Kunwu Mountain's secret realm, at the spatial node.
Sky-Pillaring Square had long since become scorched earth. The towering stone pillars around it lay shattered, testament to the earth-shaking Deity Transformation lightning tribulation and the melee that had followed. By now, most cultivators had escaped through the enormous space rift. Only a handful of streaks of light remained, racing toward it.
A streak of azure light followed at the rear at an unhurried pace. Within it, Han Li stood with his hands behind his back, his azure robes unchanged. His once-youthful face, however, now looked like the ordinary features of a man in his thirties. He raised a hand and lightly brushed his face. An exceedingly faint Chaos Halo flickered across his cheek and vanished, effortlessly altering his appearance.
After reaching Deity Transformation, the aura-concealing technique of the Great Evolution Art really has become much easier to wield, Han Li murmured inwardly. His aura was now completely concealed. Without seeing it firsthand, even a nascent soul late stage cultivator would never have discerned that he was a mighty cultivator who had just entered the Deity Transformation realm.
"Fellow Daoist Li, please wait!"
A call came from behind him. Han Li halted his flight and looked back. The Taiyi Sect Master and Shi Jian of Heavenly Mechanism City were catching up in streaks of light. Both still looked somewhat pale, clearly shaken by the lightning tribulation and the Yin Luo Sect's ambush.
"What is it, fellow Daoists?" Han Li asked evenly, deliberately altering his voice to sound low and hoarse.
The Taiyi Sect Master drew a deep breath and cupped his hands. "Fellow Daoist Li, had you not intervened today, we would already have met our deaths in the Yellow Springs. The Taiyi Sect will never forget this life-saving debt. With your