This is a top-tier artifact crafted from the white phosphorus of the "Black Serpent Dragon"! After enduring such prolonged battles with Han Li, it had only recently sustained a small puncture from the "Blood Spirit Drill"—no major damage had ever occurred before. Now, it was being destroyed by a mere beast. At this moment,借助 the moonstone on his head, Han Li could faintly make out the creature's form, which was most unusual. It wasn't particularly large—only about one zhang tall—with a slender neck bearing a small head. Yet, two glowing green orbs, each the size of a clenched fist, emitted a cold, sharp radiance, silently gazing at him without any expression. What struck Han Li most was that before the creature, its two forelimbs resembled two black, sharp-bladed cleavers—this utterly astonished him! How could such a creature wield weapons? And how could these cleavers, so sharp, have cleaved through the "White Phosphorus Shield" with a single stroke? These thoughts passed through Han Li's mind in an instant, yet his body had already shifted, shooting forward like an arrow toward the opening. Joking? In this relatively small cave, entangled with such a terrifying monster, even if he had several more lives, he would be utterly overwhelmed. Naturally, he had to escape to gain the upper hand! Yet as soon as Han Li moved, the monster likewise launched itself silently and swiftly after him, matching his speed with astonishing precision. The cave was only a short distance, so when Han Li and the monster emerged one after the other, they created two strong gusts of wind. As soon as they stepped out, Han Li raised his hand without hesitation, shooting a beam of white light from his palm, and instantly, the pure, white divine wind vessel materialized in the air ahead of him. He intended to use the vessel to soar into the sky! Since his magical artifact could not withstand the monster's attacks, he would now increase the distance, using the artifact to strike it to pieces. But Han Li, due to a slight delay in releasing his magical artifacts, saw the shadow flicker—by the time he reacted, the monster had already surged forward, intercepting him and the Shenfeng Boat. Its two blade-like forelimbs clashed with a series of sharp "clangs," rubbing against each other, while it stared at Han Li with cold, unwavering eyes. Seeing this, Han Li felt a sudden chill. Not only was this creature formidable, but it also seemed to possess a certain level of intelligence—now things were truly complicated. However, once they emerged from the dark cave and under the moonlight, Han Li recognized the creature: a massive, entirely gray-black mantis, radiating an eerie gray aura. Taking a deep breath, Han Li steadied his nerves, his form momentarily blurring as he manifested five or six identical phantom figures, charging straight at the giant mantis. He didn't believe that even at full speed with his Luoyan Step, he would be unable to penetrate the barrier of a single monster. The mantis blinked its green eyes, and in turn, projected several indistinct shadows, each one advancing to meet Han Li's phantoms. Han Li's face turned pale! With several soft "puff" sounds, the phantom forms one after another were shattered by the giant mantis's two powerful forelimbs. The final true body had to rely on the remaining turtle-shell artifact to absorb the impact, yet not only did Han Li fly backward and return to his original position, but a deep gash also appeared on the shell. Han Li, pale-faced, gazed at the gash on the shell, swallowed hard—clearly, the artifact could withstand only a few more blows. Yet before Han Li could even begin to think of a strategy, the mantis emitted a sharp "shush" sound, and then unfolded a pair of gray wings several feet long. With a steady hum, the creature began to gently float in the air, its wings flapping swiftly. Witnessing this, Han Li groaned—he had completely forgotten that mantises were insects capable of flight. Now, with this ability, the creature's speed seemed even more astonishing. For the first time, Han Li felt uncertain about his own mobility. Although thus, Han Li hurriedly applied various supporting spells such as "Light Body Technique" to himself, then struck his storage pouch at the waist, causing dozens of golden, black, and red spell beams to burst forth. He hoped to launch an early attack and secure the initiative. Yet the mantis-like beast had no time to wait for Han Li to deploy his spell-based assaults—just as Han Li's body began to rise, the creature suddenly vanished in a flash of darkness, appearing completely out of nowhere directly atop Han Li's head, and delivered a fierce slash aimed squarely at his skull, as if to cleave him in two. At this moment, Han Li remained utterly calm. He too gave a slight shake of his shoulders, and as a series of lingering shadows unfolded, he vanished from his original position as well. However, the dozen or so magical artifacts—such as the "Golden Fleece Mother-Son Blades" and the "Black Dragon's Seizure"—that had been hovering around him spiraled outward simultaneously, all converging on the beast with the intent of shredding it to pieces. A series of light clinks rang out as the giant mantis swiftly swung its two mantis blades at nearly imperceptible speed, forming a vast protective net. As soon as the magical artifacts touched this net, three golden blades and one flaming lance were instantly severed into fragments, their glowing remnants drifting down from the sky like scattered sparks. Seeing this, Han Li, who had rushed to the divine wind vessel, felt his heart ache deeply. He quickly summoned the remaining artifacts back, only for the several beams of light to swiftly turn around and fly back toward him. Yet the giant mantis showed no intention of yielding. With a slight cross-friction of its forelimbs, it leapt forward with sudden momentum, transforming into a streak of black light and swiftly pursuing the artifacts. In an instant, it caught up to them and delivered a vigorous series of cuts, severing two more golden blades into several pieces, which then fell to the ground. Han Li could feel his heart drooping with each blow. Although the "Jin Fu Zi Mu Ren" set isn't among the top-tier masterpieces of divine artifacts, it's rare to find such a complete set—daily use is exceptionally smooth, and over the years, the artifacts have grown quite familiar to him. Yet today, they've been utterly destroyed—ten out of ten! Fortunately, the most cherished pair of "Wu Long Du" artifacts remained undamaged, preserving at least one of the two—this is truly a blessing in disguise. Nevertheless, facing the mantis beast that still fixated on him, Han Li could hardly feel any sense of fortune. Should he fail to find an effective way to deal with this creature, not only would his remaining artifacts be lost, but his own life might well be at risk. With this thought in mind, Han Li surged forth a powerful surge of spiritual energy from his feet, causing the Shen Feng Boat to tremble slightly before soaring upward in a brilliant white light. Han Li simply didn't believe that a mere beast could keep pace with the Shen Feng Boat's flight speed. Yet Han Li, having only hovered in the sky for a brief moment, was forced to revise his initial notion and admit that he was truly a frog living at the bottom of a well. Now, he was sprinting ahead, occasionally turning to launch bursts of fire balls to fend off the mantis-like beast trailing closely behind. "This is truly extraordinary—the creature's attacks are both swift and relentless, and its flight speed is nothing short of astonishing. Even Han Li's divine wind boat seems to lag behind." Han Li thought with growing frustration. He now had no doubt that this beast far surpassed the white spider he had encountered in the underground cavern. This massive mantis was either at the peak of a fourth-tier beast or a legendary fifth-tier one—beings capable of challenging even early-stage Jiadian-level creatures. As soon as Han Li considered this possibility, his younger companions grew increasingly drenched in cold sweat, and they had to release fire balls more and more urgently to counter the relentless pressure from the beast. Although each fire ball launched was easily split in two, it finally managed to slow down the opponent's momentum, buying the Shenfeng Boat some crucial time. Yet Han Li was well aware that if this stalemate continued, the enemy would inevitably catch up—there was no room for further delay. Thus, while simultaneously controlling the vessel and hurling fire balls, he quickly diverted his attention and rushed into his storage bag, scanning for any available artifacts that could be put to use at this moment. Suddenly, his consciousness detected something remarkably soft and yielding, which sparked an instant realization and solidified his plan. After briefly surveying the surroundings below, Han Li sharply stepped on the Shenfeng Boat, and with a swift motion, summoned it to glide diagonally downward into the dense jungle. At the same time, he randomly pulled out seven or eight ordinary magical items from his storage sack, launching them all at once without any regard for order. Then, another four or five puppet soldiers were thrown out as well, and immediately, several bright, piercing beams of light followed the trajectory of the magical items, shooting toward the rear of the monster beasts. This relentless assault indeed forced the giant mantis to swiftly wave its arms, managing to deflect the initial wave of attacks—though it quickly shattered the magical items and puppets. Yet when it tried to search for Han Li, the area below was suddenly silent, and Han Li had vanished completely into the forest. The monster beasts' green eyes flickered steadily, then gently descended to a lower altitude, circling above the surrounding dense woods, clearly still determined to locate Han Li. Behind a large tree in the dense undergrowth, Han Li was gazing solemnly at the massive mantis circling above, his expression tinged with a sense of tension. At that moment, he was draped in a light, flowing cloak that completely shielded all of the subtle energies surrounding him. This "Yinling Silk" was a prize obtained by Han Li from Xuanle during the battle against the White Spider. At the time, Xuanle had intended to use it to undermine Han Li, but ultimately it cost her her life. This silk not only blocks fluctuations in spiritual energy, but also completely masks the human body's scent and aura. Now, forced to use this artifact, Han Li hopes that the beast's intelligence is not very high and will eventually depart on its own after a brief search. Otherwise, he will be in serious trouble. To be safe, however, Han Li still holds a solidified "Blood Spirit Drill" in one of his hands. Although this item is remarkably swift and possesses great destructive power, Han Li has little confidence in using it to defeat the beast after witnessing the giant mantis's astonishing speed—so he keeps it as a precaution.