Having made up his mind, the cultivators who had spoken with Han Li later found it strange that, at the start of the gathering at Bai Chi, they could not see Han Li—the esteemed elder—present. Han Li first visited the market of Tianxing Sect, purchased all the materials needed to repair the ancient transmission array according to the list, and then set off toward Yueguo. This time, instead of taking the original route, he took a detour, quietly infiltrating through the remote border region between Yuanwu and Yueguo. Now, Yueguo is firmly under the control of the magical schools. Han Li didn’t want to find himself pursued and hunted as soon as he entered the region. Unbeknownst to him, this very caution had inadvertently spared him from a crisis. At present, the magical schools have stationed numerous personnel along most of Yueguo’s borders, patrolling day and night. If Han Li had returned directly along his original path, he would certainly have been spotted. A full-scale flight and battle of escape was certain to follow! Now, Anan had entered the territory of the Yue state, guiding his journey through sparsely populated areas, and thus reached the vicinity of the ancient transmission array located within the spiritual stone mine without encountering any obstacles. By now, the mine naturally fell under the control of the magical sects. From afar, Han Li observed and spotted a disciple of the magical sect dressed in green and white robes. The emerald ghost-headed emblem on the sleeve and the rosy peony insignia indicated that the disciple belonged to the Gui Ling Sect or the Hehuang Sect. Upon learning that the magical sects now held dominion over the mine, Han Li quietly withdrew and discovered a concealed underground entrance nearby, then entered through it. He easily located the cave that had been sealed the previous day. After using his magical tools to clear away the scattered stones, he once again encountered the damaged but still intact ancient transmission array. Seeing the array remain undamaged, Han Li breathed a sigh of relief. In the days that followed, Han Li first employed a set of newly acquired phantom-form array flags to completely conceal the hidden entrance. Then, using the improved banners and panels of the "Reversed Five-Row Array," he laid out a large protective array around the cavern housing the ancient teleportation array. Thus, even if the magicians discovered him, he would have ample time to escape calmly. With no worries ahead, Han Li began repairing the teleportation array. As clearly stated in the jade scroll, the restoration of the ancient array was an exquisitely precise engineering task—any slight misalignment of an otherwise unobtrusive symbol could cause the entire system to malfunction. Consequently, Han Li's repair process was extremely slow. After seven full days, the array had only completed half of its restoration. At that point, however, a major problem arose—the materials he had purchased beforehand had been completely exhausted. Han Li was now at a loss. Although he had bought more materials than listed in the inventory, he had not anticipated any errors during the repair process or the inevitable waste of materials. Moreover, he was neither a specialized artisan nor a master array engineer. As a result, the materials he handled were often mishandled during restoration, ending up wasted. Thus, he would soon find himself short of supplies. Han Li sighed, realizing he would have to make a trip. He remembered that, a few days' journey east of the spiritual mine, there was a small market established by a cultivation family. Though modest in size, the materials such as iron mother and crystal jade could still be obtained there. After all, the core of the transmission array remained intact—only ordinary materials were needed. His only concern, however, was that given the current turmoil in the cultivation world, it was uncertain whether this market would still exist. What if he made the journey only to find it already gone? After careful consideration, Han Li decided to leave the underground cavern at night, taking advantage of the darkness and heading directly toward the market on his flying vehicle. He had already made up his mind: even if the market were no longer there, he would merely return to the market in Yuanwu Country once. He could not simply abandon the ancient transmission array halfway through its restoration. But to be safe, Han Li decided to travel at night, resting and concealing himself during the day. This would minimize the risks as much as possible. So, taking advantage of the dark night, Han Li flew eastward all evening, only beginning to search for a place to rest when the first traces of dawn appeared. However, as he looked downward, his expression suddenly changed, and he swiftly turned his head, fixing his gaze on a particular direction. He had a strong feeling that someone—or several people—were approaching swiftly toward him. Without hesitation, Han Li stepped down on his Shenfeng Boat, and the two of them descended diagonally, vanishing into the night sky. Just as he had fully concealed his form and gathered his spiritual energy, a brilliant beam of white light burst forth, moving silently and swiftly. Behind the light, a blood-stained mist several zhang in size followed closely, emitting continuous cries of anguish and wailing. A little farther on, a soft pink glow shimmered, faintly emitting a clear, resonant hum, steadily pursuing them without pause. Han Li, hidden beneath the forested hills, paid no attention to the white light ahead or the pink cloud behind—instead, he found the blood mist before him strangely familiar. Wasn't this the protective magic of the young master of the Gui Ling Sect? Could this be the very person he had been seeking? As he recalled the young master's prowess and the hardships he had endured, Han Li's expression darkened. "This... this sounds just like Nan Gong Wan's voice. Is it really her?" Han Li was utterly astonished! This woman, who had shared a fusion bond with him, though she had spoken to him only sparingly, had long since been deeply etched in his memory as the first woman in his life. Indeed, the voice was very much like Nan Gong Wan's—only slightly hoarse. Han Li still felt a touch of doubt. As Han Li was still stunned, the blood mist and the patch of pink glow that had been trailing behind him seemed to be startled by the masked woman's words, both halting and stopping at about fifteen paces away. Then, the blood mist and the pink glow gradually thinned out, revealing the figures within. The figure in the blood mist was indeed the young master of Gui Ling Sect, Wang Chan. But the man and woman revealed when the pink glow dispersed left Han Li utterly speechless. The man was the strange, strikingly beautiful male being he had seen at Yan Ling Pavilion—so graceful and feminine in appearance. And the woman, it turned out, was Dong Xuan'er, who had gone missing days ago and whom he had long believed to have fallen into the hands of Dong Xuaner's expression was cold, her once alluring grace now completely gone, appearing remarkably composed. What surprised Han Li even more was that her cultivation had advanced from the early stage of Foundation to the mid-stage of Foundation. As Han Li watched Dong Xuaner standing beside the strange man, his brows furrowed in concern. At that moment, the young master of Gui Ling Sect and the handsome man exchanged glances with the masked woman, both of them displaying hesitation. Though the woman had already been defeated twice by a Gui Ling Sect cultivator at the Condensation stage, and seemed now powerless to resist, she had indeed inflicted heavy casualties among numerous Condensation-level magi of the demonic path during the defense battle at Yan Yue Sect. If, in a final desperate effort, she managed to draw both of them into a joint demise, that would be truly unfortunate. With this thought in mind, both of them exchanged glances, neither willing to move first. Seeing this, the handsome and strange man's eyes flickered, and with a smile he addressed the veiled woman: "In past years, if Master Nan Gong had said something like this, I and my brother Wang would have naturally fled at once. But now? Even if I, as a junior, count on the deep ties between Yan Yue Sect and He Huan Sect and wish to give Master a chance, Brother Wang from Gui Ling Sect won't let up at all!" The elegant man spoke as though we were family, fully ready to negotiate on all matters—yet he didn't hesitate to directly push the young master of Gui Ling Sect forward, making him the shield against any further attacks. Upon hearing this, Wang Chan was deeply angered. Yet, being equally composed in his emotions, he only glanced at his counterpart before calmly stating: "I've heard that within He Huan Sect's secret arts, there exists a technique known as the 'Xuan Yue Absorbing Yin Power.' Through the practice of dual cultivation, male practitioners can forcibly draw a portion of a female's vital essence." Though not much, with his Ji Dan stage cultivation, he must surely be able to help this Tian公子 overcome the mid-stage bottleneck and advance into the later stage!" As soon as Wang Chan spoke these words, the handsome man's face turned pale. He had never expected that his persistent pursuit of this young lady would be instantly perceived and revealed by Wang Chan, and he felt a surge of embarrassment and indignation. At the same time, the masked woman glared at him with growing annoyance, bit down on her silver teeth, and snapped, "A mere pig! You're going to die!" With that, she raised her hand, and a vast, ethereal blade of white light surged forth, sweeping across the scene. Both Wang Chan and the handsome man were startled, blood mist and shimmering light erupting from their bodies, and they immediately prepared to take flight and retreat.