Han Li's body shuddered as all of the silver threads vanished into his skin in a flash, and the surface of his body began to bulge in different areas, as if they were egg-sized lumps roaming beneath his skin.

At the same time, Han Li was struck by a scorching sensation in his flesh and blood while his meridians became extremely numb and itchy, striking him with the urge to claw into his flesh with his fingers.

Only with Han Li's enormous spiritual sense was he able to withstand this indescribably painful sensation. If a normal Body Integration cultivator were in his place, they would either fall prey to Qi deviation due to an inability to control their true essence, or be unable to continue to calmly cultivate. However, Han Li was able to remain completely still as he sat on the ground, withstanding the agony in an expressionless manner.

Several hours later, a series of bones that were far thicker than those of a normal human became visible through his translucent body.

Not only were these bones shimmering with faint silver spiritual light, their surfaces were also riddled with golden patterns. The patterns were barely visible and extremely thin, making them very easy to miss, but they formed a series of extremely profound golden runes that looked as if they had naturally grown on his bones.

For those who were able to identify these runes, they would immediately be able to tell that this was golden seal text. For these runes to appear as a result of a cultivation art was a clear testament to just how extraordinary the cultivation art in question was, and it would most likely be sorely sought after even by Grand Ascension Stage beings.

This was none other than the Hundred Meridian Refinement Mantra that Han Li had begun cultivating again.

It originated from the True Immortal Realm, and if Han Li could achieve full mastery of it, his physical body would become as powerful or even more powerful than that of a true spirit being.

However, the cultivation art was naturally extremely difficult to master as well, and he had only dared to begin cultivating it again after progressing to the late-Body Integration Stage.

As for when he would achieve full mastery of it, that would surely only come very far in the future; perhaps he wouldn't even have gotten to that point after progressing to the Grand Ascension Stage.

With Han Li's current age, he had countless years ahead of him, so there was no hurry for him to work on this cultivation art.

Time passed by slowly, and several hours later, Han Li reopened his eyes as a rumbling boom akin to a thunderclap erupted from all of his bones, and the golden light he was emanating abruptly became brighter.

He made a hand seal, and the rumbling within his body instantly subsided.

Only then did he heave a long sigh as a wry smile appeared on his face.

Cultivating the true Hundred Meridian Refinement Mantra was extremely painful; even with his immensely powerful physical constitution, he wasn't able to cultivate it for long.

If he were to cultivate it for an entire day, then his meridians would be severely damaged. After that, Han Li didn't immediately withdraw the surrounding formation. Instead, he waved a hand upward to dispel the golden projection, then placed his hands onto his knees and closed his eyes to meditate once again.

Mere moments later, the golden light emanating from his body receded, only to be replaced by a layer of rainbow light that grew brighter and brighter.

A layer of light also appeared over his face, and the black demonic eye on his glabella flashed incessantly as if it had sprung to life.

After finishing his cultivation of the Hundred Meridian Refinement Mantra, he had begun cultivating the Spirit Refinement Technique.

With his current late-Body Integration Stage magic power and physical body, he was finally able to cultivate this technique again.

If he could master the second stage of the Spirit Refinement Technique, his spiritual sense would increase by severalfold; even if he couldn't find the Spirit Cleansing Pond and Clean Spirit Lotus, there would still be hope for him to progress to the Grand Ascension Stage.

Han Li was well aware of just how important this Spirit Refinement Technique was, so he had been cultivating it every single day following the battle of Deep Heaven City. However, he had only been cultivating it for a short time, and the second stage was far more profound than the first, so his progress was quite limited.

It seemed that it would take a long time for him to master the second stage.

Han Li had already predicted this, so he wasn't frustrated and merely continued to meditate patiently.

The next morning, a streak of azure light rose up from the island, then shot forth into the distance.

Two days later, Han Li emerged out of this inland sea and entered a lush green mountain range.

The mountain range was very humid, and there was mist of different colors that would occasionally rise up from the ground, concealing everything below an altitude of 3,000 to 4,000 feet.

In order to avoid being delayed by any devilish beasts that may have been lurking in the mist, Han Li was flying at an altitude of tens of thousands of feet.

There were some powerful devilish birds that even Han Li didn't want to mess with residing at altitudes of over 100,000 feet, so he wouldn't fly any higher than this unless he had to.

This mountain range was far more massive than he had imagined. He had thought that it would take him three to four days at most to fly out of it, but even after around half a month of flying, there were still no signs suggesting that he was close to emerging on the other side.

This was rather surprising to him, and he also became more cautious.

Even though he was flying at quite a high altitude, he was still attacked by several powerful devilish beasts, which posed a minor hindrance to him, but they were all incinerated by his Spirit Engulfing Heavenly Flames.

After flying for a few more days, the trees and mountains down below became more sparse, and he was finally about to reach the other side.

Han Li immediately sped up upon seeing this, yet right as he was flying over a barren mountain, his expression suddenly changed slightly as he abruptly stopped on the spot.

He then cast his gaze toward a certain direction with a contemplative expression. Shortly thereafter, he seemed to have made a decision and flew directly toward the same direction he had just turned his attention toward.

A short while later, he had flown for close to 1,000 feet, and he caught sight of a giant purple tree in the distance that was over 30,000 feet tall.

In the air above the giant tree, there were a dozen or so devilish men and women battling a flock of crimson bats. These devilish beings were mostly comprised of Deity Transformation Stage beings, while three of them were at the Spatial Tempering Stage. They were setting up a formation, and had summoned several tens of treasures to ward off the crimson bats, of which there were over 30.

Each of these bats was around five feet in size, and all of them had black devilish symbols all over their bodies. With each flap of their wings, a burst of grey devilish wind would sweep forth, and they were also blasting green flames out of their mouths.

The wind enhanced the flames, creating a green sea of fire that completely trapped the group of devilish beings above the giant tree.

Even though the devilish beings were unable to escape, the three Spatial Tempering Stage beings among them were controlling several powerful treasures, and the formation they had created was quite profound, so they were able to withstand the sea of flames for now.

There was a fragrant aroma rising up from down below, and it was stemming from several thumb-sized green fruits growing on the tree's massive canopy.

Han Li didn't pay much heed to the bats and devilish beings, focusing most of his attention on those fruits instead.

"Those are the Purple Spirit Fruits of the Purple Light Tree! Such a massive Purple Light Tree is exceedingly rare," Han Li murmured to himself.

Purple Spirit Fruits were a type of rare spirit fruit, and these ones were growing on such a huge tree, so it was possible that they could have some additional special effects. However, the effects of these spirit fruits were only applicable to cultivators below the Body Integration Stage, so they were no longer useful to Han Li.

Thus, he quickly withdrew his gaze and finally turned his attention to the group of devilish beings.

Among them, the Deity Transformation Stage devilish beings were in some trouble.

Their faces had become quite pale, and it was quite clear that they were about to exhaust their supplies of magic power soon. If they were to falter, then their joint formation would fall apart, and they would all be killed along with their three Spatial Tempering Stage companions.

Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly, yet before he had a chance to consider how he should treat this situation, one of the three Spatial Tempering Stage devilish beings suddenly yelled, "Fellow Daoist, I am from the Bai Family of Illusion Night City. If you're willing to assist us, our Bai Family will be sure to reward you handsomely!"The devilish being who had spoken was a beautiful young woman in a green dress who appeared to be in her twenties. She had already noticed Han Li and was finally calling out for help. Han Li had naturally disguised his cultivation base, so he was currently only releasing a Spatial Tempering Stage aura.

"The Bai Family of Illusion Night City? The Bai Family that's renowned for producing incense?" Han Li asked as his expression changed slightly.

"I can see that you've heard of our Bai Family, Fellow Daoist. If you want, I can swear a vow on my inner demons that you'll be rewarded for saving our lives!" The woman had clearly misconstrued Han Li's hesitant expression.

Han Li was silent for a moment before replying, "Seeing as you're from the Bai Family, I'm obliged to assist you, but I hope you won't forget your promise."

As soon as his voice trailed off, he made a hand seal, and his body swelled to around 30 to 40 feet tall while black scales appeared all over his skin. His hands also transformed into a pair of black devilish claws with fingers as sharp as blades, and as soon as the transformation was complete, Han Li rushed directly toward the crimson bats amid a gust of fierce devilish wind.