Han Li flew through the air in his escape light, using his magical power to suppress the anomaly within his body. His frame was already trembling slightly. The Wind Spirit Force's flare-up was growing harder and harder to control.
A chill of dread ran through his heart!
Only now did he realize that the demon cultivator Feng Xi must have been either severely weakened from refining his treasure, or straining to suppress the backlash of the Green Liquid back then — which was why the Wind Spirit Force he had activated inside Han Li's body had been so diminished. Otherwise, whether he could have shaken off that demon that day would have been an open question.
But when he glanced at the small island faintly visible in the distance, Han Li felt somewhat relieved.
What should have been a two-day journey had taken only a little over half a day at full-speed flight. As long as the transfer array could be set up in time, he would be able to return to the Inner Seas safely. There he would still have to watch out for a few old monsters at the Nascent Soul stage, but that beat being pursued by a Rending Wind Beast with terrifying speed.
While Han Li was weighing his options, a voice transmission from Perfected Miaohe drifted in from behind.
"Fellow Daoist Han, this poor Daoist harbors no ill intent. I merely wish to purchase a single Heaven Mending Pill at a generous price. Why must you shut me out from a thousand li away!" The voice floated over, calm and serene, without a trace of aggression, and even carried an undertone of sincerity and benevolence that tugged at the heartstrings.
Far from feeling any goodwill, Han Li cursed silently several times.
Because the blood-red cloak had drastically slowed him down, Han Li could now glance back and see the dazzling rainbow that Perfected Miaohe had become, trailing far behind.
The old Daoist cultivated some kind of devilish technique, and once he had caught up, he kept using this bewitching, mesmerizing voice to harass Han Li ceaselessly.
Han Li had let his guard down at first and had nearly fallen for it.
Fortunately, the Grand Evolution Art within his body activated automatically to protect its master, clearing his mind in time and saving him from walking right into the trap.
Still, Han Li broke into a cold sweat.
Clearly, soul-bewitching techniques used by Nascent Soul cultivators were on an entirely different level from the likes of Madam Fan or Yuan Yao.
As for the old Daoist's claim that he only wanted to trade for a Heaven Mending Pill and meant no harm — Han Li would have to be out of his mind to believe it.
With the island now within reach, Han Li did not dare delay. The blood-red cloak flashed scarlet, and he was about to dart toward the island.
But at that very moment, light flickered on the horizon ahead. A moment later, a piercing shriek that cut through the clouds rang out, and a blurred black dot materialized there. In an instant, the dot swelled in size and shot toward them at a terrifying speed.
Han Li's heart lurched.
Even without seeing the figure clearly, that horrifying velocity and that savage, violent shriek — who else could it be but that ninth-level Rending Wind Beast?
Bitterness flooded his mouth. Without a second thought, silver light flashed behind him and a pair of wings materialized with a whoosh.
Now that the beast had appeared, his only chance of survival was to reach the island first.
Even if he turned and fled now, the Rending Wind Beast's speed was so monstrous that he might exhaust every last spark of his Evil-Warding Divine Lightning and still fail to shake it.
With that thought, Han Li vanished amid a crack of thunder.
His entire body became a silver arc of lightning, flickering into existence and vanishing again as it bounced through the air toward the island.
Behind him, Perfected Miaohe had also heard the shriek, and his face changed drastically.
Though the old Daoist did not know who was coming, he could sense that it was a formidable opponent.
And seeing the black dot barrel straight for Han Li without hesitation, he naturally assumed this newcomer was also after the Void Sky Cauldron. Panic surged in his chest.
In desperation, Perfected Miaohe opened his mouth and, at the cost of his own true essence, spat out a ball of essence blood.
The moment the blood left his lips, the wind blew it into a vast cloud of crimson mist that enveloped him completely. The white crane design on his Daoist robe blazed with brilliant white light, absorbing every trace of the blood mist in an instant. The crane turned a deep, vivid red.
Without hesitation, Perfected Miaohe spun in place. The entire robe emitted a chorus of crane cries, and amid a blinding flash of white light, a blood-red crane several zhang in size burst forth from the old Daoist's body.
The crane was magnificent — entirely crimson, with piercing emerald eyes.
Perfected Miaohe's expression darkened as he flickered forward and mounted the crane's back. He slapped the crane's head hard, and its green eyes flared. With a single spread of its wings, it carried him dozens of zhang in an instant.
The speed could not match Han Li's teleportation-like lightning escape, but it was still more than half again as fast as before.