Chapter 166: The Law of Speed

"An avatar? No..."

Han Li cried out inwardly, startled but not slow to react.

The seven white lights on his chest and abdomen suddenly flared, and one arm swelled to twice its size as he swung it heavily toward the second figure.

With a loud bang!

The figure was struck by the immense force and sent flying backward.

But just then, Han Li felt a chill at the back of his neck. He barely turned his head before a sharp blade slashed into his shoulder near the neck.

A sound of "pfft" rang out.

Several golden scales on the back of Han Li's neck near the shoulder shattered, blood splattered, and he was sent hurtling forward under a tremendous force.

But the next moment, he forcibly twisted his body and saw behind him a third black-clad youth who had appeared at some unknown time, identical to the previous two in both form and aura.

Han Li's heart tightened. Taking advantage of the momentum, he rolled in midair and stabilized himself over a hundred zhang away. His eyes flickered with blue light as he immediately activated his Bright Spirit Eyes.

At the same time, the remaining white flying swords shot out, weaving around him in a dense sword net that enveloped his entire body.

The three black-clad youths saw this, and the corners of their mouths curled up slightly, identical sneers appearing on their faces.

Their figures blurred simultaneously as they flew toward Han Li from three different directions. Rings of runes swirled around the black long knives in their hands, distorting the nearby void.

Han Li's eyes blazed with blue light as he swept his gaze over the three continuous afterimages and the trajectories they traced in the air, taking in every detail of their expressions, movements, and even the black long knives.

Everything seemed real...

"This is... a clone technique after mastering the Law of Speed!" He suddenly understood, but his brow furrowed deeper.

A sharp clang rang out!

One white flying sword was struck heavily, its flight hindered, and it suddenly stalled.

Through the gap in the sword net that it failed to fill, a blade light burst in, heading straight for Han Li's back.

Han Li spun around and punched out, meeting the blade light head-on.

Then came a series of clattering sounds.

His gaze swept over and saw a black-clad man holding a long knife, his figure flickering around Han Li, striking and slashing, constantly dismantling his sword net defense.

With his Bright Spirit Eyes activated, Han Li's gaze could keep up with the opponent's movements, but under his will's guidance, the nine flying swords always lagged a step, soon torn apart into a chaotic mess.

Meanwhile, the other two clones lurking around continuously harassed him, launching lethal strikes whenever an opportunity arose.

Before long, Han Li's body bore over a dozen bloody gashes with flesh turned outward.

Fortunately, his physical body was already formidable, and his True Extremity Body was extraordinary. Although Fang Pan's clones repeatedly succeeded in their attacks, they could never inflict fatal wounds.

However, he knew this situation would not last long.

Because the brocade-robed elder's formation was in its final stage.

With a humming sound, within several hundred zhang around Han Li, the void suddenly trembled, and a layer of earthy yellow light flared up. The raging gale and sand sweeping the heavens and earth even paused, as if imprisoned by an invisible force.

Seeing this, Han Li hesitated no longer and formed a hand seal with one hand.

"Rumble..."

In midair, a thunderous roar erupted. Countless silver arcs of lightning shot out from his body, instantly forming a dazzling silver lightning array around him. Large swaths of lightning like silver serpents immediately converged toward him.

The brocade-robed elder muttered "Not good" and immediately pointed at the formation plate in his hand. The yellow light in the formation intensified, and an even greater oppressive force swept down from all directions.

Han Li felt his entire body sluggish, and his action to activate the lightning array was delayed by a step.

Fang Pan would not miss this opportunity. The three clones' eyes blazed with murderous intent as they arrived from three directions in an instant. The three black knives, after a brief pause, swung out, transforming into a dazzling series of blade lights that slashed down in a line.

Han Li gritted his teeth and pushed his Lightning Roc bloodline to the extreme.

"Boom!"

A dazzling silver light flashed in midair, and all the lightning, along with Han Li's figure, vanished simultaneously.

Almost at the same time, a vast tide of earthy yellow light surged in from all directions!

And those blade lights fell like a storm, madly tearing apart everything around Han Li's original position, forming black whirlwinds that shredded the remaining silver light into pieces.

Then, Fang Pan's three figures merged into one in midair. He hovered alone, knife in hand, at the spot where Han Li had disappeared, his expression shifting between gloom and uncertainty.

Upon seeing this, the old man in the brocade robe stopped his spellcasting and flew over to his side. His nostrils flared slightly as he spoke:

"There is still a fair amount of blood qi lingering in the air. He just took the combined attack from you and your clone without interrupting the thunder formation, so he certainly won't be feeling well."

"Over three hundred years ago, not only did this man not die, but he has now cultivated a Xuanxian body. That attack just now probably still couldn't harm his foundation. I'll trouble Brother Feng to track him once more; next time, we absolutely cannot let him escape." After a moment of deliberation, Fang Pan slowly spoke.

The old man in the brocade robe nodded silently, and with one hand began to form hand seals before him...

Above a stretch of sand dunes hundreds of thousands of li away, a thunderous roar suddenly resounded.

A silver arc of lightning as thick as a water vat plunged straight down from the high sky. Amid the flashing electric light, a figure stumbled out and fell to the ground.

It was none other than Han Li, who had just escaped.

The moment he landed, he immediately released his spiritual sense, scanning everything within tens of thousands of li. Finding nothing amiss, he flipped his hand and took out two medicinal pills, swallowed them, and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.

After a moment, his breath gradually steadied, but his expression remained grim.

He had no clear idea of the identities of those two men, but given the intensity of their murderous intent toward him, he could make some guesses.

First, it might be related to the bounty from the so-called 'Ten Directions Tower,' as in the Spirit Realm, with the two coming for the reward on his head.

Second, it was highly likely connected to the three hundred years of memory he had lost.

Of course, what puzzled him most was how they had seen through the disguise he had assumed using the Wuchang Alliance mask.

Regardless of the possibility, he had no way to verify it now. Those two were not only a level higher in cultivation but also possessed extremely peculiar techniques—one mastered the law of speed, and the other seemed adept at formations and restrictions. Going head-on now would hardly be wise.

As thoughts churned in his mind, he stood up from the ground. With a flick of his wrist, a map of the Huanglan Continent appeared in his palm.

After a brief glance, he put the map away, oriented himself, and with a flash of遁光, shot off into the distance, his figure vanishing at the horizon.

Half a day later, above a continuous mountain range, a sharp whistling sound tore through the air.

Enveloped in green light, Han Li descended with a grave expression into the forest below.

Upon landing, he immediately sat cross-legged, took out medicinal pills and swallowed them, while releasing his spiritual sense and closing his eyes to regulate his breathing.

However, after just the time it takes to burn an incense stick, his eyes snapped open, a look of surprise on his face.

"They caught up so quickly?" he muttered to himself, immediately standing up.

At the edge of his spiritual perception, two powerful auras suddenly appeared, rushing toward him at an incredibly fast speed.

Without a word, Han Li's body was instantly enveloped in a burst of green light. With a loud crack, his figure shot out and disappeared above the forest.

...

Two days later, in the early morning.

Above a vast, boundless primeval forest, a blur of green light suddenly flashed. A tall figure emerged from it, stumbled, and fell into the dense forest below.

With a thunderous crash,

a giant tree, thick enough to require five people to encircle, was struck by the figure and shattered, sending splinters and branches flying.

In the dense forest, birds took flight and beasts roared, stirring up clouds of dust.

The figure that had hit the giant tree sat up from the broken debris, wiping his face wet with morning dew. It was Han Li.

He had now changed his appearance again, looking like a square-faced middle-aged man.

His eyes, deep as an old well, flickered with a hint of brightness, but could not conceal the exhaustion that permeated his entire being.

Over the past two days, he had been fleeing continuously, nearly exhausting all his immortal spiritual power, yet he could not shake off the black-clad youth and the old man in the brocade robe who pursued him relentlessly. The two seemed determined to kill him.

"It seems running like this is no solution. At least I need to find out who they are..." Han Li said thoughtfully after flipping his hand and taking several medicinal pills.

With that thought, he closed his eyes and focused on regulating his breathing, maximizing the recovery of his immortal spiritual power.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he opened his eyes again, sensing a powerful fluctuation of spiritual power in his perception.

But this time, he did not hurry to leave. Instead, he slowly stood up, flew above the dense forest, hovered in midair, and gazed into the distant horizon.

At the edge of the sky, a streak of green light shot over at an astonishing speed, reaching within a thousand zhang of him in just a few breaths.

Within the green light, the black-clad youth stood with a cold gaze, holding a black long blade, while the old man in the brocade robe was nowhere to be seen.

"Sir, what is your purpose in offering a heavy bounty on me at the Ten Directions Tower?" Han Li shouted, seeing from the fierce killing intent in the other's eyes that his current disguise had obviously not fooled him.

Fang Pan was momentarily startled by the words, but without any intention of answering, he twisted his wrist. His figure suddenly became blurry, leaving a trail of indistinct afterimages in the air.

Seeing this, a sharp glint flashed in Han Li's eyes, and the true spirit bloodline within him began to circulate.