Han Li immediately recognized the skull upon seeing it, which instantly reminded him of the Gui Ling Sect among the Six Sects of the Magic Path. The disciples of the Gui Ling Sect used skull-like artifacts when engaging in combat. However, their artifacts were mere inanimate objects, unlike the current black skull, which appeared vivid and lifelike, as though truly alive. While Han Li was astonished, the three black banners had already moved forward. The Jin-family cultivator roared and, with a gesture of his hand, sent out a dense stream of fine black filaments from the banners, which interwove to form a vast net, sweeping toward the opposing skull. The filaments were incredibly fine, luminous throughout, and carried a subtle black aura—clearly no ordinary matter. As the black filaments approached, a flash of red light flashed within the skull's hollow eye sockets. Then, the skull opened its mouth without sound, gnawing in a chaotic manner before suddenly expanding it, and a surge of vibrant green phosphorescent flames erupted forth from within. Thousands of black silk ribbons, upon touching these phosphorescent flames, instantly ignited as if struck by their nemesis and quickly transformed into delicate green smoke. Witnessing this, the cultivator named Jian grew pale and immediately pressed a series of hand seals, eager to summon the black banner and invoke another divine technique. Yet suddenly, the black skull expanded to the size of a wheel, then, in a single exhalation and inhalation, a gray rainbow shot forth, circled the three black banners once, and then drew them into the skull's wide mouth. With a sharp snap of its upper and lower jaws, the skull emitted crisp "crunch" sounds, and in a moment, completely crushed the three banners into fragments. At the same time, the connection between Jian and the banners was severed entirely, leaving him pale and disoriented. "Monster! You dare destroy my treasures!" Jian shouted, filled with shock and fury, his eyes betraying a growing sense of dread. Others might not know, but he himself was fully aware—these three banners were also ancient treasures from the Primordial Age! They had previously defeated countless rivals. To his surprise, after just one encounter, he was defeated right at the mouth of that strange skeletal head. At the same time, the lightning and flame Rú Yuè released were also sucked into the mouth of another skeletal head, proving completely ineffective. Now, upon exchanging glances, both Hú Yuè and the Jiǎn-named cultivator found themselves reluctantly stepping back. Even Han Li was astonished. He now realized that the stranger had the confidence to challenge a group of several Dan-stage cultivators not without reason—his array of treasures was extensive, and each of his abilities was truly impressive. It seemed that if they didn’t lend a hand, they might indeed suffer a decisive defeat. Han Li certainly didn’t want to see this unfold. After all, he had poured months of effort into this grand array, and he absolutely didn’t want it to fall short and be lost to others. Moreover, although he had hoped to remain somewhat humble before the other cultivators, he had also longed to test the true power of the “gold-eating insects,” to see if they truly deserved their ranking among the extraordinary creatures on the Odd Insects List. The strange figure now before him appears no ordinary Jiadian cultivator—indeed, the ideal candidate for testing. With this thought, Han Li glanced again at the commotion. He saw Hu Yue and the others frantically darting about in the air, constantly hurling low-level spells at the two relentless skull-headed monsters that were closing in on them. Clearly, they understood that ordinary法宝 offered no resistance against such unearthly beings, and thus had to retreat, merely dodging the attacks. As for Jin Qing's white seal法宝, it had lost its earlier momentum. Now caught in a tangle with two flying swords, it was unexpectedly ensnared by the white vapor rising from the flower basket, being gradually drawn toward it, causing Jin Qing to break into a sweat. Meanwhile, Shi Die, who stood beside Qu Hun, was only at the Juzhi stage of cultivation and could only watch helplessly, offering no assistance at all. Observing this scene, Han Li looked steadily at the stranger and, without hesitation, flipped his hand once—there, in his grasp, appeared a sturdy, well-filled spirit-animal satchel. The strange figure seemed to possess an exceptionally sharp awareness. As Han Li glanced at him, the figure immediately sensed him and turned sharply, glaring fiercely at Han Li. With a flash of fierce intent, he reached into his cloak, seemingly intending to retrieve another artifact to counter Han Li. Seizing the moment, Han Li acted first. He gently tossed his spiritual beast pouch into the air and, with a single hand motion, swiftly cast a pale green seal upon the pouch. Instantly, the pouch shivered, expelling dozens of round orbs. Each orb, about a foot in diameter, shimmered in pure gold and silver, and as soon as they appeared, they burst into dozens of radiant beams, shooting directly toward the strange figure. Upon seeing this, the figure only sneered, chuckling lightly. From within his cloak, he drew a dark, circular disc and hurled it out without hesitation. The disc roared as it sailed through the air, expanding to several times its original size, then spinning rapidly toward the orbs. "Thud!" "Thud!" The sounds came one after another. As each sphere touched the dark, massive wheel, it shattered into scattered specks of gold and silver starlight, as if pulverized. "Hah! Hah!" The strange man laughed, then pointed at the wheel, aiming to send it slicing toward Han Li. "Die!" The strange man blinked and quickly regained his composure, pressing two palms together to activate a spell. Black mist surged forth from the spinning wheel, rotating automatically, as he aimed to extinguish the strange insects. Yet, to his utter astonishment, the very moment the mist was released, it was instantly devoured by the groups of beetles that surged forward—clean and completely gone, leaving not a single trace. While the high-speed rotation of the wheel sent some of the golden-eating beetles flying, many others immediately pressed close, seemingly unafraid of the wheel's sharp cutting edges. Seeing this, the strange man grew pale with shock, while Han Li felt a surge of delight. In moments, the wheel visibly shrank—first from large to small, then to nothing at all—being entirely consumed by the beetles, after which a powerful hum resumed. The strange man's face now turned ashen. Han Li, undaunted, simply pointed, and the golden-eating beetles instantly transformed into a brilliant, shimmering mass of gleaming silver and gold mist, rushing in like a wave toward the strange man. The strange figures, now impressed by the prowess of these beetles, showed a touch of alarm, and hurriedly raised a hand toward the towering black skull that had been relentlessly pursuing Hu Yue and the other cultivator, chasing them breathless. At once, the two eerie objects slowed down, flickered several times, and then shot backward, landing with a fierce, imposing presence before the figure. Hu Yue and the Jin-family cultivator, now able to catch their breath, finally relaxed and stopped a safe distance away, gazing at the figure with mild astonishment. The figure still seemed uneasy, and with a flash of cold light, produced a small dagger several inches long. After a brief hesitation, he stiffened, raised the dagger, and struck off two fingers. Upon seeing the two skulls, they immediately launched forward, each swallowing one whole, and then emitted a series of strange, mournful sounds, as though deeply delighted. The figure narrowed his eyes and then opened his mouth, sending two streaks of dark light into the cranial bones of the skulls. At once, the two black skeletons began to undergo transformation, emitting painful groans. "Pffft, pffft!" Two goat-like antlers sprouted from the top of the skull, and the fangs in the mouth extended several inches, appearing sharply pointed. Within a few breaths, the tangled hair on the head turned blood red, fully transforming into a ghostly appearance. Upon seeing the skeletons complete their transformation, the strange figure relaxed, bracing against the intense pain, and with a trembling finger, pointed toward the approaching swarm of insects. A flash of green light flashed in his eyes, and the ghostly heads instantly responded, morphing into two streams of dark light and emitting long, resonant ghostly howls as they flew toward the insect swarm. Upon seeing the ghostly heads approach, the gold-devouring insects immediately split under the direction of Han Li into two groups, advancing in two separate directions with fierce determination. The skeletal head, now transformed into a ghostly form, opened its mouth wide and expelled a surge of emerald phosphorescent light several times thicker than before—precisely striking a large group of golden-devouring insects advancing directly at it, sending them into a chaotic frenzy and hurling them back several feet. The insect swarm became disordered. The strange figure showed a moment of satisfaction, yet that expression vanished almost instantly. For the insects struck by the phosphorescent jet rolled over several times before rising again with no visible injury, as if unharmed. Now, the figure's face was filled with utter disbelief! After all, the phosphorescent flame emitted by the ghostly head—the碧渊ghost flame—was three grades superior to the dan-fire, so how could it fail to incinerate even these small insects? Though the ghostly head could not subdue the golden-devouring insects, nor could the insects penetrate the ghost's phosphorescent jets, the two thus found themselves in a state of stalemate. The stranger frowned, pondering other courses of action. Yet at that moment, a hum suddenly rose—several times louder than before—and echoed from afar. Startled, he lifted his head, his face instantly pale, losing all trace of color.