Lo and behold, a vast swarm of insects, stretching for dozens of zhangs, suddenly appeared in the distance sky. The deep, resonant hum emanated subtly from within this immense insect cloud. Below the cloud, Han Li gazed steadily at the strange man, his expression impassive, his gaze as cold and lifeless as that of a corpse, and with a single word—“Go!”—spoke from his lips. Instantly, the colossal insect cloud surged downward, pressing upon the man like a crushing weight of dark clouds. The strange man felt his limbs grow cold; this swarm, now at least ten times larger than before, was utterly beyond his capacity to withstand. Overwhelmed by fear, he hesitated and began to retreat. With a troubled expression, he raised his hand and summoned the floral basket, transforming it into a stream of white vapor, which he then returned to his grasp. Next, he cast two vividly crimson hand seals toward the two ghost-headed figures, murmuring a somewhat obscure incantation. Then, without even bothering to retrieve the flying sword still engaged in combat, he turned abruptly and took flight, leaving without hesitation. Han Li was momentarily stunned by the man’s decisive departure. Two spectral heads violently spurted intense phosphorescent flames, then attempted to flee, but Han Li would not let them escape so easily. Under his command, the vast cloud of insects surged forth and instantly engulfed them, swallowing every single drop of phosphorescent flame emitted, as thousands of gold-devouring insects consumed it completely. As a result, countless gold-devouring insects now clung tightly to the spectral heads' bodies. Observing this, Han Li knew they were finished. Just as he prepared to gather the gold-devouring insects to pursue the mysterious figures, two tremendous explosions suddenly rang out. At the very spot where the spectral heads had been submerged, they burst open, enveloping vast swaths of the gold-devouring insects in a brilliant emerald flame. Han Li was first startled, but quickly reassured himself. Through his inner sense of awareness, he saw that while hundreds of gold-devouring insects at the very center were incinerated by this unusual fire, the majority remained unharmed. This clearly demonstrated that the immature gold-devouring insects were not entirely immune to damage—they would be destroyed once the intensity of the harm exceeded a certain threshold. Yet this had greatly satisfied Han Li. After all, the Gold-Feeding Insects had immediately forced two exceptionally powerful ghosts to self-explode—ordinary Jiadian cultivators would surely find themselves no match against such a swarm. With this thought in mind, Han Li immediately transformed into a streak of jade-green light, gathering the insects overhead and swiftly pursuing the fleeing stranger. His intention was simple: since he had now forged a deep enmity with this man, he would resolve to eliminate him once and for all, never allowing him to escape unnoticed. At the same time, Qu Hun, in a single thought, shimmered into a glow of yellow light and entered Han Li’s jade-green streak, joining the pursuit. As for Hu Yue and Jin Qing, they stood in quiet astonishment, still at their original location, seemingly unable to accept the fact that Han Li alone had driven the stranger into a full retreat. The stranger’s elusiveness was indeed remarkable; despite Han Li’s full effort in channeling the power of his Green-Hue Sword, he still managed to gradually increase the distance between them. And in a moment, the three of them had surged forward, covering dozens of li before they even reached the edge of the desolate island. Seeing this, Han Li's eyes flashed with cold light. After drawing a deep breath, seven small green swords, each about the size of a palm, suddenly shot forth from within his body. These swords spun around him once, then merged into a single massive green blade. Han Li shifted his stance, and both himself and Qu Hun instantly ascended onto the blade. A brilliant green glow surged forth, and Han Li now moved at nearly half the speed of before, transforming into a long, shimmering green arc stretching over ten or more zhang, breaking through the sky. After a cup of tea's worth of time, Han Li caught up. Gazing ahead at Wu Guang who pressed on steadily, Han Li raised his hand, sending two identical green swords hurtling forward, while at the same time, Qu Hun's Huan Yuan Basin expanded into a yellow glow and shot out ahead. The fleeing stranger evidently noticed Han Li's relentless pursuit, and thus, as Han Li and Qu Hun activated their divine artifacts, he immediately launched a skull-like figure, opening his wide mouth and charging straight ahead. Meanwhile, the stranger turned without looking and continued flying. In his mind, the presence of the skull would at least buy him some additional time. Han Li's expression darkened. He silently pressed a series of sword gestures, and the two flying swords flashed with green light, instantly transforming into four streams of swordlight so indistinct in authenticity that it was hard to tell which was real and which was false. Two of these streams surged directly toward the ghostly skull, while the other two merged seamlessly into a single flying sword about a foot long, accelerating swiftly and silently shooting toward the stranger's back. The combined sword reached the stranger's rear with remarkable speed, arriving within moments. Yet the stranger seemed to sense something, suddenly turning his head and spotting a shimmer of emerald light just five to six zhang away. At once, the stranger's face turned pale, almost lifeless. At the moment of crisis, he opened his mouth and expelled a surge of black mist straight toward the flying sword, then immediately drew his light, intending to dart sideways. Under韩立's guidance, the flying sword plunged without hesitation into the black mist, where a sudden arc of pale golden electricity erupted, completely dispersing the black mist. Then, a flash of green light appeared—unimpeded, the emerald-colored flying sword plunged straight into the strange figure's chest. The figure still refused to believe, lowering his head to examine the sword, his face filled with astonishment. Before he could utter a single word, he was transformed into ash by the rebound of the pale golden arc. Han Li swiftly darted forward, his form flickering several times, and in the process, grasped the three items firmly in his hands. After steadying himself, he examined them carefully. Besides the ancient floral basket and the storage bag, there was also a scroll glowing with vibrant red light. The latent spiritual energy within it suggested that even if it were not a primordial ancient treasure, it certainly far surpassed the ordinary category of magical artifacts. Han Li, delighted, gently unfurled the scroll and was instantly stunned. After staring at the depicted image for a long time, he slowly re-folded the scroll, his face now showing a deep expression of contemplation. Suppressing the doubts swirling in his heart, Han Li silently flew toward the skull. The once-loyal black skull, now bereft of its owner, floated motionless in the air, though its malevolent aura remained unchanged—it had completely lost its former vitality. Han Li glanced at it and slightly frowned. To be honest, he had never seen anything so strange before. He sensed that this object did not come from a particularly auspicious source, yet he felt a certain reluctance, so after some hesitation, he placed it alone in a jade box. Then, after circling the area once more, Han Li took off with Qu Hun toward their destination. On the way, however, they encountered Jin Qing and the others who had come to assist them. Upon seeing Han Li and Qu Hun return unharmed, they were immediately delighted and gathered around them. "Friend Han, what about that demon? Has he escaped?" Jin Qing asked naturally. "He's already been extinguished!" Han said calmly. "Extinct! That's wonderful. I sensed such intense malevolent energy from him. Should he continue to trouble us in the future, that would indeed be a serious matter." Jin Qing sighed with relief. Yet, Ruo Yue and the Jin-family cultivator nearby exchanged slightly concerned glances, their eyes now filled with a quiet sense of reverence toward Han. After all, in the cultivation world, ability always holds the highest regard. The others soon flew back to the distant area, where the Stone Maiden was anxiously waiting for them. After gathering once again, they briefly discussed and decided that it would be better to break through the array swiftly, to avoid any unforeseen complications arising from delay. Thus, they repositioned themselves, and with Han's mind stabilized, he once again activated the array flags and discs. The process of unraveling the final seal unfolded remarkably smoothly. Once the crimson light shield shattered, not a single "Wing Evil" managed to escape—every one was utterly extinguished by the water-elemental artifacts held by the several individuals. With evident delight, the group turned their attention toward the peculiar stone pillar now exposed at the center. With no barriers from seals impeding their view, and leveraging their collective spiritual awareness and keen eyesight, even without approaching the pillar closely, they could clearly perceive every detail inscribed upon it. The glyphs on the pillar were exceptionally unusual—eight large ancient characters spiraled from the top to the base, accompanied by countless strange, wavy patterns. Moreover, the entire pillar was embedded with numerous rare yin-yang jade stones, evenly distributed and glowing with a soft, subtle interplay of black and white light. After gazing at it, the group found themselves at a loss, exchanging puzzled glances before all falling into deep contemplation, striving to recall relevant information. "Sealing the Spirit Pillar" — it took only a brief moment before the lowest-ranked stone butterfly gasped and uttered the pillar's name. Upon hearing the name, the others, including Han Li, were first taken aback, then exchanged puzzled glances. "Stone Princess," Hu Yue asked, her voice slightly dry, "are you certain? Is this truly the Sealing Spirit Pillar?" "Absolutely correct!" the stone butterfly said, her eyes shining with excitement. "I have a specialized treatise on array techniques in my abode that details the Sealing Spirit Pillars. This pillar's shape and inscriptions match those described exactly. Don't be deceived by its ordinary appearance—it's actually forged from a blend of over a dozen exceptionally rare crafting materials. Just this single pillar alone is worth five to six thousand spirit stones." She gazed at the pillar with sparkling eyes, her face alight with enthusiasm.