Chapter 1322: Leopard Kirin Beast
The place that Han Li was situated at was over 10 kilometers away from the elder tower. He looked at the massive azure stone tower than extended all the way up into the clouds, and his eyes were flashing with a contemplative light.
According to his knowledge, there was always at least one Body Integration Stage elder each from the human and demon races that were stationed at the tower, and that was a rather disheartening notion to Han Li.
Back in the human world, all Deity Transformation cultivators were extremely mysterious and it was very difficult to encounter one. However, here in Deep Heaven City, he was so close to even Body Integration cultivators, and he could ask them for guidance in the future.
It appeared that prior to cleansing himself of the aura of an alternate realm, this was a good place to stay.
Han Li was hovering in mid-air with a contemplative look on his face. He naturally wasn't thinking about his battle against the man with the Weng surname; he had even faced Spatial Tempering cultivators in the past, so this wasn't a concern for him.
After inspecting the city for a while longer, Han Li flew back toward the Flying Spirit Palace as a streak of azure light.
After returning to his own room, Han Li immediately deactivated the restriction, and he only made his way into the secret chamber before sitting down with his legs crossed after verifying that nothing was amiss.
Even though he was rather confident in his ability to emerge victorious in the upcoming battle, he naturally wasn't going to make no preparations at all.
However, prior to that, he had a small matter to take care of.
Han Li rustled a sleeve and a petite little silver bracelet appeared in his other hand. The bracelet appeared to be extremely intricately-crafted, yet was extremely light, thereby suggesting that it was a hollow object.
This was none other than a spirit beast bracelet, which was similar in nature to the storage bracelets of the Spirit Realm. The space within the bracelet was split up into several compartments so different types of spirit insects and spirit beast could be stored in it at once.
Following his trip to the Setting Sun Tomb, Han Li had stored all of his spirit beasts into the bracelet, including his Gold Devouring Beetles and Weeping Soul Beast. As such, his spirit beast pouch was naturally in disuse now.
He swept a hand over the bracelet and a fist-sized ball of yellow light immediately emerged from within. The ball of light rapidly expanded before transforming into a little beast that was around a foot or so in size with its body tightly bound by azure ropes.
It was none other than the mutated Leopard Kirin Beast that had been captured by the Spirit Tribe beings in the Setting Sun Tomb.
After sifting through Shi Yan's memories, Han Li had learned that even though this little beast appeared to be no different from a normal leopard, it actually possessed traces of a Kirin's bloodline. Furthermore, it was a mutated Leopard Kirin Beast, so it already possessed Nascent Soul Stage power even though it hadn't yet reached full maturity.
After Han Li had recovered his magic power, he had naturally considered taming the beast. However, this beast was extremely feral and already possessed a certain degree of intelligence, and it appeared that it would rather die than submit to Han Li.
As such, Han Li had no choice but to put it into the spirit beast pouch to try and grind down its rough edges through captivity. After being detained for several decades, the little beast was finally at the end of its wits. A few days ago, the spirit beast had sent a signal to him from within the bracelet, expressing an urge to submit to Han Li.
However, Han Li was busy preparing for his tribulation transcendence as well as a string of other events, so he no time to take care of this matter.
He now had three days, within which he could tame this little beast.
As soon as the little beast appeared from the spirit beast pouch, it immediately began to whine at Han with a beseeching look in its green eyes. In conjunction with its petite little feline body, it was rather adorable.
"I'm going to place a restriction on your body now. If you accept the restrictions, I'll release you from your bindings, and I'll also give you some benefits. Otherwise, I'll lock you up for another century!" Han Li immediately delivered a cold threat.
The little beast wasn't a highly intelligent creature, but it had clearly understood Han Li's words. Its body shuddered as it considered the prospect of captivity for another century, and it could only nod its furry little head.
A faint smile appeared on Han Li's face as he flipped a hand over to produce a dozen or so thin silver needles.
He then raised his hand, and all of the silver needles disappeared into the little beast's body in a flash.
Immediately thereafter, Han Li brought out a vibrant red talisman. He opened his mouth to expel a ball of blood essence before pinching the talisman between his fingers and gently waving it through the air.
The talisman transformed into a ball of blood mist that refused to dissipate.
Han Li then began to chant something before patting the top of his own head. Azure light flashed and a Nascent Soul that was several inches in size appeared atop a miniature cauldron.
As soon as the Nascent Soul appeared, it opened its mouth to blast out a ball of green light.
As soon as the green light appeared, the blood mist surged toward it, and the two quickly combined to form a ball of green and red light.
The Nascent Soul then made a hand seal and cast several incantation seals into the ball of light.
All of a sudden, the ball of light began to surge and churn violently, transforming into a fist-sized ghostly head with a set of sinister facial features.
The Nascent Soul pointed toward the little beast, following which the ghostly head opened its mouth before burrowing itself into the little beast's head in a flash.
The little beast let loose a loud cry before falling unconscious to the ground with its eyes rolled over into the back of its head.
At the same time, a layer of green and red light began to flash erratically all over its body.
A pleased look appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this and he made a grabbing motion toward the little beast.
A muffled thump rang out as the azure ropes around the little beast's body snapped into countless segments before disappearing.
Han Li then paid no further heed to the little beast as he began to close his eyes in meditation.
In the remaining time, Han Li remained in his secret chamber, and three days passed by in the blink of an eye. On the morning of the fourth day, a streak of light flashed through the restriction outside the door, flying toward the secret chamber within which Han Li was situated.
However, after flying into the door of the secret chamber, a layer of white light surfaced to repel the streak of light.
It then attempted to fly through the door again to avail, and it immediately began to emit a ringing sound.
All of a sudden, azure light flashed and a humanoid figure appeared out of thin air, reaching out before grabbing the streak of light.
It was none other than Han Li, who had been in seclusion for three days.
There was a little leopard beast sitting on his shoulder and he delved his spiritual sense into the ball of light in his hand in an unhurried manner.
This was a voice transmission talisman sent by the Heavenly Jade Pavilion regarding the battle for the Spirit Land.
"The Vast Martial Hall, eh?"
Han Li murmured to himself before rubbing his hands together, and the ball of light immediately disappeared.
He then strode directly over to the door.
Four hours later, in the air high above an outdoor plaza, Han Li hovered in mid-air within a massive barrier of white light. Outside the light barrier, there was a burly man wearing a suit of golden armor with a scar on his face, wearing a cold expression.
Time passed by slowly, and Han Li continued to wait patiently, but the same could not be said for the man clad in golden armor. He looked up at the seven scorching suns in the sky from time to time, as if he were calculating the amount of time that had elapsed.
All of a sudden, spiritual light flashed in the distance, following which a streak of blue light shot forth. It appeared beside the light barrier in the blink of an eye before the light receded to reveal a cultivator.
"Please forgive me, Senior; I'm late because I was refining a treasure. I hope I'm not too late?" The man extended a respectful bow toward the armor-clad cultivator with a fawning smile on his face.
This man was none other than the man with the Weng surname.
The armor-clad man replied coldly, "Hmph! If you had come any later, I would've disqualified you! You're lucky that you made it in the nick of time. Get up there now."
He then made a hand seal and cast a golden incantation seal toward the white light barrier. Immediately thereafter, brilliant spiritual light erupted from the barrier, following which a passageway around 10 feet wide opened up before Han Li's opponent.
"Thank you, Senior."
The man was ecstatic as he shot forth into the light barrier as a streak of blue light.
When he cast his gaze toward Han Li, a twisted sinister smile appeared on his face.
"So you really came; looks like you have some guts, after all. To think that you would dare to accept my challenge as a mere early-Deity Transformation cultivator," the man said in a sinister voice.
Han Li merely gave a lazy smile response, as if he couldn't even be bothered to offer a reply.
The man was immediately enraged upon seeing this, and the killing intent in his heart grew even fiercer.
"Listen up! There are no rules or restrictions in this battle. As long as you don't leave the boundaries of this restriction, anything goes. Unless one side surrenders in a verbal concession, I won't step in. If you feel like you're not up to the task, then it's best to concede early on. Not many people have perished during battles for Spirit Lands, but it's rather common for severe injuries to be inflicted. If neither of you have any objections, then we'll begin soon," the armor-clad cultivator announced.
Han Li and his opponent looked at one another from afar, and neither of them said anything. The armor-clad man nodded, and loudly declared, "Begin!"
Han Li and his opponent sprang into action at the exact same moment.
In the face of an opponent whom even late-Deity Transformation cultivators treated with respect, Han Li naturally wasn't going to make the mistake of underestimation and complacency. He rustled his sleeve, and 72 small swords shot forth in a frenzy, each of which was around an inch in length. Amid a burst of shimmering golden light, they transformed into golden lotus flowers that circled around Han Li's body.
At the same time, he opened his mouth to expel a miniature cauldron. The cauldron swelled to around 10 feet in size amid a burst of brilliant spiritual light.
It was none other than the Heavenvoid Cauldron! In contrast, the man with sharp brows made a hand seal, and specks of blue light began to emanate from his body.
These specks of light were only around the size of grains of rice, but there was an innumerable amount, and they almost inundated his entire body.
The man then made a grabbing motion, and a ball of piercing silver light flashed, following which a shimmering silver wheel appeared over his hand. The wheel was around the size of a palm and was quite an antiquated artifact. From the layers of runes carved onto the surface of the wheel, it was quite apparent that this was an extraordinary item.
The silver wheel was tossed into the air and immediately transformed int a ball of silver light. Following a string of urgent chants, the ball of light began to swell drastically.
Moments later, it transformed into a massive ball around 30 to 40 feet in size, hovering directly above his head like a silver sun.
After doing all that, he cast his gaze toward Han Li, and his expression stiffened involuntarily. The 72 golden flying swords weren't all that fearsome to him, but the massive azure cauldron hovering before Han Li made his heart jolt in shock!