Chapter 391: Saved
Some time later, the Lightning Bird appeared somewhere within the Soul Stirring Winds amid a flash of silver lightning, but the arcs of silver lightning around its body had already diminished significantly.
All of a sudden, the Lightning Bird retracted its wings before reverting back to its human form.
Right at this moment, the space no more than 10,000 feet away shuddered, immediately following which the giant ghostly head emerged amid a vast expanse of black flames.
A grim look appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this.
Continuing to run away like this was simply going to be futile, and even though he didn't want to use Daoist Xie, he had no choice but to do so.
With that in mind, arcs of golden lightning emerged over his body, and Daoist Xie was getting ready to strike at any moment.
The giant ghostly head seemed to have also sensed something, and a serious look appeared in its eyes.
Right at this moment, the black mist behind it was abruptly stirred up into a frenzy, following which a ball of dazzling yellow light shot out from within.
It was an ovular burst of yellow light that was over 100 feet in size, and it was revolving rapidly as it hurtled through the air.
Furthermore, the yellow light was very dense, making it impossible to clearly identify what was inside it, and it was giving off formidable energy fluctuations.
As soon as the burst of yellow light appeared, a streak of crimson light with countless crimson runes flashing within it immediately shot forth.
All of the crimson runes then converged to form a translucent crimson thread that shot into the giant ghostly head at an astonishing speed, piercing through the black flames around it with ease.
The crimson thread was so fast that only after it had flown into the giant ghostly head did it realize what had happened, upon which it instantly swung around.
Right at this moment, a resounding boom suddenly rang out from within the ghostly head, and it immediately stiffened, following which the black flames around it began to churn violently.
Another resounding boom rang out as a pillar of crimson flames exploded out of the ghostly head like a volcanic eruption, sending waves of scorching heat sweeping in all directions.
In the span of just a few seconds, the entire ghostly head disintegrated into a vast expanse fo black flames.
A sharp screech rang out from deep within the black flames, following which a black shadow flew out from within, then sped away into the distance, vanishing out of sight in the blink of an eye.
Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly as blue light flashed within his pupils, and he was able to catch a glimpse of the black shadow.
It was a humanoid creature with a disproportionately large head, and it was wielding the very same trident that Han Li had previously been attacked by.
Unfortunately, the black shadow had fled too quickly for Han Li to get a good look at it.
Han Li withdrew his gaze as he turned his attention to the ball of yellow light. At the same time, he flew back in retreat while making a hand seal, and the Seven Bright Star Rings immediately emerged from his body.
The seven rings hovered around him, forming an orderly star array, and all of the rings were releasing dazzling starlight that connected together to form a starlight restriction.
Even though the ball of yellow light had helped him force the ghostly head into retreat, he was not so naive to believe that this was an ally, so he had to take the necessary safety precautions.
Meanwhile, the ball of yellow light swiveled around slightly, then faded to reveal a yellow flying boat that was around 40 to 50 in length.
It resembled a flying dragon, and it seemed to have been constructed from some type of yellow spirit wood.
At the front of the boat were embedded a pair of bright yellow egg-sized ovular crystals that were giving off a special type of law fluctuation, but Han Li wasn't able to identify the crystals.
There were two people standing next to each other on the flying boat, one of which was none other than Daoist Hu Yan!
There was a rectangular object on his back that was enveloped within a yellow cloth. The object was around a foot in length, and the yellow cloth seemed to be able to keep out spiritual sense, making it impossible for Han Li to see what was beneath it.
Standing beside Daoist Hu Yan was none other than Yun Ni, and a stunned look appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this.
"Elder Hu Yan! Elder Yun Ni!"
"I sensed from afar that a battle was taking place here, so I decided to come and take a look, but I certainly wasn't expecting to see you here," Daoist Hu Yan chuckled.
Meanwhile, Yun Ni merely nodded at Han Li without saying anything.
"I was also not expecting to meet the two of you here," Han Li said with a smile as he made a hand seal to withdraw the starlight restriction around him.
Daoist Hu Yan was his closest acquaintance back in the Blaze Dragon Dao, and the two of them had been quite close.
Ever since the incident back in the Blaze Dragon Dao, Han Li had been keeping tabs on news pertaining to Daoist Hu Yan, but he certainly wasn't expecting to run into him here.
"Looks like we really are connected by fate," Daoist Hu Yan mused with a smile.
"Thank you for stepping in and forcing that black shadow into retreat, Elder Hu Yan," Han Li said as he cupped his fist in a grateful salute.
"Don't worry about it, I just so happened to be passing through anyway. Speaking of which, how did you end up being pursued by that Yin Wraith? That thing is not easy to deal with, and you're extremely fortunate not to have been devoured by it," Daoist Hu Yan said with a serious expression.
"So that's what it's called. That thing was indeed quite formidable. Do you know its origins, Elder Hu Yan?" Han Li asked.
"Yin Wraiths are a type of creature unique to this area. It's impossible to ascertain their exact cultivation base, but even the average Golden Immortal would struggle to escape the fate of being devoured by one. However, these creatures generally only appear in the deepest parts of the Soul Stirring Winds, so it's very rare to see one so far on the outskirts," Daoist Hu Yan mused with a befuddled expression.
"In any case, these Yin Wraiths are quite powerful, but they're not very intelligent, so now that this one's fled in retreat, it won't come back," Daoist Hu Yan continued.
"That's good to hear. If I hadn't run into the two of you here, I would've most likely met my demise," Han Li replied as he extended a grateful nod.
"Now that we're no longer in the Blaze Dragon Dao, I think it would be best to do away with the 'elder' title," Daoist Hu Yan said with a meaningful expression.
Han Li nodded in agreement.
He had joined the Reincarnation Palace, while Daoist Hu Yan was most likely already a member of the Reincarnation Palace, so they were once again part of the same organization, but Han Li chose not to reveal this information.
"I saw a while back that you've also become a wanted fugitive of the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace, Fellow Daoist Li. I must say, I feel a little guilty about this. If we hadn't been so close back in the Blaze Dragon Dao, you wouldn't have been implicated by connection," Daoist Hu Yan said in an apologetic voice.
"The Northern Glacial Immortal Palace isn't actually after me because of my connection to you. Instead, I have other differences with the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace," Han Li explained in an ambiguous manner.
"I see. Hold on a minute, have you already reached the pinnacle of the True Immortal Stage? No wonder you were able to ward off that Yin Wraith," Daoist Hu Yan said with a hint of surprise in his eyes.
Yun Ni had been standing beside Daoist Hu Yan in silence this entire time, and she was clearly also quite taken back to hear this.
"I was simply very fortunate to have made some progress in my cultivation since we last met," Han Li replied in a humble manner.
"Back when you first joined the Blaze Dragon Dao, you were still only at the early-True Immortal Stage, yet you've reached the pinnacle of the late-True Immortal Stage in just a few centuries since then. I've never heard of anyone in the entire Northern Glacial Immortal Region making such rapid progress!" Daoist Hu Yan exclaimed with an incredulous expression.
"You're far too kind, Senior Hu Yan. I was only able to make such fast progress by obtaining some pills by chance," Han Li explained, once again intentionally keeping things very ambiguous.
"Is that so? I suppose with the right pills, one can indeed significantly enhance their rate of cultivation progress," Daoist Hu Yan mused with a thoughtful expression.
Han Li heaved an internal sigh of relief upon seeing this.
Thanks to the Heaven Controlling Vial, he was able to make rapid progress in his cultivation, but the downside was that this incredible progress could attract much suspicion from those who had known him over any substantial period of time.
With that in mind, Han Li didn't want to linger on this topic, so he quickly changed the subject. "By the way, what are you two doing here?"
"After escaping from the Blaze Dragon Dao, we've constantly been in hiding from the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace, but on this occasion, we have to made a trip to the Black Wind Sea for an important matter, but the teleportation array is closed indefinitely, so we had no choice but to pass through these Soul Stirring Winds," Daoist Hu Yan explained.
"I see," Han Li replied with a contemplative nod.
"Why are you also here, Fellow Daoist Li? Could it be that you just came from the Black Wind Sea?" Yun Ni suddenly asked.
"That's correct, Senior Yun Ni. The Black Wind Sea is not a very safe place at the moment," Han Li replied.
A hint of elation flashed through both Daoist Hu Yan and Yun Ni's eyes upon seeing this, and that certainly didn't escape Han Li's attention.
"Why did you come to a place as secluded as the Black Wind Sea in the first place, Fellow Daoist Li?" Yun Ni asked.
"Prior to joining the Blaze Dragon Dao, I actually stayed in the Black Wind Sea for some time. After becoming a wanted fugitive of the Immortal Palace, I decided to lie low for a while, so I came back to the Black Wind Sea, and I've been able to cultivate in relative peace for the past few centuries. However, there's been a great deal of unrest in the Black Wind Sea of late, and it's no longer safe for me to stay there, so I decided to leave. I also decided to cross through the Soul Stirring Winds due to the inaccessibility of the teleportation array, but it seems I was overconfident in my own powers," Han Li said with a self-deprecating expression.
"What's been happening in the Black Wind Sea recently?" Daoist Hu Yan asked.
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