort; suddenly a bloodstain split open between his brows, the Destruction Law Eye immediately manifested, and fired a black thread, which likewise flashed and vanished.

After a deafening explosion, in the void tens of zhang away, a violent undulation spread; the old Daoist priest, wrapped in a mass of black qi, flickered back into view, only to utter an astonished low cry:

'Destruction Law Eye, you actually cultivated this divine ability!'

Han Li's mouth corner twitched; he said nothing, but silently activated his formula, the thick golden arc bent around, and unexpectedly appeared behind the old Daoist priest, then flashed and struck down fiercely.

The old Daoist priest silently cursed his misfortune, about to flicker away to dodge, but Han Li in the distance suddenly flared his eyes with blue light and shouted.

Though the sound was not loud, when it reached his ears it felt like a great bell striking; the old Daoist priest only felt his ears buzz, then instantly a tearing pain split his head, and his body involuntarily stiffened.

After a thunderclap, the golden 'color' electric arc struck the black qi; countless fine golden lights leapt and intertwined, and the black qi instantly rolled and boiled.

At the same time, a tremendous frog-cry of painful 'color' suddenly echoed from within the black qi.

The black qi swirled violently, then condensed beneath the old Daoist priest's feet, transforming into a double-headed monster with a serpent's head and a frog's body, four scarlet eyes fixed dead upon Han Li, full of violent 'color'.

Seeing this, Han Li could not help but stare.

The opponent's protective black qi was actually a monster transformed—truly beyond expectation.

'Good, very good! A mere Soul Transformation cultivator still able to shake my mind—your earlier trick was indeed interesting. Why not display it again for a try!' The old Daoist priest, having taken this thunderbolt, instantly steadied his form, his eyes gloomy as he stared at Han Li.

Han Li frowned slightly; it seemed his earlier thunderbolt had been fully absorbed by the monster beneath the priest's feet, otherwise, given lightning's restraint over the shadow tribe, taking such a heavy strike of the Baneful Divine Thunder would not have left him unscathed.

As for using the Soul-Stabbing Thrust again, he would not do such a foolish thing; this attack only works by surprise, otherwise, given the opponent's divine sense stronger than his own, it would have no effect whatsoever.

Han Li said nothing more, raised one hand, and revealed a palm as black as ink, pressing it into the void toward the Daoist priest.

Instantly, the air above the old Daoist priest's head surged, and a blackish little mountain appeared.

This mountain merely spun once, and instantly became a hundred zhang high; at its base, gray light blazed, and rings of gray 'color' light rushed downward.

The Daoist priest's face flashed with a fierce 'color'; his sleeve shot into the air and waved, suddenly revealing a crystal-clear, half-foot-long small blade.

This blade merely swept through the void, and a bright blade-light flashed and vanished in a slash.

With a 'Hiss—' sound, no matter what treasure that small blade was, its blade-light and the gray 'color' ring made slight contact, and with a 'sweep' it scattered the gray 'color' ring and fiercely struck the mountain's base.

With a 'Hum—' like a bell's toll, a tremendous roar rang out.

The mountain peak remained unmoved, yet the blade-light was forcibly extinguished.

The Daoist priest's face changed slightly; before he could make any other move, Han Li's other hand, pure white as jade, likewise extended, fingers splayed, and five skull bone rings appeared.

Instantly, five enormous skull heads appeared around the old Daoist priest, and as they opened their mouths, five streams of extreme cold flame spewed out, merging instantly into five 'color' light-flames that engulfed the Daoist priest's form.

The Daoist priest had still been wearing a cold smile, but the instant the five 'color' light-flames touched him, his face suddenly changed dramatically; suddenly, myriad zhang of red light burst from his surroundings, countless crimson sword-lights slashed wildly in all directions, and in the blink of an eye transformed into a great red 'color' lotus.

A startling scene appeared.

As the lotus spun, the five 'color' light-flames were all swept apart, unable to touch him in the slightest.

Seeing this, Han Li's face darkened; he clenched both hands in a formula, and instantly the five skull heads let out a fierce roar, suddenly swelling to several times their size, and lunged wildly at the red lotus.

With a few 'Pop—pop—' sharp cries, the five skull heads, upon reaching the lotus's edge, shot out five bright blade-lights from within the lotus, which flashed and vanished, then like lightning severed each skull head in half.

Immediately, the red lotus exploded completely.

Wherever the red light passed, the five 'color' light-flames finally shattered and scattered, and the old Daoist priest's form reappeared, his face bearing a calm 'color'.

The wailing of ghosts rose loudly, and the five skulls recombined as if nothing had happened.

Yet their mouths still emitted continuous wailing sounds, as if they had suddenly become extremely reverent and awed toward the old Daoist.

Han Li exhaled lightly, his hand pointing solemnly toward the distant giant mountain.

The giant mountain rumbled and plummeted straight downward.

Under the immense pressure of this colossal object descending with a hum, the old Daoist's expression remained utterly unchanged; he merely tapped lightly on the giant beast beneath him with the tip of his foot.

The two serpent heads of the giant beast opened their mouths simultaneously, spewing two thick red shadows that struck fiercely against the falling giant mountain.

A sound like heaven and earth splitting rang out; the giant mountain trembled and was actually flung sideways by the impact of the red shadows.

Seeing this, Han Li's pupils contracted, and his face finally grew somewhat grim.

These so-called red shadows were none other than the serpentine essences spat from the two serpent heads—yet they possessed such tremendous force that they could send flying the mountain peak formed from the Essence Magnetic Divine Mountain.

Han Li's dark hands grasped, and the black small mountain and the five skulls flickered once before vanishing into thin air.

The black and white hands instantly restored their normal skin tone, with no trace of abnormality remaining.

"Hehe, brat. You do have quite a few treasures, but with your meager magic power trying to oppose me is nothing short of foolish daydreaming. It seems you have no more tricks—come forth with your body." The old Daoist appeared somewhat impatient, making no move himself, yet the two serpent heads of the beast beneath him suddenly let out sharp cries.

An invisible ripple spread outward like flying, instantly encompassing an area of several li.

Five-colored spiritual lights flashed continuously in the vicinity, and countless monsters of various sizes emerged like bubbles from nowhere—some as large as small mountains, others only a few zhang tall, each with ferocious visages, reeking winds rolling about, suddenly surrounding Han Li, all staring at him with ill intent.

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