Chapter 852: Clues

"Brother Li, what's wrong? Another enemy attack?" Shi Chuankong asked, somewhat puzzled.

Crab Daoist also looked at Han Li but said nothing.

Han Li did not answer Shi Chuankong's question. He gazed into the distance, looking toward a small hill a few li away.

Seeing this, Shi Chuankong followed Han Li's gaze and looked there, his face showing even more confusion.

Before Shi Chuankong could speak again, Han Li suddenly raised his hand and slapped the shell of the giant turtle beneath him.

Controlled by his divine sense, the Sky-Treading Turtle immediately leaped into the air again, its four legs paddling through the void like oars as it rushed forward. Though not as fast as the Floating Bird, it was still quite swift.

When they were about a hundred zhang from the small hill, Han Li leaped off the turtle's back and crashed heavily to the ground under the spatial pressure.

However, ignoring the internal shock and the unbearable sensation from the spatial pressure, he sprinted toward the hill.

Shi Chuankong, full of suspicion, exchanged a glance with Crab Daoist before jumping off the turtle's back one after the other and chasing after Han Li.

The hill was no more than a hundred zhang high. Halfway up, there was a hidden cave entrance about half a man's height. Han Li ran all the way to this entrance.

Shi Chuankong caught up first and was about to say something when he saw Han Li bend down and crawl into the cave.

Frowning, he quickly followed.

After crawling through the entrance and a short low passage, he found that the inside was surprisingly spacious.

The cave was quite large, as big as two ordinary rooms, with a very high ceiling. Several large holes in the roof let in daylight, illuminating the entire cave.

Shi Chuankong swept his gaze and saw four strange corpses lying on the ground. Han Li was crouching beside one of them, his back to him, apparently examining something.

He did not disturb him but stepped forward to examine them closely.

Upon closer inspection, he realized that two of the four 'corpses' were not corpses at all, but the remains of puppets made of some unknown material. They resembled humans somewhat, with their heads smashed and their chests torn open by fists, leaving two ragged holes.

The other two were real corpses, naked from the waist up, their bodies covered with a dense layer of gray scales. Perhaps because they had been dead for a long time, much of their moisture had evaporated, making them look shriveled and ferocious.

"What is this..." Crab Daoist also entered the cave and, after looking around, asked in confusion.

"They should be the exiled prisoners' descendants..." Shi Chuankong murmured.

"Brother Shi, can you tell anything?" Han Li stood up from the ground, clenching his fists.

"Although there are two corpses and two puppets here, judging from their injuries, they seem to have killed each other. They probably belong to two different factions." Shi Chuankong thought for a moment and said.

"That's roughly what I guessed. The reason they fought here was most likely to capture a person." Han Li nodded gravely.

"A person... Could it be that you mean?" Shi Chuankong paused, then said in surprise.

"Yes, I found the veil Zi Ling left behind." Han Li raised his hand and opened his palm.

In his open palm lay a piece of black silk fabric—a woman's veil.

"Brother Li, are you sure this is Fellow Daoist Zi Ling's?" Shi Chuankong asked hesitantly.

"There's blood on the veil, and I can't mistake this aura. The reason these two groups of prisoners fought was most likely to capture her, and she was probably taken by one of them." Han Li said solemnly.

"Judging by the state of these bodies, they've been dead for a while. I wonder when Zi Ling arrived here." Shi Chuankong mused.

"There's no way to tell for now. When we passed those islands earlier, we searched all the way but found no trace of her, not even a hint of her aura. It's very likely she didn't enter the Scale Void Realm through the Blackwater Region entrance. Perhaps there are other entrances in the Demon Domain." Han Li sighed.

"That's possible. But that shrew Lady Ju only told us the location as a favor to my third brother; she refused to reveal more details. I should have asked Xu Fu carefully before entering the Scale Void Realm." Shi Chuankong also looked worried.

"I've thought about that, but asking would have been useless. If Zi Ling was indeed sent into the Scale Void Realm through the entrance he guards, would he have admitted it knowing our purpose? No, he would have concealed it or lied to protect himself, giving us even more false information." Han Li shook his head.

"At least now we have a clue. As long as we find either of these two factions, we can inquire about Zi Ling. That's good news." Shi Chuankong said.

Han Li did not reply. The fact that Zi Ling was injured worried him.

"Let's go. Since we've confirmed she's on this continent, finding her is just a matter of time." Han Li put the veil into his bosom and said.

With that, he strode out of the cave.

...

Half a month later.

Han Li and his two companions arrived in a mountainous region with undulating terrain. The Sky-Treading Turtle, which could only float a few zhang above the ground, could barely move forward.

Helpless, Han Li released it from his divine sense control and let it go. They then began to travel on foot.

One day at noon, the three entered a narrow valley.

Han Li, walking at the front, suddenly raised his eyebrows, a look of surprise and joy on his face.

"What is it? Found something?" Shi Chuankong asked immediately upon seeing Han Li's expression.

Han Li made a shushing gesture, then moved quickly to the left front, waving for Shi Chuankong and Crab Daoist to follow.

They advanced rapidly, soon covering over ten li, and reached the top of a small hill. Hiding behind a large rock, they looked toward a mountain col dozens of li ahead.

He did not approach further, lest those people sense him.

In truth, this distance was already dangerous, but he had to consider Shi Chuankong.

In the col ahead, loud rumbling sounds and clouds of dust indicated a fierce battle.

One side was a huge tiger-shaped monster, over thirty zhang long and seven or eight zhang tall, covered in massive dark brown scales that gleamed with a cold metallic luster. Its four scale-covered legs were astonishingly thick, requiring two or three people to encircle them, and its huge paws extended sickle-like claws that were terrifying to behold.

What was particularly strange was that on the back of this giant tiger monster grew nine black bone spikes, like nine extremely sharp spears, making it look extremely ferocious.

The other side consisted of seven or eight men. They had very dark, rough skin but were exceptionally tall, a full two or three heads taller than Han Li, with bulging muscles that made them look extremely robust.

They wore simple gray bone armor and held pale white bone blades and other weapons, which also seemed to be made from some kind of animal bone.

The giant tiger monster was huge but surprisingly agile, biting with its mouth, clawing with its paws, and lashing with its tail.

The ground was pockmarked with large craters, and the gusts of wind easily carved deep marks into the nearby cliffs.

Although the tiger monster was agile, the bone-armored men had light spots flickering all over their bodies, making their movements even more astonishing. Their figures turned into blurry gray shadows, causing all the tiger's attacks to miss.

Compared to these men's movements, the tiger's various attacks seemed clumsy.

Han Li's eyes flickered. The light spots on the bone-armored men were the light of the Xuan Qiao acupoints.

These men had opened quite a few Xuan Qiao acupoints. The weakest had opened over a dozen, while the leader, a black-faced man built like a vajra, had dense light spots numbering as many as fifty or sixty.

Moreover, the positions of the Xuan Qiao acupoints on this vajra-like man were somewhat peculiar. Besides those on his chest and abdomen, nearly half of them were on his right arm.

"Are these the prisoners locked in the Scale Void Realm? We've finally met them. Should we go out and meet them?" Shi Chuankong said happily.

"These prisoners are not good people. It's not appropriate to rush out and meet them. Let's see how things go first." Han Li thought for a moment and said.

Shi Chuankong's eyes flickered, and then he nodded.

The bone-armored men surrounded the giant tiger monster, constantly dodging and weaving, and whenever they had a chance, they struck the tiger with their bone weapons.

The bone weapons, though crude, were extremely sharp. Even the tiger's scales could not fully withstand them, leaving long, deep wounds, shattering scales, and splattering blood.

The tiger monster's body became covered with more and more wounds, soon turning completely red. Its movements slowed considerably compared to the beginning.

It tried to escape several times but could not break through the encirclement. It began to pant heavily.

"Roar!"

The giant tiger monster let out a furious roar. Its tiger eyes glowed blood-red like two red lanterns, and the nine bone spikes on its back trembled violently, emitting a buzzing sound.

"Careful! This Sword-Scale Tiger is about to use its ultimate move!" one of the bone-armored men shouted in warning.

"Just in time!"

The leading vajra-like man narrowed his eyes, turned into a wisp of green smoke, and appeared before the tiger. His broad bone sword turned into a brilliant white shadow, heavily slashing down on the tiger's shoulder blade.

The tiger's shoulder blade was cut open with a hideous wound several zhang long. Scales shattered, large chunks of flesh turned outward, and blood gushed out like a spring.

The giant tiger monster screamed in pain, suddenly turned its gaze to the vajra-like man, and let out a earth-shattering roar. The nine bone spikes on its back shook rapidly like a sieve, then shot out, turning into nine black shadows that flew fiercely toward the vajra-like man.