Chapter 80: Strange Bubbles
Streams of light of different colors were surging throughout the area in a violent and chaotic fashion, forming enormous waves that were constantly crashing into one another amid deafening booms.
Occasionally, a series of white spatial rifts would emerge within the waves of light, releasing astonishing suction force and a high-pitched droning sound.
Even almighty Grand Ascension cultivators or high-grade demon beasts with near indestructible physical bodies had to exercise the utmost caution when traversing through this space. Even the slightest lapse in concentration could result complete destruction of one's body and soul, not only putting an end to one's life, but also robbing them of a chance at reincarnation.
This was the interrealm gap!
At this moment, Han Li was like a non-swimmer who had suddenly been thrown into a raging and turbulent sea.
He had already anticipated that the interrealm gap was going to be an extremely perilous place that would be exceedingly difficult to traverse through, but this was still quite an astonishing sight to him.
The spatial storm that was raging throughout the surrounding area was countless times more powerful than the one he had endured during his ascension from the Human Realm to the Spirit Realm.
If it weren't for the fact that he had already attained a True Extreme Body and taken countless pills, as well as practiced countless cultivation arts that enhanced his physical constitution, he would've most likely been completely pulverized in the instant that he entered this space.
His entire body was already encased within a suit of antiquated white bone armor. It was the Exquisite Eight Treasures Bone Armor that he had refined using countless precious treasures from the Spirit Domain Realm, but even so, he was swaying unsteadily under the influence of the enormous suction force acting upon him from all directions.
He took a deep breath, and dazzling white light erupted from the suit of bone armor as all of the umbrellas, shields, and other images on its surface lit up in unison. At the same time, a sharp screeching sound rang out, and all of the images projected themselves before revolving around Han Li.
These projections revolved around him momentarily before fusing as one to form an extremely substantial protective barrier that encompassed his entire body. The protective barrier was giving off radiant white light, and it was keeping out some of the violent spatial fluctuations in the surrounding area.
Only then was Han Li able to steady himself, and he gave a pleased nod as he inspected his suit of bone armor.
This suit of Exquisite Eight Treasures Bone Armor had been refined specifically to deal with the spatial storm in the interrealm gap, and he had carefully selected all of the materials used. Several of the main materials, such as the Exquisite Eight Treasures Jade, all possessed spatial attributes, and the suit of armor was certainly living up to his expectations thus far.
Blue light flashed several times within his eyes, following which he proceeded forward as a streak of light.
The surrounding spatial storm surged toward him in waves, only to be kept out by the suit of Exquisite Eight Treasures Bone Armor.
However, around 15 minutes later, his brows furrowed slightly with concern once again.
Even though he was well protected by the suit of bone armor, the progress that he was making through the spatial storm was agonizingly slow. At this point, he estimated that he had only advanced around 50 kilometers.
Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't have been a cause for concern in itself. After all, this was a brittle spatial node between the two realms, and even if progress were slow, he would eventually reach the Immortal Realm so long as he continued to advance. However, he could clearly sense that the spiritual power imbued within the suit of bone armor was being rapidly exhausted as it withstood the spatial storm.
"I wanted to save some energy to deal with any potential unforeseen circumstances, but it looks like I can't hold back any longer," Han Li murmured to himself after a moment of contemplation.
In the next instant, dazzling rainbow light that was as bright as the sun erupted from his entire body.
A clear phoenix cry rose directly up into the heavens as he transformed into a giant bird that was several hundred feet in length.
This was none other than the Heavenly Phoenix form in his 12 Awakening Transformations.
The Exquisite Eight Treasures Bone Armor disassembled itself, transforming into a series of bone plates that adhered to various parts of the Heavenly Phoenix's body, but the white light barrier wasn't affected at all.
The Heavenly Phoenix spread its wings and transformed into a rainbow-colored shadow that sped directly forward at a speed that was countless times faster than before.
The spatial storm continued to converge from all directions, but as soon as it came into contact with the Heavenly Phoenix, a burst of rainbow light would instantly erupt from its body to divert the spatial storm away.
The Heavenly Phoenix possessed the ability to manipulate space, so it was like a fish in water in this spatial storm.
A hint of excitement appeared in the Heavenly Phoenix's eyes, and it let loose a long cry before accelerating even further, traversing rapidly through the boundless spatial storm up ahead.
Time slowly passed by. There were no days or nights in the interrealm gap, but by Han Li's estimates, roughly a day had already passed by.
During this day, he had encountered many close calls, and it felt longer and more arduous than even an entire year.
Not only were there spatial storms in the interrealm gap, there were also other unforeseen dangers lurking in the shadows, including even a type of strange living being that inhabited the area and had attacked him on several occasions.
Thankfully, he was able to spot these dangers in advance with his Brightsight Spirit Eyes, and that, coupled with the spatial manipulation abilities of the Heavenly Phoenix, allowed him to escape unscathed every time.
At this point, the rainbow light around the Heavenly Phoenix's body had already become significantly dimmer than before, and there was also a hint of weariness in its eyes.
Maintaining this form for an extended period of time was very physically taxing for Han Li, but what was even more concerning to him was the suit of bone armor that he was wearing.
A series of cracks had already appeared on the armor's surface, and all that remained of the white protective barrier around him was only a thin layer that was less than a third as potent as it had been at its peak.
"If I had known this would happen, I would've spent some more time to refine another treasure," Han Li murmured to himself with a wry smile, but he quickly banished that thought from his mind.
At this point, it was already too late to turn back, so there was no point in crying over spilled milk.
He took a deep breath, and the rainbow light around his body brightened as he accelerated once again.
Shortly thereafter, his eyes suddenly lit up as he caught sight of a speck of white light amid the spatial storm up ahead.
It was only a very faint speck of light, but it stood like an unyielding beacon amid a storm of chaos and murky grayness.
Could it be...
A possibility sprang into Han Li's mind, and he reflexively accelerated even further, flying rapidly toward the speck of white light.
The more he advanced, the brighter the speck of white light became, and an inexplicable yet regal aura was emanating from within, as if an extremely sacred place laid beyond it.
This was an aura that Han Li had felt before. It was the aura of the Immortal Realm!
"Finally..." Han Li heaved a long sigh of relief and excitement.
Thankfully, his luck wasn't too terrible. Otherwise, if this suit of Exquisite Eight Treasures Bone Armor were to be shattered, he wouldn't have been able to withstand the spatial storms within the interrealm gap with his physical body alone.
Even though he was already feeling quite exhausted, he was reinvigorated by the sight that greeted him up ahead.
As long as he could return to the Immortal Realm, he would be able to find the organization that was offering a reward for his capture, and it would only be a matter of time before he uncovered the events that led to his amnesia and the severe injuries that he had sustained.
After flying forward for a while longer, Han Li suddenly began to slow down as a befuddled look appeared in his eyes.
A massive yellow object that was several hundred kilometers in size was hovering amid the spatial turbulence not far up ahead, and it bore the appearance of an enormous bubble.
The turbulent spatial storm was instantly repelled as soon as it came into contact with the giant bubble, unable to harm it in the slightest.
Furthermore, Han Li could just barely make out something residing within the mysterious bubble, and a layer of blue light emerged within his eyes as he focused his gaze on the bubble, but his brows then quickly furrowed slightly.
There was some type of peculiar force that was obstructing his view, and even his Brightsight Spirit Eyes were unable to see through the bubble.
A hint of curiosity welled up in Han Li's heart, but he immediately shook his head.
The bubble was a very strange entity, and he was far from peak condition right now, so it was best to stay out of trouble as much as possible and prioritize getting to the Immortal Realm.
With that in mind, the Heavenly Phoenix spread its wings, then altered its flight trajectory so that it could skirt around the yellow bubble.
Right at this moment, the spatial storm around him began to churn violently.
All of a sudden, a burst of enormous force sprang out of the spatial storm before crashing viciously into the Heavenly Phoenix.
What was that?
The power imbued within the burst of force was not inferior to that of an all-out attack from him.
The Heavenly Phoenix was instantly sent careening to the side before crashing involuntarily into the yellow bubble.
The yellow bubble was able to repel the surrounding spatial storm with ease, but not only was the Heavenly Phoenix not repelled, it sank into the bubble without any resistance.
Han Li felt as if the world were spinning all around him, and only after flapping his wings vigorously several times was he able to just barely steady himself.
The burst of force that had crashed into him had been extremely powerful, but it wasn't enough to harm him in his current state.
After stabilizing himself, he quickly inspected his surroundings, and he was quite surprised by what he saw.
This was an extremely peaceful yellow world. The violent spatial turbulence outside had completely vanished, and yellow light was permeating through the air. Down below was a landmass that was several hundred kilometers in size, resembling an island.
The world's origin qi within this yellow space was extremely abundant, hundreds of times more so than even the best spirit regions in the Spirit Domain Realm. The island was riddled with lush forestry, and all of the trees growing on the island looked to be at least 1,000 years old.
There were also many spirit ingredients interspersed throughout the forest, all of which were at least several thousand years old. There were also many spirit medicines that were in excess of 10,000 years of age, and most of them were species that he didn't recognize.
This was an island that was riddled with treasures!
After a brief moment of contemplation, Han Li returned to his human form amid a flash of rainbow light, then flipped a hand to summon a blue pill that he promptly swallowed.
This pill was called the Heavenly Star Pill, and it was a secret pill of the Origin Realm Temple that was refined using several types of spirit medicines capable of absorbing starpower. For someone like him, who had cultivated the Big Dipper Origin Arts, it was the ideal recovery pill.
The Heavenly Star Pill quickly dissolved into a surge of warmth that flowed throughout his entire body, filling his exhausted body with a burst of vitality that facilitated rapid recovery.
Instead of immediately descending to the ground, Han Li activated his Brightsight Spirit Eyes and began to carefully inspect his surroundings.
He couldn't shake the feeling that someone or something had intentionally launched that burst of force at him to propel him into the yellow bubble.
Right at this moment, an earth-shattering roar rang out from down below.
The entire island trembled violently as a gargantuan yellow cloud rose up from the forest before flying toward Han Li like lightning, reaching him in the blink of an eye.
A massive figure that seemed to belong to a giant could just barely be made out within the yellow cloud.
An enormous yellow fist was launched out of the yellow cloud. The skin on the fist was yellow and withered like extremely coarse tree roots.
As soon as the fist emerged, it crashed directly toward Han Li with incredibly fearsome power, and even before the fist reached Han Li, the space around him was already beginning to ripple violently.
Han Li's pupils contracted slightly as he let loose a low roar, and seven specks of blue light emerged on his chest and abdomen as he activated his Big Dipper Origin Arts to its fullest extent.
Faint starlight began to emanate from his entire body, and seven thick bands of starlight wrapped themselves around him as he retaliated with a punch of his own.
The surrounding space exploded violently, sending shockwaves that were visible to the naked eye surging through the air.
After achieving full mastery of the Big Dipper Origin Arts, this punch from Han Li was able to rival the golden giant in power even without taking on his Giant Mountain Ape form.
The two fists collided with an earth-shattering boom, and the surrounding space warped violently as bursts of devastating shockwaves swept through the air, proliferating outward as gusts of ferocious wind.
Han Li was sent flying back by the impact and flew all the way back for several thousand feet before just barely managing to steady himself.
Inside the yellow cloud, the giant was also stopped cold in its tracks and forced to stumble back a couple of steps to absorb the force of the impact.
Immediately thereafter, the yellow cloud around the giant was blown apart by the gusts of fierce wind, thereby revealing the creature inside.