Chapter 824: Lava Land

Volume 6: Spirit Treasures of Reaching Heaven

As the few puppets scattered and fled, the three hidden figures of Han Li and his companions couldn't help but hold their breath.

Although Han Li had spoken with such conviction, whether his plan would actually work remained to be seen.

Even Han Li himself wasn't entirely confident. After all, everything he knew about the Ten Ultimate Poison came from ancient texts; he had never personally conducted similar tests.

However, a moment later, all doubts vanished from the minds of Han Li and his companions.

Just as the few giant apes flew several dozen feet away, several raucous, strange cries suddenly erupted from the hitherto quiet mountaintop.

The moment these cries reached his ears, Han Li immediately felt his blood churning and his head grow heavy, nearly causing him to fall from the sky.

Startled, he quickly circulated his spiritual energy throughout his body, which stabilized him. He glanced sideways, using his Spirit Eye ability to observe Nanlong Hou and the other person beside him.

They were in no better shape; their bodies swayed a few times before they regained their composure.

Han Li frowned, a secret awe filling his heart.

This strange cry's attack didn't seem to target one's spiritual sense; instead, it directly targeted the true essence within the body. Even if his spiritual sense were stronger, he would be powerless against such an unusual attack.

It was truly surprising that these purple-striped scorpions possessed such an odd innate ability.

It seemed that ancient texts, indeed, couldn't cover every detail.

As Han Li muttered to himself, thirteen or fourteen streaks of dark purple light shot out from the mountaintop. They flashed by instantly, chasing after the giant apes. Han Li hurriedly urged the apes with his spiritual sense. The ape's inner consciousness immediately activated its maximum escape speed, transforming into several white streaks that shot into the distance, tearing through the air.

Even if it was only for an instant, Han Li, relying on his powerful spiritual sense, still managed to get a rough look at what was contained within those purple streaks.

Apart from being frighteningly large, each about ten feet in size, with gleaming dark purple bodies and a pair of transparent wings, they were otherwise identical to ordinary scorpions.

However, the leading flying scorpion was far larger than its kin, reaching two zhang in size, seemingly the leader of this group of flying scorpions.

Seeing its fierce and malevolent appearance, spitting yellow mist from its mouth, Han Li's pupils couldn't help but contract slightly.

The giant apes' escape speed was clearly inferior to that of the purple streaks, but the combination of fleeing and chasing still managed to draw these purple-striped scorpions far away for a time.

In the blink of an eye, they transformed into tiny black dots.

A moment later, a loud shout came from high above: "Go! A puppet has already triggered a restriction and been caught!"

As these words were uttered, Han Li's body shimmered with spiritual light, his concealment spell immediately vanished, and he was the first to shoot through the air.

Seeing this, the other two also instantly transformed into golden and white streaks of light, shooting towards the mountaintop.

All three knew that these purple-striped scorpions came and went like the wind. If they didn't quickly pass the mountain ahead, the trouble would be immense.

Fortunately, none of the three were slow in their escape speed. Even without using his Wind-Thunder Wings, Han Li, relying on his profound cultivation far exceeding that of cultivators at the same level, flew over the mountaintop in a flash.

At this moment, Han Li sensed that the few giant ape puppets he controlled had lost contact. His heart immediately tensed, and he dared not linger for a moment, flying over ten miles away from the purple-striped scorpion nest in one breath.

Only when they temporarily stopped on another mountaintop did the three truly relax.

"This time, we owe much to Brother Han's Jade Dove Poison and mechanical puppets. Otherwise, how we would have passed this obstacle would truly have been a headache," Nanlong Hou said repeatedly, a smile on his face.

"It's nothing. Just a coincidence," Han Li replied, glancing at Nanlong Hou but remaining impassive.

Although the Jade Dove Poison was originally from the inheritance of Senior Cang Kun, Han Li saw no need to bother explaining, simply passing over the matter vaguely.

The elderly man surnamed Lu, seeing the matter resolved so easily, also showered praises, with a genuine sincerity in his words.

Han Li smiled, exchanging a few pleasantries. Afterward, the three resumed their journey.

The path ahead returned to its initial flatness. After flying for half a day without incident, the temperature in the air gradually grew hotter.

As they progressed, the lush vegetation on the mountains gradually thinned, becoming completely barren, with not a blade of grass to be seen, appearing somewhat eerie.

Eventually, the rocks and stones on these mountains even took on an unusual fiery red color. And on some mountaintops, one could faintly discern various sizes of lava fissures, glowing intensely red, spouting scorching hot wind and gray-white ashes.

It was entirely a scene resembling a fiery furnace or a scorching hell.

Han Li and Lu Weiying showed expressions of surprise. But seeing Nanlong Hou's composed demeanor, they knew they hadn't taken a wrong turn and said nothing more.

Soon, a towering crimson peak, approximately several thousand feet high, appeared before the three. More than half of the mountain was directly enveloped in the fiery red clouds of the sky. Compared to the surrounding smaller hills, this giant peak was particularly striking.

Nanlong Hou, who was leading the way, saw this colossal peak, paused his遁光, and stopped.

Seeing this, Han Li and his companion exchanged a look, their spirits simultaneously greatly lifted.

"Fellow Daoists, the cave beneath the mountain ahead is the nest of the Fire Toad Beast. The ancient cultivator's remains are within this nest.

It's said that this creature's spiritual perception is quite keen, so it's best we stop and discuss our plan first," Nanlong Hou let out a long breath, turned around, and said with a solemn expression.

"Beneath that mountain peak?" Han Li's eyebrows twitched upon hearing this, and he swiftly extended his spiritual sense.

Indeed, at the base of the massive peak, there was a large, fiery red cave entrance, from which gusts of hot wind occasionally blew out.

To avoid alerting the Fire Toad Beast inside, Han Li retracted his spiritual sense, not daring to probe further rashly.

"What's there to discuss? With Brother Han's ice-attributed cultivation method as the main force, and us two as support, we'll simply eliminate that Fire Toad Beast," Lu Weiying said without hesitation.

"Brother Lu! Things aren't that simple. According to Senior Cang Kun, nearly half of the Fire Toad Beast's nest is built within the lava. No matter how severely wounded this beast becomes, as long as it jumps into the lava, it will instantly recover. Fighting this beast in such a terrain would undoubtedly be very disadvantageous. The best method is to first set up a formation, then lure it out of its nest to kill it. For this, I have specifically prepared a set of water-attributed formation tools," Nanlong Hou explained, having clearly made preparations.

Upon hearing this, the elderly man surnamed Lu did not voice any objections. Han Li also felt there was no problem with the plan. With their strategy decided, the three began their preparations.

In addition to the main formation mentioned by Nanlong Hou, Han Li also set up several other formations outside this main one, just in case.

After completing all of this, they finally decided that the three of them would become invisible and hide, and Han Li would use a puppet beast to lure the ancient Fire Toad Beast out of its nest.

He patted the spirit beast pouch at his waist, and the remaining white wolf puppet beast immediately flew out.

Then Han Li sat cross-legged near the formation, manipulating this puppet beast, and flew directly towards the cave beneath the giant peak.

(Although a thousand characters are missing, I'll upload it first. I'm really too sleepy. I'll make up for the missing parts after I wake up!)