From a distance, the mountain range was composed entirely of tall, perilous, precipitous peaks, one after another, packed so tightly together that their number was impossible to ascertain.
Though he had not yet entered, the mountains already exuded a faint aura of ferocity from their very contours, which caught Han Li slightly off guard.
At the same time, the spiritual energy within the mountain range was far denser than outside. This alone was enough to dispense with further deliberation. Han Li urged his flight light forward once more and flickered into the midst of the peaks.
To avoid drawing attention, he suppressed his flight light to an extremely low altitude and reduced his speed, skimming past the flanks of peak after peak.
While sheltered within his flight light, he continuously spread his spiritual sense to encompass everything within several li, his eyes ceaselessly scanning his surroundings.
After flying barely over a thousand li into the mountain range, the delight on Han Li's face could no longer be contained.
These mountains were teeming with spirit herbs and spirit trees everywhere. Though most grew in extremely treacherous locations and were predominantly low-grade spirit medicines, their sheer abundance still filled Han Li with elation.
After all, he was merely passing through in haste. If he were to search thoroughly, he could surely reap considerable rewards in this mountain range.
He imagined that high-grade spirit medicines should also be plentiful here.
Beyond the spirit herbs, the number of beast herds roaming the mountains far exceeded anything Han Li had anticipated.
He even inadvertently witnessed a brutal battle between rival beast herds.
At the time, as he was skimming over a relatively flat saddle between two colossal mountains, the cries of apes and roars resembling those of fierce beasts suddenly erupted from both peaks.
Then, from one of the great mountains, numerous two-zhang-tall white-furred giant apes burst forth, led by a massive ape whose entire body gleamed gold. Wielding wooden clubs, stone staves, and similar weapons, they charged straight toward the mountain opposite.
From the other mountain poured a host of fierce beasts with bull heads and lion bodies, their leader a monstrous creature several times the size of its kin.
The two groups met head-on in the relatively flat saddle between the mountains and began fighting without the slightest mercy.
The giant apes were remarkably agile, capable of tremendous leaps and possessed of tremendous strength, while the bull-headed beasts had razor-sharp fangs and claws and thick, tough hides. The two sides fought to a near standstill.
What caught Han Li's attention was that the leading giant ape and the beast chieftains all seemed to have developed a degree of spiritual intelligence and begun to cultivate — one could hurl boulders with its bare hands, while the other spewed yellow light from its mouth, roughly equivalent to the third or fourth tier of demon beasts.
The golden-furred giant ape held a slight advantage thanks to its agility, but the bull-headed beast's leader was not much inferior.
After fighting for the better part of half a shi-chen and growing weary, the two groups finally retreated to their respective mountains, each led away by the long howls and deep roars of their respective leaders.
All that remained in the saddle between the mountains were the corpses of both herds, which attracted another species of ugly, two-headed monstrous birds that devoured every last one.
From his hiding spot high above, Han Li watched the beast battle with considerable interest. When he saw the giant apes advancing and retreating with what appeared to be military discipline and strategy, a thought stirred in his mind and vague ideas began to take shape.
Beyond this, as he continued pressing deeper into the mountain range, Han Li naturally encountered other peculiar beasts that appeared and disappeared among the peaks here and there. On several mountains where spiritual energy was most concentrated, he even detected a few demon beasts hidden away that appeared to have reached the sixth or seventh tier.
These beings posed no threat to him whatsoever, and Han Li couldn't be bothered to pay them any mind. He simply guided his flight light ever onward, deeper into the mountain range.
The vastness of this mountain range far surpassed even Han Li's expectations.
Two full months of flight, and he still hadn't managed to leave this mountain range.
This greatly surprised Han Li.
Just as he was hesitating over whether to turn back, a boundless sea of black fog appeared ahead, engulfing countless mountain peaks within its mist.
Several li from the edge of the fog sea, Han Li halted his flight light. Drawing upon his spiritual eye ability, he gazed into the fog with an expression that flickered uncertainly.
At the edge of the fog sea, he could clearly see that not a single blade of grass or tree grew beneath the black mist — even the stones and soil of the ground had turned dark and were cracked beyond all reason.
Faced with such an eerie scene, Han Li naturally wouldn't rashly charge straight in. Instead, he reached out toward a small tree as thick as a bowl beneath him and seized it with an empty-hand grab.
Instantly, the tree was wrenched from the ground, and Han Li caught its trunk in a single hand.
As golden light blazed across his entire body, countless golden scales surfaced along his single arm. He swung it with ferocious force.
With a violent whoosh that tore through the air, the small tree shot toward the black fog several li away like a crossbow bolt.
Blue light blazed in Han Li's eyes as he focused his full attention on the small tree, saying nothing.
Then a sight that made his heart skip a beat appeared.
The instant the small tree pierced into the black fog, it instantly turned from yellow to green, withered in the blink of an eye, and disintegrated into dust.
Han Li's expression turned somewhat grim.
He glanced left and right, pondered for a moment, then suddenly steered his flight light and shot off to one side.
He intended to search along the edge of the fog sea, to see whether he could find some way out.