Chapter 1161: Startled Retreat

The golden cloud finally exhausted its power, swiftly dissipated, and soon vanished completely. The sky returned to clear.

The dark golden mountain peak in midair flickered with spiritual light as its size rapidly shrank, and it descended with an overwhelming force.

At that moment, the nearby void rippled, and amidst a flash of white light, countless white threads densely appeared out of thin air. With a twist, they tightly bound the dark golden mountain peak.

The mountain's descent abruptly halted, firmly held by the white threads, unable to move an inch.

Simultaneously, ripples arose again in midair. A vast expanse of white light burst forth, coiling and tumbling, instantly transforming into a colossal white claw that blotted out the sky and grabbed downward.

The space enveloped by the giant claw began to collapse, creating a massive black hole like a bloody maw, ready to swallow the dark golden mountain peak in one gulp.

Suddenly, the dark golden mountain peak trembled violently. Golden and gray light blazed from its surface, and beams of light as sharp as sword qi burst forth, slicing toward the surrounding white threads and the giant white claw.

Where the sword-light passed, the void trembled violently. But the white threads, imbued with some unknown divine ability, were extremely tough; the sword-light could not cut them, let alone the giant white claw. Before even touching the claw, the sword-light was swallowed by the black hole beneath it.

It seemed the dark golden mountain peak was about to be seized and devoured by the giant white claw.

At that moment, another change occurred!

A dazzling golden flame shot out from the low mountain below, rapidly elongating into a huge golden fire dragon. With a sky-shaking dragon roar, it flashed and arrived before the dark golden mountain peak.

The golden fire dragon coiled its massive body around the peak, enveloping the white threads within.

The white threads on the peak flickered with white light at first, but under the golden flames, the white light was quickly suppressed. Then all the originally tough white threads suddenly became fragile, breaking and burning inch by inch.

The next moment, the golden fire dragon raised its head, transformed into a golden shadow, and slammed fiercely into the giant white claw.

With a tearing sound, the giant white claw, as fragile as paper before the golden fire dragon, was instantly pierced and exploded with a bang.

Not only that, nine flames shot out from the golden fire dragon's body, turning into nine slightly smaller fire dragons that pounced like lightning toward a nearby void.

Boom!

A golden light like a blazing sun exploded, shattering that void completely. Countless golden flames engulfed the shattered void, forming a sea of golden fire.

As the flames surged, the shattered void showed signs of melting.

A figure staggered into view, then immediately shot away into the distance. It stopped only after appearing dozens of miles away, revealing itself to be the white-haired youth.

His clothes were torn, and half his body was charred black, though not too severely. His white hair was mostly burned away, leaving him looking very disheveled.

At the same time, a figure in loose robes flew out from the low mountain—it was Han Li.

He raised his hand and waved, and the Yuanhe Five Extremes Mountain flew back, rapidly shrinking on the way and disappearing into his sleeve.

Back when Han Li entered the Netherfrost Immortal Palace, the roof of the golden hall that housed the Taiyi Pill had the effect of withstanding pill tribulations, similar to the ability of the Yuanhe Five Extremes Mountain.

After the hall collapsed, he collected the damaged roof and later integrated it into the Yuanhe Five Extremes Mountain, transforming the treasure into its current form, greatly enhancing its power far beyond before.

“Do you know who I am? How dare you injure me! I’ll have your life in return!” The white-haired youth flew into a rage. He waved his hands, and a brilliant white light burst forth. White patterns emerged on his forehead, vaguely forming the character “王” (king).

The charred burns on his body rapidly healed and squirmed. Sickle-like gleaming claws grew from his hands, and with a whoosh, two wide white wings sprouted from his back. He instantly transformed into a half-human, half-beast form, his aura surging.

A vast Da Luo aura erupted from the white-haired youth, causing the air within hundreds of miles to churn violently, stirring up fierce hurricanes.

Struck by this狂暴气流, Han Li could not steady himself and stumbled back two steps.

At that moment, the white-haired youth’s wings fluttered, and he vanished instantly. The next moment, he appeared behind Han Li, his two claws piercing toward Han Li’s back.

Circles of white light bloomed on the claws, with a peculiar law power rippling within, producing crackling sounds like firecrackers.

Where the claws passed, the void easily shattered, leaving two large black holes, seemingly indestructible.

But just as the white-haired youth’s claws were about to reach Han Li, a golden light flashed before the claws, and an ancient golden lamp appeared out of thin air.

Han Li had turned around at some point, and he pointed with a spell gesture.

A large expanse of golden flame shot out from the lamp, instantly turning into a surging golden sea of fire that separated the two and rushed toward the white-haired youth.

Having just experienced the power of the Flames of Time, the white-haired youth dared not let them near. He released a brilliant white light and barely stopped before the sea of fire.

He was both shocked and enraged—angry that this cultivator from the Immortal Domain, though not strong in cultivation, wielded such a powerful immortal artifact that left him powerless.

What shocked him was that the opponent could keep up with his attack speed.

The white-haired youth possessed the Taowu bloodline, which excelled in speed, and few races in the entire Barbarian Wild Domain could rival it.

Moreover, having reached the Da Luo stage, he usually killed his opponents in one strike. Even against foes of the same realm, he always had the upper hand in speed. Yet now, a human cultivator matched him.

The white-haired youth moved, about to retreat and distance himself from the golden flames.

A golden ripple spread from within the golden flames, instantly covering an area of a thousand zhang in radius, enveloping the white-haired youth.

The white-haired youth’s movement stalled. A powerful time law enveloped his entire body, freezing him in place. Panic struck him, and he was about to muster all his strength to break free from the golden ripples.

Whoosh!

A golden fire dragon shot out from within, striking the white-haired youth heavily. It then turned into a golden sun, engulfing his body before exploding violently.

A thunderous boom!

An immensely powerful law force tore apart the nearby void, and the white-haired youth’s body was also torn into several pieces.

“Roar! Roar! Roar!”

Though his body was shattered, the white-haired youth did not perish. He let out furious roars, and an extremely dazzling white light shot out from within him—a white boat-shaped immortal artifact.

The boat was inscribed with countless barbarian beast runes and a picture of myriad beasts gathering in worship.

A vast law power erupted from the white boat, no less than the white fire pearl of the Essence Flame Firebird. It enveloped the white-haired youth’s body and shot forward.

With a tearing sound, the golden ripple zone of the True Word Wheel was ripped open. The white boat turned into a white phantom and vanished at the horizon in an instant.

“Immortal Domain cultivator! Very well, I’ll remember you!” The white-haired youth’s resentful voice came from afar.

Han Li watched this with a calm expression, making no attempt to pursue.

The white boat was too fast; he could not catch up.

Having so easily defeated a Da Luo existence, Han Li showed no pride or arrogance. He simply waved his hand to summon the Time Lamp and gently stroked it.

The white-haired youth, though a Da Luo cultivator, seemed to have recently advanced, his realm unstable. Moreover, he dared to engage in close combat, so defeat was inevitable.

At that moment, a black cloud appeared behind, filled with various demon beasts that howled and charged, seemingly allied with the white-haired youth, ready to attack Han Li.

But as the black cloud approached, the demon beasts saw the white-haired youth severely wounded by Han Li and fleeing for his life. All their shouts instantly ceased.

Han Li turned to look. The demon beasts on the black cloud changed expression. The black cloud churned violently, then abruptly turned and chased after the white-haired youth.

Han Li raised an eyebrow but did not pursue the demon beasts.

Though he had defeated the white-haired youth with the Time Lamp, activating the lamp consumed a great deal of energy. His immortal spiritual power was only half left, so he naturally did not wish to meddle and prioritized self-preservation.

He took out a recovery pill and swallowed it. Then, with a flicker, he turned into a streak of light and chased after the convoy of the Silver Horn Rhinoceros tribe and the Cloud Pattern Tiger tribe.

The Essence Flame Firebird was with the convoy, so Han Li did not worry about losing direction.

About half a month later, Han Li caught up with the convoy and silently returned to his dwelling.

He inquired of the Essence Flame Firebird and learned that the convoy had encountered no major dangers during this time. He nodded and entered the Flower Branch Space again.

Han Li took out the Reincarnation Palace mask, put it on, and attempted to contact Yuan San.

After a moment, a dark red light flickered in the void ahead, and Yuan San’s figure appeared.

“Brother Long Wu, you contacted me so urgently—have you gotten results?” Yuan San’s gaze was cold, but a glimmer of hope shone through.

Han Li said nothing. He took out a jade box and opened it, revealing five golden pills the size of dragon eyes.

Wave-shaped golden halos radiated from the pills, rippling outward. Each pill bore three golden dao patterns on its surface, exuding a mysterious law fluctuation.

“Dao pills?” Yuan San’s eyes lit up, and he blurted out.

Han Li merely smiled faintly and said nothing.

To refine these five dao pills, Han Li had employed all his alchemy skills and various auxiliary techniques, and he had completed them safely despite the risks.