The moment Han Li produced the Two Modes Ring, Marquis Nanlong and Lu Weiying immediately flickered and retreated roughly ten feet behind him, their expressions grave, signaling that Han Li would take the lead from here on out. Han Li craned the ring in his palm, opened his mouth, and spat out a wisp of azure spiritual essence that shrouded the ring.
Dark light flickered as the ring absorbed every trace of azure qi clean away. Then, with a whoosh, it flew up of its own accord and hovered above Han Li's head, floating motionlessly.
Han Li's face remained expressionless as he raised a hand and struck a spell seal upon it.
The Two Modes Ring trembled faintly, then shrank before expanding again. In the blink of an eye, it had transformed into a colossal ring five or six zhang in diameter.
"Go."
Han Li extended one pale finger, tapped it toward the ring, and uttered the word softly.
The giant ring let out an eerie hum and shot forward.
Marquis Nanlong and the other man's gazes grew intent at once.
The moment the ring plunged into the countless myriad strands of light, an inconceivable sight appeared.
The perfectly straight filaments of light, like the surface of water suddenly churned, went into chaos the instant the ring entered. Amid the ceaseless flicker of dark radiance, every silver thread that touched the ring's outer wall miraculously veered aside, detouring around it as though it possessed a mind of its own.
Seeing this, Han Li inwardly let out a sigh of relief. Marquis Nanlong and the old man both broke into smiles.
Still, Han Li was somewhat curious about the true power of this Northern Extreme Primordial Light.
After a moment's thought, he patted his storage pouch with one hand, and a fist-sized blue pearl appeared in his palm.
It was a high-grade protective spirit tool he had obtained years ago.
Holding the pearl, Han Li channeled a trickle of spiritual power into it.
Instantly, a layer of shimmering blue luminescence surfaced over the pearl.
With a flick of his wrist, he sent the pearl shooting away as a streak of blue light.
This time, the moment the blue pearl entered the Northern Extreme Primordial Light, the silver threads seemed to spot delicious prey. They shuddered, then swarmed in and surrounded it completely.
Slender as strands of hair, thread after thread pierced through every part of the blue pearl, ignoring the protective glow as though it were nothing.
Moments later, the pierced pearl flickered wildly several times before detonating from within, bursting into a burst of gorgeous, sparkling light that vanished among the myriad filaments.
Han Li's pupils contracted slightly. Marquis Nanlong and the old man's faces darkened as well.
Han Li's composure returned in an instant. He beckoned with his hand, and the giant ring flew back to hover above his head before settling silently down, enclosing all three within its perimeter.
Next, a dark, misty barrier of light appeared around the outside of the ring, shielding Han Li and the others inside.
"Let's go!" Han Li wasted no more words. After a brief utterance, he strode forward, and the Two Modes Ring moved along with him.
Marquis Nanlong and the old man surnamed Lu, sheltered within the barrier, dared not let their guard down for even a moment and followed obediently at his heels. Although they had witnessed the ring's wondrous protective effect against the Northern Extreme Primordial Light, Han Li himself still harbored a trace of unease. Entering the Northern Extreme Primordial Light without daring to activate any personal protection or deploy any treasure — his outward calm aside — a sliver of worry lingered in his heart.
But the next instant, standing within the Northern Extreme Primordial Light and seeing the filaments indeed detour around the dark barrier without daring to draw near, the tension he had been holding finally eased. Glancing slightly to either side, he noticed that Marquis Nanlong and the old man had similarly relaxed their expressions.
Han Li allowed himself a faint smile and urged the Two Modes Ring forward at a leisurely pace.
……
In another part of the Myriad Spirit Valley, in a realm of ice and snow near the inner valley, a group of black-robed cultivators from the Ghost Spirit Sect were braving a sky full of flying snow, driving various treasures in a furious battle against a colossal ancient beast resembling an enormous gecko.
Hovering in midair some distance opposite the gecko, the pale-faced Elder Zhong floated in the cold air, watching with icy detachment as the ancient beast and his batch of Core Formation stage disciples fought with red-hot intensity.
After a while, seeing that six or seven disciples still seemed unable to bring the beast down, his brow furrowed and he finally struck personally.
He formed a series of hand seals, and countless wisps of ink-black qi surged from his body. In the next breath, these sinister energies transformed and condensed into two pitch-black flood dragons that lunged ferociously at the gecko-like ancient beast. Close behind came a enormous net of brilliant emerald light that swept downward, embedded with countless fist-sized green fireballs that peppered the beast in dense volleys.
A thunderous cascade of booms erupted as black radiance and green flame intertwined. After a short while, the glow receded, revealing the charred, massive carcass of the ancient beast.
The old man swept his wide sleeve, and a violent gust of wind howled past, flinging the beast's corpse a dozen zhang away.