Han Li was startled awake by the roar of the beast. After all, with his current divine awareness so powerful, he could effortlessly maintain control over everything within hundreds of zhang—merely by not consciously extending it. Moreover, when he first landed on the island, he had specifically scanned the sea surface within a hundred li radius and found no trace of any mythical beasts. Now that an unexpected event had occurred, Han Li could not afford to ignore it. He immediately sent out his spiritual awareness, plunging it toward the depths of the island. The roar was coming from below! In mere moments, Han Li's expression changed abruptly. He suddenly transformed into a vivid green streak, shooting upward at great speed, and only after reaching several hundred zhang in height did he spiral to a stop, his face serious as he gazed down at the scene. At the same time, strong sea breezes laden with a briny, foul odor surged forth, forming countless swirling eddies across the nearby waters. Waves towering up to ten dozen feet rose in succession, crashing against one another with thunderous roars, splashing vast amounts of water into the air. For a moment, the entire region seemed to split asunder, sending shockwaves through every soul. Han Li quickly surveyed his surroundings and was startled to find that the sea surface within a hundred li was equally agitated, all in a state of violent wind and waves. When he had previously used his divine awareness to probe the ocean floor, his senses had penetrated over a thousand zhang beneath the surface only to be suddenly drawn and pulled forward by some unseen force. Though he reacted swiftly and promptly retracted his awareness, a thin thread of it was forcibly snatched away, leaving him with a minor setback. He now hurried into the sky, treating the strange phenomenon on the ocean floor with serious attention. Could there be some powerful aquatic beast beneath? Yet even the appearance of a beast of the tenth rank seemed insufficient to account for such a dramatic disturbance. Perhaps it was a beast of the Chasming Stage—though that seemed less likely as well. If he hadn't made a mistake, once the beast-fauna transcended the tenth realm, equally constrained by the thinness of the human realm's celestial and terrestrial qi, how could it dare to act so recklessly? This would be equivalent to self-sacrificing its refined essence! Han Li found himself growing doubtful. Indeed, once the beast-fauna surpassed the tenth level, it could adopt the same realm divisions as human cultivators. Naturally, one could continue using divisions such as eleventh or twelfth level. However, human cultivators generally wouldn't use such terminology. After all, once the beast-fauna surpassed the tenth level, it became a top-tier presence in the human realm—how could human cultivators still regard such formidable beings as mere ordinary beasts? Yet the current display of power was rather overwhelming! Even Han Li, a late-stage cultivator with countless grand experiences, felt uneasy. Yet the things beneath the sea refused to rise, merely allowing the waves to grow stronger and stronger, even rising to form towering, awe-inspiring waves reaching over a hundred zhang. With a sudden shift in his expression, Han Li finally made up his mind—no matter what was causing the disturbance below, he would not risk it any further and should swiftly depart. Having decided, he turned around and was about to vanish into a streak of light, ascending above the small island. But at that very moment, a piercing, high-pitched cry rang out in his ears—sharper than any sound he had ever heard. Unprepared, Han Li felt a loud hum in his mind, followed by a sensation of spinning and tilting, as if the world itself had turned upside down. He plummeted straight downward from the sky. Even his protective jade-green energy shield failed to dampen the cry at all. Yet, after descending only a dozen paces, a thunderous roar erupted within him, and a column of purple flame surged upward, reaching several feet in height. At the same time, golden arcs burst and leapt erratically within the flame, fully enclosing and shielding him. Only then did the dizziness in Han Li’s mind vanish, and his body stabilized, halting his fall and allowing him to hover once more in the air. Nevertheless, his face was pale and strained, and he raised his The originally hazy sky had, at some point, been obscured by vast patches of dark shadows. Stretching endlessly to the horizon, these shadows were strangely blurred, as though seen through water or a mirror—unearthly and mysterious indeed! The sharp, piercing cries came from deep within the shadows. Han Li stared at the clouds and mist rising above his head, his expression grim. He had failed to notice this unusual phenomenon, which was itself highly unusual. Without further thought, he carefully extended his divine awareness upward, only for it to be repelled before even touching the shadows—completely unable to penetrate them. This deepened his sense of alarm. Taking a deep breath of cool air, Han Li shifted slightly and instantly transformed into a brilliant streak of jade-green light, racing swiftly toward the distant horizon. Though he had no clear idea of what had transpired here, he decided it was best simply to make good his escape. With his current divine powers, merely in a few flashes of flight, the emerald hue of light had already reached over ten miles away. At that moment, the sharp cry in the sky suddenly ceased, and a violent spatial distortion began to ripple over the area where Han Li had originally emerged from the small island. A sharp "crack" sounded, and within a patch of shadow, vast streaks of white light flashed. Suddenly, a glaring, radiant fissure in space appeared out of nowhere. Then, a colossal entity slowly emerged from the white light and gradually descended toward the sea below. Just as Han Li turned around at a distance, he witnessed this scene—first startled, then his expression quickly turned grave upon close observation. The unknown giant clearly resembled the claw of some mythical bird. Its entire body was a deep jade green, and the exposed portion alone stretched hundreds of zhangs in length, as if a mountain were rising from the void. Yet, the process of this claw emerging from the white light was notably laborious, proceeding with an extremely slow and deliberate motion. Yet even so, before the colossal claw had fully extended, the immense spiritual power surging from it stirred the waves below into an even more turbulent frenzy. Gales rose violently from the sea surface, forming towering waves reaching hundreds of zhang in height. Hidden within the dark silhouette in the sky was an extraordinary mythical bird, seemingly intent on crossing over into the human realm directly through the intervening space. Judging by the scale of the claw, this bird must be at least several thousand zhang in length—a creature of such immense size that it had only been occasionally mentioned during the ancient, wild times of the primordial era. Such a magnificent beast simply did not exist in the current human realm! After swallowing a deep breath, Han Li could no longer hesitate. He unfurled his wind-and-thunder wings, and as thunder roared, he instantly transformed into a silver arc, vanishing from his original position. After flashing several times in succession, Han Li finally caught a faint grayish hue at the edge of the dark silhouette, and his heart eased slightly. But before he could turn around, the roar from the depths suddenly rose high, filled with evident fury. Han Li felt his heart sink and swiftly turned to look. Amid a series of thunderous crashes, the small island where he had been standing began to sink rapidly into the sea, while a massive vortex, spanning over ten miles in diameter, emerged on the water's surface. Suddenly, dark mist rose from the center of the vortex. At first, the mist appeared only in thin strands, but then it thickened rapidly and surged continuously, swelling within moments into an immense volume that completely filled the vortex with dense, dark mist. Alongside the mist, ghostly wails and howls could be heard, and strange black lightning flickered and danced incessantly within it. Even more astonishingly, fish and shrimp near the vortex seemed to be drawn by an unseen force, rushing toward the mist as if fleeing a flame, and were swallowed whole in a matter of moments. "A spectral mist!" Han Li gazed closely at the dark mist swirling within the vortex and gasped aloud. This strange entity rising from the depths was none other than the ghostly fog that had once devoured him—despite now being a late Yuan Ying stage cultivator, he felt a sudden chill. He still remembered vividly the sensation of having his magical power completely drained during his ordeal in the Yin Ming realm! Fortunately, this ghostly fog differed from the one he had faced before; the dark mist churned vigorously within the vortex but showed no sign of spreading outward. This gave Han Li temporary reassurance, allowing him to ease his escape plans. With his current abilities, even if the fog expanded further, it would absolutely be unable to catch up with him at this distance. Now, he stared silently at the massive vortex, the deep roars emanating clearly from within the ghostly mist. Han Li could not help but look utterly astonished. At that moment, the azure giant claw fully emerged from the white light, exactly as Han Li had anticipated—clearly the claw of a bird-like beast, glowing with steady azure luminescence, and now even larger than before, by more than a full measure. Han Li grew increasingly startled and alarmed. Suddenly, the previously silent sharp cry resumed from within the shadow, and then the azure giant claw trembled, five thick beams of light erupting from its tip, vividly emerald in hue, like five colossal pillars reaching skyward and plunging straight into the ghostly mist below. As the giant claw shook, the five emerald beams stirred violently within the mist, as if stirring a tidal upheaval. The roar of the beast in the vortex paused momentarily, then intensified into furious rage. The mist surged and coalesced, suddenly forming a massive black mouth, lined with sharp fangs, filling the entire vortex. The five azure beams were instantly engulfed and swallowed whole by this gaping maw. Han Li stared, utterly speechless. At that moment, the black maw closed suddenly, and with a strange twist, it bit through five luminous pillars, severing them into two. Then, it opened again with a thunderous roar, and a jet of black lightning shot forth, striking the pillars with a series of sharp crackling thunderclaps, ultimately shattering them all. Subsequently, the massive lightning condensed into a colossal black serpent, stretching over a hundred zhang in length, which vanished in a single "plush" sound. Yet, in the next instant, the great electric serpent appeared beneath the shadow and plunged headlong into the void. With a resounding thunder that shook the heavens, it tore open a white, hazy fissure in the space, then swiftly vanished into it. Within the fissure, black electric arcs flashed wildly, and the thunder roared louder and louder, followed by a piercing cry. A large, green feather, measuring one zhang in length, fell out of the white light, and the previously extended green giant claw, which had emerged from another fissure, suddenly retracted. With the cries echoing, both spatial fissures healed themselves in white light. The vast shadow that had obscured the entire sky suddenly vanished, as if by magic. The hazy sky revealed itself once more. At the same time, the massive vortex below began to whirl violently, compressing the black mist and drawing it deep into the ocean floor. The vortex rapidly contracted and vanished within moments. Not long after, the sea surface calmed down, smooth and serene—except for the small island where Han Li had originally stood, which had completely disappeared. It seemed as though the astonishing battle that had just unfolded was merely a remarkably vivid illusion! (First update!)