Chapter 1493: All-encompassing Flag and Infernal Lightning Beast
Liu Zu was quite pleased with Han Li's current condition. "This eyeball of a Ci Lie Beast was something I obtained many years ago. Unfortunately, this treasure contradicts with the cultivation arts I'm using, so I couldn't fuse it into my body, and I could only refine it into a captivation treasure.
"Brother Liu Zu, this brat's cultivation base isn't very high, but he possesses a lot of strange abilities; are you sure he's under your control? Fellow Daoist Mu and I have already given up on the treasure in the devilish tomb; we don't want anything to go wrong," the white-haired beauty asked as she looked at Han Li with a grim expression.
"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Lan, Ci Lie Beasts are true spirit beings that can compare to the likes of true dragons. A captivation treasure refined using its Law Destruction Eye is extraordinarily powerful, and even beings like you and I would be susceptible to its effects, let alone a Deity Transformation cultivator. If you don't believe in me, I can use the treasure on you so you can experience its power."
"We trust you, Fellow Daoist Liu Zu; it's just that I still think it's a real pity that we've had to give up on the treasure in the devilish tomb. In order to secure the treasure there, Big Sister Lan and I have made many preparations in advance, but that'll all go to waste now," Mu Qing sighed with a wry smile.
"The so-called devilish tomb is merely the burial site for a few powerful devils that unintentionally infiltrated the infernal river, only to be slain by the elders of the Mayfly Race at the time. Those devils did indeed possess incredible abilities. As for the treasures you're referring to, those should be their remains, some special parts of which may have attained spiritual nature after being nurtured for so many years by the Yin Qi in this place. However, those treasures can't compare to the divine elixir. Don't forget that if you consume the elixir, then apply it all over your bodies, the amount of world's origin Qi that you control will increase by severalfold. In that case, it really wouldn't be a pipe dream for us to further our cultivation paths. If we're lucky, we could even have a shot at ascending to the True Immortal Realm," Liu Zu said with a rare hint of excitement in his voice.
"I understand all that, Brother Liu Zu, but one of the treasures in the devilish tomb is extremely important to me. Otherwise, why would I have spent so much time and effort recruiting Han brat to my side?" Mu Qing was still feeling a little forlorn.
"Regardless of how important those treasures are to you, we have to employ some special methods if we want to secure the divine elixir before the Mayfly Race reinforcements get here. Only through doing this will we be able to break the restriction as soon as possible and lure the Infernal Lightning Beast away. Alternatively, do you want to give up on the divine elixir for the treasures in the devilish tomb instead?" Liu Zu asked in a cold voice.
"There's no way I'd give up on the divine elixir. If I had to make a sacrifice, then it'll have to be the treasures of the devilish tomb." Mu Qing made up her mind in the end.
"Good. Besides, getting Han brat to lure the Infernal Lightning Beast away isn't imposing on him a sure death sentence. If he survives, you'll still have a chance to go and secure the treasures of the devilish tomb," one of the crimson-robed figures chuckled.
"Hmph, you and I are both aware of just how fearsome Infernal Lightning Beasts are; he really will be extremely fortunate if he could survive after luring away that beast. By the way, didn't we only discuss restricting Han brat earlier? Why have you also restricted the two girls who accompanied Fellow Daoist Lan's here?" Mu Qing harrumphed coldly before turning to the expressionless Yuan Yao and Yan Li.
"Don't be alarmed, Sister Mu; I transmitted my voice to Di Xue asking him to control these two. That Han brat won't be able to protect the two girls any longer after luring the Infernal Lightning Beast away, so it might be rather dangerous to have them running around on their own. Furthermore, the pure Yin Qi in the bodies of those two girls can assist me in refining the divine elixir," the white-haired beauty explained in a nonchalant manner.
Mu Qing fell silent upon hearing this.
"Seeing as all three of them have been restricted, let's act according to the plan. We'll break this restriction together, then get Han brat to unleash his Divine Devilbane Lightning in order to lure that Infernal Lightning Beast away from the divine pond. After that, we'll be able to secure the divine elixir with ease," Liu Zu said.
"Infernal Lightning Beasts are extremely fearsome creatures; will Divine Devilbane Lightning really be enough to lure it away? What if that fails and we only end up aggravating the beast instead?" the white-haired beauty asked in a cautious manner.
"Infernal Lightning Beasts love to devour lightning, and Divine Devilbane Lightning is one of the five divine lightnings of the Spirit Realm; how could it possibly be willing to ignore such alluring bait?" Liu Zu was clearly quite confident in his plan.
"I see. I'm feeling a lot more confident and assured now." The white-haired beauty nodded in response.
Di Xue then turned to the two crimson-robed figures, and said, "Fellow Daoist Di Xue, the final wall that we face will have to be broken down by you and you Purpleblood Puppet."
"We refined this Purpleblood Puppet for none other than this purpose!" one of the crimson-robed figures chuckled.
Liu Zu merely nodded in response.
After that, the demon monarch took close to an hour to discuss their strategy in detail, and after ascertaining that every single fine detail had been addressed, they flew toward the grey mountain ranges along with Jin Ling and the remaining high-grade demon beasts.
Han Li, Yuan Yao, and Yan Li followed along like mindless puppets.
A distance of close to 100 kilometers was naturally covered in virtually the blink of an eye for demon monarchs like them.
After entering the mountain ranges, the demon monarchs' expressions all became quite grave as they continuously surveyed their surroundings in an extremely cautious manner.
However, this stretch of the journey was remarkably smooth! They didn't encounter so much as a single ghostly being, and two hours later, they had passed through a small portion of the mountain ranges. Thus, they arrived in a massive basin. This basin was several tens of kilometers wide, and it was surrounded by undulating grey mountains.
The basin at the center of these mountains was enshrouded under a barrier of black light. This light barrier was extremely dark, making it impossible for anyone to glean the situation beyond it.
Liu Zu and the others paused in mid-air as they began to carefully appraise this light barrier.
"It's a good thing that we destroyed most of the ghostly beings here last time we were here. Otherwise, I don't think that leg of our journey would've been so smooth," Mu Qing murmured.
"But we were taken by surprise by the Infernal Lightning Beast in the restriction, and Fellow Daoist Zhu, unfortunately, fell here as a result. That mature Infernal Lightning Beast truly was very fearsome," one of the crimson-robed figures sighed.
"Let's get started. We'll destroy a small section of this Profound Light Barrier to lure out the Infernal Lightning Beast, and after that, we'll have to rely on you to conceal us, Fellow Daoist Mu Qing," Liu Zu said in a grave voice.
"As long as I don't have to attack and can focus wholeheartedly on maintaining the concealment formation, there's no way that the Infernal Lightning Beast will be able to discover our presence. However, this formation is very taxing on my magic power and spiritual sense, so I won't be able to keep it going for long. We have to get that Han brat to lure the beast away as quickly as possible, and as far away from this place as he can," Mu Qing replied with a solemn expression.
"I'm aware of this. I'll be giving Han brat a flying treasure from my collection to enhance his speed. Fellow Daoist Die Xue, plaster a few of your talismans on him. Fellow Daoist Lan, give him your All-encompassing Flag as well," Liu Zu said in a confident manner.
A hint of reluctance appeared on the white-haired beauty's face upon hearing this. "Are we really giving the All-encompassing Flag to him? It's not a Divine Spirit Treasure, but in terms of defensive properties, it's superior even to some Divine Spirit Treasures. If some kind of mishap occurs..."
"You should be aware of this by now; the safest situation for us will be on in which Han brat manages to stall the Infernal Lightning Beast for as long as possible. You can just recover the flag after all is said and done. You're the only one among us with a treasure of this nature, which can offer superb protective properties without the need for much magic power expenditure and complex mantras," Liu Zu said with furrowed brows.
"Alright, looks like I have no choice, then." After a long lengthy hesitation, the white-haired beauty finally rubbed her hands together in a dejected manner, following which a ball of white light erupted, and a small silver flag emerged.
The flag was shimmering with light and its faces were riddled with runes. Even at first glance, one could easily tell that this was an extraordinary treasure.
The white-haired beauty wasted no further time with words as she pointed a slim finger at the flag. The flag then immediately flew toward Han Li as a streak of silver light.
The eyeball situated on Han Li glabella flashed at Liu Zu's behest, and he swept his sleeve through the air in a wooden manner, sending forth a burst of grey light that swept the silver flag up into his sleeve.
After that, he stood motionlessly on the spot once again, and his expression remained completely unchanged throughout this entire process, as if he really did possess no sentient will.
Immediately thereafter, crimson light flashed behind him, and one of the crimson-robed figures abruptly appeared before raising a hand.
A few muffled thumps rang out as the crimson-robed figure plastered a dozen or so talismans onto his body in rapid succession.
Crimson light instantly radiated from Han Li's body, and his aura became significantly more powerful.
Almost at the exact same moment, Mu Qing slowly rose up into the air before descending upon ab obscure location nearby.
The golden flower disappeared in a flash, and her two feet landed on the ground below.
All of a sudden, the shoes on her feet spontaneously combusted, revealing a pair of fair and delicate feet amid a ball of white flames.
She then swept her sleeves gracefully through the air, and countless specks of light flew forth from within, then disappeared into the nearby space. Immediately thereafter, a black light formation appeared before disappearing without a trace after a few sporadic flashes.
An incredible turn of events unfolded thereafter.
Mu Qing began to chant something in a delightful voice, and her feet suddenly turned into an azure color, morphing into thick tree roots before this transformation quickly worked its way up her legs.
In virtually the blink of an eye, Mu Qing had transformed into a tree trunk from the waist down, and the tree roots that were once her feet had embedded themselves over 100 feet deep into the ground.
Countless trees and while flowers suddenly sprouted from the barren ground around them. Those flowers instantly blossomed, creating a patch of paradise amid this bleak land.
The black light formation appeared on the ground again, and every single flower, tree, and blade of grass was perfectly encompassed within the light formation, without any plan overstepping those boundaries.
Green spiritual light flashed, and Mu Qing disappeared along with the plants that had sprouted around her.