It was none other than the Gold Devouring Beetle that Han Li had deployed for tracking purposes.

The beetle swayed before disappearing up Han Li’s sleeve, and the wisp of spiritual sense he’d imbued within it also returned to him.

Thus, he instantly received all of the visual and auditory information that the Golden Devour Beetle had gleaned, and his expression abruptly changed slightly.

After Han Li had withstood the giant face’s attack with ease, the latter didn’t immediately unleash another attack. Instead, it was appraising Han Li with a dark expression, seemingly rather wary of him.

After a short while, the massive face asked in a dark voice, "The aura of that devilish ape has vanished; could it be that you killed it?"

"Oh? Your sensory abilities sure are quite potent. Indeed, the devilish ape was wiped off the face of this realm not long ago," Han Li replied in a slow voice.

"Hmph, you’re a lucky little brat. I lured the devilish ape to this place so it would stay here to recover from its injuries, and after attaining a true spirit body, I was going to devour it as medicine. The idiot thought that the pure and abundant devilish Qi here was a naturally occurring phenomenon," the monstrous face harrumphed coldly.

Han Li’s expression changed slightly upon hearing this, but it then quickly reverted back to normal as he said, "I see. No wonder the devilish Qi here is so abundant. I was thinking that it would be quite difficult for the devilish ape to gather so much devilish Qi with its severe injuries; so you’re the one behind this all along. Now, I’m really curious about just what kind of being you are. Could it be that you’re a spirit of heaven and earth?"

"What spirit of heaven and earth? This thing is supposed to be an idiotic being with no spiritual nature at all that was only born from the true spirit essence within it, and it’s only attained this level of intelligence after being possessed by something else. Take care not to be fooled by this thing, Brother Han," the azure Kirin suddenly said.

Upon hearing the pleasant female voice that the Kirin projection had just spoken with, Han Li’s expression changed slightly, and asked, "You’re still Fairy Xian right now, right?"

"Of course, Senior. My current state is rather strange as there are two different spiritual sense within my body, but my consciousness is the one controlling this Kirin projection," the azure Kirin sighed in a truthful manner.

"So that means you’re lured me all the way just so you could get your hands on this so-called true Kirin essence, right? Could it be that you were lying all along when you said you could use a holy-grade devilish core to repair the suit of devilish armor?" Han Li turned to the azure Kirin in a completely emotionless manner.

"Of course not! A holy-grade devilish core is very much necessary to repair the Heavenly Devilish Armor. As for the matter surrounding the true Kirin essence, I’ll admit that I did indeed use you to achieve my objective, but this isn’t directly detrimental to you in any way. On top of that, you were able to slay the holy-grade devilish ape, so it had to be true that it really was severely wounded," Xian Xian countered in a pitiable voice.

"You’re right, your plan wasn’t really detrimental to me in any way, but it looks like things aren’t progressing all that smoothly here for you." A peculiar look appeared on Han Li’s face as he looked at the silver-armored man’s three avatars, then down at the monstrous face.

"Indeed. I didn’t think that things would become like this. However, if we can kill the cave spirit down below, we can still obtain the True Kirin essence. The essence is a manifestation of a wisp of the true spirit Kirin’s essential power back when it was first born. Any being who obtains it can transform their bodies and attain incredible benefits from it. Not taking into account other matters, if you were to obtain even just a wisp of this essence, you’ll definitely be able to progress to the Body Integration Stage in the future, Brother Han."

Xian Xian wasn’t beating around the bush at all as she immediately revealed her objective for this trip.

In this current situation, it was unrealistic for her to think that she’d be able to take the true Kirin essence for herself. She was the weakest among all of the beings present, so it was a good idea for her to recruit Han Li to her side as a powerful ally.

"What are you trying to say? Do you intend to split the true Kirin essence with that man as well? If so, you have to split your half with him; I’m not splitting my half with anyone," the silver-armored man said in a cold voice.

"That’s no problem at all. Brother Han, I want to make another deal with you; help me kill this cave spirit, and I’ll give you a wisp of the true Kirin essence. You don’t possess the spiritual sense of a true Kirin within your body, so just a wisp of the essence is enough; absorbing too much will be of detriment to you instead. Furthermore, there’s a special method required to refine this essence, and I’ll be disclosing that to you as well," Xian Xian tempted.

Han Li’s eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this.

The prospect of being able to progress to the Body Integration Stage was naturally quite an alluring one, but this was the first time that he had heard of this true Kirin essence, so he was naturally rather skeptical of it.

However, before Han Li had a chance to make a decision, the giant face down below suddenly cackled, "Do you really think you still have a chance to split the true Kirin essence among you? Time’s up for the two of you; do you feel something wrong with your bodies?"

Xian Xian and the silver-armored man were both quite startled to hear this, and they naturally withdrew their spiritual sense to assess their internal conditions.

Almost at the exact same moment, the silver-armored man’s two humanoid avatars let loose cries of agony, and countless hair-like black threads erupted from their skin. The black threads then tore their bodies into countless pieces, and two giant sea-urchin-like objects remained in their place.

The two balls of green flames that were the would of the avatars were also punctured by black threads, and they were absorbed amid flashed of black light before they could get away.

The silver wyrm that was the silver-armored man’s true body didn’t suffer the same fate. However, the same black threads had also surfaced all over its shimmering silver scales, and it let loose a low roar before plummeting heavily down onto the ground below.

As for the azure Kirin projection, it had also been punctured by countless black threads, and had shrunk down to around 10 feet in size. Following a final flash of azure light, it reverted back to Xian Xian’s original form.

At this moment, her entire body was enshrouded within a ball of bright azure light that was engaged in an arduous struggle for supremacy against the countless black threads emerging from her body.

She didn’t plummet from the sky, but her body was trembling uncontrollably, and her face was twisted with extreme agony that appeared to have also completely immobilized her.

Han Li’s expression faltered slightly upon seeing this.

"Impossible! When did you do this to us?" Xian Xian let loose a cry of shock and fury as she struggled to hold her own body together.

"When? Of course it’s when the two of you entered my body. Otherwise, how else do you think I killed all of the other beings that came for the true Kirin essence? As long as you enter my body, it’s a simple task to plan spirit seeds within your bodies. Even though the two of you haven’t died yet, you’re no different from wooden puppets at this point. Now then, all I have to do is get rid of that meddling brat, and this will be a resounding success for me."

As soon as its voice trailed off, a sinister look appeared on the giant face. All of a sudden, thunderclaps erupted all over its body as arcs of black lightning transformed into countless black swords that hurtled toward Han Li with devastating might.

As the black swords flew through the air, they suddenly dispersed before rotating like windmills. At the same time, arcs of black lightning erupted from the swords amid resounding thunderclaps, connecting with one another to form a massive black net that was around an acre in area in the blink of an eye.

The giant net immediately descended upon Han Li from all sides, leaving him with no avenue for escape.

"This is a sword formation!" Han Li murmured to himself as a peculiar look appeared on his face.

The monstrous face began to chant a string of strange incantations, and rumbling thunderclaps immediately rang out as arcs of black lightning flashed violently. The entire net of lightning began to converge toward the center, spurred on by the hundreds of black lightning swords.

The peculiar expression on Han Li’s face faded in a flash as he made a grabbing motion toward a certain direction.

Immediately thereafter, the giant azure sword swayed before disappearing on the spot. In the next instant, spatial fluctuations erupted before Han Li, and the massive azure sword reappeared.

He pointed a finger at the sword, and it reverted back into 72 small azure swords amid a clear ringing sound before revolving all around its body.

Han Li made a hand seal, and the flying swords shuddered before quickly multiplying in numbers. All of a sudden, hundreds of identical streaks of sword Qi appeared, and brilliant azure light erupted from them, which transformed into a giant azure lotus flower than enveloped Han Li’s entire body.

The petals of the lotus flower rotated, and streaks of azure sword Qi shot forth upward in all directions like a reverse torrential downpour.

A string of muffled thumps rang out as the black net of lightning was shattered by the streaks of azure sword Qi as if it were a papier-mâché structure.

However, before a smile had even appeared on Han Li’s face, a loud thunderclap rang out, and the shattered arcs of black lightning converged again to form an identical black net, which continued to close in on Han Li.

Han Li’s expression changed drastically upon seeing this.

At the same time, the monstrous face let loose a sinister cackle, and its massive body twisted and warped before it grew four thick limbs amid a flash of brilliant black light. At the same time, its portly and bloated body also became strong and musclebound as it transformed into a shimmering black Kirin.

The Kirin was several thousand feet tall, and from afar, it was as if it were a massive black mountain that was even larger than its original form.

The massive monstrous face was situated right on the Kirin’s forehead, creating quite an eye-catching and unsettling sight to behold.

After completing its transformation, the black Kirin raised one of its front limbs before stomping down toward Han Li from afar.

All of a sudden, violent spatial fluctuations erupted over 100 feet above Han Li, and black light flashed as a gargantuan inky-black paw appeared out of thin air.

Before it had even crashed down onto Han Li, a burst of enormous invisible power descended upon him first.

Han Li felt the surrounding space tighten around him, as if a massive steel casket had closed around his body, trying to completely immobilize him.

The massive black paw descended from above, and at the same time, the net of black lightning was also upon him.

In this dire situation, Han Li remained completely unflustered. He merely took a deep breath, and scintillating golden light erupted from his body along with countless golden scales, as well as pairs of shimmering golden arms.

A string of resounding booms rang out as Han Li used his immense strength to shatter the invisible shackles around him.