As the bodies of the Jin Dan stage cultivators within the array began to slow down, a sudden burst of十余 crystal-white ice spears shot forth from the water on one side. The once clumsy figure of the Gu Elder suddenly regained agility, spinning around with a fluid motion and then raising his hand—launching a massive yellow lunar blade that swiftly shattered the incoming ice spears with a series of crisp cracks, continuing on without hesitation toward the direction where the ice serpent was advancing. At the same time, the water behind the Gu Elder parted suddenly, and a blood-red, radiant column of light surged forward. Due to its incredible speed and short distance, combined with the array's constraints, the Gu Elder had no time to dodge, and only managed to slightly pale, his body radiating a strong yellow glow to absorb the impact. The powerful blood-colored strike, striking like a limb of considerable thickness, sent the Jin Dan cultivator staggering forward two steps, momentarily unsteady and nearly stumbling as he regained his footing. Just then, a flash of emerald light surged, and Han Li suddenly appeared beside the ancient elder, his hands tightly gripping a massive silver sword, slashing it diagonally with great force. The ancient elder was truly startled now! Just moments ago, there had been no one present—how could Han Li have moved so mysteriously, using such an elusive form of teleportation? Though deeply astonished, the elder immediately surged his yellow glow with unwavering determination, preparing to absorb Han Li's powerful blow. Han Li chuckled lightly, vanishing from the elder's sight, while the surrounding air echoed with sharp "pops" of rushing sound. Suddenly, dozens of fine, thread-thin crimson lines materialized around them, piercing straight through. "Flying needles!" the ancient elder gasped, amazed. As a master of the immortal realm, he was well-versed in the properties of the "yin" artifacts. Instantly, his yellow glow intensified, and he swiftly summoned his power to destroy these deadly yin instruments, determined not to fall victim to an unseen ambush. A tremendous crash, and Han Li materialized behind him, drawing his sword and cleaving through the yellow glow, causing it to tremble instantly. Then, over a dozen crimson threads, like serpents in a strange dance, snaked into the glow, piercing several feet deep and continuing to surge forward with relentless force. The ancient elder was both astonished and furious, his eyes flashing with cold intensity as he reached for his storage pouch. Now he began to understand—under the pressure of the opponent's array and his enigmatic attacks, despite his significant depletion of vital energy, he could only rely on a single artifact, and it seemed unlikely he would prevail. Yet before he could retrieve anything else, two streaks of blood, as thick as his thumbs, flashed past and swiftly pierced his protective yellow glow. The glow, already wavering from the blow of Han Li's silver sword and the entrapment of the flying needles, was easily breached by these seemingly unimpressive blood streaks. The ancient elder's face turned as pale as paper! Yet, he was only a Dan-stage cultivator. At the very moment the blood streak pierced his protective yellow glow, he sensed something was amiss. Without pausing to retrieve any treasures, he suddenly leaned his body sharply. Instantly, a blood streak skimmed past his ear, tearing off half of the flesh and tissue from one ear. Though the second streak missed his heart, it left a small, gushing wound on his shoulder. Ancient Master cried out in pain, "Ouch!" and his legs gave way, nearly collapsing to the ground. But Han Li's assault did not stop there. Qu Hu's towering figure leapt out of the sea, raising both hands to launch two bright red beams of light. At the same time, Han Li, expression unchanged, spun his silver sword into a massive orb of silver light, continuously striking and clashing against the yellow glow, emitting a sharp, piercing sound of "crackling" friction. With his other hand, he drew out a thick stack of scrolls, instantly unleashing countless fire balls and ice spears, causing a continuous cascade of colorful glimmers and explosive bursts. The ancient elder, recovering from intense pain, grew alarmed. He clearly sensed that under the immense pressure of the array and the relentless attacks from his opponent, the "Hunyuan Basin" was consuming an overwhelming amount of spiritual energy—its protective yellow aura was rapidly fading and could no longer sustain itself. In panic, he immediately summoned a secret technique to draw upon more energy, yet just as he began to act, a cold, steady incantation from Han Li resonated before his movement. Instantly, the surrounding seawater surged and spun wildly, and the immense pressure pressing upon him surged severalfold. The last remnants of his yellow aura emitted a series of plaintive "crackling" sounds, then vanished completely into nothingness, all while he stared in disbelief. The dozen or so flying needles that had freed themselves from his body flashed red and pierced through his vital points, causing him to stagger and finally collapse, half-sitting on the ground. A flash of silver, Han Li silently slipped past the elder at his side, and as he did so, the elder's splendid head flew out several zhang away. A fountain of blood erupted several feet high, and the thick scent of blood immediately spread throughout the area. Han Li exhaled in relief! Yet, he immediately took a swift step and returned to the body, lifting the storage pouch at the elder's waist with his silver sword and securing it in his hands. At the same time, Qu Hun picked up the yellow, bowl-shaped magical artifact. Then, Han Li and Qu Hun swiftly stepped out of the great array, launched the Divine Vessel, and immediately ascended into the sky on their respective vehicles. After flying just twenty or thirty li, Han Li descended, plunging headfirst into the vast sea below and diving several dozen zhang deep. He then withdrew his magical instruments, pulled out the crimson lightweight silk that had lost its vital breath, and enveloped both himself and Qu Hun within it. Together, they then employed the unnamed incantation to regulate their breath and refine their qi. Not long after completing all this, a powerful and furious divine awareness descended nearby and began searching the sea surface and sky. Though it examined thoroughly, it failed to locate Han Li or Qu Hun. The turbulent awareness swept swiftly past the two and hurried off to other areas. Only then did Han Li feel truly at ease. Of course, he wouldn't be foolish enough to immediately surface and make himself visible. Instead, he simply released a delicate blue protective aura from the depths, shielding both himself and Qu Hun from the surrounding water, and settled to meditate together. Thus concealed beneath the sea, they remained in seclusion for nearly fifteen days. In the early days of this period, the powerful divine awareness seemed unwilling to give up, repeatedly returning to search Han Li's location several times. Each time, Han Li anticipated the search and promptly stabilized his qi, allowing the awareness to return empty-handed. Now, after the divine awareness had completely vanished and had not reappeared for over ten days, Han Li finally felt confident enough to take action. He carefully withdrew slowly from the sea, covering over a hundred miles, before finally emerging from the water and then flying off at full speed in a determined direction. The Qi-Xing Island was certainly no longer within reach—he would have to seek a new place to settle. Though he didn't know what hidden connection existed between the two senior cultivators, Gu and Miao, and the young man named "Wu Chou," compelling them to resort to murder and elimination, he was certain that as a Foundation Stage cultivator, he could not possibly become involved in their affairs. It would be wise to stay well outside their spheres of influence. Indeed, it was truly a pity that he had to lose the abode on Xiao Huan Island and those three precious arraying tools, not to mention the other magical artifacts lost during the conflict—his losses were truly substantial! Han Li flew on, constantly adjusting his pace, chuckling to himself with a touch of self-mockery. Compared to the grim fate of the middle-aged scholars and others, he had managed to survive, and thus had little to complain about. As he was comforting himself, a sudden thought struck him, and he reached for the storage bag of the ancient elder. Ever since then, Han Li had been anxious and hadn't had the heart to check this item. Now, it was finally time to take a closer look. A storage sack from a Jin Dan stage cultivator—shouldn't it be quite respectable? He hoped it could at least make up for the losses this time. As he gradually immersed his consciousness into the sack, Han Li was thrilled beyond words by the seventy or so mid-tier spiritual stones inside. This ancient elder must have a substantial fortune—carrying so many spiritual stones with him! Perhaps he, like himself, was accustomed to always taking all his possessions with him. In that case, having so many spiritual stones would indeed be quite normal for a cultivator who had reached Jin Dan stage for many years. With this realization, Han Li finally shifted his focus away from the stones and turned his attention to the other items: a yellow jade bottle about an inch high, two scrolls shimmering in blue and golden hues, a scripture book, and a round orb glowing with a blue light. The rest were merely miscellaneous, less valuable items. The Daoist scriptures were nothing special—just a high-level technique called "Tǔ Lí Jué," which wasn't exactly common, but Han Li simply wouldn't bother to practice it. The two scrolls, however, were excellent. One depicted a small golden sword, a scroll of precious value; the other, an unknown scroll illustrated with a blue dragon, immediately pleased Han Li. The spherical object he had taken out and examined for a while finally confirmed it as the inner essence of a five-tiered beast—an extremely rare item. Lastly, there remained a rather unremarkable small vial. Yet when Han Li opened the lid of the yellow vial, five golden pill-sized pills rolled out, each about the size of his thumb. These pills were perfectly uniform in size, vivid in color, translucent and symmetrical, radiating a distinct and unusual aroma of medicine. "Pills of Dust Purification," Han Li murmured, stunned as he held them in his hands. Though he had never seen them in person, their shape, hue, and fragrance matched exactly with the descriptions in the book he had purchased, *Dan Dao Píng Jiàn*. What else could it be?