"This soul-capturing technique may be bizarre, but if you're on your guard beforehand, there's no need to worry too much. What's more, according to legend, the Che Qi Zi is one of the ten great fearsome beasts of the ancient Asura Realm. It's said to have been born from the accumulated baleful energy of countless living beings, and it possesses several extremely sinister innate abilities. Tsk, tsk — who would have thought I'd encounter such a creature in this realm," Han Li clicked his tongue in admiration.
"Fellow Daoist Han, do be careful. This creature has no physical body — all its power seems to reside in those baleful wings. I've crossed paths with it several times before, and it really is quite formidable. However, your Devil-Breaking Divine Lightning appears to have a restraining effect on it." Mo Jianli's complexion looked somewhat better than before, and he let out a long breath as he spoke.
"Mm, I noticed that as well. It does seem rather wary of the Devil-Breaking Divine Lightning," Han Li replied with a light laugh, then reached out with one hand and grasped at the empty air before him.
A flash of emerald light flickered between his five fingers, and a misty green longsword materialized out of thin air. With a slight tremor of the blade, a colossal sword-light over a hundred zhang long appeared in the air above the beast.
With a deafening boom, countless golden arcs of lightning crackled and writhed across the surface of the sword-light, then slashed downward with devastating force.
The moment the Che Qi Zi caught sight of the terrifying momentum of the golden lightning woven through the colossal sword-light high above, it let out a low hiss. Both wings whipped violently, and its body went "bang" as it instantly dissolved into a wisp of blue-green mist. Then, with lightning speed, it shot downward toward the ground.
The mist swirled and blurred for a moment before burrowing into the earth and vanishing without a trace.
Han Li blinked in surprise, but without a moment's hesitation he urged his sword incantation.
The falling momentum of the enormous sword-light accelerated several times over, and in a single flicker it slashed down to the spot where the mist had disappeared, at a speed that defied belief.
A cataclysmic roar erupted.
The ground fractured inch by inch amid countless flashing golden arcs, and a trench over a thousand zhang long tore open out of nowhere.
The trench seemed bottomless, and the surrounding earth had been scorched black — not a single blade of grass could grow there. Yet there was no sign of the Che Qi Zi whatsoever.
"That creature certainly didn't hesitate to run, and it fled at a decent clip too," Han Li murmured. A flicker of something crossed his face, but after a moment's thought, he made no move to give chase.
The Che Qi Zi may have had a fearsome reputation, but it held little personal significance to him.
Without a pressing reason to act, there was no need to hunt it to the bitter end.
"The Che Qi Zi isn't lacking in intelligence. It knew it was no match for you, which is why it fled immediately." Mo Jianli chuckled, his expression completely relaxed now.
"Mm, a thoroughly cunning creature indeed. But how did you come to provoke this beast in the first place, Brother Mo?" Han Li turned around and asked with a nod.
"It was simply my own misfortune. I was originally tracking down the whereabouts of the Asura Spiders when I blundered into the nest of a different species of arachnid monster. And who could have guessed that a Che Qi Zi was hidden beneath the nest? That's how I ended up chased all the way here." Mo Jianli's face carried a trace of embarrassment as he spoke.
After all, since his advancement to the Mahayana stage, it was exceedingly rare for anyone to chase him over such a distance — this sort of thing simply did not happen.
"So that's how it was. If a fearsome beast like the Che Qi Zi exists in this realm, then the claim that this is a remnant of the ancient Asura Realm is most likely true," Han Li said, not particularly surprised.
"Indeed. Nearly everything I've encountered on my journey has been connected to the Asura Realm as recorded in the old texts. But of the Asura Spiders themselves, I haven't seen the slightest trace. We can only remain in this realm for a little over ten days, and nearly half that time has already passed. Fellow Daoist Han, have you found anything on your end?" As Mo Jianli spoke, his brows furrowed once more.
"Heh heh, no need to worry, Brother Mo. I've already located the Asura Spiders." Han Li's brow arched slightly as he let out a soft laugh.
"What? Truly?" Mo Jianli stared blankly for a moment, then broke into a look of immense joy.
"On a matter of this importance, how could I possibly speak falsely?" Han Li replied with a faint smile.
"Then with your abilities, Fellow Daoist Han, now that you've found the Asura Spiders, has the Thread of Time already come into your possession?" Mo Jianli suddenly recalled something and asked once more, half expectant, half anxious.
"That, it has not." Han Li shook his head with an odd expression.
"Oh… Why is that?" Mo Jianli was taken aback.
"It's quite simple — I can't handle them alone," Han Li sighed.
"Even with your abilities, you can't deal with them? Could it be that the nest contains an unusually large number of adult Asura Spiders?" Mo Jianli asked in astonishment.
"I can't say for certain how many adult Asura Spiders there are. However, within their nest, I discovered one that is no less powerful than a True Spirit." Han Li spoke slowly and deliberately.
"What? That can't be!" Mo Jianli's expression changed drastically.
"And that's not all. There was also another Mahayana cultivator whose strength was not one bit inferior to that Asura Spider. Besides, the number of adult Asura Spiders I found should be no fewer than three. So after a brief exchange of blows, I withdrew immediately. If we want to take down all of these Asura Spiders, I'm afraid the four of us will have to act together for any hope of success. There's one more thing you should know, Brother Mo. These Asura Spiders have also subjugated a number of powerful exotic beasts near their nest. There are quite a few at the Deity Transformation and Void Refining stages, and there should be a few at the Integration stage as well." Han Li's tone carried a weight of solemnity as he laid out the situation.
"If the Asura Spiders possess such formidable strength, then it really isn't something any of us can handle alone. It seems that this expedition into the realm is going to require us to put our lives on the line after all." After hearing everything, Mo Jianli's face had turned rather grim.