Han Li was furious! This wasn't because he had momentarily softened and rescued the Wang senior, thus being compelled to employ the Luo Yan Step and engage the immortal foe—though that was a matter of course. Rather, it was because Liu Jing and the others hadn't seized the opportunity promptly. Once those three had also transformed, the situation would truly become dire. Earlier, Han Li had seen the Wang senior being overwhelmed by the ice immortal's poison. Considering the Wang's earlier assistance during the battle against Qing Wen, Han Li had swiftly intervened to save him. Subsequently, the immortal likely felt betrayed, clinging tightly to Han Li and pressing him to intervene repeatedly, forcing him to respond. Yet, Han Li himself soon realized that the ice immortal was indeed formidable against the other disciples—perhaps it was better that he himself dealt with her. After all, if more disciples fell, the fighting force would soon become critically short. Now, though he was engaged in this battle, he was surprised to find that the others merely watched his combat, failing to strike at the three glowing cocoons—how could such a golden opportunity be wasted? Yet he had a hunch that others might not be unaware of the opportune moment—rather, they were afraid that the ice demon’s strange ability to vanish and the deaths occurring at its hands might cause the half-faerie blood servants to begin transforming. Thus, though they knew that fully transformed blood servants would be far more formidable, they remained hesitant, perhaps even harboring a subtle desire to retreat. But Han Li’s arrival here was not merely to eliminate the black plague—he had other, more specific objectives. How could he easily back down now? Moreover, although this half-faerie ice demon had already slain one of his own upon emerging, Han Li saw that, with careful attention, such an incident was not particularly daunting. In fact, in his eyes, this demon was even less formidable than the bearded man he had encountered earlier—someone far more difficult to handle. This creature merely made his body transparent, enabling swift movement and the manipulation of cold energy. His so-called invisibility was no more than the illusion of rapid motion, akin to his swift, flowing steps. It was only the unusual transparency of his form that made him harder to detect and intercept. However, this eerie footwork could only be effective on the ground. As soon as the group flew upward and increased the distance between them, casting wide-area spells, the opponent would be forced to reveal himself. After all, while swift physical movement could hold its own over short distances, it simply couldn't keep up with the speed of cultivators riding their vehicles over longer spans. Liu Jing and his fellow disciples had never experienced such close, blade-to-blade combat, so they naturally found the opponent ghostly and nearly impossible to counter. Yet Han Li himself frequently employed this style of combat, making him exceptionally well-prepared. With this thought in mind, Han Li suddenly struck back with a swift motion of his silver sword, repelling the opponent's sharp claws, then stepped forward to declare, "Master Liu, you all fly up to the sky and continue attacking those three blood attendants. I won't let this demonic figure interrupt your efforts." After speaking these words, Han Li suddenly flashed forward, vanishing from sight—yet in reality, his silver sword moved so swiftly that it was nearly invisible, forcing the ice demon to retreat step by step, with no chance to lift off the ground. Han Li’s silver sword was a prize from the Blood Trial, capable of withstanding the enemy’s sharp claws and emerging unscathed. Yet, despite its strength, it could not harm the ice demon’s twin claws, which left Han Li deeply astonished. Li Jing heard Han Li’s words, pondered briefly, and immediately grasped his intent—yet he still appeared hesitant. His mind was torn between conflicting emotions. Although Li Jing came from a renowned immortal family, he had once been captured and held captive by a malevolent cultivator as a child, enduring a period of severe suffering and abuse, even coming close to losing his life. Eventually, he was rescued by his family and entered the discipleship of Li Hua Yuan, where he eventually attained a solid cultivation foundation. However, the lingering shadow of that childhood trauma made Li Jing deeply resentful of malevolent cultivators. Adhering to a firm principle of eliminating one evil cultivator for every one he encounters, never letting go of any known practitioners of strange, unusual cultivation techniques, he has not only felt a profound sense of satisfaction but also gained immense positive reputation—so much so that even some senior cultivators from the seven major sects express a quiet admiration whenever they see him. On the surface, Liu Jing remains composed, yet within, he has gradually grown enchanted by the feeling of being revered. To the point that, when he later proactively targets and eliminates evil cultivators, his motivations are increasingly driven by the sheer pleasure of receiving others' admiration! Of course, he carefully conceals this evolving mindset deep within his heart, maintaining, in his daily interactions, the image of the steadfast, righteous, and fiercely opposed "Liu Brother" of unyielding resolve. The Black Shattering Sect before him, undoubtedly the most powerful and most deserving of elimination among the evil sects he has encountered, is also, in equal measure, the one with the strongest combined strength he has yet met. He truly had little confidence that ordinary法宝 alone could defeat the remaining three Blood Servants. Even a slightly weaker attack would merely accelerate their half-aphyric transformation, making them even more difficult to handle. With one half-aphyric being so challenging, the prospect of the other three appearing soon seemed overwhelming—his team would likely be unable to cope, and might even perish in the process. If they now retreated, their entire mission would be a failure, having inadvertently alerted the Black Shattered Sect. The Sect would then shift from prominence to obscurity, and his years of hard-earned reputation would vanish entirely. Simply imagining the mocking expression on others' faces, Liu Jing felt his chest tighten, suffocated and deeply frustrated. Han Li's urgent prompting had now placed him squarely at the edge of a critical decision. "Master Liu, shall we retreat now? The Black Shattered Sect's strength far exceeds our expectations. If we don't move soon, we'll be too late," the elder brother whom Han Li had saved hesitated and whispered softly, approaching him. From the hesitating gaze, Liu Jing clearly saw the hesitation and timidity. "Retreat? Once we do that, I suspect I'll be seen the same way by my fellow seniors afterward!" Liu Jing chuckled to himself. "Everyone, fly up and protect me. The remaining three Blood Servants—I'll handle them all!" With a composed smile, he spoke calmly. At the same time, he silently resolved: "It seems I have no choice but to use that thing. Only then can I win the battle and preserve my reputation. Though it's the very thing that has kept me alive." "Brother Liu, you're going to face the remaining three Blood Servants alone?" Not only the senior Wang standing before him, but others nearby, also looked at Liu Jing with expressions of disbelief. The look on their faces brought a deep sense of satisfaction to Liu Jing's heart. Yet on the surface, he maintained an air of composure, immediately summoning the artifact and ascending into the air without a word, while solemnly withdrawing a crimson jade box from his storage pouch. At this moment, Liu Jing fully regained his usual calm and assured demeanor, exuding confidence. This inspired mutual confidence among the others, who exchanged glances and then followed suit, ascending into the air as well. Gazing at the jade box in his hands, Liu Jing's expression softened with a touch of reluctance, but then his demeanor steadied, and he suddenly slammed both palms against the box. Instantly, the box crumbled into fragments, revealing a peculiar scroll enveloped in radiant red light. On the scroll, a vivid red phoenix图案 was depicted, constantly flapping its wings and moving about freely—like a real bird—capable of independent motion. Even more strikingly, the phoenix's eyes emitted a gentle blue glow, occasionally rotating as it moved. Even more astonishing was that as soon as the scroll appeared, a wave of intense heat radiated outwards in concentric circles, instantly raising the temperature in the space within several dozen zhang, leaving the nearby individuals parched and thirsty! Those who had just approached, including Song Meng, witnessed this remarkable scene firsthand. "Scroll treasure!" Song Meng exclaimed upon seeing the object. "Not exactly. This isn't a regular scroll treasure. This... this is a true treasure!" The senior brother, upon seeing the scroll that resembled a scroll treasure yet displayed extraordinary phenomena, gasped as though he had seen a ghost. Listeners familiar with the term "true treasure" were equally stunned. While "true treasure" is indeed a type of scroll treasure, it differs significantly from ordinary ones in many fundamental aspects. First, ordinary scroll treasures typically possess only one-tenth of the original master artifact's power, even at their peak. In contrast, true treasures can absorb up to one-third of the original master artifact's power—an achievement far beyond the capabilities of ordinary scroll treasures. Secondly, when a true treasure is born, it must be refined through the bloodline method of its master. Only descendants with a specific bloodline can wield and utilize these true treasures; otherwise, anyone else would find them unusable. Once infused with spiritual energy, these treasures would automatically perish. While these advantages are significant, true treasures also have considerable drawbacks—otherwise, all the treasures passed down by ancestors would have been of this kind. The most significant flaw of true treasures is that, although they can embody several times the power of ordinary talismans, they function only as one-time consumables. Upon activation, their full power is immediately unleashed, with no reduction or reserve, leaving no opportunity for reuse. As a result, their practicality is greatly diminished compared to ordinary talismans. However, the real reason these true treasures are so rarely transmitted down through generations lies in another extremely stringent condition: once a treasure is refined through a bloodline, the power it originally possessed is permanently lost and cannot be restored or replenished through subsequent rituals. This has caused even some senior cultivators who were well aware of their impending demise to hesitate in parting with their cherished treasures, unwilling to sacrifice even a single talisman or artifact, and instead choosing to pass on several more to their descendants. Hence, some cultivators have jokingly remarked that in the immortal realm, true treasures are actually rarer than artifacts. Though this statement is somewhat exaggerated, it nonetheless comes remarkably close to the truth!