Naturally, Han Li felt quite frustrated. Under normal circumstances, with his abilities, he could have escaped this restriction the instant the Demon-Trapping Net formed.
But he happened to be concealing his presence at the time, and if he had hastily used his powers to flash out of the net, he would likely have immediately revealed his aura.
So after a brief moment of hesitation, he found himself already inside the restriction.
The corner of Han Li's eye twitched. He could only resign himself to staying put for the time being, while his mind raced through all the information he had just gathered.
Clearly, these Crimson Fusion Clan members must be another branch among the seventy-two sub-clans of the Flying Spirit Race. Somehow, they had learned that three members of the Sky Roc clan would be returning at this time carrying Wood Essence, and so they had laid an ambush along the route they were sure to take. The reason these Crimson Fusion Clan members dared to do this seemed to be that a major figure of the Sky Roc clan had already perished, and the entire Sky Roc clan was struggling to survive on its own.
But if that was the case, wouldn't his original plan fall through? Was he supposed to give up on the Sky Roc clan and try to infiltrate some other Flying Spirit Race settlement?
That didn't seem right either!
After all, from the looks of it, apart from a pair of wings, the Sky Roc clan members were virtually indistinguishable from humans. He didn't know about the other branches of the Flying Spirit Race, but judging by how grotesque the Crimson Fusion Clan members looked, it would probably be hard to find other branches where he could blend in as easily as with the Sky Roc clan.
Han Li's thoughts raced like lightning as he pondered, while he watched the fierce battle between the Sky Roc members and the Crimson Fusion Clan not far away.
There, deafening explosions thundered as countless lightning arcs as thick as silver serpents rolled and roared through a sea of fire. The three silver birds had practically become living embodiments of lightning, fighting with beak and claw with extraordinary valor. But under the siege of so many fire birds, they were already at a disadvantage.
Not only were those fire birds engulfed in churning flames, but even when their bodies were occasionally pierced by the silver arcs, a flash of flame would immediately restore the damaged area, as if they were immortal. And when the silver birds were swept by those flames, the lightning flickering on their bodies' surface kept them unharmed as well — but the silver glow emanating from their bodies would invariably dim a fraction.
Directly above their battle, a crimson spherical pearl had appeared at some point, radiating a hazy red firelight that shrouded everything below within a range of several dozen zhang.
"Feng Xiao, even though you're at the same level as me, with the Fire Dragon Pearl assisting me, how could you possibly be my match?" During the battle, a giant fire bird clearly much larger than its fellows let out a cackling laugh.
With a cold snort, one of the silver birds suddenly swiped a single claw, instantly sending five streaks of white light shooting toward the sky at blinding speed. The next moment, they struck hard against the red pearl.
With a thunderous boom, a layer of red light surfaced on the Fire Dragon Pearl, easily blocking the five claw strikes.
"Ha ha, Brother Feng Xiao, stop harboring false hope. I had our clan elders place restrictions on the Fire Dragon Pearl long ago. A mere high-level Flying Spirit Master like you can't damage it in the slightest." The enormous fire bird laughed wildly a few times, flapped its wings fiercely, and sent sheets of flame sweeping outward.
Below, no matter how the three silver birds wielded their lightning to try to escape the Fire Dragon Pearl's range, the pearl clung to them like a parasite fused to the bone, impossible to shake off in the slightest. And because of their divided attention, the three silver birds suffered wound after wound. The arcs of lightning flickering across their bodies began to weaken.
Seeing this, the fire bird attacked even more frantically without pause.
The three silver birds could only desperately hold their ground within the sea of fire.
The fire bird that the bald, burly man had transformed into watched this with a cold gleam flashing in its eyes, and let out another piercing cry.
That two-headed giant bird finally made its move.
Spreading both wings, both heads simultaneously let out sinister, low growls. Its massive body swayed and transformed into a swath of multicolored rosy clouds, sweeping straight toward the three silver birds in the sea of fire.
The three silver birds panicked at the sight. One of them suddenly shouted:
"Quick, use the Thunder Escape Technique to dodge! We can't take this Crimson Roar Bird head-on!"
The moment those words left its beak, the three silver birds crazily transformed into three silver arcs and shot out from the sea of fire. In the process, their bodies took several more heavy hits.
But the moment they broke free of the fire sea, they vanished in a flash.
The rosy clouds swept through empty air, and the glow immediately receded, revealing the two-headed giant bird once more. Its two massive heads kept looking around from side to side.
The Fire Dragon Pearl in the air continued spinning rapidly in place, as if it too had lost track of the three silver birds.
The fire birds stared in surprise at this. The largest of them folded its wings and transformed back into human form amid the raging flames.
It was none other than the bald, burly man called Tian Ming.
He swept a glance in the direction the three silver arcs had vanished and let out a cold laugh:
"Don't think that by borrowing the power of lightning to conceal yourselves, I won't be able to find you. This time, besides borrowing the Fire Dragon Pearl, I also brought Spirit-Bonded Bees. I've already had them memorize the crystalline cores of your Sky Roc clan. Even if you've cultivated the Thunder Escape Technique to its absolute peak, you still won't be able to evade their search."
As soon as the words fell, the bald, burly man suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a red gourd. The object spun rapidly, its opening pointing downward, and with several popping sounds, sprayed out several yellow venomous bees, each one several inches in size, radiating a faint spiritual glow.
The burly man let out several strange cries and pointed his finger in the direction the silver birds had vanished. Immediately, these spirit bees buzzed and shot off in that direction.
The burly man grinned savagely and waved his hand behind him. Immediately, all the other fire birds formed by the Crimson Fusion Clan members spread their wings and took flight, following closely behind each of the spirit bees.