Chapter 121: Recommendation
Right as Gong Shuhong's aura was wavering in an unstable manner following the destruction of his Earthly Deity Avatar, a thunderous roar rang out from down below, and a burst of powerful soundwaves swept through the air with devastating power.
This was none other than the Vajra Roar that Han Li had just unleashed in his Giant Mountain Ape form.
The space in the wake of the white soundwaves blurred and warped violently, as if the entire space were about to collapse.
The crimson cauldron hovering in the air shuddered violently in the face of the destructive soundwaves, and it began to sway unsteadily, while the law fluctuations that it was releasing were also cast into disarray.
Right at this moment, a resounding draconic roar suddenly rang out from within the cauldron, immediately following which a burst of red light exploded above the cauldron, forming a huge cloud of blood mist.
Immediately thereafter, a fiery dragon that was over 100 feet in length rose up into the heavens from the blood mist, then twisted around in the sky before swooping down toward Gong Shuhong.
"How dare you destroy my Earthly Deity Avatar and ruin my cultivation foundation! I'm going to bring all of you down with me!" Gong Shuhong roared in a fit of blind fury, and a deranged look appeared on his face.
As soon as his voice trailed off, the crimson light around him brightened drastically while his body rapidly swelled up like a balloon, releasing a terrifying destructive aura.
A grim look appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this, and he immediately reverted back to his human form before stowing his Essence Fire Raven away with a wave of his hand.
The fiery dragon that Wyrm 3 had transformed into also changed directions and skirted around Gong Shuhong upon seeing this.
Scintillating radiance erupted from the scales on the fiery dragon's body alongside a vast expanse of crimson flames, which instantly encompassed the entire island on the lake of blood before forming a series of fiery red lotus flowers that bloomed in rapid succession.
A burst of scorching law fluctuations instantly permeated through the air, and it was as if a standalone realm had been opened up within the underground cavern.
This is a spirit domain!
Han Li's eyes immediately lit up upon sensing the change taking place around him.
Right at this moment, a burst of incandescent light that was as bright as the sun erupted within the underground cavern. At this point, Gong Shuhong's body had already swelled to several dozen times its original size, and melted away like snow and ice within the blinding radiance.
A series of violent explosions erupted incessantly, and the island at the center of the lake of blood was completely shattered before being instantly devoured by the eruption of light, then reduced to nothingness.
Devastating shockwaves erupted in all directions, shattering the entire underground cavern and causing it to collapse, resulting in huge volumes of the lake's water gushing in in a frenzy.
Above the cavern, the completely barren and lifeless Red Moon City also crumbled away into an enormous set of ruins.
However, there was an area in the cavern that was encompassed within a layer of green light, and it was completely unharmed.
Eight huge pieces of rhomboid turtle shells were hovering above that area, and they were connected together to form an ovular dark green light barrier that was completely unmoved by the shockwaves resulting from the explosions.
Within the light barrier, Han Li had activated his Xuanwu bloodline, and his entire body was encased in a suit of dark green armor as he calmly inspected his surroundings.
The scorching aura that filled the entire space wasn't displaying any sign of fading away, and all of the fiery red lotus flowers littered throughout the area were releasing bursts of strange aura fluctuations to combat the violent energy.
Not far away from Han Li, Wyrm 3 had already reverted back to his human form, and he was seated on a giant fiery lotus flower with his entire body enveloped within a layer of reddish-golden light. His robes were flapping audibly as he made a rapid series of hand seals, supporting his spirit domain with all his might.
Only after a few minutes had passed did the tremors in the cavern gradually subside. At this point, most of the fiery red lotus flowers had already dissipated, and Wyrm 3's spirit domain also slowly crumbled away.
As the final few lotus flowers faded out of existence, Wyrm 3 descended out of the sky with a weary expression.
Han Li also withdrew the turtle shells around him upon seeing this, and he cupped his fist in a salute toward Wyrm 3. "Congratulations on successfully killing Gong Shuhong, Wyrm 3."
"You played a pivotal role in our successful completion of the mission as well, Wyrm 15," Wyrm 3 said as he turned to Han Li.
At this point, the cold apathy that was normally seen in his eyes had completely faded, replaced by undisguised approval and appreciation.
"You're far too kind, Wyrm 3. I only made the slightest of contributions. I certainly wouldn't dare to consider my meager contributions anywhere near significant," Han Li replied with a faint smile.
"There's no need to talk yourself down. In the Transient Guild, power is valued above all else. Those with insufficient power who covet benefits beyond what they deserve can't blame anyone else even if they were to meet their demise, do you understand what I'm saying?" Wyrm 3 asked in a meaningful voice.
"I do, and I will be sure to remember your teachings," Han Li replied in a respectful manner.
"Very good. I can put in a recommendation for you to be promoted to a higher-level member of the guild. Would you like that?" Wyrm 3 asked.
Han Li faltered slightly upon hearing this, then replied, "May I ask what comes with being a higher-level member of the guild? If it requires taking on even more difficult missions, then I wouldn't dare to agree without giving it some careful consideration first."
"Setting aside everything else, if you're successfully promoted, you'll gain the ability to release normal missions and earn the right to exchange resources with other members of the same level," Wyrm 3 explained in an indifferent voice.
Han Li's eyes immediately lit up upon hearing this, and he cupped his fist in a salute as he said, "In that case, I'll have to trouble you to put in a recommendation for me."
"I have the right to submit recommendations, but the guild will send out an envoy to examine your abilities to determine whether you deserve a promotion or not. When that time comes, you'll have to complete another trial mission, but I'm sure that won't be any problem for you given your powers," Wyrm 3 said.
Han Li didn't offer up any further words of gratitude, merely extending a slight bow instead.
"Alright, now that the mission is complete, I have to remain on the island for a while longer to wrap things up. Red Moon Island has a long history, so I'm sure it's laden with many precious resources. You can go explore the island on your own, but make sure you don't stay for too long," Wyrm 3 continued.
Han Li nodded in response before taking his leave, flying away into the distance as a streak of light.
Around 15 minutes later, a streak of azure light burrowed its way out of the ground near Red Moon City, then faded to reveal Han Li.
He stood in mid-air, and he couldn't help but heave a faint sigh as he looked down at the ruins of the city down below.
Seven people had accompanied Wyrm 3 into the city, yet he was the only one that remained, and that was sufficient testament to just how perilous the Transient Guild's missions were.
Gong Shuhong had sacrificed countless lives as a blood sacrifice to enhance his own powers, even going as far as to sacrifice four of the Layman Immortals who had been following him for countless years, reflecting just how cruel and ruthless he was, but similarly, Wyrm 3 was just as cruel and uncaring toward others when it came to achieving his objectives.
However, he was correct in that risk and reward always came hand in hand in the pursuit of cultivation. There were never any easy paths to take in cultivation, and that was something that should've been apparent to all cultivators from the moment they chose to pursue this path.
With that in mind, Han Li shook his head to rid himself of the slight hint of sympathy that he felt toward his fallen comrades.
After taking a brief moment to ascertain the direction he wanted to go in, he sped away into the distance as a streak of azure light, choosing not to linger on the island to search for any of the supposed resources there.
Earlier, he had already stowed away Wyrm 8's storage tool in secret, and in addition to everything that he had obtained before that, this had already been quite a bountiful trip.
The main resources of the island were definitely in Gong Shuhong's possession, which meant that they belonged to Wyrm 3 now. While it was true that there had to be other resources elsewhere on the island, those were far too insignificant for him to bother going out of his way to find.
Two months later, a streak of azure light appeared near Dark Veil Island, then faded to reveal Han Li.
A faint smile appeared on his face at the sight of the small island.
He had just endured quite a perilous trip, but thankfully, he had returned safely and achieved the objectives that he had set out to achieve.
Luo Feng quickly flew out of the island as a streak of light to meet him.
"Senior Liu!" he greeted with an elated expression.
He was the only one who had been informed by Han Li of this trip, and during this time, he had been waiting day and night in constant fear that some terrible fate would befall Han Li. Now that Han Li had returned safe and sound, he was immediately overcome by a sense of immense relief.
"Did anything happen during the time I've been away?" Han Li asked.
"Nothing out of the ordinary has happened during your absence," Luo Feng hurriedly replied.
Han Li nodded in response, then flew back toward his courtyard, while Luo Feng trailed along behind him and reported to him some of the news that had recently arisen during the past couple of months.
One of those pieces of news was that the island that Lu Kun presided over had suddenly gone into isolation without any explanation.
Han Li's heart stirred slightly upon hearing this, but he didn't say anything.
Lu Kun had fallen into the lake in the underground cavern with the head of his Earthly Deity Avatar and never reappeared again, so it was unclear whether he was dead or alive.
However, given the situation at the time, even if he hadn't perished, he would've most likely at least suffered severe injuries.
With that in mind, Han Li dismissed Luo Feng, then returned to his courtyard and fell onto his bed before promptly falling asleep.
Only on the next day did he get out of bed, feeling fully revitalized, then flipped a hand over to produce a cluster of objects, consisting of several storage tools and spirit treasures, as well as Wyrm 8's broken Earthly Deity Avatar.
First, he examined Wyrm 8's broken avatar to find that most of the materials used to refine it were identical to that of Luo Meng's Earthly Deity Avatar, with the main difference being the copious amounts of precious wind-attribute materials used in Wyrm 8's avatar.
Even though these materials couldn't be recycled and reused, Han Li would still be able to learn a great deal from examining them and therefore be better prepared for when he refined his own avatar.
With that in mind, Han Li stowed the avatar away, then began to examine the spirit treasures.
Following his examination, he discovered that Wyrm 16's black metal spike seemed to be a low-grade immortal treasure, but aside from that, none of the other treasures were remarkable in any way. However, for some reason, even though the black metal spike appeared to be completely fine on the outside, it seemed to have sustained rather severe internal damage, and the power of laws imbued within it was slowly seeping out.
At this rate, all of the power of laws within it would be gone in just a few centuries.
It was no wonder that Wyrm 16 wasn't able to utilize the treasure to any great effect.
Thus, his interest in the collection of treasures immediately faded, and he only briefly examined the remaining treasures before stowing them away.
He had no need for any of those treasures in his current state.
Finally, Han Li picked up those storage tools before injecting his spiritual sense into them.
A long while later, he opened his eyes, and a hint of elation appeared on his face.
As expected, the collections of these True Immortals didn't disappoint. The storage trolls contained many precious materials, far exceeding what could be found on Dark Veil Island.
In fact, there were many items that even he didn't recognize, but they were definitely all extremely precious.
With these things in his possession, he wouldn't have to worry about cultivation resources in the near future.
He took a deep breath before splitting these things up into different categories and stowing them away, then flipped a hand over to produce a jade slip.
This was an Earthly Immortal cultivation art by the name of the Profound Astral Wind Arts, and it seemed to be perfect for his needs. However, he still had to follow the set procedure, becoming an Ancestral God first before he could become an Earthly Immortal. Hence, the cultivation art wasn't very useful to him at this current stage, but it was still a good resource to study and examine.
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