Han Li swept his gaze around at this point.
As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but a vast ocean in every direction. The distant sky was a clear blue, with nothing conspicuous in sight apart from a few inconspicuous white clouds.
"We're now only four or five days away from our destination. Although the spatial node isn't large and lies in a remote corner of the Xuanwu Region, the demon army stationed in this area belongs to the most bloodthirsty and warlike of all demon clans — the Berserker Demons. These Berserker Demons thrive on combat and conflict. The entire Xuanwu Region is now engulfed in flames of war, far more chaotic than the other regions. So we need to exercise extra caution from here on out," Patriarch Long said gravely to everyone.
"Naturally. If the demon node we'd chosen were in the Heavenly Abyss City region, we'd be exposing ourselves to far less risk," the feather-robed young woman said with a hint of regret.
"The node near Heavenly Abyss City won't work. I sent scouts to investigate long ago. Only by using this node can we reach the Bloodstone Mountains in the Demon Realm directly. Even within the Demon Realm, the Bloodstone Mountains are an exceptionally desolate place with very few demons stationed there. Appearing there should pose no danger. If we were to use any other node to enter the Demon Realm, we'd either be walking into the lion's den, or we'd emerge so far from our target that it would take several times longer to get there." Patriarch Long shook his head without hesitation.
"I was merely making a casual remark — as if I could truly have any doubts about Patriarch Long's arrangements," the feather-robed young woman said, her eyes twinkling with a cheerful smile.
Patriarch Long simply chuckled and said nothing further.
At that moment, Holy Maiden Qianqiu flew over to Patriarch Long and exchanged a few hushed words with him. She then beckoned the other four to join her as they set off riding streaks of light.
After calling out to Han Li and the others, Patriarch Long also rose into the air, bringing along the Hui-surnamed Elder of the Long clan who was dressed in a black robe.
The remaining three — Han Li and his companions — transformed into faint streaks of light and followed close behind.
Over the next four days, Han Li and his group encountered several patrols of demon sentries. Each patrol ranged from a dozen to over a hundred strong.
These demon sentries were markedly different from the demons that had appeared at Heavenly Abyss City. Not only were they half a head taller than ordinary demons, but their demon armor was inscribed with many bizarre blue demonic patterns, giving them a thoroughly ferocious appearance.
With the abilities Han Li and his group possessed, eliminating these demon sentries would have been trivially easy. However, the party concealed their streaks of light and passed silently overhead without drawing the slightest attention.
The strongest among the demon sentries were merely at the Deity Transformation stage, so they were naturally utterly incapable of detecting Han Li and the other Body Integration stage powerhouses.
On the afternoon of the fourth day, a cluster of dark specks finally appeared at the far edge of the ocean ahead. Flying a little closer revealed them in clearer detail.
These dark specks turned out to be coral islands of varying sizes.
The smaller islands spanned only a few miles, while the larger ones stretched a hundred miles across, densely scattered throughout the waters ahead.
"Holy Maiden Qianqiu, there should be high-ranking demons stationed up ahead. It's your turn now. Additionally, the rest of you can take the counterfeit demon pearls that were distributed earlier. If we're truly exposed, activating the demonic energy within them should allow us to pass muster." Patriarch Long halted his streak of light and addressed Holy Maiden Qianqiu and the others cautiously.
"Of course. I spent over a hundred years of painstaking effort refining this little thing specifically for this journey," Holy Maiden Qianqiu replied with a graceful smile.
She then flipped her palm, and a white, misty banner flag materialized in her hand. With a slight shake, countless clusters of white light surged forth from it, then burst open with soft popping sounds.
Plumes of white mist materialized in the void, then coalesced together into a mass roughly an acre in size, descending over Han Li and the others.
Han Li narrowed his eyes and watched, but did not move.
In the blink of an eye, the billowing white fog engulfed them all.
At this point, Holy Maiden Qianqiu murmured an incantation and shook the banner flag several more times in quick succession.
A bizarre sight then appeared.
Five-colored runes emerged within the milky-white fog, and the figures inside instantly grew blurred and translucent before fading into nothingness and vanishing entirely.
The feather-robed young woman and the others were overjoyed upon seeing this.
Han Li's expression remained calm, but with a flicker of his eyes, he extended his spiritual sense into the mist to probe it.
After a brief moment, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes.
This mist contained some unknown wondrous restriction. Even after being swept by such a powerful spiritual sense, it felt completely empty — as if nothing existed there at all.
As Han Li's thoughts raced, a faint blue light suddenly flickered within his pupils.
Under the power of his Bright Vision Spirit Eyes, he finally perceived the layer of white mist that had formed into a shield-like barrier.
However, under the spirit eyes' gaze, the mist was reduced to a mere thin veil, appearing extraordinarily faint.
Han Li felt relieved, and the blue light in his eyes gradually faded away.
A concealment effect of this level, while no threat to him, would be virtually undetectable to ordinary high-ranking demons — aside from Demon Sovereigns who specialized in certain unique secret techniques. It should be more than sufficient to allow their party to slip into the spatial node unnoticed.