Under Han Li's command, the golden brick scroll artifact materialized within a moment, taking the form of a slender, golden slab about a foot in length, floating steadily in midair. Han Li's inner spiritual energy flowed into the slab like a surging river, continuously and abundantly, draining one-third of his power shortly thereafter. This caused the golden glow above his head to shine even more brilliantly, so intense that it became difficult to look at directly. The young woman, fully focused on containing the black ink dragon, observed Han Li closely. Upon seeing the floating golden slab, her previously anxious heart finally settled, confirming that Han Li had not been lying—the artifact truly could penetrate the beast's defenses. The black ink dragon seemed to sense the growing urgency, gripping the circular ring firmly at both sides with its two claws, struggling with increasing intensity, even causing the young woman's Zhu Que ring to tremble slightly. Her face darkened, and she urgently called out to Han Li, "Hurry! It's about to break free!" Hearing this, Han Li could not hesitate. With a simple gesture toward the talisman above his head, the golden brick shot swiftly toward the black dragon, suddenly swelling in size along the way until it became as large as a small mountain, then crashing down with great force. The dragon, still struggling, sensed that the tide had turned. Yet its two green eyes flashed with sudden ferocity, and as it opened its mouth, the purple elixir that had once frightened Han Li surged forth once more, precisely meeting the descending brick and holding it firmly in place—preventing it from falling for a moment. Both Han Li and the young woman were startled. Han Li, occupied in controlling the golden brick, could only watch helplessly. The young woman, however, bit her lip firmly, drew out a yellow orb from her sleeve, and with a swift motion, hurled it toward the dragon still locked in battle with the brick. A soft "thud" echoed as the orb struck the dragon’s head, instantly bursting into a fine mist of yellow vapor that swiftly enveloped the dragon’s head, causing it to emit startled, panicked growls. Naturally, the originally jetting purple liquid ceased. Without the resistance of the liquid, the golden bricks, whose light had been somewhat dimmed, promptly fell and struck the dragon's head with solid force, producing a thunderous roar that instantly illuminated the entire underground realm before gradually fading back to normal. The bricks then resumed their original size and transformed back into a golden glow, drifting gently to韩立's side. In the sky, only the critically wounded beast remained. Now, half of the black dragon's head was crushed to fragments, one of its eyes completely burst out of its socket and had been knocked away, while the other eye, though still open, continued to leak blood. The black dragon appeared terribly wounded. Clearly, it was not far from succumbing. The young woman was delighted, quickly reaching into her storage pouch and pulling out a small crystal vial. She then chanted softly to the vial, pointing at the black dragon. From the vial's mouth, several fine streams of dark mist shot out, wrapping around the dragon's body with a solemn, eerie presence. Not long after, a green dragon that appeared identical in form to the black one was forcibly drawn from within the black dragon's body by the mist. Though it thrashed and struggled fiercely, it was gradually pulled into the vial. When the young woman sealed the vial and carefully examined the miniature green dragon inside, a broad smile spread across her face, making her visibly joyful. She then glanced again at the now lifeless body of the black dragon, her expression thoughtful. Han Li, observing the young woman's actions, immediately understood that she had extracted the dragon's spirit. Though he did not yet know the purpose of the black dragon's spirit, he could tell from her enthusiastic demeanor that it was undoubtedly of great value. At that moment, the young woman extended her hand and drew the Zhu Que ring back into her body. Immediately, the corpse of the Mo Jiang plummeted from the sky and landed right before Han Li's eyes. "Since I've taken this creature's spirit, its body shall remain yours—it was our combined efforts that brought it down!" The young woman gracefully landed beside Han Li and spoke with confidence and courtesy. With a soft "pffft," the silver sword had penetrated the black dragon's body by three inches, though not deeply, it had finally broken through the creature's defense—this amazed the young girl beside him, her mouth hanging open in astonishment, unable to close it. Seeing the girl's expression, Han Li couldn't help but chuckle internally, and continued to swing the sword, preparing to strike again. "Wait a moment—give me this sword!" The girl, now fully awake, stared at the sword with a look of wonder, speaking slowly, which startled Han Li. "What's there to be afraid of? As a cultivator at the Jiedan stage, I've seen my share of treasures. I just find this sword rather unusual—hence my curiosity!" When Han Li hesitated, the girl rolled her eyes at him with a rather impatient tone. Though she appeared young, the graceful charm in her eyes sent Han Li's heart racing, making him unable to keep his breath steady. "The sword indeed has some issues. After I took it into my hands, for some reason I couldn't summon its power—otherwise, during the encounter with the Black Dragon, I wouldn't have been so clumsy!" Since the young lady had expressed such clear concern, Han Li had no choice but to bravely hand the sword over to her, explaining slowly as he went. He still didn't want to clash with her, as her calm demeanor despite being in a dire situation suggested she was confident about finding a way out. Her relaxed, unguarded attitude, however, clearly indicated that she understood his intentions perfectly and wasn't afraid of a sudden attack from him. "Indeed! That's absolutely true—what a pity!" The young lady took the silver sword, carefully examined and stroked it, then expressed her deep regret. "What exactly is the matter?" Seeing that she seemed genuinely to have noticed something, Han Li asked. "Nothing!" "The sharpness of this silver sword stems merely from the infusion of a special silver essence used during the ritual refinement of the artifact—indeed, a substantial amount, enough to make its quality comparable to that of ordinary法宝!" The young woman casually returned the sword to Han Li and said with a calm tone. "Silver essence?" Han Li was slightly taken aback. "I'll tell you—yet you'll still not understand! Only true fire from cultivators at the Jiedan stage or above can extract this essence from large quantities of pure silver. It's extremely precious. My Zhu Que ring also contains this essence." The young woman spoke with a touch of impatience. Han Li, listening, found himself inwardly exasperated: "I'm asking you precisely this! If I knew it, why would I need to ask?" Though he clearly saw the young woman's evident reluctance to elaborate, he ignored it and continued pressing: "Why can others make this sword rise and engage in combat, while I simply cannot command it?" The young woman saw Han Li's determined, insistent expression and felt a slight irritation, yet still replied coldly: "The original owner of this sword was carefully refined using a special ritual method—extremely unusual and arcane. Outsiders simply cannot employ it. Unless the sword is completely re-forged, it will merely be a useless relic to anyone else!" Han Li's face fell slightly. He had initially held high hopes for this sword; if what she said were true, all of that effort would be wasted. "A useless relic? Hardly! Isn't it precisely what we're using right now?" After a brief silence, Han Li suddenly spoke sharply. Then, without the slightest courtesy, he swiftly swung his silver sword in a series of vigorous cuts, striking the dragon's body with relentless force—within moments, he had completely severed the black dragon, opening it up and rupturing its abdomen. Observing Han Li's clumsy, almost butcher-like manner, the young woman furrowed her brows, stepped back a few paces to create distance between them. Then, she calmly added: "Though this black dragon has only just evolved to the second stage, its entire body is composed of precious materials!" The jiao's skin can be refined into excellent armor, its sharp horns and claws are the finest raw materials for crafting top-tier magical artifacts, and its residual elixir is an essential ingredient for certain precious medicinal concoctions! For some reason, the young woman explained in great detail to Han Li, clearly and thoroughly, which left Han Li both astonished and slightly uneasy, unsure of what plans she might have in mind. "Unfortunately, though! If this jiao evolves to the third stage, the jiao-elixir contained within its head will surely be highly sought after by numerous condensed-essence cultivators—whether for refining medicines or crafting artifacts!" the young woman suddenly remarked with a touch of sentiment. "Jiao-elixir? What color is it? Is this one?" Han Li suddenly reached into the abdomen of the black jiao and pulled out a round sphere about the size of a clenched fist, holding it up to the young woman, who looked visibly surprised. "Huh! What is this? Is it extracted from the black jiao?" The young woman, equally astonished, stepped closer to Han Li and examined it closely. "It really does resemble it!" Yet this Black Serpent蛟 had only just evolved to the second stage and should not have produced a Serpent Pearl. Moreover, as a Water-type Evil Serpent, its inner pearl should have been blue! Let me feel it—let me see what's going on!" The young woman watched for a while, finally unable to contain herself, and took the soft, round orb from Han Li's hands, gently stroking it. Just then, with a sudden "pffft," the orb inexplicably burst open, releasing a large cloud of pink mist that immediately enveloped both the young woman and Han Li.