Han Li was feeling extremely frustrated. Half of it was because the two Heavenly Tiger Beasts were cunning beyond belief.
They clung to him like paste, yet didn't dare face him head-on — they simply tailgated him relentlessly, sticking close no matter what he did.
Not long ago, he'd deliberately left an opening to lure the two beasts close, then struck without warning, unleashing several sword rays that chopped half the paw off one of them. After that, the pair refused to fall for the trick again. They simply pelted him with light projectiles from a distance, never coming within a hundred feet of him.
But whenever Han Li tried using his Wind Thunder Wings to shake them off, the two beasts would immediately teleport to keep up, pestering him ceaselessly. It forced him to abandon his thunder escape and defend himself each time.
The other half of his frustration, naturally, came from that green figure.
Come to think of it, the green figure seemed to be composed entirely of pure wood-attribute spiritual energy. His Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Swords were completely useless against it — no matter how many sword qi strikes tore it to shreds, it instantly reformed as a whole, utterly impervious to his attacks.
This was the first time Han Li had encountered such a thing since entering the world of cultivation. Quite an eye-opener.
Naturally, Han Li had deployed his Azure Ice Flame.
But to his surprise, the green figure spat out a blue bowl. The Azure Ice Flame shot toward it, only to be absorbed inside. Han Li broke into a cold sweat at the sight! Fortunately, the ice flame had long been refined as one with his body, and after channeling his spiritual sense and activating the proper seals, he managed to wrest it free from the bowl and return it within.
Otherwise, since the ice flame hadn't been fully refined to begin with, losing a portion of it would have been a devastating blow.
After this, Han Li didn't dare use the Violet Extreme Fire lightly either.
As for the other treasures — the Silver Bell, the Thousand Layer Peak, and the rest — he tried them all, but none proved any more effective.
The green figure wasn't truly immortal; each heavy hit caused its green glow to dim and its form to shrink slightly. But it was far from an opponent that could be defeated quickly.
Fortunately, the figure had no sharp attacks or powerful magical treasures — only waves of green wood-spirit threads. Han Li handled them with complete ease.
It seemed this so-called incarnation simply wanted to keep him pinned down.
On the other side, the beautiful red-robed woman Feng Bing, despite being a peak mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, was still vastly outmatched by her late-stage opponent. Despite wielding every technique at her disposal, she was thoroughly on the defensive.
Meanwhile, the Fourth Divine Master kept casting cold glances his way, making Han Li feel as though needles were pressing into his back — deeply uncomfortable.
The enemy side had now deployed a Saint Bird of unfathomable power. Even seven Nascent Soul cultivators wielding extraordinary treasures were beaten to the point where they could only parry without any chance to strike back. Seeing this, Han Li's heart sank.
The only hope of turning the tide was to rescue those trapped cultivators — only then might they claw back an advantage. Otherwise, this battle would end in a crushing defeat.
After a moment's thought, Han Li hardened his resolve. He would delay no longer.
He sent several sword qi blasts to force one of the Heavenly Tiger Beasts back mid-teleport, while his other hand slapped his storage pouch. A wooden box plastered with talismans appeared in his hand.
The green figure noticed his movements and let out a soft "Hm?" It raised a hand, and countless green wood-spirit threads rained down toward Han Li.
Han Li didn't move a muscle. With a thought, the sword light around him transformed into prismatic radiance, slicing all the threads into countless pieces. Meanwhile, the green light on the box's surface flashed, the talismans peeled away, and a beam of blood-red light shot out from within. After a single loop, it landed in his palm.
It was the Spirit Descent Talisman.
Without a moment's hesitation, Han Li slapped the blood talisman onto his own body. The crimson light flickered, and the talisman vanished in an instant.
A faint green light flickered across Han Li's face, and he exhaled softly.
An enormous flood dragon shadow materialized above him — over thirty feet tall, entirely blood-red — the very image of an eighth-grade poison flood dragon.
Once the dragon shadow appeared, it coiled atop Han Li's head and released a heaven-rending roar. The sound stunned every cultivator nearby, and the two locked in combat on the other side turned to look in astonishment.
Upon seeing the dragon shadow, Tian Zhong's brow furrowed with a trace of gravity, while bright anticipation flickered in Feng Bing's eyes.
The dragon's roar faded. The shadow soared skyward, circled once, then rapidly contracted before plunging downward — it drilled into Han Li's back and vanished without a trace.
At that moment, Han Li felt a scorching heat sear through his back. Where the blood light had penetrated his spine, a blood dragon pattern appeared — several inches across, vivid as dripping blood.
Then blood-red light flickered across Han Li's entire body. From his cheeks down to his arms, uniform blood-colored scales materialized — each about the size of a thumbnail, translucent and crystalline. A burst of sharp pain pierced through the top of his head as a small dragon horn pushed through, equally crystalline. His fingertips sharpened without warning into vicious talons.
Han Li had become a half-flood-dragon, half-human being.
"This..." Han Li marveled at the astonishing spiritual energy coursing through his body — equal parts wonder and alarm.
The Spirit Descent Talisman's effects had been briefly mentioned at the end of its refinement formula: it could overlay a portion of a refined beast soul's cultivation onto the caster's body, dramatically amplifying the caster's magical power and advancing their cultivation by leaps and bounds.