One month later, the entire Devil World was shaken by the Extermination Decree that Yuan Yan had issued.
The massive bounty attached to the Extermination Decree was enough to stir even some of the Devil Race's Saint Ancestors.
Moreover, the designated target of the decree was merely a single Body Integration cultivator from the Spirit World's Human Race, so naturally, these Saint Ancestors did not consider him worth their personal attention. Though most did not deploy their true bodies, they sent their avatars in droves.
However, a very few Saint Ancestors who were on good terms with Yuan Yan received more confidential intelligence from him, and after some deliberation, quietly held back.
Even so, the combined forces of several Saint Ancestor avatars and a number of Devil Venerables were more than enough to stir up most of the Devil World.
Two months later, Han Li's trail was finally spotted near the outskirts of Emerald Demon City, one of the great cities of the Devil World, and word was sent to the four Devil Venerables stationed within.
As a result, near the city's teleportation formation, the four Devil Venerables launched a surprise interception of Han Li and his companions. But Crab Daoist struck out in a flash, slaying all four Devil Venerables with a single blow and stunning the tens of thousands of demon cultivators in the vicinity. Han Li and his party strode right through the teleportation formation and departed Emerald City without the slightest hindrance.
Three and a half months later, Han Li's trail was discovered once again in Shining Gold River Valley, a notorious danger zone of the Devil World.
Word reached Ancestor Sky Crow, one of the most renowned figures in the Devil World, who dispatched an avatar along with three Devil Venerables to rush to the location and intercept Han Li once more.
After a fierce and unseen battle, Ancestor Sky Crow's avatar and two of the three Devil Venerables perished on the spot. Only a single Devil Venerable skilled in escape arts managed to fight his way out of Shining Gold River Valley with his life.
When the news spread, the demon cultivators across every region were thrown into an uproar, buzzing with debate and speculation.
Half a year later, Ancestor Blood Light's true body, accompanied by two avatars and a retinue of subordinates, suddenly appeared in a small town called Submerged Water Town. There and then, he exposed the disguised identities of Han Li and his companions and unleashed devastating demonic arts in an attempt to capture them all alive.
Han Li said nothing. He and Crab Daoist struck simultaneously.
After half a year of recuperation, Han Li's vitality had largely recovered. Moreover, tempered through his previous battle against the Nirvana Avatar and the immense benefits he had gained from the Spirit Cleansing Pool and the Spirit Cleansing Lotus, those gains were now fully realized — his Provenance True Devil Art had advanced significantly.
Thus, the moment Han Li made his move, he unleashed the Second Nirvana Transformation into the Nirvana Sacred Body. Every gesture and movement carried inconceivable, heaven-defying power, allowing him to barely hold his own even against Ancestor Blood Light's true body.
As a result, after a battle that raged for an entire day and night, the entire small town was all but annihilated. Numerous demon cultivators who had gathered nearby to watch were caught in the crossfire, suffering injuries and casualties.
But what truly shocked everyone was that the battle ultimately ended with Ancestor Blood Light's true body fleeing in grievous wounds, while both of his avatars and his entire retinue were completely wiped out.
If the previous two battles had only begun to acquaint the demon cultivators with Crab Daoist's terrifying might, then after this battle, they finally realized just how formidable Han Li truly was — nearly placing him on par with Crab Daoist himself.
What caused an even greater sensation was that several days after the battle ended, high-ranking demon cultivators discovered the gruesome remains of Ancestor Blood Light in a mountain range some million li away from Submerged Water Town.
The corpse's skull had been split wide open, the inside utterly empty. It appeared that not only had Ancestor Blood Light's physical body been destroyed, but his Nascent Soul had also been forcibly extracted by someone.
Once this news was confirmed by other high-ranking demon cultivators, it naturally caused an even greater sensation.
Those Saint Ancestors who had been itching to take action were struck with terror upon hearing this, and one after another dispatched their subordinates' avatars to investigate the true cause of Ancestor Blood Light's demise.
It should be known that while the Devil World had always encouraged fierce competition between its various races — to the point where even the fall of a Devil Venerable was not unheard of — the killing of a Saint Ancestor-level powerhouse had not occurred once in tens of thousands of years.
Furthermore, although these Saint Ancestors harbored some suspicion that Han Li and Crab Daoist might have been the ones who ambushed Ancestor Blood Light, the greater number suspected that other Saint Ancestors who had been enemies of Blood Light had seized the opportunity to strike the killing blow.
In light of this, those most powerful Saint Ancestors — second only to the Primordial Ancestors — though they feared neither Han Li nor Crab Daoist, grew deeply wary after this incident and all abandoned any thoughts of taking action.
After all, given Han Li and Crab Daoist's strength, sending avatars would be nothing more than tossing a meat bun to a dog — gone never to return — while coming in person risked attracting the attention of their own enemies.
As for the ordinary Devil Venerables, without a Saint Ancestor to lead the way, they would not willingly walk to their own deaths.
And so, Han Li and his party — who had been wanted by all — suddenly became a scalding hot potato that no demon cultivator was willing to pursue or confront anymore.
Of course, the surface-level inspections and bounties remained in effect, but they were nothing more than a show of outward severity masking inner laxity.
And Han Li's reputation spread thoroughly among the myriad races of the Devil World — to the point where even ordinary demon cultivators would turn pale at the mere mention of his name!
...
Deep within the belly of a desolate, small mountain peak, an elderly man and a burly figure sat cross-legged, facing each other.