Within the black void, a flash of five-colored radiance flickered, and the Celestial Phoenix's figure vanished in an instant.
Given the Celestial Phoenix's innate spatial talents, combined with
After all, even ordinary Demon Lords could cross realms through such passages, so passing through this node should pose no problem whatsoever.
The only thing he remained wary of was the possibility that some powerful demon existence might be stationed on the other end of the node, and he would blunder straight into it.
However, for a small-scale node like this one, such a scenario was exceedingly unlikely — virtually negligible.
Sure enough, after the Celestial Phoenix pushed against the demonic wind for a brief while and shattered over a dozen layers of spatial barriers in succession, the space ahead suddenly brightened, revealing pinpoints of light.
Han Li was delighted. The Celestial Phoenix form he had assumed beat both wings forcefully, and a layer of radiance rippled across its body surface. Its figure instantly faded until it was nearly invisible.
Outside the exit on the other side of the node lay an endless expanse of grey desert.
On the ground facing the node, two tall, tower-like black structures had been built, and inside them were stationed several dozen demon guards, who periodically cast glances toward the node.
In the span of a few breaths, the spatial energy dissipated, and the Celestial Phoenix slipped silently through the node. A single flicker later, it had already shot over a hundred zhang away and vanished into the void.
The demon guards atop the two black structures — the strongest among them no more than Nascent Soul stage — had been stationed here for years without incident and had long since grown careless. They noticed nothing out of the ordinary.
The Celestial Phoenix reappeared at the far edge of the horizon. After a faint shimmer of radiance rippled across its body, it morphed into human form.
Han Li exhaled softly, turning back to glance at the distant node exit with a somewhat peculiar expression.
This infiltration into the Demon Realm had gone unexpectedly smoothly — the several contingency measures he had painstakingly prepared for worst-case scenarios had not been needed at all.
Naturally, he was greatly pleased.
Only then did Han Li take the time to look around at this place that had long been described among the human race as a sea of blood and mountains of blades.
The sky overhead was a faint yellow, without a single wisp of cloud, yet three blood-red suns hung there nonetheless. Apart from that, everything else on the ground looked much the same as the
If there were any subtle differences from the Spirit Realm, it was that the ambient spiritual energy here was noticeably scarcer, and a faint demonic qi drifted through the air in all directions.
However, this demonic qi was not particularly pronounced — if one did not pay careful attention, it could almost be ignored entirely.
This surprised Han Li somewhat.
But he had not come to explore the depths of the Demon Realm. He had an important objective in mind. After observing for only a brief moment, he murmured an incantation, and the demonic armor resurfaced across his body. Dense, pitch-black demonic qi surged forth, engulfing his figure entirely.
He then formed another hand seal, and every trace of his human aura was suppressed to the last wisp.
Han Li gave a low shout. Faint golden scales appeared on his face and limbs, but the demonic qi swirled and shifted to an inky black hue. At the same time, a dark flash flickered between his brows, and a third demonic eye materialized, gleaming with a deep, sinister light.
Han Li stretched his limbs and allowed a faint smile to cross his lips.
His current appearance and aura were indistinguishable from those of a high-ranking demon. As long as he did not encounter a Demon Lord of equal or higher cultivation, it was unlikely anyone would see through his human identity.
Having completed his transformation, Han Li dared not linger here any longer. The surrounding demonic qi churned, and he immediately transformed into a streak of black wind that rolled away into the distance.
Several quarters of an hour later, he had flown out of the desert and appeared above a stretch of rolling hills covered in grey shrubbery.
Upon entering this region, the thin demonic qi grew noticeably denser than before — though the increase was marginal, it confirmed that Han Li's earlier conjecture had been correct.
The purity of demonic qi in the Demon Realm, much like spiritual energy, was indeed tied to the region.
Han Li did not halt his journey. He continued driving the black wind onward in the same direction.
And so he flew for an entire day and night.
He not only traversed the hilly terrain but crossed a massive lake and several ranges of pitch-black, unbroken mountains.
Whether the Demon Realm was simply barren by nature, or whether his chosen direction happened to be wrong, throughout the entire journey, aside from the occasional low-grade demonic beast he encountered, he did not see a single demon being.
This put Han Li somewhat at ease, though it also prompted him to heighten his vigilance.
On the fourth day, Han Li finally spotted a group of mid-rank demons beneath the foot of a small mountain — creatures with horse-like faces and humanoid bodies, locked in a vicious battle with one another.
These demons wielded wooden clubs, wore hides of beasts, and could leap over a dozen zhang into the air. They were ferocious in appearance, and seemed to possess a rudimentary level of intelligence.
Nearby, a black demonic beast resembling a saber-toothed tiger lay motionless on the ground.
Evidently, these demons were fighting to the death over the ownership of this kill.
Han Li's eyes lit up with delight. The black wind descended, and he casually released several arcs of golden lightning that knocked all of the demons unconscious on the spot.
He then reached out with a massive hand, and one of the demons was instantly drawn into his grip through the air. His five fingers pressed firmly against the crown of its skull.
His eyes narrowed. Dark light flickered across his five fingers as he commenced a soul-searching technique, probing into the demonic creature's spiritual consciousness.