Earlier, deep within a canyon, he had discovered the massive Windflame Crystal now in his possession. But the moment he plucked it, a large flock of unidentified demonic birds had spotted him, and he'd been chased for half a day before finally managing to shake them off.
Now,
The flight proceeded uneventfully, and after half a day he reached the edge of the forest. The dense canopy gave way to a vast, open sea stretching to the horizon.
Han Li's brow furrowed slightly, but the crease quickly smoothed away.
This was likely just an inland sea. While it harbored some sea beasts, they were nothing compared to the truly boundless outer ocean.
A flash of green light!
Han Li's evasion streak plunged straight into the sea, and after a few flickers he had crossed over a thousand zhang to the ocean surface.
Suddenly, a thunderous whooshing erupted from below!
Countless blue beams shot out from the seawater, all aimed squarely at Han Li high above.
Without changing expression, Han Li swept one sleeve downward. A swath of hazy gray radiance unfurled, then condensed and transformed into countless fine gray threads.
A series of "chi chi" sounds rang out as every last blue beam was pierced clean through by the gray threads.
Thumb-sized blue fish began tumbling from the sky like rain.
These strange creatures had not a single scale on their bodies, yet their heads were extraordinarily elongated and sharp as blades — a thoroughly bizarre sight.
Han Li's single strike had slain several hundred of the strange fish, but even more blue beams surged from the sea below.
Han Li's eyebrows rose slightly. With a subtle shift of his hand seals, the threads spewing from his sleeve multiplied several times over, sweeping through every fish that dared approach.
In the span of a few breaths, tens of thousands of the creatures had been wiped out entirely.
Such overwhelming force seemed to have thoroughly terrified the school. The once-choppy sea surface fell instantly calm, and no more blue beams shot upward.
Han Li flicked his wrist, and the gray threads flashed before reverting to a haze of light that rolled back into his sleeve. At the same time, he channeled a bit more Magical Power within, accelerating to nearly half again his previous speed as he shot deeper into the sea.
Several hours later, the demon sun in the sky began sinking toward the waterline, and the light dimmed swiftly.
From the silent depths below, a number of powerful auras began rising slowly toward the surface.
Han Li gazed down from on high and could make out the enormous silhouettes of colossal sea beasts occasionally breaking the surface, their vast limbs flickering in and out of sight.
Han Li frowned, glanced up at the sky, and after a moment's thought decided that today was not a good day to continue traveling. Though with his abilities he need not fear whatever powerful sea beasts emerged at night, he saw no reason to court unnecessary trouble. Besides, he had been pushing hard for over ten days without proper rest — it would do him good to take the chance to recover his energy.
With that decided, he immediately released his spiritual sense in every direction, sweeping over a thousand li of ocean in one pass.
Before long, his expression shifted, and his evasion streak abruptly veered toward a distant stretch of sky.
A short while later, a small black speck appeared on the distant sea. As Han Li urged his green light closer, it resolved into a modest-sized island — several dozen li across, but crowned with several peaks that rose over a thousand zhang. A thin veil of mist shrouded the island's perimeter.
Han Li narrowed his eyes, focused his spiritual sense, and quickly scanned the entire island. Then he descended straight toward it.
Moments later, the green light faded and Han Li's figure appeared at the mid-slope of a rocky mountain, where a cave entrance several zhang wide yawned before him.
Han Li glanced at the cave and flicked his sleeve inside.
A small azure sword shot out and vanished into the darkness within.
After a brief pause, a muffled beast's roar echoed from inside, followed by a sharp squeal that cut off abruptly.
Han Li walked in, expression unchanged.
The cave was extremely narrow and long. After fifty or sixty zhang he emerged into a considerably more spacious cavern.
The cavern floor was carpeted with a layer of emerald-green dried grass of some unknown variety. Lying atop it was a beast that resembled an armored pangolin, sliced cleanly in two.
Han Li pointed a finger at the carcass, and a tiny spark shot forth.
With a soft "poof," the flame consumed the beast's remains along with the grass beneath, reducing everything to ash.
The cavern was now immaculately clean.
Only then did Han Li settle cross-legged in the center of the cave with an air of authority. After a moment's thought, the storage bracelet on his wrist shifted slightly.
A flash of white light, and four translucent bricks, each half a foot long, materialized and hovered in a row before him.
They were the four Holy Bricks he had obtained from the Blood Crow City Lord a year prior.