At an unknown moment, a colossal insect cloud stretching dozens of meters across had materialized in the distant sky, dyeing nearly half of it gold and silver. A faint, enormous buzzing hum emanated from within this cloud.
Beneath it, Han Li gazed at the strange man with a face devoid of emotion, his eyes as cold as ice, as if looking at a dead man. He uttered a single command: "Go."
Instantly, the colossal insect cloud surged towards the strange man like a dark sky descending, blotting out the heavens and the earth.
The strange man’s hands and feet went cold. This swarm, at least ten times larger than before, was something he absolutely could not withstand. Shock and terror gave birth to an immediate desire to flee.
With an unsightly expression, he gestured, turning the basket into a streak of white qi that flew back into his hand. He then struck the two ghost heads with two crimson magical seals while muttering an obscure incantation. Forgetting to even retrieve his entangled flying sword, he turned without hesitation and fled, his escape light streaking away.
The strange man’s decisiveness in fleeing startled Han Li for a moment.
The two ghost heads spat several mouthfuls of fierce phosphorescent fire before they too prepared to fly off and follow, but how could Han Li let them escape so easily?
Under his control, the colossal insect cloud instantly and completely submerged them. Regardless of how much phosphorescent fire they spat out, it was immediately devoured down to the last wisp by tens of thousands of Gold Devouring Beetles.
Instantly, the true forms of the ghost heads were plastered with countless beetles.
Seeing this, Han Li knew they were finished. Just as he was about to recall the Gold Devouring Beetles to pursue the strange man, two massive explosions suddenly echoed from where the ghost heads were submerged. A burst of emerald-green flame erupted, instantly engulfing a vast number of the beetles within it.
Han Li’s heart jolted with alarm for a moment, but he quickly calmed down.
Through their spiritual connection, he sensed that except for several hundred beetles at the very center which had been incinerated by the strange fire, the vast majority remained unharmed.
This proved that these not-yet-fully-mature Gold Devouring Beetles were not truly invulnerable. If subjected to damage exceeding a certain threshold, they could still be destroyed.
Nevertheless, this outcome greatly satisfied Han Li. After all, the moment the beetles were unleashed, they had forced two exceedingly powerful ghost heads to self-destruct. He believed that ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators would stand no chance against this swarm.
With this thought, Han Li wasted no words. He transformed into a streak of azure rainbow, swept up all the beetles blanketing the sky, and shot off in pursuit of the fleeing strange man.
Han Li’s reasoning was simple: since he had already formed a deep grudge with this man, he must resolve the matter permanently. How could he let such an enemy slip away from under his nose?
At the same time, with a thought, Qu Hun also transformed into a streak of yellow light and flew into Han Li’s azure rainbow, joining the chase.
As for Hu Yue and Jin Qing and the others, they remained behind, exchanging bewildered glances. They still couldn’t quite accept the fact that Han Li alone had forced the powerful strange man into a panicked retreat.
The strange man’s escape technique was quite extraordinary. Even though Han Li pushed the Green Crystal Sword to its absolute limit, the distance between them continued to widen bit by bit.
Within the span of a few breaths, the two had flown dozens of li, one after the other, and were about to leave the range of this barren island.
Seeing this, a cold gleam flashed in Han Li’s eyes. He took a deep breath, and seven palm-sized, emerald-green miniature swords suddenly shot out from within his body.
These small swords circled around him once before merging into a single colossal green sword.
Han Li’s figure flickered, and he and Qu Hun appeared atop the giant sword.
The green light blazed intensely. Now traveling nearly half as fast again as before, Han Li transformed into a ten-meter-long, emerald-green rainbow that tore across the sky.
About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea later, Han Li caught up.
Gazing at the dark streak of light desperately fleeing ahead, Han Li’s face was a mask of frost. He raised his hand, and two identical emerald-green miniature swords shot forward at lightning speed. At the same time, Qu Hun’s Mixed Origin Bowl transformed into a streak of yellow light and was also released.
The fleeing strange man ahead had obviously noticed Han Li’s relentless pursuit. Therefore, at the same moment Han Li and Qu Hun released their magical treasures, he immediately sent out a skull, which opened its massive maw and pounced forward to intercept. The strange man didn’t even glance back as he continued to fly away on his escape light.
In the strange man’s mind, this skull would at least block them and buy him some more time.
Han Li’s expression darkened. Without a word, he formed a sword incantation with his fingers. The two flying swords shimmered with green light, suddenly splitting into four indistinguishable sword beams. Two of them, along with the Mixed Origin Bowl, headed straight for the skull, while the other two silently merged into a foot-long flying sword. Its speed instantly increased, and it shot silently towards the strange man’s back.
The merged flying sword was incredibly fast, reaching the strange man’s back in the blink of an eye.
However, the strange man seemed to sense something. He abruptly turned his head and caught sight of a flash of emerald light only five or six meters away.
The strange man’s face instantly drained of all color.
In a desperate gamble, he opened his mouth and spat a ball of black qi directly at the flying sword, then frantically urged his escape light to dodge to the side.