Han Li heaved a slight sigh of relief upon seeing this, then turned to Qilin 9 as he asked, "Fellow Daoist Qilin 9, how much longer do you think he'll be able to last?"

"His blood essence has already been incinerated from his organs to his flesh, and from his bones to his skin, so he should be a completely spent force soon. All we need to do is wait another 15 minutes," Qilin 9 replied.

Right at this moment, Qilin 17, who had been laying still on the ground this entire time, suddenly spasmed a few times before getting up into a seated position, seemingly with great difficulty.

The bright red flesh around the hole in his chest was slowly squirming as it fused back together, and only after the hole was completely sealed did he heave a long sigh of relief with a look of lingering fear in his eyes.

"That was way too close! I almost died here..."

Han Li and Qilin 9 exchanged a glance, and both of them could see their own derision mirrored in one another's eyes, but neither of them bothered to say anything. After all, the mission was going to be over soon, so they wouldn't have to put up with Qilin 17 for much longer.

Qilin 17 naturally noticed this brief interaction, and he had no intention of immediately...