A Reputation Spreads, A Name Rises

Chapter 756: A Reputation Spreads, A Name Rises

“What now, Master? Even with the Blood Shadow Escape, you can only cover a hundred li in a single use. That still leaves you within the Dharma Warrior's divine sense range. You won't be able to break the lock.” Silvermoon's voice was tinged with genuine worry.

Though she did not voice it, his life-saving act had touched something in her.

“One use, no. But three in quick succession, followed by a Thunder Escape with what remains of my Evil-Repelling Divine Lightning... that should give me a seventy or eighty percent chance of shaking him. The cost is steep. Even with a deeper reserve than most early Nascent Soul cultivators, losing that much essence blood is a serious risk. At best, I'll be cripplingly weak for a long time. But at this point, there is no other way.” Han Li's lips twisted into a faint, self-mocking smile.

“Master...” Silvermoon started.

“Hmph. He's closing in again. Faster each time. We can't delay any longer. We gamble.” Han Li's expression shifted. He looked up at the darkening sky behind him, his face grim.

Silvermoon fell silent.

Han Li took a deep breath. His fingers moved in a blur, weaving a complex series of hand seals. Green light flared around him, and a shocking spiritual pressure erupted from his body.

He opened his mouth and spat out a ball of crimson essence blood. It dispersed instantly on the wind, turning into a veil of bloody mist that mingled with the green spiritual light.

The radiance turned an ominous green-red.

His exposed hands and face flushed an unnatural red. Veins stood out starkly as if blood were about to burst through the skin. It was a terrifying sight.

Han Li seemed oblivious. His hands moved faster, forming seal after seal.

Two more mouthfuls of essence blood were expelled. He was now completely enveloped in a mist of blood, his figure flickering in and out of sight.

In the distance, three beams of silver light appeared on the horizon, drifting lazily closer.

Within them were the Dharma Warrior Zhong and his two incarnations.

They flew toward him without hurry, their robes fluttering in the wind, yet their speed was immense. In the blink of an eye, they had covered hundreds of feet and could make out Han Li's figure.

“Oh?” One of them raised an eyebrow, his eyes narrowing.

With a soft pop, the green-crimson mist burst apart. A blinding blood-light erupted at its center.

Han Li stood within it, ramrod straight. He cast one cold look at the approaching Moulan Dharma Warrior.

A clap of thunder rang out as the Wind Lightning Wings at his back snapped open.

The space around him twisted. His form flickered once, and he vanished.

A sharp, piercing screech rang out from far away, fading into nothingness in moments. It sounded as though he had instantly teleported himself clear across the region.

The three scholars' faces showed a flash of shock. They exchanged glances, then suddenly converged into one.

There was a flash of silver light, and only one figure remained.

The lone scholar closed his eyes, releasing his divine sense in the direction of the fading screech.

“A hundred li away. What kind of escape art is this? It resembles demonic blood-escape, but the distance is... alarming.” The scholar looked at the spot where Han Li had vanished, a flicker of surprise on his face.

In the past few days of pursuit, this man had surprised him repeatedly.

He had fled without rest, all the way until now.

An ordinary early-Nascent Soul cultivator, even one with a lightning escape art, would have exhausted their mana long ago. They would be waiting for death. This man must either possess a heaven-defying treasure that instantly restores mana, or he has been sustaining himself through a life-draining secret art.

And to have waited until now to use such an astonishing escape technique... it seems he has not been giving his all this entire time.

No matter. Even a hundred li out, he is still within the range of my divine sense. It will only take a little more time.

The scholar smiled coldly, his eyes narrowing. His divine sense locked onto Han Li's distant position.

With a cold sneer, a white light flared around him as he prepared to move.

Then, the faint trace of Han Li's presence in his detection flickered and vanished again. The scholar froze.

But he understood immediately. He expanded his divine sense to double the distance and found Han Li again.

Before he could even sneer, Han Li's presence flickered and disappeared once more.

This time, the scholar was truly stunned.

His divine sense was powerful, but it could only cover a range of about two hundred li. Beyond that, while he could sense general outlines, he could not instantly lock onto a single individual.

Unless the target stayed perfectly still and waited for him to sweep the area, which was impossible.

The man was cunning. The moment he realized he was still being sensed, he had used that strange escape art multiple times in succession to slip through his grasp.

The scholar's face went pale, then flushed red.

He, a Moulan Dharma Warrior, had lost an early-Nascent Soul cultivator. If this news got out, it would be a severe loss of face.

He made no move to pursue again.

Without a divine-sense lock, and given the other man's unpredictable methods, the chance of catching him with other secret arts was practically nil.

He had already wasted several days on this man. He could not afford to waste more on such a slim chance.

Now that one of their Dharma Warriors had shown themselves, the late-Nascent Soul cultivators of the Heavenly South would certainly be alerted. He needed to return and rendezvous with the other two to prepare.

If he was caught by a group of late-Nascent Soul enemies, his situation would be perilous.

The Moulan Dharma Warrior weighed his options for a long time, his mood foul. Finally, with a grim expression, he transformed into a streak of silver light and flew back the way he came.

Soon, he was gone without a trace.

Three hundred li away, Han Li was flying in a different direction, wrapped in an azure light.

Within the light, he was frantically pulling out various medicine bottles and stuffing large quantities of restorative pills into his mouth.

His face was pale, his eyes dim and lusterless. He was clearly suffering from severe origin damage.

“Master, are you alright? Using the Blood Shadow Escape three times in a row was too risky. If you hadn't taken those pills in the middle of the escape, the third time might have...” Silvermoon's voice was thick with concern in his mind.

“I'm fine. The essence blood loss is significant, but I still have some of the pills I refined before. If I take them and recuperate quietly for a few months, my cultivation should recover fully.” Han Li replied slowly, his voice weak.

“Are we going back to Tian Star City?” Silvermoon hesitated, but asked.

“No. In my current state, I won't return to the Nine Nations Alliance until I've at least recovered my cultivation base. It's a den of snakes there, and I've made too many enemies with the Ghost Spirit Sect. I would be an easy target. I won't take that risk. Fortunately, I'm healing with pills, so I don't need a spirit vein. I'll find some remote place and go into seclusion for a while. Besides, the bamboo-sword-cloud-swords are still tainted by that green lamp flame. Even with the Violet Luo Extreme Flame wrapping it, it's still a threat inside my body. I have to find a way to remove it.” Han Li sighed, a note of frustration in his voice.

“That copper lamp is a Moulan inheritance treasure; it's only natural it has some tricks. But I believe that given time, Master will be able to refine it away. The Violet Luo Extreme Flame is also a formidable divine ability, after all.” Silvermoon chuckled softly, trying to lighten the mood.

“What's done is done. I'll just have to solve it slowly.” Han Li gave a wry smile.

He said no more. Focusing the dregs of his remaining spiritual power, he urged his technique forward, pushing the azure light to fly a little faster into the distance.

He flew for a full day and night before finally stopping, descending into an inconspicuous ravine between two hills.

At this distance, even if the Moulan Dharma Warrior was unwilling to give up, there was no way he could follow.

Han Li surveyed his surroundings.

He was between two barren mountains. The spiritual energy here was only faintly detectable. The ground was bare, covered in round, scattered boulders that filled the ravine.

He extended his divine sense, carefully sweeping everything within a hundred li. There was no sign of any cultivator or Dharma Warrior.

Slightly more at ease, he flicked his sleeve, releasing Silvermoon. He gave her a quick order.

Without a word, the little fox spun around. A yellow light rose up, enveloping Han Li.

With a single flash of light, it carried him straight into the stone wall beside them.

The ravine was empty.

When Silvermoon brought him to the middle of the mountain with her earth-escape technique, a dense cloud of azure sword qi shot out, carving a crude, ten-foot-wide chamber in an instant.

Han Li slipped inside and sat down cross-legged.

Soon, his eyes were shut tight. Green light flowed over his body. Before him lay a dozen large and small medicine bottles.

First, he had to refine the pills he had taken in a panic during the crisis before he dared to take any more.

And so, Han Li went into quiet seclusion within the mountain, recovering his origin power.

What he had not anticipated was that the origin damage was far worse than he had estimated, and the recovery period would be much longer.

Time passed in a monotonous cycle of taking pills and meditating.

Half a year slipped by without him noticing.

Han Li was still inside the mountain, not yet out of seclusion.

Outside, however, the world was churning.

A life-or-death war between cultivators and Dharma Warriors was on the verge of breaking out.

And something he had never expected: the name of Elder Han of the Falling Cloud Sect had become famous, both in the Heavenly South cultivation world and among the Moulan army.

Any high-ranking cultivator or Dharma Warrior who heard his name would immediately associate it with the profound power of a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator. None would dare to underestimate him.

All of this had happened in just the past six months.