Chapter 785: Driving the Tiger to Swallow the Wolf

But at this critical moment, a layer of eerie silver light waves suddenly flickered beside Han Li.

A silver talisman flew out from between Shi Chuankong's brows and exploded with a bang.

Where the light waves rippled, the two figures were engulfed and vanished instantly.

A thunderous boom sounded!

The jade flying carriage was struck by the light from the golden foot and exploded directly, turning into a cloud of green powder.

In the air, remnants of golden light and faint spatial fluctuations lingered, but Han Li and the other man were completely gone.

The Golden Rhinoceros King realized they had escaped and let out an enraged roar.

He swept his gaze over the mountains below, looked into the far distance, and made as if to continue the pursuit.

However, as soon as he moved, his expression changed and he abruptly stopped.

At some point, a thick mass of black clouds had appeared on the distant horizon.

After staring at the clouds for a long time, his expression shifted several times, but in the end, he did not give chase. Instead, he turned back and landed on his golden carriage, then vanished into the distance.

… …

Over a hundred thousand miles away.

In a hilly area covered with green shrubs, the ground suddenly bulged, and two figures burst out from the earth—Han Li and his companion.

They looked somewhat disheveled, especially Shi Chuankong, who had a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth, evidently too busy fleeing to wipe it off.

“The Golden Rhinoceros King didn’t pursue us?” Han Li rolled his sleeves, shaking off the dust, and asked.

“He chased us all the way into the Black Weasel King’s territory. That last leap was probably just a desperate attempt to strike us down since he couldn’t bear to let us escape. But he wouldn’t dare venture too deep. If the Black Weasel’s forces came out in full, he’d have a hard time escaping.” Shi Chuankong panted heavily.

“What was that thing that flew out of your brow? It teleported us over a hundred thousand miles in an instant.” Han Li nodded and asked.

“It was one of the few life-saving talismans my father gave me. It can only be used once.” Shi Chuankong shook his head with a wry smile.

“In the moment we teleported, I vaguely sensed another aura as powerful as the Golden Rhinoceros King’s, but I didn’t have time to examine it before we entered the ground. Could it be that we’ve jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire?” Han Li frowned.

“I chose to flee here not only because the Black Weasel and the Golden Rhinoceros are at odds, hoping to drive the tiger to swallow the wolf, but also for another reason. Although the Black Weasel King is one of the Ten Calamities, he’s somewhat different from the others.” Shi Chuankong wiped the blood from his mouth and said slowly.

“Oh? How so?” Han Li raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

“Although the Black Weasel King is also a bloodthirsty beast by origin, legend has it that his initial enlightenment was unusual. He didn’t cultivate our Sacred Realm’s techniques but instead practiced the Three Pure Ones’ Dao from your Immortal Realm. Thus, he’s not as bloodthirsty as the other Ten Calamities; instead, he likes to affect refinement and read poetry and classics. It’s said he even disguised himself as a scholar several times and traveled through mortal dynasties.” Shi Chuankong said with a mocking expression.

“A beast that reads poetry—truly peculiar.” Han Li raised an eyebrow.

“It’s just a ridiculous act of a monkey wearing a crown… Rumor has it that he once took the imperial examinations in a country but failed three times, not even passing the provincial level. In a fit of rage, he devoured the entire court, from the emperor to the six ministers.” Shi Chuankong curled his lips in disdain.

“After all, he’s a beast by nature, unpredictable. I think we should leave as soon as possible.” Han Li said after a moment’s thought.

“Brother Li, you may not know that the Black Weasel King has had ambiguous relations with the Xiongju City for years, with secret dealings between them. It shows he wants to shed his identity as one of the Ten Calamities. So as long as we don’t cause trouble, we won’t be in much danger in his territory. Besides, I want to visit their Black Weasel City.” Shi Chuankong changed the subject.

“Black Weasel City?” Han Li was taken aback.

“Although the Ten Calamities Mountain Range is a wilderness, it produces a special spiritual material called Purple Sun Warm Jade. This is an extremely rare treasure that can adjust the compatibility between an infant soul and a physical body, greatly reducing the磨合 time for possession. One of my subordinates… you should have seen her in the Truth Sect ruins, Fellow Daoist Maple—she needs this item. It can also nourish the soul, and might even awaken Fellow Daoist Ti Hun.” Shi Chuankong explained.

Han Li hesitated for a moment, then asked:

“I’m not a member of your demon race. Won’t that cause trouble?”

“Brother Li, if I’m not mistaken, you’ve also cultivated demonic techniques before, right? Just let a bit of that aura leak out. Even if you don’t grow scales or horns, it should be fine.” Shi Chuankong smiled.

Han Li silently activated the Vajra True Devil Art. Golden light flashed on his skin, and patches of golden scales appeared on some exposed areas.

“That should be enough.”

“Let’s go. There’s still a long way to Black Weasel City. Your flying carriage is destroyed, so take my Crow God Shuttle. You can rest on the way.” Shi Chuankong said, raising his hand.

A flash of black light, and a pitch-black shuttle appeared, its surface gleaming with black light and engraved with bird-shaped black runes, no less impressive than the jade carriage.

“Then I won’t stand on ceremony.” Han Li laughed and leaped onto the shuttle.

Shi Chuankong also floated up, made a hand seal, and the Crow God Shuttle flashed with black light, turning into a black shadow that shot through the air toward the northwest.

In the blink of an eye, over a month passed.

Although there were no pursuers, Shi Chuankong and Han Li did not relax, traveling at full speed until they reached their destination.

The Black Weasel King’s domain was near the edge of the Ten Calamities Mountain Range. The number of beasts here was noticeably fewer than in the Golden Rhinoceros territory, and their journey was much smoother, with few beast attacks.

“Finally here.” Han Li stood in the void, looking ahead.

A few miles away lay a vast, endless lake.

The lake water was a deep purple, looking extremely strange.

Though unusual, the water seemed harmless. The lake teemed with fish and shrimp, and patches of green water plants floated on the surface, giving it a lively appearance.

“This lake is called Purple Fen Lake, named after the fen jade it produces. There’s a huge fen jade vein at the bottom, and the leaked spiritual energy has dyed the entire lake purple. Fen jade and Purple Sun Warm Jade are companion materials. When mining fen jade, one occasionally finds a piece of Purple Sun Warm Jade. Fen jade veins are rare; in the entire Sacred Realm, there are only a few. As far as I know, this is the only large vein that produces Purple Sun Warm Jade.” Shi Chuankong explained.

“In that case, let’s hurry.” Han Li said eagerly.

Ti Hun was still unconscious, and her aura seemed to be weakening. He had no other options and could only hope that the Purple Sun Warm Jade would help.

“Wait a moment. Our appearances are too conspicuous. It’s better to change them.” Shi Chuankong began to chant.

A layer of black light like water ripples appeared on his body, then receded like a tide.

Shi Chuankong’s appearance had completely changed into a sturdy dark-faced man, with black hair growing on his limbs, resembling a wolf clan member from the Ten Calamities Mountain Range.

Han Li also made hand seals to change his appearance. With a flash of golden light, he became a purple-haired, green-eyed young man with a single horn.

The transformation technique he used was extremely subtle, incorporating some mysteries of the ‘Dharma Word Heaven and Earth,’ and combined with the golden scales from the Vajra True Devil Art, even a Da Luo level existence might not recognize his true form.

After changing his appearance, Han Li stamped his foot and shot toward the depths of the lake as a streak of light.

Shi Chuankong flickered and followed closely.

At their speed, they advanced hundreds of thousands of miles in moments.

Just then, a blurry black mass appeared on the horizon, quickly growing larger—a black island hundreds of miles in size.

A massive city stood on the island, covering its entire surface.

The city walls were built entirely of black crystal stone, towering a hundred zhang high, looking extremely majestic.

The walls were inscribed with unknown purple patterns, seemingly some kind of reinforcement array, emitting a purple glow that added a mysterious air to the city.

This was Black Weasel City, the residence of the Black Weasel King.

Han Li and Shi Chuankong slowed down, as they were no longer alone; streaks of light appeared nearby, some close, some far.

Below, on the lake surface, huge ships were heading toward the city.

The closer they got to Black Weasel City, the more streaks of light and ships there were, all converging like birds returning to the forest.

Not wanting to attract attention, they dimmed their bright light and kept their auras at the True Immortal level.

Han Li looked at the giant ships and raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“Brother Li, what’s wrong?” Shi Chuankong asked.

“Nothing. It’s just that all the beasts we’ve encountered on this journey were in beast form, only taking human shape when they reached a certain cultivation level. But the beasts on these ships have low cultivation and are already humanoid. I find it a bit strange.” Han Li said with some confusion.

“Beast clans can generally take human form when they reach a certain level, but the stage at which they transform varies due to bloodline power. Generally, the easier it is for a beast to transform, the lower its bloodline rank and strength. The beasts on those ships are from low-level clans. Actually, it’s not just beast clans; other races in the Sacred Realm are the same.” Shi Chuankong explained nonchalantly.