Not long after, Han Li stepped out of the tree hollow, this time walking back with greater caution. He kept his spiritual awareness fully extended at all times, instantly vanishing whenever there was the slightest breeze or movement. After all, with his current cultivation level, encountering even a mere immortal cultivator could prove perilous. Thus, Han Li remained on high alert throughout his journey, taking nearly half as long as it had taken him to arrive, before finally reaching the underground cavern. Only upon entering the "Inverted Five Elements Array" did he finally exhale in relief. To his relief, Qu Hun remained perfectly still, seated exactly as he had when Han Li first stepped out—motionless and unmoving. Han Li couldn't help but smile at this. Knowing that restoring his cultivation would not be accomplished within just three or four years, he did not rush to take medicine or meditate. Instead, he continued to devote himself fully to repairing the ancient transmission array below. Given his current situation, the risk of making a long-distance journey to another nation within the turbulent realm of cultivation was simply too great. He could only hope that the ancient teleportation array would truly function once repaired. Although Li Han's cultivation level had significantly declined, this did not hinder his repair efforts. After six or seven days of continuous work without rest, all the repairs were completed. Standing before the now-complete ancient teleportation array, even the usually composed Li Han felt a surge of excitement. The next step he had to take was the most crucial one—decisive for success. He needed to test whether the corresponding teleportation array at the other end still existed intact. If that counterpart array was likewise damaged or had already disappeared, then the ancient array would remain unusable, and Li Han would have to abandon the idea of teleportation and seek alternative paths. As he thought about this, Li Han carefully placed several lower-tier spiritual stones around the array. Once the final stone was secured, he stepped back several paces and involuntarily held his breath. To the sight, the ancient array, built many years ago, suddenly emitted a series of low, resonant hums. Then, a flash of yellow light surged across it, only to fade as quickly as a fleeting bloom, returning once more to stillness. Han Li's heart sank. Could it be that the other end of the ancient teleportation array had indeed been abandoned? Then all his previous efforts would have been in vain! Han Li looked utterly disheartened. Yet, still holding out hope, he crossed his arms behind his back and began walking in circles around the array, occasionally frowning thoughtfully. Suddenly, he stopped, furrowed his brows as though remembering something. Then, he bent down and retrieved a low-rank spiritual stone he had just placed into the array. Upon seeing it, Han Li gasped. The stone was now pale and lifeless, having lost all traces of spiritual energy. Han Li's expression turned thoughtful, and then a glimmer of satisfaction appeared on his face. He immediately reached into his storage sack and pulled out several shimmering mid-tier spiritual stones, exchanging them one by one for the lower-tier ones. If his judgment was correct, the issue wasn't with the teleportation array failing—it was simply that the lower-tier stones lacked sufficient spiritual energy to power this ancient array. As soon as the final stone was replaced, the teleportation array immediately resumed emitting a deep, resonant hum, then surged with a powerful wave of spiritual energy, shooting out a brilliant yellow glow from its center that pierced straight through the cave ceiling. The "Reversed Five Elements" seal, surprisingly, failed to impede it at all. Witnessing this, Han Li was first stunned, then suddenly recalled something, his face instantly turning pale. At the same time, a tremendous roar erupted from above the cave. Even with the protective array in place, the sound shook the ground so intensely that Han Li felt as though the mountain itself were trembling. His expression grew even more tense. He quickly waved to Qu Hun beside him and hurried over to the edge of the teleportation array. Yet at this moment, he found himself hesitating. He truly had no idea what lay on the other side of the transmission array. Originally, he had intended to first investigate thoroughly—determine exactly what lay there and whether there were any dangers—before deciding whether to truly remain. But now that the ancient transmission array had been exposed, his departure was certain to be one-way. As Han Li was still pondering, a sudden, sharp roar came close at hand, startling him into lifting his head. He saw the entire ceiling of the cavern completely torn open by some magical device, allowing bright sunlight to pour in, illuminating the cavern’s interior with clear brilliance. Outside, a large group of magi from the demonic sects floated in the air, equally astonished, gazing at Han Li and the ancient transmission array glowing with a yellow hue. "Is it you again?" one of the demonic sect members exclaimed, filled with surprise and anger. Then, the crowd shifted slightly, and three figures emerged from within. The one in the center, wearing a silver mask, was none other than Wang Chan, the young master of the Gui Ling Sect. Behind him stood two odd characters—one elderly, with snow-white hair and deeply etched wrinkles, and the other youthful, with a rosy complexion and a childlike appearance—none other than the Li brothers who had appeared at Yanling Fort. "An ancient transmission array!" As soon as they saw the object glowing in the yellow light, the two brothers exchanged a glance and exclaimed in delight. Wang Chan listened carefully, first startled, then quickly beaming with excitement and asking, "Did the two elders misjudge? Is it truly that object?" His voice trembled slightly. He knew well what an intact ancient transmission array meant to a sect. The elder of the Li brothers chuckled, just about to speak, when suddenly his expression changed to one of urgency, and he shouted sharply, "Not good! This young man intends to activate the array—seize him now!" As he spoke, a dark jet of black energy shot forth from his mouth straight toward Han Li. He knew that from the moment the array was activated until the actual transmission began, there would still be a certain delay. With this amount of time, he had more than enough to eliminate this young disciple several times over. Yet as soon as his divine artifact entered the cave, it burst forth with brilliant light, and a five-colored light screen instantly absorbed the dark glow. Seeing this, the elder was momentarily stunned, but quickly grew fierce and bellowed, "Everyone, attack together! This youngster has set up a spell array—we must break it immediately, or we'll be too late!" Upon hearing the senior monk's words, the magian cultivators behind finally awoke to the situation, swiftly summoning their various implements. Even the young children among the Li siblings and Wang Chan were no exception, each launching their own tools and artifacts with force, striking hard at the lower level. Han Li's "Five Elements Reversal Array" was merely a simplified, temporary setup. Under the combined strong assaults of two Jin Dan cultivators and so many others, the five-colored light screen soon began to tremble, showing signs of strain. At that very moment, Han Li had already drawn Curong and stood at the center of the teleportation array. He held aloft a token-like artifact, eyes closed, murmuring words to himself, completely ignoring the attacks from the magicians. "The Great Translocation Command! Does this young man really have such an artifact?" the elder exclaimed, his voice rising in frustration as he clearly saw the shape of the token in Han Li's hands. Wang Chan and Li's brothers were even more furious. They had no Great Translocation Orders at all, so they could do nothing but watch as Han Li slipped away. Suddenly, the golden light on the transmission array flickered and vanished. Seeing this, Wang Chan and the others who had been stationed nearby grew immensely annoyed. Naturally, they knew that Han Li must have destroyed the receiving end of the array during his transmission, rendering it useless—no matter how many Great Translocation Orders they managed to secure, they would no longer be able to use this ancient transmission array. Yet Wang Chan, harboring deep resentment, remained unconvinced. Leveraging his status as the junior master, he dispatched several cultivators to remain on duty day and night at the site, fearing that Han Li might repair the array and return via transmission. Should that happen, Wang Chan vowed to capture Han Li alive and repay him thoroughly for his repeated disruptions of his own plans. But soon after, as the magical sect continued to expand, this young master of the Gui Ling Sect once again embarked on a series of campaigns, quickly forgetting about the matter. The southern realm of cultivation, deprived of Han Li's leadership, remained in prolonged chaos. After a few years, in response to the growing strength of both the demonic forces and the orthodox alliance, the remaining states finally united to form the "Heavenly Dao Council," establishing a balanced tripartite power structure. With each faction possessing comparable strength, constant warfare ensued, and no decisive outcome seemed likely in the near future. Meanwhile, the six sects that had fled abroad finally settled within the Nine-State Alliance. However, due to disputes over spiritual veins, mineral resources, and other assets, renewed conflicts arose with several local sects, as they sought to secure stable footholds. Of course, should the legal magistrates of the Muling Clan launch an invasion into the Nine States, these sects would inevitably have to contribute manpower and resources, no longer able to enjoy the same ease and autonomy they had enjoyed during their time in Yue State. As a result, numerous foundational cultivators and even some senior Dan-stage masters from the six sects perished in the battles against the "Fashis." Li Huayuan, Han Li's master, also died in the midst of a particularly intense confrontation several decades later.