Han Li raised his hand and waved toward the sky. The great sword immediately turned around and flew back, settling once again into its scroll form, light and delicate, drifting down to rest in his hands. As he reached out to grasp it, the scroll suddenly emitted a sharp "crack" and ignited without any apparent cause, turning into a pile of ashes within moments. Blown away by the mountain wind, it vanished completely. Seeing this, Han Li paused, then a wry smile tugged at his lips. The scroll was now a complete loss—its remaining power had been fully drained during this prolonged struggle. As someone who deeply understood the value of such scroll artifacts, Han Li felt deeply saddened, though he could do nothing about it. After all, how could he have defeated a formidable opponent like Lu Senior without making some sacrifice? Yet the Qingjiao Banner from the other side proved to be a truly excellent prize—enough to offset the loss of this seal artifact, not to mention the two Foundation Pills still awaiting him to collect! With this thought, Han Li felt his spirits lift, believing the fierce battle had been well worth it. If he could successfully achieve Foundation Stage by taking these pills, he would no longer need to risk his life attending the "Blood Trial"—where, after all, there would surely be many strong cultivators like his senior, Lu Sheng. Even more formidable opponents, perhaps, would surely abound. A moment later, after drawing upon the spiritual stones in his hands and feeling his spiritual power recover slightly, Han Li stood up to retrieve the Qingjiao Banner lying nearby. But as soon as he straightened his back, intense stabbing pains erupted in his Dan Tian, as though countless steel needles were forcefully pricking him. The pain was so sharp that Han Li once again bent forward, his face pale, gritting his teeth in agony for a long while. Han Li remained motionless, only drawing a deep breath after a cup of tea's worth of time, and felt the sharp pain gradually easing. His expression was somewhat gloomy, with slight tremors at the corners of his mouth. He knew clearly why this had happened—having swallowed a large quantity of medicinal herbs of considerable age. Although he had promptly absorbed some of their spiritual energy, much of it had instead accumulated at his dantian, becoming foreign matter, intertwined with numerous indistinct medicinal impurities. If not promptly expelled, these would surely prove to be a source of serious complications. Han Li knew that the method of consuming such herbs—though inherently counterproductive and likely to backfire—was indeed unwise. Yet, at the time, in order to save his life, he had dared to try it. And indeed, this forced method of drawing upon spiritual energy had proven to be of great benefit during this prolonged struggle. Yet relying solely on consuming herbs was not enough to enable Han Li to persevere until the end. Aside from the fact that mid-level spiritual stones provided him with a faster rate of spiritual energy than his opponent, another crucial factor in his victory lay in canceling out his own defensive spell, "Water Shield Technique." During his two years of studying and refining minor spell techniques, Han Li had incidentally learned from Wu Feng that most junior disciples currently faced a common misconception when using talismans: they believed that once a talisman was activated, it would consume no further spiritual energy from the user beyond the initial spark. This, however, was a mistaken belief. In reality, after activation, the spell continuously maintained a connection with the user through a steady flow of spiritual energy—this connection enabled the user to control and manipulate the spell effectively. As long as the spell remained active, the user would continuously and automatically lose spiritual energy to sustain this energy thread. Since this spiritual thread is invisible and undetectable to cultivators at the Qi Condensation stage, and the magical energy sustaining it is initially very weak, most disciples have simply overlooked it over time, leading to the mistaken understanding mentioned above. Even among a few disciples who were aware of the truth, they considered such matters trivial and thus did not actively spread the information among the lower-level cultivators. Wu Feng was one of those informed disciples. During a casual conversation with Han Li, he casually mentioned it, but Han Li deliberately remembered it and later conducted several tests to personally verify it—confirming its authenticity. When the intense battle unfolded, upon realizing it would be a prolonged conflict, Han Li immediately recalled this matter and promptly canceled his defensive spells, aiming to conserve precious magical energy. Although the initial savings might seem insignificant, over time, the cumulative energy expenditure proved substantial. Yet clearly, the "Senior Lu" was unaware of this development. With his cautious and careful nature, he had consistently maintained that deadly "Wind Wall Technique." Unbeknownst to him, it was precisely this very technique that ultimately pushed him closer to defeat. Thus, Han Li, relying solely on the small reserves of spiritual power he had saved, managed to endure slightly longer than his opponent—otherwise, merely leveraging those two advantages, he might not have held out at all. Despite this, Han Li still felt the victory had been extremely precarious. Having deployed so many varied strategies, he had only just managed to preserve his life, and his opponent's strength truly surpassed his expectations! Nevertheless, in the end, it was Han Li who survived. After his pain had eased slightly, he could not help but slowly shift his position, finally making it to the spot where the Qing Jiao Flag had fallen. There, he carefully bent down, retrieved the artifact, and then joyfully examined it thoroughly before happily storing it in his storage pouch. Next, he approached the body of the elder named Lu, glanced somewhat disdainfully at the gruesome scene, and then strolled off to search for the spoils. The opponent's storage sack was easily located on the half-rotted corpse. Without hesitation, Han Li simply tipped it over and poured out all its contents with a loud "whoosh." The jade-green vial and box containing the Foundation Pill stood out immediately to him. He was delighted and, without pausing to examine the rest, hurriedly bent down to pick them up, then opened them to inspect. Inside, each contained a single luminous blue pill—though the scent was somewhat sharp, he could clearly sense the potent spiritual energy within. His smile grew even wider. Having confirmed the authenticity of the Foundation Pills, he no longer felt the need to examine the other items. After all, the battle had just taken place here, and it wasn't a place suited for prolonged stay. He decided to make good his escape right away. Han Li neatly gathered all the items and carefully tucked Lan Sheng's "storage bag" close to his body, only then feeling a bit more at ease. He straightened up, ready to stretch. But just then, a sudden gust of wind blew from behind, as if something had lunged toward him. Han Li was startled and quickly tried to sidestep, yet suddenly experienced sharp pain in his dantian, causing his body to freeze. Then, he was firmly and warmly embraced by a smooth, fragrant woman's body. At this moment, Chen's sister was flushed with crimson, her delicate eyes blazing with passion, her limbs sprawling like an octopus, tightly embracing Han Li from behind. Her full, stunning figure continuously rubbed against his back, and with her passion mounting, she emitted soft, distressed moans of pleasure. Originally, not long ago, although Chen's sister had been immobilized by the "Wind Binding Technique," she had remained untouched by the fierce battle between Han Li and her senior, Lu. All the commotion had been carefully avoided, and after the battle, she emerged unharmed. Even before the battle began, the effects of the Huahan Pill had already taken hold. Enveloped in the warmth of her emotions, she had been dazed and overwhelmed by visions, yearning to exchange her feelings with others. However, due to the lingering binding spell, she could not move at all, thus appearing composed and obedient on the surface. Yet deep within, her body burned with an ever-growing hunger and longing, intensified by the intense passion. But just now, the duration of the "Wind-Entrapment Technique" finally expired. The "Chen sister," just freed, overwhelmed by intense emotion, didn't hesitate—she charged straight toward the only man present, Han Li, and embraced him tightly, creating the scene described above. Han Li was truly a virgin. After a series of passionate kisses from the "Chen sister," he felt a stirring within him, an unusual sensation rising through his body. Moreover, Han Li never claimed to be a model of propriety; he had no interest in adhering to the strict standards of modesty, such as sitting with one's virtue intact. Thus, when he became slightly aroused, he didn't hesitate to return the embrace, lifting the "Chen sister" against his chest and freely caressing her smooth, silky skin with his fingers. As a result of Han Li's enthusiastic response, the "Chen sister" grew even more distressed. Though she had never experienced romantic or intimate encounters before, her innate desire for closeness and comfort prompted her to begin tearing at Han Li's garments. This action of Chen's stirred a measure of clarity in Han Li, who had been utterly enchanted. Unable to continue playing with the flames, he quickly flipped his right hand and summoned a "Stabilizing Spirit Scroll" into his grasp. With the faint spiritual power he had just recovered, he performed the Stabilizing Spirit Technique, once again restraining Chen. Then, with a gentle effort, he broke free from within her embrace and gently placed her on the ground.