Chapter 1030: Metal Beasts

The moment Han Li stepped through the golden light barrier, he was bound by a powerful law force, his entire body wrapped in golden threads.

He now hung stiffly in midair, unable to move.

Glancing down, he saw a lush, dense mountain forest below, only a few hundred miles wide, its edges shrouded in gray mist—clearly a small secret realm.

Within the forest, thick woods concealed winding bluestone paths that twisted through layers of trees, leading deep into a golden courtyard.

"Such dense time law force!" Han Li remarked admiringly, withdrawing his gaze to look at the golden threads binding him.

It felt as if he were trapped by the Truthful Word Wheel; his mind remained unaffected, but his body was cut by the razor-sharp golden threads, causing pain though not breaking the skin.

As he pondered, his expression shifted slightly. In the distant forest, dust rose, and two massive golden figures charged toward him, smashing trees in their path.

Han Li saw clearly that they were two enormous golden tigers, as if cast from molten gold, with golden wings on their flanks—too small relative to their size to fly by flapping.

But as they surged forward, the wings flapped continuously, lifting the beasts off the ground as they rushed toward him.

"Are these... metal beasts?"

Han Li murmured to himself.

Though called beasts, they were actually formed from pure metallic qi, thriving in the Gold Source Mountains and proving extremely troublesome.

As he thought, he reversed the Truthful Word Wheel within him, sending ripples of time law force outward, trying to balance the golden threads binding him.

As time law force surged from his body, the golden threads began to loosen, but slowly.

After just a dozen breaths, hundreds of threads still bound Han Li, while the two tiger-like metal beasts had reached him.

The beasts opened their massive jaws, aiming for his head and waist.

Golden light gathered on their sharp fangs, emitting a fierce metallic qi that startled even Han Li.

Just as their jaws were about to close on him, a flash of fire and a clear cry rang out from his shoulder.

A silver firebird burst forth, transforming into a giant silver flame bird with blazing wings, crashing into the two metal beasts.

Two explosions sounded, scattering silver sparks.

The metal beasts took the heavy blow, caught by the flame bird's wings, and were forced back to the ground.

"Roar..."

Both beasts roared, opening their jaws to bite the flame bird's wings.

With a whoosh, the flame bird soared into the air, but large patches of flame were torn from its wings.

The metal beasts chewed, unafraid of the flames, swallowing them into their bellies.

Han Li raised an eyebrow. He knew the power of the silver flames; these beasts' ability to contain them surprised him.

But he didn't dwell on it, focusing instead on reversing the Truthful Word Wheel, using time law force to peel away the golden threads bit by bit.

After losing some flames, the flame bird grew angry rather than afraid. Spreading its wings high above, it dove down.

Like a flaming meteor, it crashed down, erupting into a sea of silver flames that engulfed the two metal beasts. The flames swirled into a fiery tornado, swallowing them.

The silver flame tornado reached the sky, its whirlwind fueling the fire, raising the temperature severalfold. Inside, the metal beasts gleamed with golden light, emitting wisps of pale golden mist from their bodies.

Han Li noticed this and recalled that metal beasts were mostly born from metallic qi; the mist was likely that very qi.

Just then, two roars rang out. The metal beasts ran back and forth in the silver flame tornado, then charged headlong at each other.

A heavy thud sounded!

The two beasts' heads collided violently. A blinding golden light flashed from their foreheads, sweeping outward, carrying a fearsome sharpness that instantly cut through the surrounding silver flames.

The two metal beasts charged left and right, breaking free from the silver flame's control and escaping.

The silver flame bird was cleaved in two, and the two flames immediately surged together, trying to recombine, but a layer of golden light always separated them, preventing them from merging.

The metal beasts, now free from control, ignored the Essence Flame Bird and galloped on all fours, soaring into the sky with gaping maws, charging straight at Han Li again.

But by now, Han Li had already broken free from the golden threads. With a focused gaze, he took a bold step forward in the void, shook both arms simultaneously, activated the Vajra Divine Power technique, and smashed his fists toward the two metal beasts.

A radiance of starlight lit up from his arms, and a layer of crystalline light covered his two massive fists. They struck the foreheads of the two metal beasts, producing two loud clangs.

High in the sky, two rings of energy exploded outward. The two metal beasts, as if struck by a mountain's weight, plummeted straight to the ground, shaking the entire earth.

Han Li flew down, first glancing at the Essence Flame Bird, which was still trying to merge but could not recover, then pursued the two metal beasts. Before they could climb out of the pit they had formed in the ground, he rained down heavy punches again.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

A series of heavy blows rained down like raindrops from Han Li's fists, the earth rumbling and shaking continuously.

After over a hundred punches, the ground for dozens of miles around was in utter chaos. Han Li finally stopped, afraid that if he kept pounding recklessly, he might damage the very foundation of this secret realm.

However, when he stopped his assault and looked into the pit, his brow furrowed. At the bottom of the huge crater, it was completely empty—where were the metal beasts?

Han Li flew down to the bottom of the pit and discovered that the two metal beasts had dug a tunnel underground and escaped.

"Come on, let's first get you your revenge, then find a way to erase those golden lights and restore you to your original form," Han Li communicated with the Essence Flame Bird through his mind.

Hearing this, the bird stopped trying to devour the other half of the flame, transformed into two identical silver flame birds, and landed on Han Li's shoulders.

Han Li glanced at the tunnel entrance, extended his divine sense inside, and then swiftly flew in.

The tunnel, freshly dug, was quite damp and stuffy, with a musty smell of earth everywhere.

Han Li, wrinkling his nose, advanced for over ten miles until he suddenly came to a fork.

At the fork, his brow raised slightly as he noticed something unusual.

This fork was formed by the intersection of the tunnel he was traveling through and another tunnel that ran across it. The other tunnel was wider, with smooth and dry walls, clearly pre-existing and not freshly dug by the metal beasts.

At the same time, air flowed through that tunnel. Han Li reached out to feel it and found it exceptionally hot.

"Hehe, little one, you're in for a treat this time..." After scanning with his divine sense, his eyes flickered, and a smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

Then, with a flash, he entered the fork and sped off to the left side of the tunnel.

The tunnel wound up and down for over ten miles, eventually leading to a fairly spacious underground chamber.

Emerging from the tunnel, Han Li saw a five-colored fire pool about a hundred zhang in diameter. Red, yellow, green, blue, and cyan flames intermingled, emitting waves of scorching heat.

The two metal beasts that Han Li had driven back earlier were now lying by the edge of the five-colored fire pool, gnawing on a huge piece of golden ore. With each chew, a wisp of metal-attribute energy entered their bodies.

Seeing Han Li enter, the two beasts immediately rose warily, crouching low and baring their fangs at him, but having learned his strength, they did not rashly charge.

"No wonder they could eat the Essence Flame before—they've been living by this five-colored fire pool for years, feasting on gold ore infused with fire energy. That explains it," Han Li said with a laugh.

At this moment, the two silver flame birds on his shoulders also noticed the extraordinary nature of the five-colored fire pool. They hopped about, looking extremely excited and impatient.

"You've noticed too, haven't you? Go ahead," Han Li said with a smile.

Receiving the order, the two Essence Flame Birds immediately spread their fiery wings and charged toward the five-colored fire pool.

Seeing the two birds dive at the five-colored fire pool, the two metal beasts grew anxious. They leaped into the air, ready to pounce on them.

"Get down!" Han Li's pupils contracted as he bellowed.

His form flashed, and he appeared beneath the two metal beasts. Reaching out with both hands, he grabbed their tails and yanked them down, pulling them back.

The two metal beasts crashed heavily to the ground, rolled over, and scrambled up, lunging at Han Li.

Han Li activated the true spirit bloodline within him, and golden fur sprouted all over his body, instantly transforming him into a golden giant ape over ten zhang tall. His two massive palms pressed down on the heads of the two metal beasts, pinning them firmly.

The two metal beasts' heads slammed into the ground, their bodies struggling violently, their long tails lashing like whips, but Han Li pressed them down so hard they couldn't lift their heads at all.