A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Immortal Realm

Chapter 1165: A Second Scale

Qing Dian seemed to have finally identified Liu Le'er upon seeing the Featherform Scale in her hand, but his expression only became even more hostile as he turned his gaze back to Han Li.

"This is a friend of mine, so please let bygones be bygones and allow them to enter the city with me," Liu Le'er said as she stowed the token away.

A mocking sneer appeared on Qing Dian's face upon hearing this.

"I've always heard that your Heavenly Fox Tribe likes to entangle itself with humans, it appears that those rumors are not unfounded. This man has clearly come to our primordial land with some sinister motives, yet you insist on protecting him. Could it be that your Heavenly Fox Tribe intends to betray the primordial land?" Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Liu Le'er's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, but she remained calm and composed as she replied, "That's a completely unreasonable and unfounded accusation, Fellow Daoist."

She was well aware of how much all of the primordial tribes detested humans, so Qing Dian was clearly trying to turn everyone against Han Li by exposing his status as a human.

Sure enough, all of the bystanders' expressions instantly changed drastically upon hearing this, and some of them began observing Han Li through suspicious eyes, while some others were already glowering at him with open animosity.

Even Sang Tu and Yun Bao were looking at him with mixed emotions in their eyes.

They had been suspicious of Han Li's status in the past, but they had always been reluctant to acknowledge these suspicions. Not only was Han Li far too powerful for them to contend with, they also had no choice but to rely on him if they wanted to enter Primordial Garrison City.

On top of that, Han Li had just saved their lives not long ago, so they harbored a combination of fear, veneration, and gratitude toward him.

"Your name is Qing Dian, right? I suggest you keep your mouth shut if all you can spout are nonsensical accusations! How can you claim that I'm a human in spite of the true spirit bloodline in my body?" Han Li asked with a cold smile.

"Bloodlines don't necessarily have to be inherited. Humans often steal demon beast and even true spirit bloodlines for their cultivation, so just because you possess a true spirit bloodline doesn't prove anything. Also, you didn't display any reaction when she displayed her Featherform Scale, so it's clear that you have no respect for the True Spirit King, and that proves you're definitely not a primordial being!" Qing Dian sneered.

"I'll admit that your analysis is somewhat sound, but if I really were a human spy, then would I be in possession of this?" Han Li countered with a smile as he flipped a hand over to produce his own Featherform Scale.

"Another one!" someone in the crowd exclaimed.

"It's not a fake one, is it?"

"Could it be that he's also a trusted subordinate of the True Spirit King?"

Everyone was very much taken aback by what they had seen, including even Liu Le'er.

However, on this occasion, only a small number of bystanders extended respectful bows, while the rest looked on with suspicious expressions.

Qing Dian was also momentarily dumbstruck, following which he yelled, "That's clearly a counterfeit! There are only seven True Spirit King tokens in existence, how could two possibly just so happen to appear in the same place at once?"

"I'm sure you know full well whether the scale is counterfeit or not. Just like you said, there are only seven of these in existence, so who could've possibly created a counterfeit that's indistinguishable in both appearance and aura?" Liu Le'er countered.

Qing Dian faltered slightly upon hearing this, but he still refused to let Han Li through.

"I've already shown you the token, if you continue to stand in my way, then I'll have to get past you by force," Han Li threatened.

Qing Dian hesitated momentarily, following which a look of resolve suddenly appeared in Qing Dian's eyes as he rose to the challenge.

"I'd like to see you try!"

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly as he swept his gaze over the surrounding area.

The brief hesitation that Qing Dian had displayed just now indicated that he had most likely received instructions from someone in secret.

Whoever was pulling the strings behind the scenes, the fact that they had instructed Qing Dian to stand his ground even after witnessing the token indicated that they were fully confident that Han Li was human, so they were most likely a Great Encompassment Stage being.

With that in mind, a hint of caution welled up in Han Li's heart as he communicated to Liu Le'er through voice transmission, "At the rate things are going, there's a very good chance that my identity is going to be exposed, so it won't be safe for you to be with me. Go back to the Heavenly Fox Tribe for now, and I'll find a way to contact you once I've gotten myself out of this mess."

To his surprise, Liu Le'er smiled as she replied, "Don't worry about me, Brother Rock, I'm no longer the defenseless little girl that I once was, and I can look after myself just fine."

Han Li was rather taken aback to hear this, but he was then reassured by the thought that she had the support of the mighty Heavenly Fox Tribe behind her.

Intense envy welled up in Qing Dian's heart at the sight of the intimacy between Han Li and Liu Le'er, and he let loose a furious roar as he charged directly at Han Li.

With each step that he took, a dark red halo spread from beneath his foot, causing the entire city wall to tremble violently. All of the bystanders hurriedly rushed back in retreat, opening up a large area for Han Li, Liu Le'er, and Qing Dian.

Qing Dian's eyes had turned bright red, and a series of ancient, crimson patterns had appeared over the exposed sections of his skin, giving off a primordial aura of bloodlust.

At the same time, his body had swelled to around twice its original size, while his nose shrank down, and a pair of giant tusks protruded out of his mouth, giving him the appearance of a fearsome-looking ape.

In the face of the oncoming Qing Dian, Han Li stepped forward to position himself in front of Liu Le'er, and before she had a chance to do anything, she was sent flying back by a burst of gentle force, which carried her through the air before setting her down several thousand feet away.

At the same time, Han Li extended both hands forward, and countless arcs of silver lightning sprang forth before converging to form a pair of massive Lightning Bird talons, which clashed violently against Qing Dian's powerful fists.

Silver lightning erupted in all directions as Han Li channeled his Heavenly Baleful Purgatory Arts with all his might, grabbing onto Qing Dian's fists with his hands before attempting to twist him to the ground.

However, Qing Dian remained completely unmoved, standing as firmly as a mountain.

"You really thought you could challenge me in strength? What a joke!" Qing Dian sneered as he withdrew his fists, and Han Li was unable to hold onto them, so he could only allow them to slip out of his grasp.

A hint of surprise flashed through Han Li's eyes upon seeing this. Out of his Twelve Awakening Transformations, his Lightning Bird form was outmatched in strength by his Giant Mountain Ape form, but it certainly wasn't weak, yet Qing Dian had established a clear advantage in this regard.

Before he had a chance to ponder this matter any further, Qing Dian was already swinging a fist at his head.

A burst of silver lightning flashed over Han Li's body, and he abruptly vanished from beneath Qing Dian's fist, then reappeared behind him an instant later.

At the same time, an Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword appeared in his grasp, and he plunged it forcefully at the back of Qing Dian's neck.

The attack had come too fast for Qing Dian to turn around in time, but he let loose a thunderous roar, and the skin on the back of his neck suddenly turned a translucent red color.

A resounding boom rang out as countless arcs of golden lightning erupted in all directions, and a crimson halo suddenly surged out of the golden lightning before racing toward Han Li at an astonishing speed.

Han Li reflexively channeled his Reversal True Axis ability to evade the attack, and the crimson halo just barely glanced past him before striking the city wall behind him, causing it to shudder violently once again.

Han Li felt a sense of scorching pain from his shoulder, and he turned to discover that his robe there had been completely torn away, while the exposed section of his shoulder had turned a crimson color.

It was as if a layer of crimson lava were clinging to his shoulder, and it was slowly spreading to his forearm, having already burned through the True Extreme Film over his skin.

He then turned to discover that a hole had also been blasted into the city wall behind him, and bright, red lava was flowing down its surface.

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly as a layer of silver flames appeared over his hand, and he used it as a blade to shave away the crimson lava-like substance from his own shoulder bit by bit.

However, even after the substance had been removed, Han Li could still feel a type of peculiar power lingering in his wound there, slowing down his healing to a crawl.

"Don't try to best him in strength, Brother Rock! Let me help you!" Liu Le'er called out from afar, but Han Li shook his head at her, indicating that he was fine and telling her not to get involved.

Meanwhile, there was a hunch-backed elderly man standing on the city wall, looking down at Han Li with his hands clasped behind his back.

A formidable physical constitution and time law powers... Looks like this won't be easy for Dian'er...

The elderly man had a dark complexion, but a rather pale face, presenting a rather strange contrast. On top of that, his aura was extremely self-contained, making it seem as if he were just an ordinary, elderly mortal man.

Right at this moment, the space at the foot of the city wall suddenly became a little warped, and it appeared as if a layer of faint, red mist were permeating through the air.

Oh? If he's using even that ability, then it looks like this battle is as good as over, the elderly man thought to himself as a faint smile appeared on his face.