When Han Li saw this, he was inwardly startled. Without a word, he followed the other's gaze.
With a faint blue light flickering in his eyes, the demon army several dozen li away came into perfect clarity within his vision.
Among the dense mass of demon warships, atop a towering triangular structure, a group of high-ranking demons clad in blood-red armor stood in a conspicuous formation.
They appeared to be escorting a massive beast-drawn carriage pulled by several demon beasts.
The beasts pulling the carriage bore five lion-like heads each, their enormous bodies covered in deep blue scales, with long scorpion-hooked tails trailing behind them.
The carriage itself was exquisitely crafted, and rising from within it was a banner-black as ink—upon its surface were inscribed several enormous demon script characters, each one crimson as blood, with a faint crystalline blood-light flowing across them.
Below the banner, billowing clouds of demonic energy churned. A young man in a blood-red battle robe stood motionless within, with seven or eight Demon Venerables flanking him respectfully on either side.
The young man's features were identical to those of the three Blood Light Holy Ancestor incarnations that had once hunted Han Li.
Seeing this, Han Li's gaze turned cold, and an involuntary flash of killing intent burst forth.
The blood-robed youth immediately sensed something. He turned his head slightly, and his eyes locked onto Han Li's spiritual eye from afar. His pupils rotated slightly, instantly turning pitch-black as ink, and a powerful, bone-piercing suction force—like a vortex—seemed to come hurtling across, as though trying to forcibly drag Han Li's gaze in.
Han Li's heart tightened. With a powerful surge of his spiritual sense, he forcibly severed the connection.
This time, the blood-robed youth among the distant demon army's expression shifted subtly.
"Is something the matter, Fellow Daoist Blood Light? Did you discover something?"
A brash, carefree voice suddenly came from the other end of the beast carriage. Its owner was a towering man wearing a beast-hide apron, his bronze-colored torso half-bared.
This was none other than the surname Xiong man—whom the Blood Light Holy Ancestor had called the foremost Demon Venerable beneath the Holy Ancestors themselves.
At this moment, he leaned against the railing on one side of the carriage with his arms crossed, looking every bit the picture of lazy nonchalance.
"Nothing much. A human cultivator was spying on us, and I startled him off. But he doesn't seem to be an ordinary one—he broke free of my Dark Light Demon Eye with disturbing ease." The youth glanced at the large man and spoke slowly.
"Oh? To escape your Demon Eye unscathed, he's no ordinary cultivator. Could he be the target you want me to deal with? Or that fellow who just advanced to Late Body Integration?" The big man perked up, clearly excited by the prospect.
"Hard to say. But whichever one it is, he's certain to be a troublesome opponent. Fellow Daoist Xiong, you'd best exercise extra caution if you face him." The blood-robed youth furrowed his brow slightly, offering a word of caution.
"Ha! Rest easy! I was worried the opponent's powers wouldn't be enough to give me a proper fight!" The large man threw back his head and burst into hearty laughter.
The blood-robed youth gave a wry smile but said nothing further.
At the same time, on Sky Harbor City's side, Han Li had his eyes tightly shut. It took a good while before the faint dizziness in his head subsided completely. Opening his eyes, he felt a trace of inward shock.
"Fellow Daoist Han, are you all right? Just now, that was perhaps...?" The silver-haired elder had witnessed Han Li's strange reaction and couldn't help but feel concerned.
"I'm fine. Their secret technique launched a sneak attack just now, but it's no longer a problem." Han Li shook his head and replied casually.
"That's good. Brother Han, you've confirmed that the person is indeed a Blood Light Holy Ancestor incarnation, correct?" The silver-haired elder was somewhat surprised but immediately raised the question he cared most about.
"Mm, almost certainly. His appearance and aura were identical to the Blood Light Holy Ancestor incarnations I've encountered before. I'm quite certain of it." Han Li stroked his chin and affirmed.
"If it's that demon, then it's good. Since this Blood Light Holy Ancestor has appeared in person among the demon army, it seems he intends to settle the battle in a single decisive engagement. In a moment, this Holy Ancestor incarnation will need to be handled by Han Li. Fellow Daoist need not rush to achieve victory—so long as you can keep him occupied, that alone will constitute an enormous contribution to this battle!" Zen Master Jinyue, standing nearby, spoke with equal gravity.
"Heh heh. Rest assured, both fellow Daoists. As long as no other demons interfere or disrupt things, this demon incarnation will never appear before any of the other fellow Daoists." Han Li offered a faint smile, his composure absolute.
"Then we'll trouble you, Fellow Daoist. We will do our utmost to hold back the other demon venerables and prevent them from interfering with Brother Han." The silver-haired elder beamed with relief as he made his promise.
Han Li nodded and said nothing more. Several other Elder Council elders—some of whom he had met before—stepped forward to exchange greetings with him at this moment.
Their manner toward Han Li was, to varying degrees, far more courteous than it had been in the past.
Clearly, the reputation of the Late Body Integration stage had earned these Body Integration elders a measure of reverence toward Han Li. None of them dared act as casually as they once had.