Chapter 775: Reaching the High Zenith Stage

Blood sprayed in all directions as the serpent's wings were severed, and it let loose an anguished cry as it plummeted straight into the valley.

At this moment, the entire valley was already filled with demon beast carcasses, and blood was flowing everywhere. Many deep puddles of blood had already accumulated next to some of the more massive demon beasts, while some of the smaller demon beasts were floating in the puddles of blood, presenting a hellish sight to behold.

The winged serpent crashed heavily down into one of these enormous pools of blood, and it began struggling violently, sending putrid black blood splashing in all directions.

All of a sudden, a bolt of golden lightning descended out of the sky before crashing down onto its head, and only then did its struggles gradually subside as it fell limp to the ground.

The golden figure was none other than Daoist Xie, and it pulled its blade out of the serpent's body, then looked up into the sky with a cold expression.

At this point, two massive mountains of carcasses had already built up in the valley, and they stretched on as far as the eyes could see. Currently, there were very few demon beasts attacking over land, and only the most powerful terrestrial demon beasts were able to climb over the mountains of carcasses to launch their attacks.

A putrid lake of blood that was close to fifty kilometers in radius had taken shape in the valley, and there were countless carcasses floating on top of it, but hovering above the center of the lake was a white lotus bud formed by pure immortal spiritual power.

The flower bud seemed set to bloom at any moment, and Han Li was currently inside it.

What was very remarkable was that the blood around the lotus bud seemed to have been affected by its immortal spiritual power, and it retained its original bright red color. There wasn't any putrid odor emanating from it, nor did any of the floating carcasses approach the flower bud.

High up in the sky above the lotus bud, Shi Chuankong's entire body was drenched in blood as he fought against three enormous demon beasts while wielding a silver spear.

He and Daoist Xie had already lost count of how many times these demon beasts had attacked over the past few months. All they knew was that all of the Dao Warriors nurtured by Han Li had been eradicated half a month ago, while Shi Chuankong had also exhausted his supply of talismans and array plates, and even quite a few of his treasures had been completely destroyed in battle.

What was most concerning of all was that there were several formidable demon beasts that were even more powerful than the winged serpent laying in wait around the valley, waiting for them to be worn down before they stormed into the valley.

At this moment, Daoist Xie was observing Shi Chuankong with a contemplative look on its face.

Initially, it had no trust at all for Shi Chuankong, and their relationship only improved slightly over time, but it wasn't sure if Shi Chuankong would remain committed to the cause if things were to continue in this fashion.

Right at this moment, a resounding boom rang out, and an enormous white toad suddenly sprang up into the sky from one of the mountains of carcasses, then opened its mouth to release a corkscrew-shaped glacial storm that surged directly toward Shi Chuankong.

Shi Chuankong had only just withstood the attacks from the three powerful demon beasts that he was locked in battle against, and he was unable to adopt any defensive measures before he was swept up by the storm.

A layer of white ice crystals instantly appeared over his body, and he began to plummet out of the sky.

A grim look appeared in Daoist Xie's eyes as it hurriedly flew toward Shi Chuankong.

These demon beasts had launched their attack a little earlier than it had anticipated.

A series of enormous demon beasts began to emerge on the two mountains of carcasses in the valley, and all of them were at or above the early-Golden Immortal Stage, with the most powerful one among them, a Hundred-eyed Centipede, giving off a late-Golden Immortal Stage aura.

Under normal circumstances, Shi Chuankong and Daoist Xie would have nothing to fear, but at this point, they had already been severely drained by the constant battles they had been forced to endure over the past few months.

It wouldn't be difficult for them to escape, but if they had to continue directly opposing these demon beasts, then the situation was looking far from optimistic.

Right at this moment, the sound of a yawn rang out from within the white lotus bud.

It was only a very faint sound, but it was transmitted in all directions by the spiritual power fluctuations emanating from the lotus bud, and it rang out as clear as day within Daoist Xie's mind.

As for Shi Chuankong, even though he was still encased in a layer of ice crystals, he heaved a long sigh of relief as he murmured to himself, "You're finally awake, Brother Li."

In the next instant, the dark clouds up above abruptly parted, and a ray of radiant light rose up from the lake of blood.

Immediately thereafter, a figure shot out of the white lotus bud, only stopping in its tracks after ascending to incredible heights.

The figure was enshrouded within a layer of blinding white light, and Daoist Xie immediately stopped in its tracks upon seeing this.

All of the demon beasts in the valley were also intimidated by the figure's formidable aura, and all of them stopped in unison before looking up into the sky.

High up in the sky, the white light gradually faded, and Han Li was revealed.

At this moment, he was dressed in a white robe, and he had put on his Reincarnation Palace mask. His skin was as immaculate and translucent as jade, giving him the appearance of an elegant immortal.

This change in his physical appearance wasn't one that he had artificially manufactured. Instead, it was the result of newfound disposition, which was indescribably pure, as if he had been reborn anew.

However, Han Li wasn't a fan of this appearance himself, and he reverted back to his original appearance amid a flash of azure light, but due to the fact that he had only just completed his breakthrough, he was unable to suppress his High Zenith Stage immortal spiritual power fluctuations for now.

He took a glance at his surroundings, following which three Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords appeared around him at his behest.

The swords were trembling slightly, and tiny arcs of golden lightning were constantly dancing over them. It seemed that the swords were barely able to contain the lightning law powers within them.

Han Li gently swept a sleeve through the air, and the three swords instantly shot forth at his behest, vanishing from the spot in the blink of an eye.

In the next instant, three of the demon beasts in the sky cried out in unison as their heads exploded into countless pieces amid eruptions of golden lightning, following which their charred bodies came plummeting down from above.

The white toad immediately turned to flee as quickly as it could upon seeing this, and the other demon beasts also followed suit.

Han Li raised an eyebrow as he threw a punch in both directions, sending two enormous azure fist projections hurtling through the air.

Both of the mountains of carcasses were struck by a burst of tremendous force in unison, and the white toad was pulverized by one of the fist projections without being able to put up any resistance, and the other demon beasts also quickly suffered the same fate.

Even the late-Golden Immortal Stage centipede was only able to just barely launch a few fireballs at the fist projection, but they had no effect whatsoever.

Shi Chuankong and Daoist Xie had already received advance warning from Han Li, so they had flown up into the sky to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

With just two simple punches, the two mountains of carcasses that had been built up over the course of three months in the valley had been instantly razed to the ground. Even the valley itself had caved in significantly and been completely transformed into a giant lake of blood.

In the wake of the demise of all of the Golden Immortal Stage demon beasts, all of the other demon beasts that had previously been impeded by the mountains of carcasses quickly fled the scene.

Han Li flew down from above to join Shi Chuankong and Daoist Xie, and the former cupped his fist in a salute as he said, "Congratulations on reaching the High Zenith Stage, Brother Li."

"It really was quite the ordeal overcoming my baleful decay. If I recall correctly, you were also able to cleanse all of the baleful qi from your body, so why is it that our return to the Immortal Realm hasn't triggered a breakthrough in you?" Han Li asked.

"The circumstances required for beings like myself to make breakthroughs are a little different from yours," Shi Chuankong explained in an ambiguous fashion.

Han Li didn't know whether he was referring to the entire Devil Race or just his bloodline in particular, but he didn't pry into the subject, merely nodding in response.

"By the way, how do you know that this is the Immortal Realm, Brother Li?" Shi Chuankong suddenly asked with a faint smile.

"Is that not the case?" Han Li asked with a surprised expression.

"It is, but it's also not," Shi Chuankong replied in a mysterious fashion.

"Could it be that we're in the Devil Realm?" Han Li asked.

"That's what people from the Immortal Realm like to call it, but we prefer to refer to it as the Holy Realm," Shi Chuankong confirmed with a nod.

"I had heard that the Devil Realm was inside the Immortal Realm, but existed as a standalone entity, but I certainly wasn't expecting to visit it so soon," Han Li mused with a faint smile.

"I'm not exactly sure why we've suddenly appeared here, but I have a rough idea," Shi Chuankong said.

"Didn't you channel the power of that lute of yours to get us out of the Gray Realm?" Han Li asked with a puzzled expression.

"I'm not capable of such a miraculous feat. There's only one person I can think of who can channel the power of the Virata Lute to rescue us from the Gray Realm, and that's my father, the one that you would refer to as the Devilish Monarch," Shi Chuankong replied with a wry smile.

Han Li was astonished to hear this.

The Devilish Monarch was the one who had lent Patriarch Miro that spatial treasure, and there were legends told of him resisting many Dao Ancestors at only the Great Encompassment Stage to seize control over the Devil Realm.

It was said that his powers were comparable to those of the Heavenly Court's Time Dao Ancestor, and Shi Chuankong was referring to this man as his father!