From a distance, the hill looked ordinary as if there were no changes to it at all, but it was actually just an illusion.
Han Li was standing on the hill, right in front of the half-charred ancient tree.
When Han Li looked at it, he recalled what Long Dong and Xiao Hong had mentioned.
According to what they said, if it was possible, they could meet a spy planted by the humans and demons and receive information that was difficult to record. But if it was too dangerous, and they personally couldn"t make the trip, the spy could be disregarded.
Now that he swept his spiritual sense past the area, it appeared that no one had come.
In this case, the a.s.signment was actually quite simple. So long as he removes the item, the mission will be considered complete for him.
With that decided, Han Li extended his finger and swiped it at the ancient tree.
A crackle sounded and an azure sword streak shot forward, cleaving the tree into two.
It contained a white jade slip there.
Han Li’s face lit up with joy and he reached out for it, summoning it into his hand.
At that moment, a m.u.f.fled sound traveled through the air. A golden light suddenly pierced through the illusion, directly shooting towards the jade slip.
Han Li’s face slightly changed. Without another thought, azure light flashed from his hand. A hand of azure light appeared in the air and swiped at the golden light.
A sweet giggle sound from the golden light. It broke through the azure hand like it was an illusion. The jade slip that was flying in Han Li’s direction stopped and a faint white blur appeared to the side. She raised her hand and nimble took the jade slip.
“Fellow Daoist Ye!” Han Li narrowed his eyes, recognizing the true figure wrapped in white light. It was Ye Ying, the young white-robed woman.
“Brother Han. It appears you’ve arrived here smoothly and easily.” The young woman flipped the jade slip in her hand and chuckled.
“What do you mean? Did Fairy Ye encounter trouble on her way here? When I left the Southern Skyline and arrived at the edge of the forest, I waited for you all for a while and I received no messages. What happened to you?” Han Li asked with an odd expression.
“It’s quite simple. Fellow Daoist Long and I encountered a group of wind wyrms in the skyline. We had no choice but to split off. To escape them, we had no choice but to change direction. There were a few other problems along the way. That is why you didn’t see us.” The young woman sweetly smiled with significant grace.
Han Li felt his heart tremble. He faintly made out something from her words.
Just as he was about to ask her something, a green light flashed from the sky and charged towards them. The light faded away to reveal a man and a woman.
They were Long Dong and Xiao Hong.
“It’s you!”
“As expected, you arrived here first!”
The two spoke with a tone of surprise.
When Xiao Hong saw Han Li’s unharmed appearance, she revealed a trace of surprise, but when Long Dong saw the white-robed woman, he revealed joy.
The white-robed woman looked at the two and casually said, “So it was Brother Long and Fellow Daoist Ye. I wasn’t fast, you were just slow.”
“Did Lady Ye already grab ahold of the item?” Long Dong glanced at the young woman’s hand and wore a mysterious smile.
Xiao Hong glanced at the jade slip in the white-robed woman’s hand and her expression faintly changed.
The young woman let out a bright laugh and leisurely said, “That’s right. I have it in my hand. In truth, Fellow Daoist Han came here first, but I was still a step ahead of you two.”
Xiao Hong paused for a second and suddenly asked, “Brother Han, was there only one jade slip here?”
Han Li’s heart stirred, but he nodded with a calm expression.
Xiao Hong fell silent upon hearing Han Li’s answer; Long Dong looked at the white-robed woman silently; and the white-robed woman simply looked down while fiddling with the jade slip in her hand.
For a time, silence filled the air. The heavy atmosphere was an omen for a coming storm.
Xiao Hong’s expression relaxed and she wore a pleasant face. She asked, “Junior Sister Ye, could you let me take a look at the jade slip? The spies we sent to the wood tribe included those from my clan. Perhaps they have some information for my clan.”
The white-robed woman pursed her lips and then sweetly smiled, “I’m afraid I can’t. I’ll be open and say that the spies had people from my Ye Clan as well. Why don’t I take a look at it first and then tell you about it?”
Xiao Hong’s expression vastly changed and her smile froze. Her gaze became sullen.
Long Dong calmly said, “Since you already have it, we shouldn’t stay here for much longer. Let’s hurry away and talk about it when we leave the forest.”
“I agree.” The white-robed woman said.
Xiao Hong’s lip stirred but she raised no objections.
Han Li naturally agreed as well. The young woman smiled and her bright eyes flickered around. Just as she was about to put away the jade slip, a silver streak shot out of the ancient tree behind her. It quickly and silently streaked towards the center of her back.
Although the white-robed woman was faced around, she snorted and her body stirred. Her body grew vague and she disappeared.
A moment later, she appeared over thirty meters away, but there was a silver streak that shot then shot up from the ground.
This time, the young woman’s expression faintly changed.
Her shoulder suddenly blurred and she shot ten meters to the side as if there were a spring underneath her, allowing her to avoid the attack.
But at that moment, the sound of tearing air blew past her.
A near indistinct line of transparent line shot out of a sprace nearby her. The target wasn’t the young woman, but the jade slip in her hand.
Alarmed, the young woman suddenly pulled back her hand, but she was too late.
Bang! The jade slip immediately ruptured, turning into countless shards. In the young woman’s fury, her face warped and she grabbed ahold of the transparent line and fiercely pulled it towards her.
Clang. She dragged out a huge transparent beetle out from the void.
This insect was a meter-long and resembled a huge silkworm, but there were a pair of cicada wings on its back. It fluttered for its life to break free. The end of it that spouted out the thread seemed to be its mouth.
At that moment, the young woman pulled, keeping the insect there.
In the instant the jade slip was destroyed, Han Li and the others were blank in surprise.
At nearly the same time, the remaining ancient trees lit up in green light. Soon after, the ancient tree’s hollow images were dissolved to be replaced with several green silhouettes. It appeared as if they were born from the trees.
A towering silhouette swept their gaze past Han Li and spoke human words in a harsh tone, “Hehe, I didn’t expect that it was hidden there. If you weren’t guiding us, we wouldn’t have found it. Our clan won’t have to worry about later consequences.”
Han Li glanced at the figure’s appearance and his eyes narrowed.
The person resembled a human, but their skin was green and their eyes were purple. Other than that, they appeared human. Two of the slender figures resembled women.
These silhouettes were wood tribe beings.
What was most astonis.h.i.+ng to Han Li was the orange belt they wore at their waist around their long robes.
The belt of the towering being was yellow orange with a silver stripe.
According to what he knew of their grades, Han Li felt his heart plummet.
“A silver tier! You’re a silver tier tree spirit!” When they recognized the towering figure’s belt, the young woman’s expression turned unsightly.
“I am the lower silver tier spirit master Mu Rui. Since you’ve arrived here, there is no need to leave. Allow my clan to welcome you!” The towering figure spoke expressionlessly and waved his hand.
The other orange belted tree beings crouched down and placed their hands against the ground.
A layer of green light suddenly shot out from the hill in every direction at inconceivable speeds.
Han Li and the white-robed woman immediately took off from the ground without another thought.
A huge rumbling sound shook the air and the illusion restriction Han Li placed down was effortlessly destroyed.
Once the illusion was dispersed, the hill’s surroundings were made clear.
Wherever the green light pa.s.sed, green trees would turn into towering furred beasts. They had a variety of weapons on hand. Their fur had many differing colors as well. There were even monstrous winds that blew into the sky.
Upon closer inspection, there were several thousands of beasts that densely surrounded the hill.
Long Dong and Xiao Hong’s face turned bloodlessly pale.
Han Li wryly smiled. Only the white-robed woman sullenly glared at Mu Rui. It was unknown what she was thinking.
Mu Rui wore a stiff expression, but he spoke with a derisive tone, “These are the Tree Ape Beasts that our tribe spent a thousand years researching. If you looked through that jade slip, you should’ve had information about them, but now...”
“Attack!”
An unfamiliar voice suddenly sounded. Before Han Li and the others realized what was happening, the white-robed young woman suddenly opened her mouth and released a crimson blood light. Suddenly, it turned into several threads and directly shot towards the wood spirits excluding the silver-tier wood spirit.