The blue-robed man's face went pale with shock. He frantically urged the silk-pad-shaped magic tool beneath his feet and shot backward, trying to dodge the attack of the two ape-vultures.
But he had clearly underestimated the two ape-vultures. As second-tier demon beasts, they naturally possessed some supernatural abilities.
Before the two demon birds even landed, a piercing cry that sounded like ape wailing erupted from their throats.
The moment the blue-robed man heard this sound, his brain felt as though it had been struck by a sledgehammer. His body swayed several times, unable to steady itself. A foul, reeking wind pressed down on the top of his head almost immediately. The blue-robed man let out an "Ah!" and the color drained entirely from his face.
Almost simultaneously, two muffled thuds rang out. Two fireballs the size of fists shot in from somewhere, silent and impossibly accurate, striking the two demon birds squarely.
A deafening explosion erupted. Red light flickered, and two balls of raging flame enveloped the ape-vultures, the searing heat instantly flooding the surrounding space.
The ape-like cries cut off abruptly.
The blue-robed man was naturally overwhelmed with a mixture of shock and elation — the feeling of having just escaped death. He was no fool and immediately urged his magic tool. With a whoosh, he shot more than ten zhang away, then hurriedly pulled out a talisman and pressed it against his body.
A yellowish barrier of light materialized around him.
Only then did the blue-robed man's heart settle slightly. He realized that practicing spells and actually fighting were two completely different things. This had nearly killed him — a newly Foundation Establishment cultivator — on the spot.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but glance downward to one side, and caught sight of a figure wearing a cloak of the same color. Surprised, he naturally knew who had saved his life.
The two fireballs Han Li had released with Foundation Establishment cultivation could not possibly kill two second-tier demon beasts outright. Instead, they immediately sent the two ape-vultures bursting out of the flames in a rage.
The two demon birds, with much of their feathers singed off, immediately ignored the blue-robed man and spun around to dive toward the carriage where Han Li stood.
Meanwhile, the ape-vulture that had lost a claw charged at the blue-robed man again, its eyes burning red.
Han Li watched the two giant birds hurtling toward him and furrowed his brow ever so slightly. He suddenly reached back and slapped the storage pouch at his waist. Two streaks of white light shot out.
Then, swaying in the wind, two snow-white centipedes roughly half a foot long appeared in the air.
Compared to the ape-vultures, the two centipedes were absurdly small in size, yet the moment they were released, they appeared incredibly excited, letting out shrill chattering sounds. They fearlessly charged straight at the ape-vultures without the slightest hesitation.
When the two demon birds saw the centipedes summoned forth, an inexplicable look of dread appeared on their ape-like faces. They flapped their wings frantically and halted midair. They even sniffed cautiously with their nostrils before whipping around and fleeing in terror.
The aura of an ancient wondrous insect was not something such lowly demon beasts dared approach.
But the two centipedes had no intention of letting them go. They let out shrill cries in unison, opened their mouths, and two torrents of white, hazy frigid air surged outward, instantly turning the nearby area into a white void. The ape-vultures had time for only a single mournful cry before being swallowed up.
The two centipedes then shot into the freezing mist without a moment's hesitation.
Han Li glanced at this and no longer bothered with the situation before him. He turned his gaze toward the blue-robed man.
The blue-robed man, drenched in sweat, was frantically wielding his small sword magic tool against the largest and injured ape-vulture, locked in a desperate fight.
Though severely wounded, the demon bird remained ferocious. Its entire body had transformed into a brownish-gray shadow, darting and weaving around the blue-robed man with extraordinary agility, its sole claw constantly raking at the barrier while its cries rang out without cease, leaving the blue-robed man rattled and unable to focus.
The flying sword magic tool was powerful enough, but its wielder was hopelessly inexperienced. Though it had caught the enemy off guard earlier, it could now only trail behind the demon bird, struggling to keep up.
As for using other spells or talismans, that was clearly beyond the blue-robed man's ability. Merely controlling the sword already strained him to his limits, let alone splitting his attention for anything else.
If nothing unexpected happened, his defeat and death were merely a matter of time.
Han Li's eyes glinted coldly as they lingered on the ape-vulture for several beats. Just as he was contemplating whether to step in and finish off this demon bird, the creature seemed to sense something. It suddenly let out a sharp cry, abruptly abandoned the blue-robed man, spread its wings, and shot skyward, covering more than ten zhang in the blink of an eye.
This development surprised not only the blue-robed man but Han Li as well. However, with a cold snort, Han Li raised his hand without the slightest courtesy. A red line flashed and vanished as it shot out.
The demon bird's body quivered midair, plummeting straight from the sky. It slammed into the ground with a heavy thud and lay motionless.
Although he hadn't been in the Tianlan Grasslands long, Han Li had already heard that the ape-vulture demon birds were extremely vengeful.
He had no desire to invite unnecessary trouble down the road. Better to leave none alive.
But this move of Han Li's startled the blue-robed man, who blurted out:
"A flying needle — you actually have a needle-type magic tool!" His voice was filled with astonishment.
"What, is it that strange for me to use a needle-type magic tool?" Han Li glanced at him and said evenly. He flicked his hand toward the demon bird's corpse on the ground, and a red line flew back from it, flashing once before landing in his palm.
Sure enough — a silvery needle roughly an inch long, gleaming with red light.
"Of course not, it's just…"