Chapter 699: The Tribe

"Hah! How dare you, beast!"

A cold shout came from one of the large carts at the front of the procession, and a gray figure shot out from it—another lizard-man.

This person was tall and sturdy, far surpassing the others. His head was round, and his features were already quite refined, looking very human-like, except that his cheeks were still covered in scales. The aura he emitted was immense, having reached the Mahayana level.

He raised his hand and waved, and a dazzling gray light shot forth—a gray bone sword that pierced through the air like a rainbow, stabbing toward a strange gray bird.

The gray bird was startled and immediately flapped its wings to dodge, but it failed to evade completely. A long gash was cut across its lower belly, gray blood gushed out, and it let out a hoarse cry.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

Three more figures flew out from other carts, all emitting auras at the Body Integration level. They summoned various bone artifacts and struck at the other gray birds.

The gray birds let out fierce cries, opened their mouths wide, and spat out streams of gray wind blades at the lizard-men. Meanwhile, the black claws beneath them blazed with dazzling black light, directly grabbing at the bone artifacts.

The two sides soon clashed in battle, producing rumbling sounds.

The tribe below fell into chaos once again. The gray horned deer fled in terror in all directions, and the other lizard-men hurriedly chased after them, struggling to lead the herd away from the battlefield.

The clash in midair grew fiercer, and the lizard-men gradually began to lose ground.

The gray birds were greater in number, and most were at the Body Integration level. Although the leading Mahayana lizard-man was formidable, he was now entangled by three gray birds and unable to break free.

The other three lizard-men, facing four gray birds, were clearly at a disadvantage. If not for one of them wielding a mysterious gray bone shield that blocked most of the birds' attacks, one of the three would have been injured already.

Even so, as time passed, the three lizard-men stood back-to-back, panting heavily, as if they could not hold out much longer.

"Chieftain, this is bad!"

The lizard-man wielding the bone shield deflected a claw strike from a gray bird, his body trembling slightly, and he called out anxiously to the true immortal lizard-man.

The lizard-man chieftain's eyes were filled with anxiety. How could he not have noticed the plight of his three clansmen? But these three gray birds fought together, and their strength was not much weaker than his own; he simply could not break away to help them.

"Ah!" A scream rang out as one lizard-man, momentarily careless, was struck by a black claw ray. Several long wounds were torn across his body, blood gushed out, and one arm was nearly severed, hanging only by a shred of flesh.

Severely wounded, the man was sent flying, breaking the trio's coordinated defense.

A gray bird let out an excited cry and chased after the wounded lizard-man.

The lizard-man chieftain was both shocked and enraged. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and he suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a stream of gray light that merged into the gray bone sword.

The gray bone sword immediately spun rapidly, then blazed with light, transforming into a huge gray orb that rolled and flickered.

A series of terrifying sword auras emanated from within, and the nearby air crackled loudly, faint ripples appearing.

Seeing this, two of the three gray birds quickly flew away to dodge.

But the last bird's eyes flashed with cold light. Instead, it flapped its wings, its massive body turning into a gray streak that shot toward the lizard-man chieftain, while opening its mouth wide.

A sharp whistling sound arose as a mass of pitch-black light shot out, raining down on the lizard-man chieftain.

The lizard-man chieftain was startled and quickly formed a hand seal, pointing forward.

The gray orb suddenly exploded, and countless fine gray sword beams shot out in all directions, instantly covering an area of several hundred zhang.

A piercing scream rang out, then immediately faded and vanished.

A mangled corpse fell from midair—it was the gray bird.

Its entire body was riddled with countless sword holes, with not a single intact spot left, and it was completely devoid of life.

However, the lizard-man chieftain also staggered back. The left half of his body was covered in dense black holes, from which black gas seeped and spread to other parts of his body.

Before he could tend to his wounds, two gray streaks lunged at him like lightning—the two gray birds that had dodged earlier.

The lizard-man chieftain was alarmed and quickly tried to muster his baleful essence, but half his body was numb, greatly hindering the flow of his essence. He could not gather much, and his expression changed drastically.

The two gray streaks arrived like lightning, reaching him in an instant. Four black claws came crashing down with lightning speed.

Seeing this, the surrounding clansmen were all terrified. If the chieftain fell, it would be a catastrophic disaster for the entire tribe!

At this critical moment, a gray light descended from the sky. With a "pfft" sound, it easily pierced through both gray birds.

The next moment, the gray light flared brightly, emitting countless fine gray rays, and twisted violently.

The two birds' bodies instantly turned into minced meat, without even a single cry of anguish.

Almost simultaneously, a black light flashed above the other three lizard-men. A black flying sword materialized out of thin air, radiating countless black sword beams that instantly enveloped the five gray birds.

A flash of black sword light, and the five birds' bodies were all cut into several pieces, devoid of any life.

The four lizard-men stood there stunned at the sight.

At that moment, two figures flickered into existence in midair and slowly descended—Han Li and Shi Chuankong.

The lizard-man chieftain's expression changed immediately upon seeing Han Li and the other's forms, and he quickly flew over.

"Thank you, two immortals, for saving our Gray Lizard tribe," the chieftain said, bowing with utmost respect.

The three Gray Lizard clansmen also flew over, bowing and expressing their thanks, their eyes filled with reverence and awe.

"It was nothing more than a simple gesture. No need for such formalities; rise," Han Li said calmly, exchanging a glance with Shi Chuankong.

Only then did the Gray Lizard chieftain and the others stand up, stepping aside in silence, as if awaiting instruction.

"We two have been wandering and encountered a great storm a few days ago, losing our way. May I ask where this place is?" Han Li, finding their behavior somewhat odd, carefully chose his words and asked.

A few days earlier, they had indeed encountered a rather large gray storm, and even with their strength, it had taken some effort to break free.

"Reporting to the immortals, this is the northwestern part of the June Grasslands. The storm you encountered should be the local special phenomenon known as the Gray Tide," the Gray Lizard chieftain said respectfully.

"Gray Tide... I see," Han Li murmured to himself.

"You two immortals must be tired from your journey. If you don't mind, would you care to rest a while at our Gray Lizard tribe? Though our tribe is small, the local White Velvet Tea is quite unique," the chieftain said cautiously, noticing the travel-worn look on their faces.

"Very well," Han Li replied. They were eager to learn more about the Gray Realm from the Gray Lizard tribe and would not refuse.

"Please, this way, immortals," the Gray Lizard chieftain said, overjoyed, and quickly led the way, soon landing.

Seeing Han Li and Shi Chuankong, the Gray Lizard clansmen on the ground also showed reverence, prostrating themselves and bowing respectfully.

Han Li found this sight somewhat strange inwardly.

Although his cultivation was high, these Gray Lizard people seemed overly respectful—as if a beggar had met an emperor.

Though puzzled, he did not show it on his face.

The gray deer herd at the rear of the procession, still frightened, was running in all directions and not yet fully under control, leaving the column somewhat chaotic.

"Quickly, get these elk-antler deer under control! Don't let the immortals see a disgrace. Announce that we will camp here today," the Gray Lizard chieftain said sternly.

"Yes," a nearby Body Integration Gray Lizard clansman promptly acknowledged and flew toward the deer herd.

"Immortals, please take the seat of honor inside the tent," the Gray Lizard chieftain said, leading Han Li and the other to the foremost large cart.

This cart was a full hundred zhang long and twenty to thirty zhang wide, almost like a small square, with over a dozen large tents erected on it.

A ring of gray-black runes was inscribed on the bottom and edges of the cart, forming a spell formation. As it hummed, it continuously emitted clouds of gray mist that seemed to lift the entire cart.

Stepping onto the cart, Han Li felt as if he were standing on a floating cloud, light and airy, and he nodded inwardly.

No wonder such a massive cart could be easily pulled by a single rhinoceros beast.

The Gray Lizard chieftain led the two to the largest tent. Han Li did not decline and entered first.

Shi Chuankong followed behind Han Li. Knowing that his altered aura was not perfect, he tried to avoid drawing attention, leaving all matters to Han Li, which he did not mind.

The tent was quite spacious, divided into front and back sections. The front was like a living room, with a long table in the center and leather cushions on either side.

The back of the tent seemed to be a resting chamber, separated by a thick cloth curtain.

The tent was made of some unknown material; once inside, all sounds from outside vanished.

"Immortals, please take the seats of honor," the Gray Lizard chieftain said, inviting Han Li and the other to sit at the front of the long table, while he sat beside them.

At that moment, a servant-like Gray Lizard clansman entered, bringing three antler cups filled with white tea.

Wisps of white steam rose, emitting a faint fragrance.

"This White Velvet Tea is made from the antlers of our Gray Lizard tribe's special Shan-antler deer, along with deer milk and over a dozen other ingredients. It also has some effect on cultivation. Of course, for immortals of your level, this tea is useless, but it tastes quite good. Please, try it," the Gray Lizard chieftain said ingratiatingly.

"Indeed, it's quite good," Han Li said, taking a sip and nodding.

In truth, he did not swallow the tea but stored it in his Flower Branch space.

Having come to the Gray Realm, he was cautious about everything.

The Gray Lizard chieftain was delighted at this and immediately ordered the servant to bring more delicacies and fruits unique to the Gray Lizard tribe, inviting Han Li and the other to partake, showing extraordinary enthusiasm.