Ever since the woman and the young girl had departed, the door of the wooden cabin beneath the small mountain — still flickering with white light — had not opened once in over ten days.
Meanwhile, the level of alertness on Fire Cloud Island had suddenly intensified several fold.
Not only had the Fire Sun tribe's serpent people stopped leaving the island to hunt and gather materials, but all one hundred thousand or more members of the tribe had retreated into the earthen city. Several large-scale protective formations within the city had also been activated one after another, sparing no spirit stones.
The earthen walls, which had previously looked rather flimsy and vulnerable to attack, were now enveloped by three layered barriers of red, yellow, and green light.
Within the city, several thousand elite serpent warriors — all fully armed — took turns patrolling every corner of the settlement. At the center, all of the Fire Sun tribe's priests had gathered together. Under the leadership of the woman and the young girl, they sat in meditation within the main hall, conserving their energy and sharpening their spirits.
This great hall was similarly shrouded in another layer of five-colored radiance, which seemed to possess some profound and mysterious properties of its own. The source of this five-colored light was, in fact, that cone-shaped magical artifact standing in the middle of the plaza.
As for the ordinary serpent people of the earthen city, they had all received advance instructions from the tribe's leadership and mostly stayed indoors, rarely venturing out.
Under such stringent precautions, a remarkable and formidable aura of killing intent rose over the earthen city almost imperceptibly.
On this particular day, while the woman, the young girl, and the assembled priests were quietly resting in the main hall and cultivating their inner breath, a calm, unhurried voice suddenly penetrated straight through the protective barriers and echoed throughout the hall:
"Fellow Daoist Huo, I have finished refining the pill and emerged from seclusion. I would appreciate it if you could open the barriers and let me in."
It was none other than Han Li's voice!
Upon hearing this voice, the white-robed priests in the hall stirred with excitement, while the woman's face lit up with undisguised joy.
Truth be told, it would have been a lie to say she hadn't worried at all about whether Han Li would break his promise and fail to show up. However, with the crisis of their tribe's annihilation looming on the horizon, she had simply had no other choice. Giving the pill to him meant they might gain a powerful ally. Refusing to do so would have meant losing even that sliver of hope.
It seemed her gamble had paid off — Han Li was clearly not the sort to go back on his word.
Overjoyed, the woman flipped her hand, and a brilliant red jade disc materialized in her palm. She tapped it several times with her finger.
The five-colored radiance protecting the hall flickered and parted to reveal a narrow opening. But after only a few breaths' time, the light shimmered once more and sealed itself shut as if it had never opened.
In that brief interval, a flash of golden light appeared at the entrance of the hall, and a figure materialized there in a peculiar manner before walking calmly inside.
The figure wore a green robe and had unremarkable features, but a luminous sheen flowed through both of his eyes. It was Han Li.
His complexion was entirely different from what it had been over ten days ago, clearly proof that the Blazing Sun Divine Pill's medicinal power was no ordinary thing.
"Thank you, Sir, for coming to our aid. Has Senior fully recovered his Magical Power?" The woman rose to her feet to greet him, her tone exceptionally warm and enthusiastic.
The young girl called Zhu'er, though somewhat reluctant, had no choice but to stand up as well, her lips slightly pouting.
"The Blazing Sun Pill is indeed remarkable, but the injuries I sustained were far from ordinary. I've only recovered about seventy to eighty percent of my power. The remainder cannot be healed by medicinal pills alone. That said, if your tribe's enemies aren't too formidable, I believe I can still be of some assistance." Han Li offered a faint smile as he spoke.
When the woman first heard that Han Li had not fully recovered his abilities, her expression flickered with a hint of worry. But upon hearing the confident tone of his latter words, her heart lifted with renewed joy.
It seemed his powers were still greater than she had estimated — otherwise, how could he speak with such assurance?
Many of the Fire Sun tribe's priests on either side of the hall had met Han Li before, while others were seeing this "Sir Han" for the very first time. His arrival naturally set off a wave of hushed murmuring among them.
Han Li paid no attention to the various looks of delight, suspicion, and wariness directed his way from both sides.
He was led by the woman to a seat at her side. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he simply closed his eyes and said nothing more.
The woman swept a stern, piercing gaze across both sides of the hall, and those serpent people who were still whispering immediately fell silent in alarm.
The entire hall returned to its former tranquility.
But just then, Han Li suddenly felt a gaze still stealing careful glances at him. His brow twitched slightly, and he abruptly opened his eyes, meeting a pair of exceptionally dark, obsidian-like orbs.
It was none other than Bai Zhu'er, seated on the other side of the woman, who had been cautiously sneaking peeks at him.
The moment the young girl found Han Li's gaze upon her, a flicker of fear flashed through her eyes, and she quickly looked away.
It seemed that the incident when Di Hun had nearly drained her spiritual sense during the pill delivery had left quite a lasting impression on the girl.
The corner of Han Li's mouth quirked upward, a trace of amusement crossing his features, and he closed his eyes once more, turning his thoughts inward to reflect on the situation at hand.
That Blazing Sun Divine Pill — after he had used the Spirit-devouring Fire Bird to absorb the fire-attribute spiritual energy within it — had been easily swallowed and refined by his body. The woman had not exaggerated the pill's efficacy. While it hadn't restored him to perfect condition, it was undoubtedly far superior to any pills he had on hand. Both his blood essence and spiritual sense had recovered a truly incredible amount in just a short time. As for the recovery of his Magical Power, even without the aid of any pill, enough time had already passed for it to fully regenerate.
Since the other party's spirit pill had indeed proven remarkably effective, Han Li naturally had no intention of reneging on his agreement. He had already advanced to the Spirit Deity Transformation stage, and many of his techniques had improved significantly. Even if he encountered a Body Integration level being, he now possessed a certain degree of self-preservation ability.
He therefore felt no particular fear toward the Fire Sun tribe's enemies.
Whether by coincidence or not, barely half a day after Han Li's arrival, the enemy finally appeared.
A thunderous rumbling shook the earth, rising simultaneously from every direction around the earthen city, as though a multitude of enormous creatures were charging toward the settlement at breakneck speed.