By now, Han Li had already relocated to the base of a small mountain some two thousand li away. His appearance had undergone a dramatic transformation — he now bore the visage of a middle-aged man with three wisps of long beard, and his stature had shrunk by several inches.
At this moment, not a trace of spiritual energy lingered about his body. He had reverted to looking like nothing more than an ordinary body cultivator, seated cross-legged upon a bluestone with his eyes half-closed, his face utterly devoid of expression.
After a short while, Han Li suddenly opened his eyes. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips, and he murmured to himself:
"At last I've dispersed the last wisp of fire spiritual energy in my body. Unless they come right up to me and interrogate me personally, there's no way they'll be able to tell."
Even so, Han Li had no intention of setting out just yet.
Now was precisely the time when attention was at its peak. Even though he had already altered his appearance and aura, he was unwilling to take any unnecessary risks.
He leaped down from the bluestone and, with a few bounding strides, vaulted up the mountainside.
Before long, he arrived at a cliff face that was thoroughly concealed behind a dense curtain of vines and shrubbery.
Han Li surveyed his surroundings and nodded in satisfaction. He then drew a deep breath, and both of his fists suddenly blazed with brilliant golden light. He aimed at the stone wall before him and struck out in rapid succession.
A series of thunderous booms echoed one after another, and a cave several zhang deep materialized in the cliff face.
His figure flickered, and he slipped eerily inside.
Then, turning back toward the entrance, he delivered a single punch to the ceiling above the opening. A cascade of rubble immediately tumbled down, sealing the cave entrance shut in an instant.
The interior plunged into total darkness.
Han Li was unfazed. He turned his palm over, and a moonlight stone — one he had prepared in advance — appeared in his hand. He pressed it lightly against the ceiling, and with a burst of force, the stone embedded itself effortlessly into the rock.
Under the gentle, luminous glow, more than half the cave became clearly visible.
Han Li found a clean spot and sat down. Only then did a spiritual glint flash from his ring as he retrieved the small crimson bottle from his storage bracelet, examining it with eyes full of wonder.
Apart from the constant emission of blood-red light, the bottle was otherwise entirely ordinary. Its material felt exceptionally smooth to the touch — it seemed to be nothing more than common porcelain.
Han Li ran his fingers gently over the bottle, pondering silently, while memories from the Flame Devouring Spirit Race regarding the divine blood surfaced unbidden in his mind.
After a long while, he furrowed his brow and withdrew a palm-sized jade-green basin from his storage bracelet. He then removed the cap of the crimson bottle and tilted it carefully over the basin.
Purple light swirled at the mouth of the bottle for a good while before seven or eight drops of deep violet liquid slowly trickled out, falling into the basin. Each drop instantly dispersed the moment it landed — they refused to merge together no matter what.
Han Li narrowed his eyes and studied them closely for a moment. Then he extended a finger and lightly touched the surface of one droplet. The instant his fingertip made contact — or rather, almost made contact — the violet liquid suddenly leaped upward on its own, enveloping his fingertip and attempting to bore its way in.
But Han Li's brow twitched, and a flash of golden light erupted from his finger, severing the liquid and cutting it off from his skin. With a gentle shake, the droplet slid back into the jade basin.
"Excellent — it really is the Spirit Race's divine blood," Han Li said, a glint of excitement passing through his eyes.
Next, he poured the violet liquid back into the small bottle and carefully stowed it away in his storage bracelet. Then he settled into quiet meditation within the cave.
Though his Magical Power was entirely gone, his ability to fast remained perfectly intact — he had no need for food or drink whatsoever.
Before long, waves of spiritual sense swept across the small mountain where Han Li was hiding. But since his body bore not the slightest trace of spiritual energy, every single sweep passed right over him without detecting his presence in the slightest.
During the first several days, the spiritual sense probes were extraordinarily frequent — sometimes more than a dozen times in a single day.
After half a month, however, they dropped to only two or three times.
And after another two months, they had dwindled to once per day, and the spiritual sense employed was also noticeably weaker than before, suggesting the searcher had changed.
But Han Li remained perfectly composed, staying hidden inside the cave without venturing out.
Half a year passed in the blink of an eye, and not a single spiritual sense sweep came again.
The moment Han Li sensed this change from within the cave, joy stirred in his heart.
But he waited yet another several months before finally opening his eyes one day, smashing through the rubble at the entrance with a single punch, and slowly walking out.
He looked around at everything nearby, and seeing nothing amiss, gave a low chuckle. He flicked his sleeves and strode boldly down the mountainside.
Moments later, his figure vanished without a trace among the trees.