A vast amount of spiritual Qi was rapidly being compressed, then exploding violently to release enormous spiritual pressure that almost instantly tore apart the formations that Han Li's trio had set up around the entrance of the restriction.
A massive pillar of wind erupted from the ground, then spread outward in all directions, sending gale-force winds sweeping through the surrounding area with a radius of several kilometers. At the same time, powerful spatial fluctuations erupted forth, and even though Han Li's trio was already far away from the scene, they could still clearly sense the devastating aura in that direction.
Their expressions changed slightly in unison, and they realized that if they had fled the scene any slower than they did, they could've been in a lot of trouble.
"This is bad! Those Jiao Chi beings are heading toward us, and they're coming really quickly; they're about to get here soon," Liu Shui'er suddenly exclaimed.
Han Li seemed to have also sensed something at the same time, and a grave look appeared on his face. "They've indeed discovered us, and they're using secret techniques to track us. We can't stay here any longer; we have to split up and flee right away. Those Jiao Chi beings have remained here for so long, so they must also be plotting something big and may not be that intent on chasing us down if we run away."
Seeing as all of them had secured the treasures they had come to the Vast Glacial Realm for, all the three were planning to go their separate ways anyway, so neither of them objected to Han Li's proposal.
"In that case, I'll be taking my leave!" Shi Kun cupped his fist in a parting salute before flying away as a streak of yellow light.
"Seeing you again in Cloud City in a few months, Brother Han," Liu Shui'er also bade farewell to him with a faint smile on her face.
She then swept a sleeve through the air to summon a palm-sized silver canoe, which elongated to around 10 feet in length in a flash.
She gently stepped onto the canoe, and spatial fluctuations erupted as a ball of a five-colored spiritual light appeared out of thin air before rushing into Liu Shui'er’s arms; it was none other than that small winged leopard.
After recovering her spirit beast, Liu Shui'er didn't hesitate any longer. Silver light flashed from the canoe beneath her feet, and it appeared several hundred feet away before continuing to hurtle into the distance.
Han Li's eyelids twitched upon seeing this, and he made a hand seal, following which a pair of translucent wings appeared on his back amid a loud thunderclap.
He gently flapped those wings, and his body shot forth as an azure and white thread of light. After just a few flashes, Han Li covered a distance of several thousand feet and disappeared from view.
Right at this moment, a small white snake appeared nearby before vanishing into the light thread, which paused momentarily before hurtling away at full speed.
Not long after that, spiritual light flashed in the distance, and over 10 streaks of light converged right at the spot where Han Li's trio had been situated at before.
The streaks of light receded to reveal a dozen or so Jiao Chi beings, each in different attire.
The young man who was leading the group had golden horns on his head and currently wore a dark expression. "Those people sure are alert to have gotten away so quickly. To think that they were prowling nearby and went completely unnoticed by us until we triggered their restriction; we definitely can't let them get away with this! Leng Han, Bai Guo, you two chase down the other two with everyone else, I'll chase after the final person myself," the golden-horned young man instructed through gritted teeth.
Two Jiao Chi beings, one male and one female, immediately bowed in unison in response. "Leave it to us, Envoy Shu Li, we'll be sure to hunt down our targets."
The man appeared to be in his forties and was very tall and broad. There were dense scales all over his body, and he had a curved blue horn on his head.
In contrast, the woman was quite petite with a set of beautiful facial features. There was a short white horn that was several inches in length on her glabella, and she was wearing a silver dress of an unknown material.
The two of them waved a hand toward the rest of the group, and six people detached themselves from the group before dividing themselves up into groups of three.
There were still four people left in the group, and the young man instructed, "You can all go with Fellow Daoist Leng and Fellow Daoist Bai as well; I'll be fine on my own."
The four remaining Jiao Chi beings faltered slightly upon hearing this, and one of them wore a hesitant look as he began, "But esteemed envoy…"
"Hmph, have you forgotten what kind of treasure I'm carrying? Besides, even if I don't use Profound Heavenly Holy Artifact, do you think I'll be unable to take care of a mere upper race being?" the young man harrumphed coldly in an implacable manner.
The remaining four Jiao Chi being exchanged a few glances upon hearing this before deciding that this made sense, and they nodded in unison before also splitting up into two groups of two to join the Leng Han and Bai Guo.
Immediately thereafter, the Leng Han and Bai Guo led their respective groups in different directions, speeding away in pursuit of Liu Shui'er and Shi Kun.
Thus, the golden-horned young man was the only one left on the scene.
He withdrew his gaze from the distance, then turned toward the direction that Han Li had disappeared in with a cold expression before patting a spirit beast ring hanging from his waist.
A ball of yellow light emerged, and it let loose a dragon's roar before revealing itself to be a dark yellow lizard-like beast.
This lizard beast had six paws and two massive pairs of fleshy wings on its back. It instantly expanded to over 100 feet in length and bore an extremely ferocious appearance.
The golden-horned young man's body swayed, and he instantly appeared on the head of the lizard bast. He then flipped his hand over and produced a translucent crimson snail.
Most of the spirit gastropod's body was tucked away in its shell, and its feelers had also been withdrawn, giving it a rather lazy appearance.
The golden-horned young man's brows furrowed slightly, and flicked a finger through the air, sending a pea-sized crimson pill flying directly toward the snail.
The snail instantly became more alert, and its head shot out of its shell like lightning before it swallowed the pill in a flash.
The young man made a hand seal with one hand while holding the snail in the other, and began to chant something.
The snail's feelers immediately extended toward the direction that Han Li had fled toward and began to glow with dazzling red light.
A cold light flashed through the young man's eyes upon seeing this, and he stomped a foot down onto the lizard beast beneath him.
Golden light flashed, and the six-pawed lizard flapped its four wings vigorously, sweeping up a yellow sandstorm that instantly completely inundated its body.
Moments later, the sandstorm receded, and the lizard beast and Jiao Chi being were nowhere to be seen.
The azure and white thread that Han Li had transformed into was flying through the air at an incredible speed, covering a distance in excess of 50,000 kilometers in the blink of an eye.
However, he was constantly inspecting his internal condition with his spiritual sense during his flight, and his brows quickly began to furrow slightly.
Not long after he had set off, he had sensed that something mysterious seemed to have locked onto him. He had been attempting to pinpoint and remove whatever was tracking him this entire time, but it seemed to be more than just an ordinary secret technique.
As such, despite how quickly he was flying, he was unable to shake off his pursuer. Furthermore, even though he was flying at an extremely fast speed, maintaining this speed expended a vast amount of magic power, and in his current depleted state, there was no way that he would be able to keep up this speed for very long.
As such, it seemed that he would have no choice but to take care of this pursuer if he didn't want to continue to be pestered.
During his flight, he had already employed some methods to ascertain that he was being chased by a Jiao Chi being, and that there was only a single pursuer. As such, after failing once again to find what he was being tracked by, killing intent began to well up in his heart.
With his current late-Spatial Tempering Stage cultivation base and vast array of powerful abilities, he would definitely be able to take care of a pursuer of the same cultivation base even in his depleted state.
Even with that in mind, Han Li didn't immediately stop. Instead, he continued to flee at his current speed, and only after flying for several tens of thousands more kilometers did he stop. Even if there were more pursuers on the way, this was too far of a distance for them to arrive on the scene in a short time.
As soon as he stopped, he immediately swept a sleeve through the air to summon several tens of small azure swords, all of which vanished into the surrounding air in a flash.
He then clasped his hands behind his back and hovered in mid-air as he cast his gaze into the distance. Not long after that, a gust of yellow winds surged toward him from afar. The winds were extremely fierce, and even before it reached Han Li, there were already loud rumbling thunderclaps that could be heard erupting from within it.
The yellow winds then vanished to reveal a giant lizard with six paws and four wings.
Above the lizard's head stood a golden-horned young man who was appraising Han Li with a cold look in his narrowed eyes.
"Which race are you from? You don't seem to be from the Heavenly Cloud Races. So be it, no matter who you are, you dared to spy on us, so only death awaits you," the young man said in a frosty voice.
Immediately thereafter, the six-pawed lizard beneath his feet suddenly let loose a low roar, and a gust of powerful winds was swept up around it.
The lizard beast then spread its four wings and disappeared on the spot, but the young man remained completely unmoved while making a grabbing motion in an unhurried manner.
A murky black shadow appeared before abruptly elongating and revealing itself to be a black shadow spear.
Han Li's lips twitched slightly upon seeing this, and golden light suddenly erupted from his body as he clenched one of his hands into a fist before thrusting it through the air in a certain direction.
A golden fist projection erupted forth amid a resounding boom, causing the surrounding air to warp and twist violently.
The giant golden fist projection then exploded nearby, transforming into a golden halo that encompassed everything within a radius of several tens of feet.
Immediately thereafter, the bewildered and enraged roar of a beast rang out from within the light. A ball of yellow light then erupted forth to intertwine with the golden light, and the six-pawed lizard emerged out of thin air in a rather sorry state, desperately spewing yellow light out of its mouth to ward off the golden light.
Seeing as Han Li seemed to have been momentarily distracted by the lizard beast, a sinister look flashed through the young man's eyes, and the black spear in his hand suddenly vanished in a flash.
