Just as the gray shadow was about to pierce through the black-robed man, a brilliant white glow suddenly flared between them. The gray shadow shrieked and recoiled, shooting back. The black-robed man, having just narrowly escaped, stood momentarily stunned, then quickly grew delighted. Without hesitation, he instantly took off, finally materializing beside Han Li with a flash of red light. Han Li looked at the black-robed man with some surprise. He could see clearly that, during the flash of white light, a large bird-like form had briefly passed by—this very form had startled and repelled the gray shadow. Han Li found this rather curious. The black-robed man, however, had nothing but a grim expression for Han Li. Having just narrowly escaped death, he was still shaken and deeply regretful for having come to the Void Sky Hall so impetuously, without listening to others' advice. Yet, as he thought of the white light that had saved his life, a memory seemed to surface. He quickly fumbled in his cloak and withdrew an ancient, weathered bronze mirror. Han Li glanced at it curiously. This mirror has an unusual shape, with a subtle aura radiating from it. Could it be another ancient treasure? While pondering this, a crisp sound of shattering reached his ears. The ancient mirror suddenly cracked into seven or eight pieces without any prior sign, and the inner qi that had been contained within it vanished completely—now it seemed to have become a useless relic. Upon seeing this, the cloaked figure expressed deep regret. He sighed, gently placing the broken bronze mirror back in his possession. Then, as he lifted his head, he caught sight of Han Li's gaze, and immediately recalled his earlier deliberate decision not to assist. He grew irritated, coldly exhaled, and turned his head away. Seeing this, Han Li paused momentarily, then, as though he had realized something, smiled quietly and chose to overlook the matter, turning his attention to the ghostly creature across from him. The Purple Spirit Princess, gazing at the cloaked figure, likewise looked thoughtful. At that moment, the "Tianhun" beast had already rushed forward and climbed automatically onto the shoulder of the black-robed figure, sitting still and displaying remarkable docility. Beside the black ghost figure, a gray shadow appeared faintly on one side, and as several soft "puff" sounds echoed, seven or eight similar spectral creatures burst forth from the surrounding mist. These ghostly beings, Han Li recognized instantly—they were a type known as "Wei Wu," fierce and formidable spirits. Normally, the appearance of just one such spirit would cause significant commotion. Yet here, a whole group had emerged, which caused Han Li's expression to grow increasingly grave. Though these ghostly beings, with horns on their heads and sharp fingers, were not as powerful as the two main ghost figures, they were no less formidable than late Foundation Stage cultivators. Now, they all stood coldly, crouched in a ring around Han Li and his companions, completely encircling them. Seeing this, Han Li knew a hard battle was inevitable, and he promptly issued his orders without further hesitation. "You two handle the Weiwu ghosts; I'll take on these two ghost shadows. Help me delay them a bit!" Han Li's voice was deep and solemn. Though the black-robed man was deeply dissatisfied with Han Li, he immediately recognized the seriousness of the situation and reluctantly accepted his command. After all, he believed he could not possibly match the two ghost shadows. The fact that the other side had willingly stepped forward to face them was exactly what he had hoped for. As soon as he finished speaking, the fierce spirits of the demons surged forward. Upon seeing this, Han Li instantly cast his spiritual beast pouch first. A vast, shimmering tapestry of golden and silver insects spread out in the air. At that moment, the surrounding demonic spirits seemed to have received a unified signal, charging fiercely at the three of them, their mouths spewing dark ghost flames. The black-robed man and the purple spirit maiden promptly cast their talismans and implements to block their advance. The Ti-Hun Beast was even more formidable—stretching and curling the rosy light from its nostrils, it directly drew a nearby ying-gu spirit into its belly. Yet, it could only achieve this! For the two green-hair night guards once again drove their bone spears, ensnaring the beast. Han Li paid no attention to these Wei-Wu fierce spirits, instead transforming into a streak of azure light and shooting toward the two ghost figures in the distance. The golden-munching insects hummed along, closely following. Upon seeing Han Li approach actively, the black-eyed ghost, whose green glow flashed briefly, opened its mouth and expelled another glowing green orb, aiming it straight at Han Li’s azure streak. The gray one, meanwhile, flickered several times before vanishing silently into thin air. Han Li furrowed his brow, neither approaching nor reacting, simply halting motionless midway. Yet, with a flick of his fingers, two "Severed Bamboo Cloud Swords" transformed into two streaks of azure light, intersecting and shooting forth. At the same time, the gold-devouring insects emitted a hum and, under the command of his divine awareness, dispersed and then hovered around him, no longer moving freely. "Boom!" Two green glimmers intertwined with the orb, and the ghost orb quickly surged with thick waves of profound cold and Yin energy, instantly enveloping the two flying swords within, sealing them completely. A flash of cold light passed through Han Li's eyes as he pressed two hand seals. Immediately, the two flying swords expanded several times in size, transforming into two serpentine dragons several dozen feet long. With their heads tossing and tails swaying, they churned the dark Yin energy and broke free, then turned to strike the green ghost orb with fierce force. Witnessing this, the ghost figure's previously impassive gaze now revealed a touch of surprise. After all, though this green ghost orb had originally been a simple protective artifact of a fallen cultivator, it had been refined over hundreds of years through the continuous cultivation of profound Yin ghost energy, now becoming remarkably exquisite and powerful. The jet of xuan-yin qi specifically damaged the spiritual essence of法宝, and as long as it wrapped around even a single thread, the法宝 would remain trapped, unable to escape. Yet for no apparent reason, these two flying swords wielded by Han Li showed no fear of the entanglement of the xuan-yin qi. The green dragon formed from the swords merely tore through it with a single bite, scattering the xuan-yin ghost qi into fragments, and never reaching the swords themselves. This caused the now-intelligent ghost shadow to grow wary. After all, during his centuries of attaining spiritual awareness, he had never encountered such a phenomenon before. Thus, hesitating slightly, he suddenly raised his ghost paw and lightly tapped it against the green orb floating in the air. The ghost orb radiated brilliant light, then shot back several zhang before spinning several times in the air. Suddenly, it trembled and transformed into a massive black demonic tiger. This tiger was towering in stature, with eyes like chimes. As it opened its maw and roared, it emitted a powerful glow of black, green, and phosphorescent light, displaying immense strength. Yet what was most astonishing was that this great tiger, unlike the azure dragon formed by Han Li's flying sword, which appeared as a mere shadow-body, seemed entirely solid and tangible—a true, powerful entity. "An artifact spirit?" Han Li was slightly startled, and involuntarily half-closed his eyes. An "artifact spirit" refers to the opportunity, during the crafting of each magical artifact, to seal the essence or spiritual soul of a mythical beast or ghost within the artifact. When engaged in battle, these sealed essences can merge with the artifact, greatly enhancing its power and allowing it to manifest in the form and with the abilities of the original being—thus serving as a swift path to significantly boosting the artifact's potency. However, for some unknown reason, regardless of whether the sealing is successful or not, an artifact can only seal an artifact spirit once—from its creation until its ultimate destruction. If the sealing fails, the artifact never gains the chance to host another artifact spirit. Once the second sealing attempt occurs, the artifact no longer accepts any further spiritual essences. This made many cultivators treat the sealing ceremony with great seriousness, typically only undertaking it when they had identified a suitable target and felt confident about the outcome. When Nan Gong Wan extracted the immortal spirit of the black dragon-jelly back then in the Blood-Colored Sanctuary, she likely intended to use it as a sealed spirit essence. After all, though the black dragon-jelly was still in its early stages of development, it was exceptionally rare as a dragon-jelly. Thus, Nan Gong Wan was exceptionally excited upon obtaining it. Even though Han Li had defeated numerous beasts of various ranks across the Chaotic Star Sea, he had yet to encounter a single spirit dragon—this left Han Li, who had long hoped to use a dragon-jelly as a spirit essence, deeply frustrated. However, the success rate of sealing a spirit essence remained unpredictable and largely unpatterned. One thing was certain: the stronger the spirit essence's immortal spirit, the lower the chances of successful sealing. Meanwhile, spirit essences that were too weak failed to significantly enhance the power of the artifact. Hence, most cultivators' treasures ultimately still lack the presence of a spirit guardian! For either they failed to find a satisfactory one, or the spirit guardians they sealed proved too powerful, resulting in complete failures. Upon seeing this ghost pearl now possessing a spirit guardian, Han Li was genuinely surprised. Yet soon after, he calmed down, moistening his slightly dry lips, then pointed to the two jade-hued bamboo-hive swords, transforming them once again into two green dragon-jets that surged straight toward the demonic tiger to be crushed. His flying swords had no spirit guardian at all—mere simple transformations of ordinary treasures—lacking the true divine powers of actual dragons. Nevertheless, Han Li still wished to test the strength of this demonic tiger's spirit guardian before making a final judgment.