In the Outer Sea of the Chaotic Star Sea, three thousand li northwest of Heavenly Star Island.
This was the region of Space Rifts through which Han Li had crossed five days earlier. Unlike his arrival, he used no Teleportation Array this time, instead facing a deathtrap torn open by an ancient war, still unstable to this day and prowled by countless Spatial Storms and void blades.
Han Li remained motionless as a hazy, pale-gold shield of Sword Essence appeared around him-the protective aura formed by the fusion of the Great Evolutionary Sword Art and the Star Essence Soul-Refining Art. With a single step, he entered that region of death where even Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivators had to travel in groups, braced for danger.
A void blade capable of tearing apart an ordinary Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator's body slashed toward him without a sound. Han Li did not draw his sword. He merely held two fingers together like a blade and swept them lightly through the air. Rip! The sword qi, bearing a trace of spacetime Dao resonance, cleaved the void blade down the middle, turning it into two harmless strands of spatial turbulence.
A small storm eye that devoured everything suddenly appeared ahead. Han Li blurred into motion, his speed defying all reason. In the instant before the storm closed, he slipped through its core like a swimming fish, without so much as damaging the hem of his robe.
A Void Predator Beast, shaped like an octopus but armed with sharp metallic teeth, lunged out from between the layers of space. Han Li did not even pause. His figure flickered between illusion and reality, leaving the beast's teeth to tear apart an afterimage while his true body appeared above its head. He pressed down with one finger!