The return journey proved to be a very smooth one for Han Li. Flying at full speed, he returned to the yellow desert in just a day, and the devilish node soon appeared up ahead.

Everything was the same as when he had left the node, and Han Li wasn't all that surprised to see this.

The black Qi around his body faded, and he transformed into a heavenly phoenix again before flying toward the node as a faint streak of light.

After just a few flashes, he flew into the node, escaping the detection of the devilish guards down below once again, and this journey through the node was also a smooth and uneventful one.

A short while later, the heavenly phoenix emerged in the Spirit Realm as a ball of five-colored light, but in the instant before he exited the node, he swept his spiritual sense through the surrounding area.

As he had expected, devilish beings had surrounded the node, and a cold smile appeared on his face after detecting this.

Bright light erupted from the heavenly phoenix's body, and it disappeared from the spatial passageway in a flash. 

In the next instant, spatial fluctuations...