Han Li's expression was quite displeased! Although the electric grid temporarily blocked all the gray-white flames, these flames burned through everything as if nothing could stop them, forming a solid gray-white flame dome that firmly trapped Han Li inside. Now, no matter how much he wanted to escape, he could not. What worried Han Li even more was that the gray-white flames were gradually consuming the pale golden electric arcs. Though the pace was slow, it was undeniable that Han Li's electric grid was steadily shrinking. Of course, the flames themselves seemed to suffer some losses as a result, but overall, the War God's Holy Fire was gaining a decisive advantage. Seeing this, Xuan Gu clearly breathed a sigh of relief and smiled gently. He didn't believe that, under the overwhelming presence of the War God's Holy Fire, Han Li would have any means to free himself again. After all, given the reputation of this fire, Xuan Gu was certain that even a Yuan婴-stage cultivator trapped within would have to suffer significant depletion of vital energy to manage to cast a secret technique and escape. And once he had his own refined holy flame and restored his Yuan婴 period's peak cultivation, he would surely be able to sweep across half of the Chaotic Star Sea without any problem. Thinking of this, Xuan Gu seemed to drift off into reverie, his eyes half-closed. At that moment, Han Li appeared to him no different from a corpse. The situation was indeed growing increasingly dire! As the golden net shrank, the protective barrier formed by the Divine-Defeating Thunder was beginning to crack. Yet Han Li, frowning, remained expressionless, simply spreading his hands—two slender golden arcs of electricity shot forth from his palms and instantly merged with the golden arcs on the grid. The golden arcs flowed continuously from Han Li's hands onto the grid. The once feeble grid immediately surged back to brilliant golden splendor, not only regaining its original size but rapidly expanding, launching out arcs of electricity as thick as fingers. For a moment, the gray-white holy flames were once again repelled and pushed back, and it seemed they would soon be completely encircled. Xuan Gu's eyes were nearly bulging out of his head, and his whole body seemed about to leap up! Now he finally understood what it truly meant to say, "human calculations fall short of heaven's will." Han Li still had so many辟邪神雷—this truly stretched the old demon's nerves. Even though the Shouxiao Holy Fire ranked one level above the辟邪神雷, when there were so many of the latter, it was far from clear who would prevail! Xuan Gu stared at Han Li with the eyes of a prodigy, trying to gauge just how many Golden Thunder Bamboo relics were hidden within the relatively small frame of his opponent. Could it be that Han Li truly had an inexhaustible supply of辟邪神雷? The very thought arose, and then Xuan Gu suddenly gasped, biting down hard on the tip of his tongue. The sharp pain and the faint blood flavor instantly cleared his mind. He shook his head gently, erasing this absurd notion from his thoughts. Could Han Li truly have an endless supply of辟邪神雷? Of course not. He had simply grown a bit less confident due to the sheer volume of divine lightning the other party had unleashed. Yet Xu Gu believed that, having released such a large number of divine lightning so repeatedly, the other party now must indeed be running low. As long as he could endure this critical moment, he could completely eliminate Han Li. With that, all those golden lightning bamboo artifacts would naturally be his own! With this thought, Xu Gu's spirit stirred once more. He fixed his gaze on Han Li with a look of intense greed, then lifted his head to gaze at the luminous sphere in the sky. The other party had not yet released their divine protective lightning, and he had never fully merged all of his Qianlan ice flames into the Shōro Sacred Flame—only a portion of them, to reduce the risk of being counteracted by his secret techniques. Yet now it seemed that even this partial flame could not extinguish Han Li. Only by fully merging and releasing the remaining ice flames could he completely eliminate the opponent in one decisive blow. With this realization, he nodded slightly and began to chant his incantations, activating his spells. The luminous orb in the sky spun rapidly, once again radiating a brilliant glow. Seeing this, Han Li felt a sudden chill spread through his heart. As Xu Gu predicted, Han Li had continuously summoned the Bixie Divine Lightning, repeatedly countering the opponent's Qianlan Ice Flame and Xiu Luo Sacred Fire—now nearly consuming ten out of every ten of his divine lightning. With the opponent poised to unleash another transformation of the Xiu Luo Sacred Fire, Han Li knew he could not possibly sustain the remaining lightning through direct resistance. His only option was to immediately break through the fire's encirclement and flee—after all, no matter how powerful the flames, they would be useless if they failed to make contact with his body. Resolving to act, Han Li suddenly drew upon all the remaining Bixie Divine Lightning within him, releasing it in a single, decisive surge. Instantly, two golden arcs, each as thick as a human arm, shot forth from both of his palms and struck the power grid. The golden grid flashed rapidly, then finally erupted into a radiant golden glow with a deep, resonant thunder, bursting apart in splendor. A multitude of pale golden electric streaks pushed the remaining gray-white flames far away from the outer edges. At this moment, Han Li's figure flickered several times, and he vanished from his original spot, materializing several zhang away. Throughout this movement, Han Li had quietly held his breath, anxious not to inadvertently absorb even a single strand of the gray-white flame—anything of that nature would be fatal to him. As soon as he broke free from the protection of the Asura Holy Fire, he immediately shook his cloak, causing the blood-red fabric to float gently without any wind. This was the very sign that the ancient artifact had been activated. With unwavering determination, he resolved to charge straight to the stone steps, then use the Qingzhu Fengyun Sword to slip through the protective barrier and make a swift escape. Xuan Gu observed this scene and deduced several of Han Li's intentions. He was immediately worried, and without hesitation, raised his spiritual power, speeding up the conversion of the light sphere. A tremendous rumble echoed, and the entire light sphere burst into flames, instantly transforming its surface into gray-white fire, as if the Shura Holy Flame had fully taken form. Yet surprisingly, at the very center of the sphere, a small, unremarkable blue glow remained, pulsing continuously, as though unstable. Xuan Gu observed this and was momentarily taken aback, but soon dismissed it. Perhaps it was simply because his current spiritual power was still insufficient, and not yet fully converted—nothing remarkable at all. What he was truly concerned about was that Han Li was about to escape. He would not allow Han Li to flee so easily. So he immediately extended his hand gently toward the white light sphere, which then trembled slightly and began to shift, ready to follow his intent and initiate an attack. But just then, something unexpected happened! The lingering blue light at the center of the gray-white fireball suddenly flickered and then burst apart. Immediately, the surface of the fireball became uneven, and a sharp, resonant roar emanated faintly from within. Xuan Gu was deeply alarmed and quickly reached out to stabilize the fireball. Yet he had forgotten that these Asura Holy Fires were not truly mastered by him—only forcibly controlled through external aid. Stimulated by the core's sudden explosion, the fireball could no longer maintain its equilibrium and erupted into complete, uncontrollable fury. His meager spell power was utterly insufficient to contain it. As the fireball rapidly shifted through black, green, and then multiple hues, it finally exploded at the very apex of Xuan Gu's head. A shower of gray-white sparks scattered everywhere. Xuan Gu turned pale. Without pausing to think, he spun rapidly, and vast streams of dark and green spectral energy surged upward, lifting and supporting the wild, uncontrolled Asura Holy Fires. Then, with a sudden flick, he shot forth like a lightning bolt from a crossbow, hoping to escape the blast radius of the fireballs. Though the black and green ghost energy surged forward with great momentum, it vanished instantly upon contact with the drifting gray-white sparks—dissolving as if it had vanished into the sea, completely unimpeded. Fortunately, the falling flames of the Śrāvakas did not descend too swiftly. Even though their explosion range was vast, whenever Xu Gu stepped forward, he was soon caught within the wave's reach. At that very moment, however, a series of vivid green flashes erupted before Xu Gu's eyes—dozens of green sword beams surged directly toward him. Recognizing the shift in the situation, Han Li abandoned his initial plan of retreating and instead seized the moment, rapidly snapping his fingers ten times in succession, launching a multitude of green spiritual sword beams that precisely blocked Xu Gu's path. Xu Gu was both startled and furious, cursing loudly in his mind. But at that moment, he had no time to dodge—he could only grit his teeth, sharply interlacing his arms in front of him, then surging out a thin layer of green qi to shield his body, and charge forward resolutely. When a streak of azure light reached him, he opened his mouth and expelled a burst of green glow. It was the Golden Thunder Bamboo Arrow, the artifact of the old demon! This green glow successively shattered four or five attacks before being driven aside. The remaining sword beams struck his arms without mercy. "Thud... thud..." several heavy impacts rang out. Clearly underestimating the power of Han Li's Qingyuan sword beams, although he had absorbed the first four azure strikes unharmed, the last two finally shattered his protective green qi, striking solidly upon his true form. As a result, his body, which had been thrown off, wavered and then, instead of advancing, retreated several steps. This blow left Xuan Gu stunned! He was filled with terror, hastily reaching into his cloak as if to retrieve something. Yet a seemingly delicate, cool gray-white spark had silently settled upon its shoulder. A soft "crack" echoed, and the gray-white glow surged upward. Xuan Gu never managed to emit a cry of pain—his form dissolved in the light, turning to ash and vanishing without a trace.