Before long, Han Li descended onto a plot of empty land in the forest, then looked around momentarily, following which a faint smile appeared on his face.

"You're quite a cunning fellow, aren't you? You're waiting for the battle in the secret area to be decided, ideally with both sides taking each other out so you can sneak back in and reap the spoils," Han Li mused as he cast his gaze toward a huge tree several thousand feet away.

As soon as his voice trailed off, an imposing figure slowly emerged from behind that tree, and it was none other than the True Immortal cultivator that had fled earlier.

"Isn't it rather unwise for you to have pursued me here on your own, Fellow Daoist?" the burly figure chuckled, following which his hands balled up into tight fists.

At the same time, a string of loud cracks and pops rang out from within his body, and he had suddenly grown noticeably taller.

"If I hadn't come on my own, you most likely wouldn't have revealed yourself so easily," Han Li chuckled.

He took a step back as he spoke, then adopted a casual fighting stance as he cast his gaze toward the burly...