Lo and behold, three bright green suns hung suspended in the sky—two large, one small. The largest hung precisely at the center, while the smaller ones were positioned to the east and west, clearly dwarfed in both size and radiance. Yet this was not what startled Han Li. What truly aroused his alertness were the swirling bands of vivid crimson glows that circled around the three green suns. These brilliant, almost pulsating hues floated quietly near the green suns, and from a distance, they seemed to exude an overwhelming, mesmerizing splendor. Han Li gazed at these crimson glows with narrowed eyes for a while, then suddenly his nostrils twitched, and a faint, sweet aroma reminiscent of honey drifted into his nasal passages. His expression darkened, and without the slightest prelude, one of his sleeves fluttered out. A streak of shimmering, over ten zhang of azure light shot forth with a sharp "whoosh," then, in a single flash, transformed into a long arc of light and vanished into the dense forest. At that very instant, a thunderous roar erupted precisely where the azure light had disappeared.
Then the ground nearby trembled suddenly, and no further sounds came. Han Li remained still, quietly gazing toward the direction where the roar had originated. A moment later, a flash of green light shot out from the dense forest, blurred slightly, and then vanished into the sleeve of his robe. Only then did Han Li move, drifting gently toward that direction. For a distance of several dozen miles, it was a matter of moments for Han Li to reach. Before him, amid the fallen white trees, lay a colossal creature, several hundred zhang in length. This giant beast resembled both an insect and an animal—its body cut into several segments, yet still clearly bearing the delicate, gossamer wings and antennae typical of mythical insects, as well as the fur and sharp claws characteristic of beasts. From afar, it seemed as though a giant bee and a rhinoceros had been fused into one strange entity. On its massive, fallen form, the sweet fragrance that Han Li had first detected was now radiating strongly, even more intense than ever at this close range.
Han Li glanced around, noticing that both the wild grass and the white wooden structures were wilting at an astonishingly rapid pace, turning golden yellow within moments. Near the giant beast's body, he found numerous strange insects—resembling mantises the size of watermelons—lying scattered on the ground, all completely black and lifeless. "This creature's venom is indeed potent; even someone a hundred li away might be instantly poisoned and killed by its mere presence," Han Li murmured as he circled the corpse several times. Though the beast's appearance was most unusual, he could not determine its origin, likely being a rare type of creature from the Shurō realm. While pondering this, Han Li raised his finger and lightly tapped the ground. "Pffft!" A cluster of silver flame shot upward, then landed with a brief shimmer upon the massive creature's body. "Boom!" The surge of silver flames instantly engulfed the corpse, completely dissolving it into nothingness.
After completing this task, Han Li calmly flipped his hand once and withdrew a white crystalline sphere the size of an egg. He glanced upward, his brow slightly furrowed. There was no anomaly on the sphere at all—clearly, Mo Jian was too far away to sense anything. Thus, there was no need for them to rush and gather together immediately; they could each seek their own opportunities first. The ten-day period was neither particularly long nor particularly short. With his plan settled, Han Li oriented himself and then vanished into a streak of emerald light, swiftly flying off at a length of over ten dozen zhang. However, his speed was not particularly swift, and he remained flying at only several hundred zhang above the ground. After all, this journey to the Xiao Xiu Luo realm had not been made merely to make progress—it had been a deliberate quest for treasures. As he flew, Han Li extended his vast divine awareness, encompassing everything within a radius of several thousand zhang.
With his powerful spiritual awareness, it had originally been effortless to cover ten thousand li at a time. But now, he had to focus on every subtle detail, even extending his awareness directly hundreds of zhang deep into the ground—naturally, this required drastically reducing his range. Spiders, especially powerful ones, typically prefer to dwell deep underground. Being able to survey such an extensive area in a single sweep under these circumstances was primarily due to the fact that Han Li’s spiritual awareness far surpassed that of ordinary great transcendents. If it were Mo Jianli or Xue Ran, they could barely concentrate on all surface and underground signs within a few hundred li. This was the main reason Han Li, despite lacking any bloodline abilities related to the Shou Luo Spider, remained highly confident in their journey. As for Mo Jianli, he seemed to have a certain level of confidence in finding the Shou Luo Spider—likely possessing some special means of search. While thinking this, Han Li’s spiritual awareness instantly swept over every inch of land across several thousand li, and his flight light gradually receded.
...At another spot within the space, Mo Jianli drew in the white light from her hands, and a translucent jade sword emerged, reappearing from among the swirling sword shadows. Meanwhile, in a heap of scattered stones some hundred paces ahead, several strange creatures with tiger heads and scorpion tails lay half-divided, blood pooling around them. After surveying the fallen beasts with her eyes, Mo Jianli withdrew the jade sword and then opened her mouth, spitting out a faintly purple luminous orb. Inside the orb was a small purple banner, only a few inches tall. Without hesitation, she raised her arm and gently touched the banner, simultaneously uttering the character "Qi." Instantly, the banner emitted a deep resonant sound, expanding rapidly in size under a series of pulsing purple glimmers, and within moments grew into a towering banner several zhang high. While the banner was still small, it seemed unremarkable; now, as it expanded, its exceptional qualities became clearly evident—its surface a deep purple, its staff gleaming with gold. Intricate symbols were engraved across the surface, and at its center, a faint, ethereal image of a pale silver, two-headed spider emerged subtly.
Mo Jianli chanted continuously, his fingers darting rapidly, each spell vanishing instantly into the banner. Gradually, the silvery spider figure on the banner became clearer and more distinct. Seeing this, Mo Jianli couldn't help but smile. Though he did not possess the Shurō Spider lineage, the ancient, serendipitously acquired treasure, the "Pan Si Banner," housed the spirit of a silver罡 spider as its artifact soul, capable of sensing powerful spider-related energies within a certain range. While its effectiveness still fell short of that of Xue Ran and the other two who possessed the bloodline, it should still be quite comparable. He simply didn't know whether the Shurō Spider was truly as formidable as the legends claimed—should he find it, he might not be able to defeat it easily with his current abilities. Mo Jianli silently pondered, his spells flowing like a wheel of constant motion. Suddenly, the silvery spider figure on the banner roared, its form then dissolving into scattered beams of luminous light. "Not here," he murmured. "We'll have to search elsewhere."
Mo Jian Li paused his hand, murmured a sentence, and showed not the slightest sign of disappointment. It was only natural! The location here was not far from where he first transmitted the energy, so he had never expected to find the Shou Luo Spider so quickly. Immediately, he rolled his sleeve and drew the banner flag into it, causing its glow to flash and shrink back to its original size. Then, with a simple breath, he drew the treasure back into his abdomen. As the elder's body radiated a wave of霞 light, he rose into the air and flew swiftly toward the distance.
According to the rumor, there are quite a few spider species in the Shura Realm. Blood Ran was also enveloped in a layer of yellow light, speaking calmly. "I certainly know that, but there's still a certain possibility, isn't there?" Black Lin said with no concern. Blood Ran smiled and said no more. A moment later, both of them suddenly surged upward from the soil, appearing in a dark cavern. After a cup of tea's worth of time, Blood Ran and Black Lin floated side by side several feet above the ground, the floor beneath them covered entirely in black blood. Four spiders, each the size of a person and covered in sharp spines, lay quietly in the pool of blood. "Well, you were right—indeed not Shura spiders. What a waste of excitement!" Black Lin chuckled, sounding somewhat helpless. "That's quite normal! Though the small Shura Realm isn't particularly vast, the chance of finding Shura spiders right from the start is never very high. And to have obtained several good materials this time—far from a wasted effort."
"Blood-Ren calmly spoke, extending his hand toward the empty space a short distance away. A sound of rushing air echoed—two pale yellow stones shot out from the soil and landed steadily in his hands. "Hm. At least we're not leaving empty-handed. But time is pressing; we should leave immediately," Black-Scale said, his spirit brightening. "Of course!" Blood-Ren had no reason to disagree. With a flash of yellow light on their bodies, both of them once again transformed into streaks of brilliant light and vanished into the soil and stone above their heads.
This strange creature, with its three eyes rotating continuously, seemed to harbor a faint, almost human-like sense of wonder as it gazed at Han Li. Han Li, floating motionless with his hands behind his back at the height of the small mountain, paid no attention to any of the bat groups across from him, instead rapidly probing with his divine awareness toward other directions. As time passed, the wonder on the lead giant bat's face gradually faded, giving way to a growing expression of fierce anger and aggression. After a few more moments, the giant bat could endure no longer; it moved its mouth, and instantly a silent wave of energy surged forth. Upon hearing this, the ordinary blood bats around immediately stirred, each opening its mouth to emit a similar silent wave of energy, which swiftly converged before the bat group, forming a surging, translucent tidal wave that surged directly toward Han Li.