Chapter 564: Eight Spirit Beasts Gather

Just as the chieftains of the various beast tribes were heatedly debating,

In the secret chamber of the cave, Han Li sat cross-legged on the stone bed in the inner room, his eyes tightly shut, a green light flowing over his body, as if he were in deep meditation.

At this moment, the Golden Boy and the White Jade Pixiu were not guarding before him, perhaps having been put away.

He was still unaware of the conspiracy brewing among the beast tribes, focusing solely on preparing for the formidable enemy about to arrive.

Compared to being hunted by the entire Heavenly Court, the current situation was even more dire—arguably the greatest crisis he had faced since arriving in the True Immortal Realm.

Before this, although he had killed a Heavenly Court Inspector Immortal by chance, he now faced a Devouring Gold Immortal whose cultivation far exceeded his own by more than a full major realm; even Gongshu Jiu would be insignificant before it.

Though his chances of victory were slim, he naturally would not give up willingly. As long as there was a glimmer of hope, he would do everything possible to find a way out.

Thus, time passed little by little.

After an unknown duration, Han Li’s eyelids twitched, and he opened his eyes, the green light flowing over his body also receding.

He glanced expressionlessly at the outer chamber, then slowly closed his eyes again.

Meanwhile, in the middle of the Dark Star Canyon, within the valley near this cliff, a figure streaked across the high sky, flashing past as a beam of green light, then abruptly halting in midair.

A refined man in a white robe, with light blue hair tied behind his back, appeared—none other than Nuo Qinglin.

He extended one hand, blocking before him, and said to the void ahead:

“Come back with me.”

In the void, a slender jade hand lifted the hood covering her head, a gray light flashed, and a figure materialized—Nuo Yifan.

“Father, Senior Li has shown us kindness, how can we…”

Before she could finish, Nuo Qinglin interrupted her.

“This is the result of joint discussions among the beast tribes, not my wish alone…” Nuo Qinglin shook his head and said slowly.

“But this is wrong! Father, you always say humans are treacherous and faithless, but how are our actions now any different?” Nuo Yifan frowned and asked.

“This is the king’s decree. What can I, as your father, do…” Nuo Qinglin sighed and said.

Hearing this, Nuo Yifan’s expression changed again, showing some disappointment. She said no more, turning her head to gaze into the distance at that cliff.

At this moment, almost all the Youchen tribe members within a few hundred li around the cliff had withdrawn. Thousands of elite warriors from the eight great sacred beast tribes, led by dozens of high priests from various tribes, had surrounded the place completely.

The chieftains of the eight sacred tribes, except for Nuo Qinglin, were all suspended above the cliff, looking solemnly at that cave dwelling.

Hu Shi chieftain Yin Shen waved his hand, and a dark yellow beast-hide small flag appeared in his palm. He waved it toward the dozens of high priests.

Seeing this, the dozens of high priests brandished their bone staffs and simultaneously began a strange chanting.

As the sound rose, the great river in the center of the Dark Star Canyon suddenly surged violently. Beneath the green vines and flowering creepers on the cliffs on both sides, streaks of blue-purple light emerged, coalescing into totemic patterns shaped like fox heads.

With the appearance of these patterns, though it was still daytime in the canyon, the light began to dim, as if dusk were approaching and night about to fall.

At the same time, specks of starlight rose from all directions, converging into a dazzling Milky Way that fell straight from the night sky, releasing streams of strange and profound power that filled the entire canyon.

Amid the chanting of the dozens of high priests, thousands of elite warriors from various tribes also began to dance and respond.

Soon, around the cliff in the center of the canyon, streaks of light gathered, and a massive confinement formation emerged, completely enclosing the entire cliff and the cave dwelling atop it.

“Fellow Daoist Li, please come out and meet us. The beast tribes have matters to discuss.” Yin Shen called out, his voice like a great bell, echoing through the canyon’s mountains and waters.

The cliff remained silent, with no response.

“Fellow Daoist Li, please come out and meet us…” Yin Shen’s expression unchanged, he called out again.

He could clearly sense Han Li’s aura still within that cave dwelling, so he was not particularly anxious.

Among the warriors of the eight sacred tribes, many from the Youchen tribe and others had witnessed Han Li confronting the insect spirit. Though unwilling to admit it, they harbored considerable fear toward this human, Han Li.

In fact, not only them, but even chieftains like Wulu and Manlin were deeply wary of him.

But in the face of their tribes’ survival, they had already made their choice.

After Yin Shen called out three times, the beast tribe members finally felt something was amiss.

“Something seems off?” Wulu frowned and said.

Man Lin and the others exchanged glances, their expressions somewhat puzzled.

"Hmph, playing tricks. I'll go take a look."

After the Night Owl clan leader, Lamp Ghost, muttered a rebuke, his figure flickered and, like a hunting falcon, silently dove toward the cliff, his speed as fast as a bolt of lightning.

However, before he could fly close, a sudden "boom" explosion rang out from the cliff.

Two heavy doors were blasted into pieces by a tremendous force, fragments flying in all directions.

A powerful surge of air, carrying billowing dust, spread outward.

Lamp Ghost was about to approach when his expression suddenly changed, and he immediately retreated, hovering far away in midair.

The rest of the beast clan also grew tense, all looking up toward the cliff.

At the edge of the cliff, a middle-aged man in a blue robe stood with his hands behind his back, calmly gazing at the clan leaders present.

Except for a few, none of those clan leaders dared to meet his gaze. The proud beast clan actually lowered their once-high heads before a human cultivator.

Among those few were Yin Shen, the old patriarch of the Lion clan, the withered old woman of the Divine Elephant clan, and Nuo Qinglin.

Nuo Qinglin's gaze toward Han Li was very complex, seeming to carry some apology, some pity, and also some helplessness.

Han Li remained expressionless throughout, his gaze calm, and he did not even emit the aura of a mid-Golden Immortal. He did not say a single word, yet an invisible pressure seemed to stifle the high morale of nearly ten thousand beast clan elites.

For a moment, a strange silence fell over the cliff.

Just then, Yin Shen's expression turned icy cold, and he shouted sharply:

"Attack!"

At this command, dozens of high priests swiftly waved their bone staffs, and a cacophony of obscure incantations rose around them. Blood flowed from their palms, meandering like tiny streams over the surface of the staffs.

As the blood seeped in, the snow-white bone staffs turned blood-red, their radiance growing brighter.

Above the formation surrounding the entire cliff, massive projections of true spirits began to appear, gradually solidifying as beams of light converged.

An immense pressure began to bear down from the sky, making even the beast clan members present feel suffocated.

Soon, the first true spirit descended above the cliff—a blue fox clad in azure armor with six tails, the one named Su Liu.

Following closely, the figures of a massive horned rhinoceros, its body glowing with green light, and a huge hawk with pitch-black iron-like feathers, also appeared in the high sky.

As waves of powerful aura fluctuations arose, the eight true spirits worshipped by the beast clan successively revealed their true forms, all fixing their gazes on the blue-robed middle-aged man on the cliff.

Facing the pressure of eight true spirits manifesting, Han Li still stood silent with his hands behind his back.

The six-tailed blue fox watched for a moment, then suddenly frowned. His figure swooped down, and one of his tails slammed heavily toward Han Li with a whistling wind.

A loud "boom" sounded.

The cliff erupted with dust and rubble, shattering into pieces, and Han Li's figure was swallowed by the dust.

The beast clan members, along with the other seven true spirits, were all stunned, momentarily unable to grasp the situation.

"You fools, that man has long escaped. You've made such a big fuss over a fake substitute that isn't even a proper imitation," Su Liu turned his head and scolded the clan leaders with a hint of sarcasm.

When his fox tail lifted, there was no trace of Han Li—only a dark yellow bean and a green horse-head mask faintly glimmering among the rock fragments.

And that bean, after exhausting its last bit of spiritual energy, completely dimmed.

Yin Shen looked at Nuo Qinglin, who had just arrived, and asked in a deep voice, "What is this? How did that man know the plan in advance and escape?"

"How should I know? Are you suspecting me?" Nuo Qinglin, irritated by the question, retorted angrily.

"I heard your daughter has a close relationship with that man..." Lamp Ghost raised an eyebrow and said sarcastically.

"Ever since the plan was set, Yifan has been confined to her room. Don't talk nonsense," Nuo Qinglin rebuked coldly.

As his words fell, the six-tailed blue fox turned his massive body toward them and asked in an unfriendly tone, "What did you say about Yifan?"

Lamp Ghost's face changed instantly, and he lowered his head, not daring to speak.

Although this six-tailed blue fox was not outstanding in strength among the true spirits worshipped by other clans, he was the legitimate son of the True Spirit King, You Hu, a being that even the Night Owl clan's true spirit had to be wary of. How could Lamp Ghost dare to provoke him?

Wulu and Man Lin exchanged glances, their eyes showing a hint of schadenfreude. Who didn't know that Lord Su Liu doted on that girl Nuo Yifan? Why did Lamp Ghost have to touch that sore spot?

If the Youchen clan ranked first among the eight sacred clans, most of the reason was that the true spirit they worshipped was this Lord Su Liu, and another part was precisely because Lord Su Liu valued Nuo Yifan greatly.

That hawk covered in pitch-black feathers, the true spirit worshipped by the Night Owl clan, also flashed a cold gleam in his eyes and glared at Lamp Ghost, causing the latter to break out in a cold sweat and dare not even breathe loudly.