Chapter 1621: Myriad Eye Devil
Han Li's trio flew for several hundred kilometers without pause, even disturbing a nest of black flying squirrels on a certain mountain along the way.
These devilish beasts were like squirrels that had swelled to around a dozen times their original size, and each of them had a pair of bat wings, as well as a mouthful of sharp fangs, thereby giving them quite a vicious appearance.
Of course, Han Li paid no heed at all to these low-grade devilish beasts.
He didn't even need to take care of them on his own as Xian Xian did so in his stead. Countless specks of golden light suddenly appeared all over her body, and they shot forth in a torrential downpour, puncturing the bodies of these flying devilish squirrels, thereby killing them on the spot.
However, Yue Zong was not elated in the slightest upon seeing this. Instead, after flying for a short while longer, he suddenly stopped and heaved a faint sigh as he said, "There's no need for us to fly any further, Fairy Xian, Senior Han. That devilish beast is still on our tail, and it's traveling quite quickly as well, so we definitely won't be able to throw it off our trail like this."
"Are you sure?" Han Li asked as the azure light around him faded, and a slightly peculiar look flashed through his eyes.
"I'm sure of it. I may be lacking somewhat in cultivation base, but I'm confident in my ability to sense and track devilish beasts," Yue Zong confirmed.
Xian Xian's expression darkened slightly upon hearing this while Han Li also fell silent.
In reality, he already knew that there was indeed a devilish beast pursuing them even without Yue Zong's confirmation.
Even though he was unable to release his spiritual sense very far, he could see the beasts' indistinct figure through the devilish Qi using his Brightsight Spirit Eyes.
The beast was hiding itself within the black sea of mist and behind various mountains this entire time, but its massive body was not so easy to completely conceal.
After conducting that test, Han Li's confidence in Yue Zong's credentials grew even further.
It appeared that he really did have some skills that were very useful in the Golden Devil Mountain Ranges. It was no wonder that Xian Xian insisted on hiring him.
"Senior Han, it looks like we'll have to set up a trap to kill this devilish beast," Xian Xian suggested in a cautious manner as she turned to Han Li.
"Set up a trap? There's no need for that. Seeing as this beast is trying to hunt us down, I'll just have to kill it. Wait here for a moment; I'll be back soon!" Han Li replied as azure and white light flashed behind him, following which a pair of translucent wings appeared on his back.
He gently flapped those wings, and a loud thunderclap rang out as he shot forth as an arc of azure and white lightning.
After just a few flashes, he had covered a distance of several thousand feet, and he completely disappeared from view after another dull thunderclap.
Xian Xian and Yue Zong were both rooted to the spot.
Yue Zong quickly composed himself as a concerned look appeared on his face, and he mused, "Is Senior Han really going to face that devilish beast alone? There's no way that the beast is a holy-grade devilish beast, but some high-grade devilish beasts possess extremely powerful abilities that make them far more powerful than even beings of the same cultivation base."
"Senior Han must have some tricks up his sleeve, seeing as he's so confident," Xian Xian reassured.
Yue Zong didn't say anything in response, but his brows still furrowed slightly with concern.
Right at this moment, a few resounding booms rang out in the distance, followed by a roar of shock and fury. However, the roar then immediately petered out into a bloodcurdling cry before everything fell silent again.
Yue Zong and Xian Xian couldn't help but exchange a glance upon hearing this.
Moments later, just as the two of them were beginning to grow rather uneasy, spiritual light flashed in the distant sky, following which a streak of azure light hurtled toward them.
"It's Senior Han!" Yue Zong heaved a long sigh of relief upon seeing this, but he wore a peculiar look on his face.
Xian Xian didn't say anything in response as she fixed her gaze on the oncoming streak of azure light.
After just a few flashes, the streak of azure light arrived in the air directly above them, following which the azure light faded, and Han Li was revealed.
"Fellow Daoist Yue, can you tell me what devilish beast it is? It has a rather interesting appearance," Han Li said as he waved an arm through the air, tossing a black object that reeked of blood and gore toward Yue Zong.
Yue Zong was rather taken aback by this request, and he hurriedly pointed a finger toward the object to keep it hovering in mid-air.
Xian Xian focused her gaze on the object to find that this was the head of a devilish beast, and it was comparable in size to a washbasin.
At first glance, the head was quite furry with a pair of round ears attached to it, and it resembled the head of a monkey. However, upon closer inspection, a chill immediately ran down her spine, and she drew an involuntary sharp breath.
The head didn't have a nose or mouth. Instead, it was filled with a dozen or so devilish crimson eyes that were all half-closed.
Most of these devilish eyes were bleeding and harbored expressions of extreme shock and horror.
Yue Zong immediately identified the devilish beast that the head belonged to, and he was struck by a sense of shock, yet also a hint of enlightenment. "That's the Myriad Eye Devil! These devilish beasts are proficient in captivation techniques from birth, and they're quite rare even deep in the Golden Devil Mountain Ranges. It's no wonder that those devilish ravens were forced to do its bidding."
"Myriad Eye Devil? So that's why it kept blinking its eyes at me; it must've been trying to unleash a captivation technique on me. Tsk tsk, it's quite unlucky to have tried something like that on me," Han Li chuckled in a nonchalant manner.
"Having said that, it's really quite amazing that you were able to slay this high-grade Myriad Eye Devil in such a short time, Senior. Not only is this beast proficient in captivation techniques, it also possesses a few other troublesome abilities that make it quite a difficult opponent even for beings of a higher cultivation base than it." Yue Zong still wore a peculiar look on his face as he spoke.
"Is that so? I don't know about that. All I did was kill it before it could unleash any of its abilities. On top of that, its magic power is only comparable to that of an upper race being at the seventh or eighth tier, so it's really not all that powerful," Han Li replied with an indifferent smile.
Yue Zong was rather speechless upon hearing this.
"I've heard some things about these Myriad Eye Devils. Apparently, the most precious materials that can be sourced from its body are these captivating eyeballs. They are fantastic materials to be used to refine calming treasures. It's a pity that these aren't the eyeballs of a holy-grade Myriad Eye Devil. Otherwise, we'd be able to refine a treasure that's close to a spirit treasure in caliber," Xian Xian suddenly said with a smile.
"Surely you jest, Fair Xian. If I'd encountered a holy-grade Myriad Eye Devil, I would've been forced to flee for my life. Hehe, in any case, it appears that I was right to keep the head of this beast. The rest of its body has fallen deep into the black mist down below, so it'll be quite difficult to try and recover," Han Li replied with a faint smile.
"Seeing as this Myriad Eye Devil has been taken care of, the rest of our journey should be a lot smoother. It's really quite fortunate that you were able to kill this beast, Senior. Myriad Eye Devils are very skilled in controlling and joining forces with other devilish beasts to attack its prey, and it's known for holding grudges, so we would've been in a lot of trouble had it have managed to escape. Even so, we shouldn't delay here any longer; let's get out of here right away. After all, we can't ensure that the battle earlier didn't attract other high-grade devilish beasts to this place," Yue Zong suggested in a cautious manner.
"You're right, Brother Yue. Let's continue onward, Senior Han," Xian Xian agreed with a nod of her head.
Han Li also nodded in approval before sweeping a sleeve downward, upon which a swath of azure light swept past, and the head of the devilish beast abruptly disappeared.
Thus, the three of them continued to forge ahead.
Unbeknownst to the trio, less than half a day after they had departed from this place, a sharp screech suddenly rang out from another direction, following which a cloud of blacks mist surged forth from the air above, instantly encompassing an area with a radius of several kilometers.
A sharp screech erupted from within the black cloud, following which the cloud tumbled and surged violently before a dozen or so crimson pillars of light shot forth from within to strike the sea of mist down below.
The black mist parted to allow the pillars of light passage, and the pillars of slight stirred up the area violent, clearing the black mist within an area of several acres to reveal a devilish beast's headless body.
The lower half of the body resembled a giant green python, while its upper body was like that of a lizard. The beast also had a pair of arms, one large and one small, with sharp green nails on its fingertips.
As soon as the body was revealed, a piercing cry of grief rang out, as if countless ghosts were weeping in unison.
"Who killed my son? I'm going to dice up their body and torment their soul for the rest of eternity!" The voice was very sharp and unpleasant, but one could tell that it belonged to an elderly being.
"Jiu Ye, Wu Qi, find the being that took the head of my son, and we'll devour them bit by bit!" the elderly being roared with thunderous fury.
"Yes!"
"As you wish!"
A male and a female voice sounded from within the dark clouds, following which the clouds parted to grant passage to two balls of light, one silver and one red. Two beings could be indistinctly seen within the balls of light, and they descended beside the headless body in a flash.
The silver and red lights then receded to reveal a pair of half-human, half-beast monstrous beings.
One of them had a pair of massive black horns on his head and a very burly build. His upper body was completely identical to that of a normal human, and he was wearing a suit of black metal armor, but he had a pair of beastly legs that were covered in hard black fur.
His companion was a petite woman with a gorgeous facial structure, but a pair of green eyes and pointy ears. At the same time, she had a thin yellow feline tail protruding from her rear.
The two of them descended onto the ground below and made a few laps around the headless body.
Moments later, the man let loose a low roar and opened his mouth to expel a streak of black light, which disappeared into the body in a flash. Immediately thereafter, black light flashed from the man's giant black horns, and the headless body suddenly shuddered before it was entirely enshrouded within the black light. A ball of grey light then slowly hovered out of the body before transforming into an extremely dull shadow that hung above the body in a completely idle manner.
At this moment, the woman sniffed around her nose, and her eyes narrowed as she suddenly rose up into the sky before flying through the air nearby, seemingly in an erratic manner.
"I've found it. There was only one being who killed the young master, but it seems that there were two other outsiders nearby as well. Even if they weren't related to the young master's death, they're most likely companions of the killer," the woman reported in a respectful manner as she suddenly drew to a halt.