Han Li didn't know what kind of ability those invisible fluctuations were, but even his Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords were completely unable to withstand it.
Qing Xiao and her companion's faces paled again upon seeing this.
They'd only opened up a little bit of distance between themselves and the giant moth at this point, so if it were to let loose its roars again, they would still be in a dire situation.
However, Han Li remained completely unflustered at the sight of his flying swords being destroyed. Instead, he harrumphed coldly and made a rapid series of hand seals before pointing a finger toward the distance.
An astonishing scene then ensued!
The countless azure flying sword fragments suddenly began to emit a loud buzzing sound while revolving around the massive moth. The fragments then joined together to form 72 azure flying swords again, and the two women were struck by a sense of deja vu as they witnessed those swords slicing the giant moth into countless pieces once again.
Han Li had naturally just unleashed his flying swords' voidform ability, and the two women were truly flabbergasted.
However, they quickly came to their senses and flew even faster over to Han Li before stopping right beside him.
"Thank you for saving our lives, Senior. However, this monster is too powerful; we should run away while we still can," Qing Xiao said in an urgent voice.
"You two can do as you please. I'm rather interested in this thing, so I want to see if I can kill it," Han Li replied in a calm manner.
"Senior, we don't know where this beast came from, but it's extraordinarily powerful; even Layman Silver Shark suffered a terrible death at its hands. I think it's best to retreat first and work out a strategy before returning to try and hunt it down." The woman in black was clearly also of the opinion that a temporary retreat was the best option.
Even though Han Li just displayed the abilities of his powerful flying swords, the two women still didn't think that he'd actually be able to defeat the monstrous moth.
"Rest assured, you two; even if I can't defeat it, it'll be no problem for me to ensure self-preservation." Han Li shook his head with a faint smile.
At this moment, grey light flashed in the distance, and the giant moth's body regenerated back to its original form again. However, the monster had flown into a thunderous rage, having been killed twice n quick succession, and it began to roar and flap its wings with even greater ferocity.
Earthshattering booms akin to loud thunderclaps rang out as a series of ripples radiated from the moth's body, proliferating in all directions in a frenzy.
All of the flying swords exploded into even smaller pieces that before.
However, the massive moth had learned its lesson from last time, and it continued to flap its wings violently without any respite.
The moth was being kept at bay by the flying swords, so it wasn't able to approach Han Li, but its roars immediately made Qing Xiao and her companion's skin turn a deep shade of red again, as if their blood were about to escape from their bodies.
In contrast, Han Li merely furrowed his brows and activated his Provenance True Devil Arts to a slightly greater extent, thereby allowing him to ward off those negative effects. He then caught sight of the two women's dire conditions, and his hand shot forth like lightning as he thrust his palm toward them.
Golden light flashed from his hand, and two golden pillars of light disappeared into their bodies in a flash.
The two women immediately felt the churning blood within their bodies settle down to a great extent, and their flushed skin also reverted back to a more normal complexion.
Both of them immediately heaved a collective sigh of relief before thanking Han Li for his assistance.
"This beast's roars are quite peculiar and can affect quite a vast area, so you two should get out of here for now," Han Li said as he waved a dismissive hand.
He could see that the space within an area with a radius of over 10,000 feet around the giant moth was twisting and warping incessantly, making it feel as if he were appraising a massive illusion.
Han Li wondered whether this was a result of the monster's roars or the invisible ripples emanating from its flapping wings.
The two women were already petrified of the monster’s devastating roars, so they already intended to flee the scene. They attempted to persuade Han Li to leave with them one last time, only to met by a refusal again. As such, they could only extend respectful parting curtseys before flying away as two streaks of light again.
They fled for close to 100 kilometers, all the way until they reached the sea outside of the ice island's borders. Only there did the monstrous moth's roars completely fade.
The two women stopped in mid-air before turning around to look behind them with lingering fear in their eyes.
The woman in black took a moment to compose herself before asking, "Sister Qing, is that the Mr. Han you were talking about last time?"
"Indeed. Mr. Han possesses the same cultivation base as Layman Silver Shark, but he appears to be far more powerful," Qing Xiao replied with a nod.
"No matter how powerful he is, there's no way that he could be a match for that monster! Even Layman Silver Shark and his Silverlight Shark spirit beast working together could only last a few exchanges before they were killed by that thing. That monster's lower serpentine head is even more fearsome than its upper head; Senior Han's decision to engage it in battle really is quite unwise," the woman in black sighed.
"That may not necessarily be the case. It appears that Mr. Han can remain completely unscathed in the face of the moth's roars, so he must have some kind of powerful protective ability. Also, the fact that he's so confident indicates that he'll at least be able to get away from that thing even if he can't defeat it. Let's wait here for now for the outcome of the battle. In the worst-case scenario, we'll just have to gather all of the upper beings among the races here to set up a few powerful formations to combat this beast." Qing Xiao was quite confident in Han Li's abilities, and she was already thinking ahead into the future.
"In the face of such a powerful monster, we can only rely on the power of spell formations. Otherwise, no matter how many people we gather, all of them will simply fall to those accursed roars. Thankfully, this thing appeared here quite early. Otherwise, in a month from now, all of the members of the hunting party will be gathering here, and even more fellow Daoists would perish," the woman in black said with a wry smile.
"That's true. I wonder where this beast came from; it doesn't appear to be a sea beast," Qing Xiao murmured to herself with a set of furrowed brows.
A hint of confusion also flashed past her companion's face, and she naturally didn't have the answer to that question, either.
…
After the two women departed, Han Li's flying swords continued to be shattered into smaller and smaller pieces by the invisible power unleashed by the moth's wings. However, Han Li merely looked on with a cold smile on his face.
This monster was at the late-Spatial Tempering Stage, and its abilities appeared to be quite powerful as well, but he certainly wasn't going to be fearful of it. After all, he was a simultaneous cultivator who had cultivated to the second part of the Provenance True Devil Arts, and he possessed several insanely powerful abilities.
Thus, he immediately made a hand seal, and brilliant golden light emanated from his body as a golden halo appeared above his head.
Within the halo, a projection with three heads and six arms gradually surfaced, and each of its six hands was making a different hand seal.
Han Li let loose a low cry, and the golden projection waved all six of its arms toward the giant moth in unison.
A string of dull thumps rang out, and six pillars of golden light that were as thick as large bowls shot forth from the projection's palms. The pillars of light pierced through the warped space up ahead, and was just about to strike the massive moth's body when a peculiar turn of events abruptly unfolded!
The moth's gargantuan body suddenly blurred, and the six pillars of golden light were diverted away from their original paths, thereby glancing past the moth without hitting their target.
Han Li faltered upon seeing this, but he then immediately reached out with an inky-black hand before gently thrust it toward the giant moth up ahead.
A vast expanse of grey light immediately erupted from his fingertips, forming a grey light barrier that hurtled toward the giant beast in a frenzy.
The Divine Essencefused Light continued to expand drastically as it surged through the air, and it quickly encompassed virtually the entire sky.
Such a large-scale attack was quite alarming even to the monstrous moth, and its green eyes flashed as it directed all of the invisible fluctuations from its wings toward the oncoming grey light.
The grey light and invisible ripples clashed with a resounding boom akin to that of a thunderclap, and they seemed to be evenly matched as their clash resulted in a complete stalemate.
Han Li's expression darkened upon seeing this, and the five fingers on his inky-black hand suddenly curled inward slightly.
All of a sudden, a black shadow appeared within the grey light, following which a small black mountain appeared, seemingly out of thin air. The small mountain then expanded at an alarming rate, reaching over 10,000 feet in size in just a few flashes.
It was none other than the Divine Essencefused Mountain!
The giant moth faltered initially upon seeing this mountain, but it then immediately let loose a thunderous roar. The invisible ripples hurtling through the air suddenly converged, forming a semi-transparent pillar of light that was visible to the naked eye, which then sped directly toward the underside of the massive mountain.
These invisible ripples had been able to pulverize Han Li's flying swords, so it wasn't difficult to imagine their destructive power when condensed into a single pillar of light.
Prior to fusing with those strange stone blocks, the Divine Essencefused Mountain may not have been able to withstand this pillar of light. However, ever since those stone blocks had been melted into it, the mountain had become resolute to an incredible degree.
Grey light flashed from the underside of the mountain, and the pillar of light struck it amid a resounding boom.
However, the pillar of light was quickly vanquished, but it had been unable to leave so much as a single scratch on the underside of the mountain.
The giant moth was stunned to see this, and it was almost unable to believe its eyes.
In contrast, Han Li remained completely expressionless as if he'd anticipated this in advance. He quickly made a hand seal, and the mountain came crashing down with devastating might.
The massive moth was still conjuring up invisible ripples with its wings, but those ripples were swept aside with ease by the Divine Essencefused Mountain's enormous weight and power.
Just as the black mountain was about to crush the massive moth into mincemeat, its lion head suddenly blurred before transforming into the giant serpentine head that had its eyes closed.
The green serpentine head then abruptly opened its eyes to reveal a pair of shimmering golden pupils. It wore a frosty look on its face as it raised its head to appraise the oncoming black mountain.
An eerie hissing sound escaped its mouth, and as it continued to flap its wings, puffs of grey powder suddenly began to permeate through the air, completely enshrouding and concealing the monster's body within.
It seemed to be preparing to unleash some kind of powerful ability.
A cold look appeared in Han Li's eyes upon seeing this, and he abruptly made a hand seal, following which the black mountain accelerated in its descent, sinking into the grey powder in the blink of an eye.
