A Name Resounds; First Test of Divine Abilities

Chapter 701: A Name Resounds; First Test of Divine Abilities

With the astonishing speed of Han Li and the Divine Wind Chariot, in just a short while, they had already penetrated over a hundred li into the Moulan Grasslands.

Han Li, while pushing the blood-red cape to its limit, shot forward as a streak of blood-red light. At the same time, he swept his spiritual sense backward, a flicker of surprise crossing his face.

He had already activated the cape's full power, yet not only had he failed to shake off the strange chariot behind him, it had actually closed half the distance. No wonder even the elderly Yun, a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator, had changed expression at the sight of it pursuing them.

This Divine Wind Chariot was truly a top-tier flying treasure. It seemed that unless he used the Lightning Evasion Technique or the Blood Shadow Escape, he would not be able to shake them off.

However, ever since he had formed his Nascent Soul, he had never crossed hands with a cultivator of the same rank. Although he was confident in his abilities and treasures, he had no real benchmark for where he stood in terms of strength among Nascent Soul cultivators.

After all, Nascent Soul cultivators did not casually spar and compare techniques. Even in the years since he joined the Falling Cloud Sect, the two sect elders had only discussed cultivation methods with him, never actually testing themselves against him. In Tiantian City, Nan Longhou had only exchanged spiritual sense probes with him, which was hardly enough to gauge his true skill.

The Dharma Warrior in the chariot behind him seemed like an excellent opponent to measure his own cultivation against. He was also quite interested in the Dharma Warriors' techniques and magical arts.

If he could beat back or even kill the opponent, that would be ideal. If not, using the Wind Lightning Wings to escape would be easy enough.

He could not afford to drag this fight out too long, lest unexpected complications arise. Besides, being deep in the Moulan Grasslands, it was even more unwise to get bogged down in a protracted battle.

Having quickly settled his plans, Han Li caused the blood-red light around him to flicker wildly a few times before it immediately dimmed. In its place, a vast azure radiance burst forth.

At the same time, he halted his movement, made a wide turn in his遁光, and turned to face the rear.

With a cold glare at the white light closing in, Han Li swept his sleeve. Dozens of azure sword beams surged out from within, and with a low hum, they arranged themselves before him into a layered, scale-like azure sword formation. The spectacle was quite imposing.

Facing his first real duel with a fellow Nascent Soul cultivator, Han Li naturally would not be careless. Besides deploying all seventy-two Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords, he also reached out and tossed a spirit beast pouch into the air.

The tri-colored Gold Devourer Beetles transformed into a massive cloud of insects that appeared in the sky. But following a string of incantations from Han Li, all the insects swirled once before diving straight down.

A sharp glint flashed in Han Li's eyes. He raised both hands, and two azure magical seals shot into the insect cloud.

Immediately, the insect cloud, wrapped in azure light, completely engulfed Han Li.

Moments later, a tri-colored insect armor appeared on Han Li's body. It was crystalline and archaic, shimmering with a faint azure light.

As luck would have it, Han Li's pause allowed the Divine Wind Chariot to catch up in an instant. The Dharma Warrior inside the chariot happened to witness the stunning sight of the insect armor forming.

The chariot, which had been chasing without restraint, suddenly slowed dramatically and came to a stop over a hundred zhang away from Han Li.

Han Li glanced expressionlessly at it, paying it no mind. Instead, he took the opportunity to flip his hands. One hand held a basket-shaped treasure, while the other held a small bell.

Without another word, he tossed the small bell toward the enemy. With a flash of silver light, the bell grew with the wind, expanding to the size of several zhang, and shot menacingly toward the chariot.

At the same time, with a flicker of thought from Han Li, the seventy-two flying swords before him shimmered, splitting into over two hundred azure sword beams in a one-to-three split.

Then, Han Li softly commanded, "Go."

A loud, clear hum erupted. All the sword beams flashed and merged, transforming into a rolling azure wave over a hundred zhang long, surging toward the enemy. It seemed intent on following the silver bell and crushing the Divine Wind Chariot to pieces.

The silver bell, which had been sent out first, had already begun to show its power. Once it was above the flying chariot, it spun rapidly. Low, booming sounds rang out one after another, and visible pale-silver ripples spread out in concentric circles from the bell, enveloping the chariot below.

If the Dharma Warrior inside the chariot was unprepared, Han Li believed this attack alone would be enough to make them suffer a major setback.

Although the silver bell was still the same ancient treasure, unchanged, with Han Li's greatly increased cultivation, its power was nearly doubled, far beyond what it had been during his Core Formation days.

Of course, the Dharma Warrior in the chariot would not simply take the hit.

The chariot's wooden wings twitched slightly, and the vehicle shot backward over ten zhang, just out of the sound wave's range.

Then, a brilliant white light blazed from the chariot, and a human figure suddenly flew out from within, hovering above the chariot. The azure wave that had been chasing them arrived at that moment, crashing down with savage force.

The figure above the chariot was unperturbed. They casually raised a single hand.

A blue light flashed into existence. A deep blue light screen appeared several zhang above their head. The moment the azure wave struck the light screen, explosive sounds burst forth.

Although the light screen flickered and shook violently, it held firm for the moment.

Han Li, who had been watching with half-closed eyes from a distance, slightly changed expression.

The Dharma Warrior then began to chant. Following that, they opened their mouth, and a slender blue thread shot out, transforming into a giant azure python that lunged from within the light screen, meeting Han Li's azure wave head-on.

Immediately, azure and blue lights intertwined, and rumbling sounds echoed forth without pause.

It was only then that the Dharma Warrior raised a hand, sending a magical seal down to the Divine Wind Chariot below.

The flying chariot rapidly shrank to the size of a palm, before automatically shooting toward the Dharma Warrior's hand, who calmly stored it away in their storage pouch.

Then, this person looked up at Han Li, revealing a gaunt, sullen face.

Han Li's pupils contracted slightly. This was an old man in his sixties, with strange cyan tattoos on his cheeks. He wore a peculiar blue brocade robe. But what surprised Han Li was not the appearance, but the astonishing spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from him. This Dharma Warrior was actually at the peak of early Nascent Soul, on the verge of entering the mid-stage. No wonder he had so easily deflected Han Li's two waves of attack.

Han Li also saw clearly now that the blue light screen was not cast from thin air, but was released by a fist-sized orb held in the man's hand.

As for the giant blue python, Han Li's spiritual sense sweep revealed no physical treasure for it to manifest from. It was purely composed of spiritual power.

This made Han Li even more cautious by three parts.

But then, his face turning icy cold, the basket-shaped ancient treasure in his other hand began to shimmer with white light, about to be sent out as well.

"Stop! Your divine abilities are not low, but you are far too impatient. I have not even spoken, yet you attack without a word," the old man shouted, his expression grave. His voice was slightly harsh.

"Is there anything to say between a cultivator and a Dharma Warrior?" Han Li frowned coldly.

Nevertheless, he pointed at the silver bell, making the ancient treasure stop its attacks and hover motionless in the air. The light on the basket in his hand also faded.

He was curious to hear what this Dharma Warrior had to say.

"True enough. But at our level of cultivation, there is sometimes no need to fight to the death. If your answers satisfy Old Mu here, this High Preceptor can let you go," the old man chuckled, speaking with a nonchalant air.

"Answers? I have nothing to tell you. On the contrary, I have a few questions for you," Han Li said, staring at the old man with a hint of mockery at the corner of his mouth.

What the other party wanted to ask, he could guess with eighty to ninety percent accuracy without thinking.

Seeing so many Nascent Soul cultivators suddenly appear in this place would make anyone feel suspicious.

"So, you refuse my goodwill, fellow Daoist!" The Mu-surnamed old man's face instantly darkened upon hearing Han Li's words.

With a cold snort, Han Li suddenly pointed lightly into the high sky ahead.

The azure sword beams that had been tangled and writhing in battle suddenly converged in a large mass. In the blink of an eye, a giant sword about twenty to thirty zhang long materialized there.

With a few lightning-fast slashes, the giant blue python was cut into several sections. Then, the giant sword unceremoniously followed through, sweeping down with the momentum to cleave both the light screen and the Mu-surnamed old man into ashes.

Seeing this, the old man's face flickered with a hint of ferocity. He said no more, simply raising a hand. The fist-sized treasure orb was sent into the air. Then, he opened his mouth and expelled a mass of vital energy directly onto the orb's surface.

The treasure orb flashed with blue light, spinning rapidly in the air. Countless fine blue threads spiraled out from the orb, in the blink of an eye forming a massive blue net beneath the light screen.

At the same time, the old man began to chant. He formed hand seals, and a pillar of blue spiritual light shot up from his body, coalescing into a large blue sphere that floated unsteadily above his head.

The giant sword had already descended, clashing violently with the light screen.

It did not surprise Han Li that the giant sword, formed from over two hundred sword beams, could not be easily blocked by that light screen.

The result was a loud tearing sound.

The light screen was split in two almost without resistance. Then, the giant sword plunged headfirst into the great net below.

(End of this chapter)