Chapter 55: Explanation
Even though the four Body Integration cultivators had taken extensive defensive measures, they were still sweating profusely from fear.
The four fiery black pythons were only around 30 to 40 feet in length each, but they were manifested by the Ninth Heaven Devilish Flames that had previously filled this entire valley. As high-grade cultivators of the Heavenly Ghost Sect, they were more aware than anyone else of just how fearsome these flames were.
Even as Body Integration cultivators, the slightest lapse in concentration could've resulted in catastrophic circumstances.
Never did they think that they would be on the receiving end of these devilish flames someday.
Right at this moment, a burst of white light appeared in the air above the valley, then split up into four before descending rapidly from above, moving at such an astonishing speed that it was as if they had arrived in front of the four Body Integration cultivators through instantaneous teleportation.
These were four streaks of translucent swordlight, and they began to revolve in mid-air to form four wheels of light, each of which was around 10 feet in diameter.
In the next instant, the four fiery black pythons crashed into the wheels of light before exploding violently into bursts of black fire.
In the end, the fiery black pythons were snuffed out as powerful shockwaves swept through the air.
Immediately thereafter, spatial fluctuations erupted in the air above the valley, and a black-robed man who appeared to be in his forties appeared. He had a graceful and refined appearance, but his brows were as sharp as a pair of menacing swords.
The four swords then reverted back into streaks of white light that returned to the black-robed figure before vanishing into his body in a flash.
"Martial Uncle Duan!"
The four Body Integration cultivators were ecstatic to see the arrival of the black-robed man.
Han Li remained on the spot as he cast his gaze directly toward the black-robed man.
The man was none other than one of the two Grand Ascension Stage patriarchs of the Heavenly Ghost Sect, Duan Renli.
Duan Renli swept his gaze over the area to find that the revered Devilish Flame Valley of the sect had been reduced to a chaotic mess, while the four Body Integration cultivators were looking completely downtrodden and defeated. His expression remained unchanged, but his eyelids were twitching ever so slightly.
He then lowered his head to direct his gaze toward Han Li before extending a hand forward and spreading his fingers apart.
The five fingers on his hand instantly took on a translucent appearance, and spiritual light was flashing incessantly from his fingertips.
Countless streaks of white light shot out of his fingertips, then transformed into hundreds of white bone flying swords that were each around a foot in length, screeching through the air as they rained down upon Han Li.
Han Li made a hand seal upon seeing this, and a burst of cracks and pops rang out as his body swelled drastically in size. Countless golden scales then appeared over his skin amid a flash of golden radiance, instantly covering his entire body.
The storm of white bone swords arrived in the blink of an eye, striking him in rapid succession, creating explosions of white and golden light that completely devoured him.
Powerful shockwaves swept through the surrounding area like a ferocious hurricane, causing countless thin white rifts to appear in the surrounding space in a radius of several hundred feet.
At the same time, spatial fluctuations erupted in the air directly above the explosions, and a small black seal appeared out of thin air, then instantly swelled to the size of a pavilion before descending from above while radiating boundless black radiance.
Even before the seal had come fully crashing down, it was releasing a burst of asphyxiating spiritual pressure that was causing the nearby to twist and warp significantly.
All of a sudden, an earth-shattering boom rang out, and the giant seal was suddenly stopped cold in its tracks around 10 feet above the ground, unable to descend any further.
Duan Renli's expression finally changed slightly upon seeing this.
Even though he had just unleashed two powerful attacks one after another, all of this had taken place in the blink of an eye, and at this moment, the explosions of white and golden light faded to reveal the situation down below.
Han Li was standing still on the spot like an immovable mountain with his right arm raised above his head. The arm was completely covered in golden scales, and it was holding the giant black seal aloft in the air. His feet had already sunken into the ground, and a series of rifts had opened up around him.
He looked up at Duan Renli with a calm expression, then abruptly bent his right arm before straightening it again.
A deafening boom instantly rang out, and the mountainous black seal was hurled away as if it were nothing more than a piece of wood, flying out of the valley at an astonishing speed before vanishing into the distance.
Immediately thereafter, Han Li sprang up into the air, arriving not far in front of Duan Renli in a flash before throwing a vicious punch his way.
Duan Renli's expression remained completely unchanged upon seeing this, and right at this moment, a silver ring suddenly appeared behind Han Li without any warning before flying directly toward him.
Han Li seemed to have already anticipated this, and he quickly turned around while swinging his hand through the air in a chopping motion to slice the ring into two.
However, to Han Li's surprise, the two halves of the silver ring suddenly vanished, leaving only a trail of afterimages in their wake.
In the next instant, they appeared on either side of him without any warning.
Immediately thereafter, the two halves of the silver ring converged toward the center to form a whole ring once again, constricting Han Li's body tightly within it.
Dazzling spiritual light radiated from the ring as it continued to constrict, and sparks were flying erratically between the inner wall of the ring and golden scales on Han Li's skin, which were crackling incessantly, looking as if they were about to be crushed into pieces under the immense pressure.
At this point, Liu Le'er had already retreated to the corner of the valley, and she was greatly alarmed to see this. "Brother Rock!"
In contrast, the four Body Integration cultivators were ecstatic to witness this development.
Han Li didn't appear to be panicked in the slightest as let loose a low roar, and a burst of thunderous rumbling instantly rang out within his body as five specks of blue light appeared on his chest and abdomen.
At the same time, all of the muscles all over his entire body bulged, increasing his stature even further.
He then raised his arms with tremendous might, forcibly expanding the silver ring as it flashed erratically. Countless silver runes appeared on its surface, but that still wasn't enough for it to contain Han Li's unfathomable strength, and it exploded with a dull crack.
A serious look finally appeared on Duan Renli's face, and he shot back in retreat while raising his hands, seemingly about to unleash some other treasures or abilities.
Han Li certainly wasn't just going to allow Duan Renli to do as he pleased, and he abruptly vanished on the spot.
In the next instant, Han Li reappeared right behind Duan Renli in a wraith-like manner, then clenched his hand into a fist before throwing a punch.
His fist was glowing with dazzling golden radiance, and a large white rift was left in the space in its wake.
Duan Renli immediately turned around, then opened his mouth to release a crimson cloud, which transformed into a crimson light shield that positioned itself directly in front of him.
Han Li's fist struck the crimson shield, and the surface of the shield caved in significantly before it exploded into a cloud of blood mist. Han Li's fist wasn't slowed down in the slightest as it punched straight through Duan Renli's chest.
However, he knew that this wasn't the end of the battle.
In the next instant, Duan Renli's body disintegrated into a cloud of blood mist, leaving behind only a white skeleton that was dangling off Han Li's arm.
Spatial fluctuations erupted over 1,000 feet away, and Duan Renli emerged out of thin air. He appeared to be completely unscathed, but his face was slightly pale.
All of this had taken place in the blink of an eye, and the four Body Integration cultivators couldn't help but exchange a glance with one another, only to find their own astonishment mirrored in one another's eyes.
Duan Renli scrutinized Han Li in silence for a moment, then mused, "To think that a body cultivator comparable in power to Grand Ascension Stage beings has appeared in this realm in just the past few centuries that I've been in seclusion. May I ask your name?"
"You're far too kind, Fellow Daoist Duan. My name is Han Li," Han Li replied with a faint smile, then casually cast the white skeleton aside.
The golden scales all over his body quickly faded, and he appeared to be content to end the battle there.
"I see. May I ask for what purpose you've come here, Fellow Daoist Han? As a cultivator of your caliber, you should be acting in a way that's befitting of your powers. Why have you come to wreak havoc at our Heavenly Ghost Sect and harmed so many of our disciples? I believe you owe me an explanation," Duan Renli said as his voice suddenly took a cold turn.
"It's rather amusing that you're turning this on me. First, your Heavenly Ghost Sect abducted someone close to me, then forcibly teleported me here using a secret technique. I was hoping that you would be able to give me an explanation," Han Li said with a cold smile.
Duan Renli faltered slightly upon hearing this, then turned to the four Body Integration cultivators before asking, "What's going on here?"
The other three Body Integration cultivators all turned to the purple-bearded man for an explanation.
"I received news earlier that someone had invaded our sect, so I went to investigate. I could see that this... Fellow Daoist Han was quite a formidable opponent, so I teleported him here to contain him in the array. As for why he came to our Heavenly Ghost Sect, I'm afraid I don't actually know," the purple-bearded man explained after a moment of hesitation.
"Investigate this matter right away!" Duan Renli instructed in an implacable voice.
"Yes!" the purple-bearded man hurriedly replied before flying out of the valley.
Duan Renli's gaze returned to Han Li in silence.
Han Li turned to Liu Le'er to give her a reassuring look, then turned back to face Duan Renli with a faint smile on his face.
Around 15 minutes later, the purple-bearded man returned to the valley, then communicated a message to Duan Renli through voice transmission.
Duan Renli's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing what was said, but his expression then immediately returned to normal as waved a dismissive hand.
The purple-bearded man hurriedly backed away to the side.
"So you're from the Cold Flame Sect, is that right, Fellow Daoist Han?" Duan Renli asked in a slow and deliberate voice, seemingly pondering what he was going to say next.
"That's right," Han Li replied in a truthful manner.
"It's incredible to think that the Cold Flame Sect managed to produce a body cultivator as powerful as yourself completely in secret. I must offer the Cold Flame Sect and yourself my sincerest congratulations," Duan Renli said with a fake smile on his face.
"I suggest you don't try to change the subject, Fellow Daoist Duan," Han Li replied with a faint smile.
"I've already made sense of the situation. What I've heard is that you had some differences with a now-deceased outer court elder of our sect, and everything that happened after that was all a huge misunderstanding. Seeing as that elder is already dead and the situation has already been clarified, there's no point for our battle to continue. How about we stop here, and I'll send some people to accompany you and your companion out of our sect?" Duan Renli suggested.
In his eyes, Han Li's cultivation base wasn't very high, but he had clearly employed some type of method to conceal his true cultivation base. The other Grand Ascension Stage being of the Heavenly Ghost Sect just so happened to be away at the moment, so it was unwise to continue this battle.
"So I was teleported into your sect for no reason, then had to endure attacks from countless cultivators of your sect, and now, you're telling me that this is all just a big misunderstanding and to pretend as if nothing ever happened. Would you agree to this if you were in my place, Fellow Daoist Duan?" Han Li countered with a cold smile.
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