Han Li immediately made a hand seal upon seeing this, and spatial fluctuations erupted in the air above the two b.a.l.l.s of green flames, following which two clumps of azure threads emerged out of thin air.
The azure threads dispersed before ensnaring the two green fireb.a.l.l.s in a flash, and regardless of how vehemently the green flames struggled, they were unable to break free from the restrictive threads.
At this moment, a small green cauldron appeared nearby, and Han Li pointed a finer toward it from afar.
The silver Fire Raven that was flying toward that direction exploded amid a dull thump, then flew through the air as two silver fireb.a.l.l.s before striking the pair of trapped green fireb.a.l.l.s with unerring accuracy.
A pair of shrill shrieks rang out, and the two b.a.l.l.s of green flames converged within the silver flames to form a pair of eyeball-like objects. The pair of eyeb.a.l.l.s turned toward Han Li, and they blinked as a peculiar light flashed from within them. Han Li"s heart jolted upon seeing this, and he reflexively disappeared on the spot. At the same time, the two green eyeb.a.l.l.s were completely reduced to nothingness within the silver flames.
Only then did Han Li reappear over 100 feet away amid a flash of azure light, and his brows were tightly furrowed as he looked down from above.
The souls of high-grade beings were most definitely quite useful, but he didn"t dare to keep them in case they possessed certain abilities that could harm him.
As for using a soul search technique, that was not advisable on beings of a higher cultivation base than himself as he could easily suffer spiritual backlash. However, Han Li was quite surprised by the fact that this monster possessed two independent souls. Furthermore, the pair of eyeball-like objects that the souls manifested into in the end were also rather peculiar.
After conducting a thorough examination of his own body, Han Li didn"t discover anything amiss, so it appeared that the Spirit Engulfing Heavenly Flames had eradicated those two objects before they could unleash any abilities. With that in mind, Han Li heaved a faint sigh of relief as he swept a sleeve through the air.
Immediately thereafter, his Spirit Engulfing Heavenly Flames, Heavenvoid Cauldron, Divine Essencefused Mountain, and Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords all flew back toward him before disappearing into his body. Only then did Han Li slowly descend toward the giant moth carca.s.s down below.
Unbeknownst to Han Li, right after he had slain the monstrous moth, a sequence of events was unfolding in a palace constructed from flawless white jade located deep within the pitch-black ocean.
There were 12 ancient copper lamps placed in a row on the ground within a dark secret chamber on the deepest level of the palace. These lamps were each around a foot tall, and there were faint green flames of different sizes flickering within the lamps.
There was a tall and thin humanoid figure seated with their legs crossed in a motionless manner in front of the ancient lamps. The humanoid figure had its head lowered, and its entire body as well as its face was concealed under a golden cloak. There was a series of strange patterns emblazoned onto the cloak, and it was s.h.i.+mmering with spiritual light.
In the instant that Han Li had destroyed the two souls of the monstrous moth, one of the medium-sized lamps was suddenly snuffed out.
A strange creaking sound rang out from the humanoid figure"s body as it slowly raised its head, and two b.a.l.l.s of green flames appeared, instantly revealing its true appearance.
The humanoid figure had a white skeletal face, and the two b.a.l.l.s of silver flames were burning within its eye sockets, creating a very eerie and unsettling scene to behold.
The skeletal head turned to appraise the snuffed-out ancient lamp with a cold look in its eyes, and it let loose an enraged harrumph as it suddenly opened its mouth to expel a ball of black light. The object that had been expelled was a square black seal. The object was extremely smooth, but there was an inky black true dragon carved onto its surface, revolving several times around the seal.
The skeleton uttered a strange incantation, and a swath of black light swept forth from the black seal, following which a giant black object appeared.
Under the dim light of the lamps in the secret chamber, the black object was revealed to be an azure beast that was around 30 to 40 feet in length with the head of a giant cow.
The monster lay motionlessly on the ground, and if it weren"t for the slight rise and fall of its chest, one could be forgiven for thinking that it was a dead carca.s.s.
The skeleton opened its mouth, and a pea-sized ball of fire flew forth from within, then disappeared into the monster"s body in a flash.
The monster shuddered, and a series of cracks and pops sounded from its joints, following which it opened its eyes and rose to its feet.
It looked around in a confused manner initially, but a hint of clarity soon crept into its eyes, and its hands balled up into fists as it threw back its head and let loose a loud roar. A rumbling thunderclap erupted, and arcs of azure lightning surfaced over the beast"s body.
The skeleton suddenly let loose a string of inhuman screeches, as if it were giving the monster a series of instructions.
The cow-headed monster nodded before the arcs of lightning emanating from its body intensified in brightness, and it abruptly disappeared amid another thunderclap using a lightning movement technique.
The secret chamber turned dim and silent again following its departure.
The green flames in the eye sockets of the skeleton flashed, and it cast its gaze toward the ancient lamp that had just been snuffed out before pointing a skeletal finger toward it.
Following a barely audible thump, the flame in the lamp was relit, but it was only a feeble pea-sized flame that looked as if it could be snuffed out by a gentle breeze.
After doing all that, the green flames in the skeleton"s eye sockets flashed a few times, and it withdrew its gaze from the ancient lamp as it c.o.c.ked its head to the side in deep thought.
However, in the next instant, it suddenly swiped a finger through the air and drew a circle up ahead.
As soon as the circle took shape, spatial fluctuations erupted, and a s.h.i.+mmering silver mirror was manifested before the skeleton.
The skeleton opened its mouth to expel a ball of green light onto the mirror, and the mirror"s surface flashed with bright spiritual light before a series of images appeared on it.
Some of these images were extremely clear, as if they were right before the skeleton"s eyes, while some were quite murky and indistinct, as if they"d been concealed by something. Each and every image depicted a different setting and subject, some of which were humanoid in nature while others were beastly creatures, but all of them appeared to be extremely powerful.
All of a sudden, the skeleton suddenly pointed toward the mirror, and it locked onto a single image.
The image depicted a young man with his hands clasped behind his back. He was hovering in mid-air in a completely expressionless manner and dressed in a set of azure robes.
The man in the image was none other than Han Li!
The skeleton appraised the image of Han Li in the mirror with a cold expression for a long while before waving a hand through the air in a nonchalant manner.
A crisp crack immediately rang out, and the mirror shattered down the middle before dissipating into specks of azure light.
The green flames within the skeleton"s eye sockets then burned for a while longer before they were also snuffed out, following which it lowered its head and fell completely motionless again. Meanwhile, Han Li had just descended next to the carca.s.s of the monstrous moth and was carefully inspecting it.
With a beast of such a high caliber, many of its body parts would naturally be extremely rare and precious materials. However, the thing that interested Han Li the most wasn"t the beast"s inner core. Instead, it was those scales that could conjure up small crystalline s.h.i.+elds, as well as the pair of giant wings that could manifest countless sharp blades. Despite Han Li"s interest in the moth"s carca.s.s, now wasn"t the time to dissect it. As such, he rustled his sleeve, and a storage bracelet shot forth from within before expelling a swath of azure light. The carca.s.s of the monstrous moth rapidly shrank down within the azure light before being stowed away into the storage bracelet.
After that, Han Li drew the storage bracelet back to him before inspecting his surroundings. After a brief pause for contemplation, azure light erupted from his body as he flew into the distance, traveling deeper into the island rather than away from it. A short while later, Han Li appeared above a cl.u.s.ter of buildings that had been reduced to rubble.
This cl.u.s.ter of buildings stretched for around several kilometers, and all of them were glittering and translucent, having been constructed from glacial ice.
However, all of these buildings were completely empty with only a few traces of blood and ruined sc.r.a.ps of clothing to indicate that they"d recently been inhabited. It seemed that everyone here had been killed by that monstrous moth. Han Li"s brows furrowed as he descended toward the largest palatial building down below.
However, as soon as he landed on the ground, his expression suddenly changed as he cast his gaze toward a nearby mundane-looking pavilion. "Who"s there? Come out right now!" Han Li"s body blurred, and he abruptly appeared right in front of the pavilion with a cold expression on his face. "Please spare our lives! We"re merely servants of Master Silver Shark!" A female voice sounded from within the pavilion. Immediately thereafter, a group of several tens of young men and women emerged from within.
This was quite a youthful-looking group of beings with most of them appearing to be around 16 to 17 years of age, and they were led by a white-robed woman who appeared to be in her twenties. As soon as they emerged from the pavilion, all of them knelt down before Han Li with horrified expressions on their faces.
Han Li glanced at this group of beings, and a hint of surprise flashed through his eyes.
At first glance, these beings appeared to be identical to normal human mortals, and none of them possessed any magic power, but upon closer inspection, one would realize that that was not actually the case.
All of these young men and women had remarkably translucent skin, and faint glacial Qi was emanating from their bodies. They were also quite spa.r.s.ely dressed considering the air temperature, and they didn"t seem to be fazed by the frosty conditions in the slightest.
Han Li raised an eyebrow, and he was just about to ask them a question when he suddenly turned toward another direction.
Moments later, spiritual light flashed in the distance, and two streaks of light shot forth rapidly through the air, reaching the nearby area after just a few flashes.
The lights then faded to reveal a pair of slender figures; they were none other than Qing Xiao and the woman in black.
As soon as the two women appeared, expressions of shock and elation appeared on their faces.
"Senior Han, if you"re here, then does that mean the giant moth..." Qing Xiao"s voice trailed off as an incredulous look appeared on her face.
The woman in black beside her also awaited Han Li"s answer with bated breath.
"I"ve already killed that thing," Han Li replied with a smile.
He flicked his wrist, and the giant moth carca.s.s was dumped onto the ground before him with a dull thump.