"It's no wonder a spring of spiritual essence has been placed here. I'd like the thousand-year-old milk, but I'm also very curious about this soul-nourishing tree." Han Li looked at Yuan Yao and spoke slowly. Upon hearing this, Yuan Yao's expression instantly turned icy. "Rest assured," Han Li smiled gently, "after all these years of nourishment, this tree must have grown quite substantial. I only need a section of the root—nothing that would compete with the main trunk, which is most precious to Yuan Miss." "Only the root?" Yuan Yao was first startled, then her expression softened, though a hint of doubt remained in her eyes. "Of course," Han Li said, his tone firm, "as compensation, I still need to secure the thousand-year-old milk that Yuan Miss promised earlier." "Haha! Master Han truly knows how to plan ahead. I'm certain many sects would be eager to pay a substantial sum for just the root of this soul-nourishing tree. Nevertheless, I've already agreed to this." After a slight twinkle of her eyes, Yuan Yao believed she had guessed right about Han Li's thoughts and broke into a light, fluttering laugh, as if the willowy branches were trembling with her joy. This, in turn, seemed to give her a sense of reassurance. Han Li merely smiled faintly, offering no further explanation. "Very well, then, let us proceed with breaking the array. I'll first share with you some of my earlier insights on this matter," Yuan Yao said with a bright, eager smile—appearing, in fact, more eager than Han Li himself. "Hold on just a moment," Han Li replied, pointing to the water pool with a half-smiling, half-quiet tone. "Doesn't Yuan miss the chance to claim this spirit spring?" "Han brother, you're being overly serious! This spirit spring has long been integrated with the entire inner hall through an intricate seal, established by the master of Xutian Pavilion. If I possessed such great power, I would have already gone straight to claim the Xutian Cauldron. There's no need to linger here," Yuan Yao said, her voice tinged with gentle reproach. Upon hearing this, Han Li's expression softened with a touch He seemed to have grown rather too greedy, immediately seizing upon any treasure as his own the moment he saw it. That wasn't a promising sign at all. He most certainly didn't want to end up dying for wealth, like a bird that perished for its food. After quietly reminding himself of this thought, Han Li changed the subject and spoke calmly: "Master Yuan, first hand over the elixir to me, and then explain the array. Together, we shall surely break through this array within just a couple of days." Master Yuan listened, then smiled gently at Han Li—her radiance was instantly captivating, her charm exuding a subtle allure. As soon as these two appeared on the surface of the sea, they both became unusually alert, scanning the surroundings carefully. Upon seeing no other cultivators present, they both exhaled in relief. They were precisely the two who had broken through the array within the sealed chamber and were then transported out—Han Li and Yuan Yao. "It seems others are still trapped inside the Xitian Hall. They can't emerge until the designated time has arrived," Yuan Yao said, her eyes gleaming as she glanced toward the direction of the Xitian Cauldron. "Will those senior cultivators at the Yuan婴 stage—will they also be transported out after retrieving their treasures, just like us?" Han Li did not appear relaxed. Frowning slightly, he asked. "Rest assured. The locations where cultivators are transported after retrieving their treasures are randomly determined. They might be near the Xitian Hall, or possibly hundreds of miles away. No one could possibly monitor such an extensive area simultaneously," Yuan Yao said casually, brushing a strand of hair aside gently. "That's a relief!" Han Li nodded in satisfaction. "What? Did Han brother offend those old monsters?" "If that's the case, then Brother Han truly needs to be cautious." Yuan Yao's eyes shimmered with a gentle, probing tone as she asked. "That won't be necessary, Yuan Brother. I have other matters to attend to, so I shall be off now." Brother Han bowed slightly to Yuan Yao with a calm expression, then, without waiting for any further words from her, instantly transformed into a streak of jade-green light and sped away, showing no trace of hesitation or lingering sentiment. The woman spoke softly, then without further hesitation, draped her black robe over her head, concealing her stunning beauty. Yuan Yao also transformed into a swirling mass of black mist and flew off in a different direction. In a moment, the sea surface once again fell silent. At the same time, on the elevated platform of the fifth floor within the Xutian Hall, several figures stood with gloomy expressions. Each of them looked displeased—these were the senior cultivators of the Yin and Yang sects, including the Master of Extreme Yin, and even the bearded elder stood coldly among them. Having reached some agreement, no one dared to attack them anymore. "We've jointly searched every corner from the third to the fifth floor of the inner hall. The number of seals we've broken and puppets we've destroyed is incalculable, yet we still haven't found them. Master of Extreme Yin! Two of the three missing individuals have a direct connection to you. Can it really be that you didn't send them off to retrieve the treasures and then vanish?" Wan Tianming said, his face stern. "Hmph! Master Wan, you've asked me this time and again." I have already told you that Master Wu's grandson has perished—this is confirmed by my own secret techniques, which I personally verified. There can be no mistake. Had it not been for the "Heavenly Vanguard Aura" blocking all my sensory perceptions, I should have sensed the moment my young disciple died. In that case, how could those two young men have seized the opportunity to carry off the treasures and escape unnoticed?" The Master of Extreme Yin drew in his breath, his face contorted as he spoke. "To be honest, I find Brother Man rather suspicious. Why was it precisely during the time Brother Man led us out that the Virtual Sky Cauldron was taken? Brother Man has consistently refused to reveal the identity of that junior disciple—could it be that they had already conspired beforehand?" The Master of Extreme Yin shifted his tone, suddenly fixing his gaze on Brother Man with a cold, ominous voice. "Nonsense! What do I have to reveal to you? How does the actual removal of the Virtual Sky Cauldron relate to that young man, or to me? At the time, I was desperately fleeing, pursued by all of you—how could the Cauldron have ended up in my hands?" But you claim that the young man Wu Chou has passed away—how true is that? Who knows, maybe he's actually delighted about it!" The bearded man glared at him, retorting with sharp sarcasm. "You...!" Upon hearing this, the Master of Extreme Yin was furious, his seven orifices blazing with anger. His beloved disciple had died in a tragic accident! Now he had to shoulder such a heavy burden—this was something the Master of Extreme Yin absolutely could not tolerate. He immediately grew stern, opening his mouth to argue further. Yet at that very moment, the scholarly elder in a scholar's robe stepped in to mediate. "Mian brother and Wu brother, there's no need to quarrel. The people who have taken the treasure—neither of them cares whether these three are alive or dead. As for which one among them has any connection with us—that's merely secondary. What matters most now is that, regardless of whether these three are alive or deceased, we must find them. When we pursued Mian brother, we followed all the way to the entrance of the third level. No matter how fast they moved, they could never escape beyond the third level." Now, we have deployed several array spells at the entrance of the third floor—any attempt by them to escape will be impossible. As for transmitting through the inner chambers, that is even less likely. After all, they are all only Jian Dan stage cultivators. Even if all three work together, they could never pass through any chamber above the third floor. Unless they’ve truly gone mad and decided to commit suicide. The elder in the rujian robe calmly analyzed. "Yet, we’ve thoroughly searched all floors from the third to the fifth, and still haven’t found any trace of them." Wan Tianming said coldly, his expression full of doubt. In fact, it wasn’t just him—each of the Zhengdao cultivators was equally skeptical. They had already discussed this matter several times through secret communication, all convinced that the three old demons had orchestrated a well-planned performance. Intentionally drawing them away, and then allowing the younger generation to retrieve the Xitian Ding. Thus, Wan Tianming and the others felt deeply regretful, yet kept a vigilant eye on the actions of Ji Yin and the others, refusing to leave the old demon's party in the Xutian Hall even for a moment. Ji Yin and the robed elder naturally perceived the earnest intentions of Wan Tianming, the upright cultivator. Yet they too were equally anxious and could not afford to delay. Their primary concern was to swiftly locate Han Li and the others, and recover the Xutian Cauldron. In the inner hall, the Yuan Ying cultivators engaged in fierce combat, only to see the treasure stolen by the Jian Dan cultivators who managed to slip through unnoticed. Once this news spread, their reputations would surely suffer. Moreover, how could they bear to see the Xutian Cauldron truly fall into the hands of Han Li and his companions? The bearded man was also surprised, as Xu Gu's actions seemed somewhat different from what had been previously agreed upon. Could it truly be that Xu Gu had fled with the cauldron? While ordinary Jian Dan cultivators might struggle to pass the three-tiered sealed chambers, a cultivator who had specialized in the Ghost Path—such as Xu Gu—might well succeed. Though his mind was full of doubts, Rugged-beard's face betrayed none of it. In fact, due to other thoughts running through him, he had resolved to deliberately stir up the waters. Thus, Rugged-beard spoke coldly: "Perhaps the two elderly figures from the Star Palace haven't actually left—they've been hiding nearby, watching us chase after them. Only now, when we've all gone out in pursuit, have they emerged to eliminate those three and taken away the Virtual Sky Cauldron!" Upon hearing this, the others exchanged puzzled glances, then gradually settled into thoughtful expressions.