All of a sudden, an incredulous look on his face.
"It's that guy!" His pursuer's spiritual sense was extremely powerful, so it was definitely too late for him to run. The High Zenith Invisibility Talisman most likely wouldn't help him in this situation, either. However, his pursuer's aura was significantly more feeble than it was before, suggesting that it had suffered severe injuries.
"Qing Yuanzi was able to combat a Body Integration cultivator at just the Spatial Tempering Stage using his Aureate Sword Formation. Even though my cultivation base is inferior to Qing Yuanzi's, I should still be able to hold my own against a half-dead opponent like this one. On top of that, I have some other trump cards up my sleeve that I can use should the situation demand it." Han Li's mind was racing rapidly, and he was beginning to regret parting with Ye Chu and Ye Ying. If he was still with them, then he wouldn't have had to face this crisis.
However, there was no use in crying over spilled milk, and Han Li quickly refocused his attention on the situation at hand. After making a decision, he immediately flew downward as a streak of azure light.
Following a few flashes, he appeared on the summit of a small mountain.
He then rustled his sleeve to produce his 72 golden flying swords, all of which multiplied into several hundred streaks of sword Qi at his behest, then disappeared into the surrounding area.
He had set up his Aureate Sword Formation again.
After that, Han Li laid a hand on the back of his head, and a swath of grey light rose up into the air, then dispersed to form a grey light barrier than enshrouded his body within. At the same time, he rustled his other sleeve to produce five white skulls. All five skulls opened their mouths in unison to blast forth the five glacial flames, which combined with the grey light.
As he stood within the grey light, Han Li made a hand seal and the flames gradually expanded, forming a thick five-colored halo that rotated around his body.
Almost at the exact same moment, a thunderclap erupted behind Han Li as a pair of azure and white wings surfaced on his back.
After doing all that, Han Li clasped his hands behind his back and looked up at the sky in the distance with a grim expression on his face. Moments later, spiritual light flashed in the distance and a ball of silver light came hurtling toward him. Following a few flashes, it appeared in the sky above the mountain that Han Li was situated on.
The silver light receded to reveal a green humanoid figure wearing a faint silver belt.
It was none other than the low-Silver Tier high-grade Wood Spirit that had appeared in the Blackleaf Forest.
Han Li's pupils contracted as he instantly began appraising his assailant.
From its external appearance, this Silver Tier Wood Spirit appeared to have remained completely unchanged compared to when it was in the Blackleaf Forest. However, the spiritual pressure emanating from its body had been more than halved, which suggested that it really was carrying severe injuries.
Han Li heaved an internal sigh of relief upon making these observations.
If he had been mistaken and his assailant was completely unscathed, then he would've immediately fled the scene.
However, when he thought about it, it wasn't a surprise that this Silver Tier Wood Spirit had been wounded.
The heavenly phoenix body that Ye Ying was able to summon through stimulation of her true spirit blood was truly fearsome; far more powerful than this high-grade Wood Spirit.
It was tracking the two women earlier, so they must've battled one another, thereby resulting in its current condition.
However, what came as quite a surprise to Han Li was that this Wood Spirit was so persistent despite the injuries it had suffered.
It had given up on pursuing Ye Ying and Ye Chu, choosing to go after Han Li instead, most likely because it was too scared to go after them again following their previous battle. However, it couldn't return to the Wood Tribe emptyhanded, so it had to at least capture Han Li.
Having analyzed the situation, Han Li was feeling rather gloomy.
The Silver Tier Wood Spirit cast its gaze toward Han Li before abruptly throwing a fist at him from afar without so much as a single word.
The sharp screeching sound of a space being torn apart immediately erupted. Almost at the exact same moment, Han Li felt a burst of tremendous force strike the protective barrier he'd set up around him.
The five-colored halo tremored as the grey light barrier twisted and warped while Han Li was forced to stumble back several steps. Azure light flashed over his face several times in quick succession before he finally managed to barely arrest his momentum.
Han Li's expression changed slightly following that attack. That strike was packing at lease several tens of tons of force. Thankfully, he possessed a body far more powerful than that of normal cultivators of the same cultivation. Otherwise, even a Spatial Tempering cultivator would've found that attack quite difficult to withstand.
It appeared that Silver Tier Wood Spirits were even more fearsome than the legends suggested.
"Hmm?"
The Wood Spirit was quite surprised to see Han Li handling that attack so easily. Seemingly having realized that Han Li wasn't as weak and frail as it had imagined, it harrumphed coldly before striding forward expressionlessly.
Brilliant silver light erupted from its body as it appeared just over 100 feet away from Han Li in a flash. At the same time, a suit of green wooden armor abruptly appeared over its body. The surface of the armor was shimmering with silver light and riddled with countless sharp spikes that differed in length. The ordinary-looking Wood Spirit suddenly appeared a lot more sinister and menacing.
Han Li's pupils contracted as he flapped his wings, upon which he disappeared on the spot as an arc of azure and white lightning.
In the next instant, he appeared over 300 feet away, having already made a hand seal and begun chanting something.
The Wood Spirit immediately strode forward again without any hesitation, rushing directly toward Han Li.
However, the Wood Spirit had only traveled just over 100 feet when seven or eight shimmering golden threads appeared before it without any premonition.
The Wood Spirit's heart jolted with surprise as azure light shimmering from its fingers, and it immediately grabbed toward the golden threads.
The azure light and golden threads came into contact with one another amid a series of dull thumps, and spiritual light intertwined as the two opposing forces came to an impasse.
A hint of surprise flashed through the Wood Spirit's eyes as it spread open the fingers on its hand, summoning the same azure light to try and join in on the attack.
However, right at this moment, golden light flashed in rapid succession in the nearby area as a series of golden threads emerged out of thin air. All of them had appeared very close to the Wood Spirit, and they converged toward it, as if they were trying to slice his body into pieces.
These golden threads were traveling extremely quickly and the Wood Spirit was yet to ascertain their power, so it naturally wasn't willing to take any reckless risks. As such, it twisted around and an identical green silhouette appeared around 70 to 80 feet behind it.
The golden threads flashed through the air, slicing the Wood Spirit into countless segments, but they had merely struck an afterimage.
At this moment, more and more of these golden threads began to appear around the Wood Spirit. All of them were shimmering with frosty light as they slowly converged toward it.
"This is a sword formation!" the Wood Spirit exclaimed!
It immediately brought its hands together, and a ball of piercing silver light appeared between its palms. After separating its hands, a loud explosion erupted as countless streaks of silver light shot forth in all directions, striking the oncoming golden threads.
The golden threads and silver light clashed amid a string of resounding booms, creating a vibrant display of golden and silver radiance.
These streaks of silver light appeared to be even more powerful than the sword formation as they were able to shatter the oncoming golden threads.
The Wood Spirit's body swayed and it shot forth as a green shadow, attempting to take this opportunity to escape from the sword formation.
In the next instant, it appeared around 500 to 600 feet away. It was on the brink of escaping from the sword formation.
However, right at this moment, a loud thunderclap erupted up ahead as Han Li appeared out of thin air with azure and white arcs of lightning revolving around his body. He then immediately lashed out with a pair of fists, one of which was white while the other was black, creating a devastating dual attack.
The Wood Spirit didn't have time to think as it continued to race ahead. In response to Han Li's attack, it swiped its arms through the air to send countless claw projections hurtling toward his fists.
Following two loud rumbling booms, the fists and claw projections collided amid a deafening commotion. Han Li was immediately sent flying while the Wood Spirit was also forced to stumble backward.
When the Wood Spirit finally arrested its momentum and attempted to charge out of the sword formation again, the vanquished golden threads had appeared again and were converging toward it.
As such, it could only return to its original spot as a dark expression appeared on its face.
This Silver Tier Wood Spirit was already being struck with the feeling that it was perhaps a mistake to try and hunt down this human cultivator.
During the upcoming period of time, the Wood Spirit unleashed a few more powerful abilities, but every time it was about to escape from the sword formation, it would be forced back by Han Li's fists or his treasures.
Furthermore, the golden threads that were destroyed only took a short time to recover before sweeping toward it again.
With Han Li's current immense power in conjunction with his extremely robust body, even the Wood Spirit was unable to forcibly steamroll over him and escape from the sword formation.
Of course, this was only because the Wood Spirit was severely wounded and could only muster up around half of its full power. Otherwise, Han Li wouldn't be able to stand in its path at all.
However, as things currently were, Han Li really was able to trap a Silver Tier Wood Spirit through the use of his Aureate Sword Formation.
At this moment, the countless sword threads within the sword formation were converging once again. The Wood Spirit's eyes flashed, and it could sense that it was in some peril. All of a sudden, it stopped what it was doing and stood motionlessly within the sword formation. However, silver light was surging erratically over its suit of wooden armor, and all of the spikes on the armor began to tremor gently while emitting a dull ringing sound.
Han Li's heart jolted with shock upon seeing this, and brilliant azure light erupted from his body as he poured forth even more power into the sword formation.
Right at this moment, the Wood Spirit suddenly threw its head back and let loose a long cry. The suit of armor it was wearing shuddered before the silver spikes shot forth in all directions like countless arrows.
Silver light flashed, and there seemed to be no end to these sharp silver spikes.
Loud booms rang out incessantly as golden and silver light clashed over and over again.
Han Li drew a sharp breath upon seeing this.
However, that wasn't the end. As the Wood Spirit unleashed a relentless barrage of silver spikes, its body also swelled drastically. The projection of an ancient tree that was around 100 feet tall appeared behind the Wood Spirit, and its branches and leaves were still rapidly elongating, spreading toward all directions in a frenzy.
