Indeed, within just a short while, hundreds of dark spots suddenly emerged in the distance and swiftly flew toward the city. The human defenders on the city walls immediately responded, rising to their defensive positions one after another under the sound of successive horns, and quickly readied themselves under the officers' commands. At the same time, a large building in the city center burst forth with hundreds of beams of colorful light, all rushing directly toward the area where the dark spots had appeared on the city walls. These were the city's cultivators. Most of them were at the Jianji stage of cultivation, and their ability to glide with their vehicles was quite swift—within a short time, they reached the city walls ahead of the others, hovering in the air as glowing clusters of spiritual light. Leading the group were two figures: one was a bald man stepping on a circular disc of light, and the other was precisely the gentleman in a brocade robe from JinYu Sect. Both were at the Jia Dan stage, nearing the late Jianji level, making them among the most advanced among the aerial cultivators. The distant dark spots had already flown to several miles away from the city walls, yet suddenly halted and began to circle and hover at a lower altitude. At this point, standing atop the city walls, one could clearly see the true nature of these black specks—they were creatures with leopard heads and eagle bodies, each adorned with pairs of feathers of yellow and white interwoven, their eyes glowing with deep purple and red light, their bodies vibrant and resplendent in color, quite striking in appearance. Fortunately, the most troublesome spirit beasts were handled by cultivators, otherwise they would have been utterly unable to withstand the simultaneous attacks of two separate herds. As the bodyguards on the city's walls felt a sense of relief, a sudden division occurred among the distant spirit flocks, and two great and small spirit beasts emerged from within. The smaller one was only a few feet in size, entirely enveloped in a shimmering blue light; as its wings fluttered, a faint rumble of thunder seemed to echo. The larger one, though several times the size of a typical leopard-beast, appeared unremarkable in form, yet its pair of purple eyes, flashing with a steady intensity, exuded an unmistakable aura of cold and sharpness. At the very moment these two spirit beasts appeared, the serpentine herd below also surged and rolled, from which three strange serpents emerged—two large and one small. One of the larger serpents was over ten zhang in length, its body covered in thick, bowl-sized scales, and it bore a pair of blood-coral-like horns on its head, resembling the red dragon in many ways. Another one, about seven or eight zhang long, entirely black with no scales, yet possessing three ordinary triangular heads, appearing remarkably poisonous. The smallest one was a human-headed serpent with two arms, each holding a bone spear—exactly the serpent demon that had attacked Han Li during its appearance in Qing Luo Desert. Though clearly the highest-ranked of the group, these five beast-demons exchanged brief calls and hisses among themselves, demonstrating remarkable communication, before swiftly returning to their kind and vanishing once more. Subsequently, whether in the sky or on the ground, the flocks of bird-beasts and the vast army of red pythons seemed to receive a unified command, and began rushing toward the city walls with thunderous sounds. The leopard-like birds, being far faster than the ground-based serpents, reached the city of An Yuan first. A strange, resonant cry erupted from their mouths, and patches of pale green spectral mist rose across their bodies. Initially thin and delicate, the mist quickly thickened into dense, swirling masses, gradually enveloping the individual creatures' forms. A vast expanse of green spectral mist—spanning nearly an acre—formed instantly and surged toward the city walls with tremendous momentum, creating a scene of breathtaking intensity. A flurry of flying daggers, flying swords, sacred beads, Zen staffs, and short spears appeared instantly, densely arrayed and all converging upon the green mist. At the same time, the green mist surged and rolled, sending out countless roots of spectral feathers that transformed into a dazzling array of green light, instantly interweaving with the spiritual artifacts—showing no sign of deference whatsoever! Human cultivators chanted mantras and pressed their hand seals, their enchanted weapons spinning and swiftly shattering the green light. Yet the spectral feathers emerging from the mist seemed endless, and the human cultivators appeared notably cautious of the green mist, reluctant to approach it closely. Thus, the two sides engaged in a fierce struggle, yet remained evenly matched, hovering suspended in the air. At this moment, the red pythons stationed beneath the city walls finally reached the city's base. Immediately, groups of several pythons linked together—each head biting into the next's tail—forming a massive, several dozen feet long structure. With a single arch, they leapt upward like crossbow bolts, shooting straight toward the city's battlements. But when the red pythons lifted their mouths and regained their freedom in the air, they twisted their bodies sharply and surged forward, fiercely attacking the human soldiers on the city walls. Thus, the city walls, towering dozens of zhang high, seemed entirely indifferent to these red python beasts. Though the newly arrived reinforcements had all previously defeated the red pythons, few had ever witnessed such an unusual mode of attack. They were immediately thrown into chaos, becoming quite disoriented. In contrast, the ordinary soldiers of An Yuan City appeared to have long since developed experience in countering this very situation—immediately gathering together, several of them drawing bows and crossbows simultaneously, while others raised shields overhead and continuously swung their weapons, forming a tight and well-organized defense. For a time, the defense proved remarkably solid. The giant crossbows stationed on the mountain behind the city walls also unleashed a sharp, piercing cry, launching arrows several zhang long with astonishing speed. A flash of cold light revealed that the red pythons, still linked together and en route to the city walls, were instantly pierced and sent crashing to the ground below, their bodies splattered with blood, several of them crushed and torn to pieces. After an initial flurry of panic, the bodyguards arriving for reinforcements gradually steadied themselves, swiftly wielding their weapons to cut through the serpents one by one. With their powerful builds and immense strength, these warriors easily handled the ordinary pythons, which offered little resistance. Even a genuine low-tier spiritual artifact would likely be cleaved in two by such a strike. Thus, Han Li paid no attention to the ordinary pythons raining down around him, instead narrowing his eyes to gaze toward the distant snake herd. He was particularly interested in those three snake immortals. However, at that very moment, a sudden thunderous roar erupted nearby, followed by several human cries of agony. Han Li paused, turning his gaze toward the sound. There, about ten paces away, a colossal, remarkably mutated giant python—unlike the others that were linked together—had leapt onto the city's rampart. As soon as it landed, it snapped off half of a regular soldier's body with a single bite, then used its tail to strike another charging bodybuilder, sending him flying and crashing into a broken corner of the wall. The latter's chest was crushed nearly in half, and he appeared to be beyond saving. At that moment, the giant serpent's small eyes flashed with a cold, green light, and as its head swayed, it fixed its gaze on Han Li who had come toward it. Han Li stared back at the serpent coldly, furrowed his brow slightly, and then raised his step, walking steadily and with composed grace toward it. It seemed the serpent had sensed that Han Li was no easy opponent, and immediately arched its body, opened its mouth wide, and launched itself like a bolt of lightning, biting fiercely at Han Li's head. Han Li's expression remained unchanged; he merely moved his large sword slightly forward, and instantly, countless streaks of cold light erupted in a humming sound, fully enveloping the serpent's head before vanishing in a flash. The serpent paused mid-motion, and fine streaks of blood appeared on its head, gradually spreading as the head cracked open inch by inch, dissolving into a mist of blood and fading completely. What appeared to be a casual slash from Han Li had, in fact, severed the serpent's head into fine fragments. Han Li stared impassively at the lifeless, headless python corpse that had fallen heavily to the ground. He drew his large backsword and turned to leave. But just then, an unexpected twist occurred! The rear half of the python's body suddenly twisted, and its tail shot upward with lightning speed, striking Han Li's torso with tremendous force. The wind rushing from the impact sounded as though a thick iron rod of immense girth had swept across his body—remarkably powerful. Soldiers from An Yuan City and several other body-builders who had been watching the scene gasped in surprise. "Thud!" Han Li's golden-flecked fist crashed into the tail, piercing it and creating a blood hole the size of a bowl, sending the tail flying. Yet at that moment, the headless front half of the python unexpectedly twisted and surged forward, crashing directly toward Han Li. Han Li's expression darkened. He raised his sword horizontally, stepped forward, and with a ripple of motion, moved to meet the python's charge. A piercing cold glow flashed, and he materialized like a shadow behind the giant serpent, then slowly turned to face it. The massive body of the serpent burst with streaks of blood, shattering into seven or eight pieces that tumbled to the ground. Even if this serpent were the most resilient, it was now utterly beyond the point of recovery! (Second chapter!)