"Master! What's happened?" As an artifact spirit whose mind was linked with Han Li's, Silver Moon naturally sensed his anomaly at once and couldn't help but ask.
"Someone is approaching. One Core Formation cultivator, one at Foundation Establishment. But they've stopped about ten li away. That Foundation Establishment cultivator's aura feels somewhat familiar — it seems to be that Feng Yue. That's rather strange." Han Li stroked his chin and fell into contemplation.
"Shall I go take a look in my spirit form?" Silver Moon was silent for a moment before speaking.
"Forget it. You haven't recovered yet, and I can only draw upon Foundation Establishment-level cultivation. Best not to court trouble. They should be leaving soon. I can monitor their movements with my spiritual sense from here." Han Li seemed to sense something and shook his head.
Since Han Li had said this, Silver Moon naturally had no objections and assented.
Han Li closed his eyes and continued sitting quietly.
But after about the time it took to eat a meal, he let out a soft exclamation, his face suddenly registering surprise.
This time, Silver Moon wisely refrained from asking anything.
However, Han Li's brows immediately knitted together, his expression flickering between dark and light.
"Senior Divine Spirit, if I recall correctly, you once said that the killing qi in my body could only be dispelled by a few rare secret arts, and Buddhist cultivation methods accounted for more than half of them. Is that truly the case?"
"Indeed it is. Besides Buddhist methods, a few rare techniques from the Confucian and Daoist schools should also be able to remove killing qi, though none would be nearly as effective as Buddhist arts." The Divine Spirit Elder replied languidly.
"In that case, the most distinctive feature of Buddhist cultivation methods is that the magical power they refine contains Buddhist energy, and most of them manifest seven-colored spiritual light. That's also true, isn't it?" Han Li asked, his expression still wavering.
"Correct! What — have you discovered something?" The Divine Spirit Elder grew somewhat puzzled, a note of curiosity entering his voice.
"In that case, this person may still prove useful. This could be an opportunity." Han Li lowered his head and murmured to himself.
The Divine Spirit Elder had been barraged with questions out of nowhere, and when Han Li failed to answer his, the Elder grew disgruntled. Just as he was about to press for details, Han Li seemed to have made up his mind. He stamped his foot suddenly, and his entire body transformed into a streak of azure light as he rode his treasure out from behind the massive boulder, hurtling through the air toward a certain direction.
This abrupt move caught both Silver Moon and the Divine Spirit Elder completely off guard. Though bewildered, seeing Han Li in such a rush, they could only swallow their questions for the time being.
In the span of a dozen or so li, Han Li arrived almost instantaneously at the spot — a small grove of trees, quite rare on the grasslands. It spanned only about a li, the trees somewhat sparse and not particularly tall.
In a clearing of roughly ten-odd zhang at the center of the grove, two figures were present.
One of them, a man in blue robes, lay face-down on the ground with a mass of black blood staining his back, utterly motionless, his fate unknown. Yet a light barrier had formed around his entire body, displaying seven colors and shimmering with extraordinary brilliance. The other figure nearby was an eagle-eyed elder in purple robes, driving a fiery red flying sword that split into wave after wave of sword shadows, slashing relentlessly at the light barrier.
Though the seven-colored barrier was extraordinary, without its master to guide it, it had already begun to waver, its radiance flickering wildly.
Han Li's unannounced appearance naturally startled the eagle-eyed elder below.
The elder was startled at first, but upon sweeping his spiritual sense over Han Li and discovering that his cultivation was merely at Foundation Establishment, he relaxed. Instead, the thought of silencing a witness seized him. He raised his hand, and a black gleam shot out and vanished in an instant — a three-pronged nail wreathed in dark qi, flying with terrifying speed.
Han Li snorted coldly. Without a word, he tapped the crown of his head, and a dark green cloud of mist shot out with a whoosh, instantly transforming into a large emerald hand several feet long that reached toward the black gleam.
The eagle-eyed elder was stunned by this sight, and before he could even fathom what technique it was, with a muffled thud, the three-pronged nail was snatched from the air as easily as a stalk of straw. It instantly severed all spiritual connection with the elder, while the hand continued hurtling downward without pause.
The eagle-eyed elder's soul nearly fled his body in terror. His hands scrambled frantically through hand seals as he tried to summon his red flying sword back for protection.
But the dark green hand flickered and vanished mid-flight. The next instant, it materialized eerily a zhang or so above the elder, instantly transforming into a massive fist that hammered down with savage force.
"Ah!"
The purple-robed elder managed only a single scream before being smashed into a bloody pulp.
The dark green fist then reverted to a hand and clawed at the empty air above the mangled remains. Immediately, an egg-sized orb of emerald-green light flew of its own accord into the five fingers.
The hand shot back to Han Li at once, circling once before transforming into a dark green infant that alighted on his shoulder. In one hand it clutched the black three-pronged nail, and in the other the emerald-green light orb, its face wearing a cheerful grin.
Han Li's brow twitched slightly.
When facing sudden ambushes, no matter how dire the situation, he had never once deployed his Second Nascent Soul, saving it as a trump card for a surprise escape. But now, having tested it in a small way, its power far exceeded his expectations. With just a modest display of its transformative abilities, it had easily slain a Core Formation cultivator. It seemed a Nascent Soul was truly a Nascent Soul — ordinary Core Formation cultivators simply could not withstand it.
With these thoughts in mind, Han Li drifted silently downward without a word and walked toward the seven-colored light barrier.
Meanwhile, the red flying sword — its master's physical body destroyed, and even the Primordial Spirit born from his soul essence sealed away — had lost all control. It lay on the ground nearby, flickering with faint spiritual light, utterly still.