Chapter 385: Chance Encounter

Upon hearing this, the girl in red gritted her teeth slightly, shifted her gaze from the bearded man, and quickly formed hand seals, urging the flying boat to speed ahead.

The black-clad youth beside her waved one hand, and a soft green light shot from his palm, vanishing into the bearded man's body.

The bearded man's complexion improved somewhat, and he nodded at the black-clad youth.

At that moment, the漫天 blue lightning dissipated, once again revealing the massive body of the Thunderworm Beast.

The beast's injuries appeared even more severe than before, with twice as many wounds on its skin, many areas blackened, and blue blood staining nearly half its body.

But immediately, the Thunderworm Beast let out a screech, swung its huge body, and blue lightning once again appeared on its surface.

At the same time, the blue blood on its surface ignited with a whoosh, turning into clusters of blue flames.

The flames and lightning intertwined and flashed, transforming into a vast expanse of dense blue mist that roiled around the beast's massive body.

The next moment, the blue mist suddenly exploded and then dissipated without a trace.

The Thunderworm Beast's massive body also vanished.

"Watch out!" The black-robed youth, who had been closely monitoring the situation behind, immediately shouted in alarm upon seeing this.

The girl in red and the bearded man, who had also been probing the rear with their divine sense, were startled as well.

But before the three could formulate any countermeasure, space rippled ahead of the flying boat, and a blue misty sea materialized out of thin air, swiftly descending to envelop the green flying boat and the three people aboard.

Once engulfed by the misty sea, the flying boat immediately became as if trapped in quicksand, unable to move.

The three on the boat felt their bodies tighten, also enveloped by a powerful invisible force. Though not completely immobilized, every movement became extremely difficult, and their expressions changed drastically.

A blue shadow flickered in the mist ahead, and the massive Thunderworm Beast emerged, its body even larger than before, like a small mountain blocking the way.

A formidable aura emanated from its body, faintly reaching the level of a Void Refining cultivator.

The bearded man and the girl in red were terrified, a hint of despair in their eyes, while the black-robed youth's face also darkened.

The Thunderworm Beast's eyes were filled with coldness, and it suddenly opened its massive, ferocious mouth.

Chi chi chi!

Bolts of blue lightning shot from its mouth, transforming into over a dozen thick lightning whips that lashed out at the flying boat with incredible speed.

At the same time, the surrounding blue misty sea roiled violently, wrapping around the three in layers.

The blue misty sea transformed into a colossal blue mist sphere, rolling and spinning incessantly, with arcs of electricity darting within, producing deafening roars. What was happening inside remained unknown.

Just then, the rolling blue mist sphere suddenly stopped its motion.

The next moment, the mist sphere expanded outward and then, with a thunderous crash, exploded, revealing the figures of the black-robed youth and the other two.

The black-robed youth held a giant red fire sword, several zhang in size, ablaze with rolling red-gold flames and emitting a terrifying spiritual power fluctuation.

His face was deathly pale, his clothes tattered, and a trace of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

The bearded man and the girl in red appeared even worse, with ragged clothes and pallid faces. The bearded man, in particular, was covered in bloodstains, his left arm severed at the elbow, blood gushing out.

The green flying boat was nowhere to be seen, but two pieces of wreckage were faintly visible in the mist behind the three.

The giant fire sword in the black-robed youth's hand flashed with light, rapidly shrinking into a half-foot-sized red talisman inscribed with a fire sword pattern.

Intense flame spiritual power emanated from the talisman, but it was highly unstable.

The talisman's surface flickered once, then with a crackle, it spontaneously combusted, turning into a pile of ashes in an instant.

A look of pain flashed in the black-robed youth's eyes, but he turned his head away abruptly.

"Let's go!"

He shouted, and his body erupted with intense green light, transforming into a green streak that fled forward at incredible speed.

The bearded man and the girl in red also mustered their remaining strength, activating their escape techniques to flee ahead.

In an instant, the three had covered some distance.

The exploding blue mist behind them rippled, and the Thunderworm Beast's massive form emerged.

A long wound now gaped on its lower abdomen, blue blood gushing out. Though the injury was not light, it was far better off than the three.

Although the three ahead had fled some distance, the Thunderworm Beast seemed unconcerned, a hint of mocking intelligence flashing in its eyes.

It rolled its massive body, and the surrounding blue mist enveloped it, emitting a rumbling sound as it gave chase to the three ahead.

All three were injured, their escape speed much slower than before. The misty sea formed by the Thunderworm Beast, though vast and imposing, was no slower.

The distance between them rapidly closed.

The three were filled with anxiety but had no way to change the situation.

The distance grew shorter and shorter, soon narrowing to less than ten li.

By now, the three's spiritual power was nearly depleted, and they had exhausted all their treasures. Despair crept into their eyes.

Just then, without any warning, a green rainbow appeared on the distant horizon, flying toward them at incredible speed.

An immense aura radiated from the green rainbow, far surpassing that of the three and the Thunderworm Beast behind them.

The three in black robes were startled, then overjoyed.

"Senior! Save us!" the three shouted in unison.

The cyan rainbow paused slightly, and a soft exclamation of surprise came from within, its speed slowing down.

Seeing this, the three in black robes were greatly delighted.

The Thunderworm Beast behind them looked at the cyan rainbow in the sky, a trace of fear in its eyes, but then it glanced at the three ahead and a fierce light reappeared.

It suddenly halted its flight, opened its mouth wide.

With a rumble in the misty sea, countless blue arcs of lightning emerged, then swiftly converged toward its mouth, forming a massive lightning ball dozens of zhang in size.

With a thunderous roar!

The enormous lightning ball shot out, hurtling toward the three in black robes.

The Thunderworm Beast turned its body, and the surrounding blue misty sea rolled and surged, wrapping around it as it fled backward.

The massive lightning ball was extremely fast, catching up to the three in an instant, seemingly about to engulf them.

"Hmph!" A cold snort came from the cyan rainbow in the sky.

Then, with a flash of light, a water-bucket-thick cyan pillar of light descended from the heavens, striking the enormous lightning ball.

With a soft "puff," the massive lightning ball was easily pierced by the cyan pillar, collapsing and dissipating like a storm.

Seeing this, the Thunderworm Beast was terrified; the misty sea around it churned violently, emitting a deafening rumble as it swept away into the distance.

Another cold laugh came from the cyan rainbow in the sky, and another bolt of cyan light shot out, its speed far surpassing the Thunderworm Beast's, catching up to the blue misty sea in a flash.

With a flash of cyan light, it transformed into a colossal cyan sword aura hundreds of zhang long, plunging into the blue misty sea.

Rip!

The blue misty sea split open with a sound, then dissipated, revealing the Thunderworm Beast's body within.

Its massive body halted in midair, then a red line appeared down its center, and the next moment, the enormous body split into two halves.

The two halves of the carcass, along with large amounts of blue blood and entrails, rained down, crashing into the sea with a thunderous boom.

The three in black robes also stopped, staring dumbfounded at the scene before them.

Only then did the cyan rainbow in the sky dissipate, revealing a middle-aged man with a square face and thick eyebrows.

"Thank you, Senior, for your great lifesaving grace! In our desperation, we rashly called out to you for help; please forgive us." After exchanging glances, the three in black robes quickly flew over, bowed deeply, and spoke with utmost respect.

The fact that he could kill this Thunderworm Beast with a single strike meant he was at least at the Integration Stage, possibly even a great power at the Mahayana Stage, so the three were extremely cautious in their words.

The square-faced middle-aged man glanced at the three of them, his gaze lingering briefly on the black-robed youth before he spoke flatly, "Are you all cultivators of Black Wind Island?"

"Yes. The three of us have lived on Black Wind Island for years, and I grew up in Black Wind City, so I know it very well. Senior, if you need anything, I can be of service." The black-robed youth said immediately.

"From your tone, you sound quite like a windflower." The square-faced middle-aged man's eyes flickered slightly as he said with a faint smile.

"Senior's discerning eye is keen; I did indeed work as a windflower for a time." The black-robed youth said with an ingratiating smile.

"Oh, what is your name?" The square-faced middle-aged man asked.

"This junior is Mu Xue, and these two are Fellow Daoist Fang Xi and Fellow Daoist Fang Wei." The black-robed youth replied respectfully.

The square-faced middle-aged man raised an eyebrow and remained silent for a moment.

This person was none other than Han Li, who, after nearly a month of travel, had finally arrived near Black Wind Island.

He hadn't expected to encounter Mu Xue here by chance. Had it not been for an old acquaintance, he wouldn't have stopped to intervene, as conflicts between cultivators and demon beasts often resulted in casualties on both sides—it was perfectly normal.

Speaking of which, this man had only been at the Core Formation stage back then, yet after so many years, he had cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage.

Although Han Li's gift of spirit stones and techniques had helped, his cultivation speed was still quite fast.

Naturally, Mu Xue did not recognize him, and Han Li had no intention of revealing his identity.

Mu Xue and the other two found this senior somewhat peculiar and dared not disturb him rashly. They exchanged glances and stood quietly to the side.

"This place is not safe. I am heading to Black Wind City, so I might as well give you a ride." Han Li said after a moment of silence.

With that, he patted his storage pouch, and a mass of green light shot out, transforming into a palm-sized exquisite spirit boat shaped like a green bird—the Green Kite Flying Boat.

Under the urging of his incantation, the boat rapidly expanded to over ten zhang in size. Green light flashed on both sides of the boat, and four furry green wings emerged, like the wings of a fledgling, flapping swiftly, appearing extremely agile.

"Wow, so cute!" The red-robed girl's eyes lit up as she couldn't help exclaiming.

The bearded man had just treated his injuries slightly. Hearing the girl's words, his expression changed, and he turned to glare at her.

The red-robed girl immediately realized her mistake. It would have been fine to praise the senior's flying boat as exquisite, but calling it cute was indeed inappropriate.

The girl's face flushed slightly, and she quickly lowered her head.

"No matter. It's just a change in the禁制. Come on up." Han Li said with a gentle smile.

Mu Xue and the red-robed girl quickly flew up and landed on the boat.

The bearded man glanced at Han Li, a hint of hesitation in his eyes, but he did not move.

"Senior, please forgive my presumption. This Thunderworm Beast..." He glanced at the demon beast's corpse floating on the sea below, his voice trailing off.

"It's useless to me. If you want it, go ahead and collect it." Han Li said flatly without turning his head.